Weekend Wind-down

Image of Bondi on ice taken from this site

A friend of mine at the start of July said something along the lines of "this is the worst month of the year." At first I thought that was an obscure thing to say but the last month has been a pretty hard one for myself and my friends. There's been plenty of bad news and illness to go around and it's a relief to see the month of July ploughed off and the last month of winter coming in now.
Thankfully there's plenty of quiet slow moody music to appreciate when your in a quiet slow and moody state of mind. As I bounce back from the monstrous headache I woke up with this morning I'm preparing myself for a weekend of recovery.

And I bring you a "Weekend Wind-down" mix of tunes.

Sufjan Stevens - Pittsfield [buy]

There's a reason why Sufjan Stevens is one of the biggest names on the blogosphere. Arguably my favourite artist ever. This is one of his lesser known songs but even so, you can see where his talent lies: he hits the simple melody so perfectly.

Aviator Lane - Lengthways We'll Run
Where to buy: I've seen this on sale at Red Eye Records in Sydney city but I didn't have money to buy it at the time. Not sure if you can buy it online anywhere but you can check out his official website

This guy, Michael Radzevicius, has ties with Art of Fighting and resides in Adelaide. He has played, supporting artists like Okkervil River and Dappled Cities Fly. I haven't heard much of his stuff but Lengthways is a smooth nice song. You can see the Art of Fighting influence (I think Marty Brown, of Art of Fighting, produces his music, but I'm not entirely sure cause it's been some years since I first heard this song).

Brian Campeau - Montreal

I heard this guy and this song from radio station JJJ's Unearthed website. There's a multitude of talented unknowns floating on this site and you can freely download songs they've legally allowed for your listening pleasure. The only drawback is sifting through all the music you might not like. But rest assured, you can listen before you download and add it to your itunes list.

Crowded House - Together Alone [buy]

This was a surprise gem for me. I was pretty young when I first heard Crowded House. I'm nearly 24 so it just goes to show how long their music has lasted. Anyway the point is the only album I'd owned was a best of. I recently bought a few of the albums cause they were on sale and this song really blew me away. It's not really their typical style but I think the vocals fit in really well. And, well, it reminds me of The Lion King. There, I said it. I'm sentimental. But take a listen and lemme know what you think. Would it be worthy of replacing, say, Pineapple Head, on the Recurring Dream best of album? Meanwhile, anyone else think the new album sucks?

Feist - La Meme Histoire [buy]

Thanks to Fabulist for this little number. It slowly grows on you, this track. It's not quite up there with the songs you'll find on The Reminder but when you're in the right mood it clicks well.

Midlake - Van Occupanther [buy]

This was one of my top albums last year. Somehow these Texans have taken the sound of Stills and Young and modernised it with a rocky edge. Just take a listen, it works well.

Shapes and Sizes - The Taste in My Mouth [buy]

Thanks to Open Your Eyes for opening my... ears to this song. Not sure if I like these guys or not yet. There's elements of their music I like which reminds me a little of The New Pornographers but often the experimentalism gets in the way. In this song they strip away the noise and just play. Beautiful vocals, beautiful song.

Bishop Allen - The Monitor [buy]

Pop melodies driven fast or slow, depending on the song, these guys have created an elusive sound which has caught up with me pretty quickly. Early on I didn't quite get the fnadom surrounding Bishop Allen but each song I've heard while shuffling my ipod has had me wondering "hmm, who is this?" and looking to see it's none other than the Bishops.

Modeselektor - The White Flash (feat. Thom Yorke) [buy]

I haven't heard Modeselktor before but this is one of the coolest songs spinning the blogosphere at the moment. And I can't resist Thom Yorke's vocals. Some of his best work (even better than a lot of songs on his The Eraser). This song is off an album to be released later this year. I'll have to take a closer look at these guys.