Last Week’s Jams (10.2 – 10.6)

Kind of a hectic week on my end over here, with RayRay being out of town, B.Gray getting ready to fest, and well, the usual life goes on. Managed to squeeze in a couple of phenomenal shows, so that’s a bonus, catching both Lewsberg and the Walkmen. Tons of fun songs hit last week, though admittedly, it seemed a bit thin in comparison to weeks gone by. Still, Onyon dropped fresh tunes, and Lower Plenty finally dropped their marvelous new No Poets LP. Loved that English Teacher bop, so chose it to start off the playlist. Unfortunately, one of my favorite tunes was that new Lightheaded, but it wasn’t streaming yet, so be sure to check in with Slumberland Records on that note. Monday is here. So is the music.

Mint Field’s Nuevo Sol Video

This wonderful new track from Mexico’s Mint Field floated out yesterday, but as I love the band’s growth, I’m totally enamored with the way they’re letting their psychedelic tendencies trickle into a more textured brand of pop. I love the way this track had this tickling guitar note that faded away into a more nuanced atmosphere, leaving tons of space for the vocals to levitate in your speakers. For the most part, the track lives in that space, suspended in a moment of time glowing with melody through the darkness; it will surely have you sinking deep into the song, so leave breadcrumbs so as not to get lost. Aprender a Ser is out on October 27th via Felte Records.

Mint Field Share Another from Aprender a Ser

Spanish-speaking acts beginning with the letter M are absolutely going to crush your record collection this Fall. There’s Spain’s Melenas, and now Mexico’s Mint Field are swimming right behind, taking early psychedelic influences and branching them out into more pop based waters. There’s some twinkling guitars shimmering behind this tight little beat, sort of like a more club-oriented Beach House. And, just like that, a subtle bounce moves beneath your feet, allowing the lightness of the vocals to meander about the confines of the song; there’s this ghostly echo to the voice at times, almost creating its own musical entity within the track. While the front 3/4 of the song feels fragile and hauntingly fleeting, the rock elements from the band’s past begin to emerge around 2:41, if only for a quick little hello, or like a fragile orchid opening up in your hand, and then it fades away. Aprender a Ser releases on October 27th via Felte.

Holy Wave – Five of Cups

For the past however many years, Holy Wave has been working in the Austin music scene, often times as the sort of bastard step-child of heavy-hitters the Black Angels, and sadly overlooked more often than not. Careful ears will have seen that the group have been gradually moving away from similarities, and Five of Cups is the perfect statement album, making the group a powerful beast all their own. Broke it down into track by track for you all, with some trite final thoughts at the end.

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Last Week’s Jams (8.14 – 8.18)

Okay, so I’m back in school and coaching women’s volleyball, which of course meant we couldn’t dare draw near the 40 or so tracks we covered the week prior. But, that being said, there were some really special tunes, and some of my favorites popping up in here. Blue Ocean and Seablite announced new LPs, while the Smashing Times dropped another stellar single to whet our appetites. Local favorites Single Lash and Sun June both announced new releases too, so it was a pretty solid week. Oh, and that Optic Sink jam was so good, we might have accidentally overlapped and posted it twice! Stream below!

Mint Field Announce Aprender a Ser, Share Video

Seeing as I spent a lot of time with Estrella del Sol‘s LP earlier this year, I can definitely hear where Mint Field‘s sonic shifts in sound might have sprouted. But, that being said, even their psychedelic rock from their early releases felt like it was touching on more of an explorative or ambient brand of the genre. This single embraces this sort of musical dispersion, like you’ve immersed the notes in water and they begin to drift towards the edges of the track. Yet, they’re all tethered by this tribal beat, echoing, thumping in the distance, holding the song in place. All of this space is there, setting up the mystic tones of the vocals, almost like the last gasps of air, which may tie into the track’s title “El Suspiro Cambia Todo.” They’re taking a breath, so it seems, letting the music take them whichever way it can go; this is what we’re to expect from Aprender a Ser, out on October 27th via Felte Records.

Estrella del Sol Shares Figura de Cristal

Estrella del Sol really won me over with the first single from her forthcoming record, and next tune picks up, building otherworldly pop music that’s equally as mesmerizing as it is haunting. At times the vocals are barely audible, lurking in the shadows; it’s almost like listening to the score for some magnificent Kubrick movie, albeit one set in Latin American. You’ll hear this light pulse, the heartbeat just faintly warbling beneath the atmosphere; it creates the perfect cinematic feel that should hopefully turn some heads towards Figura de Cristal; it’s out via Felte on June 30th.

 

Estrella del Sol Announces Figura de Cristal

You all know how much I love Mint Field, having extensively covered the band and caught them when they’ve made it up to Austin, so I’m really excited to hear the new solo project of Estrella del Sol. Today she announces a new solo effot with this drifting bit of ambient pop music. A heavy synth note rings on, with discordant strings and vocal samples hanging thinly in the air; they’re quickly pushed to the background, as if we’ve added another dye to the mixture, with Estrella del Sol’s vocals serving to push the pieces to the background. Slight little guitar twinkles hang in the air while the song fades out via atmospheric notes; it’s quite the calming sensation, like watching sands of drip slowly through an hourglass until there’s nothing left. The new album, Figura de Cristal is out June 30th via Felte Records.

Mint Field Share Aterrizar Single

The more I listen to the tracks on Sentimiento Mundial, the more I’m mesmerized by the world Mint Field are creating. My early perception of the band had them casting this shadowy psychedelia from Mexico, but with each new single from the new LP, they’re giving out little hints of this expansive sound, this tapestry of influences and visions. For instance, you’ll find yourself intoxicated with these heavenly vocals and carefully worked guitar lines; it feels like there’s movement, but its so light you can’t help but feel yourself floating away. The band, however, have a nice little trick in store for your ears, unleashing a wall of shattering noise just after the 2 minute mark. They haven’t strayed from their roots, they’ve just landed in a new sonic landscape of their own creation. The new LP drops on September 25th via Felte.

Mint Field Share Delicadeza Video

The title of the new single from Mint Field translates to delicacy, and this video is a treat on many levels. For starters, director Santiago Arouesty has captured our lives; you’ve likely found yourself in the same position as the video’s protagonists as of late, drifting off into day after day of anxiety amidst this pandemic. While I appreciate the cinematic aspects, the angelic whispers from the band do more than enough to allow the song to permeate your being. It also vaguely reminds me of one of those biology films where the animal dies and in doing so gives birth to some sort of plant thus completing the cycle of life; seems like its filled with purity and pain all at once. Call me captivated. The group release Sentimiento Mundial on September 25th via Felte Records.

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