We’ve been running a playlist mix series all year that many of our regular readers are probably familiar with by now – Almost Missed Recent Releases. The purpose of this series is to play catch-up in a way. All of the songs in this mix were picked from singles, EPs and albums released in a time span that ranges from the early months of 2010 to just last month. None of these MP3 songs were previously featured on IRC for one reason or another. All of the songs featured here were either sitting in email folders, four or five-starred in iTunes playlists, hiding in CD and vinyl stacks, or recently revealed.
So far this year, there have been more than a dozen Almost Missed mix tapes published on IRC containing a total of approximately 150 songs. A friend brought up a good point, asking: “What do you consider recent?” As a practical matter, most people would to disagree that a song from March is considered ‘recent’. We concur. However, for the purposes of consistency, we are going to use the word ‘recent’ very liberally to apply to any 2010 release we haven’t yet shared with you. Hopefully, some of the songs in this mix will be as enjoyable – and as nice of a surprise – to you as they have been for the folks here in the cafe.
Recorded in Falcon Lake over six days in the winter of 2010, The Falcon Lake Incident brings Jim Bryson, one of Canada’s most engaging voices, together with the passionate work of Canadian rock heroes The Weakerthans. In this collection of songs, we are treated to our best songwriters and musicians enjoying making music together in a place with few interruptions other than the occasional four-legged visitor at the door. Expertly woven together by Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case), this is a musical close encounter that transports us to a place where it is just friends and music under constellations—and it really doesn’t matter where in the hell we’re calling from. The original Falcon Lake Incident in 1968 revolves around a UFO close encounter of the third kind.
“Wild Folk” – Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans from The Falcon Lake Incident – Oct. 19th
“Team Love Again” – Ghosty from Team Love Again – April 13th
For fans (like us) of indie band WHY?, you may not have known that band member and multi-instrumentalist Josiah Wolf released a fairly impressive solo debut album back in March. Josiah, whose the brother and fellow WHY? band mate of Yoni Wolf, wrote all of the songs and performed all of the instruments (which means there was a lot of mixing too) on the album, including guitar, kalimba, organ, synthesizer, xylophone, bass, drums, and so on. The single, “Ohio,” is a great example of Wolf’s many talents. On a side note, make sure to watch out for the upcoming latest volume of the State of Music Mix Tapes – a playlist series of songs about states and the people, places and things that make them special and unique.
“Ohio” – Josiah Wolf from Josiah Wolf – March 15th
“Four Winds” – Suns from The Howl and the Many
“The One Light” – Ned Oldham from Let’s Go Out Tonight EP – Sept. 7th
Even though he is only in his twenties, Mike Hadreas, aka Seattle’s Perfume Genius, has a story with the twists and turns of a person who has seen a lot of darkness. This extraordinary debut album explores that world through home-recorded songs that bring to mind early Cat Power, Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens and Pink Moon-era Nick Drake. Mostly simple vocal and piano, the minor-key melodies work their way into your brain and stick there.
“Learning” – Perfume Genius from Learning – Aug. 31st
“Ultrapolyamorous” – Montagna and The Mouth-To-Mouth from 7′ single – Sept. 21
“Cathode” – Blonde Summer from Eleganza EP – Aug. 2nd
“Schlitterbahn” – Sleep Good from Skyclimber – June 15th
“New York City Blues” Cobrac Amanda from Buzzard – Sept. 22nd
“Reunion” – Tears Run Rings from Distance – Aug. 24th
“Chosen Seed” – Sacred Animals from Welcome Home EP – Oct. 1st
“Northern Islands” – Blank Dogs from Land and Fixed – Oct. 12th
“Vilseslutet (Remake)” – Symfoniorkestern, single – Sept. 23rd
“Blackpool” – Vic Godard from Blackpool EP – Aug. 8th
“Psykbryt” – Slutet from single – Aug. 12th
“Freedom Calling” – Cecile Doo-Kingué from Freedom Calling – May 25th
“Gently Gently” – Christopher Smith from The Beckon Call – May 11th
“Aching” – Erick Friedlander from Alchemy – June 8th
“Fly Mama Fly” – Moondoggies from You’ll Find No Love Here EP – June 8th
Singles, EPs, Remixes and Re-Issues
“Scribble” – Underworld from Barking
