september, week 1

This last week seemed almost unbelievably slow on the music blogs that I regularly check out, but I did find a few things that I'm enjoying enough to post here. I've added a few words this time.

+download all the tracks (zshare)

Brightblack Morning Light - Hologram Buffalo (Motion to Rejoin, 2008)
[via Fluxblog: "Shape of the Rainbow"]
Years and years after its inception, Fluxblog is still resisting the music blog trend towards hot "exclusives", boring music news, and banal posts about the newest this or that. Matthew Perpetua still writes about how music makes him feel, and his personal music-listening experience, which is why he's got such an attractive blog on his hands. While I don't always share his musical tastes, which I find run a little too far in the synthy, "plastic-ey" pop direction sometimes, he can always be counted on to post something interesting on a regular basis.

I've had a bit of a shit week, especially today, but the sedated funk of "Hologram Buffalo" is so beautiful and focused on its singular groove that I can't help but smile and look forward to hearing the rest of the album. It's got under my skin.

Burning Spear - Foggy Road (Rocking Time, 1974)
[via Analog Giant: "Reggae Friday: Burning Spear"]
Analog Giant, in his regular "Reggae Friday" feature, does a great job of curating some of the best reggae tunes available on the internet, many of them coming by way of the blog, You & Me On a Jamboree!, which has contributed to a huge mp3 repository on zShare of Jamaican soul, reggae, ska, and rocksteady records, probably totaling in the thousands. You'd do well to delve into there every once and awhile.

Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream (s/t, 2008)
[via My Old Kentucky Blog: "Empire of the Sun. . ."]
The first week of September in Edmonton and already you can feel the days getting shorter. The end of summer is palpable. "Walking On A Dream" is perfect summer melancholia as two months of holiday quickly wind down into autumn and the weight of school and work.

High Places - From Stardust to Sentience (s/t, 2008)
[via I Guess I'm Floating: "High Places: 'The Start'. . ."]
Finally I'm hearing something that justifies the hype. I still have my doubts, but "From Stardust..." is certainly the best thing I've heard from these guys so far. I might have to check out the album after all.

Kid Sister - Pro Nails (ft. Kanye West) (Simian Mobile Disco Remix) (Remixes, 2008)
[via Ohh! Crapp... : "Monster Mixtape #13"]
I normally shy away from these sort of remixes. Especially ones incorrectly labeled as featuring 'oh-my-god-it's-Kanye!'. But this track is sorta too good to pass up. There's no Kanye or Kid Sister on this remix. Just steady, purposeful rhythm.