The Monday Mixtape

Welcome to this week's edition of The Monday Mixtape, a weekly update of songs, both old and new, that have been on my personal heavy rotation.

This week's mixtape is split between older and new track and the songs reflect the gorgeous Spring weather I've been experiencing the past few days.




The Plot – White Rabbits
Released in 2007, White Rabbits’ debut album, Fort Nightly, is made up of pop-sensible, rhythm driven (the band has two drummers) songs and “The Plot” exemplifies the six-piece’s up-tempo sound. Breaking open with firm percussion and pin-like distorted guitar, the music sets a broad stage for lead singer, Gregory Roberts' rough vocals, the tender twinkling of piano, and synthesizer strings. The song is a sonic assault throughout, not shifting tempo or sound until the 2:25 mark, where there’s a short piano centered breakdown, though the song loses no steam whatsoever, and ultimately culminates with the combination of every aural trick the band practiced throughout the three and a half minute song.

Ring Finger – RJD2
“1, 2, 1 – 2 – 3 – 4” opens the soulful RJD2 cut off of the hip-hop producer/musician’s 2004 record, Since We Last Spoke. After establishing a thick groove in the song’s opening seconds, “Ring Finger” quickly shifts gears into a soft female vocal track accompanied by a Spanish guitar and lofty bass hits. “Ring Finger” fits nicely into the indie hip-hop sampling style that defines RJD2. The aforementioned cinematic breakdown gives way to more dance-oriented beat and instrumentation at the 1:57 minute mark, as the song erupts back into the groove “Ring Finger” opens with, this time with various guitar solos and the re-introduction of the female vocal lead.

Bang! – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Though I felt the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 2006 LP, Show Your Bones, was severely disappointing, their earlier material still makes for a solid listen. “Bang!” is the first track on the band’s first EP, released back in 2001. The song contains most all of the stereotypical tropes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, such as a punching, dirty, lead guitar melody and lead singer, Karen O’s sexually-tinged moan of a singing style that has more passion than thought behind it.

Man’s Heart Complaint – {{{ SUNSET }}}
This year Bill Baird, of Sound Team fame, released his new band’s first album. The band is {{{ SUNSET }}} and the record is Bright Blue Dream. Perhaps unsurprisingly, “Man’s Heart Complaint” contains dream-like, delayed guitars, steady and heavy drumming, and a large amount of reverb, much like Baird's output seen with Sound Team. What “Man’s Heart Complaint” lacks however, is the pop undertones that seeped into the music of Sound Team. {{{ SUNSET }}} sounds more somber and serious, and while it certainly contains melodic ornamentation, “Man’s Heart Complaint” doesn’t fall into stereotypical shiny-pop limbo.


Kim & Jesse – M83
I’d like to believe that while recording his latest record, Anthony Gonzalez’s M83 watched a slew of John Hughes movies, because that’s what the recently released Saturdays = Youth LP sounds like. Having not lived though the 80’s, it would be bold for me to claim that M83’s new album captures the pop sound of the era. However, popular culture has made many familiar with the stereotypes of 80’s pop music and M83 does a wonderful job harkening back to the sounds of The Human League or The Cocteau Twins and it’s obvious from the opening seconds of “Kim & Jesse.” Again, the material on the record, “Kim & Jesse” being a perfect example, sounds like it would fit right into a coming-of-age John Hughes film, complete with tested friendships and first loves.

Dark Leaves Form a Thread – Destroyer
Throughout his musical career, not including his performance in side projects like The New Pornographers, Destroyer (aka Daniel Bejar) has released nine albums. “Dark Leaves Form a Thread,” off of 2008’s Trouble in Dreams, is filled with the Bowie-inspired ground Destroyer has covered before, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Although the album itself isn’t too musically refreshing, as it sticks closely to the sound Destroyer furnished with 2006’s Destroyer’s Rubies. “Dark Leaves Form a Thread” demonstrates Destroyer’s ability to write a solid song with pop hook and witty lyrics that deserves repeated listens on a day infected by summer’s sun.

Doubt/Hope – Wildbirds & Peacedrums
The first striking thing about Sweden’s Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ “Doubt/Hope” is that it’s made up entirely of vocals and percussion, which makes the song an interesting, and successful, listen. Singer Mariam Wallentin’s broad voice, which accompanies itself once, and sometime twice, over is emotionally weighted. At one point, it becomes percussion itself and works wonderfully amongst the stark space of only handclaps. Because the song is so minimalist, it’s clear that both instruments, voice and drums, must be highly accomplished in order for the song to work. While Wallentin’s vocals are wonderfully done, Andreas Werliin’s drumming is also worth noting, if not only for his ability to gives his drums guitar-like qualities; they shape the song entirely. Volume, tempo, and beat constantly shift and Werliin’s drumming creates a listening experience that is anything but boring.


Jakov's Suite – Tapes ‘n Tapes
Listening to Tapes ‘n Tapes 2005 debut, The Loon, was great, if not only for the nostalgia that run rampant throughout the record; The Pixies and Pavement are clear influences of the band. “Jakov's Suite” bursts opens with a quick-fire drum beat, pulsing bass, and crunching, harmonious guitar riffs. After jamming for a little more than two minutes, the band transitions into slowed, Modest Mouse-tinged territory which builds into a mess of distortion before ending on sweets notes peeped from a piano.

White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes
This take of “White Winter Hymnal” is from the group’s recent Daytrotter Session (the song itself will appear on the band’s forthcoming LP). It contains numerous folk and rustic allusions that I discussed about the band in a previous issue of the mixtape. Like the previously posted “Sun Giant,” “White Winter Hymnal” “sweetly defines the sound of this Seattle five-some’s ‘baroque harmonic pop jams’.”

Hearts on Fire – Cut Copy
Cut Copy’s latest album, In Ghost Colours, is as schizophrenic as anything I’ve listened to this year. There’s Flaming Lips-sounding pop (“Feel the Love”), there’s the VHS or Beta-sounding 80’s rock (“Light & Music”), and then there’s the dance-club sounds of “Hearts on Fire.” The band certainly has an 80’s pop retro sound. The vocal track and waves of synthesizer buried in the band’s dance oriented electronics show homage of sorts to the robotic pop of the era. “Hearts on Fire” is an exercise linear dance music; it’s constantly shifting, strays from over-indulgent repetition, and features a variety of instrumentation, both analog and digital.

More Like the Moon – Wilco
Though I’m not sure what can be said about bands like Wilco, who audiences are widely familiar with. The band evolves into something different with each record they release and there’s not much I could include within this paragraph that Wikipedia couldn’t inform in greater detail. Regardless, “More Like the Moon,” off of the 2003 EP of the same name, is a demonstrative, somber, acoustically driven number from Jeff Tweedy and company. The song’s gentle ambience is punctuated by a stellar acoustic guitar solo and sobering lyrics of untimely longing.

Enjoy.