octover rain

Their sound reminds me of “Wild Beasts goes to Bali”.

On “Roadtrip”, Robinson again mystifies his listeners with an otherworldly beat structure that requires intense concentration to navigate the twists and turns of the rhythmic flow.

I listened to this yesterday as I made my first summer beach trip. Walking along the sand, as the waves periodically crashed up over my feet, and then back down. Grand Lux is a perfect soundtrack to that scene.

This Portland group has swept off the technicolor dance floor to strut their stuff. Calling to the dance floor Crazy-legs Magoo, Lanky Leroy, Bobbin’ Bob and Richard Shifty to grease up their hip joints to relive their glory days.

Inventive melodies are tough to do because it’s like walking the knife edge of cheesy sheesh and awkward - fall just a little to one side and yr cooked. This one from Brooklyn, however, skates that razor all the way to the end of the rail. Quirky, odd, but perfectly executed.

As a little peak of what to expect from next week’s release, listen and download the newly recorded and mastered version of “Silver Shore’s Lake” below.

Into the picture postcards we disappear. “This is What I Meant” when I said getaway.

Even those of us with amateur swag can do work to this one, so vogue it up and get down with the get down to MΔDRID’s “Ima Work.”

…I was immediately captured by his poignant beats and rumbling bass. Semi-shrill vocal samples are scattered over breathing bass-lines as Anthony confidently plays with both speed and space.

…a sultry house number featuring the alluring vocals from fellow Brit Sinead Harnett and synthesizes milky and progressive elements!

swimming swimming stroke
breathing breathing just don’t choke
i lose this, i’m dead

These 3 dudes are taking the old city sound of San Francisco, from where they hail and adding about 3 sticks of butter and a gallon of cream to make it oh so thick.

Before, under a shroud of reverb, the chorus felt one impatient glance away from calling it quits on life: All I ask is are you ready to go? What are you waiting for?

Like Michael Jackson meeting Frank Sinatra, you’re unsure if it should happen but when it does it’s a beautiful thing.

Still sounds kind of like the soundtrack to kids jumping on the bed playing tennis rackets like guitars, just with more grown-up sentiment (“you were right / i was wrong / i didn’t mean to turn your pain into a song.”)

Here’s a new one, just as whitelightning as the last.

The drums are notably raw and I like it.

It’s getting closer to being summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, but there’s still bound to be some not-so-sunny days somewhere on Earth. When those happen, City Lights will be there to hear you out— regardless of whether you’re driving through the night to get to Vegas, suddenly to find yourself detoured by the most amazing sparkling desert ever.

Songwriter Brent Sluder tells me this is a “weird, summery optimistic song for us poor saps who suffer the burden of dreams (creative people) all year round.”

The intimately delicate sounds of the Bay Area production duo, Friendzone, are the type of sounds that you might hear in your dreams late at night.