The Record Summer - Race To The Bottom (2010)

One of my favorite feelings related to music occurs when a new(ish) album randomly happens to find you and it is exactly what the mood calls for at that particular moment in time. I happened upon The Record Summer when I needed something mellow and conducive to writing, and the tracks off of Race To The Bottom fit the bill. By way of Minneapolis and New York, Bret Rodysill's band, The Record Summer, weave radiant melodies and sanguine instrumentation with occasional electronics to create a summery record that can help brighten the day as we trickle into winter. The electronic pop moments reflect an approach similar to Sufjan Stevens and are never overbearing on the tight, lyric-centric songwriting. A few jams that stand out are the catchy "Television in America," the soothing "An Enormous Anger Grown in Brooklyn" and the poetic "Boys and Girls in the Modern Age."

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009)

Besides the Yeah Yeah Yeah's It's Blitz, I've been having a hard time finding any new music this year that was blowing my mind. Lots of kind of floppy follow-ups and disappointing debuts from promising artists.

I'd never heard of the Dirty Projectors before maybe February...but all of a sudden I was hearing a lot about them. This is apparently their fifth album and they were featured on the tremendous "Dark Is the Night".

Listening to Bitte Orca is a bit like licking a 9v battery. It's anticipation and a mild, but palpable surprise. It's confusing at first, but intriguing. And then you start hitting that shit, like, a couple of times a day.

I can see why they were paired with David Byrne on Dark Was the Night and Bjork (doing whatever thing they were doing that I didn't bother to read about), there are easily recognizable influences abound. I'm also hearing some Antony, and maybe a hint of Sufjan.

Hey Dirty Projectors. You're kind of blowing my mind right now.

I Was A King - I Was A King (2009)

For some reason I never get tired of short fuzzy pop songs and that's just what I Was A King write. Select words from the song titles give you some indication of the music -- warm, golden, California, breathe, warm (again), anchor, summer -- but this isn't Laurel Canyon country or Beach Boys' pop. Rather, the music pulls from power pop, Brit pop, shoegaze, and, well, indie rock. The guitars bash around, but the vocals are smooth and rather pretty. It's fun with plenty of hooks, and just a bit too noisy to be twee.

I have no idea why they bury the lead single and killer track all the way in the back, but "Norman Bliek" is the track that made me check this band out. It has a fuzzy, jangling riff and is just damn catchy. "Not Like This" sounds like a Ride hit they never made. "It's All You" is another good song, which features Sufjan Stevens, whose music they don't sound like.

Loch Lomond - Paper The Walls (2007)

Sometimes it takes seeing a band live for their album to really sink in. Or at least that was the case for me and Loch Lomon's Paper The Walls. I'd listened to this Portland band's album a couple times before seeing them open for Blind Pilot and it never really grabbed me, but afterward I started to hear some the same things I liked in concert. They make lush indie folk music that sounds a bit like Sufjan Stevens. Ritchie Young has a fragile, nasal sounding voice, somewhere between a quaver and a whisper, which may not appeal to everyone.

The songs quietly flow from somber to sleepy to mellowly upbeat, incorporating guitar, drums, strings, and harmony vocals. However, for all its beauty, the album largely lacks hooks. Not that songs need hooks, but it does mean that these songs need time to sink in. Overall, the album is quieter than their live show, but apparently they have EP coming out soon, so we may hear more of their live energy in this upcoming release. I look forward to hearing it. Start with "Northern, Knees, Trees, and Lights" and "Carl Sagan" to see if you are interested.

Brasilliant's Fall Shuffle

Brendan Benson - "Tiny Spark"
This was the fourth song on the first "mixtape" that Awmercy made for me (I know the playlist by heart). It reminds me of dating, and grad school, and hanging out in D.C.

Sufjan Stevens - "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step-Mother!"
I have no idea why this song has a two-part title (it's really an awesome song about the history of Decatur, Illinois). However, it reminded me of how much I love Sufjan Stevens and his clever lyrics. I haven't listened to him in ages and will definitely bump him up on future playlists.

Cat Stevens - "Hard Headed Woman"
Also known as Brasilliant's theme song. I really don't need to explain the greatness of Cat Stevens.

Ditty Bops - "Fish to Fry"
A great song from the Ditty Bops' best album, Moon Over the Freeway. It perfectly captures their 1920s dance hall style and makes you want to sing along with their feisty lyrics.

Lenka - "Don't Let Me Fall"
Lenka is another lady that I've grown to love this year. Her happy songs and crisp voice makes me smile throughout the whole album. Awmercy has been bugging me to review this one for a while. Maybe I'll get around to doing that sometime.

Afterthought: Clearly, my iPod wasn't plotting against me today. Thanks, old buddy, for not revealing my dorkitude...ahem by burying Lisa Loeb.