[Glass Frogs, by Michael Hearst]

Torture, picking a track from Songs for Unusual Creatures to share. All are inspired by “Earth’s Strangest Animals” - like the tardigrade and the blobfish (poor guy). How’s a girl to choose? Today Glass Frogs just sounds best.

There’s an amazing collection of musicians on this record, besides the ever-inspired MH, like Maragret Leng Tan, Kronos Quartet, and the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, and an equally amazing collection of instruments employed in the making - like the glass armonica, chopsticks, and the TUBAX! Not to mention the illustrations accompanying the CD, by Jelmer Noordeman… Oh, it’s all too much people!

Summary: You should own this one. Was years in the making, and so very worth your time.

[Walk the Furrows, Bowerbirds]

There are simple pleasures, like my recently discovered favorite snack - a medium handful of salted peanuts, nibbled on one by one, with a mug of hot black tea. Bowerbirds too. Not that the music’s basic (quite the opposite) but the contentment they inspire - simple. Deft, direct melodies, organic instrumentation, surprising rhythms, honest momentum, and genius word choice: “My conscience is an avalanche” from their last record still gives me shivers.

This time around:

Keep the secret
Walk the furrows
Mend the fences.

Which don’t seem to say much in this blog post. But have a listen. And then watch the mini-documentary, and check their tour schedule, save your date.

[Triangle Train Stop, by Dustin Wong]

Everything is happening quicker-ly and more densely these days, and Dustin Wong’s new record, Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads couldn’t be a more perfect soundtrack to all of the hypnotic bustle. It’s like I’m very, very caffeinated most waking hours. Except I’m only really caffeinated (albeit very caffeinated) for some of those hours. But this record sounds great during all of them. It’s full of pattern, and repetition, and sweet melody teased out by many guitars, various pedals and dizzying effects. A little more overt than many gallopinging offerings, true. But sometimes, directness is just the thing. 

[The Golden Waste, by Trouble Books]

I’m already behind, and this morning I dumped a cup of coffee nearly on top of my computer. We all survived, but… 

Onward.

Here’s a nice melodic, oscillating, fuzzy one to start the year off now that we’re twenty days in. It’s cheerful, but not too cheerful.

Trouble Books is from Akron! Yessss. They’re a husband/wife combo, and it simply sounds like they enjoy each other. I imagine them harmonizing their humming while cleaning up after dinner. She’s drying some dishes, he’s shaking out the tablecloth. They meet in the kitchen for a high five. 

Slap!

[Whale Song (Song Instead of a Kiss), Moonface]

It’s a silly name for a band, which I happen to love. (The name & band both) Moonface is Spencer Krug, who you might remember from that band Wolf Parade. Moonface is Canadian. Moonface is five years younger than me. Moonface sounds a little like Interpol. Moonface’s release titles are fairly literal: “Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit Drums” and most recently “Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Liked”. The latter has really gotten under my skin (in a good way) and I’m not exactly sure why. Or I can’t explain exactly why. Or call me a sucker for generative loops and puzzling, dream-sequence lyrics?