Akron/Family [Island Music Video, Dead Oceans]

"Islands" is the third in what seems like a music video series for Akron/Family's S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT with more videos planned.

Akron/Family [Silly Bears Music Video, Jagjaguwar]

The Luyas [Too Beautiful To Work, Dead Oceans]

Below is the lead track from a new and complex dream-pop band called The Luyas. The band come from Montreal Canada and upon further reading have performed some fairly unique shows lately. The single "Too Beautiful To Work" features Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire fame) on violin but the album also features many friends and other artists (Owen Pallet on violin) contributing different instruments throughout the record.  The album is out now on Dead Oceans and can be found here.  

Too Beautiful To Work

Tiny Head

John Vanderslice with the Magik*Magik Orchestra [Sea Salt, Dead Oceans]

"Sea Salt" is the lead track off the upcoming album from San Francisco's John Vanderslice. The album will feature a wonderful collaboration between John and the Magik*Magik Orchestra, based out of SF. The single can be heard below as well as a video shot by Yours Truly documenting some of the recording process. The White Wilderness can be pre-ordered here and will ship out January 25th from Dead Oceans.

Sea Salt

Akron/Family [So It Goes, Dead Oceans]

Very happy to see the new single from Akron/Family in the inbox today.  I've been waiting ever so long for some new music from these guys and the track doesn't disappoint.  "So It Goes" is truly distinct from some of the songs the band have put out recently. With the guitars in similar fashion to The Black Keys of old, "So It Goes" is a great track that changes up their sound a bit but still maintains that Akron/Family familiarity. The album S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT will be out February 8th from Dead Oceans (March 14th in the UK).

So It Goes


This weekend will feature several listening parties for the new album between the US, Canada and UK. The Media Arts Center in San Diego will host the album via video cast here at 10pm (PST). Also label Joyful Noise will be releasing the cassette version of the album. The purple tapes will come hand numbered in a set of 500 and go on pre-sale January 17th. They officially get released on February 8th.

Record Review: Sun Airway [Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, Dead Oceans]

by Rebecca Gayle

Providing one of the most overtly sentimental albums since the Big Pink’s 2009 release, A Brief History of Love, the new Philidelphia duo, Sun Airway, break into the emerging bliss-pop scene with their first-ever album, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, which hit record stores in October.

Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier presents a very sentimental album whose strengths lie in its lyricism and the beautiful imagery that its songs create, but falls short in terms of its inventiveness. Jon Barthmus, the songwriter of the pair that comprises Sun Airway, clearly demonstrates his strength as a painter of words throughout the album. Along with Patrick Marsceill’s music production and mixing, Sun Airway guides the listener through the beautiful sonic and lyrical landscape of the album’s ten tracks, but, in the long run, loses the listener in its ambition and cumbersomeness.

For an album with dedications to Kurt Vonnegut, J.D. Salinger, and David Foster Wallace, Sun Airway’s lyrical prowess should not come as much of a surprise. Given the general lack of incredibly poetic, lyrically driven albums, however, Barthmus’ songwriting abilities stand out almost immediately. Even in the opening song, “Infinity,” Barthmus immediately paints a beautiful picture of waking up next to his lover: “Woke up as a snowflake on an ocean / I looked over / Saw you floating next to me / Drowned in the moonlight hour.” In “Oh, Naoko” – an absolutely beautiful song that is one of the best of the album – Barthmus brings this imagery up a notch, offering himself to Naoko poetically: “When the winter turns your bed frame into a frail shell / Turns you over to a deep and dark well / I’ll be there just to lasso you the moonshine / In the back of your mind just like a wind chime / I’ll be there when you call my name, Naoko.” Finally, Barthmus captures how difficult life can be some days with the other standout track of the album, “Put the Days Away,” singing, “Trying not to die is so taxing / You take a breath just to let it out again / Waking up is an exercise in trust / … / Trying to live on is so taxing / Just stacking up all those failures and accidents / We’ve thrown away on a mountain of mistakes.”