Oscar Pray For Oscar The Dog, by Snekhoose

Released this past December via the wonderful Wormhole World Records – Oscar Pray For Oscar The Dog is a stellar collaborative experiment between Jonah Hebron (aka Mzungu, Cacero Lazo) and Rupert Spurrier. Coined as a blend of Folk and Drone, the duo plunges into weightless suspension with lush and luxurious soundscapes. Blending acoustic and electronic instruments, successfully blurring the boarders of both vibrations into something distinctly satisfying.

It’s worth mentioning this collaboration took place digitally across the globe, with producers living in different cities, trading files and ideas to build the sonic landscapes. I am always fascinated with these types of collaborations – this one specifically, with its patchwork meandering style, presents itself almost as a live-jam between the two artists, something that could easily be performed on the same stage, yet is being constructed over vast amounts of time and space.

Played, by Palavas

Beautiful and mellow sounds pour from this one, Played by french Novelist and Musician Palavas, presented to us by Wormhole World. Lush and expansive while remaining intimate, Played is quite the unique journey. With structure being cast aside and a big focus on mood, it’s all propelled forward by Palavas‘ vocals – which he uses quite creatively and beautifully – often behaving more like an instrument itself than words being sung, and I adore it. I actually found it to be a more blissful and ambient C. Duncan, a favorite artist of mine from the past few years, it was a pleasant surprise!!

The album deals with themes of hope and healing, the melancholy of existence – Palavas seems to effortlessly convey the complex emotions of helplessness and solitude. The generous use of strings really helps solidify the intention, with a beautiful acoustic palette being utilized, you can easily imagine floating through the sky enjoying a small cup of coffee on the edge of a cloud, watching the world pass below…

The album is available digitally as well as a nice looking Compact Disc – both at an incredibly reasonable price considering the content – Played being 14 tracks of thoughtfully crafted songs, if you’re looking for a great soundtrack for your summer porch chilling, look no further!

Seek Not Your Fortune, by Nonconnah

Memphis Dronegaze outfit Nonconnah are back to bless us with a small selection of B-Sides, or “Outtakes” as they cinematically refer to them, which were recorded between 2015-2018.

The resulting collection is a subtle and blissful gathering of sounds – with a general uplifting vibe to the work. As always there is a selection of other musicians enlisted to fill-out the sonic landscape, though most of the tracks seem to be produced by the core unit. Overall this one is quite nice, a relaxing little listen, and a pleasant surprise to see pop up in my feed today! Do yourself a favor and give it a spin – you can name your own price for the download via the artists Bandcamp page…

Dead Roses, Digged Up Zombies, Broken Pieces Of Diamonds, Live Cats by Nonconnah

Nonconnah – the continuing sonic explorations of dynamic duo Denny Wilkerson Corsa and Zachary Corsa – together with their enlisted army of experimental musicians – presents us with an incredible full-length project “Dead Roses, Digged Up Zombies, Broken Pieces of Diamonds, Live Cats” and boy is it a doozy!!

Rocking a hefty 21-track playlist, nonconnah proves yet again that this team is hardly short on ideas and inspiration, even with a wake of outstanding previous releases and projects (I have long been a fan of Lost Trail) it manages to be something special.

From the word go – the album has a very subtle but powerful energy. Tracks like Path Of Totality/Rapture Drugs or Half-Built Future Homes introduce lush and fuzzy psychedelic drones, lending beautiful contrast to the rounded beauty of more ambient selections like Treading Unhallowed Ground.

During my listens found it easy to imagine myself wandering a mysterious countryside – with each track being a spontaneous road to turn down – a new adventure to experience. Discovering hidden lakes, abandoned factories, forgotten occult churches and pow-wows of anthropomorphic farm machinery.

Personal favorite track has got to be Ceiling To Ceiling Transmission Antenna – but chances are that is on account of my own undying love for the tone of a Clarinet – lending this track such a pure and wholesome vibe.

With over 20 tracks to tell the tale, Nonconnah really deliver with this full length – providing a listen that is truly rewarding and only improves on repeat 👍

Follow Nonconnah Online
http://www.nonconnahdrone.com/
http://www.soundcloud.com/nonconnah
http://www.twitter.com/nonconnahdrone
http://www.facebook.com/nonconnah
http://www.vimeo.com/nonconnah

Whatever it is, Whenever you feel like it, by Heart Eyes

Colorado label Community Radio Tapes presents us with this beautiful little oddity by Heart Eyes, Whatever it is, Whenever you feel like it is a 6 track tape of glazed bedroom ambience with plenty of emotion.

The tape is quite pleasant with some interesting ideas, though there is a lot of weirdness going on it always remains a comfortable weirdness. The kind that you know won’t harm you. However there is an anxiety to some of the tracks, a looming melancholy that sits really heavy! Do not panic however, it’s a very nice listen and ends on a high note.

You can download the album via bandcamp or purchase a cassette copy from the same page!

Good for

• Study Sessions
• Meditation
• Late Night Chill

Favorite Track: I am crying, I can’t talk

June Apple & Amazing Grace, by Marcus Eads

As a long-time fan of Marcus Eads‘ work, it’s always nice to see something new pop up on his bandcamp! This time we’ve got a little EP featuring two tunes performed on Dulcimer, June Apple & Amazing Grace. Surely the title of the latter is instantly more recognizable, but Marcus’ version in this take is blissfully slow, to the point where the beat and tempo disappear completely, leaving the track feeling more like avant-poetry than anything! Each track has a delicious warm quality, being recorded both indoors and outdoors. You can grab this along with a ton of other goodies via Bandcamp!

Two traditional songs performed on
mountain dulcimer (C-G-cc tuning)

Recorded at home
December 3, 2016

Track 2 contains a field recording taken along
a stream at Goodin Park in Dayton, MN in
November, 2016

June Apple video:
youtu.be/TqYe-V8AmO4

Thanks for listening

Battle Brook Canoe Route, by Marcus Eads

Some fantastic new fingerstyle-pickin from Marcus Eads

Destination Unknown, by Two-Year Carnival

Very nice 4-track release from Two-Year Carnival; brought to us by Jeunesse Cosmique 

Sherburne County 10″ by Marcus Eads

A while ago I did a write-up for a recent album by Instrumentalist/Songwriter Marcus Eads, Sherburne County Instrumentals. Recently, Marcus released a 3-track album titled Sherburne County 10″, featuring two re-workings of tracks from the original album, packaged together with a brand new piece at the end! As a huge personal fan, I will take anything this guy releases, though I am always eager for another full length or conceptual album.

Fanta​-​C Plus, by Yàocavé

Brand new beautiful sounds, brought to us by Montréal’s Jeunesse Cosmique