I'm just about to head down to the beach here on Cape Cod. I realized on the drive down that I had forgotten to send the actual CDs out through the good old USPS. For now, you'll have to just use the site. I did throw up a full zip file of MP3s numbered in order, so you should be able to download that and just throw it into iTunes or your music player of choice. This mix definitely has a summer vibe to it, and after listening through a few times, it is definitley a low key group of songs. Lots of great music in here, hope you guys enjoy some of it. Best played out of doors when the sun is going down.
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Conveyor / Woolgatherer
This is a very late addition pulled off some last minute music blog scouring. Totally weird and awesome. Didn't work anywhere else than the first song. Requisite comparisons to Animal Collective, and the end of the song (2:57) drops into a Radiohead-esque percussion drop. Sounds like summer. Who knows what they're actually talking about.
More Info from Last.FM
Conveyor is a Brooklyn-based music project spawned by the fated juncture of a wandering tarot of musicians in Gainesville, FL. Was it kismet or perhaps a primordial summon which led these gentlemen purveyors of sound to individually tune in and migrate North to the bustling seductress known as New York City? Their retort is Sun Ray, a debut EP birthed and released in the warm embrace of Spring 2011. Brimming with lucid, homey synths layered over acoustic guitars and harmonious vocals Read more on Last.fm more...
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Dan Mangan / Rows Of Houses
This song has been locked in for a few months. Was curious about the line "Sight of Brower," Spent a little time reading up on it and lo-and-behold, the song was in fact written about the movie Stand by Me, one of my favorites as a kid. Love the vocal swells throughout this song. Triumphant.
More Info from Last.FM
Dan Mangan (born Daniel Mangan in Vancouver on April 28, 1983) is a Canadian indie folk-rock singer-songwriter. He has done U.S. tours with The Walkmen, Decemberists and Okkervil River. In Europe he has performed twice at the Glastonbury Festival. In 2010 he gained a Polaris Music Prize short list nomination for his sophomore album Nice, Nice Very Nice. At the 2012 Juno Awards, Mangan was awarded New Artist of the Year and Alternative Album of the Year for Oh Fortune Read more on Last.fm more...
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You Won't / Who Knew
A touch repetitive, but unique vocals, fantastic lyrics and catchy-as-hell melody. Another reference to awesome 80s movies in "If I was Marty McFly, I would go back to when we were nine or ten. And I'd be your best friend. Say that I knew you when."
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Massachusetts natives Josh Arnoudse and Raky Sastri have been making things together since 1999, when they engaged in horrendously reckless swordplay during a high school production of “My Favorite Year.” From 2003 to 2008 they conspired to produce a series of strange and little-seen movies while Josh attended college in Western Massachusetts and Raky gigged around NYC with a number of different bands. During this period of geographical separation Read more on Last.fm more...
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BOY / Little Numbers
Summer pop masterpiece. The "Whoa oh oh oh" chorus is deadly. Great lyrics about a phone number being the start of a relationship.
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Boy is a name of at least 5 artists: 1) A Swiss–German pop duo founded in 2007 by Swiss singer Valeska Steiner (aka Valeska) and German bassist Sonja Milena Glass. They are based in Zurich and Hamburg. Their début album was "Mutual Friends" (2 Sep 2011, Grönland). Sites: MusicBrainz, Facebook and MySpace 2) A Czech punk rock band from Brno. The band consists of Martino (vocal), Kelso - (guitar/vocal), Olda (guitar/vocal), Rob (bass/vocal) and Vinca (drums). Read more on Last.fm more...
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Horse Feathers / Fit Against The Country
So I didn't end up going to this show when they came to the Iron Horse, but this song is a beauty. Favorite line "It's a hard country we made."
More Info from Last.FM
Horse Feathers is an American indie folk band from Portland, Oregon. After fronting several rock bands in his native Idaho, singer/songwriter Justin Ringle moved to Portland, OR in 2004 and began focusing on acoustic music, playing open mics regularly under the moniker Horse Feathers. In 2005, multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick heard a couple of Justin's demos and offered to help flesh them out. In February 2006 the duo went into Skyler Norwood's Miracle Lake studios and recorded their debut album Read more on Last.fm more...
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Vacationer / Gone
Great slow jam for lazy summer nights. Love the "Yip" that rides along in the background every 10 seconds or so. No idea why. Another hazy summer jam. By the time you all receive this mix, I will be on vacation.
More Info from Last.FM
Most people do not take vacations often enough, some not at all. Quality vacations let us recapture that feeling of childlike exploratory freedom, which we seem to experience less and less frequently as we age. We can have fun without worrying about the familiar consequences presented to us regularly in life. Taking a good amount of time away from our daily stresses allows us to return to our lives refreshed and better equipped to handle whatever comes next. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Snowmine / Curfews
Shaking Through is a documentary series about bringing a song to life. Each year they give 10 of the most exciting young minds in music a challenge: One Song in two days. From first take to final mix. No extensions. No safety net. This is the result of Snowmine's effort. Read more here, or watch the video.
More Info from Last.FM
The Brooklyn five-piece embraces an ambient rock sound rich with echo pedals, tribal beats, electro-acoustic soundscapes and classical orchestrations. The band is fronted by new-classical composer Grayson Sanders, whose vocals have been compared to Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. "If Jurassic Park had a houseband, it would sound like SNOWMINE" - Pop Wreckoning SNOWMINE is: Grayson Sanders, Alex Beckmann, Austin Mendenhall, Jay Goodman, Calvin Pia Read more on Last.fm more...
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Bahamas / Lost In The Light
Late addition. Love the chorusy guitar tone and the overall production sound of this one. Favorite part has got to be the "Bein' free, leaving me on my own." It has been stuck in my head all week. The shimmery choral backing vocals are gorgeous. Watch an acoustic video.
More Info from Last.FM
Bahamas is Canadian musician Afie Jurvanen (born April 28, 1981, in Toronto). Jurvanen isn’t from the Bahamas; he’s a Finnish-Canadian raised in Barrie (a working class town in rural Ontario). Since 2009 he’s been making music under the name Bahamas--writing songs about sunsets, love affairs, and making out with crooked smiles. Through simple arrangements, he charts an escape route from the snow belt to the coral reefs. His album, Barchords, was released in 2012 to critical praise: Read more on Last.fm more...
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Al Scorch / Working Dream
Front porch banjo pickin' rambler. Love his voice. Love the storytelling in this one.
More Info from Last.FM
Grafting literate, character-driven song craft and Mid-American roots with a post-punk DIY attitude, Chicago-based songwriter, performer and instrumentalist Al Scorch charts a new musical topography with a five-string banjo. In his new full-length CD release, Tired Ghostly Town, Scorch delivers jubilant anthems and poignant reflections in 10 songs populated with a cast of vibrant characters. The protagonist wishing for a pair of gold cuff links Read more on Last.fm more...
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Shovels and Rope / Gasoline
I saw this duo at the Iron Horse opening for Justin Townes Earle and they are a great live show. Every song had one or both of them playing multiple instruments. I think they are a husband and wife team. Fantastic vocal. They are from Charleston, SC, site of many summer vacations when I was a kid.
More Info from Last.FM
Shovels and Rope tell the story of a hard time American town at the moment when the sun casts a long shadow from the gallows and illuminates the settling dust. A church bells sits scalded in a heap of brick and smoldering ash. A young man quietly counts his mothers tears through the arc of a hanging noose. New blades of grass begin to sprout on a fresh grave, and the sound of the rusty grinding gears of the passing train beg for changing times that never seem to come. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Joe Purdy / San Jose
Just love this one. Great vocals, great rhymes. "All of the boys and, all of their poison." Organ anchors this jam. Again, sounds like summer to me.
More Info from Last.FM
Joe Purdy is a North American based folk singer-songwriter from Arkansas. He has currently released twelve albums to date: his self-titled debut, Sessions from Motor Ave., Stompingrounds, Julie Blue, Only Four Seasons, You Can Tell Georgia, Paris in the Morning, Canyon Joe, Take My Blanket and Go, Last Clock on the Wall, 4th of July, and This American. Purdy's albums "Paris in the Morning" and "You Can Tell Georgia" have sold a combined 80,000 single downloads online worldwide. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Rhye / Open
"I'm a fool for your belly." With a daughter due in September, this lyric hits home whenever I look at Kate.
More Info from Last.FM
Rhye is the musical project of Toronto native Milosh. Originally conceived as a collaboration between him and Robin Hannibal of Danish electro-soul outfit Quadron, the project has evolved into a music collective led by Milosh and focused around its associated live band. Read more on Last.fm more...
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KO KO / Float
Great whistler. Summer pop song. Full stop.
More Info from Last.FM
*** ATTENTION! Band has changed its name to PACIFIC AIR. Please update your tags! *** KO KO is the Southern California dream-pop collective of brothers Ryan and Taylor Lawhon with various contributors ranging from Los Angeles to San Diego. In the land of perpetual sunshine, the music is created by friends writing songs who, like them, have never seen a real winter. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Capybara / Neighbor Crimes
This song almost got nixed for the repetitive high-hat, but in the end it had the highest play count on this mix for me somehow so it had to stay. Forgive the high-hat... Hopefully pointing it out doesn't ruin the song for y'all.
More Info from Last.FM
Capybara lives in Kansas City, MO. Mark, Jared, Darin, & Joel say "Hullo!" To which you reply "And hullo to you!" What naybors we are. Leben, duben. Go ahead. High five your neighbor: SITE: www.capybaramusic.com FRIENDS: www.facebook.com/heycapybara BOOKING: booking@capybaramusic.com LABEL: http://therecordmachine.net/ Read more on Last.fm more...
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Strand of Oaks / Spacestations
This is another Shaking Through effort. More info here.
More Info from Last.FM
Strand of Oaks is the rock project of American songwriter and producer Timothy Showalter. In 2003, Showalter's house burned down, his fiancée left him, and he resorted to writing songs on an acoustic guitar while living on park benches in suburban Philadelphia. Those events informed the entirety of his arresting debut, Leave Ruin , an album about loss and brokenness and lack of faith. But as affecting as it was, Showalter is leery of being stuck in the past. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Giving Tree Band / Circles
Just a perfect americana summer track. Came across these guys from the fantastic video they put out covering Brown Eyed Women. Even passing interest in the Grateful Dead warrants a viewing of this video.
More Info from Last.FM
"A traveling band must be able to channel their hometown and aura into a space. It's sometimes difficult to conjure the backroads and nature so often sung about in Americana music. The Giving Tree Band has mastered this quintessential aspect of performing live. They are able to accomplish what great writers have long proven; it is possible, with the right story, to transport whole audiences to new worlds." Appoet.org It is said that in any endeavor, the journey is the true reward. Read more on Last.fm more...
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First Aid Kit / The Lion's Roar
This is a slow burner, but once it gets going the harmony they drop in this song is killer.
More Info from Last.FM
There are three bands called First Aid Kit: 1. Swedish indie/folk duo which consists of sisters Johanna (b. 31 October 1990) and Klara Söderberg (b. 8 January 1993) both from Enskede, Sweden. The sisters began composing songs in 2007, taking their name at random from an English dictionary. They began uploading their music to their My Space page and sending their songs to Swedish radio station, this led to live performances and offers from Record Companies. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Pure Bathing Culture / Ivory Coast
Another dusky summer gem for beachside evenings.
More Info from Last.FM
Pure Bathing Culture are indie pop duo Daniel Hindman and Sarah Versprille of Portland, Oregon formed in 2011. The duo were formerly in the band Vetiver. They released the first track, "Ivory Coast", through a split 7" via Dig A Pony, which also was included on their first titled 4 track 12", "Pure Bathing Culture" (Father/Daughter Records 2012). "Pendulum" was the first track extracted from the debut album "Moon Tides" (August 2013). http://www.purebathingculture.com Read more on Last.fm more...
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Tyler Lyle / Nashville
I had a track by this guy on my last mix, so he's not new, but this song is great. "With my paperbacks and my box of wine, I've been killing time."
More Info from Last.FM
Tyler Lyle (Dec 1, 1985) originates from Carrollton, Georgia. He has been working professionally as a singer-songwriter since age twenty-one, primarily within the style of Indie-folk. For more than ten years he has been releasing music under his own name, as well as his 2016 founded project - The Secret Lair. Influenced by Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and Damien Rice. Smart, vicious, and prolific like gravity and levity in the same breath. Since 2012 singer-songwriter in the Synthwave duo, The Midnight. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Damien Jurado / Working Titles
Love the backing vox that come in during the lyric breaks. Favorite line? "You wrote about me on every new record. And I'll show up in the title of your song. I only hope somebody requests it." Fantastic.
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Damien Jurado (born 12 November 1972) is an American singer-songwriter in the indie-rock tradition of Seattle, Washington. His music is regarded as being heavily influenced by folk music. Over the years he has released albums on many labels; today his primary label is Secretly Canadian. He was once in the band, Coolidge, with Seattle's David Bazan. Jurado's solo career began during the mid-1990s, releasing lo-fi folk based recordings on his own cassette-only label, Casa Recordings, beginning in 1995. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Various Artists / Over The Hill
The original version of this song made it onto one of my previous mixes. This cover recorded by a bunch of folks on the Communion record label is stunning. The video is a must see. Just well done all around.
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Michael Samuel Kiwanuka (born 3 May 1987) is an English soul musician who is signed to Communion Records. He has been compared to Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Randy Newman, Terry Callier, and Otis Redding, as well as Van Morrison and the Temptations. In January 2012, he won the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll. Kiwanuka grew up in Muswell Hill, London, the son of Ugandan parents who had escaped the Amin regime. He attended Fortismere School, leaving there in 2005 after completing his A-Levels. Read more on Last.fm more...
