Ryan Adams – “In The Shadows”, “This is Where We Meet in My Mind” and “Loaf of Bread”

From the title, this article might seem like a little bit of an overload because there are three songs included here instead of one, but that only means that you are going to be subjected to more of the beauty that Ryan Adams creates than just one measly song.

Last night Ryan Adams was in London and played two songs that are going to be coming off of his newest album (and there is basically no sound except for him in these recordings which makes me wonder the enthusiasm level British people have for Adams). These songs include “In the Shadows” and “This is Where We Meet in My Mind”; the third song, “Loaf of Bread” is just an improvised song in which you can hear faint laughter (seriously London, can you show that you like him just a little?). “In the Shadows” is an upbeat song mostly about driving around at night, with a quick, little, crafty guitar solo thrown in there for good measure. “There is Where We Meet in My Mind” is just the faintest bit depressing (per usual for Adams’ older work), and has a nice bluesy feel which is really brought to light because of the amazing backing band he was playing with.

Makes me excited for what Adams will be putting out next! Hopefully he will keep dropping new songs throughout his touring, but, until then, download these three tracks right here on Dropbox. Enjoy!

The Making of 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love”

“I’m Not in Love” is a dreamy, hazy blues by the 10cc’s, released in 1975. The video is a bit from a documentary of the making of the song, where you can learn their tedious recording and splicing process, the origins of the song, and how everything was mixed together. It was well worth the labor, listen to the song below the documentary video. This is also the song that inspired Gayngs to 1. create themselves and 2. make their album “Relayted”, all recorded at 69 BPM.

Future Islands – “Tomorrow”

Future Islands’ In Evening Air is definitely a favorite album of mine (released in 2010), their latest album On The Water didn’t seem to capture me (or much of anyone as far as what I had read) as much, but I didn’t give up hope that they wouldn’t make a comeback, refining their sound and honing in on what they do best. Unfortunate but true, Future Islands knows how to have, write about, translate, and sing about a broken heart. And here they are again, depicting rough times with a much more melancholic tone and back-up vocals (specifically from Jenn Wasner (of Wye Oak), Lexie Mountain and Elena Johnston) on the track “Tomorrow” which was released this morning. “Tomorrow” is the A-side to an upcoming 7″ that’ll be released September 3rd.

Future Islands – ‘Tomorrow’ by Upset the Rhythm

King Krule – “Rock Bottom”

Even though it’s been almost a year, I didn’t expect to hear from King Krule so soon after he releasing his self-titled. His kind of passion, and subject matter can’t and shouldn’t be rushed. Although, this is only a 7″, so I guess it’s good timing after all. “Rock Bottom” is the A side to the 7″ that’ll be released September 24th on Rinse. Peep it below.

Shanell – “Love is a Losing Game”

So, first of all, who is Shanell? Well, apparently, she is signed to Young Money (which makes me suspect her talent already), and is classified as just a straight up pop artist. But, Shanell takes her hand at the Amy Winehouse song, “Love is a Losing Game” in this cover, and I really liked it. It is kind of amazing how similar the songs sound to each other, which could be good or bad, depending on how you like your covers. The only difference is that Amy sort of sounds like she has a little bit of a slur on the song, and Shanell really cleaned it up. There is definitely more production intervention in Shanell’s take of the song, but I really like it. This song is off of her album, Nobody’s Bitch. Check out the song below:

EBRU feat. Durrty Goodz – “MAD”

Remember when I found out who Iggy Azeala was and had a minor break down about how hot she is and how great she was on that song? Well, step aside Iggy because another woman has taken your place. My new crush is EBRU, a soulful girl from the UK who caught my attention today when an interview with her popped up on my newsfeed. After some lurking around the internet, I found her cover of “Swim Good” (originally by Frank Ocean) which is just a more Motownish version of the orignal. Whereas the original is much more lowkey, EBRU’s version features more of a big band sound, which creates an interesting and much louder version of the song.

This then brought me to her newest (and seemingly first original) release, entitled “MAD”. Again, the Mowtown feel is very present throughout the entire song (and video) but EBRU is able to update the song and brings it to a place set in the 2010s. The lyrics are fantastic and extremely relatable, the video is very esthetically pleasing and the music is fantastic.

Give “MAD” a listen by watching the video below, or check out her SoundCloud account. Let me know what you think!

EBRU MAD from Stewart Dean on Vimeo.

Leo Wyndham – “Veins”

Leo Wyndham, apparently from the UK, new to Twitter, and two songs on Bandcamp. So far it’s that simple. “Veins” can be streamed below, a blues tune with lyrics that are longing to be loved.

Oddisee – Rock Creek Park

A tweet was met with praise, (well, a retweet) from sir Oddisee himself tonight about his latest LP release, Rock Creek Park. He’s talking about a park in D.C. of course, and of his childhood memories of going to Rock Creek Park. Using this as the platform for the project, he expands on it by creating tracks according to what he envisions what a soundtrack for the park would be, “What does walking along the trails of the park sound like? What does driving on the narrow tree lined roads sound like?” And thus, we get his idea and inspiration behind Rock Creek Park. “Skipping Rocks” is the prime introductory instrumental song layered with a sax-hook, reminiscent of ripples in the water after, say, skipping rocks. The majority of the LP is ear deep in the blues, the emotional relationship with the idea of the park but in a carefree way too, that only its more jazz influenced side could counter-balance. Overall, it’s beautifully nostalgic. Oddisee does an excellent job executing his projected idea.

Cee-Lo Green – Bridges

Sorry for not staying consistent with posts. It’s been a pretty hectic few weeks for me and I’m now just adjusting to everything. Enough with the lame excuses though, I want to talk about someone who gets overlooked often. Cee-lo Green, aka the voice behind Gnarls Barkley has always been one of my favorite artists. If you haven’t checked him out before, check out Gnarls or The Goodie Mob, his old hip-hop click. This post isn’t about his past releases though; this post is about this one song which didn’t make “The Ladykiller” LP. For a couple of days now, this song has been ringing in my mind and now I figured out why, because the Neptune’s produced it. “Bridges” takes you to the warm sounds of the 70s where cats like Stevie Wonder and other soul artists were known for. Cee-lo sings soothingly about joyful things in this uplifter like “holding hands in harmony” and “building the bridge” between friends and lovers, black and white, you get it…right? The catchiest part of this song is the “ba-da-pa-pa-pa-da” which sounds like a McDonalds commercial, I sure love it though…

Jay Z and Kanye West unveil “Otis”

The rap titans have just released another track from the highly anticipated “Watch the Throne” . “Otis” , which samples “Try a Little Tenderness” by the the late 60′s soul singer is packing heat, making us anxious of what’s to come next.

Check it out down below…

Otis feat. Otis Redding by watchthethrone

Proudly powered by WordPress