Monday Mixtape, Vol. 214

Remi Wolf bursts out into this week’s mixtape with panache, rhythm, and some choice words for the ladies,

All these little bitches telling me what to do
They really gettin’ me hot
I got a bone to pick
Ain’t got a bone to lick

Her flow is phenomenal. She rides the rhythm in every direction and controls the whole song vocally. This was recorded live and is a testament to her talent. I wrote about her many months ago on her track “Disco Man,” another track to check out.

My recent obsession goes by the name of The Backseat Lovers. The vocals remind me of a mix between Bombay Bicycle Club and The Kooks. Other sonic influences I hear include Bloc Party, lots of Kings of Leon (mainly the guitars, that little riff that starts “Kilby Girl” as well as the reverb in the background), Two Door Cinema Club (the quick transition made to clean guitars at 3:03 and the soaring riff that follows is exactly like TDCC’s “What You Know”) .

Speaking of TDCC, they released a new album! I’ll note again that the last live show I saw of them a year ago was really, really good, like knocked-my-socks-off good. The kids are professionals now. I gotta listen to the album more, it kinda feels like it’ll grow on me over time like their last album.

I love their smidges of silence, and the use of quiet to contrast their loudness, and they do this well on their more introspective tracks (check their 2019 major label debut for more).

Julia Jacklin just released her highly anticipated new album, and I think this is the best track.

Extra points if you recognize the voice on the Amtrac song :)

Beabadoobee is awesome. Really awesome. Her album this year is so damn good. Gotta be Top 10 this year.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 147

Apologies for my absence, it’s been almost a full month with no mixtapes! What ever did you do??

To kick things back off, I’m going off the reservation a bit. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Two Door Cinema Club at The Fox Theatre in Oakland on last week, and they blew away my expectations. I can’t remember whether I’ve seen them once or twice before, but they were festival shows which typically put a damper on the lights, production, sound, length of set, setlist, etc., so I don’t think too poorly of a band if their live performance at a festival isn’t super good.

All that being said, I remember the last Two Door show being good but not great. They sounded good but their performance was nothing too memorable. Cut to last week’s show, I went with a buddy who was a huge fan of theirs and had never seen them live and another buddy who wasn’t much of a fan but loves live shows. Needless to say, by the end of the show, all three of us were blown away.

First off, their visuals and light show were epic. Really mind blowing stuff, queued up for many songs to specifically cut in and out on different beats and parts of songs, while always showing lyrics to the beat of other songs. That alone was super impressive and better than most bands I’ve ever seen.

Secondly, and more importantly, their setlist was AMAZING. As a fan, you always wish you could create the setlist to the show you’re about to see (it’s a constant dream of mine), and I always leave a bit disappointed because 'I’m like, “Why did they play that song, this song would have been so much better. And they should have closed with this song!”

Two Door had pretty much the perfect setlist. The whole show was a banger with SO many hits. They played NINE of TEN songs from their best album, their debut, Tourist History. They started with one of the best songs on their new album, their fourth, called “Talk,” which was such a great way to start the show. The whole thing flowed seamlessly, and the band was doing some amazing transitions during songs which were a bit different than the recorded version. There’d be times they’d go on some tangent of the song and 'I’d have no idea if they were going into another song or what, but somehow they’d bring it back, with the light show and visuals aiding the whole thing, to the next verse or chorus of that song. “Whoa,” was all I could muster.

Sadly, Two Door is on the end of their US Tour, so if you didn’t see them already, you probably missed them on this ridiculously epic tour. Seriously, these kinds of tours where a band plays this good of a setlist with this kind of production is a rarity, and my assumption is I will never see another Two Door show as good as this one. I’ll let you know how the next one goes.

One other thing to mention before you leave me. My buddy (who loves them) and I were talking about how much we’ve listened to Two Door’s first two albums in the past decade, and Two Door has to be one of my top 5 most played bands of the decade solely because of their first two albums. Their second, Beacon, is a phenomenal album, a triumph to make something that good after a classic album where usually the sophomore albums are a regurgitation of the first. Both albums are beloved and will always be.

SO WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID, the mix this week is their setlist from the show! I’ve been listening to it non-stop, and I’d like you to come on a journey.

Long live Two Door Cinema Club.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 140

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 136

Hello all. Hope the weekend treated you well. Come along with me on this summertime Monday and listen to some tunes!

I just started listening to Crumb, and “Cracking” was the first song I ever heard from them. It’s entrancing with an out of tune horn reverberating in the distance to a slow beat. A cool song.

Tycho is not for everyone, or it’s not for every time of the day. Chill is it’s game when you need to space out to distract yourself and get down to writing or doing spreadsheets. This is the kind of music I tune in to zone out.

So Two Door Cinema Club hasn’t ever topped their amazing debut album, but their fourth album is a good change of pace, a bit less formulaic then their second and third albums. “Satellite” is probably my favorite song on the album, and I’m constantly singing along to every “Oh" in the chorus.

After listening to the Black Keys new album a number of times, “Lo/Hi” is the best track on it.

Kevin Morby is a singer/songwriter who has had a number of albums, some stuff I like, other stuff I didn’t care for. I’m liking his new album, and I love the way “Oh My God” ends in the last minute or so, it’s a reversal of course of where the song seems to be going and a surprise ending.

PUP’s new album is one of my leaders for Album of the Year. I keep going back to it. Front to back, it is one non-stop kegger. I love it.