Friday, April 14, 2017

Apr 15 - Alex Napping / Day Wave

OK, now I can write the blog I wanted to write this week. Basically, the week was really long and tiring and I was sick and not sleeping well so I just had no energy to write anything. Until yesterday I finally started feeling a bit better.

After coming back from Singapore & Malaysia last weekend, for some reason I just wasn't sleeping well. I don't know why. But all weekend I wasn't sleeping enough, and I had a cold, so going into the week was already a bit rough. And then Passover started. Passover is always a tough week, because I'm so limited on what I can and can't eat, and we all know how much I love cooking, so that doesn't help. But it is the one time of year that I do cook, because otherwise I can't eat. And I do love to eat. So I started the cooking on Monday, which I spent at home instead of at the office because I was hosting a Seder. I hosted a Seder last year, and I wanted to do it again this year, because I do actually really like Passover, despite the difficulties. I think it's like the closest thing Jews have to Thanksgiving, where you have a huge family meal together and eat a ton and (hopefully) enjoy times with your family Which I do. But they are not here. So I hosted dinner for like 15 people, and my friend Julia and I spent all Monday cooking. It was really great, but I was already sick and tired going into it, so spending the entire day cooking and then staying up until like 1am to clean and stuff before going to work at 6:30 on Tuesday to welcome a new employee did not help. And then it didn't slow down from there, because on Tuesday I had another Seder. The 2nd one I did at Chabad, one of the synagogues here in town, so I didn't have to prep all day or anything, but it was also long and drawn out and I was still unable to get good sleep. Then Wednesday was a team dinner to welcome this new employee, and finally on Thursday I got some time to myself. So I just stayed home and watched a movie and actually slept well for the first time in a week. Which was amazing. I potentially undid all that last night when I stayed out until 4am, but then I didn't wake up until like 11, so maybe I'm still good. I feel pretty good today.

And now I have the energy to write about the artists that I wanted to. The first is Alex Napping, a Texas band headed by (obvious Jew) Alex Cohen. I don't know where I first heard them, but they showed up on this new release playlist Spotify makes me based on what I've listened to, because they just released their latest single, Fault, off their upcoming debut Mise en Place, which is out next month.





So I heard Fault and really liked it, then went and listened to the other singles they've put out from the upcoming album, and then I went and listened to their last single before this, Trembles, which contains both Trembles I and Trembles II. And that's when I realized that I'd heard Trembles II somewhere, which is why they must have showed up on my release radar, which is great because Trembles II is fantastic, and now I'm super excited for the album (which I immediately pre-ordered after listening to all this). You should already know I love these ladies that rock, and Alex Napping fits perfectly in there with Jay Som and IAN SWEET and Sharon Van Etten and all the other greats.





And the other artist for today is Day Wave, who's been making waves (see what I did there?) since releasing his first single, Wasting Time, last year. Have a listen.





I enjoyed Wasting Time when I first heard it, but didn't think too much of it. But then he's just been putting out one great single after the other. And I love this sound of his/theirs (Day Wave is the brainchild of a he, but has a band also. So not sure how to refer to him/them). I never got into that Metronomy style surfer rock that was really popular a couple years ago. It was always a bit boring for me. But I feel like this has taken that chilled out vibe and elevated it to a new level. And kind of also falls into the whole Jay Som, chilled out, rocky sound. But maybe more like Hazel English and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Which is now getting into male territory instead of just these ladies that rock. But now we're talking about the music, not the ladies. Anyway, I like it. I feel like this might be my sound of 2017. We'll see. But for now, here's one more from Day Wave: Promises. This is the one that really caught my attention. And makes me do my awkward white boy wiggle. So of course, just like Alex Napping, I had to immediately go and pre-order their upcoming debut album.


No comments:

Post a Comment