Best of October

Some October faves, all the more relevant with cold air howling as their accompaniment.

1) Before I Die - Roma di Luna
A mainstay on the current this past week, and a favorite of mine for Channey Casselle's haunting, Cat Power-like growl. A homegrown independent music-making genius.

2) I'm Not Calling You a Liar - Florence + The Machine
Best with the iTunes visualizer handy.
There's a ghost in my lungs and it sighs in my sleep
Wraps itself around my tongue as it softly speaks
Then it walks, then it walks with my legs
To fall, to fall at your feet

3) Miracles - Jeremy Messersmith
J questions fate vs. free will with poignancy, as always.

4) When I'm Small - Phantogram
By far one of the most exciting discoveries this year. Sure to be around for many moons to come.
5) Rome - Phoenix with Devendra Banhart
The remixed version is more Bon Iver than Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus, which is why I dig it.
I never loved you
And if I loved you
I wouldn't say it, I'm sorry

The Guardian

I lack collateral on the parts I've loaned you
If you've seen any tell them I'm incomplete
Without knowing where they are
Or what they're doing
If they're wandering the streets
Cold and hungry
Stopping in shame against the better judgments they no longer need
Begging for mercy,
a half hour of your time,
a ride home
If they've taken up another trade
In your restless presence
If they are being resourceful
With time
With money
If they are careful to lock their doors
And not talk to strangers
Tell them I'm sorry I didn't teach them any better
And that I love them
And I want them to come home
Show them how confused I was to give them up
How ancient I've grown in their absence
Taking life like a shot with a grain of salt
But never sell them on manipulated bliss
The water draining from my veins as you told me
I've had this fever my whole life-
don't wait for it to break
Skeptically breathing in the same space
Shield them.

Everywhere I Go

I have some major beef with Lissie. First of all, she's talented, gorgeous, and has toured with Ray Lamontagne. (Not to mention she cancelled the concert I had tickets to last weekend.) Despite these reasons I find I can't stay away from her honey-smooth, Fleetwood Mac-remniscent vocals. Kicked out of highschool and spending time in Colorado, Paris, and eventually making her home in LA, Lissie is an indie-rock rebel after my own heart. The powerful, evocative "Everywhere I Go" breaks my heart in just the right way; and "Worried About" has one of the catchier hooks I've heard in a while. (You like to see/Your thumb on me/Just checkin in/To make it begin again.)
By far the biggest hit is the aching protest "In Sleep."
Fast asleep where I keep my memories
Calling me out in dreams, he visits me
I know that when the story ends
The one that's in my head
Well, I'll be alone again
If you're a fan of Laura Marling or Marina & The Diamonds, you'll find a pleasant surprise in Lissie. And if she ever comes to town again you'd be wise to get tickets...just make sure they're refundable.

Matthew, Dear?

Black City, the latest release from electro-darling Matthew Dear is equal parts Bowie and Bjork, with just enough avant-garde lyricism to keep the hipsters happy. Proving to be more than just an obscure dance album lending itself to an Urban Outfitters soundtrack, Black City is Dear's most genre-evading, mind-blowing work to date. Thought it's tempting to qualify Dear as techno, there is more order amidst the ambiguous chaos and more meaning to be derived from his careful arrangements than the usually haphazard impression left by this genre. Drawing comparisons to The National on tracks like "Gem," and Spoon on "Soil to Seed," this is an album that despite such modern comparisons ushers in a totally new era of its own.