Night Beds - Dear Jewell, EP (2018)

After the release of their sophomore album Ivywild, Night Beds, the project of Colorado born Nashville based singer/songwriter Winston Yellen went into a sort of silent, working hibernation. Between the release of debut full length record Country Sleep and Ivywild, Yellen had essentially decided to trim the fat and embarked upon a new music journey with only his younger brother Abe in tow. Styling himself after producers like his longtime favorites Kanye West, Flying Lotus, and J Dilla,  Yellen's music became less obviously folk oriented and way more inspired by R&B and hip hop. It was a move that confused longtime fans but one that was smoothed over by the fact that Yellen's voice - highly emotive and rooted in narrative sincerity, is incredibly versatile. When I was finally able to catch Night Beds live at CMJ 2015, it was an entirely different beast than I expected. Live instruments like guitar, drums, and bass swapped out in favor of sample pads and the like. Tracking Winston Yellen down after the performance, he noted a few of our exchanges on the Internet about Night Beds' new sound (mainly my hesitant acceptance of it) and hinted at a possible return of some of those other elements.

With the release of their latest EP Dear Jewell,, Night Beds are back and Winston Yellen has more love to give. The lead up to the EP has been defined by Yellen embracing the ephemeral nature of things. Nothing Yellen posts to social media is permanent - deleting much of the band's social media posts in favor of vague promotion. Any explanatory information Yellen provides gets wiped swiftly after it's posted when Yellen thinks enough eyes have seen it. And yet, the confessional nature remains on Dear Jewell,. In a now deleted post Yellen proclaimed that he had fallen in love with his manager and wrote some songs about it.

While Night Beds has always been defined by a pervasive melancholy, Yellen's blurred the lines between the intimately personal and what is narratively so. Yellen finds a kernel of emotionally resonant truth and builds and intricate tale around it. Dear Jewell, doubles down on the electronic, experimental R&B of Ivywild while leveling up the production. "Jade", the first track on the EP is a sumptuous groove filed with fragmented and obscured lovelorn lyrics. "Tell me what it's gonna take? You know that I love you" is Yellen's first line and the rest of the song twists itself back and forth between pining and the assumption that the feelings are obvious with actually vocalizing them. "Jade" is a surprisingly dance-y track for how much it wrestles with itself narratively. Lyrics are submerged in seas of reverb only to click into sharp focus at unexpected times like "All I do is party running from this heartache" in the song's outro.

The inclusion of a cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" is curious if only for the rare moment of sparsity: Yellen's back to playing guitar. But the production is anything but obvious - dropping a full band in and out at specific times and throwing effects on Yellen's moment at unexpected times.

 "Velvet River", a co-production with Seattle based artist Lofty Stills, leans more heavily into their experimental tendencies than "Jade" as the lyrics are spouted, warped, and shifted to lead to the subsequent thought - the use of old movie samples and string flourishes is a move right out of Lofty Stills' playbook but it's no less effecting as it's used to highlight Yellen's impeccable vocals. Yellen is softer here, vocals unaffected amid lush arrangements and harmonies. It's a dip back into the dream pop well Night Beds originally pulled from and "Velvet River" as well as instrumental interlude "In The Shadow of the Shade) is a testament to the fact that Yellen is perfectly capable in that arena but the challenge of Ivywild and the more electronic-tinged songs are more compelling to him and Abe.

"Ever-After" is the continuation of Winston and Abe's collaboration with Lofty Stills' Luke Culbertson. "(Pt.1)" is a stellarly arranged waltz. It's a moment of brightness in an otherwise raging storm of complicated emotional tumult. It's the inverse of "Jade" in that while similarly upbeat, its lyrics are much more hopeful. Where "Jade" pushed and pulled with heartache, "Ever-After (Pt. 1)" seems to find the positive in sense of love. "If I found another, I could love her like no other man, someday" Yellen sweetly coos. It looks toward the future but the rest of the song is firmly situated on this particular person: "If I shut you up, fill my mind, trying to find - a thousand lights point to you/what's a man to do?"

"Ever-After (Pt. 2)" follows its saccharine counterpart with a bit of a reality check. The production snaps back towards the more obviously electronic and R&B elements as Yellen sings of heartache once more. Like "Jade" Yellen's lyrics are splinter and dive into pools of reverb but their main points resonate - where "Ever-After (Pt.1)" asked "If you love me, what could I need ever after", "Ever-After (Pt. 2)" offers that just love is not enough. The love contained with Dear Jewell, is a struggle. It's messy and a hell of a lot of work.

Dear Jewell, is a more clearly focused effort than Ivywild that balances Night Beds' musical adventurousness with a cast of skilled collaborators and balances their skills with those of Night Beds. It's also a collection  of songs that highlights all of Night Beds strengths. The production has tightened up, segues are smoother and each song is composed of incredibly winsome moments. Yellen's songwriting remains as effecting as it always has but the more polished production actively works to enhance it. Where Ivywild was the direct result of Winston and Abe's desire to switch up the Night Beds formula, time and experience has provided them with a defter hand at self-production and more confident presentation of ideas. Where Ivywild recalled a hip hop mixtape, Dear Jewell, seems like a more cohesive collection despite the stylistic shifts contained within. It's subtle when it needs to be subtle, bold when it needs to be bold, and as always bolstered by Winston Yellen's absolutely distinct voice.

Night Beds' Dear Jewell, EP is out now.

Night Beds - Ivywild (2015)

After a very strong debut in 2013's Country Sleep, Nashville based singer/songwriter Winston Yellen teased a new direction, an expanding of genre for his musical project Night Beds. It makes a strange sort of sense when you take into account that between the Every Fire; Every Joy EP and debut album and even between individual tracks on Country Sleep the only real consistency was Winston Yellen's voice. Country, folk, indie rock, dream pop, Yellen drew from genres in a way that was subtle but ultimately telling of his predilections - Yellen creates music on his own terms.

How Ivywild is received can say far more about the listener than Winston Yellen's musical project. When it was teased at the very end of last year with "Me, Liquor & God" a fair amount of hand-wringing could be done to define the track exactly as you wanted. Myself? I found it more in line with an interest in electro pop and the dreamier layered atmospheres of Night Beds' earliest released tracks. By Yellen's own admittance Ivywild is meant to be a full foray into R&B. Dilla, Kanye, Madlib, Jai Paul - these are the influences Yellen namechecked when explaining the album's creation and the rise of his brother Abe into a more active part of the composition process from drummer to producer and engineer. For many the jump may be seen as an out of nowhere leap; for Yellen it was a gradual process that required putting in the necessary work. Abe had to learn the gear, Abe had to learn how to translate musical thoughts into intricate tapestries that Winston could affix his journals of songwriting notes. It was a three year process of believing they were making music worth making - a much more failure prone endeavor than effectively stringing chords together as they embarked on a totally new musical adventure that effectively discarded all their previously learned skills. In addition to expanding their genre options, they expanded the band enlisting a wide majority of musicians to play.

As an album Ivywild is a strange beast - the album opener "Finished" is essentially your first introduction to the Yellen brothers pivoting, to a Night Beds defined by more than Winston Yellen; the introduction to the various players and moving parts on the album and it is an occasionally awkward one. Virtuousic romantic string passages, glittering synths, with Winston's growing build into a free-flowing ametric stream of consciousness delivery that ends with a sample and a rush of noise. Though Winston Yellen's voice is surprisingly well suited to its more electronic heavy new digs, there's something slightly off about how everything blends here in particular. By Winston's own admission Ivywild is as much of a showcase for his own musical ideas as they are for Abe Yellen who's been tasked with programming much of what occurs musically on the album. There's the occasional stumble in the form of not-quite-right timing issues and curiously utilized and deployed samples ("Eve A") but those moments are few and far between Abe's major winsome moments of creative climax ("On High:", "I Give It").

It's an album that recalls a lot of what has been popular in indie music for the past couple years without simply imitating it. That lack of imitation may lie more in the pair's inability to from a technical standpoint, it may not. There's really no telling here but there's no denying that even if Ivywild isn't they kind of album you expect, isn't the kind of album you would generally even like that it's an album that's at least interesting to digest. For an album where Winston Yellen works through heartbreak, heartache, and redefining of the self, there's those expected moments of somber introspection ("Me, Liquor and God", "Tide Teeth", "Melrose"), but also absolute dance-it-out abandon ("Sway(Ve)","[9_6] Slackjaw"), and curiously there's that rare moment where the Yellens forget all about their laptop pop aspirations, drop the beats, the synths, the autotone, and just let a moment fly with guitar and heart ("All In Good Time (I Get You Wrong Interlude)"). It's an album that takes those negative feelings and turns them outwards instead of inwards; converts the emotional to a physical reaction. Yellen's been hurt but he's not holding it in anymore but he's also not moping about it. Instead Winston and  Abe (and the collective of musicians they brought together) finds a way to imbue that melancholy with a bit of forward momentum; to stir not only your heart and soul also the body. It's an album of 16 songs perhaps meant to evoke the feeling of a mixtape where the number of tracks are almost irrelevant and what's truly important is showing off the project's talent and potential.

And just when you settle into a comfortable position with the electronic direction, a song like "Stand On My Throat" emerges to close out the album. All sense of premeditated cool evaporates and Winston returns to his greatest asset: the total arresting thrall of his vulnerable, heartstring-tugging vocals. The experimentation is over and a moment of true, earnest simplicity is how they choose to close this all out - a reward to fans of their old sound that hung around, a highlighting of what Winston really brings to the table to the newly initiated. "Stand On My Throat" is an effective synthesis of Night Beds' privileged position of having extra musicians on hand - brass contributing to the wellspring of feeling, the gradual ebb and flow that eventually gives way to an emotional deluge. Winston Yellen goes from a pleading whisper to an unrestrained insistent shout and the effects are more visceral than the album's previous attempts to be ear-catching. It's a blend of the organic and the electronic - easing in autotune in small bursts along twinkling piano, sweetly picked guitar. "Stand On My Throat" resembles what I had hoped an electronic leaning Night Beds might sound like and we're fortunate enough to receive.

Ivywild both marks an time of growth and uncertainty for the band. In releasing it, Winston Yellen gets a proper answer to three years of questions and assumptions: "Will people love it or hate it?" but also frees himself from the need to care. If he cared, it's probably not an album he would have made in the first place. To me it resembles far more of the electro pop acts like BANKS, Chet Faker or even James Blake than R&B but genre is a dying construct that no longer holds much bearing on what music will give us. What ultimately matters is that in Ivywild, Winston and Abe and all of their compatriots in this endeavor pursued an interest, an artistic impulse to its completion. There's no telling what the future of Night Beds holds (I hope it sounds a whole hell of a lot like "Stand On My Throat" or "Corner") but Ivywild shades a bit more of who Winston Yellen is as an artist and what Night Beds can or might continue to be. Experimentation is what keeps an band interesting enough to return to again and again and with Ivywild, Night Beds takes that almost to an extreme pursuing an interest almost completely at odds with who they had previously been decided to be. It's no doubt freeing and whether or not this is a small musical diversion or a full on declaration of intent, the deed is done and on their own terms.





Night Beds' sophomore album Ivywild out 8/7 via Dead Oceans. You can stream the album until its release date on NPR.

Listen: Night Beds - "Tide Teeth"

Late last year when Nashville based outfit Night Beds released "Me, Liquor & God" I was cautiously optimistic about the new direction singer/songwriter Winston Yellen appeared to be taking. The shift in style is subtler if you followed Night Beds' every action and not just their own major releases - namely Yellen featuring on Tomas Barfod's "Sell You".  While Yellen's flirted with electronic music before in the guise of the swirling dream pop that pillowed his soft, doleful tenor, he never outright committed to the electronic influence entirely - instead tapering it with the jammy folk pop stylings of Country Sleep and "Head For The Hills". "Tide Teeth", the latest single from Night Beds, however asserts that the heavy electronic lean of "Me, Liquor & God" might very well be here to stay.

"Tide Teeth" places Yellen much more aggressively in the R&B camp that "Me, Liquor & God" could be plausibly denied being apart of. There's no mistaking the influence and the sound here for better or worse. The songwriting on "Me, Liquor & God" was reminiscent enough to Country Sleep/Every Fire, Every Joy that it was easy to find solace that the even in the shuffle, the soul of Night Beds would endure. "Tide Teeth" however, you're not so sure but Yellen's voice is a rather charming fit for this new direction and the use of autotune/processed vocal effects is tastefully deployed. The new direction is sure to be a jarring realization for those of the barely there electronic-tinged dream pop of Night Beds' earlier days but there's a much more subtler level of musicianship being cultivated as Night Beds try to distinguish themselves from the pack of other electronic leaning bands. Luckily for Night Beds Winston Yellen's voice (both aurally and lyrically) has always been it's key ingredient and as long as the band don't lose sight of that in even their most exploratory, experimental pop-embracing moments, they'll be a band worth listening to.

Listen: Night Beds - "Me, Liquor & God"

It seems like Nashville based singer/songwriter Winston Yellen aka Night Beds is ending this year very similarly to the way he began it - with a single. While "Head For the Hills" was entrenched in the similar sounds and delivery of Night Beds' 2013 Dead Oceans full length debut Country Sleep, "Me, Liquor & God" sees Yellen returning to the electronic-infused tapestries of his Colorado Springs roots with an updated twist.

Rather than the soft-focus dream pop of the Every Fire; Every Joy EP, "Me, Liquor & God" is hard-hitting pop. Yellen has been no stranger to pop music but where the pop previously diluted/supported by other elements like folk rock on Country Sleep standout "Ramona", "Me, Liquor & God" is a radical step for Yellen's more subdued delivery. Make no mistake - the Night Beds' frontman is hopping on the R&B inspired bandwagon but the trendiness of the tune is subverted by the strength of Yellen's songwriting. It's easy to miss it given how catchy and cool the track is but Yellen's voice is not unlike that of his more folk rooted efforts - despite the obvious vocal processing.

It's a surprising step for Night Beds but one in which the effects can't be seen - in stepping out of his comfort zone, Yellen continues to flex his songwriting chops in a  remarkably effective way. It remains to be seen if Yellen will continue in this vein, that of earlier release "Head For the Hills", or if he's pursuing a sound all together different but it a treat to hear something new from the Night Beds camp especially when it demonstrates Yellen's desire to play around with his sound. If nothing else, that'll serve to make sure the next Night Beds record is different than the last.

Listen: Night Beds - "Head for the Hills"

If I had stumbled upon it mere days ago, I would've been incredibly surprised to get a new single from Nashville's Night Beds so soon after an album release. But after reading this spectacular and endearing interview on SerialBox featuring Night Beds' Winston Yellen, it seems just about par for the course. The takeway from the interview being that Yellen's constantly writing songs so the appearance of a non-album related single is pretty much going to be the status quo. A excellent bit of news if you're a Night Beds fan who craves instant gratification.

Stylistically "Head for the Hills" is cut from the same cloth as Country Sleep standout "Ramona" - while most of Country Sleep marinated in Yellen's soulful tenor, "Ramona" and now "Head for the Hills" breaks free from the sparse ruminative tone. Yellen's lyricism isn't any less affecting but definitely benefits from the added touches of strings and bigger, bolder presentation. This evolution makes sense - where Country Sleep was written and recorded by Yellen alone, over the past year Night Beds expanded to include a full band of actual collaborators. Yellen's still the primary voice of Night Beds but there's definitely an added grandeur to the fuller arrangements.

If "Head for the Hills" is a sign of what's to come from Night Beds, then sign me up. Winston Yellen's transformation from singer/songwriter to band frontman is certainly an interesting one that hasn't managed to dampen the effectiveness of his songwriting. If anything, it's imbued his pristine vocals and inspiring lyrics with an accessibility that'll hopefully carry his songs further than they'd go before.

Listen to Night Beds' "Head for the Hills":

All Around Sound's Favorite Tracks of 2013

While 2013 turned out to be an off year for many of my favorite bands, there was surprisingly no shortage of new music from them anyway. While every year I seem to lament the decline of the album as a cohesive narrative and more as a home for a single or two, 2013 proved me wrong in that regard - many of my favorite songs (the songs that stuck with me long after I put down my headphones, etc.) happened to be from my favorite albums but when making this list I have only two rules: 1) No songs from my favorite albums should be on the favorite tracks list. 2) No repeat appearances by the same artist. This year more than any other it was harder than ever to stick to these rules (I've broken them in the past but not this year! I promised myself.) So without further delay, here's some of my favorite tracks of this year in no particular order other than release date.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)", II
I'm ashamed to admit that I essentially forgot all about this tune/this year's latest UMO record until right around Best Of season. While the majority of II sounds rather like it could've easily been included UMO's self-titled debut, "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)" stuck out as one of those tunes that's so remarkably distinctive. Much of Unknown Mortal Orchesta's songwriting aesthetic involves such heavy repetition that it's hard to remember that it's actually pretty damn inventive. Take "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)" whose lyrics I never really took note of until UMO released their acoustic Blue Record - manages to spin a whole delicate yarn out of a fun fact about sharks. It also really highlights Ruban Nielsen's vocals in a way I never appreciated them before - soft and supple, even as the track pulses forward unrelentingly.



Local Natives - "Breakers", Hummingbird
It's no coincidence that my favorite track from Local Natives' triumphant sophomore effort is the first single. While Hummingbird is unfettered emotional flood, "Breakers", curtails a little bit of that in favor of a subtle build and noticeable pop sensibility much like a port in the storm. It's no coincidence that it's smack dab in the middle of the album either. It's a refreshing breath of exactly why you should like Local Natives and delightfully so. The swooping, craning vocals, the intense drumming, the surging melodies and atypical songwriting structure, these are all undeniable parts of not only what makes "Breakers" work but also Local Natives' own strengths. "Breakers" is Local Natives operating at peak performance. Maturing between albums but still creating something not wholly unfamiliar with just the right influx of new ideas, "Breakers" is a track that has dominated an insane amount of my time since its initial release and rightly so - it's an utterly captivating piece of pop songcraft while serving an important purpose in the context of its album. It's great - no ifs and or buts about it.  




The Cave Singers - "Have to Pretend", Naomi
A very special (one-sided) relationship formed between the Cave Singers and I when they opened for Fleet Foxes at United Palace. Despite being absolutely incredible, when they played a dancier number ("Black Leaf" and invited the audience to leave their seats to rock out with them, no one did. It was tragic and in retrospect I should've gotten up and made a total goof of myself if only to validate the band's awesomeness. "Have to Pretend" is essentially another go at infectious dance music for the folk rock band and it's a rather valiant effort. The kind of song that'd probably move a venue full of jaded/lazy New Yorkers easy that manages encapsulate what makes Cave Singers so damn enjoyable. The band continue to demonstrate a charming familiarity in creating ear catching folk rambles and Peter Quirk remains a consummate front man his rasp adding a bit of grit to easy breezy melodies of "Have to Pretend".




Night Beds - "Ramona", Country Sleep
My introduction to Nashville based singer/songwriter Winston Yellen aka Night Beds was in "Even If We Try", a emotive little ditty that made ample use of the man's golden immaculate falsetto. Little did I know a song like "Ramona" could come from such a man. That's not to say the two songs are that remarkably different - Yellen's lyricism is still top notch as are his vocals but "Ramona" far more faster paced than I expected from the man whose vocals flourished at such a slow crawl. Unsurprisingly, "Ramona" marked the end of Yellen's sole proprietorship of Night Beds and shift towards that as band leader, lead vocalist, and songwriter. "Ramona" is an entirely different breed of song but one that ultimately still finds displays what's so endearing about Yellen. Even finding room for his falsetto at the song's apex.



Born Ruffians - "Needle", Birthmarks
In terms of a contender for outright best track from an indie pop group released in 2013, Born Ruffians would win that coveted honor. There really is no arguing that fact. In addition to being an absolutely brilliant album opener, it's got big pop hooks which is sort of casually slides into. It's not big from the get go. No, instead Born Ruffians perform a magnificent slow build that cements the track's complete and utter pop decimation. The band is firing on all cylinders after the triumphant return and it shows. "Needle" is a pretty much immaculate piece of songcraft that pretty much transcends Birthmarks. Normally that might be a bit of a bad thing but here's it's quite good and hopefully a sign of things to come. The bar has been set and Born Ruffian pretty much have only themselves to beat.



Night Panther - "Fire", Shaking Through Vol. 4
It's always a good sign when the live version of a song is favored above the recorded version and that's the case with Night Panther's "Fire". Already a favorite cut on their self-titled debut record they released this year, there's a certain magic of the group that's thankfully been captured by those dedicated engineers over at Weathervane Music and their Shaking Through sessions. "Fire" is perhaps the best introduction to Night Panther for the tragically uninitiated featuring their trademark sassy dance pop and creamy falsettos which is guaranteed to make you want to dance - unless you're dead.



Empress Of - "Tristeza", Systems EP
Empress Of's "Tristeza" is a testament to how you can be completely consumed by a piece of music by feel alone. The emotive gem is in Spanish and yet is so beautifully sung and played that you don't even really understand what she's singing to be utterly captivated by her words. There's very little else to focus on besides the words but even despite the language barrier - enough of its meaning can be gleaned from tone. That and Rodriguez's brilliant vocal choices as she mimics the intense intakes of breath that occur during an extreme cry session.



Thin Hymns - "Lady Mountain", Black Water EP
While Thin Hymns had essentially won me over with their Logic & Theory EP, this year's Black Water EP was beast of an entirely different breed. Where Logic & Theory was more experimental than it was pop, Black Water carried no such distinction. That's not to say that they hung up their tonal shifts and textural interplay entirely but Black Water took Thin Hymns propensity for complex soundscapes and pinned them to melodies whose poppy tendencies were far more immediate. "Lady Mountain", arguably the most stellar of Black Water's four tracks, is the perfect blend of Thin Hymns experimental proclivities and a noticeable forward momentum. It's expansive - clocking in at 6 minutes and change but never suffers even an instant of lethargy. It rolls forward pretty much unceasingly while the band interlocks in a multitude in an interesting array of formations.



BRAIDS - "Amends", Flourish//Perish
While Montreal art pop trio BRAIDS create the kind of albums that not only follow a cohesive flow but seems to take organic songcraft to its very limits, there's always a song tucked in their that I manage to love more than the others. On Native Speaker it was "Plath Heart" and on Flourish//Perish, it turned out to be the very first single "Amends". While not officially a dance band everything about "Amends" lends itself towards that reaction. From its steady (though syrupy) pulse, to its wide expanse, it's not only serves a dance fodder but it's also one of those tracks (especially live) where BRAIDS sophisticated polish is entirely responsible for that effect. Each layer is regarded with an exceptional amount of care like the assembly of a stain glass window and the combined effect is way more impressive than all of its various moving parts.



San Fermin - "Sonsick", San Fermin
If I'm being completely honest, almost any off the San Fermin record featuring the lovely ladies could probably ended up on a list like this. While San Fermin in its whole is a complicated, varied, and potentially polarizing record there's no doubt to anyone who hears say "Crueler Kind", "Sonsick", "Oh Darling", or even "Daedalus (What We Have)" that while Ellis Ludwig-Leone is a talented composer, he can write an exceptional pop hook. And yet, the success of that is certainly due in part to the appearance and delivery of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. Their vocals are bold, brassy, and immaculate. What separates "Sonsick" from San Fermin's other brushes with pop however is in the just-so way everything comes together in it. The brass, the lyrics that resonate outside of the album's concept, the way that slowly rises into triumphant splendor - not as an ebb and flow but as flood of heartwarming emotion.



Son Lux - "TEAR Part 1"/"TEAR Part 2", TEAR
Son Lux has a had a pretty exceptional year. Working with yMusic on their new album, as well as with Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti on their collaboration Sisyphus (formerly s/s/s), it's hard to imagine Ryan Lott has any time for his own music and yet, he certainly has. While 2013 saw the release of another full length in Lanterns, Lott's experimental piece TEAR is more than worthy of its own praise. A song in two parts, TEAR does precisely what Son Lux does so well - takes a song apart at its very foundations and plays around with all the various combination those parts can make when paired differently. It's a nifty enough idea in theory but even more impressive is how Son Lux can pull such a thing off without revealing his hand. By inviting you into to his creative method somewhat, he shines a light on his own brilliance but also obscuring the truly important bits of what he's doing by music sleight of hand.



Mister Lies - "Magichour" ft KNOWER
While the summation of his debut record Mowgli did very little for me, "Dionsyian" and the constant almost unrelenting praise from mutual friends has essentially insured that I approach each Mister Lies release from now until pretty much forever with an open mind and a trusting heart. This approach was rewarded quite quickly with "Magichour". Featuring Los Angeles duo KNOWER's Genevieve Artadi on vocals, "Magichour" is like a rocket ride. Slow and methodical as the gear is checked and everyone prepares for lift off before everything gels in the most magical way. It's the kind of track where absolutely everything about the track works to its favor. Mister Lies' own touches in the form of the arrangements and construction and even the little experimental flourishes create a unique and engaging path while Artadi's vocals light and feathery serves to illuminate that path and all it's wonderful curves and bends.




Hop Along - "Sister Cities", Shaking Through Vol. 4
Frances Quinlan is the kind of frontwoman every rock band should have - articulate both in her songwriting and vocal delivery, openly emotive with a punky edge "Sister Cities" spotlights all Quinlan's strengths without sidelining the rest of band.  Probably Hop Along's best song thus far, "Sister Cities" takes everything that worked so well on Hop Along's 2012 debut Get Disowned and distilled them into a single song. Quinlan's narrative voice is clearer and sharper, the band tighter and fiercer when the need arises. There's none of the genre-suspension of Get Disowned but that's hardly necessary. Instead " Sister Cities" is content to be the sort of intelligent rock song that keeps you coming back over and over again. In that it succeeds in spades.



The Shakin' Babies - "Easy Meal", Stoked Casual
While I was almost instantly charmed by Minnesota doo wop/garage rock hybrid The Shakin' Babies at this year's FMLY Fest Brooklyn, it wasn't until I was home curled up with their excellent debut record Stoked Casual that I realized just how many levels the band operate on. Songs like "Mary Wants to Rock" sounded like your standard rock 'n roll jam but as I listened to deeper cuts The Shakin' Babies revealed themselves are clever and occasionally humorous songwriters hiding tales of devil worship and drug addiction under sugary sweet melodies. "Easy Meal" just happens to be my favorite of those dual operating tracks. Lyrically describing a shark attack I was at a loss for whether it was an elaborate metaphor or if it was really just that. The correct answer may never be known (I suspect it's both) but the track is downright infectious - a perfect demonstration of the bands 60s inspired garage pop.  



North Highlands - "Halo", "I'll Do My Best"/"Halo" 7"
When news that Brooklyn indie pop outfit North Highlands had new songs in the works I could hardly contain my excitement. Their debut album Wild One was a surefire favorite and an eclectic blend of styles that converged into this interesting folk-inspired dance-pop played on rock instruments. No one could accuse North Highlands of copying their style. On their latest release the "I'll Do My Best"/"Halo" 7", North Highlands didn't pick up where they left of. No, instead they turned their sights toward surf rock. But North Highlands are nothing if not creative and their dip into summery beach pop was anything but typical. "Halo", surprisingly doesn't sound like North Highlands jumping the shark and trying a new genre on for size. Instead "Halo" (and "I'll Do My Best") is their own take still featuring their sweetly sung, dance inducing brand of indie pop goodness. A slightly new look for North Highlands sure but not one that incredibly far removed from their Wild One days.




Salt Cathedral - "Fields", Salt Cathedral EP
Arguably one of my favorite discoveries of 2013, Salt Cathedral are a band that appeal to virtually ever part of music-loving ways - a fantastic live band with intricate yet accessible song composition and real sense of original vision, Salt Cathedral (formerly il Abanico) are hopefully destined for big things. To the great benefit of the Brooklyn via Columbia band, pretty much any song from the sextet's EP could've ended up here but "Fields" with its radiant, sunny sheen just happens to properly articulate what's to love about the band. The progressive rock recalling layering, the rhythmic complexity,the soaring emotive and deeply felt vocals - it's all there, masterfully doled out and interlocked into a heady rush of pure elation that is "Fields"



Kishi Bashi - "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!"
There really is no denying Kishi Bashi's unique talent for layers. Which seems unsurprising considering it's the main method of his song composition but K. has an ability to exceed above and beyond your expectations there. Another one of K.'s fantastic psychedelic trips, "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It" takes flight almost immediately with its vibrant, soaring melodies. Kishi Bashi always seems to be at his most innovative when dreaming up unique ways to dress up love songs and there's certainly no shortage of creativity here. "Philosophize With It! Chemicalize With It!" is a wildly enjoyable flight of fancy that finds the perfect balance between its high energy and an emotive core. K.'s words ring true but they also shimmer and glide while they do so. They're a fresh take on an age-old idea that Kishi Bashi finds a way to make extra resonant.



Gracie - "Jackson II"
Gracie is anything but a conventional artist and that's probably most apparent on "Jackson II" a track for the mixed media project for Kai Flanders' novella 'The Red Bicycle'. Inspired by/accompanying the novella's first chapter Gracie makes pretty inventive use of the chapter's two most important elements - a plane and the titular red bicycle. But they're subtle touches - not utilized to excess while the track bops along at it's leisurely pace on just the right side of dance-y. It's the kind of track the even separate from 'The Red Bicycle' soundtrack manages to be delightfully engaging and charmingly clever.



The Debauchees - "I've Got Energy", Big Machines and Peculiar Beings
What can I say about The Debauchees that I haven't already said before? I've written about them a bunch of times in their rather short band life and they continue to amaze. On "I've Got Energy" they put their absolute best foot forward allowing their music to speak for what could've been an agonizing/annoying gimmick. Teaching themselves their instruments after deciding to be in a band, being young with clearly classic music tastes, the single ahead of their excellent debut album Big Machines and Peculiar Beings combines fiery intensity with Sydney Chadwick's cool purr. The Debauchees offer up the kind of tunes that'd make any rock purist proud and rightly so.



ARMS - "Sleepwalker", EP2
Truth be told, a large part of my excitement concerning the release date of ARMS Summer Skills follow up EP2 was purely based on my ability to own and listen to "Sleepwalker" whenever I damn well pleased. I had spent over a year hearing the track at every ARMS show I attended (which happened to be A LOT) and it always stuck out to me the best display of Todd Goldstein's pop chops and my new favorite ARMS songs. That's not to say the other songs weren't enjoyable in their own ways but "Sleepwalker" was at the forefront of my memory and the wait for their EP to find a home was made all the more laborious due to its absence from my collection of dangerously repeated tracks. While Goldstein set out to tell stories outside/separate of ARMS supernatural thriller Summer Skills, "Sleepwalker" delivered where no other EP2 cut did. Invoking a visceral reaction due not only to Goldstein's intelligent, descriptive lyricism but also the track's moments of pop mastery. When Goldstein sings "I want you always", it's evidently the track's climax, the tipping point where the track finally lets loose all its built up energy and the result is nothing short of deeply enjoyable. It doesn't barrel forward to the end like such a dam burst is to wont to do but there's no more build up, the track unravels and marvelously so. "Sleepwalker" succeeds where no other EP2 track does because it pairs arresting musical moments with the frenetic energy ARMS reserves mostly for their live sets. Goldstein still retains the knack for building these engaging little worlds but the charm of "Sleepwalker" is in its domino effect as Goldstein's meticulous world building crumbles in ts frantic finish.
  


Chris Holm - "Sealed", Kilos
Chris Holm's solo record Kilos, his first stepping out from bands Young Dreams and Bloody Beach (and a multitude of others, I'm sure), happens to be an album of experiments. That sounds a little like Holm putters around unsure of what he's doing but he does that much is exceptionally clear. The album is a blend of Holm's varying influences and inspirations that somehow managed to be stay moored by his passions in them. From the sort of tropicalia hip-hop hybrid of "H.A.A.R.P." to the psychedelic rock stylings of "Raleigh's Peak", it's an album of unprecedented musical exploration. Each song is special and good in its own way but, and forgive me if I'm gushing, "Sealed" is a real standout. It's Chris Holm's try at singer/songwriter pop game like pals Sondre Lerche and Matias Tellez but it's uniquely his own, making extensive use of layers and textures and this sound and that in a way that embellishes not distracts from Holm's songwriting. There's some poignant lyricism crafted here that definitely establishes Holm's solo talents and not just his talents are an ensemble artist. "Sealed" is the moment I realized Kilos would not be enough. Holm's needs to make more solo music and often. Here's hoping he does so.



R. L. Kelly - "Feels Real", Angeltown
Since being introduced to R.L. Kelly's empowering brand melancholy pop at Orchid Tapes' Brooklyn showcase, it's been my utmost pleasure to keep taps on her, watching and hearing her grow her small but powerfully engaging collection of songs. While there's been no shortage of great R.L. Kelly songs this year, my favorite might very well be "Feels Real" which was featured on Orchid Tapes Los Angeles show compilation tape Angeltown. Not quite sparse as "Life's a Bummer" but not as crunchy as "You're Not the Only Monster in Hell. It's a pleasant little number that engages in some absolutely earcatching musical moments with not only the vocals but its guitar melodies.




Lapland - "Metal Lungs", Lapland
Brooklyn based singer/songwriter Josh Mease underwent a bit of a renaissance, reemerging under the moniker Lapland. It takes a particularly gifted songwriter to have not only a song but a whole album engage bases on songwriting talents alone but that's precisely what Mease does with Lapland. "Metal Lungs"combines normal singer/songwriter heartbreak fodder with a rather uplifting take on it. Invoking dusty Midwestern plains, "Metal Lungs" sounds like a rallying cry as Mease's moving, creamy vocals are employed like a cleverly concealed weapon.



Sondre Lerche - "Rejection #5", Public Hi-Fi Sessions #01
Despite the fact that 2013 held all the faint whispers of a full length record in the works from Norwegian popsmith Sondre Lerche, sadly it was not meant to be. Instead it seems like in 2014, Lerche will be doubling down on releases and that suits me just fine. However 2013 wasn't completely without its fair share of Lerche jams and in addition to takes on Scott Walker's "The Plague" and Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball", Sondre Lerche let two songs free from his majestic pharaoh's tomb of an archive in the form of Two Way Monologue era "Rejection #5" and "Screen Door" for Jim Eno's Public Hi-Fi Sessions. The twist being of course that "Rejection #5" was unfinished until recently and was recorded with Eno taking part for the release. Though written around Two Way Monologue it's got a very Phantom Punch era sassiness thrown in for good measure. The fact that it's basically a new track at this point shows that not only has Lerche not lost touch with his roots but that his genre-bending ways aren't long forgotten. "Rejection #5" is a funky little number which manages to bring the past 5 years or so of Lerche's musical career full circle with a clever little reference to George Lazenby. Unexpected collaborations and inspirations abound and the result is a song of pretty much boundless confidence. The kind of song that'd soundtrack Travolta's cocky strut if Saturday Night Fever was remade with modern music for some weird reason. A jam in every sense of the word that's a more than suitable placeholder for Lerche's forthcoming 7th full length.



Honorable Mention:
Alex G - "Joy"

Conveyor - "Pushups", "Mammal Food"/"Pushups" 7"

Daughn Gibson - "Kissin on the Blacktop", Me Moan

Gracie - "Creature Pleaser", Bleeder EP

Hiss Golden Messenger - "The Serpent Is Kind (Compared to Man)", Haw

Incan Abraham - "Tuolumne", "Tuolumne"/"Whidbey" 7"

Listen: Night Beds - "Ramona"

Fans of emotion-stirring ear-catching folk rock rejoice. Nashville based songwriter Winston Yellen aka Night Beds is releasing a full length album. What's more if you liked "Even If We Try" but wondered if Night Beds was capable of doing something a bit more fast-paced, you're in luck. New single "Ramona" continues the atmospheric listless vibe achieved on last year's single and the Every Fire, Every Joy EP while speeding it up a little. Also Yellen has a full band backing him up which fills out the sound nicely and makes his rich emotive vocals all the more distinct, easily floating to the surface through the hustle and bustle of the band at play. There's a slight bit of twangy guitar action that both recalls his new Nashville home and album title - Country Sleep.



The strength of the two singles alone is enough to make me want the album and want it bad. Thankfully we don't have too long to wait as Night Bed's Country Sleep will be out February 5th on Dead Oceans.

Pitstop: Night Beds

                                                            (photo by Aubrey Swander)

It should be practically common knowledge that I take music suggestions from bands/artists I love with the utmost reverence. Because if you can make music great enough to enrapture me, obviously you know a thing or two about what I like and your tastes is in part somewhat similar to mine. Not too long I was chatting with Martin Crane of Brazos and he mentioned Night Beds. While I couldn't make it to their no doubt excellent show together at Union Pool earlier this month, I made a note to give Night Beds my immediate and full attention.



The moniker of singer/songwriter Winston Yellen, Night Beds creates dreamy folk not unlike Carter Tanton or Husky touched with windswept plainsiness and a definite pop sensibility. Truth be told, I was reminded almost immediately of Young Man's Colin Caulfield. Similarly aligned in their youthful pondering, their earnest delivery, their evident quest for answers and meanings but where Caulfield's bursts forth with lengthy, upbeat pop jaunts, Yellen's is more introspective, darker, sweeping not overwhelming.



In "Even If We Try", Yellen staves off the eventual dip into poppiness until you're already hooked on his fountaining vocal flourishes and emotive surges.  In fact, if you're coming for the pop, you'd be best to pick up the Every Fire; Every Joy EP as Night Beds' most recent release the "Even If We Try" 7" with b-side "You Were Afraid" is a bit more on the quieter side.

Night Beds' "Even If We Try" 7" is out now on Dead Oceans but make sure you get the full effect with the Every Fire; Every Joy EP: