Woolgathering - Jamaica Plain Bedroom Recordings (self released, 2010)

Woolgathering - It's Called "Found Footage," Not "Worthless Filmstrips."


The dude over at Mango Nebula, the totally rad Boston based blog that keeps you abreast of all the new cool shit going down around town, is a sweet creator of lo-fi bedroom folk pop.

Woolgathering, which means something along the lines of absentminded daydreaming, is pretty straightforward stuff, a lonely guy singing soft with a guitar and the occasional glockenspiel. Great lyrics & voice, solid picking, and poor recording quality with lots of hiss, but for demos it sounds damn good and I wouldn't mind some of this haphazardness finding its way into a legit record.

Grab digital copy for however much you want on Bandcamp, or swipe a limited hand numbered/doodled physical copy for a mere $5.

P.S. For context, Woolgathering is also the same guy I caught bein a boss at Weirdstock playing rockabilly guitar for Cave Bears.

WYLD WYZRDZ / Stag Hare - Antelope Island (Inner Islands, 2010)

WYLD WYZRDZ - Antelope


Utah DIY chieftain Braden J. McKenna brought a lot to the SLC scene. Lots of sweet music under various guises (WYLD WYZRDZ, his own name, etc), dozens of free releases through The Magic Goat, and general awesomeness. He's since gone to Portland, killed The Goat, and started a physical label called Inner Islands.

One of the first releases is a split seven inch mini wax with him and psych drone extraordinaire Stag Hare. Pretty much a match made in heaven. WYLD WYZRDZ puts on his fancy suit and goes to town with "Antelope." A delicately lush tropdrone, everything looped to infinity, equally perfect for a party scorcher or nap time chiller. Stag Hare's track, "Island," is a lazy shaker with faded lazers & a muted beat. The hazy guitar meanders along with echoing obscured vocals, making a supreme droney jam.

Regardless of where and when you play this, it's a sunny primer that always seems to require one more spin. Braden's got his shit together and I highly recommend grabbing this when it's officially available and then keeping your hawk eyes on Inner Islands waiting to see what's next.

MP3: Huntronik - Twin Doctor

Huntronik - Twin Doctor


Really digging this "Twin Doctor" track from Huntronik. Nice 'n' chill electronic alt-folk rock stuff with a solid groove, sounding like it belongs on a Baumbach or Anderson soundtrack. Great for these rainy days we've been having.

Isolated Lakeside Cabin Mix

This is the one you wanted. Sweetest mix of the century.

Be back soon. Going to read Being & Nothingness.

Isolated Lakeside Cabin Mix
1. The Great Valley - Lucky Me!
2. Boy Without God - Call A Yellow Taxi
3. Shai Erlichman - The Season
4. M. Mucci - Moments Between
5. Master Musicians Of Bukkake - Cascade Cathedral
6. Lungfish - Sands Of Time
7. Uriah Heep - I'll Keep On Trying
8. Mugstar - Technical Knowledge As A Weapon
9. Prince Rama - Lightening Fossil
10. Billy Nichols - Life Is Short
11. Imbogodom - Of The Cloth
12. PKE - Grounded
13. Talk Normal - Outside
14. DOOMSTAR! - Rainbow BLoodsucker

MMOSS - i (self released, 2010)

MMOSS - Woolgathering


MMOSS
i (download)
/dreams in jangly psych/
/climb mountains, embrace the sky/
/lush gardens of warmth/

Jakob Battick & Friends - Heavy The Mountains, Heavy Are The Seas (self released, 2010)

Jakob Battick - Nine Brothers & The Wolf


Jakob Battick (and friends), the creator of that dusty autumnal EP Hiding In The Orchard made of recycled bingo cards, is back with another piece of folky amazingness. Although instead of making another charming record, he tore a hole in the gray sky and twisted his folk roots into some unsettling black monster.

Heavy The Mountains, Heavy Are The Seas starts out normally enough with "Always Returning / Never Returning," a nice slow moving acoustic number. But that track quickly devolves into a screaming epic of soul wrenching, howling at the moon type stuff. Loud, abrasive, and nothing like what I was expecting.

The next 3 songs follow suit. Creeping through midnight meadows, with lilting guitars and deep throated vocals echoing in damp attics. There's lots of loud-quiet-loud moments, spun around in a Battick-afied whirlwind of emotion, even some horns thrown in to complete the massive kitchen sink crescendo. And the final track, "A Silent Prayer," is where the magic happens. Grand as grand can be, crushingly beautiful, intense passion pouring out of Jakob. Absolutely amazing.

This isn't your average folk record guys. I'm not even sure it should be classified as such. It is, however, damn fine, regardless of labels. Jakob Battick has made another truly great fucking record. And, thankfully, I believe a full length is in the works.

Video: Kira Kira - Bless

Kira Kira's "Bless" is somber & intimate, set to a suitably matched video with fantastic animation about a dude who dreams he turns to old man made of paper and meets some strange creatures like a llama Zen master and a flying horse with a squid tongue. Probably not the best thing to help wake you up this morning, but if you're already on your fifth cup of coffee, "Bless" should ease you off your buzz.

Haiku Review: Natural Snow Buildings - The Centauri Agent (Vulpiano, 2010)

Natural Snow Buildings - Phantom Twin


Natural Snow Buildings
The Centauri Agent (download)
/eras bend, drones glow/
/sprawling cosmic folk epic/
/star haze harmony/

Year End Top 1 List

Nope. That's not a typo or a joke. There has been one thing this year that completely surpassed everything else in terms of sheer awesomeness. This has honestly changed my life more than anything else this year. I have already heaped endless amounts of praise on this the first time I posted it yet it still deserves more.

I can't even imagine how many spiders I killed in 2008. I think I killed one since I saw this video, which, by the way, is shamefully underviewed on YouTube, especially considering that I account for half of the 290,000 views.

I love everything about this song and video. Let me re-cap from my original post:

I love the rhythm. I love the flow. I love every single lyric. I love the story. I love the animation. I love the imagery. I love the dad. I love the dad's voice. I love the son's voice. I love the old timeyness. I love the (faux?) outsider feeling. I love the dad's long nose and weird hair and worm nipples. I love the opening line. I love the dad caressing the spider's delicate legs. I love the page turning. I love that the dad decided to teach his son a lesson about morals upon being woken up in the middle of the night. I love that it ends with the dad saluting the spider and wishing him "Godspeed." I love every single thing about this video. I love Garrett Davis and Kirsten Lepore for making this. I hate Garrett for not making more music.

I present to you Garrett Davis' & Kirsten Lepore's "Story From North America"

Manners - Look Into Look Unto (SUNOFBEES, 2009)

Manners - Fire


Manners is a dude that I preemptively dissed one night when I was cranky because I didn't get to see a band (Psychic Ills) that I went out of my way specifically to see and in my mind I kinda blamed him a little bit. Since then, I've matured into a great benevolent man and have grown to love Mr. Greg Beson and the fantastic music he makes.

Look Into Look Unto is Manners' newest outing in the folky experimental scene. He takes a different approach than everyone else, though, because he doesn't rely on fuzz and blur to entertain. A solid voice and supreme songwriting skills are all Manners needs to make a totally enthralling record.

The songs are all super low-key. Chill, easy going, and borderline depressing. Actually, not so much depressing as just moody. The hooks are scarce but there's plenty of harmonies and sweet melodies to make up for it. And as if Greg's voice wasn't enough to keep things going, occasionally some female backup vocals pop up that are absolutely wonderful.

This type of acoustic singer/songwriter folky stuff isn't something that gets too much play around here but I've been making an exception for Manners. Look Into Look Unto is just a really pleasing listen, especially now that the nights are coming quicker and the sun isn't rising as high. Perfect fall music.

Haiku Review: The Great Valley - Under Snow (Spooky Town Artifacts, 2009)

The Great Valley - White Hair


The Great Valley
Under Snow (download)
/trapped in a snowglobe/
/frozen boots stomping with zeal/
/tragic magic tales/

João Orecchia - Hands & Feet (Other Electricities, 2009)

João Orecchia - Midnight Serenade


João Orecchia - Gold To Green


When was the last time you were absolutely floored by a record? I think that might have been the first time I heard Street Horrrsing last year. Since then, I've gone on enjoying records like a regular dude. That is until I got a little e-mail about João Orecchia's new album Hands & Feet. Attached was an MP3 for "Midnight Serenade" and after hearing the first 20 seconds, I e-mailed the guy girl back and said "I NEED MORE." He She lent a helping hand.

Now don't think I'm a fucking idiot or anything. I know "Midnight Serenade" isn't the most original thing out there. It's not gonna win any awards. But there's just something so special about it that really gets me. Some sort of unabashed enthusiasm swarms over me and I become the happiest guy in the room.

And every song on Hands & Feet gives me that same feeling. It's soft roadside glitch makes me glow. Banjos and toy pianos and flugelhorns and melodicas and violas play in sweet synchrony with crunchy electronics. It's the most lush and charming electronic record I've heard in a long time.

I get the feeling that Hands & Feet isn't going to strike as resonant a chord with everyone as it has with me. But fuck that. I am so in love with this record. I have listened to it countless times in the past few weeks. Of course I'd like to spread the Orecchia gospel but I'm not gonna go all missionary and force it down people's throats. There is a simple test you can take though. Listen to "Midnight Serenade" and "Gold To Green." If you're not totally enchanted, don't bother with the rest of the record. And then get the fuck out of here.

Video: To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie - The Needle

Ambient psych folk gaze rockers To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie have a video for the single "The Needle" off of their newest record on Kranky, Marlone. They take the road of old school German Expressionist films like The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari and make a (mostly) black and white video with lots of layers, shadows, and tons of shit that doesn't make any sense. Floating letters + skulls + sledgehammers + horseback riders = SUCCESS!

Summer Breeze

Braden J McKenna - Taken Away


It's come to the point where I don't even need to listen to this stuff before I post it. I just got an e-mail form Braden J McKenna informing me that he just put up a new solo EP and WYLD WYZRDZ album for free downloading on Magic Goat Music. So I immediately pass word along to you so you can revel in the newest awesomeness from Braden.

Here's a quick refresher: Braden J McKenna's work under his own name is jolly lo-fi fun garage rock folk and he's got a crazy unique awesome voice that makes every song magic.

WYLD WYZRDZ is McKenna working under a different name, which he considers to be his phsych/pop/drone/cool/ambient/noise/loop/whatever project.

I've never heard anything bad come from this guy. Ever. So hurry up and download Alien Summer and Millenium Breeze before they're all gone.

Quilt - Quilt (Spooky Town Artifacts, 2009)

Quilt - Disco Music For Trees


If I told you I went to a yard sale this weekend and found this tape stuck way back in the drawer of an old desk, and then I hypothesized that it came from a band named Quilt, some lost folk punk gem from the '60s, you wouldn't have any real reason to disbelieve me. Especially after playing that audio sample. But I'm never lucky enough to find cool shit like that at yard sales. I usually just come home with another wicker basket for my bunnies to eat.

But this Boston trio's debut release totally sounds like that. Like a bunch of friends using shitty equipment to record songs in the big echoey shower in their basement. And it sounds fantastic. It's music that you know was a fucking blast to make.

Nothing on here ever gets too much into a certain genre for you to nail down. It's folky, yeah, and it can rock out at times, but there's also plenty of drone elements. Lots of bang-clanking and jingle-jangling, monotonous drumming, banjos, xylophones, harmonicas, and all sorts of fun shit. But I think one of the key ingredients here are the vocals. All 3 share the microphone and there's hardly a single moment of harmony throughout the whole tape. They frequently sing together, but sometimes it's so dissonant, in the intentional and almost pleasant way. I mean, sometimes they're nice and melodious but when they're not, it's suuuper eerie. And it perfectly matches the occasionally unsettling guitars.

For a debut, this bunch really could have fared a lot worse. Like, a lot. Quilt is a thoroughly solid tape that fits rights in with the weirdo lo-fi experimental folk scene here in Boston. Totally worth picking up for a mere $4 at Spooky Town.

OOPs: Adilia Castillo - El Llano Venezolano (Comercial Llanero, 196?)

Adilia Castillo - Mi Recuerdo


I found this little gem in the furthest, darkest corner of a dingy record store and for some unknown reason, I was just drawn to it. The moment I laid eyes on Adilia's fantastic get-up, I knew I had to have this. And it's a damn good thing, too, because when I got home and threw it on, I was enchanted by "la voz de Adilia Castillo." El Llano Castillo is some old Venezuelan record that has lots of traditional Spanish sounding instruments and is in surprisingly high fidelity for such an ancient piece of wax. Don't worry, though, it still sounds wicked old. Some good times are assured to be had with this record, and if you have any Spanish friends, ask them to do a little Spanish dance when you throw this on at your next fiesta.

Also, I guess this is super rare. Not like "super valuable" or anything, just like I can't find even the smallest bit of info on this thing. If you know anything about this particular record, feel free to comment.

Yours thanks to the Fires of Media.

Prince Rama Of Ayodhya / The Great Valley - Divine / Journey (Spooky Town Artifacts, 2009)

Prince Rama Of Ayodhya - Aeolian Divinex


What we got here is a brand new split 12" from Spooky Town featuring the sitting-right-under-my-nose-awesomeness of The Great Valley and fellow foreign sounding locals, Prince Rama Of Ayodhya. Boston's got a lot of freaky folky weirdness (thanks in great part to the Whitehaus) but these two bands seem like a great pairing for a split. Two sides of the same coin these guys.

I've heard Prince Rama on CD before and let me just tell you that vinyl is where it's at for this bunch. Their sound is a hundred bazillion times better when it's scraped through a needle instead of zapped through a laser. Their side showcases what they've become so fucking good at: tribal, spiritual, droning earthly sounds with lead singer Taraka belting out songs in her inimitably spectacular voice. They're able to combine traditional acoustic instruments with electronics in a way that sounds anything but straightforward and normal. They take New Age and Indian influences and make something wholly unique and enjoyable out of it. I keep thinking it sounds like music that I would never listen to, yet I always find myself throwing it on and loving the shit out of it.

Somehow The Great Valley managed to slip through my radar undetected. That is, until they put out this fantastic as fuck split with Prince Rama. The Valley consists of two dudes with crazy names, Big Dipper & Diamond Mouse, who make some freaked out old timey folk. They sound like if O'Death was trying less to be like artsy Man Men and instead went to live with their certifiable uncle out on the prairie spending their days drinking moonshine and howling with the coyotes. There's foot stompin beats and disharmonious melodies, laid back ukuleles and humming organs, singing saws and scratchy voices, all of the elements for the perfect record to impress your friends with at your next ho-down.

Divine / Journey is a sweet little piece of wax that will satisfy your cravings for worldly & old fashioned crazy shit. And it's cheap. Like, $8 cheap. Only 300 were made, each packaged in a recycled record jacket. Hand made ftw! Go on and grab a copy.

Madagascar - Goodbye East Goodbye West (Gaarden, 2009)

Madagascar - Goodbye East Goodbye West


Goodbye East Goodbye West has been out since 2007. Why am I reviewing it now? 2 reasons. 1: I don't give a shit about release dates. 2: The fine folks at Gaarden Records thought Madagascar's second album was awesome enough to give it the vinyl treatment this year. So what I'm reviewing is the stunning LP and not the lame ass CD (no offense, Western Vinyl).

If you haven't heard Baltimore's Madagscar yet (like me), then you're in for a delicious treat. GEGW is a chill record with all of my favorite instruments. Accordion, singing saw, glockenspiel, bells and chimes, and the obligatory guitar/percussion/etc combined to make charming as fuck tunes for dancing with your lady in the ballroom or moping on your stoop in your raggedy ass knickers getting drunk on basement vodka. A little bit of Devotchka, some Beirut and Hauschka, throw in some subtle drone and you got yourself one hell of an album.

Now for those of you that have heard Goodbye East already and perhaps even own the digital version, it's time to wise up and get your hands on this hot robin's egg blue vinyl. Not to mention that it's got a super slick letter-pressed jacket with artwork from Justin Lucas. And, like most things Gaarden, this is limited. Only 500 copies available. Do yourself a favor and grab one before it's on Ebay for $150.

Monster Caves & Mario Karts

Braden J McKenna - Feedback From A Ghost


Braden J McKenna (Navigator, WYLD WYZRDZ, himself) has unloaded some more free awesomeness for everyone. I swear, he is the number one guy out there putting out consistently amazing music for free on a regular basis. <3 him.

Independence Day is from a band of his called Mario Kart with another guy named Stephen Walter on drums. It was written and recorded within 4 hours this past 4th of July and that's including a break to play Mario Kart (duh). It's more aligned to his Navigator work, lo-fi garage punkish tunes. And it's great.

Gigantic Monster Cave is some solo stuff under his actual name that is full of wide-eyed child magic songs, a lot of them dealing with a gigantic monster cave. His signature nonabrasive whine is sure to be found, but the music itself is more shiny pop-folk than the rest of his stuff. And it's great.

Download that shit. Then go to Magic Goat and download more shit from their Digital Magic Series. Totally worth it. TRUST ME ::nudge nudge::

Video: Garrett Davis & Kirsten Lepore - Story From North America

Ok, this is going to be difficult to explain. I know I get really excited about a lot of things and routinely profess my love for them. But you see, this video is different. It's different because I love it SO MUCH MORE than all of those other things.



I love the rhythm. I love the flow. I love every single lyric. I love the story. I love the animation. I love the imagery. I love the dad. I love the dad's voice. I love the son's voice. I love the old timeyness. I love the (faux?) outsider feeling. I love the dad's long nose and weird hair and worm nipples. I love the opening line. I love the dad caressing the spider's delicate legs. I love the page turning. I love that the dad decided to teach his son a lesson about morals upon being woken up in the middle of the night. I love that it ends with the dad saluting the spider and wishing him "Godspeed." I love every single thing about this video. I love Garrett Davis and Kirsten Lepore for making this. I hate Garrett for not making more music. In the past 4 days, I have watched this more times than I can count. I am currently memorizing every word.