What doesn't last will get remembered
What doesn't last is good to miss
What doesn't last is stuck in your throat
What doesn't last gets swallowed whole
I've been digging the new tracks coming out from Pennsylvania band The Districts. This time around they feel a bit more indie and less alt-country and it's a good look for them. I like all the new tracks, but the latest "Violet" is my current favorite.
RIYL: Heartless Bastards, Wilco, Delta Spirit, Dr. Dog, Pinegrove
We've got to run
If you're holding on the seams will come undone
And you'll only get part of me
We don't want to catch a break while we're playing it safe
You'll only get part of me
File this new cut from Good Old War under "mellow" and then hit play. Good Old War has had a few songs cross my radar over the last couple years, and I recently heard of them again as they were the backing effort to Anthony Green's (of Circa Survive) tour, which seemed a bit odd at first, but after some listening, ok a lot of listening, began to make sense. "Part of Me" is a pretty song and perfect for a chill Sunday morning.
RIYL: Pinegrove, City and Colour, Manchester Orchestra, Blind Pilot, Horse Feathers
Thank you!
(And thank you again!)
You're brutal, you're honest
You're my very best-friend
It's not like you asked me if our night had to end at one of my brother's parties
Oh, what can I do?
When the face is a mirror of flattering youth
And all of the work that you say that you'll do
You've barely even started
Can't you...
Just tell, tell me I'm so damn perfect
Tell me it all of the time, oh
Tell me I'm so damn perfect
Tell me it all of the time
The new Passion Pit album, Tremendous Sea of Love, dropped last week! I don't know for sure but I think the "Tremendous" is tongue-in-cheek. I know that I can't hear that word anymore without rolling my eyes (thanks Drumpf) and I bet it's the same for a sensitive artist like Michael Angelakos. This track is quite sarcastic as well, not a new thing for PP - always with the peppy synth major chords and high falsetto, telling us dark tales of personal history. This album isn't a major departure sonically, but as a project it was created and presented atypically for the industry (some songs created, recorded, and uploaded the same day), and released for free via Twitter & Reddit with a message including: “I wrote this album to tell myself and to tell you that you were always good enough.” But no, tell me I'm perfect!!
RIYL: Phoenix, Neon Indian, MGMT, Matt and Kim, M83
Just a box of bones
Lowered and marked with a stone
In the north at the mountains' feet
In the north to find some peace
Sing and dance like we were young
Scream all the joy in your lungs oh
Half with a heavy heart
But not with shocked feetOh passion, and oh passion
The first time I saw Bastille live, when they were not so well known (small venue, not sold out), TKAK opened for them, and it blew me away. (It was obvious from that show, without being told, that Dan and Ralph - the respective lead singers - were close mates. Despite very different sounds to their music, they joined each other on several numbers.) Anyhow, I have a signed CD of Cannibals with Cutlery somewhere (I'm not sure where I've tossed since I only listen to music digitally or on vinyl these days) and I still hold the memory of that show dear; the moving songs even more so. Quick check of their Spotify top singles does not include this track, which is a freaking tragedy. Well, the song itself is often confused as being a tragedy but it's really a celebration of life. And it makes my heart swell along with the music and chanting at the end. So fitting of their Shakespearean name.
RIYL: The National, The Maccabees, Frightened Rabbit, Foals
I saw a tree house on the outskirts of the farm.
The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged.
Bells are ringing through the town again,
Children look up, all they hear is sky-blue, bells ringing
I think "Driver 8" might be my favorite R.E.M. song. I am a big fan of their earlier work, especially the moodier, Southern Gothic stuff you hear less and less of as they went on. 1985's Fables of The Reconstruction being a highlight in a pile of greatness for me. I recently took a long, deep dive into their back catalog and, damn, I've got a lot of good memories associated with their music. It brought me right back to my teenage years in Seattle, KJET (1982-1988) on the radio and my burgeoning record collection.
RIYL: The Replacements, James, Crowded House, Pinegrove
