Gift Nine – Dustin

Forgotten Mix

In my search for new music, I often collect free mp3s from random bands I’m interested in and burn them en masse onto CDs with enigmatic names. On discovering them later, they may yield hidden aural gems, as is the case with this set of beauties from a disc cryptically inscribed as Car Side/Fire Side.

The first two are from a band called The Delgados. The Delgados were an indie rock band who formed in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, in 1994, and disbanded in 2005. The band was formed after friends Alun Woodward (vocals/guitar), Stewart Henderson (bass) and Paul Savage (drums) were forcibly ejected from the band Bubblegum. Joined by Savage’s then-girlfriend Emma Pollock (vocals/guitar), the band named themselves after Tour de France winning cyclist Pedro Delgado

The next two are from The Helio Sequence. With Brandon Summers on guitar and vocals and Benjamin Weikel, who has also played for Modest Mouse, on keyboards and drums. The band produces an eccentric brand of electronica-tinged indie rock.

Then a little ditty from Scandinavian freaks Nanook of the North. Named after a silent documentary film about the lives of Eskimos, this band naturally became college radio darlings.

And last, perhaps least, is a song from National Skyline. National Skyline is a conceptual band formed in late 1996 by Jeff Dimpsey of Hum. Dimpsey originally formed the band in order to perform a 45-minute long song that he had written. They were initially an indie rock supergroup of sorts, with a rotating cast of prominent Champaign/Chicago area musicians. They did record the 45-minute song/album with Rick Valentin (of The Poster Children) in spring 1997, but it has never been released. The band’s name is apparently a reference to Bob Dylan’s album Nashville Skyline, though their music betrays no stylistic debt to Dylan, nor to country and western music.

Enjoy this fun, and educational romp through uncharted musical waters! Full steam ahead!

The Delgados: Coming In From The Cold

The Helio Sequence: Give, Give, Give

Nanook of the North: Karen Boye’s Grave

National Skyline: Pack Up

Gift Four – Dustin

Space Music

(Shoegazer, dream pop, space rock, psychedelic, and freak-folk.)
Shoegazer is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s, peaking circa 1990 to 1991. Bands that embodied this sound, such as My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, and Slowdive, often maintained a motionless performing style, standing on stage and staring at the floor while playing their instruments; hence, the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. The shoegazing sound featured extensive use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blended into the creative noise of the guitars. Few shoegazers were dynamic performers or interesting interviewees, which prevented them from breaking through into markets in the United States. A lump description given to shoegaze bands in London in the early 1990s was “The Scene That Celebrates Itself” In the 1990s, shoegaze groups were pushed aside by the likes of American grunge and Britpop, forcing bands to breakup or evolve into a different style. Recent times have seen a renewed interest in the genre, among so-called “nu-gaze” bands.

While the bands I have picked don’t belong to the original shoegazer movement, their sounds all borrow heavily from this style. From the heavily synthesized vocals, blending into the guitar fuzz, to the reverb of instruments sounding like they were played in a huge expanse… the main ingredient is major echo that gives the impression that the music is floating to you, maybe from a long way off. Also included, are bands that belong to the revival of psychedelic/freak-folk genres that blended the resurgently popular folk and shoegazer ideas.

1. “Untitled” – Interpol
2. “One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21” – The Flaming Lips
3. “Brother” – Annuals
4. “Is There a Ghost” – Band of Horses
5. “Static Waves” – Pacific UV

All of these tracks are awesome, but my personal favorite is Static Waves by Pacific UV. Enjoy!

Pacific UV – Static Waves