First Listen: Suddenly by Caribou

Today is release day for Suddenly by Caribou. I have been super excited for this drop since the pre-release of the Never Come Back EP. Here’s a Spotify link for you to listen along.

Sister: Opening on a poignant note.  Emotional and not beat-heavy.  Wonder if this is the direction for the whole album.

You and I: This second song gives the first Suddenly moment as it comes right after the more melancholy opener and just lets it rip with the first breakdown.

Sunny’s Time: And now for something completely different.  The warbly piano brings me to a new place and keeps me there.  This is like a whole song version of the breakdown in You and I.

New Jade: Wow!  The first banger and it’s great.  The sequence from You and I to here is really impressive.  New song highlight of the album for me so far.

Home: This is one of the most amazing electronic tracks I’ve ever heard.  I get excited for this in the same way that I remember getting excited about Moby when Play came out in the late 90s.

Lime: Now some hip-hop in space.  I like the lounge vibe here.  And where did it go?  What’s this dropout with chants?  Another Suddenly moment!

Never Come Back: Love, love, love!  It’s so nice to hear this in its spot in the album now.  Context will grow on me, I’m sure that I’ll appreciate this more as I get more listens in.

Filtered Grand Piano: Callback to Sunny’s Time a bit. Gave me chills.

Like I Loved You: This out of FGP is another Suddenly moment that just brings a smile to my face.  But what a sad story!  Guitar solo in the bridge is intriguing. 

Magpie: This feels like a psychedelic song from the 60s.  When it opens up with the synth lines, it’s really beautiful.  A slower Suddenly moment.  I feel like this could have been on a Beatles album.  And it keeps taking turns; what a wonderful curvy road!

Ravi: Another dance tune and it’s got an infectious beat.  Lyrics a little wistful but hidden behind such an upbeat rhythm.  Can’t help but bop up and down to this one.  This track will have some epic club anthem remixes!

Cloud Song: The lyric is so immediate here; it feels like he’s singing in the room with me.  Again, the content is melancholy and yearning but the music is so beautiful that it doesn’t register as sad.  There’s an interplay between the lyric and the melodies throughout this album that provides emotional tension.

Overall

Obviously, this is a great album.  Halfway through the first listen I bought the vinyl!  I feel like the theme of Suddenly is well played as there are quite a few moments where it changes on a dime.  Sometimes this plays out where the whole song pivots and other times it’s more subtle, like the quick pings in the chorus lyrics of Cloud Song.  The other major theme for me is the tension between the sadness of the lyrics and the beauty of the music.

The three singles that had been pre-released are still the highlights for me.  Home, in particular, is just a masterpiece.  But of the unreleased songs, they are also really great.  Highlights for me were: New Jade, Lime, and Magpie. There’s not a song on here that I’ll skip past on replays.

Closing, I think a comparison to The Slow Rush by Tame Impala is warranted here.  Personally, I am more in the Caribou camp as I prefer the dance music sound a bit more than the soft rock sound of Tame Impala.  I feel that a festival lineup with both of these acts would be to die for!

OMG: Sudan Archives?!

Quite simply the best R&B, hip-hop, experimental electronica I’ve heard in a long time. The artist just oozes sex appeal and coolness as she melts you into little puddles and picks you back up again. A combo of violin, Sudanese culture, and a strong dose of trippy electronica; Sudan Archives will transport you. Put on the headphones and give the whole album a listen.

The Keys to Music Discovery

This post is in response to a YouTube video where a guitar teacher reacts to seeing Phish perform the song Free:

https://youtu.be/seub7S3xmX8

The video clocks in over 32 minutes but it’s well worth watching. In case you don’t have time, the important parts are that this is the YouTuber’s first time seeing Phish live and it ends up blowing him away. By the end of the video, I’m pretty sure this guy is ready to head out to a show!

What struck me most about the video is his willingness and ability to, in his words, pick up what the band is laying down. You can see the process and end result of music discovery happening right in front of you eyes. And it’s infectious and magical! By the time you see the light bulb going off for the YouTuber, you are grinning ear-to-ear yourself as the viewer.

I see two traits that allow for this process to work most effectively. Open-mindedness and learned knowledge.

He maintains an open-mind which allows him to appreciate something that he hasn’t seen before. In the video he acknowledges some of the hurdles to appreciating Phish: the rabid fan base, the deep library of songs, and the opacity of 10+ minute jams in many of their songs. Despite all of this, he takes the offer of a helping hand from a guide (thanks, Conner!) and goes through the door that is opened for him. During the discovery process, he sees other doors that could lead him to other places; “this is probably one of those Trey-ism’s” or “I can see how this could go on for 40 minutes”.

It all starts from being willing to go through that first door though.

He is able to quickly appreciate what is being presented to him because he has a depth of knowledge about music and about the guitar specifically. He notes well-formulated musical phrases, appreciates advanced techniques, and marvels at the equipment of the band. This is a realization of investments made throughout his life as it is clearly the result of intense study and many hours of practice.

Another way to have musical knowledge is as a listener. The more that you listen, the more you can appreciate. Listening to a diversity of artists and genres (hello again, open-mindedness…) provides you with a foundation from which to build upon your love of music.

These lessons can be gleaned from a video but they apply to every aspect of life. Approaching life with an open-mind leads you to new experiences that you will appreciate all the more if you have spent time educating yourself about the ways of the world.

A New Type of Family?

David Brooks wrote an article in The Atlantic, The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake, that was incendiary and clearly designed to spark a lot of discussion. Now, I grew up reading a lot of sci-fi and was always attracted to Heinlein’s idea of a future family that was generally larger than a simple nuclear family and was family by choice rather than by birth.

After reading Brook’s article, I wrote a bunch of notes that I’m going to put here un-edited. Perhaps I’ll follow this up with some drill-down posts or some Q&A.

ISSUE: Modern life, with its hyper-individualism, has left the nuclear family (family with two adults) vulnerable, fragile, and lacking in a sense of community that humans need to achieve happiness.

  • Nuclear families are vulnerable to issues such as unemployment, disease, or divorce in that any one of these events can shatter it and set it back by years
  • Nuclear families are lonely without a diversity of strong adult relationships to support, nurture, and entertain them
  • Nuclear families are over-worked with both adults often in demanding jobs and little or no support in child-rearing and house-keeping
  • Nuclear families are not as wealthy as in the past due to extreme rents and house values in the cities
  • Children are limited in their adult interactions to parents and teachers without much opportunity to have meaningful relationships with other adults

SOLUTION: “Poly-Family” where adults choose to enter into a familial relationship with other adults in order to gain the benefits of a large, extended family by sacrificing some amount of individual autonomy.

  • This is not polyamory where couples or individuals enter into romantic relationships with one another.  Those relationships are not stable enough for the type of long-term teamwork this requires.
    • The vision is that the adults in this relationship have extremely close relationships with one another that are familial rather than romantic
    • Emotional openness and supportive, healthy relationships are the goal.  Adults should seek each other for interaction and fulfillment and will have opportunities for a much greater variety of interaction than available in the typical two-adult family
    • Safety and security are primary values in these relationships which is why polyamory is discouraged as that can lead to jealousy and exclusivity.  All members should feel loved and accepted and safe to be their true selves
  • This is an equal marriage where all adults would have a voice in the governance of the family making decisions about: spending, investment, family rules, and family responsibilities.
    • The Family would establish a charter detailing the Family goals and mission
    • The Family would establish processes for handling management and disagreements.  It would include items like how to run the family meeting, family votes, family finances, adding new members, managing conflict, parenting guidelines, and anything else the Family wanted to codify
  • The Family would decide via governance how large to grow and which members to include
    • Adding a new individual or group to the Family would be a very serious decision as divorce is very difficult and painful
    • The Family would decide if they wanted to add couples with children, single people, or couples without children and decisions would have to be unanimous
    • Newly added Family members would have to buy in to their shares in the Family LLC in a way that was agreed upon by the Family
    • Newly added Family members would immediately be full members entitled to their voice in the governance and their share of the Family assets
  • This is a financial marriage where adults would contribute earnings to the Family in some agreed upon ratio and the Family would use this money for Family expenses and Family investments
    • An LLC would be formed to be the Family’s legal entity
    • All individuals would have Shares in the LLC that gave them a legal right to a portion of the Family assets
    • The Family would invest excess assets to fund future expenses such as Continuing Education and Retirement
    • The Family would purchase home(s) for members and would issue shares of the equity so that all individuals could enjoy rewarding home life while investing for their futures
    • While individuals would contribute financially to the Family with every pay check, each individual would have some allowance for their own personal money
  • This is a co-parenting marriage where all adults would help each other with child-rearing responsibilities whether or not each individual adult had biological children of their own
    • All Family members would have a say in large-scale parenting strategies
    • All Family members would have authority and responsibility in day-to-day parenting and support of all children
    • All Family members should support the education of children, both with direct instruction and indirect role modeling
  • This is an intimate and supportive marriage where individuals would help one another even at cost to themselves because they genuinely love each other
  • This is a fun and inclusive marriage where good times are shared by all in the form of vacations, parties, dinners, and events
    • A Fund would be established in the Family finances for “good times” and the governance would decide how to spend it each year
    • All members would be included in all Family events
    • Individual members can use individual allowances to enjoy good times that are not Family events.  The Family will manage itself to allow members to have as much allowance as possible to maximize these opportunities
  • The marriage would expect that all members strive to achieve at the highest level but also support individuals at all levels of income and even in the face of catastrophe
    • Individuals who work to support the Family directly (Ex. Home keeper, nanny, financial manager, etc.) would be paid a salary by the Family and provided with Benefits similar to individuals working outside
    • If calamity strikes an individual such as unemployment or disability, the Family will support them emotionally and financially
    • Individual retirement will be discussed by the Family and planned for in a way that doesn’t leave the Family financially vulnerable
  • There would be a mechanism for an individual or group to leave the Family although it would be a sad event and only a last resort
    • Leaving the Family is like a divorce, but the extended Family can handle it better than a nuclear family can handle it
    • Every effort will be made to allow divorced members to cash out their share in the Family but not by selling assets that would put the Family in jeopardy (such as selling the Family home(s))
    • In the case that the Family could not immediately cash out a divorced member, the Family would make periodic payments until the debt was settled
  • Children are assumed to leave the Family as they enter adulthood but may choose to return as adult members later
    • There is a difference between child members and adult members: adults contribute, children consume
    • The Family is multi-generational though and can persist indefinitely as long as members belong and gain value from it
    • Children may choose to leave the Family and pursue their own families (little f or big F) as they become independent
    • Children may also choose to join the Family as adult members using the same process as any new members are considered.  This may be a direct transition from child to adult roles or it may be a re-joining to the Family as an adult after a departure

Music of the Moment – Valentine’s Day edition

A quick-hit on what I am listening to recently.

On Circles by Caspian is an awesome post-rock album that covers a lot of ground. I hear ambient, shoegaze, and metal in the tracks here. I’ve already played this one end-to-end over a half dozen times; it’s that good!

The Slow Rush by Tame Impala was highly anticipated and does not disappoint. This has only been out for a couple of days now so I’m only on my second listen. I imagine my opinions will crystallize as I’ve been able to internalize the songs. My initial reactions are that I love the theme of “time” and it seems like an evolution from Currents.

Have We Met by Destroyer is an album that grew on me. At the first listen, I didn’t quite get it but nevertheless it drew me back for a second listen, and then a third. And now I’ve played it a half dozen times and I really like it a lot. I struggle to explain it to others but I just like it. It feels dreamy and intense at the same time.

Any Random Kindness by Haelos is one that I play for my wife and she just loves it. This is the best trip-hop I’ve heard since Massive Attack. The whole album is just great and good music for socializing.

And finally, a single, and a cover: Young Americans by Durand Jones & The Indications. There is a popular trend right now of calling back to the 70’s and it is at play here. And I love it!

KEXP: Music Heals: Beyond Cancer

KEXP is a treasure.

Musically speaking, the DJs deliver a love for music, new and old, that is infectious and inspiring. They bring a sense of discovery and appreciation that gets you excited to listen. I spend most of my day listening and I struggle to decide between listening to the shows to learn about new music or to listen to the albums that are on my backlog from previous shows! First world problems, indeed!

This would be enough to create a cultural institution but KEXP is so much more than just a music station.  They provide us with a community that is sorely needed in our modern society.  John tells me every morning that I am not alone and that means everything to me.  I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that message until he started saying it to me.  And he doesn’t just say it to me, he says it to all of you as well.

Today, KEXP is delivering one of the most special and intimate days of the year.  It is Music Heals: Beyond Cancer.  Members of the community have shared their stories of facing cancer and, all day long, the DJs are sharing those stories along with the music that helped people to get through.  The listening is raw and emotional; John is choking a bit as he speaks.  These days are cathartic for our community and they show us that the message is true: we are not alone.

I have never experienced a closeness with a community in the same way that I do with KEXP.  I invite you to join us.

Sneak Peek: Suddenly by Caribou

Dan Snaith, under the moniker Caribou, is releasing a new album called Suddenly on Feb 28. This is the first release as Caribou since 2014’s Our Love. Ahead of the release, there are three tracks released on streaming and to the radio stations. Put simply, these tracks are divine and generate exactly the sort of pre-release hype that an artist is hoping for!

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@cariboumusic is back with his first new album in more than five years, Suddenly, out February 28. Listen to the new single "You and I" now at digital services and pre-order Suddenly on digital, CD, and LP. Catch Caribou on tour in the new year across North America and Europe. Some of the shows are already sold out, so be sure to get your tickets soon. Caribou on tour: Mar 16 Hamilton, ON – The Studio (SOLD OUT) Mar 17 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Mar 18 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Mar 19 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Mar 20 Chicago, IL – Riviera Mar 21 Detroit, MI – Saint Andrews Hall Mar 22 Ottawa, ON – Bronson Centre Mar 23 Montreal, QC – M Telus Mar 24 Boston, MA – House of Blues Mar 25 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer Mar 26 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club Mar 27 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel (SOLD OUT) Mar 28 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel Mar 30 Brighton, UK – The Dome Apr 01 Liverpool, UK – Invisible Wind Factory Apr 02 Leeds, UK – O2 Academy Leeds Apr 03 Manchester, UK – Victoria Warehouse Apr 04 Glasgow, UK – The Barrowlands (SOLD OUT) Apr 05 Birmingham, UK – O2 Academy Birmingham Apr 06 Bristol, UK – O2 Academy Bristol Apr 07 London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton (SOLD OUT) Apr 21 Hamburg, DE – Grosse Freiheit 36 Apr 22 Leipzig, DE – Werk 2 Apr 23 Prague, CZ – Forum Karlin Apr 24 Vienna, AT – Gasometer Apr 25 Munich, DE – Muffathalle Apr 26 Zurich, CH – Kaufleuten Apr 27 Paris, FR – L'Olympia Apr 28 Cologne, DE – E-werk Apr 29 Utrecht, NL – Tivoli Vredenburg / Ronda Apr 30 Brussels, BE – Les Nuits Botanique – Chapiteau Jun 25 Rome, IT – Roma Summer Fest Jul 09 Bilbao ES – Bilbao BBK Live Jul 10 Lisbon, PT – NOS Alive Jul 11 Dublin, IE – Iveagh Gardens Aug 12 Vilnius, LT – Botanic Park Aug 15 Berlin, DE – Zitadelle (Caribou and Friends) Aug 16 Kiev, UA – Art-Zavod Platforma

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Personally speaking, Caribou is a recent discovery for me. I listen to a lot of KEXP to discover new things to play on the streaming services or vinyl to buy. When I hear something that I like, I use the app to get the track info and then I do deep-dive explorations into albums and artists that resonate with me. For days, every electronic track I heard that I loved would come up with the band name Caribou! It’s exciting for me to discover something new like this as these sparkly glints on the radio lead me toward the veins of gold that exist deep in the Spotify caverns. I’ll do a deep-dive post on Caribou’s backlog as I have time.

For now, though let’s listen to the three tracks that are coming this month.

Album link on Spotify

The lead single on the release is Never Come Back and is an absolute gem. It’s a chillout banger, if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphors. The song moves along at a brisk 128 bpm and keeps you grinning with it’s F Major key but it’s not a straight-forward house track. My wife will groan if I play her house music a la Kaskade or Deadmau5 but this track got immediate approval with a smile. This is the music to play on the way to the dance party; just as everything is coming together for a great night ahead. The Roxbury Guys would love this shit!

You and I is the second track on the release and comes in with a slower pace and an introspective vibe. Clocking in at 112 bpm this is solidly in the downtempo range and more fitting of a the post-party comedown. The minor key leaves you with a sense of yearning for more. What is it that your hungry for? These freaking breakdowns! Just when you feel like you’ve got a grasp on the song, the bottom drops out and you’re cut loose, swimming in the psychedelic seas.

The last track on the release is Home, which hits another vibe entirely with it’s callbacks to a 70’s Motown sound via it’s soulful vocal sample and guitar heavy instrumentation. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a Dance track but it’s slow 97 bpm pace separates it from the other tracks in this release. It will be very interesting to see where this fits in the final album as it has the feel of a callback interlude between a couple of more anthemic tracks.

Overall, these three songs leave me super excited for the upcoming release. The songs show a diversity that makes me wonder about the flow and storytelling of the complete album. Where will these fit in? It’s obvious that the lead single is the anthem that is intended to sell the album but the other two make me think this is not going to be a straight house dance album. It’s going to be along the lines of a Four Tet release where it covers a lot of ground and fits in to a lot of different life spaces than just “going out dancing”. I’m sure that this will be an album that blows some minds when I play it late night for my friends!

Happy International Clash Day

Seven years ago, John Richards, a KEXP DJ, inadvertently created International Clash Day. The legend goes that he was playing a lot of songs by The Clash one day and said “fuck it!” and named the day ICD. It stuck and now is in its seventh year!

Today is Clash for Climate which adds another theme to the musical and revolutionary style of The Clash.

KEXP is celebrating with interviews, local covers, and special programming throughout the day. Check it out yourself at KEXP.org

My Top Ten Albums of 2019

It’s a little bit past the season of “Best Of” lists but indulge me.  To be honest, the list I wrote in December is now outdated and I’m much more firm with my top ten list for last year.  I don’t know if it was just me paying more attention than usual or not, but 2019 was a fantastic year for new music!

#10: Two Hands by Big Thief

This one drew me in with the single, Not, but I’ve played it end-to-end a dozen times since then.  The album has a very raw feeling for me both lyrically and musically.  I would have ranked it higher in my list except that there are albums that are similar for me that just resonate more strongly.

#9: Stars Are the Light by Moon Duo

This pick shows my love of jam music as it’s filled with delicious jams and light-hearted lyrics.  This is modern psychedelic music with intricate guitar solos and instrumentation over drum machine rhythms.  Again, the lead single, Stars are the Light, is an entry way into a satisfying album.

#8: Dunk Reactions by Rudy Willingham

https://youtu.be/qqBzbcklXO8

This is an under-the-radar local release from a producer that I think is heavily underrated.  The lead single, Pool Party, has the most creative use of a “found sound” that I can recall.  It calls out to Rudy’s visual artwork where he uses cut-outs held up against real-life landmarks to create composites that are quirky and surprising.  Other tracks run the range from dance anthems to downtempo treats.  This is the one that people are most likely to have not heard before; treat yo’ self with a listen!

#7: A Bath Full of Ecstasy by Hot Chip

British synth-pop at it’s finest.  This is the perfect soundtrack for summertime with it’s danceable beats and soothing lyrics.  Start with Hungry Child and Spell to get a flavor and then enjoy the rest.  Once you’ve fallen in love, check out the remixes!

#6: Dogrel by Fontaines D.C.

This is the band and album that brought me in to modern punk-rock.  As I was first exposed to bands like IDLES, I was taken aback at what I perceived to be an abrasive style and an angry message.  It took the slightly softer and more poetic approach of Fontaines D.C. to help me to appreciate it.  After they brought me in with songs like The Lotts, Boys in the Better Land, and Chequeless Reckless, a light-bulb went off for me.  I re-listened to IDLES and I saw that it was filled with love and not anger at all.  Eye-opening and exciting!

#5: All Mirrors by Angel Olsen

This one is just BIG.  The orchestra backing on this one reminds me heavily of another BIG album, Sgt. Pepper’s by the Beatles.  Apparently she recorded this album twice, once with the huge sound that we have in this album and another with a minimal sound of her and a guitar.  The two versions were to be released side-by-side but she saw the power in the orchestral version and released that first.  Eventually, we will see the other side and can explore the power of arrangement but this stands alone.

#4: Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten

Like a raw nerve exposed to rock and roll.  In the opening track, Sharon invites you into her world with a warning that it’s going to be fucked up.  She almost died, you learn.  The songs about our youth resonate with my strongly.  Comeback Kid about surviving it and coming out stronger.  Seventeen both worshipping and mocking our youthful bravado.  I can’t get enough of this one.

#3: Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka

This album is the one that most changed my life this year.  There is something about his lyrics and stories that just connects and hits me like a ton of bricks.  His empathy is out of this world and his message is both uplifting and acknowledging our pain.  His work on racism is notable in that it brings me in, as a white man, and teaches me his perspective and does it without alienating or blaming.  I feel that his music is for me even when he is singing about topics that are not part of my existence.

#2: Lux Prima by Karen O + Dangermouse

Art-rock at its finest.  Apparently this album came out a meeting between Karen O, of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and master producer Dangermouse.  In one sitting they had created the opening track, Lux Prima, a three part epic that has to be heard to be believed.  The follow-up track, Ministry, is so lush that it fills me up like a bowl of stew.  The album has to be consumed as a whole to appreciate it.  The final track, Nox Lumina, brings it full circle, intended to set the album on repeat and just never stop.  I wish they would take this on tour but they did a “one show only” performance!

#1: 5 by SAULT

Who are they?  Why don’t they perform live?  The mysterious band called SAULT released two albums in 2019, simply named 5 and 7.  Not sure what happened to 6…  The sound captures the past and the present in a way that is familiar and new at the same time.  Every track is a classic.

Magical pairing: The Clash x Big Audio Dynamite

Samples are awesome! I’ve gotta give a hat-tip to Kevin Cole @ KEXP for showing me this one. It starts out with a classic punk-rock staple that we all know:

https://youtu.be/hxGf9jPwIr4

This is released in 1982, at the tail-end of The Clash’s arc. The song was the US single topping the release Combat Rock. The next single off of that album was Rock the Casbah, another track we all know and love.

Fast forward eight years, to 1990, and Big Audio Dynamite release this one:

The sample is obvious and the song wears its pedigree on its sleeve. Sure, it’s cheating because Big Audio Dynamite is a project lead by Mick Jones, the former lead guitarist of the Clash. But the interesting part is to look at the evolution shown in two songs that are almost the same yet wholly different.

The music has picked up an electronic tinge with lush synths in the BAD version. The Clash version is definitely low-fi when you listen to them back to back. Should I Stay is drums, guitar and vocal and all of them in your face while The Globe has a lot more depth but is less aggressive in its presentation.

Anyway, play these back-to-back for your friends and do it at high volume!

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