Oct 28 - Slenderbodies / Aquilo / Tune-Yards

Oh goodness, I just spent like 2 hours trying to get my VPN to work again. It seems like my problem was that I had a dedicated IP address, which was a great thing, until it stopped working. Apparently China has blocked the IP address. Which is what led to my not being able to connect for like weeks. Add the big Communist Party that's been going on for the last week on top of this, and things were impossible. But now I'm back on the VPN! So I can share music with you. But I'm not gonna write a bunch cause I just want to share music, take a nap, and then watch a movie before dinner.

But I will say, I went to Cirque du Soleil last night! That was super fun. Always great to see a good show. This was my 4th time seeing them, and actually it was maybe the worst show so far. It just seemed very circusy, instead of their typical incredible acrobatic acts. I don't know if maybe they figured in China they should move away from the acrobatic stuff, which may seem cool to foreigners but not to Chinese, and stick more to things which are novel to them. It would make sense. And anyway, even though it was just typical circus acts (mostly, not totally), they still present it with such an incredible level of spectacle and detail that you can't help being impressed. And add the live music on top of that, and it's even better. So yeah, good night. Plus I got oysters and wine after, so even better.

Speaking of incredible, I've got an incredible song to share with you now. It comes from the LA duo Slenderbodies. They have a couple of EPs out, and make some pretty nice stuff. But there is one song in particular that I just love, and it is Little Islands, off of their fabulist EP from earlier this year. I love the falsetto vocals, and the dreamy, bubbly guitars that just wander off into space, and how it's all pulled together and brought back to earth by the drum beat. Great combination of sounds. Love it.





Also giving great falsetto and dreamy music is Aquilo. Another dreamy duo, in fact, but this time from the UK. I heard their song Thin, and it is beautiful. And dreamy. Especially around 2:30 where the bells or whatever come in, and the vocals get super awesome. Lots of dreamy today.





So anyway, I loved that one, and then I went to listen to their first album, Silhouettes, that came out in January, and it's boring. It's nice, just really boring. But then their other post-Silhouettes single, I Could Fight On A Wall, is also great and not boring. Kind of Bon Iver-y, even. So I think this is a great direction and whatever they're going to do next, I am quite excited for. If you like these two songs, go ahead and give Silhouettes a listen, but don't expect the level of goodness in these two tracks.

So that was the blog post I had planned for today, but then something amazing happened. Tune-Yards released a new single, called Look At Your Hands. Now this one is not dreamy. This one is funky. As you might expect from Tune-Yards. I think her third album was a bit too funky, and this keeps a bit of the funk, but I kind of like it. Especially after a few listens. Really, this woman is just incredible, and she has a new album coming out in January and I can't wait.

Oct 20 - Cut Copy / Hiatus Kaiyote / Sufjan Stevens / Wild Beasts / Nilufer Yanya / First Aid Kit

Man, I have a lot of catching up to do. It's been a month since I last wrote a blog. And in that time, I went to Malaysia and worked for a week, spent a weekend in Singapore with friends, spent 2 weeks in New Zealand eating and drinking my way through the country, then came back to Shanghai for 2 days, after which I was again in Malaysia for 5 days to throw a couple of big, year-end events, then straight to Tianjin where I also threw a big annual event. And now I'm still here. And I'm exhausted. It has been a crazy month, with like zero time for writing or even catching up on music. I guess in New Zealand I should have had time, since that was vacation. But we basically had long days of eating and drinking the first week, plus a few days of no internet, and then more long days of exploring Wellington and eating and drinking. I'll probably write about it more in my next blog, cause I totally loved New Zealand. The rest of it was just super busy with work, pulling lots of 10+ hour days and working weekends. So today I'll focus on music. A lot of music that I've been catching up on over the last week and a half, that I basically missed over the last month.

We'll start with Standing In The Middle Of The Field, the opening track off of Cut Copy's new album Haiku From Zero. This came out just as I was going to New Zealand, and it's maybe their best album. That's a bold claim because I haven't listened to their last 3 albums in a while, but anyway this album is really great, and the opening track Standing In The Middle Of The Field is totally amazing. And it just gets better and builds as it goes along. I totally love it.





So that was actually pre-New Zealand and I wanted to write about it during my trip, but as mentioned, no time and often no internet. And the rest is all stuff that I found post-New Zealand, but which I just haven't had time to write about. So now we really start catching up. And the first is a song called No Weight, which is an unreleased track from Hiatus Kaiyote, one of my favorite bands. I found out about it while reading a Reddit AMA with Nai Palm, the lead singer. Her solo album comes out today, and in the AMA someone asked about this song, and she said she hates it and never wanted it to be released. So I went and found it, and I do not hate it at all. I think it's great and that you should know about it.





I also found out that Sufjan Stevens has a bit of new stuff and is putting out an EP. Well, he calls it a mixtape. It's 4 outtakes from Carrie & Lowell, his latest album, and some remixes and demos. It's not out until November, but he released a new single called Wallowa Lake Monster, which is lovely. It's one of the outtakes, and it would have fit perfectly onto the album. Which, luckily, means it's still the same style as the songs on Carrie & Lowell, which I appreciate. He got a bit weird for a while, so I'm glad he's back with the beautiful and sad songs that made me love him in the first place, and still keeping that up.

Wild Beasts also has a new EP coming out. But this one makes me sad. Because this one is their farewell EP. Because they are breaking up. I don't know why they would make such a horrible decision to deprive me of their music. It's really not cool. But they're doing it anyway, and will put out 3 final songs on an EP called Punk Drunk and Trembling. The title track came out a couple weeks ago (the EP comes out today) and is really fantastic. I read they were saying it's kind of a perfect ending because it's a song made of snippets and ideas that spanned their entire career, which only just came fruition as a song now, at the end of their time as a band. It's a great one, with all the weird and sexy sounds that I love about them, but still makes me quite sad. Especially considering that when I first saw it I thought this meant something new was coming. Which was right, but also so wrong. Sad times. That's probably why the guy in the video is crying. I guess I'm just glad I've managed to see them a couple times, and now I only hope that one of the songs on the EP will be sung by Tom, and not only songs by Hayden.





While one band is disappearing, at least I've got some good, new stuff to share. Not that it can replace Wild Beasts, but Nilufer Yanya is pretty great and I am pretty excited about what she's doing. I heard Baby Luv today, then I went to listen to everything else she's made, and it's all great. I can't wait for more. I love her voice, and her minimalist sound. Super fantastic. So far, there's just a couple EPs and a new single, which I'm playing for you now. But I want more, and I want it soon.

OK, last one for today and then I think we're caught up on all the new stuff I want to share. Next blog I can actually write about New Zealand and maybe talk about a single artist or something. We'll see what inspires me. But for now, here's on more song, from First Aid Kit. They put out their first single from their upcoming album. The album doesn't have a name or release date that I'm aware of yet, but It's A Shame has got me excited for it. Basically the same, old, wonderful sound you expect of First Aid Kit.