Apr 19 - Wye Oak / Art School Girlfriend

So I've had quite the relaxing week in my little German village. Work hasn't been too crazy, which is good but also bad because I'm in a shared office right by the door which means everyone can see what I'm doing when they walk by so there's no safe way for me to waste time if I have it to waste. So I actually have to just like read news or something. Or do real work all the time. Who does that? But in positive news the weather is great here and I ate gelato today!

What else can I tell you? I won't tell you about Japan now, that'll come later. My sister got a job! That's exciting. She started Monday, working as a photographer at a fancy British international school. So yay for her! She's doing great! It's a 2 year contract, which is definitely not the 6 months she intended to spend in Shanghai. But she'll love it. Obviously. Cause it's the best. And cause I'm there. Duh.

Ok, music. I really thought I had already shared new music from Wye Oak, but I was wrong. I haven't shared anything by Wye Oak in a few years. The most recent thing was music from Flock of Dimes, the solo act of the singer from Wye Oak. But they just put out a new album a couple of weeks ago called The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs. And the lead single, also called The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs, came out like months ago, and I love it. It's so good. How did I not share it already??? Well, I am now.





Good stuff, right? Like this is solid Wye Oak. Wye Oak is usually pretty solid, but not always, but this time yes. The whole album is. It came out and for like a week it was the only thing I wanted to listen to. I love it. Great album. The other great song is the opening track, The Instrument. It's not technically the opener, cause there's an intro before it, but it is the first actual song. And it's a great one. So those are your two Wye Oak songs for today, but just go listen to the whole album. Over and over and over like me.





And then I want to throw something new in for you, in the form of Art School Girlfriend. I just found this Welsh artist last week, from her newest single Moon, which came out about a month ago. Now, Moon is a great song, so as usual I then went to listen to more. And in her case, more just means one EP, Measures, which came out last year. And it's fantastic. Vocally, she kid of reminds me of Wye Oak (which is why I put her in here, too). Musically, also, to a degree, but darker and broodier. Like, all her songs are pretty dark and broody. But beautiful. It was hard to pick just one, but I went with Measures, the title track from her EP. But she is definitely an artist to watch.

Apr 16 - Palatine

So I just spent the weekend in Paris. Well, like 36 hours. But it was a good time. As I mentioned, I went for the My Brightest Diamond concert. Which was, as expected, amazing. She is amazing. She opened for this guy Dominique A, who I had never heard of and was not that impressed with so left early. But he was fine, I guess. And anyway I was just there for her. The only reason I really stuck around for him (other than to just check it out) was to see if she would come out and listen and then I could meet her. I did not. But then I posted on Instagram and she liked and commented on my photo! So that was super exciting.

But in honor of Paris, I'm sharing this awesome new band I just found last week, called Palatine. They put out their debut album, Grand Paon de Nuit, a couple of weeks ago, and I think it is fantastic. I think it is one of the best debut albums I've heard in a long time (aside from Haley Heynderickx, who we've already talked about and who is more amazing, but these guys are still amazing). Pretty artsy, a la Benjamin Clementine. Kind of dark, moody, emotional folk rock. Or so I assume, because I understand very little. And everything I can find out about these guys is in French. There's like nothing in English. Very annoying. But I do know they are French and there are 4 of them. So there's that.

But yeah, let's get into the music. I wanted to share Paris - l'ombre because I was in Paris, but then also it is a great song. Especially at around 2 minutes where that loopy guitar comes in. I actually love the kind of weird, nostalgic guitar throughout the whole song. Somehow makes me think of a Quentin Tarantino movie. But especially that loopy bit at 2 minutes.





Everything else I can only find on Spotify. Well that's not true. Baton Rouge is on YouTube. But I want to share other songs more than Baton Rouge. It's also a good song, but not as good as Golden Trinckets, for example. This one is much harder, which I love. And it's in English! Which I don't care about, but maybe you do? Anyway, same kind of nostalgic, rocky, moody sound that I love from these guys.




And last we have the closing track from the album, C'etait un Loup. I love the little "ah-ahs" and the part where it breaks down and then really picks up with the "ah-ahs" at about 2:30 and basically everything else about this song. In fact, I love everything about this album. I listened to it like half a dozen times on repeat while wandering Paris. It was perfect. Exactly what I wanted. So glad I found these guys. And hopefully you will be, too.

Apr 13 - My Brightest Diamond / Florence + The Machine

Today is going to be a very good blog post. I'm not going to say much, cause I'm in a bit of a rush to finish packing and head to the airport because I'm flying to Paris. Because of that, I wanted to share songs about Paris or in French. But then some fun things happened which changed what I'm going to share today. And in addition to the exciting things I'm sharing today, there's a new album out from Brazilian Girls. I've mentioned that it's coming and it's finally here. I need to listen and then I'll share more from that soon. Probably along with music from Tom Misch and Sofi Tukker's albums, which also just came out last week and today, respectively. And this is on the heels of new Meshell Ndegeocello and The Decemberists. And also there's a new Empress of single. Good week(s) for music.


So why am I going to Paris? For a concert, before I have to be in Germany for work Monday. What concert, you ask? My Brightest Diamond. That is correct. She is my favorite. I know I say that a lot, but she might actually be my favorite. And I was going to share songs in French or about Paris because I'm going there to see her, and luckily her new single from her upcoming EP is in French. It's called Champagne, and so is the EP she'll be releasing at the end of the month. And I get to see it (or something) performed tomorrow. I can not fucking wait. I am so excited. Also, she posted on Instagram the other day about the Paris show and I commented about being excited to go and then she went and looked at my Instagram and liked photos! So she knows I'm coming. She probably wants to meet me. Right?





So yeah I was going to share that anyway, cause it's very fitting. But then I had some other French songs to share, which I'm now postponing. Why, you ask again? Because Florence + The Machine just released a new single. That is correct. Again, I know I say this a lot, but she may also be my favorite. Between these two women, I'm not sure I could choose. This may be the best blog post I've ever written. I don't know. But all of this makes me so happy. The new song is called Sky Full of Song, and it's a stand-alone single for Record Store Day, which comes with a recording of a poem she wrote as the b-side. There is an album coming, supposedly this year, and she's now starting to announce festival dates for the summer (including headlining the wonderful FYF Festival in downtown LA). So definitely something is coming. And I can't wait.

Apr 12 - Jonathan Wilson

So it's been a pretty busy week back in the office, and I'm off to Germany tomorrow night for the next couple weeks (with a bit of vacation, but more on that tomorrow). But now we're going back into the archives a few weeks to talk about Dunhuang, in western China.

My sister and I went a few weeks ago. I had a business trip to western China, to Lanzhou, which just so happens to be the capital of Gansu province. Which just so happens to be in the same province as Dunhuang. Which just so happens to be the #1 place I've wanted to visit in China for over 10 years now but hadn't gone. But now I did! The main reason to go is the Mogao caves. They're Buddhist temple cave grottoes which are covered in colorful frescoes, dating back over 1000 years. They're just outside the very small city of Dunhuang, which used to be a Silk Road garrison town, right near the borders of China at the time. Buddhism passed through, and for whatever reason they loved it in Dunhuang. So then they set up a huge temple complex and it just kept growing cave by cave, finally with over 400, all elaborately decorated. It's one of the 3 major Buddhist cave grotto sites in China, and is said to be the best. When you visit, you get to see like 9 or 10 caves with a guide, and no photos are allowed, but you should definitely google it, cause they are pretty amazing. Most of the caves are quite small, just a little room with a statue of the Buddha and maybe some disciples, but then every inch of the walls and ceiling are covered in paintings. The same is true of the few larger caves that exist, some of which are massive. The biggest actually holds a giant Buddha statue that's like 9 stories tall and you can climb up. Well, you can't, but it is possible to do. Maybe you can do it if you register in advance, cause they told us that there are special caves they don't take tourists to, unless you call ahead, then they will. So call ahead and ask if you go. But anyway, even this giant cave, and the other huge ones which are like 3 stories tall, are also covered completely in frescoes. It's insane. And it's even more insane how well the quality has been maintained for over 1000 years. I'm sure it has to do with the dry desert area (this area is a huge desert, it's right in the middle of the Gobi) and the fact that they are hidden inside caves, but still. Super impressive.

Other than the caves, I also wanted to go out into the middle of the desert where you can see the far end of the Great Wall. Although, this is not the Great Wall everyone thinks of. Everyone things of the Ming wall. But well before that there was the Han Great Wall, which was really just a wall of straw and mud, built as a border, not as a defensive tool. So you can go see that along with some of the watchtowers and border forts. They all sit alone in the middle of the desert, and when you visit you're often the only one there, which is pretty amazing. At least that was the case for us since we visited during low season. And then we also went to see the Yardang land formations, which are these nutty rocks that are out in the middle of the desert. And there's a really famous oasis pavilion from some rich family right on the edge of the Crescent Lake. It's right in the middle of the sand dunes, and makes for some good photos. They've turned the sand dunes into a huge amusement park though, so it's swarmed with people. But it's also swarmed with fun activities, so that's good.

Anyway, I highly recommend Dunhuang. Honestly, a day is enough to just go see the caves. The town itself is super boring. And the other sites are fun, but not worth traveling all the way across China to get to. But the caves are worth it. Totally. And there's this delicious beer duck in Dunhuang. Look it up. Cause if you don't find it, you'll end up just eating a ton of donkey. That and dried fruit seem to be all they've got. It's good, no complaints, but definitely look for beer duck.

Ok and on to the music. Today we have Jonathan Wilson. This guy has apparently been around for quite some time, but I never heard about him until very recently, when I heard the song Loving You. He's a producer based in north LA, like Laurel Canyon and Silver Lake. Which makes total sense when you listen to him. He would be that kind of guy. Loving You is a really cool song, mixing chilled out rock (a la The War On Drugs) with tribal chanting. For like 7 minutes. I love it.




So this is off of Jonathan Wilson's newest album, Rare Birds, which came out last month. And it is nothing like the rest of the album. The rest of the album is much dirtier. For some reason it reminds me of a mix between Miike Snow and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes. At least Trafalgar Square has something a bit Miike Snowy to it. But like later Miike Snow, not early Miike Snow, when they got less electronic. It's also a great song.





Normally I'd only share two tracks, but there is one more stand-out track which I really like on an album that I otherwise find good but not great. That song is Me. But anyway you know I must like this guy if I shared 3 songs and gave him his own post without adding something else in.

April 3 - Rhye / Let's Eat Grandma

Well, I've done it again and waited forever to write something. But I did have a busy week last week. I haven't even taken time to share music in like 10 days. And it's been like 20 since I actually wrote something. But today I'll write something else. I'll finish writing about Australia.

It seems like so long ago, but here we go anyway. Last time I only wrote about Perth, but that was not the entire trip. We also went north from Perth to a region called the Coral Coast. As you may have guessed from the name, we went to see coral and do other oceany activities. We flew up to Learmonth, and then got a car and drove all the way down to this place called Shark's Bay, like 7 hours away. It is in the middle of nowhere. In a national park. And there is just one little town and one little resort called Monkey Mia. And people go there to see dolphins, which is why we went there. And it's also beautiful, in a weird, alien kind of way. This area is like the real Outback. Red sand, scrub forever, huge skies, and beautiful, blue oceans. But nothing else. Except dead kangaroos everywhere. So much kangaroo roadkill. We almost made more, also, when a huge guy decided to jump out onto the road in front of us late at night in the middle of the Shark's Bay National Park where there are no lights. But we didn't hit him and it was all good. So then we spent a night there and went kayaking with dolphins! It was a very long drive for a very short stay. Only 2 nights, with only one full day of activities, but the dolphins are great and you get super close, and we were in the middle of nowhere. Then we drove back up towards Learmonth to stop in a place called Coral Bay for, you guessed it, coral. We stayed right in front of the ocean and basically just went to the beach. Because when you're at the beach here, you just have to walk into the water about 30 feet and then it drops off a bit and there's coral and sealife everywhere. It is very impressive. So we basically just chilled out and went swimming a bunch. Plus we did do one day trip where they took us deeper into the water so Shuk-wah could dive while I snorkeled, but that was it. Just beaching and swimming and coraling. Pretty amazing. Then we flew back to Perth to get another car and go south.

South of Perth, the main things is Margaret River, which is the wine region. I wanted to do it after Shuk-wah left and spend more time up north, but she really wanted to get down south as well so we squished it all in. That meant we only had time for a couple nights in Margaret River - one night before and one night after our wine tour. We were on a wine tour with like 3 other people, this American guy about our age who quit his job to go traveling, and an older Australian couple from the east coast who were super sweet. It was a great day, cause they not only took us to like 4 wineries, but also to a coffee roastery and cheesemaker and a brewery and other local artisanal shops. We were specifically looking for something like that, not just trying to get wasted (although they did give us lots of wine and I was drunk by 10am). It's totally different down south, much more lush and foresty. Actually I wanted to spend more time after Shuk-wah left because it would have allowed me to go to Albany and see these giant trees they have. And I also found out they have these trees down there called Tuarts, which are apparently similar to redwoods and totally massive. But we didn't have time to see them. Well, we could have, but we decided to spend our extra time on the way back to Perth going to Penguin Island. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Although we only found 1 penguin, and only because Shuk-wah was able to really think like a penguin and find one hiding under a rock. So actually, it was not super exciting. Not like when I've seen penguins in other places. But still, penguins. Can't complain!

So that was pretty much the trip. Like in a tiny, little, itsy-bitsy nutshell. Just the highlights spread over a month of posts and taking me 3 months to write. Go me. Next I have to tell you about my sister moving here and also my trip to Dunhuang, which has been my top place to visit in China for over a decade. And I'm going to Japan tomorrow, so we'll have to add that. Oy.

But for now, we'll focus on music. Rhye released a new album. Like two months ago at this point, but you know. At least I'm telling you about it. Honestly, I would not have expected myself to tell you about it, because I was not a huge fan of their first album, Woman. But then the new album, Blood, is really good. Well, overall it's good, but there are some really good songs like Taste.





Nice one, right?? So I never paid attention on the first album (and I did go back and listen and still maintain that it is not very good), but rather just assumed that Rhye was a woman. Rhye is not a woman however. Rhye is a duo. And the singer is Milosh, who is a man. Weird times right? But now that you know, you can kind of hear it. Go ahead and give Phoenix a listen. This is the other one I really like.

And then, because it's been so long that I've been meaning to write about Rhye and I've amassed more songs to share, I'll give you one other. That other song is Falling Into Me, the latest single from the UK duo Let's Eat Grandma. I'm not sure if I heard their first album back in like 2015. I need to go listen and see. But they're working on a new one, and this single is great. So now you can listen to it.