The Light of Smiles by Gary Wright

[THE CRATE] Light of Smiles by Gary Wright Yet another dollar-bin classic: Light of Smiles is peak late-career Gary Wright, delivering on hooky pop tunes while centering his songwriting around ​​Paramahansa Yogananda.

Warner Bros Records, 1977 A1. Water SignA2. Time MachineA3. I Am the SkyA4. Who Am IA5. Silent FuryA6. Phantom WriterB1. The Light of SmilesB2. I’m AlrightB3. Empty InsideB4. Are You Weepin’B5. Child of Light Yet another dollar-bin classic, certified by Amoeba: Light of Smiles is peak late-career Gary Wright, delivering on hooky pop masterpieces while centering his songwriting around…

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Eleven Years Since Their Debut, Team Me is Still Something in the Making

[Album Review] Eleven Years Since Their Debut, Team Me is Still Something in the Making

Sometimes I lose hope in the nostalgia I have for bands of my youth. I’ve left my 20s, and school feels so long ago—especially, somehow, college. Life is so different, in ways that I should have predicted but would never have been able to see at the time. Could I have known that this twee Norwegian band would still light up my soul eleven years later?  No band contains as much childlike wonder…

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Melodic and Ambient, Gathering the Light Reflects Life

Melodic and Ambient, Gathering the Light Reflects Life

Nature is a strong influence. All around us, regardless of the specific environment, we are experiencing our surroundings; life creates its own music in genres that the industry would call ambient, or naturalist. Field recordings, also occasionally affectionately called “found sounds,” offer a sense of hyper-reality that, paired with the music itself, paints a vivid story of the listener’s…

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Fate for Breakfast by Art Garfunkel

"new" from The Crate, the SnG's vinyl diary: Fate for Breakfast by Art Garfunkel

Columbia Records, 1979 A1. In a Little While (I’ll Be on my Way)A2. Since I Don’t Have YouA3. And I KnowA4. Sail on a RainbowA5. Miss You NightsB1. Finally Found a ReasonB2. Beyond the TearsB3. Oh How HappyB4. When Someone Doesn’t Want YouB5. Take Me Away Gotta say, this was a fun find in Amoeba’s dollar bin many years ago. It is marked for Demonstration: Not For Sale in a peeling gold imprint…

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Quintessential & Eddou XL – "Playing Friends"

Quintessential & Eddou XL – “Playing Friends”

The groovy and silly red record, My Cheese Budget Is Growing, which is the debut for Quintessential, is excellent for many lyrical (and frankly theatrical) achievements as well as for the smooth beats provided by Eddou XL. “Playing Friends,” especially in context, goes unbelievably hard—and I can’t help but fixate on the openness of the final line of the chorus and song: “I made a fence/but I’m a…

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Brijean – "Angelo"

Brijean – “Angelo”

Ho, Angelo; my dear, Angelo—is it within your power to take me away to a realm unfathomable for an experience that I cannot, at this moment, even imagine? Brijean | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp

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Team Me – "Green Crystal Rain on a Star"

Team Me – “Green Crystal Rain on a Star”

This Norwegian group has been a favorite of mine for over a decade, and they are the epitome of youthful bliss. Their music always takes me all the way back, way before I started listening to their music, back to when I was just a kid fumbling around in a world I had yet to understand (not that I’ve figured it out since then). Team Me’s recent video series hits the bullseye of my nostalgia. An…

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SOHN – "Life Behind Glass"

SOHN – “Life Behind Glass”

The new SOHN record is as smooth as unblemished glass. And “Life Behind” it embraces sensuality with such casual confidence. SOHN | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud

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Lasse Marhaug – "Context 3"

Lasse Marhaug – “Context 3”

Unsettling static clusters. Lasse Marhaug | website | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp

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HANDSOME and St. South – "Blame (St. South remix)"

HANDSOME and St. South – “Blame (St. South remix)”

HANDSOME is a martyr. The original “Blame” single was ripe for a remix, with all its distinct electronic elements and enveloping vocals. What was it missing, you may be asking? Chops and drops. Though they’re not exactly drops, just exciting build-up to a wonderful jaunt in the park. Regardless, thanks, St. South! I’ll be adding to my party playlist which I listen to as I do yoga. HANDSOME |…

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Lomond Campbell – "The Mountain and the Pendulum"

Lomond Campbell – “The Mountain and the Pendulum”

Legendary looper Lomond Campbell borrows some magnificent symbols for “The Mountain and the Pendulum.” It does make me consider the sheer insignificance of our planet, typically realized at the summit of a peak. It also feels as though it moves with the earth, in a complementary rhythm—though that could just be the dramatic bassline. Lomond Campbell | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp

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Meth Math – "Tambaleo"

Meth Math – “Tambaleo”

Reverse falsetto joyride. Meth Math | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud

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NNAMDï – "Anti"

NNAMDï – “Anti”

This video is so silly that it almost feels like it’s trying to hide the vulnerability of the song. I could wax poetic about an allegory that I glean…from the circumstances NNAMDï finds himself in, where his life of humiliation is all meant to attain the same as a white man, but the world is stacked against him. No one else sees the monster that he follows from the backyard, but Ogbonnaya…

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Duo Jacklen Ro Leave Idyllwild Behind on New Single “Hollywood (I’m Good)”

Originally appeared on Grimy Goods. 

The duo of Caelen Perkins and Jacqueline Giroux will bring sunshine to the dreariest overcast sky. Performing as Jacklen Ro, the SoCal pair are gearing up to release a new EP, til there was you. In the meantime, they have put out a single called “Hollywood (I’m Good)” to whet the appetite; it’s a confident, jangly mantra that makes it easy to move on.

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Jacklen Ro | Facebook | Instagram

lolipoprecords · JACKLEN RO - "Hollywood (I'm Good)"

FYÜTCH Fills in the Gaps of American History With Recent Single “Black Women in History”

Originally appeared on Grimy Goods. 

If FYÜTCH circulated a petition to change the name of that annual celebration to “Black Herstory Month,” I’d sign it. The educational songwriter and artist has based his career on uplifting Black stories through hip hop and spoken word poetry. His intent is to fill in the gaps left by the American school system, which has never told the full story of liberation—and has even gone so far as to spread lies. “Black Women in History,” the latest single from FYÜTCH, specifically highlights Black women, both contemporary and of generation’s past, whose achievements have re-shaped our nation.

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FYÜTCH | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud

Rissi Palmer | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

SNOOKNUK | Instagram | YouTube 

FYÜTCH · Black Women In History (w/ Rissi Palmer & Snooknuk)

Deciphering the “Hieroglyphs” by TRZTN Featuring Karen O, Pulled From Royal Dagger Ballet LP Out Now

Originally appeared on Grimy Goods. 

The writing’s on the wall—now all we have to do is decipher it. Musician and composer Tristan Bechet, known professionally as TRZTN, has released a new single, “Hieroglyphs” featuring Karen O. Along with several other evocative tracks pulled from the collaborative album, “Hieroglyphs” builds on the lore of Royal Dagger Ballet. They all move with choreographed precision in an industrial sanctuary where TRZTN is most comfortable. 

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TRZTN | website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud

Karen O | website | Twitter | Instagram

Surreal Video Accompanies O Future’s Affectionate Single, “And You’re Mine” Off Forthcoming Immaculate EP

Originally appeared on Grimy Goods. 

Don’t confuse the vibes on the newest O Future track for evil; on the contrary, it’s overwhelmed by love. The LA-based duo, comprised of Katherine Mills Rymer originally from South Africa and Jens Bjornkjaer of Denmark, is known for producing music with a deep undertow, pulling listeners to the depths like a siren. Their latest single is accompanied by a Lynchian music video and will appear on their forthcoming Immaculate EP. 

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O Future | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud

O FUTURE · AND YOU'RE MINE