Daily Doses: James Vincent McMorrow “If I Had A Boat” From The James Vincent McMorrow EP (2010)

With his debut U.S release, Dublin’s James Vincent McMorrow delivers material that flawlessly flows between haunting folk melodies, driving ghostly romps, and stripped down campfire tales.

Now, it would be impossible not to compare McMorrow’s sound with that of Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. But to be dismissive of it because of those similarities would be a mistake. After spending some time with his ethereal harmonies, at no point does it feel that he’s merely a derivative of those artists. More so that his own vision and vocal prowess is strong enough to place him in that illustrious company.

The E.P. is comprised of 4 tracks. Two of them from McMorrow’s upcoming full length on Vagrant, Early In The Morning. The other two, newly released 8 track demos. 

“If I Had A Boat” (featured above) is one of the former group. A story of that tried and true Irish need to return to a loved one over some body of water, featuring one of the richest piano sounds I’ve heard in a while, as well as some beautiful banjo work for additional color. And when you combine those with those vocals?

Hard to top that.

Download James Vincent McMorrow’s “If I Had A Boat”

Daily Doses: Sumsun “Non-Menthol Dub” From Sample Based Life (2010)

I hadn’t checked into my soundcloud account for a bit, so I’d missed a flurry of activity including this beautiful bit of “Cosmic Dub” chaos from Florida’s Sumsun. 

Building up subtle beats underneath an expanding sonic layer, “Non-Menthol Dub” really nails what bands like Sumsun and Hear Hums do so well. They blend sounds together until they become their own complete world, then break them back down into nothing.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Sumsun also recently released their first cassette on one of my favorite tape labels, Leaving Records, entitled Samo Milagro, and you should absolutely grab a copy.

Download Sumsun’s “Non-Menthol Dub”

Daily Doses: Pepepiano “Bruce Springsteen”

Since first introducing himself to the world with the single “No Way” Earlier this year, Pepepiano (Aka David Bird) has jumped between frenetic pop, to down-tempo beats, to straight up jams.

On “Bruce Springsteen” the first single from his just announced upcoming EP, he continues to experiment, this time with a lush low-key jaunt through his surroundings. Lyrically traversing through -

The muscle heroes of the board walk, 
purple visions of the buggy boyz, in the early morning 

It’s a dawn walk through the fog breaking off the waves in Southern California. It’s also up there with the best songs I’ve heard in the past few months.

Download Pepepiano’s Bruce Springsteen For Free From His Bandcamp

Daily Doses: Police Academy 6 and Unouomedude “Icarus” (From the upcoming Police Academy 6 LP)

Icarus was a dreamer.

While others might be content to sit back and float along, he took his new wings and pushed to the limits, gave into temptation and just followed his heart. Of course in the end he played too fast and loose with the sun and paid for it. Falling to his death in the ocean below.

For two artists that have made their name with synth odes to the sun and the waves, it’s a great basis for a song. 

Police Academy 6, who have released a series of singles tapped Unouomedude, who recently released the beautiful Marsh E.P. for this beautiful first single off their upcoming LP. It’s a perfect meeting of their two worlds, the deep bass jams of PA6 with the synth spread of Uno. The dark depths of the sea, with the cool spray of a summer beach.

Download Police Academy 6 + unouomedude’s Icarus

Daily Doses: Coma Foxes “School Night” (2010)

Mat Cothran of Coma Cinema and Warren Hildebrand of Foxes In Fiction  have become almost elder statesmen of the current DIY collective. They’ve each started labels (Cothran’s Summertime In Hell, and Hildebrand’s Orchid Tapes) that have extended a helping hand to artists such as Ghost Animal, Kiss Kiss Fantastic, Mickey Mickey Rourke and Teenage Reverb. They also each are always there for any of the young artists that might need a hand, or a collaboration here or there. Just some classy guys.

So it’s quite a treat to see them add together their extensive skills for this track under the moniker Coma Foxes.

“School Night” is a very minimal production, concentrating pretty exclusively on the melody line and lyrics. It’s a drifting memoir of baseball games at dusk, rocks thrown at windows. An ode to all those nights that always seemed to pass far quicker than the day that preceded it and all those years that may have seemed to go by so slowly at the time, but in retrospect seemed to fly by in a blur.

(Via Delicious Scopitone)

Daily Doses: Closed Cassette “Time Trials” (2010)

These days a lot of the music I work with makes me think people have finally managed to take the synth excess of the 80’s, and tame it into something that’s actually listenable.  Like the lion tamers of old, they take an unmanageable beast and coax and sooth it into doing things never thought possible in the days of our ancestors. 

“Time Trials”, the latest from Scott Dickson (Aka Closed Cassette) is a perfect example of this. Low key organ drone and arpeggiated synth twinkles inform the landscape of “Time Trials” all presided over by delayed vocals and drum machine snare hits. Beautifully prepared, sequenced, and ready to play over a John Hughes montage. 

Having heard a few of the Closed Cassette’s tracks from some of my tumblr contemporaries, I was already impressed by his small body of work, and this cements him in as one of the artists I keep an eye out for.

Download Closed Cassette’s “Time Trials”