Donovan Quinn has a knack for packing remarkable clarity into just a few twisted fragments of verse.
His newest release with The 13th Month, titled Your Wicked Man, is about to see the light of day on both vinyl and CD. I’ve spent a good deal of time with this record, and I’m still not really sure where to begin. Whereas a lot of songs and albums are filled with happy fantasies and “everything’s gonna be alright” type sentiments, Your Wicked Man stands stripped of such predilections and bare.
Seen through people’s rooms, it explores disenchantment, loneliness, beauty, and longing, all with complete and utter honesty. Electric guitars sparkle, organs blur by multicolored and thick, choruses wash with heavy cymbals, suns burst, and acoustic guitars deftly navigate the abyss. Jason Quever and Donovan really did a number on the production, and its no wonder that this record will be seeing a vinyl pressing from the good people at Soft Abuse (I wish they would do the same for the first 13th Month record!) and a CD release by the legendary Shrimper Records. So, if you have a mind to, listen to a few tracks and pick up a copy of Your Wicked Man.
San Francisco’s own Kevin Sanders in 1987, rivaling Ray Davies in his finer moments. This song is so addicting and every bit as strong as a lot of Kinks material – but with its tongue in cheek lyrics and bizarre 80′s motifs somehow much more listenable than them at the moment.
Everything about this video is incredible.
I lose it every time at the solo though, holy shit, his expression just kills me.
This kid is like the next R. Stevie Moore. Go watch all his videos and covers, totally brilliant.
Woke up today with a craving for his tunes. Also just wanted to post this new photo of him because it’s pretty amazing. Chocolatebobka just posted this video by him which is my favorite thing I’ve seen from Ducktails in awhile. It definitely sets the summer tone pretty perfectly:
This song is such a sleeper of a hit. It’s been on constant rotation since I first heard it. Elements of Spiritualized and Julee Cruise abound, awash a frothy shoegaze sea.
I keep catching myself questioning the reality of every letter typed as I write this out, but nick nicely has graciously sent me over a mixtape this week. I could pretty much quit writing after this post because that has to be one of the most amazing things to come out of writing for Naturalismo. If you haven’t spent any time with his album psychotropia, stop what you’re doing and go buy it now. Psychotropia is a masterpiece of aurora borealis sparked psychedelia that really is quite unlike anything that came before (or after) it. It’s criminally underrated and just about everyone that I’ve played any of the songs for has immediately become a rabid fan. His music influence reaches far and more recently artists such as Ariel Pink, John Maus and Holy Shit have channeled some of his sonic innovations. As always, I’d so much rather have an artist convey where they’re at musically with music instead of words. So without further ado, nick nicely’s mixtape for naturalismo:
1. Olivia Tremor Control….Tropical Bells
2.Paul Giovani……………..Maypole (from the Wickerman)
3.Phoenix…………………. Countdown (sick for the big sun)
4.Olivia Tremor Control…..Sleepy Company
5.nick nicely……………….On The Beach (alternate take)
6.Shangri-las………………Remember (Walking In The Sand )
7.The Eels.………………..Susan’s House
8. John Maus…………….. Do Your Best
9.Spiritualized……………. Do It All Over Again
10. Caribou………………. Bowls
11. Neil Diamond………… Solitary Man
Here is the video to ”Mom’s House”, the first single to be pulled from Donovan Quinn’s Your Wicked Man, which will be released on August 3rd as a CD from Shrimper and an LP from Soft Abuse.
I told Devin3000 I wasn’t putting the track list up because I think that my mix is better in person than on paper…I guess I think of it similarly to the question of vinyl vs. mp3…some may not listen to the mix all the way through in order, even though a large part of its construction is based on the transitions between the last few seconds of a song to the first few of the next- the particular silence created in between two songs, or the progression of a chain of chronological events. That somewhat cinematic aspect of mixes (or albums in general) can get lost in the format of blog/mediafire/iTunes, where we’re processing so many different things at once that we might just jump from mp3 to mp3 absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the music with the same appreciation/intent that the selector has. Though I suppose that might be too much to ask of someone these days, with everything so available and fast-paced…so here’s the track list anyway:
Still trying to get my musical bearings in place after a fire tore through my house and left me with little more than a pair of boots and jacket. Mostly bummed that I lost a mix that I’d been working on for the better part of a month. From ashes, etc.
Mostly excited about a show I have in the works with Pure Ecstasy / SLEEP ∞ OVER / RANGERS. More on that best of summer shows line-up soon. Sooooooooo excited for it.
In the meantime, check out this new SLEEP ∞ OVER track from their latest 7″
Thank god for the arrival of this new Arch M E.P. I must have played the teaser for it over fifty times since we first posted it back in December. Best news of all is that it’s completely FREE. Head over to his website to download it in full. Listening to it is like watching light aperture through leaves of light projecting down onto a canvassed roof morning in the California sun.
The first single from Jana Hunter’s Lower Dens is out today! ‘I Get Nervous’ b/w ‘Johnssong’ is now available as a 7″ from Gnomonsong. You can pick up a copy here or at your local record store.
Their forthcoming full-length, Twin-Hand Movement, should see release sometime later in the summer.
Beatles x Dennis Wilson x Frankie Valli, totally bizarre and awesome. 1972
You may also recognize Graham Gouldman in this clip. He was in charge of writing just about every good song the Yardbirds ever played. He really deserves his own sprawling post, but for now I’d check out his solo album from 1970 and one of his numerous singles that were issued under various pseudonyms. How could you go wrong with a single titled Neanderthal Man by ‘Hotlegs?’ You can’t.
I think I’m increasingly drawn to songs that seem to mimic the music listening environment today, that is, within the midst of some old youtube clip you skip to the next thing that catches your eye or ear. Can’t quite make it through the marred bridge of the song after that catchy intro? =>. Total music ADD that the likes of Ariel Pink / White Fencehave churned into a catchy melodic science of music fragmentational influence. Samples are starting to feel trying at times, time to ride out a lost Syd Barrett chorus…
France Gall drops some lsd, blows some coke then goes to the beach.
