What a good month for new releases January was, and at the top of my list are Beach House‘s Teen Dream and Laura Veirs‘ July Flame, both of which are included on this mix. I’m glad the Beach House album has gotten such a good response, I think it is entirely well deserved and no song depicts how amazing it is better than album closer, “Take Care.” The song is simultaneously simple and complex, layered with orchestration in a way that simultaneously recalls the 50s and 80s while feeling out-of-place enough that it is very ‘now.’ As always, I am constantly thrown off by Victoria Legrand’s sultry but detached voice, which reaches maybe an album-wide apex as she sings, “I’ll take care of you / If you ask me to / In a year or two.”
I think that a lot of the other selections work well around “July Flame” and “Take Care,” especially the Washed Out track and the S (Jenn Ghetto, formerly of Carissa’s Wierd) track. Both are fantastic. Other (relatively) new music on here is Real Estate, who I have meant to put on a mix ever since Freed played them for me last fall, as well as a new Oddisee track from his free winter EP, and a new Dios track, from a free single. Oh, and Gloria Jones kicks this off because she is awesome and this version is 10x better than the version you are used to.
[Image by Bryan Schumaat]
February 2010 Mix
01 Gloria Jones – Tainted Love
02 Laura Veirs – July Flame
03 Dios – I Feel Finite
04 Velocity Girl – Forgotten Favorite
05 Oddisee feat. X.O. – Black Broadway
06 Lali Puna – Alienation (Alias Remix)
07 Washed Out – New Theory
08 S – Falling
09 Real Estate – Beach Comber
10 Beach House – Take Care
Here is a pretty video my pal did for “New Theory:” http://vimeo.com/7932491
that is amazing.