Mike James & DJ Kriegs

Hi there! How’s your summer been? Oh! Mine!? Well, thank you for asking. It’s been a great summer for me. I got a summer job at a day camp looking after people who are mainly less that 4 feet tall and less than 6 years old. Here’s a picture of me with some of my new friends:

Oh wow. Look how adorable I look. But enough about that; let’s talk about music instead.

I suppose you have been keeping up with your prolific music cannibalism, consuming as much as you can on a regular basis. It’s important to meet your daily recommended values y’know. Quavers, semibreves, bar lines, clefs, diatonic scales, atonalisms, etc. – they’re all essential (and delicious). Well, in case you didn’t, I present to you this 3 part series of summer songs to gorge yourself on. If you need to vom, remember to step back from the computer… Seriously, the smell never goes away once it seeps between the gaps in your keyboard.

Summer Playlist 2010 (Part 1): Emotional Dudes

1.1) “Wolf River” – Denuo

Can Tom Mason’s Denuo really be described in such paltry terms as words and sentences? Apparently not. Information about the Cardiff based one man band is hard to come by, especially if you’re like me and spend less than 3 minutes researching the topic. But what really stands out in “Wolf River” is a sullen sound of empty, echoing landscape. There’s an introversiveness (not a word) to Mason’s acoustic strumming, and a pensivity (also not a word) to his voice. It’s as if he’s a man that has all the time in the world to think, and getting lost in thought has given “Wolf River” a unparalleled beauty and simplicity.

• Listen to “Wolf River” here: .
• Download Blalock’s Indie/Rock Playlist June 2010 for free in which “Wolf River” is included.
• Check out Duneo’s MySpace page to listen to more of his music.
• Denuo’s EP Wolf River was released in April 2010.

1.2) “Whirlwind” – Death In Plains

“Whirlwind” excites me in the same way Passion Pit’s Chunk of Change EP excited me when it was released more than a year and a half ago. It has the same synth-pop peppiness and multitudinous confusion of sound. Don’t let that mislead you in to thinking that this track is a hubbub of unlistenable noise – far from it. The complexity of layered sound is still firmly held in place by structure. What you have, then, is something interesting yet fun.

• Listen to “Whirlwind” here: .
• Download “Whirlwind” here for free!
• Check out the “Whirlwind” video on Vimeo.
• Download this other song “Yeah Go” by Death in Plains via ArtRocker.com.
• Death in Plains’ Mustard Polo will be released on August 23rd of this year.

1.3) “Ray Gun” – James Yuill

One of the gems on James Yuill’s album Movement in a Storm is “Ray Gun” – it’s a soft-synth dream! Combining love and science fiction Yuill’s deadpan British vocals decry “[n]ever was my ray gun on you, if it was you some how slipped through,” with notable tones of regret carrying through the unwavering, inelaborate melody of the chorus. There’s something fantastical listenable about the track however, the lightness with the compunction and loss is mesmerizing with the merest hint of agonizing remorse, and certainly devoid of the droning of heartbreak songs you usually hear.

• Listen to “Ray Gun” here: .
• Download Blalock’s Indie/Rock Playlist June 2010 for free in which “Ray Gun” is included.”
• Check out the official James Yuill website.
• The album Movement in a Storm was released earlier this year.