Various Artists

                We’re up to the second installment of the Various Artists series. Glad I had another installment. Now it is official. Probably this will come out every two months. There is so much music I want to share with you. Sometimes there aren’t enough blog posts in the world to show my enthusiasm for life. Thus I proudly present Various Artists, various harder. 

                Let Winter Warmer warm up your winter. From the Sunchoke Label (lovely home of Vacation) they’ve compiled some wonderful ditties. Most of these are rather gritty rock songs. ‘Slow Loris’ reminds of good old fashioned college rock. Some of these go beyond that even. ‘HOUNDSds’ builds up a dreamy sound reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins. You may not know this but I’m a total sucker for the Cocteau Twins so it happens to be one of the highlights of the comp for me. Finally there are a few favorite bands of mine, like Vacation, Von Holt and Brown Bread. And a wonderful introduction to new groups like Bedroom, a quiet band from Brazil. 

                Cascine does so much. Sometimes they release full albums and EPs. They are interested in the lost art of the remix. Once I remember reading a tweet that stated ‘remixes are the bubble gum wrappers of the music world’. I disagree. When I hear a good remix, it introduces me to two new artists simultaneously. It just rocks. That is currently the case with the ‘Ice Wharf’. Southern Shores remixes it first. I haven’t covered them as extensively as I’d like, but I remember listening to their EP from last year and enjoying it. I like their low-key vibe. For the second remix I’m visited by an old friend: Selebrities. Selebrities was one of my favorites from 2011, and hearing their pop confection is a nice reminder of their mid-80s sound.

                Going back to some of my favorites, I discovered a new happy gem by Heart-Sick Groans. I’ve covered them before. I enjoy what they do. Their music has a sunny quality to it. Right now I’m not getting enough sun. So what can I do? Well I could do one of those ‘lamp-therapy’ things but I don’t have money for heating, forget lighting. Thankfully this group of kind Swedes put this out, after a few years of working on it. You can get it for free right here. I recommend the free quality, and the quality of the happiness.

                ‘Sewer Greats, Vol IV’ has quite a cover. I think Sewer Greats celebrates slime bukkake or something. Naked women covered in slime remind me of a pornographic version of Nickelodeon. Guess the whole nostalgia/chillwave movement expands into pornography. Apparently each artist covers a song they really like in a totally faithful/unfaithful way, depending on the artist’s interest. I only recognize Spooky Cheddar (who I’ve covered before) and Kasparian (who I’ve encountered on others comps). I like the Coyote Clean Up song a lot. It sounds like aural sex. Blue Stork’s endless feedback also appeals to me in a similar physical sense. Check it out. 

                Finally, since I hadn’t offered any actual music videos, let bring two to your attention. I know I deal mostly with music, but it takes visuals to really make me understand what is going on. That is definitely the case with Young Magic’s video. Watching the video makes me a little more confused probably but in a good way. The song itself is fairly spaced out. I like the warm vocals that remain a little indecipherable to me. 

                White Ninja returns! I’m excited as fuck to tell you. They are going to be at SXSW which is excellent. For the video it is more than an average music video. We meet an old, tortured artist. We can tell he’s tortured. I mean look at that freaking cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He looks pretty good. He’s one of those attractive gray foxes I hear so much about. Maybe when I’m an old tortured artist I look that good. One can hope. I hope the SXSW thing blows them up (in a good, non-dynamite Wiley Coyote sort of way). 

                Prepare yourself for excellence. The next few months may see more of these posts. As we’re just recovering from the 2011 party the frequency may increase. Only time can tell.