Real Estate - Water Underground

Super late to this one, but heard it while driving up those winding NC roads and loved it immediately.

Julia Holter - Evening Mood

I think I'm tired of winter, but I'm not ready for summer... I'm ready for spring. I'm ready for things to begin, to grow, to open up and reach for the sun.

That's what this feels and sounds like to me, the sweet simmering before a new dawn.

Bat For Lashes - The Dream of Delphi

Been a fan since 'Horse and I' and have never looked back. Always ethereal and elemental, ancient and wild. Excellent.

PJ Harvey - Seem an I

How is it possible for an artist to constantly deliver such exquisite creations? She never wavers, never falters, just sinks into moods and places and history and emotions and then spins it all out into something gorgeous, something powerful and pulsing. Good lord, it's so GOOD.

Plus, hey there Ruth Wilson! Another fabulous creator.

St. Vincent - Broken Man

There's no one better suited to pull me back into music blogging than St. Vincent.

In all honesty, I wasn't a huge fan of her last album. I tried, I really did, because I tend to love all her musical madness. But it just didn't click for me. This, though... this is what I want/need/crave.

And that guitar, industrial and tough, that kicks in at 1:20 - ooh la la, that's NICE. Tastes a little like NIN to me and I'm here for it.

Not sure why I'm keeping this blog going, as I rarely have time to listen to music much less post about it (thanks time-consuming radio job). However... I don't think I could ever walk away from this blog either. So! It is what it is!

Still, I made a mix of what I've been listening to over the past few months and thought 'why not share it?'

King Princess: Tiny Desk Concert

‘Your Beautiful Self’ by Land of Talk

Following 2021′s isolation-inspired Calming Night Partner, Liz Powell returns this October with her next LP, Performances, a title that addresses not just her duties as a songwriter, but the act of performance writ large: how we present ourselves to the world and the burdens of expectation, exposure and failure that comes with it.

“I needed to make a love letter to my teenage self by being more vulnerable and doing all the production myself,” she writes. “I’m performing what’s in my brain but I’m tired of performing femininity for the music industry, femininity in my life, respectability, and vulnerability. I’m trying to grow out of these and break out of these roles in my life.”

The video is bookended with images of Liz looking away, as if disinterested in the gaze looking back at her. Performance is, ultimately, an act of giving. When that invariably drains you of your life force, who can we count on to give back? With her confessional and soul-searching music, Liz Powell creates a mirror that reflects humanity’s beauty back to us — if only we could just see it.

‘Self Control’ by Laura Branigan

Directed by, yup, William Friedkin. Even outside the realm of moviemaking he was controversial. Released in 1984, Branigan’s music video for her global hit was in fact censored by her record company, who saw fit to remove scenes depicting a choreographed dance-orgy. What remains is still sensual, seductive and very, very ‘80s. (Note the female ballet dancer gently caressing Laura’s bare shoulder, which is like the pre-Madonna, 1984 version of ‘risqué’.)

Here’s to Friedkin, who was always pushing his own artistic boundaries of self control.

The Vampires - Na Pali

Off of Nightjar.

Ooh yes, jazz of a different color. Improvisational but not without nods to other times, others creators. Still its own thing, though. Diggin’ it.

FAUNAS - Sally's High Priestess 

Off of Paint The Birds.

Got that shoegazey vibe, stirred together with some ethereal folk energy. Mystical potion that I’m happily drinking down.

Amaria - Only

Off of All For You.

So damn smooth. Put this on and fall in love.

Johanna Samuels - Song For Molly Parden (Happy Birthday Darling) 

Off of Bystander.

Happy Bandcamp Monday, kids! I peeked in on this album, just a glance, and next thing I know, I was staring deep into the depths of it and found myself looking back.

Gorgeous indie-folk vibes all the way around.

matt stranger - Why Won't You Talk To Me

Off of Perfect Blue.

This is sending me back, back, back to my early days on this very site. Roaming around a million music blogs, discovering lo-fi dreaminess and dissolving into vaporwave oceans, drifting away long past p.m. hours. 

Next thing you know, it’s 10+ years later. What a trip, man. And so let’s cascade along another river... until next Monday...

Stay safe out there, kids.

David Sasso - Tzadik Katamar

Off of Sasson v’Simcha.

Didn’t know I needed this combination of musical styles, but I did and maybe you do, too. There are no barriers, unless we make them, so tear those lines down.

Keeley - Seeing Everything

Off of Floating Above Everything Else.

Sinking my teeth into this dreampop/shoegaze goodness from Ireland and never letting go. I hope it never lets me go, too.

Women of Soul feat Candice Monique - I Am Enough

Off of Feel Good.

A deft and soulful collection of songs from fabulous Australian artists, uplifting and moving. This track in particular hits all the grooves in my heart.