A playlist featuring The Voidz, Broadcast, Stereolab, and others
I don’t think spring is anywhere near sprung yet, as I’m sure that snow will fall the second I finish writing a column inspired by the nice weather we’ve had lately, but I’m choosing to ignore this possibility and do it anyway. It’s warm! The world is alive again! And when that happens, springy, warm, bright music is on my mind. So here you go: a premature spring playlist from Radio 1190.
‘Tender Buttons’ by Broadcast
“Tender Buttons” is a jumbled blend of vintage-pop melody and blown-out synth noise which fuse to create something retrofuturistic in nature: a space-age, whimsical, alien, wistful, cinematic combination of ’60s pop, art electronica and psychedelia. This record is microcosmic — it creates a tiny word full of excitement and wonder, and it traps you inside. Listen for colorful, dreamy pop.
‘Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time’ by Candy Claws
When non-Coloradans talk about Colorado music, they probably mention Devotchka or The Lumineers, and that’s all well and fine, but I’m bewildered as to why Fort Collins’ Candy Claws isn’t up there with them. Combining dream-pop, shoegaze and synth-pop to deliver lush psychedelia, the local duo produced a ton of refreshing indie pop with distortions and fuzz alongside the more expected reverberant sound.
‘Loving’ by Loving
Loving is a natural iteration on Devendra Banhart’s sunny, eclectic and casual style of indie in the age of lo-fi psych pop a la Mac Demarco, Mild High Club and Walter TV. A woozy, lackadaisical tinge falls in line with a timid, cute indie pop sound of yesterday, like Little Joy and Beirut. This record is particularly warmer than the rest and would be perfectly suited for spring fever daydreams of beaches and frozen fruit beverages.
‘Apple O’ LP’ by Deerhoof
I suppose apples are an autumnal thing, but other than the title, this record is perfectly seasonal appropriate. Bursting with life and exuberance, “Apple O’ LP” fuses the saccharine with volume to throttle an unstoppable, bright and raw energy straight into your ears. It’s not all birdy chirps and wildflower meadows on this one, but when it is, it makes the noisier moments all the more weird and exciting. In a typical Deerhoof fashion, this record is a little all over the place, but that just means that there’s more exciting content to discover. Give it a listen.
‘Enter The Vaselines’ by The Vaselines
The Vaselines’ simple and childish sound is potentially inappropriate, reductive and oddly beautiful. Fans of Beat Happening or even Dear Nora would dig “Enter The Vaselines” for its deceptively simple song structures and maybe creepy allusive lyrical content. The Vaselines are a perverse version of innocent and elementary pop — this record hooks you with catchy melodies and then draws you in, forcing you to listen and actually consider the lyrics. You may find yourself singing along before you get to what they mean though. This is a darn good record.
Check out the above playlist of more springtime music over at featuring music from the artists I mentioned today and tons of other hits from Television, The Voidz, Marnie Stern and more.
Of course, as always, tune in at 1190 AM or online.
By Jolie Klefeker