2024 Favorite Music (So Far)

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Here are my favorite 20 releases of 2024 so far.

  • Ghosted II by Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin

  • Live in Paris 1973 by Can

  • Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons

  • the Collective by Kim Gordon

  • Blu Wav by Grandaddy

  • the Handover by the Handover

  • Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker

  • Drop 7 by Little Simz

  • Two Improvisations by Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock

  • Locust Land by Bill MacKay

  • Funeral For Justice by Mdou Moctar

  • the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis by The Messthetics

  • David Nance & Mowed Sound by David Nance

  • Bite Down by Rosali

  • Water Still Flows by Rich Ruth

  • Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace by Shabaka

  • Exotic Birds of Prey by Shabazz Palaces

  • Time Is Glass by Six Organs of Admittance

  • Africa Yontii by Tidiane Thiam

  • Tiger’s Blood by Waxahatchee

Heard Too Late 2023 :: Dosh, Ismaily, Young

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Yesterday we began a short series of posts highlighting 2023 albums I didn’t get a chance to spend enough time with prior to compiling my year-end list with Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah’s “The Falcon Ate The Flower.”

Next up is the self-titled release from Dosh, Ismaily, Young. Featuring “drummer Marty Dosh (Dosh, Andrew Bird, Fog), bassist Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Secret Chiefs 3, Arooj Aftub), and guitarist Tim Young (Wayne Horvitz’s Zony Mash, David Sylvian, Michael White).”

With Shazad already appearing on the 2023 round up with Love In Exile by Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily, this marks Ismaily’s second appearance on my favorite albums of 2023.

This is not so much a review as a profile, so I take no shame in quoting the Bandcamp page to help you get a picture of this wild ride: “On their debut self-titled release, these master musicians effortlessly deliver six solid tracks including an 11-minute krautrock mindblower, a meditation on the end of the world, and explorations into Stax-soul, space-rock, and free-jazz.”

If you’ve taken the time and effort to read this far, it’s probably because we share the same music vibes. I highly recommend this release, especially since physical copies are in short supply.

Watch the official video for the opening track, “Blast:”

  • Support Dosh, Ismaily, Young at Bandcamp

  • Purchase Dosh, Ismaily, Young’s music at Amazon

Chitinous Mandible

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When asked to describe his music in 3 words by Secret Eclectic, Tom Herman Jr. (aka Chitinous Mandible) responded with:

Enveloping surrealistic familiarity

That seems to be as good a description as any.

Prior to the Chitinous Mandible moniker, New Jersey’s Herman recorded as Old Smile, who Aquarium Drunkard described as “a wave of lo-fi, bedroom psych,” and of whom The Quietus said: “After countless recent waves of revivalist bands embracing jangly psych and sixties music - Temples, Tame Impala, Ty Segall, etc. - Old Smile is the best I've come across.” That’s high praise indeed! And as The Quietus points out: “And this dude managed to do it all himself at home!” Herman continues to ride tht independent spirit, saying of this new, self-titled project as Chitinous Mandible: “I wrote/performed/recorded/mixed everything on it aside from a couple tracks where my dad plays drums.”

Rolling in like a lo-fi swamp fog and wrapping you up in its shimmery swirls, this is music to get lost in or focus down on the details. Because there are layers if you’re willing to dig. And dig, I do. cosmic psychedelic blues for the laid-back set. Hints of Krautrock throb over Devo keyboards. More quirky non sequiturs for great music here.

I asked Hermon how his songwriting has progressed over the last few albums. He said:

“In Arches the sound was kind of slow and melancholy. The sound of Old Smile was more all over the place, there were a lot of detours. Chitinous Mandible is a bit all over the place too but it’s more concise.”

Chitinous Mandible is a bit all over the place, but more concise. That’s as good a description as any. Swampy music for sweaty afternoons. The best thing you can do is go listen for yourself. I highly recommend.

For those interested, Bandcamp reveals that "Pops plays drums on the songs "Time Design" and "Summertime Drive."

Watch “Summertime Drive:”

Watch “Connection In A Parking Lot”

  • RIYL: Rose City Band, Los Halos

  • Support Chitinous Mandible at Bandcamp

  • Follow Chitinous Mandible at Youtube

  • Follow Chitinous Mandible at Soundcloud

  • Follow Chitinous Mandible at Instagram

Dogwood Tales :: 13 Summers 13 Falls

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The days get shorter and the nights get longer. And colder. As the darkness settles in we wrap ourselves in Harmonies, heartbreak, and hope. The ashes of loss still contain the embers of hope.

Wilco, Son Volt, and Whiskeytown will be obvious touch-points for many, but Dogwood Tales have crafted their own voice (with killer harmonies).

Album opener circles the refrain:

“It’s hard to be in the right place
for the right thing all the time.
It’s hard to be anywhere when I got you on my mind.”

There’s a sense of being caught in a winter storm here sometimes. Our protagonists sometimes don’t quite sure where’ they’re going or even who they are. But there is a pervasive sense of hope throughout the EP. Pedal steel laces through the often forlorn lyrics ushering us in to moments of hope. Even though the nights are long, morning’s on its way. These songs explore love, loss, and heartbreak with clear-eyed honesty. Sometimes it’s hard and we’re not sure where we’re going or if we’ll make it, but the days will again wash in and the light will eventually return. Sometimes the best we can do is hold out for the hope of a better day to see us through the long winter nights.

“Hold You Again” doesn’t back down from the truth of lost chances and lonely new realities. “I know I may never feel it again,” they sing, but we get the sense that it was still worth it. The bright melody and washes of feedback are a sonic blanket against the cold reality. The push and pull; the give and take of life and love try to find their balance in these 5 songs. “It feels like a matter of time before the dark gets hold of me.”

“25” opens with the lines “I just want to wake up and feel like I’m alive because I’ve got some cousins that didn’t see 25.” There is a stark wrestling with reality. These lyrics don’t shy away from death and loss but they don’t swirl the pity party drain either. There’s a search throughout these songs; here’s the reality; we love, we lose, we die, and we try to make sense of it all. What’s it all about? What’s it’s all for? Is the power of love enough to see us through these long dark nights? Dogwood Tales think so and invite you into their sunbaked cosmic Americana world to see what you think. Whatever your conclusion, this is music for those long dark winter nights when we need to be reminded that the light will eventually return. “we’ve still got miles of road to go” they sing on the title track and there is a sense of surety that we’ll get there eventually.

Highly recommended

The Deets:

WH065
Dogwood Tales - 13 Summers 13 Falls

01. Hard To Be Anywhere
02. Hold You Again
03. 25
04. Since Yesterday
05. 13 Summers

credits

releases November 18, 2023 on WarHen Records

Kyle Grim - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Ben Ryan - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Stephen Kuester - Pedal Steel
Danny Gibney - Bass, Organ, Wurlitzer & Piano
Jake Golibart - Drums & Percussion

Produced by Erik Kase Romero
Recorded by Erik Kase Romero and Danny Gibney
All tracks Mixed by Danny Gibney except Hold You Again by Adrian Olsen
Mastered by Garrett Haines
Photograph by Kyle Grim

Check out a recent live session from earlier this year:

  • Visit Dogwood Tales’ website

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  • Support Dogwood Tales at Bandcamp

  • Support Dogwood Tales and WarHen Records at Bandcamp

  • Purchase Dogwood Tales’ music at Amazon

Staraya Derevnya :: Boulder Blues

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Staraya Derevnya is a psychedelic/kraut-folk collective based in London and Tel Aviv. Active since 1994, the group’s newest album Boulder Blues will be out August 5th on Ramble Records. Recorded between 2020 - 2022 in Israel and the UK, the album percolates and bubbles with creativity. A collective of varying size and members, this iteration consists of 11 people, and album credits include “cries and whispers,” silent cello (which apparently is a very real thing, though somehow it would still make sense even if it wasn’t), “objects,” and a marching band kazoo.

How does one make sense of such music? Maybe that’s not the point, but if we need landmarks to help find our way; then maybe the meditative groovy bass foundations of Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin and Natural Information Society or some of the murkier moments from Animal Collective or Paavoharju come to mind, but only as touchpoints. They are the friendly neighbors you meet on the path to Staraya Derev. Like the cover artwork, one is left with more questions than answers, and sometimes that’s the point.

My son calls it “spooky alien music but in a good way.” Krautrock grooves underpin an ever evolving sound collage. Instruments, voices, and noises sometimes float by barely notices and sometimes shock you back into the groove. Concrete Islands uses the phrase “murmurations from unknown tongues” to describe the bands music, and that seems about as apt as any description we’re likely to conjure.

The title track emerges from primordial squigglings over an ever-reliably-chugging bassline and builds upon a repeated phrase dervishly swirling and repeating and building and repeating and building and swirling. The piece doesn’t so much resolve as exhaust itself in experimental ecstasy. ‘Tangled Hands’s fleeting fog swirls through the atmosphere punctuated by skronks and ambient waves.

The album’s centerpiece, the nearly 21-minute ‘Bubbling Pelt’ was recorded live at TUSK Festival 2020. The piece bubbles and swirls over minimal but hypnotic bass rumblings. Percussion skitters back and forth until becoming one with the ether. As the bass returns, wind instruments and electronic squiggles reveal themselves from the fog, forming a nice relaxed groove which gives home to all sorts of vocalizations.

Though heavy on krautrock repetition, this is not background music. Though it requires your attention, it grooves in unexpected ways.

Boulder Blues is out August 05th on Ramble Records and is highly recommended.

Watch ‘Bubbling Pelt’ performed live at TUSK Festival 2020 here:

Ernie Francestine's Character of Light

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Pittsburgh guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Ernie Francestine’s third album Character of Light will be released July 22 by WarHen Records.

Francestine is a music teacher and plays in multiple acts, including the Buckle Downs. But whereas the Buckle Downs mine soulful R&B, Francestine’s newest solo album takes a quieter turn but demands your attention nonetheless.

Ernie says:

“Character Of Light was born in Spring of 2021 when Warren Parker of WarHen Records reached out about recording a solo album. I dove in and immediately began writing and compiling ideas.

I wanted to record an album inspired by the music I listen to most. Character Of Light brings together hints of folk, ambient, traditional acoustic music and Tropicalia.”

Character of Light feels immediate yet nostalgic. Francestine says he wanted the album “to feel like a welcome guest at any time of day in any season” and he has succeeded. This is music for all seasons; on the porch at dusk, or serenading the sunrise. The music is warm, welcoming and intriguing. Guitar lines weave in and out of one another while Moog synthesizers and field recordings add ambient wash. The music feels lived in (in the best possible way) yet reveals new details with each listen.

Character of Light (both the album and the song) arise in a gentle wash of guitar and invokes whatever may come with a wistful hopefulness. This is instrumental music with a voice. In “Two Birds,” that voice is the sparse but not spare piano melody floating above guitar and building into a worldless chorus that is somehow both hopeful and forlorn. “Everything is Transparent”soulfully saunters down a melody lane that you know you’ve never been down before but somehow feels familiar; like home. “Wild Purple” conveys that memory on the tip of your tongue that doesn’t need to be spoken after all. “The Stone & The Evergreen (Pt. 1).” closes the album with a melody you feel like you’ve known your whole life. And maybe you have and Francestine is just reminding us.

Check out "Two Birds:”

I recently had a chance to catch up with Ernie to chat about the project.

Tell us about the title, Character of Light:

I had been kicking around ideas for a title for a long time and a few contenders came and went. I was having trouble getting the last track of the record (Character of Light) written and recorded and I just stumbled upon this phrase in my head and I immediately knew it was going to the title of the record and of the last song I was finishing up. I like the ambiguity of it and I also think it encapsulates what the record is about. It feels like the record.

This music is very different from your other projects. Was it difficult for you to “find a voice” in instrumental music?

Writing for my other band (the Buckle Downs. is very different and I really wanted to do something that I could see the entire project through to the end myself. One principle I use in writing music is eliminating anything that will slow me down. I have my entire recording set up ready to go at any moment and after recording my first instrumental recording during the pandemic (The Quiet Shift) - I knew I wanted to continue in this genre because it felt like the one with the least amount of restrictions to actually completing a chorus…a song….an album. I am able to see tangible progress without second guessing if it needs drums, a different melody or changing lyrics.

Was there a vision beyond “an instrumental album?”

I think he heard my previous release "The Quiet Shift" and was interested in something with a similar vibe. I would say that this one builds on that release. That one was recorded entirely on my iPad with no more than one overdub on each track. This one is definitely more layered and uses a wider variety of instruments.

You note that you wanted to record an album "inspired by the music" you listen to most. Who might be a few artists that were touchstones or inspirations for this project? What music do you listen to most?

I listen to ….instrumental music the most. Whether that’s jazz, Brazilian music, Afro beat, tropicalia, instrumental folk guitar. I like figuring out the emotion the music is trying to convey without the help of lyrics.

What’s next for you?

Whats next: am really feeling inspired to keep this going and try to work more within the sound I've created for myself. I've got conceptual ideas for a few albums in my head and usually the one that wins out is the one I sit down and start working on. I've learned to always try and make the demo a usable take because we used a lot of demo takes on the final tracks of this record. So I feel set up with more knowledge and better processes to compose in a more efficient manner.

All proceeds from the sales of this album will be donated to Everytown, an organization fighting for sensible gun laws across the country.
www.everytown.org

Derek Piotr :: Making and Then Unmaking

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Nearly every human story centers around conflict and character development. In many of these stories, we find many reoccurring characters.

The wise but enigmatic bearded wizard.

The strong but faithful hero; sure of who they are and their calling but not always sure of their circumstances.

Or, maybe the trickster, who is a cunning, sly usurper of the status quo, who can often shapeshift (including gender). leaving you to wonder who or what you just encountered; or didn’t.

The trickster might know who they are, but most people never will. Leaving everyone to wonder of even the trickster knows who they are. We can only ever know the trickster as they reveal themselves to us; in ever-changing form; in all the ups and downs; the tricks and turns; the slides and tumbles. Derek Piotr’s new album asks us to ask such questions.

Creating what he calls an “Appalachian cowboy record,” Piotr weaves trickster imagery and energy through a powerfully haunting and playful set of songs exploring the question of who we are versus who others think we are. In keeping with the up-ending energy of the trickster, Making and Then Unmaking is a sharp turn for the Piotr. The presskit calls the album his “most musically ambitious and emotionally raw project to date.” Most notably, this is Piotr’s first work to feature the guitar. Piotr has made his name so far in modern classical and DJ settings. He says that he: “had a massive taboo against guitar for my whole career... I felt it was extremely common, pedestrian, coffee-shop stuff, represented the most middling and mundane music on the planet.”

But thankfully, he changed his mind.

Throughout the album, guitar, dulcimer, pedal steel guitar, clavichord and banjo work to support these explorations of identity and loss and Piotr’s unique voice. That voice and its rawness is much of what makes these songs feel like we’re privy to some sort of intimate self-exploration rather than just being academic explorations of a musical genre. Piotr’s presskit says:

“The composer’s voice is foregrounded throughout, operating in a different register to that of the more recognisable singing voice used on previous albums.”

On the opening track, “From Your Window,” Piotr sings “I consume the wind who consumes me” over a hypnotic repeated rhythm and we can’t help but wonder if the life of the trickster; a life of continually changing and keeping up while keeping others at bay will ultimately consume those of us who chase this life.

Diving in to folk, rural, Appalachian, and Irish music. Piotr finds a musical world in which he can explore not only the trickster imagery, but himself. Asked about the album title, he suggest:

"Making and Then Unmaking" refers to building and destroying relationships ... ideas ... past selves ...”

We find this theme of changing, reconciling, growing and the accompanying confusion highlighted in “Invisible Map,” where Piotr sings:

“Things I hold on to make me want to change, but the more I change, the more I find myself holding on.”

It’s this internal struggle of identity that weaves the album together, and here, with slowly stirring strings over plucked rhythms Piotr sings out life’s eternal question: Who Am I? The solo a capella “Bolakins,” (Found at the Wikipedias as “Lamkin”) offers up terrifying answer to that question in the tale of a wronged mason who vows to get even. With only his voice, Piotr lays bear this tale of revenge and sorrow.

While “Bolakins” is certainly a standout track, I wonder if “The Stake/De'il in the Kitchen” most encapsulates the album’s themes. A song with plucked banjo and bagpipes about feeling like cyborg trying to find love seems to get right to the heart of it. What is programmed? What is real? Who can be trusted and why? The organic wistfulness of the banjo plays against Piotr’s mechanical thought: “I am a cyborg.” The bagpipes highlight the confusion; are we programmed? Does it matter? What is free will? Is love free will or something that takes us over? The metallic cyborg tinge plays against the organic instruments and feels like a metaphor for many of the album’s themes.

“Snow in Paradise” continues these themes:

“It’s a wall of snow in paradise / All of us changing for that better life / Did you manifest what means most to you? / Because you can’t resist?”

Later in the song, a saxophone weaves in and out of the melody asking us to reflect on these questions. I have time for music like that, and I hope you do too. These nine songs explore the notions of identity, change, love, and free will; all while Piotr challenges himself to take on a new musical identity. I can’t think of anything better than an artist who models what they explore. Form and function. Cyborgs looking for love, all somehow without losing hope.

Highly recommended.

Pre-order the album at Bandcamp (out 05/14/21). Watch the Electronic Press Kit here.

  • Visit Derek Piotr’s official website

  • Watch the EPK for the new album

  • Follow Derek Piotr on Twitter

  • Follow Derek Piotr at Facebook

  • Purchase Derek Piotr’s music at Amazon

  • Purchase Derek Piotr’s music at Bandcamp

Wordless Flight Emerges

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Caleb Nei bills himself as: “Washington DC Area Event & Cocktail Pianist,” usually playing “about 180 jazz dates each year throughout Virginia and Washington DC.”

Nei’s newest project Wordless Flight. “Emergence,” Nei’s first release under the new moniker is a collection of improvisations “Recorded on a felted upright piano, a Mason & Hamlin reed organ, and a collection of analog synths.” Nei says that “Emergence” is the first of several releases in this vein, with lots more music already recorded.

“Recorded in the early-morning hours before the family wakes,” Nei’s improvisations are meditative pieces walking the border between minimalism, new age age, and contemporary classical.

Opening track “Another Morning” is representative of the rest of the album in all of the good ways. Interesting melodies over ambient background noise unfolding and swirling up and around to greet the day before folding back into itself.

“Murmur” propels these themes forward, while “1997” begins to push into Ambient territory and “Landscape From A Bus” pulses with an Ambient loop and “Moored Boats” makes you wonder if this wasn’t an electronic album the whole time.

This is music created with the sun rise to fill your while day.

  • Visit Caleb Nei’s official website

  • Visit the Wordless Flight website

  • Purchase Wordless Flight’s music at Bandcamp

Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 05)

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Volume 05 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

  1. “Sam Sam” by Afriquoi

  2. “Fight Am Finish” by Antibalas

  3. “Tulips” by Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk

  4. “Sixth Hammer” by the Budos Band

  5. “Signs” by Eishan Ensemble

  6. “Acoustic Storm Part One” by Elkhorn

  7. “Further” by the Necks

  8. “Wooden Flower” by Tambourinen

  9. “Walkin’ In Rhythm” by Wet Tuna

  10. “Snake Mouth” by Rob Noyes & Sam Moss

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 04)

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Volume 04 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!



Tracklisting:

  1. “Solace” by Adrian Younge And Ali Shaheed Muhammad

  2. “Theme For Cecil” by Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids

  3. “Venom” by The Heliocentrics

  4. “Slow Bones” by Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela

  5. “Eurasia” by Tengger

  6. “Galaxy 1000” by Rob Mazurek and the Exploding Star Orchestra

  7. “Two” by Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock

  8. “The Message Continues” by Nubya Garcia

  9. “Makoma” by Onipa

  10. “Ju$t” by Run The Jewels

  11. “The Coming Of The Strange Ones” by Shabaka and the Ancestors

  12. “Wet” by Shabazz Palaces

  13. “No Talk Talk” by Les Freres Smith

  14. “Strange To Explain” by Woods

  15. “Go Away” by Jeff Parker

  16. “Pray Up Stay Up” by Sault

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 03)

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Volume 03 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

  1. “Houses of the Holy” by H.C. McEntire

  2. “Low to the Bird” by Jamie Barnes

  3. “It Gets Easier” by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

  4. “Santa Monica (Through the Canyon)” by Pacific Range

  5. “The 101” by Six Organs of Admittance

  6. “Howard St. & The Beach Nov. 1988 After 11” by Califone

  7. “Maestranza” by Fleet Foxes

  8. “(Our Life Could Be Your Van)” by Garcia Peoples

  9. “The Law Of Hospitality” by Waterless Hills

  10. “Four Corners” by William Tyler

  11. “Protest Song” by Bill Callahan

  12. “Crystal Doorknob” by Lonnie Holley

  13. “Landwerk 03” by Nathan Salsburg

  14. “Love Is The Main Thing” by Fontaines D.C.

  15. “Find You Ride” by Magik Markers

  16. “Fadjamou” (Acoustic) by Oumou Sangaré

  17. “St. Charles” by Throwing Muses

  18. “Nenamev” by Tidiane Thiam

  19. “Bon Bon” by Songhoy Blues

  20. “Love Paste” by Sunwatchers

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 02)

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Volume 02 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

  1. “Single For The Summer” by Christian Lee Huston

  2. “Off My Mind” by Hazel English

  3. “Crimson Tide” by Destroyer

  4. “NTE” by Buscabulla

  5. “We Don't Smoke It No More” by Neil Young

  6. “If The Truth Ever Shows Up” by David Nance

  7. “Die Before You Live” by Sammy Brue

  8. “Not Penny’s Boat” by Huntingtons

  9. “Empty Bottle” by Rose City Band

  10. “Out The Window” by Café Racer

  11. “Nektar” by Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray

  12. “Jams From The Sun (Part III)” by Oregon Space Trail of Jazz

  13. “F&N” by 75 Dollar Bill

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Jamie Barnes' 'Ex Voto"

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Louisville’s Jamie Barnes. And since musicians are people, it is only natural for us to wonder what’s he’s been up to in the years since his last release. Well, since musicians are people, we don’t necessarily get to know what Barnes has been doing for the last few years and we honor that privacy. But since he is a poet and songwriter, we do get to peek in on Barnes as he opens a window into his soul on his latest release “Ex Voto.” And the good news is that, even though we may not have heard from him in a while, Barnes’ clever and intimate songwriting sensibilities have only sharpened.

Barnes plays quiet folk-ish music that is pregnant with imagery and warm details. But this is quiet music to be played loud. Barnes has always been known for his lush instrumentation, even though he often records at home. There are new layers, intricacies, and flourishes discovered with each listen and only discovered when we allow ourselves to be in the moment and fully present with this music. Which I think is part of its message.

Barnes gives away few personal details, but as the title suggests, there is a sense of someone struggling to find gratitude and devotion in the wake of something serious; in the wake of life, love, and loss. Sometimes relationships feel like planets trying to find their orbit or two songbirds on opposite branches.

Weaving imagery that oscillates between the here and now; being grounded in nature along with with scenes from the stars (“Perseid and Leonid fall,” “Mercury's in retrograde,” “Binary star,” etc.) Barnes holds a liminal space for the listener. It exists in the moment between inhale and exhale. Maybe it’s a Fall record caught in the moment between expected freeze, remembered warm breezes and the reality of nature’s passing everywhere around us. Does it bring us comfort to know that we’re not alone in our cycle of death and rebirth? Or does it reinforce our hurt, leaving us hopelessly caught in a never-ending cycle? That’s for the listener to decide. But throughout, Barnes evokes that sense of pain, loss, and longing. The opening words set the stage:

Turn the Earth upside down
Shake the dead things from their holes
While the memories drape
Like white chemtrails in our souls

Barnes explores the tension between endings and beginnings, trying to make sense of them both. In “Low To The Bird” (previously released as a single), Barnes laments, leaving us to wonder if his broken relationship is with a lover, himself, or maybe even his God (or maybe all three?):

Now I'm too many words lost down the drain
Gather me like rivers, gather me like rain
I don't mean to accuse, I don't mean to complain
I'm too low to the bird for my prayer to be heard anyway

Maybe we should expect nothing less from a man whose Twitter bio reads “Per aspera ad astra” (“through hardships to the stars") but this interplay between the imminent and the transcendent; that in-between space where life occurs provides the perfect canvas for Barnes’ clever and often insightful words. But the music is just as vital as the words. They weave in and out of one another; melodies softly soar and swirl, uplifting the soul even while the words might keep us grounded. Exploring that “in-between” space, “Ex Voto” is a record that doesn’t shy away from the hurt of life, but it is also not a record which leaves us in the mire.

Though Barnes acknowledges and explores despair and hurt and the dark realities of life, love, and loss, there is never a sense of despair or defeat. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Consider these lines from album opener “Pennyrile”

“And its shadow found me
There beneath it all
And with lifted hands to high we gasped and wondered at the writing on the sky
What a thing it even is to be alive”

Despite it all, “what a thing it even is to be alive!” Even though “crooks and carnivores are closing,” “Ex Voto” finds Barnes “holding fast, holding fast” (“Hollow Dusk”). The mountains may be crashing in to the sea, but Barnes is struggling to be still and make sense of it all; all without giving up the still small light of hope in the darkness. It’s that quiet sense of hope that seems to not only keep Barnes afloat but able to still try and make sense of it all. In “Christ of the Ozarks,” he sings:

“Christ of the Ozarks, hold out your kind arms to me
I lost my landmarks,
I lost my family
Bring down your home
Hold me in mystery
Hold me till the end and then always”

Sometimes we just wish we could make sense of things. There are days when we need to be held and assured and that’s part of what it means to be human. “Hold me till the end and then always.” Even now in the in-between. The night may be dark, but Barnes will not let us give up searching for the meaning behind it all:

“I wish there was a liturgy for the hour soon forgotten
I wish there was a prayer for the when and they why
I wish there was a litany for the names evanescent
A benediction for the long goodbye”

I don’t know if “Ex Voto” is Barnes’ “long goodbye” to something or someone, but it’s an album that deserves our full attention. It is a timely record for a culture caught in societal grief. Hopefully it will help us make sense of suffering while not giving in to despair. We may be broken, but only “just enough” that it’s like blood-letting; for our good. We may each have a vision of what we need to be purged of, but Barnes reminds us that even if the “great cloud of witnesses dissolves overhead,” we are not alone. Wherever you find that “Silent Partner,” Barnes reminds us that there are other hands reaching out in the dark. There are other people caught in the in-between just like we are.

Barnes may not chart a clear path back to daylight and out of the suffering, but he will “hold the space” for us as we “sundown” and in that, he has reminded us of the beauty of life, and love, even when there’s loss. Winter might be coming but, we can still “harmonize our sorrows and sighs and brace for the winter gloom.”

“Hear them now, crooks and carnivores are closing
Bar the door and guard my ruby heart 'til morning
Catalog what's left and wake the weary dawn

Holding fast, holding fast.”

Fine China: 'Trees At Night'

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I love to promote local music.

Phoenix guitar-pop heroes Fine China have returned with their new single ‘Trees At Night.’

Here’s what singer / songwriter Rob Withem has to say about the track:

“In my home growing up there was an odd assortment of vinyl records among which were new age type albums by artists like Andreas Vollenweider and Mannheim Steamroller, and a whole stack of Windam Hill samplers from the early 80’s. I always was drawn to the songs with nature sounds, songs that sort of had a setting in which they existed. With ‘Trees at Night’ I wanted to combine that approach with pure pop music. So a song not only is a song but it lives in a place.“

Though the track is certainly not “New Age,” you can certainly feel that touchpoint. The track definitely has an 80’s feel and captures a nostalgic move but remains original and engaging.

Lyrics :

If you asked me for a moment
If you told me as a friend
That I'm going on alone

In the shadow of the moonlight
There's a ghost upon the room
I'm going on alone

Faces in the leaves speak with voices we deceive not
Rivers get the land both beautiful and damned
But it's on my mind and it's in the trees at night

I don't want to be a lion and I never was a lamb
Is my heart beating or is it just a hologram

Faces in the leaves speak with voices we deceive not
And the rain waters the land for the lonely and the grand
But it's on my mind and it's in the trees at night

  • Visit Fine China’s official website.

  • Follow Fine China at Twitter.

  • Visit Fine China’s page at the Velvet Blue Music page.

  • Purchase Fine China’s music at Amazon.

Frank Lenz: Pyramid

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Nearly every piece you read about Frank Lenz begins the same way; something along the lines of:

“Frank Lenz is likely a name you’re not familiar with. But it’s just as likely that you’ve heard him play. Lenz started learning the drums at age 8 and is an accomplished studio drummer who has played with Pedro The Lion, the Lassie Foundation, Duraluxe, Richard Swift and Starflyer 59 and the Weepies, just to name a few.”

Once you read it, it’s understandable why so many pieces begin this way. That’s an impressive resume but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Lenz is also an accomplished songwriter, composer and player in his own right. Allmusic tries to describe Lenz’ solo material this way:

“After playing with several indie bands, Lenz developed his original work as a solo musician, mixing the pop of Burt Bacharach with the rock of Steely Dan, along with jazz fusion and Stevie Wonder-style R&B.”

The Pyramid, Lenz’ latest release (out now) is none of those things. Though not a score, listeners might be tempted to think otherwise. CD Baby describes the album as: “drum and synthesizer music,” noting: “all analog instruments and recording

At six songs just under 30 minutes, Pyramid might seem like an EP but this is not throwaway music. Nor is it casual music. Nor is it a soundtrack (unless you just play it along to life). It is certainly immersive music but it is much too engaging to relegated to the background. Sometimes cacophonous, sometimes groovy, this likely isn’t going to be something you throw on for your dinner party. But you will definitely want to throw on the headphones and give it some attention. This is layered music made with care that deserves to be listened to with attention. The liner notes say:

“Pyramid was recorded over 4 years while testing different synthesizers and experimenting with sounds that would translate into the grainy expanse. With a focus on analog warmth and depth the record was recorded with the least amount of digital signature, source sounds were recorded digitally but everything else was balanced and mixed using only analog equipment and finally committed to tape. The hope was to create the sound of sand and sky and mystery. Although sounding improvised, the music was arranged deliberately almost through-composed with the intent of creating a constant ebb and flow of tension and release.”

Notice what the notes say: “With a focus on analog warmth and depth the record was recorded with the least amount of digital signature, source sounds were recorded digitally but everything else was balanced and mixed using only analog equipment and finally committed to tape.” And that it took four years. The care and attention to detail is apparent. This is a rich, warm sounding record where the ambiance is as much a player as the notes being played.

Lenz says that “The hope was to create the sound of sand and sky and mystery” and sometimes it’s the reviewers job to just get out of the way and just point at things. I have lived with this music for a couple of weeks now and I’ve struggled with the right poetic descriptions but I can’t do better than “the sound of sand and sky and mystery.”

The album ebbs and flows through, jingles, jangles, clinks and clanks, sometimes evoking the feeling of free-jazz (album opener “Drumb Solo”) or the nearest-to-straight-rock the album gets with one of my favorite tracks from the album “Metatronix,” where Lenz barely hints at the funky grooves he’s often known for. The piece swirls with feedback and gurgles with notes just beneath the haze, all while Lenz’ propulsive percussion keeps things moving forward.

Penultimate track, the playfully titled “Plenty Sex Teen Erection” has the releases first official video. It’s also the closest we get to some of the groove Lenz is known for. A propulsive beat sits just underneath an undulating synth line that brings you in and wraps you up in its repetition without becoming repetitive. The track would feel right at home on a Krautrock compilation and I definitely mean that as a compliment. As one reviewer says on the song’s Youtube page: “This song and video rocks my world. I want to roll around in ketchup and mustard now.” I mean, if you’re going to chase “the sound of sand and sky and mystery,” why not do it rolling around in ketchup and mustard, right?

“Tiger Beat Singalong,” the album closer plays with enough retro feels that one might find it at home on the Stranger Things soundtrack, though it’s Lenz’ percussion that keeps the music grounded with just a hint of swing while the music builds, becoming more urgent, almost with a post-rock feel.

Pyramid is a welcome addition to an already rich catalog and will be the soundtrack (though it is not a soundtrack album) to my drive home tonight. I know it’s probably not considered good form to end my review by quoting another review, but, as PopMatters says:

“At just over 24 minutes, Pyramid could almost be considered an EP. The run time is probably the least appealing aspect of this tremendous, playful, weirdly executed, and highly enjoyable album. Frank Lenz has engineered a "mad scientist" vibe that is both quirky and groove-oriented, and the listener can't help but wish there was more of it.”

Now where’s the ketchup and mustard?

Huntingtons: "Muerto, Carcel, O Rocanrol"

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During the summer between 6th and 7th grade, a friend gave me an unmarked cassette. He had an older brother who listened to a lot of different music. Anyway, not only was the cassette unlabeled, it was so worn that it was no longer even clear which side was A or B. Nor did my friend care to tell me what was on the cassette. He just said: “Listen to this, it’s my brother’s current favorite band.”

That night when I went to bed, I put it in my little boombox and pressed play while I got right up next to the speakers because I didn’t have earphones and I didn’t want to get in trouble for listening to music when I was supposed to be going to sleep. This was my introduction to punk rock.

I now know that my entry was Side B of Social Distortion’s classic Mommy’s Little Monster. But I didn’t know that at the time. I just knew that this was music whose immediacy I related with. The angst and what seemed to me to be a quagmire of suburban-consumerist-apathy.

That entry led me to bands like T.S.O.L., The Damned, The Vandals, J.F.A., Decsendents, Dead Kennedys, The Misfits, The Exploited, and too many others to mention, though, in one way or another, many of them all seemed to pay homage in some way to The Ramones. That’s not to say that there were a lot of bands intentionally trying to sound like the Ramones, it was just that the Ramones had put something into the DNA of punk rock in a way that it was difficult for many bands not to owe something to the Ramones. But, then again, of course, there were bands that were intentionally trying to sound like the Ramones.

Is it possible to write about Baltimore punk band Huntingtons without referencing The Ramones? Probably, but this is not that piece. The band has worn their affections on their sleeves and they’ve never been shy of their love for The Ramones. The Hungtingtons not only released an album of Ramones covers called (tongue-in-cheek?) File Under Ramones that was so convincing that Joey Ramone picked them as his backing band for two shows at the legendary CBGBs.

Muerto, Carcel, o Rocanrol is the band’s first new music in 17 years and their 23rd release in all. Though the band has gone through a series of lineup changes over the years, the sound has remained consistent and this time around the band is made up of: Mike Holt (vocals/bass) Jonathan “Cliffy” Walker (guitars/vocals) Josh Blackway (guitars/vocals) and Chris Eller (drums).

The album charges out of the gate with the title track, letting you know exactly what themes we’re going to explore.

On the couch at 9:30,
Can’t keep my eyes open any more
Got no interest in the TV
Might be new, but I’ve seen it all before

Took a listen, to your playlist,
Tried my best, but man, it’s not my thing
The Modern Royals might get your worship
but if you ask me J is still the king

It’s fine by me to not agree
and I’m aware
but I’m too old to care

How do punks grow up? Maybe punk rock was never meant to grow up? The Huntington’s new album clings to the angst and energy of youth but sees through weary eyes. Time takes its toll and weighs us down. Alcohol reliance comes up several times, leading one to wonder just how autobiographical the lyrics might be. These is still fast-paced pop-punk but it’s seen too much to pretend to be carefree. But neither does it take itself too seriously. The band’s press release reflects on the title’s significance:

“Muerto” (Dead) is where the band could have been, had they given up on their career completely in 2005, when they played a “final show”. “Carcel” (Jail) is where they would be had they continued using the same 3 chords, playing the same small clubs, covering endless amounts of Ramones songs and never branching out or taking risks. “O Rocanrol” (Or Rock-N-Roll) is where they are: doing what they want, when they want, and doing it louder, faster, with more attitude and a deeper meaning behind the songs.”

My favorite track “Not Penny’s Boat” looks soberly at growing old, admitting that sometimes life is hard and doesn’t seem to make sense.

“Can’t focus on what I can’t change
Got too much on my mind
Been wasting too much time
Today, I put hope in the wrong place”

“Remember when we said
that we’d never do it any other way?
But now, looking through the looking glass,
it seems too late.”

The band recently released “Thank God For The Bomb” as the second single along with a short documentary about the song and the album. Again we hear the angst of aging punks trying to reconcile growing up in a genre that doesn’t want to.

“Met so many people
Been so many places
But the end is always near
So we press on
’Till it’s all gone
Thankful for the ones who’ve carried on

There’s no worry about tomorrow
Tomorrow’s just another day
It’s ours; we take it where we want to
There’s never been a price to pay
We’ll be OK”

We press on, thankful for the ones who’ve carried on.

Catch the band out on tour:

  • 2/7 - Baltimore, MD @ Zen West

  • 2/8 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club

  • 2/29 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Bourre

  • 3/28 - Washington DC @ the Velvet Lounge

  • 4/1 - Baltimore, MD @ the Ottobar

  • 4/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ Connie’s Ric Rac

  • 5/23 - Wilmington, DE @ 1984

  • 7/16-19 - Bergamo Italy @ Punk Rock Raduno

  • 8/7-8 - Frostburg, MD @ Savage Mountain Fest

  • Follow The Huntingtons at Facebook.

  • Purchase Huntingtons merchandise at Store Frontier.

  • Follow the Huntingtons at Instagram.

  • Purchase Huntingtons music at Amazon.


Holiday at the Sea's Favorite 2019 Music Mix (Volume 04)

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Today we dive in to Volume 04 of a 4-volume playlist of some of my favorite music of 2019. And, just to review one last time: there are 50 songs, but only 49 albums represented, since ‘Sideways’ by Seryn was released as a single. We’ve already heard a lot of great music and this last installment is no exception if I do say so myself (and I do).

I hope you enjoy this last installment of the series.

Volume 04:

Volume 04 Tracklisting:

  1. ‘Come On Up To The House’ by Joseph from the album Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits

  2. ‘Spinning Song’ by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from the album Ghosteen

  3. ‘U.F.O.F.’ by Big Thief from the album U.F.O.F.

  4. ‘Goin’ by Wet Tuna from the album Water Weird

  5. ‘Walk Through The Fire’ by Yola from the album Walk Through The Fire

  6. ‘All Mirrors’ by Angel Olsen from the album All Mirrors

  7. ‘Utopia In Blue’ by Eamon Fogarty from the album Blue Values

  8. ‘Margaritas at the Mall’ by Purple Mountains from the album Purple Mountains

  9. ‘My Phoenix’ by Pedro the Lion from the album Phoenix

  10. ‘Be Kind’ by Matt Valentine from the album Preserves

  11. ‘Her Arrival’ by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah from the album Ancestral Recall

  12. ‘Endless Dave’ by L'Eclair from the album Sauropoda

  13. ‘Good Ol' Vilayati’ by Sarathy Korwar from the album More Arriving

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  • Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

Holiday at the Sea's Favorite 2019 Music Mix (Volume 03)

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As I’ve explained, rather than just give a context-less list, I’ve made a four-volume playlist of some of my favorite music of 2019. Each mix is as close to an hour as I could get it.

Today we dive in to Volume 03. Also, just to review again: there are 50 songs, but only 49 albums represented, since ‘Sideways’ by Seryn was released as a single. After lots of finagling, I just decided to leave it alone and enjoy the music. It is what it is and it is all great. I hope you enjoy this third installment.

Volume 03:

Volume 03 Tracklisting:

  1. ‘Shadow Conductor’ by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society from the album Mandatory Reality

  2. ‘Ptah, The El Daoud’ by Sunwatchers from the album Illegal Moves

  3. ‘Spider Web Pt. 1’ by The Budos Band from the album V

  4. ‘One Step Behind’ by Garcia Peoples from the album One Step Behind

  5. ‘Water Bearing One by Dire Wolves from the album Grow Towards The Light

  6. ‘Telephone Song’ by Xylouris White from the album The Sisypheans

  7. ‘Love Is Everywhere’ by Wilco from the album Ode To Joy

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  • Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

Holiday at the Sea's Favorite 2019 Music Mix (Volume 02)

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As I mentioned yesterday, we’re doing something different this year with my year-end list of my favorite music of 2019. I’ve made four different playlists so you can hear a representative song from each album I picked.

Today we dive in to Volume 02. Each mix is as close to an hour as I could get them. And as I already mentioned, there are 50 songs, but only 49 albums represented, since ‘Sideways’ by Seryn was released as a single and I’ll present the complete list at the end of the week. I hope you enjoy this second installment.

Volume 02:

Volume 02 Tracklisting:

  1. ‘Shepherd’s Welcome’ by Bill Callahan from the album Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest

  2. ‘Miri’ by Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba from the album Miri

  3. ‘Autobiography Of The Upsetter’ by Lee “Scratch” Perry from the album Rainford

  4. ‘Vagabond’ by Steve Gunn from the album The Unseen In Between

  5. ‘U (Man Like)’ by Bon Iver from the album i,i

  6. 1 Milli by Davido from the album A Good Time

  7. ‘Three Chords and the Truth’ by Van Morrison from the album Three Chords and the Truth

  8. ‘Anybody’ by Burna Boy from the album African Giant

  9. ‘To See Darkness’ by Elkhorn from the album Sun Cycle / Elk Jam

  10. ‘Hot Potato Soup’ by One Eleven Heavy from the album Desire Path

  11. ‘Out of Darkness’ by Some Dark Hollow from the album Out of Darkness

  12. ‘Comeback Kid’ by Sharon Van Etten from the album Remind Me Tomorrow

  13. ‘Carrier 32’ by Eluvium from the album Pianoworks

  14. ‘Bloom’ by Joe Henry from the album The Gospel According to Water

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  • Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

Holiday at the Sea's Favorite 2019 Music Mix (Volume 01)

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I love year-end lists.

I love to see what other people loved. Especially people I respect who can introduce me to new music (and to a lesser extent, have my tastes validated by people cooler than me). But I don’t dig ranking everything. After all, it’s all subjective in the first place. You may not like what I like, and I probably don’t like what you do, and that’s OK. The past couple of years, I’ve done unranked, alphabetical lists. But this year I’d doing something different. (though there will still be an unranked, alphabetical list at the end).

Over the next several days, I’ll post four different playlists of some of my favorite music of 2019; selections from my favorite albums. Each mix is as close to an hour as I could get it. There are 50 songs, but if you want to be specific, there are only 49 albums represented since ‘Sideways’ by Seryn was released as a single and not part of an album. After lots of finagling, I just decided to leave it that way. It is what it is and it is all great. I hope you enjoy. Here’s the first installment.

Volume 01:

Volume 01 Tracklisting:

  1. ‘Out Of The Blue’ by Bruno Bavota from the album RE_CORDIS

  2. ‘Cuatro Proverbios’ by Aziza Brahim from the album Sahari

  3. ‘Tetuzi Akiyama’ by 75 Dollar Bill from the album I Was Real

  4. ‘All My Relations’ by Cochemea from the album All My Relations

  5. ‘Family and Loyalty’ by Gang Starr from the album One Of The Best Yet

  6. ‘Harmony Hall’ by Vampire Weekend from the album Father of the Bride

  7. ‘Taqkal Tarha’ by Tinariwen from the album Amadjar

  8. ‘Tomorrow Might as Well Be Today’ by Chris Forsyth from the album All Time Present

  9. ‘Wiwasharnine’ by Mdou Moctar from the album Ilana (The Creator)

  10. ‘Slabs of the Sunburnt West’ by Hemlock Ernst and Kenny Segal from the album Back At The House

  11. ‘Fall in Your Love’ by Moon Duo from the album Stars Are The Light

  12. ‘I Need a Teacher’ by Hiss Golden Messenger from the album Terms of Surrender

  13. ‘Gold Past Life’ by Fruit Bats from the album Gold Past Life

  14. ‘Sideways’ by Seryn // Released as a single

  15. ‘Afous Dafous’ by Tartit from the album Amankor / The Exile

  16. ‘Fear Song’ by Rose City Band from the album Rose City Band

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  • Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist