Hi there reader(s)! My name is Dahlia and you might know me from KOXY or from seeing me sitting alone somewhere on campus, but what you might not know about me is that I listen to music! That’s right, I love to blast some tunes to give myself a soundtrack for my mundane lived experience. I’m writing this blog post to create some #content and to share some albums with you that I think are pretty pretty cool. So let’s dive in!
Shakey Graves And the Horse He Rode In On – Shakey Graves
Shakey Graves And the Horse He Rode In On is a great little album. I say little but it’s actually pretty long. It’s the kind of long where it has little interludes of people talking! Shakey Graves makes a lot of different sounding music, but my personal favorite is his folksy-western stuff, like the theme of this album. Talk to me about big sky and open plains and you got me hooked, pepper in some mentions of horses and you got an album that I’ll listen to every day! I love how old this album sounds like it was recorded a long time ago and found in an abandoned barn in Arizona. My personal favorite on this album is “Alexander, City Born,” a super nice ditty that has a fun bouncy beat and is a very cute song too. This album is all music you could dance around a campfire to, and I love that for me. For us!
In Ear Park – Department of Eagles
Department of Eagles is a really good band. It’s possibly even better because it’s comprised of one of the lead singers of Grizzly Bear, another really good band, and you can really hear the influence here but a little bit more acoustic. You know when an album cover matches the music perfectly? This is that kind of album. It’s kind of spooky and eerie, but I love the way it experiments with sound and comes out in a cohesive way. Each song is really different, but everything works together very well and different songs call back to each other. It’s one of those albums you never want to end, and you can keep listening to it without getting bored. It would be hard for me to pick one song that is my favorite off of this album, but “No One Does It Like You,” “Phantom Other,” and “Floating On The Leigh” are probably my 3 tops. That doesn’t discredit the rest. You should really listen to this album though, it’s definitely one of my all time favs!
The Trials of Van Occupanther – Midlake
Not a lot of people know about Midlake, which confuses me. I got into this band like, my freshman year of high school and no one knew who they were! They’re mostly inactive now, which is disappointing. This album just had its tenth anniversary and they re-released it on vinyl and I didn’t buy it! I’m stupid, I thought $40 was too much, but this album is worth it. The Trials of Van Occupanther has the stuff I love to hear in an album. It’s very reminiscent of Fleet Foxes in its subject matter, but adds in something with a classic rock vibe like Neil Young. This album transports you into a forest where you’re living in a small village in houses all made of wood, but there’s some weird lore going on. This album, especially in its extended version (which I highly recommend) deals with the individual living in a community, and how hard that can be to retain a sense of self. It’s a very sad album, but it’s so beautiful too in how the songs are written and ordered. Basically, if you love flutes, you’ll love Midlake. Give this album a listen if you want to be sad, but also want to think about why you’re sad! Plus, it’s great for cold weather.
Have A Spirit Filled – Elan Noon
To close this out, here’s an album I found this summer! This is Elan Noon’s only album, and it’s a good’un! My brother’s name is Elan, which is significant here because I don’t know whether or not the singer’s name is Elan Noon? Yeah, I honestly know nothing about this band, but that kind of adds to the appeal! It gets funky, it gets folky, it gets kind of creepy, which is a three-hit combo in my opinion. The way I listen to this album is I listen to “False Idols” on my walk to school in the morning, and I listen to “Blue” on my walk home at night, that way I start and end my day with the perfect vibe. I hope they release more stuff, because I love the song writing and styling of it all. Who doesn’t love a high-pitched voice singing very close to the mic with weird distortion? Amazing!
Wow! Well those are my picks for today. I don’t know about you but after all that I’m exhausted! Before I sign off, I encourage you to listen to these albums, I wouldn’t lead you astray! If you like them, let me know so we can bond and create a lasting friendship! If you don’t, don’t approach me because I hate confrontation! Thanks for reading <3
P.S. My instagram is @villagedumpster and my spotify is @eweggs, just in case you were wondering :B