Sound Exposure: The “Night Skies” Mixtape

This week’s mix contains some older and newer songs. I finalized this list around sunset hence this week’s pic.

Here’s the breakdown.

1. Quilt – “Young Gold.” Run time is 3:14 min. The best doesn’t even start until time marker 2:20. It’s all whistling, jangly piano keys not unlike some Bowie Aladdin Sane, rounds and rounds of slightly out of synch chorus. It’s beautiful how it all unravels. For people who like sonic soundscapes; not for people, like a friend of mine, who said all I ever listen to are these sprawling ambient textural sounds. Her other complaint was that all the instruments are playing at once. Which is all true, but it’s the harmony and the way it falls apart in the dissonance. Either you dig it or you don’t.

2. The Cairo Gang – “Father of the Man.” I could tell you much about The Cairo Gang, from the not so subtle allusion to an elite political group to past musical affiliations. But why bother. If you like it, you’ll probably Google and realize they have an album called “Tiny Rebels” out this year. It’s got a nice reverby wah-wah stereo effect and 60s psychedelic pop stylings. Run time: 2:46 min.

3. Jonwayne – “Ode to Mortality.”  First, it starts off with a sample from a performance given by poet and novelist Charles Bukowski. Think of it as the gradient track: transitioning what you heard into this whole new thing. It’s got a nice piano loop. Kind of strange in a jazzy hip hop way. Stones Throw Records is putting out some goodness right now. They’ve a handful of other artists that have caught my ear this year, like Myron and E. Run time: 4:13 min.

4. Cut Copy – “Let Me Show You.” Arguably electronica is one of the best of things Australians are doing right this second. I have a fair amount of reverence for their ability to revival some the Swedish and French electro-pop bands I like. There’s also some pretty good psych rock and dream pop going on in the land down under. Anyway this track from Australian electro pop rockers Cut Copy has some tribal electro-didgeridoo disco ridiculousness and were you inclined to rave on a beach from sunset to sunrise you’d probably listen to a long trance-y song like this. Run time: 6:05 min.

5. The Blow – “Make It Up.” The drum samples hooked me. This track is highly reminiscent of some Bird and Bee. Khaela Maricich’s vocal samples are like dulcet echo loops for your ears. Run time: 3:17 min.

6. Night Beats – “Outta Mind.” Of note: they’re coming out with a new album “Sonic Bloom” this Sept. 24th. Other “of notes:” nice scream towards the end. Run time: 2:37 min.

7. MMOSS – “Another Dream.” Unlike other tracks on this mixtape, this song is heavy on the gospel psych rockish organs. Perhaps even it rivals the end of Night Beats’ “Out of Mind,” or not. “Another Dream” is more a haze than it is a rock anthem like “Outta Mind.” Run time: 2:48.

8. Candy Claws – “Transitional Bird (Clever Girl).” This title always makes me think of that scene from Jurassic Park with the velociraptor. It also doesn’t help Ryan Hover answered a question, in what is an otherwise completely bonkers, but entertaining interview with Progressive Man:

“Now, you classify yourselves as Dream Pop, but your music is incredibly diverse and genre bending. Your new album contains everything from ambient music to spaghetti western inspired songs. Do you guys try to stick to a genre or just let it flow?

Oh, we just say Dream Pop because I’m a dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period dreaming I’m a human in a band in 2013. But apparently our style fits the genre, so we’ll stick with it.

In my dream so far I’ve discovered some wonderful music, and I like to incorporate all my favorite parts into Candy Claws.

We’ve figured out a way to write an album of diverse songs, and still tie them together stylistically, mainly with the way our vocals are recorded and the dangerous levels of compression on the mix.”

“Transitional Bird (Clever Girl)” perhaps rivals The Besnard Lakes’ “People of the Sticks” (part of another 2013 album release) for me because of the sheer amount of guilty pleasure wrapped up in those psych rock hooks. Candy Claws is from Ft. Collins, Colorado. They’ve recorded two albums thus far “Hidden Lands” (2010) and “Ceres and Calypso in the Deep Time Forever” (2013). Run time: 4:24 min.

9. Dark Bells – “Wildflower.” This is a nice and morphy track. It is also more proof that Australia’s got something going on since the trio is from Sydney.  Because it’s another long one, with a run time of 6:06 min, let’s say this for the group: they’re moving to England now to further expand on that sound, they’ve got song structures where the bass line is rocking and made of pure awesome. And apparently they’ve been courted by small indie labels for sometime, but haven’t settled on one till now.

Band member Ashley Moss reveals: “We have recorded a single for a seven-inch release for a new label, Low Records, which will be put out at the end of the year.”