Caribou-Andorra

Another fantastic release from Caribou and another fantastic addition to my ever expanding best of the year list (a.k.a the "best year for music in recent memory" list).

Andorra isn't a total departure from Dan Snaith's last LP, The Milk of Human Kindness. But it's at the very least a spectacular companion piece to it. And on the whole sounds more confident and cohesive than previous works. Caribou is drawing in broad, psychedlic strokes on Andorra. It's the sort of maximalist record that shifts in melody and harmony so constantly, you spend the majority of the record trying to keep your head from popping with glee...

yeah, I know. shut up it's late.

another triumphant record for what shaping up to be a pretty triumphant year.

The Radio Dept.-Pet Grief

And this:
















Battles-Mirrored

It's my birthday tonight. I'm alone in the art museum staring at a thousand different cctv feeds at once. There's a rather fake looking replica of a Grecian statue in the middle of the library and I'm listening to Arthur Russell extremely loud. It's ok, because at the end of the day I'm getting paid $18 an hour to fuck around on the internet. And in three weeks I'll be in Barcelona preparing for my first ever European tour...

Here are your consolation prizes, suckers:











Montag-Going Places
































Black Moth Super Rainbow-Dandelion Gum































Nico Muhly-Speaks Volumes































Arthur Russel-Springfield




































Elliot Smith-New Moon










































Sun O)))-Oracle *note: the above image is actually the cover for Black One.*









































Glass Candy-Italo Disco 12"*note: this photo was taken at a small, leather clad, coke bar named Dunes in Portland*







































Alhaji Bai Konte-Kora Melodies From Gambia

Spain in three weeks?!?!?!?! FUCK!!!!!! HELP!!?!?!?!?!?!?!

The Studio-Yearbook 1

I've been meaning to post this one for SO long. Thank god for the Portland Art Museum and their blazing fast internet connection. Here is the soundtrack to your summer. It sounds suspciously cheesy. Go ahead. It's ok. Just give it a second to sink in. It really is a fantastic piece of work.





and







Justice-(the albume title is a cross)

I finally gave into all the pressure and downloaded this. Turns out there's a reason why everyone and their cousin is freaking out about these guys right now.

Grouper-Cover the Windows and Walls

Today I sat in the park and watched at once a four year old in overalls climbing a fence pretending to be a monkey and a middle aged woman with cancer in a hideous neon sun dress on the swings, desperately waving at a passing stranger..

Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities-Lucas

Yesterday I saw this band live with my roommates and Chris Anderson (who happened to be in town) and even though they didn't sound anything like they do on record they still destroyed. The lead singer had long hair and danced around like Shannon Hoon (fyi: they sound nothing like Blind Melon). Their live show was layers of chaotic spindly guitar not unlike a more melodic U.S. Maple. Their record, on the other hand, is Eddie Gale meets Mount Eerie all the way. Anywho, the show ruled cause there weren't very many people there and after talking with the mastermind of the band (who went by Skeletons and the Garden of Everything at the show) I discovered they're from Oberlin, Ohio and it all made perfect sense.
I was all set to write more about the show and the record until this morning when I received a nasty phone call.
Basically, my mom put her dog, Ruby, down today. Many of you have probably met this dog. It was a good dog. And it was also pretty much my mom's best friend. It sucks being 3000 miles away when something like that happens. Not just because the last time I saw Ruby was at Christmas. But also because my mom is already pretty much alone and I worry about her being by herself.

Bastardgeist-SKLL SKLL SKULL 69 SKLL ATOMIC BOMB