Candidate, Psychic Dissonance from the Unself


 
Do not be fooled by the title of this record. It might sound terribly heavy and serious, but really it’s a collection of jams that stretch across the mellow-bouncy spectrum. There’s some fuzz but no drag, which is an intriguing change of pace, and draws me back to it over and over again.

For example:
 

 

 
Candidate is: Cedric Sparkman (Vocals), Laurence Adams (Lead Guitar), Jason Matuskiewicz (Bass), Chris Infusino (Drums) and Justin Craig (Guitar, Synth), and they are from Brooklyn.

They survived New York’s recent Weather Event unscathed, but the studio where they recorded the record – Translator Audio – was completely destroyed.

To encourage donations to hurricane relief, they will be giving a free copy of the record to anyone who sends them an email with the subject line “I donated.” They solemnly swear no spam shall be forthcoming, only delicious music.

Build A Fortress Around My Tears: Picardy III, Lonely Songs


Lonely Songs, by Picardy III, a musical collective led by James Summers of Austin, Texas, starts with a spoken word track, As You Climb The Mountain, which sets the mood for the rest of the record: quiet, meditative, embued with the quality of sadness that goes with rain on foggy windowsills and low, heavy skies, but can be banished by a warm cup of tea.

And what comes after the introduction is music that called me out of my bedroom, away from my unpacking of bags and boxes of things lately liberated from storage, that said: I require your full attention. You have to listen carefully.

The record is officially out in January 2013, but a partial version is available for free for a limited time from both bandcamp and Noisetrade.

The Noisetrade download also includes a special bonus track, a folk-rock cover of What Is Love by Haddaway, and, you guys, never has a club banger been so magnificently transformed into a mournful lament.

As encouragement/enticement, here are a couple of his tunes: Going (The Lonely Song) is the first single; Ever Be is the one that punched me right in the heart.
 

 

 

Mosey West, Merica and Vaca Money

Mosey West are: Mike McGraw (vocals, bass), Adam Brown (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Matt Weitz (drums, piano) and Cody Russell (Pedal Steel/Banjo/Dobro), they are from Fort Collins, Colorado, and they play some A++ folk/rock.

They have two EPs out right now, Merica and Vaca Money, both of which are – for a limited time only! – available for free at bandcamp.

Some highlights / personal favorites of mine:
 

 

 

 

Old English, We’ve Been Here Before


 
A song for all those times you knew better, but didn’t care. Or, a brief essay on how new and interesting pain is sometimes also old and familiar pain, hearts and flowers edition, by Old English.
 

Halloween Special: Sleaze of the Reaper, Blackwater Jukebox


 
For all of your Halloween party / waiting for trick-or-treaters / quiet evening at home with zombie movie needs: the latest from NTSIB favorites Blackwater Jukebox. I suggest you download it – it’s free! – and then crank it up.

Some of my favorites include Black Rain, from the Restricted Archives of the Smithsonian:
 

 
And also Harvest Tarantella from the Sicilian highlands:
 

Halloween Special: Citóg Mixtape Volume IV

Gothic Christmas has (probably) been rained out for me this year – I’m writing this as Hurricane Sandy rolls over Manhattan – but I’ve been staying in the holiday spirit by listening to this mixtape from Citóg, a record label/ independent collective from the west of Ireland.

Milan Jay, scrappy little band of my heart, contributed a track called Mask Up (The Ballad of Michael Meyers) which I am sharing below, but the rest of the compilation is also excellent.
 

Emma: Perfect Blue

I’ve been kind of hibernating this month – getting used to the idea of having free time in the evenings is apparently a bit of a challenge for me – so my musical choices have been mellow.

Today I’d like to share Perfect Blue by Emma, which is the aural equivalent of a hot bubblebath and a big glass of wine:
 
Perfect Blue by Emma music
 
Emma is: Neil E Curtis, Luke Gregory, Will Moseley and Charlie Rusbridger; they are from North London; and you can listen to more of their tunes at their Soundcloud page.

Seamus O’Muineachain, Away With The Fairies

This is Away With the Fairies, the first song from Seamus O’Muineachain‘s new self-titled record.

O’Muineachain’s tunes are music for the life’s liminal spaces, like the glimmer of tiny lights on trees brightening the place where the grey buildings meet the grey skies or moments spent walking slowly through swirls already-falling copper leaves while enjoying the rising wind of an oncoming late summer storm.

And if there were sidhe wandering the streets of Manhattan, this is what they would listen to as they walked between worlds.
 

Icon of Coil: PerfectSex

Hey y’all, guess who’s back?

ICON OF COIL.

They’ve come out of a nine-year hibernation with new music and a tour. There’s a sample track on bandcamp called PerfectSex. Check it:
 

 

Tour starts Washington, DC in early September! Be sure to check their listings and get out and see them if you can. It will definitely be a good show.