One Umbrella – “Unsire”
Because there’s comfort in randomness, and because the real state of my music listening this week is that I’m feeling completely overwhelmed by pile upon pile of music I need/want to review, so I avoid the stress by just flipping my iPod into shuffle…I’m leaving my top 10 in the hands of my iPod once again. These are the first 10 songs to come up in shuffle mode, beginning with this spooky instrumental from the Austin, Texas-based experimental band One Umbrella, off of Tell All Records’ inaugural label comp.
Large Professor – “Dancing Girl”
A mellow hip-hop track, an ode of infatuation to a girl spotted across the dance floor. Off Large Professor’s mid-90s album The LP, which was never officially released after Geffen shelved it (but it still circulates via promos and bootlegs).
Marc Gartman – “Roswell”
As fits the title, this is a haunting excursion into an expansive landscape possibly occupied by strangers. An instrumental mood-piece driven by piano, off the Marc Gartman/Rivulets split CD (Tract).
The Clientele – “Graven Wood Live 1991”
The Clientele’s sold-on-tour collection of early recordings, It’s Art Dad, has a sound both familiar and distant from the band’s current style of atmospheric pop. This track is dark and murky, yet quite alluring.
Looper – “Modem Song”
Off Looper’s excellent second album The Geometrid (Sub Pop); a story quietly told over a soundscape built around the sounds of a modem. The song’s at first soaked in heavy mood, turning light and airy in places as it proceeds.
Superchunk – “The Animal Has Left Its Cage”
A great example of how diverse, rich, and emotionally powerful Superchunk’s music has become over the years. From their most recent album, 2001’s Here’s to Shutting Up (Merge).
Jens Lekman – “They Should Have Given You the Oscar”
“They should have given you the Oscar / for the way you went and broke my heart,” Lekman memorably sings over a brass-band background on this live track, from the EP Live From Stora Teatern (Secretly Canadian).
New Radiant Storm King – “Anthymn”
A brash up-tempo rock song from New Radiant Storm King’s forceful new album The Steady Hand (Darla). Don’t call it a comeback, they’ve been here for years.
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – “Young Shields”
The first single off Owen Ashworth’s wonderful upcoming album Etiquette (Tomlab). Like the album overall, it puts his uniquely delivered melancholy tales over compelling beats and textures.
Orange Cake Mix – “Garden Grow”
A gorgeous, soft-pop ballad from the perenially underrated Orange Cake Mix. Off the 2002 album Infinite Beauty (Chocolat Art Returns). He got me hooked with how prolific he used to be, and then seemingly disappeared…where are you, Jim Rao?
