This week’s Timely Tunes includes the latest by Kevin Morby, Hazel English, Mannequin Pussy and Steve Hauschildt. And as always, a new playlist for the week!
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TIMELY TUNES
Kevin Morby “Beautiful Strangers”
“Beautiful Strangers” sounds like a gentle folk hymnal floating in the midday breeze; light and liminal, but dressed in cautiously optimistic lyrics about very troubling issues (Freddie Gray, Orlando, Paris). Morby’s solo work lives in the nooks and crannies built by Bob Dylan and Lou Reed, but there is also a just slightly off-kilter weirdness to his music that steers clear of po-faced idol worship; closer to the realm of Kurt Vile. The played-straight sincerity of this particular track, however, works in its favor. Proceeds from the single go to Everytown for Gun Safety.
Hazel English “Make It Better” (From “Never Going Home”)
Bittersweet lo-fi dream-pop from the rising Sydney native turned full-time Bay Area resident. “Make It Better” evokes the feeling of the first rays of California sunshine breaking through the morning fog: caught in the moment of promise and lingering melancholy of new beginnings. Hazel’s debut EP reveals an engaging new artist more than capable of joining other great, young, dynamic voices like Courtney Barnett and Waxahachie.
Mannequin Pussy “Anything” (From “Romantic”)
“Romantic” packs eleven furiously catchy punk songs into seventeen sweaty minutes that recall the best moments of Hole, L7, and Veruca Salt, or more recent barnstormers from White Lung. At 2 minutes and 2 seconds, “Anything” is the second longest track on the album; a relative epic that encapsulates the whip smart pop clarity and barely contained, stage-diving anarchy of the album as a whole.
Steve Hauschildt “Time We Have” (From “Strands”)
From 2006 to 2013, when they broke up, Emeralds were perhaps the most consistently great electronic/ambient group in America. Since then, former members Mark McGuire and Steve Hauschildt have both continued to release quality work on their own, but “Strands” might be my favorite post-Emeralds release yet. “Time We Have”, in particular, is one of the most gorgeous tracks you will hear this year. Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in spacey synth chords and subtly revealed ripples of distortion.
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 26
Tracklist:
1. Bob Dylan “Ring Them Bells”
2. Kevin Morby “Beautiful Strangers”
3. Randy Newman “Rider In The Rain”
4. Angel Olsen “Sister”
5. Hazel English “Make It Better”
6. The Cleaners From Venus “I Can’t Stop (Holding On)”
7. Josef K “Art of Things”
8. Sleater-Kinney “Don’t Talk Like”
9. Mannequin Pussy “Anything”
10. Sonic Youth “Shadow of a Doubt”
11. The Velvet Underground “What Goes On”
12. Gary Burton “Pain In My Heart”
13. Harold Budd/Brian Eno “Late October”
14. Steve Hauschildt “Time We Have”
15. Stars of the Lid “The Evil That Never Arrived”
Note by Deanna: What are you listening to lately? If you’re on Spotify, leave me a link. I’m always on the lookout for new music.
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