Please note that the zip file has a password: Q106
Download mix from: http://www.mediafire.com/download/7cpli6i4oys8lfz/Q106.zip
Q’s Compilations
Volume #106 February
– March 2016
A
slow start to the year is starting to pick up a little bit now, spring is here
officially! This mix is a combination of songs I couldn’t fit onto the “best of
2015” mix, new songs and older material that I wanted to use for some reason or
another. A bit of a mish mash as usual, hopefully there is something for you to
enjoy.
01)
Dimnas III - I Won't Love You Again: Kicking things off with a soul number,
courtesy of Numero’s Royal Jesters
release. I love the grit in the vocals but have to confess to knowing nothing
about the group. Just enjoy it!
02)
Boogarins - 6000 Dias: Brazilian band Boogarins followed up 2013’s As Plantas Que Curam last year with the
rather excellent Manual on Other
Music. They seem more focused and confident with their songwriting and is one
of my favourite albums of the year so far. Having not seen them since 2014 I’m
hoping to catch their show at Baby’s All Right on the 14th of April.
03)
Pete Astor - Really Something: Pete Astor formed The Loft in 1983 and was one
of the earliest signings on Creation Records, fast forward many years and
Astor’s sporadic discography is a treasure. This particular album, Spilt Milk, was record by James Hoare of
Veronica Falls, The Proper Ornaments and Ultimate Painting (all 3 of which have
featured on these compilations).
04)
Nada Surf - Believe You're Mine: I really can’t say anything new about Nada
Surf, they might just be the most important band to me. 4 years after the
release of The Stars are Indifferent to
Astronomy, the band have just released their 8th album, You Know Who You Are. Lyrically it
certainly seems like Matthew has gone through a bit of a hard time in the last
few years, with many lyrics in particular hitting close to home, I think he’s
one of the best songwriters of all time and should get more credit. The album
is filled with all their signature power pop, they just do what they do better
than anyone else.
05)
Crow Bait – 83: Long Island Trio Crow Bait produce the kind of unadulterated
songwriters indie-rock the likes of Buffalo Tom were knocking out in the 90s. Signed
to Don Giovanni records, they have one album to date, 2014’s Sliding Through The Halls Of Fate.
06)
Robyn Hitchcock - I'm Only You: Deserving of “National Treasure” status, I
hadn’t seen Robyn Hitchcock since 2010 in Oxford, and due to the genrousity of
a friend, managed to put that right last November when he played at City
Winery. He played this song (from 1985’s Fegmania!
Album) and while I could have chosen from a few dozen tracks, I was
reminded just how much I liked it. “Said
I'm a pattern on a china bowl, I'm a memory engraved upon your soul, I'm a
prison cell without a door, I'm a finger drawing, On a frosty window pane”
07)
Advaeta - Church Cult: I saw Brooklyn-trio Advaeta just over a year ago
supporting Moon Duo and while I was deeply impressed with their set, I just
didn’t get round to seeing them again and they flew off my radar for a little
bit. Thankfully that changed when I saw their record for sale at Other Music, and
it’s as varied and intricate as I remember.
08)
Big Ups - National Parks: Second albums are notoriously difficult, but Big Ups
have gone up at least a couple of levels with the release of Before a Million Universes, which sees
them slow things down a little from their hardcore origins and adopt a more
Slint-like approach.
09)
PINKWASH - Longer Now: Philadelphia duo PINKWASH released the incredible Your Cure Your Soul EP in 2014 and are
set to unleash their debut full length in May called Collective Sigh. This is the first song to be released from it and
doesn’t stray from the sound of their debut EP, all the better for it.
10)
Jesu & Sun Kil Moon - Good Morning My Love: Just when you think Kozelek
simply can’t possibly write any more lyrics, he takes his
stream-of-consciousness style to yet another level on a collaborative album with
Jesu. Musically the record is pretty diverse, with crunching slowcore electric
guitars on some songs and electronic drums and keyboards on others.
11)
Vaadat Charigim - Imperia Achrona: Israeli band Vaadat Charigim, whose name
roughly translates as committee of the abnormal,
released their second album, Sinking As A
Stone, on Burger Records last year. They sing in Hebrew but to see these it
gives the songs an otherworldly quality that befits the genre. I caught the
band on their first tour of the US in 2014 but missed their last New York show
(though I did see them in Austin last year), I’ll be putting that right when
they play at Palisades on the 30th of March.
12)
Hilly Eye - Jersey City: Brooklyn two-piece Hilly Eye consist of
guitarist/vocalist Amy Klein and drummer/vocalist Catherine Tung, they formed
in 2009 and have one album to date, 2013’s Reasons
to Live. I hadn’t heard of the band before but received it in a random
assortment of vinyl I purchased from Don Giovanni’s moving sale and was won
over instantly with their slowcore quiet/loud anthems.
13)
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Melt Your Heart: Rabbit Fur Coat is 10 years old this year and Jenny Lewis played a
few special shows in celebration of the landmark. I caught one of the shows at
the Beacon Theatre and despite being almost the farthest from the stage that
you can get there, she made the setting still seem intimate. “Are we killing time? Are we killing each
other?”
14)
La Sera - Take My Heart: Katy Goodman’s once side-project La Sera is now very
much a full time gig, and a duo at that, with now husband Todd Wisenbaker an
official member. Music for Listening to
Music to just came out via Polyvinyl Records and was produced by Ryan
Adams. The album is a perfect continuation of the discography, with some
country influences coming to the fore, but it’s the confidence in Goodman’s
voice that is the star of the show. “Pick
up the pieces, they've flown away, Lift them up gently in your arms and say, Do
you believe in me? Do you believe in me?“
15)
Sheer Agony – Debonaires: I featured I
Have a Dream on the last mix but mostly due to time constraints as it is a
short but sweet song. If I had more time I’d have used this track, which is
probably my favourite on Masterpiece,
there is a real Television-esque guitar wigout that more people deserve to
hear!
16)
Dead Tenants - Dead Tenants: The rare trinity of band/album/song name come to
the fore with this offering as Queens-based trio. There’s more than a little
hint of Fugazi on this track, and I caught the end of the band’s set a couple
of months ago after going bowling, and those are two things I’d like to repeat!
17)
Protomartyr - Why Does It Shake?: Protomartyr might just be everyone’s
favourite post-punk band these days, and The
Agent Intellect deservedly made many end-of-year-lists and having seen them
a few times live now, they might just be hitting the top of their game in all aspects.
Some aren’t taken with Joe Casey’s sometimes mumbling delivery but it works for
me.
18)
Slint - Good Morning, Captain: After using a Big Ups song earlier, I couldn’t
help but put something from Slint’s influential 1991 release, Spiderland. That might not have been a
great idea though because it just made me sad that I didn’t get to see their
last set of reunion shows in 2014.
I’m
feeling a little burned out already but have a few days holiday in DC to look
forward to, no particular reason, I just wanted to see somewhere new. Hopefully
you’ve all heard something new on
this mix.
Until
next time
Peace
and love - Q
Please note that the zip file has a password: Q106
Download mix from: http://www.mediafire.com/download/7cpli6i4oys8lfz/Q106.zip
