Discover This Easy Song Soup
Easy Song Soup, no need to simmer. It is July. Venues, bands, and live shows are coming back. Having said that, pandemic or not there is more music making, recording, and projects than I can track. Here are a few artists that would make a hot or cold bouillabaise. What can I say , I am on a soup kick. FLDPLN, aka Fieldplan, aka Mr. Saks from the band Sway’s take on merging horn with electronica and dream pop. Low, veterans of down beat indie rock return. Birds of Maya scorching everything in their path. Mystery Plan, who is pulling from trip hop waters and spinning their own life into said water drops.
FLDPLN – Escalator – Sillas Famosas Records
Phoenix Arizona artist FLDPLN provides dreamy electronica with an added twist of some woodwind AKA saxophone. Accurately cross referenced with M83, Slowdive, and more, gazers would be amiss to not spin this. I’ll cover a few tracks now , the release of LP is July 30. First, let’s focus on the s/t single. You may hear the single here https://soundcloud.com/fldpln Adding saxophone to electronic dream rock and managing to pull it off is very intriguing to me.
Aforementioned Escalator is a cloudlike flight that is partly obscured with shimmery synthesized haze.
Saxophone livens up the arpeggios while the vocals drift and the synth fades in and out of staccato / softness.
Escalator and MetroCenter feature some samples that my ears read as white noise. Advert sounding voices. Moving along, next is Give You Everything featuring saxxed out relaxation with electronic underbelly.
Next , I Want to Talk About Love saunters in. Who doesn’t want to talk about love in some facet or form? I don’t want that person near me or my soup. This number is as title suggests self evidently titled. I can hear the romanticism in the vocals and lyrics. It could be the music for two modern lovers slowdancing.
Aliso opens with bass heavy intro thumps into the ether, the sax and keyboards do the rest. Aliso brings me to relaxed and sultry vista decks overlooking a cityscape.
So Much Time really goes for the ambient prize. Pick your laid back mood, this track will encapsulate it.
Droning, meditative washes of sound with sustained keyboard pings. How Much Do You Remember is a linear percolating soother that is one of a few tracks that sounds like one can meditate, kick back or reflect on thoughts.
The entire LP is like a tropical tide of ambience meets smooth jazz. It is my hope I picked up what FLDPLN is throwing down. This record is one that can grow and grow on you and mirrors certain chilled out moods perfectly. Look for it on and after 7/30/21.
Low – Days Like These – Sub Pop Records
I slept on this band. When Low opened for Slowdive, I was indifferent. Time has proven that there was much more to this band than my cursory glance. The latest track entitled Days Like These is a lot to process. It’s not as simple as they’re normal downtempo brand of indie rock some of you may know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8QiSZRX8dA
In fact the vocals are processed and have a buzzy static at times. This is not problematic for me, just surprising as I missed out on the last Low record or so. This one track is unlike most on their albums, Great Destroyer, I Could Live In Hope, or Trust.
The video is puzzling to me. It chronicles a vehicle that has been modified to be a rolling advertisement for Christianity. It seems to follow the same or different ? African American dude in a setting that may be his home. Video is shot in black and white. I don’t know what the story is, but it seems to tell a quick story. The focus is the religious car and the dude.
I should probably check on that soup.. The short of it. Days Like These is a dynamic and dramatic song. Low’s minimal, less is more aesthetic is all present.
Curiously enough they start the song with a vocal melody that could be a chorus.
Without spoiling it, Low seem to abandon this chorus and drag out the ending. It’s a structural song writing drag out, I wouldn’t say it’s boring. It’s compelling how they establish an earworm and then noodle off on tangents of electronica and minimalist indie rock. Then again, that makes total sense when I think of Low.
Birds Of Maya – Valdez – Drag City
Valdez is a scorcher. A rock and roll LP I was searching for and yet I didn’t know this until I heard it. Overall, Valdez is 42 minutes of inflamed, jam informed, rock and roll. It’s raw in attack but seasoned in technique. Loads of satisfying thuds, screeches, and howls. There is just no way that this band doesn’t love playing. You can’t whip up a record like this if you didn’t enjoy it. Backing up , for those of you who have heard Purling Hiss, this is Ben and Mike from Purling Hiss. Interestingly enough Birds Of Maya predates the work Mike and Ben. Check out a side dish offering from Mike Polizze here. https://meatsheetfanzine.com/new-dizzy-demos-nitekat…/
The fuzzy riffage, the low end, and drums keep me engrossed and entranced. The Birds of Maya use repetition to full advantage, bringing you near full tilt and then tying it all up in a rhythm tight package. First you have High Fly, and Busted Room which illustrate this nicely.
Recessinater is the stand out track where Mike’s guitar wails like an Eastern inspired banshee. ” Ayeee eeeeeee ” Meanwhile the bass saunters around with driven purpose. The drum fills? Percussive skull bongos with natural, yet precise beats and fills. At 10:43 this seems like the center piece of Valdez for me. Halfway through Recessinater the jam kicks in. It’s an all in , all out surge of volcanic rock proportions. You gotta sense it. As Polizze wails and wahs, Ben beats the holy hell out of the kit. Jason Killinger eggs them both on with rollicking line after line. Front St. is the place to be. A musical, unpolished glimpse onto the Philly sidewalk and streets.
Stomps along like that unruly kid showing you around the new neighborhood, exposing all the things you may need to know.
Please Come In ? Don’t mind if do. This track completes Valdez. If you make it this far you’re hooked. Plodding and tuneful bass served over Mike and Ben’s interplay. If you hum along with the bass you may get some insights, maybe it is just me.
In conclusion, this LP is not for the weak. Valdez weeds out the listeners who want nothing but short blasts. Even though BFIOU is a short two minute numba, the others weigh in much heavier as far as duration. It thrives in the jam rock jungle and makes no apologies. As it should not have to. Fuckin love it.
The Mystery Plan – Silver Lining featuring Big Supreme – Ten Millimeter Omega Recording
This single is straightforward in as what it sounds like. Fans of 90’s and maybe early 00’s trip hop take note. I.E. Morcheeba , Basement Jaxx , Massive Attack and more. Additionally, Silver Lining has guest vocals from Big Supreme. Supreme possesses actual lyrical skills and flow. Whatever Big Supreme has vocally I could listen to again. This is refreshing because I usually head for the hills when I think of current hip hop / rapping. That is another story for another time. Mystery Plan hone in on more of a funky vibe.
Warm organ with syncopated chords fortify Big Supreme’s reverbed out voice and seraphic background chorus.
This track is not as dreamy as I had anticipated, however , it is drenched with soul. If I want a more dreamy otherworldly sound, I reckon I’ll check out the album. Which brings me to the next order of business. As you read this, Mystery Plan are gearing up to release the LP containing Silver Lining called, You Also Have Eyes. Look for it on July 15 or after.
Seizure Sister – Witness
Seizure Sister depicts their music as melancholic shoegaze. Yes, I agree. Pulling you under on tracks such as Pinpoint and Fawn the guitars feel like a weighted blanket. The oxygen source are the airy vocals. Under You gives contrast. It’s tempo quickens, still heavy as in early RIDE songs go into fast, pummelling actions. This track saves this EP from going into a depressing spiral. In fact if you suffer from depression, Seizure Sister is right on the cusp of music that may send one into the depths of sadness. You have been warned.
The glimmers of upbeat, breathy voices help establish a foothold on the brink of the abyss.
The heavy guitars form a neutral rock barrier and yes, they are weighted with distortion. I’d like to hear them a little bit more prevalent in the mix, but that is just my nit -pickiness. No , not nitwittedness, I tried to give that up. Witness EP still wins. This EP may be sad, but I enjoy it for what it is. Think of the band Hum’s sad cousin. I’ll be watching to see SS’s next move with intent.
Thank you for reading my comparisons about soup and cooking regarding music. This easy , no simmer song soup is perfect and pairs well with a boule or ciabatta. If you have some bread to spare support these artists and me blog. If not shares are free, they cost you only a few seconds. Soup ingredients are not free and these artists will appreciate you for days to come.