Hey all, sorry about the absence

My keyboard has been busted lately. Occasionally it will inexplicably start working again for a short time. I'm taking advantage of one of those times to let you know that I will be back as soon as I get a working keyboard.

Peace,
Tim

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Strike Hard, Young Diamond on iTunes!

If you missed it, go back and check out my earlier post on Wildlife and their debut album, Strike Hard, Young Diamond. If you did see the earlier post, here is your reminder as promised.

If you live in Canada, download the album on iTunes right now (seriously, do it). If you live outside of Canada, download the album from their Bandcamp page.


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The "I'm Feeling Autumnal" Folk Mini-Mixtape

So I know I said I was gonna post about the new Talib Kweli stuff, but its cloudy outside and I'm feeling rather autumnal, so I thought I would share some of my favorite folk tracks of the moment.

Update: After several listens, I've decided that this is my ultimate peace of mind mix as well. So kick back, hit play, and relax. Also, here is a zip file of all the songs if you're into that sort of thing:

"I'm Feeling Autumnal" Folk Mini-Mixtape (.zip file)

My Own Sinking Ship - Good Old War: These guys are masters of upbeat melancholy. There music tells you that maybe things aren't going so well, but hey, thats the way it is, keep your head up. They also know how to kill with the vocal harmonies.

The Dreamer - The Tallest Man On Earth: The line "sometimes the blues is just a passing bird/why can't that always be" sticks out in my head as one of the most poignant and poetic that I've heard in quite a while, and that stripped down guitar tone makes me feel like I'm sitting in someones living room with Kristian Matsson only 5 feet away. It's so earthy and exposed, you can't help but connect with the emotions he's singing about.

Unknown Legend - Ox: I love me some desert folk (a la Calexico), and Ox really knows how to do it. Many folk songs convey a sense of very insular loneliness, a feeling of being stuck in a small space, bundled up against the cold both in body and mind. This song instead channels the bittersweet loneliness of wide open spaces, of being the only person for miles and miles and miles.

The Jump Start - Nat Lefkoff: I've said it before and I'll say it again, Nat is one of the best singer-songwriters around today, and he's only 16. He has that rare ability to write songs that really makes you feel, not to mention the guitar chops and outstanding voice needed to really get the most out of those songs. It's hard to listen to this song and think that he has anything other than a very bright musical career ahead.

November Blue - Scott Avett: I don't know if any song has ever captured the essence of fall like this one does. Everything about this song tells you that summer is over, the trees are shedding their leaves, and the snow is soon to arrive.

In the Summertime (Live Backstage) - The Rural Alberta Advantage: This is one of the most amazingly heartbreaking songs I've ever heard, gets me every time. I can just imagine the singer staring out his window over a cold, snowy expanse and fondly remembering the warm summer months passed.


Thanks to I Am Fuel, You Are Friends for the inspiration and two of the tracks.


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Let Freedom Reign feat. Talib Kweli and Black Thought

Chrisette Michele is a soul singer who just dropped her 3rd album, Let Freedom Reign. At first listen, I thought the album was definitely too lite R&B/Soul for me, but I'm starting to reconsider that. Currently I'd say I'm very much on the fence about it. One thing I'm definitely not on the fence about is the title track, which has an awesome hook and features killer verses from Talib Kweli and Black Thought (pretty much as star studded as you can get in terms of guest appearances in my opinion).

Let Freedom Reign (ft. Talib Kweli and Black Thought) - Chrisette Michele

Check out the whole album Amazon MP3 or iTunes, and let me know what you think.

And check back tomorrow (or maybe Friday) for another two awesome new tracks from Talib Kweli!



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Everliven Sound Review on Silence Nogood

I've done a review of the album Freedom II by Everliven Sound. It is by far my favorite hip-hop album of the year, so don't miss it!

Check it out

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Unknown Mortal Orchestra

There is virtually no information to be found about Unknown Mortal Orchestra, but he/them/it is cranking out some very fine tunes, all over the map genre-wise. This particular song is a lo-fi psych rock gem.
Thought Balune - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Also very much worth checking out is his Screwed Tape #1, a psychedelic 20 minute mixtape brought to my attention by the lovely Catbirdseat.
Screwed Tape #1 - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Pre-order the limited edition Unknown Mortal Orchestra EP or just listen to the other tracks on his Bandcamp.



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Wildlife: Strike Hard, Young Diamond

Did you ever wish that Wolf Parade was just a bit poppier? Do you dig some indie-poppers that aren't afraid to rock? Then I have got a band for you.

Stand in the Water - Wildlife

Their debut album, Strike Hard, Young Diamond is quickly becoming one of my favorite albums of the year, so check it out! Download two more free songs on their Bandcamp page, and pick up the whole album when it hits iTunes on December 7th (I'll be sure to post a reminder). Or, if you would prefer a physical copy, those are available now via Paypall.

They currently only have one show (in their hometown Toronto) posted, but their music sounds like it would be absolutely phenomenal live, so if they come to your town, don't miss it!

Here's their Myspace if you would prefer to check them out that way.

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Matthew and the Atlas

From the same London scene as Mumford & Sons, Matthew and the Atlas have a much more organic sound than their more well known brethren. Good full instrumentation and a couple of gorgeous voices. Definitely worth your listen.
I Will Remain - Matthew and the Atlas

Buy both their EPs on Amazon MP3 or iTunes, or stream both of them on their Myspace.

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Fitz and the Tantrums

Mayer Hawthorne fans, theres a new retro-soul band on the block, and they kick ass too. Also, they make sick videos.

Check out Pickin' Up the Pieces, truly a rock solid soul album without a single bad track.
Buy on Amazon MP3 or iTunes, or stream it first.
Myspace

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Cymarshall Law's Freedom Express Line

New favorite MC Cymarshall Law raps over reggae samples from his Jamaican dad's vinyl collection. It's definitely one of the two best hip-hop albums of the year (he released the other one too, look for that in a day or two).



Buy on Amazon MP3 or iTunes, or stream it first if you would like.
Myspace

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The Funk League

Hip-hop production team from Paris, use lots of sick jazz samples. They're awesome.

You're Gonna Learn (feat. Andy C) - The Funk League

Myspace

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Changing format, yet again

I know I suck at this, but such is life. There's way more music that I want to recommend than I have time to really research and write about, so I'm gonna try just posting videos or mp3s and a sentence or two about them. It's easy to do, so I will pretty much recommend music as often as I find it. As mentioned below, I'm writing full length posts for Silence Nogood (look for the posts by "McIntyre"), and I'll continue to link to the posts as they go up.

It's less in depth this way, but I'm still getting the music to you, which is the most important part.

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Review of Scottish Hip-hop crew The Being on Silence Nogood

I've got another post up on Silence Nogood, this time about The Being, a hip-hop group out of Glasgow.

Read it here and poke around the rest of the site while you're at it, there's some damn good stuff on there.

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Review of "Mos Dub" on Silence Nogood

I've started writing for the blog Silence Nogood, so look there for my writing in the future.
Mos Dub review

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On Vacation

Sorry everybody, I've been a terrible blogger.
I neglected to post regarding the fact that I am on vacation until August 7th, and have barely any access to internet! So yeah, thats why there's been no posts. Blog'll be fully operational again the 2nd week of August. See you then.

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