I haven’t had much time of late to write. The house project of repainting walls, painting trim, pulling up carpets, and laying down bamboo has absolutely dominated my time. That and working on my BMW, which in the past few weeks has received a full tune-up (with exception of replacing points and cleaning the carb). (more…)

Man, what a wild week. And I’m not talking about the wild you indie folk are used to, likely boozing it up and partying every night. I’m talking about the working life, the stress of the job, the busy days and exhaustion-laden nights. Going to bed at 9:30; I feel old. (more…)

Stuarto Glasser, host of the All Around the World Music Show, called me up a little after 5pm Friday and asked if I could fill in for him. Thinking it would be a great way to attract a few more listeners I agreed. I headed home and put together a playlist of some of my favorite indie artists from around the world. (more…)

I didn’t begin this show well. Stuarto had a pre-recorded spot and, given it was only my fourth show, I didn’t realize the little button up top where it said “iPod” needed to be on. This led to a little stumbling in the beginning on my part; I mumbled a few words then played several promos. After I realized the error of my ways (kudos to Stuarto), the show went off without a hitch. And it was a good one.

Lots of great tunes, many from Sweden, most with an electronic vibe. I launched into everything with a few songs that I dubbed as “haunting.” Here we go.

“Silent Shout” by The Knife off Silent Shout
“Concrete Walls” by Fever Ray off Fever Ray

“The Dwarf and the Horse” by Sleep Party People off Regnsky
“Fail Forever (Nicolas Jaar Remix)” by When Saints Go Machine of Fail Forever
“Running Out Of You” by Keep Shelly in Athens off In Love With Dusk EP

“Cannons” by Youth Lagoon off The Year of Hibernation
“Black Hills” by Gardens & Villa off Gardens & Villa
“Arena” by Suuns off Zeroes QC
“Moon Child” by M83 off Before The Dawn Heals Us

“Unessa” by Regina off Soita Mulle
“Bad Street” by Twin Sister off In Heaven
“You And I” by Washed Out off Within And Without

“Round The Moon” by Summer Camp off Young
“Show Me Your Plans (Le Sport Remix)” by Unarmed Enemies off Show Me Your Plans
“Forget Me Not” by Thieves Like Us off Immersed In Waves

“Castles In The Snow” by Twin Shadows off Forget
“It’s Not The End Of The World” by Le Sport off It’s Not The End Of The World
“Come Rain, Come Sunshine” by Pallers off Come Rain, Come Sunshine

“Give You Everything” by Blackbird Blackbird off Give You Everything (7-inch)
“Mouth Cancer” by Daycare
“Heart” by The Legends off Facts And Figures
“In The Water” by Beat Connection off Surf Noir

Released from the constraints of recording in apartments outside day jobs and the overall complications that stem from them, Twin Sister is poised to release their debut LP, In Heaven. “Bad Street” is the first single from the album and it finds the band expanding their creative capabilities wholeheartedly. (more…)

Of late, I’ve been listening to a lot of pseudo-electronic music. Stuff that borders on chillwave, throwbacks to new wave but with an electronic twist, a lot of it European-influenced, most of it with a nerdy edge to it that’s walks the threshold between awkwardness and the invariably cool. Stuff that can, in a way, be adequately described as psychedelic ambiance. This is the first of a few podcasts to fit this mold so you can think of it as part one, as that’s precisely what it is — the playlist grew and grew until I simply had to divide it in two for my own sanity’s sake. (more…)

Twin Sister pushes out one atmospheric pop song after another on Color Your Life, the band’s second EP. Opening tune “The Other Side Of Your Face” begins smooth and soft, but gradually grows into a minimalistic, calming fuzz drone by the end of the song. One part post-rock jam and one part electro-shoe-gaze drone, Twin Sister’s music flirts awkwardly between the hip, nerdy teen girl and the socially inept dweeb she once was. The insecurity is all for show. “All Around And Away We Go” adds in a beat that screams cool, while “Phenomenons” concludes the EP with an electro-drone. The experience is quite like having a pre-drunk buzz for the first time in months. It feels so good, you just want to sit in the corner and smile. (more…)