The Weekend Fuzz: Sounds of Springtime
Spring is here! Well.. at least it’s somewhere, but certainly not here in the frozen white north. The last week has been marred by heavy snowfall and cloud cover, and surely thousands of balding men neck-deep in the symptoms of midlife crisis are eagerly eyeballing whatever vehicle is hibernating underneath a tarp in their garage. But we here at TNLF are an optimistic rabble, and fresh music is in full bloom all over every branch of the interwebs! So wherever you are, crack open those windows, dust off that patio furniture and breathe in that pollen, the scenery of greenery is just over the horizon!
Since we’re so bright and full of optimism, we’re going to keep those vibrations pulsating with some spring time jams. WARNING: These tunes may trigger the uncontrollable urge to wear sunglasses and drink Arnold Palmer.
[audio:https://thenewlofi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/War-on-Drugs-Come-to-the-City.mp3|titles=War on Drugs – Come to the City]
The War On Drugs – Come To The City
Our first track comes from long long ago, in the year of 2011. Their only album in the post Kurt Vile era, The War on Drugs had a handful of solid entries in to the ever-muddled “shoegaze” genre. ‘Slave Ambient’ was a groovy album even without Kurt, and song number six ‘Come to the City’ is a jammer chock full of anticipation and atmospheric excellence.
[audio:https://thenewlofi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Adventure-Galley-Seminatics.mp3|titles=Adventure Galley – Seminatics]
Adventure Galley – Semantics
Portland’s Adventure Galley has been smashing out pop-jams since 2008, and their most recent single “Semantics” is just a taste of what is to come from the group. It’s hard not to liken the vocal arrangements to The Killers Brandon Flowers (without the Mormonism), but I’d like to think Adventure Galley is a little more relevant in the music scene today (I don’t like The Killers.. SHHH!). Make sure you keep a lookout for these Pacific North-westerners as a new album is mostly likely imminent.
[audio:https://thenewlofi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Kurt-Vile-Wakin-on-a-Pretty-Day.mp3|titles=Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Day]
Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Day
I’ve been sitting on this track by the aforementioned Kurt Vile for nearly two months, and thusfar this year there isn’t a single song that comes close to its greatness. I’m very doubtful you haven’t already heard ‘Wakin on a Pretty Day’, but even so, this nearly ten-minute epic is the picture-perfect song for any morning downtown stroll or mid-afternoon cruise. Kurt won me over with this tune, and with his most recent album, and I’m counting down the days to the Calgary Folk Fest where Kurt will be performing (with several members of The War on Drugs). Pump up the volume on this early frontrunner for song of the year.
And we finish off the Fuzz this week with Detroit’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. The unpredictable power-duo of Daniel Zott and Josh Epstein have been recording electro-dance-jams since 2010, and although a lot of their previous work has been hit-or-miss for me, I think the pair have finally found their sound. They just released a follow-up single to ‘If you didn’t see me..’ called ‘Hiding’, and if you get the chance to catch these two on their current tour across the states, don’t hesitate, the energetic pair are sure to put on a show.
That’s curtains for us this week, but stay tuned! TNLF is sure to build that spring-time playlist of yours one track at a time!
