Sept 21 - Kelly Lee Owens / Lapalux

I'm sitting at the airport in Malaysia waiting for my flight, which is now delayed 15 minutes. I should be leaving in 25 minutes, but the plane still isn't here. Hopefully we don't get delayed too much, though, because I'm supposed to get off the plane in Singapore and go straight to meet a friend of a friend, who's taking me to another friend's house for a Rosh Hashana dinner. And I don't want to be super late. I'm already going to be late, so I just don't want to be even later. Plus Rosh Hashana started last night and I couldn't go to synagogue at all, because there is no synagogue in Kuala Lumpur. I'm kind of shocked. I know Malaysia is a Muslim country, but I expected there to at least be a Chabad. But I guess not. So I'm flying to Singapore tonight to go to synagogue in the morning, and at least do something Jewy for Rosh Hashana.

But while I'm sitting here waiting I can update this blog with some songies. Three very chilled out songies from two pretty chilled out artists. The first artist is Kelly Lee Owens. She just put out her debut eponymous album back in March or so, and I heard about her a few months ago but didn't pay much attention. She came up on a blog about artists to look out for at FYF, the music festival I was going to. And I liked the song they played by her, but not enough to pay more attention. And then I heard the song Lucid and am really paying attention. Take a listen.





Pretty good, right? Especially that last minute or so. So that got me to listen to the album, and it's all pretty chilled out and wonderful. And now I am a bit sad I missed her at FYF. But I'm just gonna go with there's someone else I like more that I would have chosen over her anyway, so no worries. But here's another song I really like: Bird.





And while we're playing super-chilled-out-electro-ish music, let's listen to Lapalux. I don't care enough to look this guy or girl or group up. I've heard them before, so I recognize the name, and then I heard this song Flickering, which features JFDR, and really love it. But it's like the only really good one off this album, and there's a bunch of weird and not so good stuff on this album. But listen to this wonderful song and chill out.





And now my plane is here, so here I go! Good timing!

Sept 17 - Bjork / Nai Palm

I've only had a one day weekend, but it's been a nice one day so far. That's also kind of a lie. It's been a 3 day weekend in a way. Friday I was still in Sri Lanka "working" from my hotel most of the morning, but then was at the office until 10pm waiting to go to the airport. It was not all work, only partially, but I guess we can say it was a half day? And then I was on a plane overnight Friday and most of Saturday. So while I pretty much just slept and watching movies, I did not get to spend it at home sleeping and watching movies, which is what I would have wanted. Quite annoying. But then I got back and went to a really nice house party last night, did some good yoga this morning, got some gifts for my friend for my upcoming trip to New Zealand, and now I'm just relaxing. And sharing music with you. Two exciting musics.

The first exciting music is The Gate, a new single from Bjork. It is very pretty. I don't know if this means there's a new album coming, or if it's just a random single, but I'm happy to have it. EDIT: Just looked it up. It's the first single off a new album called Utopia which is apparently due out in November! That's so soon! I will probably update this with the real video when it's released Monday, but for now I'm putting this filler video. Apparently the real video has Bjork wearing a Gucci gown that took 550 hours to make, and an additional 330 hours to embroider. Crazy.





And then there's the first single from Nai Palm. She's the lead singer of Hiatus Kaiyote, which we wall know is one of my favorite bands. She's put out Homebody this week, which is the first single off her debut solo album, Needle Paw, which will be out in about a month. This is not just more Hiatus Kaiyote music, it's very different, which is both good and bad. But I'm very excited to hear it.

Sept 13 - Wolf Parade

I'm in Sri Lanka now, which is the business trip I've been waiting for. I came last year for holiday and loved it, and I have a couple friends here, so I've been wanting to come back. Sadly now that I have, my friends are not really in town! Sucks. Well, one of them is today only, the other is not. So I'll have dinner with one tonight and not see the other. And I won't be spending the weekend like I wanted to since they're going to be out of town with family anyway. So not exactly the trip I was hoping for, but still nice. And the food is amazing. I just had a fantastic lunch of kottu roti, which is basically the Sri Lankan version of friend rice, but made with yesterday's leftover roti and cooked with curry. In this case fish curry, which is my favorite version of kottu roti. And I had it at this place I was recommended last time that I didn't get to, and holy shit it was amazing. So I'm a happy boy. Come to think of it, I had fish curry for breakfast too. I think I just love fish curry here. I know I love curry in general, but in Sri Lanka maybe it's the fish type specifically.

So there's this song I've been thinking of sharing for a couple of weeks since I first heard it. But then I didn't and then I kept hearing it, and now I definitely am. It's You're Dreaming, the latest single from Canadian indie rockers Wolf Parade. They went on hiatus back in 2011 after their third album, and then came back last year with an EP. And now there's a new album on the way, called Cry Cry Cry, and You're Dreaming is the second single. And it's a great one.




I first heard them many moons ago when I was living in Japan, actually. They had just put out their first album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, and a friend introduced me to them. And I immediately fell in love with the song I'll Believe in Anything. I didn't like the album enough to keep paying attention after that, so I missed albums 2 and 3 (plus this was in the pre-Spotify days when it was harder to keep track), but I will definitely have a listen to album 4. But here's a throwback to Album 1.

Sept 12 - Madeline Kenney

So I started saying the other day that I'd given more thought to what was upsetting me, and I think I can articulate it better. Basically, when my friend Julia left I felt like my last friend in Shanghai left. I still have plenty of people here, but Julia was the latest in a short list of people I really feel I can depend on and consider real friends. There's been like 4 in the 3 years I've been here. So these are people that make me feel included, make it clear that I'm also important, make me feel like they make time for me, etc. It's like most people are around and happy to hang out, but are not very proactive about it, or not very interested or something. But Julia was. So it was very sad for her to go, since I felt like I have nobody left here to depend on.

Now that I wrote it out, it feels like it didn't make much more sense than last time. But in my head it does. So I guess you'll just have to make do. Or just ignore that part and go straight to the music, which is really what this should be done with this blog.

So moving on to the music, today it's Madeline Kenney. And only Madeline Kenney. I think it's been a while since I gave a blog to a single artist. So she's this woman from Oakland who was like a baker and did all kinds of odd jobs and then started making music, and it turned out her music was really good, so she got signed and has an album now. But I think she also still works as a baker in a bakery? I don't know. All I know is I'm glad she's making music now.

She put out an EP last year called Signals, and just a week or so ago put out her debut album, Night Night At The First Landing. It's a great album. At first, I wasn't going to buy it, but then I realized that actually there's a ton of good songs on it and I should buy it. So I did. And I'm glad I did, cause I've been listening to it a lot. It starts out just so-so, but then Always comes on, and from there it's fantastic. Slow start, climax, and then slowly brings you back down. Great structure. So we're starting today with Always.





And after Always comes Big One, which is probably her best song. Also, the lyrics are super sexy. I don't think they're actually supposed to be, but with an opening line like "my other car is your face," all I can think of is her riding someone's face. Maybe it's me, not her. But either way, it's a great song. Really great song.

So yeah, after that, the album slows down a bit, but stays really strong. Great structure. And as it turns out, after buying the album, I realized that it didn't actually get really good from Always onward, it starts getting really good at John In Irish. Anyway, just listen to it all. You'll probably listen to it a lot, like me.

Sept 9 - My Brightest Diamond

So I realized I started writing a blog yesterday, and then stopped the personal stuff to write music stuff, and forgot to come back to write the personal stuff. Whoops! Anyway, not much time so I'm not gonna do it now. Instead I'm just going to share this very exciting track, called Wish For The Moon. It's a new track from my absolute favorite, the love of my life, My Brightest Diamond. She put out this acoustic track for part of some Amazon playlist thing, and she was talking about how she doesn't write acoustic tracks because she made a decision years ago about what is expected of women with acoustic guitars in music and didn't want to be boxed in, so she got weird instead. Go Shara. She's the best. Anyway, she then wrote this song, and she feels weird about it, but is happy with it, and so am I cause it's the first new My Brightest Diamond in a few years. And it's coming ahead of a new album! No clue if this will be on the album, or when the album is coming or anything else about it. All I know is she's almost done making it. So she says on Instagram and Facebook anyway. But for now, we have Wish For The Moon.

Sept 8 - Exhibitionist / Dylan Pratt / Kazy Lambist / Sam Frankl

I gave some more thought to what was upsetting me the other day.

So there were a ton of great songs on my weekly discovery playlist from Spotify. A lot of artists who either just have one (or a few) singles, or maybe just one EP out and now a new single that's much better than the EP. And it was strong from the get-go, with Hands, the first single from Exhibitionist. All I know is they're from Sydney and this song is great.





And then there was Dylan Pratt. There's some serious Thom Yorke / Radiohead vibes on this man's 3rd single. The other two are not nearly this good, but I really like Traveling Act. I know even less about this guy. I think he's from Phoenix, not even sure about that. But I'll be looking for more.





This came right on the heels of Kazy Lambist. I know more about this guy because I actually found one article about him. He's from the south of France, he's a singer and songwriter, and he's got one (not so great) EP, and now a few new singles which are good. Shutdown being my favorite.

Not much to say about the last guy either. Sam Frankl put out his first single, Gold Rush, and it's a great start. He's British. That's all I've got. So we start and end with two great first singles from new artists. Gotta love it.

Sept 5 - Iron & Wine / Loyle Carner

Today didn't start out as a very good day. I think it's sinking in that my friend Julia left. She was pretty much my closest friend here, and actually maybe the only person I consider a real friend here who I can actually depend on. Obviously I have other friends, but it's not the same. You know what I mean. Anyway, so yeah it sucks, and I woke up feeling like it sucked today. But it was a pretty good day at work and now I've got some yoga and dinner planned for the evening and I'm feeling much better. And it also helps that when I feel like my friends aren't around and available we all end up making plans, so it helps with that. I guess I'm not really around either, but I feel like I make myself available when I am. Anyway, we're done with that now.

I don't know how I haven't put Iron & Wine on the blog yet this year. He's finally got a new album, and it's great. Back to his roots. It's called Beats Epic, which is a bit of a misnomer, but I think I read something where he said he picked it cause it just sounded cool. Anyway, it is very good. And there is one song in particular which is amazing, and that song is Call It Dreaming.





Anyway so that's gorgeous. But that's not actually the reason I came here. I actually meant to talk about Loyle Carner. So now I can do that. He put out his first album recently, Yesterday's Gone. I thought I first heard about him because he was nominated for the Mercury Prize. But it turns out that he's done a lot of work with Tom Misch, and so I've heard him on Tom Misch stuff before. And now Tom Misch is on his album. There are a ton of great songs, one of my favorites being Damselfly (which features Tom Misch). From all the Mercury Prize nominees that I hadn't heard of, he's definitely the best one. This is a great album. And I think he's actually half Jewish, a la Drake. Which I obviously am a fan of.

Sept 2 - Widowspeak / Gordi / Jade Bird

It's been a pretty lazy Saturday. I did go to the gym this morning, so that was good. And then I ended up Skyping my family for like 3 hours. The day started out beautifully so I was a bit bummed cause I wanted to be outside and everyone was busy, but once the skyping finished it had turned kind of gross. So it was all good. And anyway I'm probably going out for a bit soon. But I think it's going to be a very quiet and early evening for me. Which is fine, cause I am a bit bummed after talking to the family. Just a lot of drama going on, and it sucks, but anyway things are fine and everyone is healthy, if a bit stressed.

But in happier news, here's some good new music from some great ladies, starting with Widowspeak. It's actually not a lady, it's a band with a lady at the front. I heard them years ago when their first album came out, and somehow missed everything after that. Or I just have no real recollection. But they just put out their 4th album, Expect The Best, and it's pretty great. In the vein of the rocky ladies I love like Sharon Van Etten. So here's When I Tried, a great track off the album.




And then there's Gordi, who put out her first album, Reservoir, recently also. And it's great indie pop. She had an EP a while ago, and then just one great single after the other. I don't know why I haven't written about her before. Because now I'm going way back to one of the first songs from the album, Can We Work It Out, which was actually on the EP but somehow didn't make the blog. And if you weren't already convinced, she's also on Jagjaguwar, which is generally a good sign.




And we'll add in one more song for good measure. This is Something American, the title track off Jade Bird's debut EP, also called Something American. Coincidentally, she is not American. She is British. But she makes country-esque folky music, and I just really like her voice. The music is nothing amazing, really, but it is very nice and sticks in my head. So here's one more.

Sept 1 - Jessie Ware / Ibeyi

I have barely been able to write anything in here. Mostly because I've been on the road a lot so haven't been listening to a lot of new music. And then last weekend I was super busy with goodbyes. One of my closest friends left last Monday to move home, which sucks. And she's just the first of a few who are leaving in the next couple of months. And a couple that are staying got pregnant so they're basically out of the picture. So yeah, I'm losing all my friends. Again. This happens a lot, what with being an expat and all. It sucks. I need to meet new people. Or I just need to leave myself. But I do like it a lot here....

But I do have some good new music. The War On Drugs put their album out last week, and it turned out to be great. Really great. Greater than I expected. There's no track like Red Eyes, but it's still a great album. And then there's other ones I'll share, but I'll do that tomorrow. Today I'm just going to put up a couple new songs I heard and like before I go out for some drinks.

First up is Jessie Ware's new single. People like her a lot. I'm not one of those people. I like her fine, but not as crazy about her as everyone seemed to be when her first album came out. But now she's put out this song Selfish Love and I really like it. I think it might be her best song. This is the 2nd single of the year, and she hasn't had an album out since 2014, so I guess she's got a new one coming out.





And then there's Ibeyi. These sisters make some very cool music, and had some very cool songs, which turned into a pretty disappointing album. They've been putting out new music lately, and now with Deathless (a song featuring Kamasi Washington) they've hit gold again. Their new album, Ash, will be out later this month, and I'm sure will be worth checking out, if nothing else.