Songs to come down

For today's playlist I've created two short compilations of tracks to come down to. Whether that's after a really heavy night out or a difficult period emotionally, I think these tracks will suit any downer period. Not that these are really sad songs, I tend to prefer downbeat or curious to out-and-out despair in songs unless I'm in a serious sulk. So here are a couple of collections of tunes to relaxedly get you through those glum times.

I've divided the selection into two, an Acoustic playlist and an Electronic playlist. Please note these aren't strict names, for example I'm aware Baths and Shlohmo aren't really acoustic while Memory Tapes is only arguably electronic, but the titles just refer to the overall feel of the playlist. The other thing to mention is that I've compiled these playlists as downloads on Mediafire for the first time, so if you like them just click on the playlist title and take them with you wherever you go.

Enjoy! (or, you know, despair...)

Acoustic

Kicking off with a couple of classic tracks, firstly the suitably titled and pleasantly jazzy I'm Comin' Down by Primal Scream is both low-key and relaxed, proving a perfect intro. Lou Reed's soft vocals coast through Candy Says and we move onto more recent fare, such as Baths' ambient interlude Rafting Starlit Everlades and the over-exposed but not necessarily overrated The xx with the taut Infinity. One of Animal Collective's first truly brilliant tracks, Banshee Beat follows, with a tense and hushed soundscape full of twittering noises and Panda Bear's glorious wordless vocals at the end. Next a couple of piano tracks from more electro-centric artists; James Blake mournful debut closer Measurements* and Aphex Twin's slow and melancholy Nanou2. Beach House makes the first of two appearances with their particular brand of syrup-thick composition and Victoria Legrand's always-perfect vocals. Another downbeat Baths track moves through to Bonobo's gorgeous Black Sands which becomes grander and more fluid as it goes on, all rather impressively in waltz time. Then the ever-peculiar Books meditate on the meaning of the word 'aleatoric' and we enter a final stretch composed of some of my very favourite songs. The immensely simple and powerful Take Care by Beach House is without a doubt in my top 5 tracks, and this feeds into one of Do Make Say Think's best, the meditative Soul and Onward. How to Disappear Completely is majestic and sweeping, as well as being my firm favourite Radiohead track (cue arguments), and it suits the mood perfectly, leading into the final track; where we hear Jason Pierce's uniquely raw brand of sorrow in Spiritualized's comedown lullaby Goodnight Goodnight.

* - If I've put an asterisk next to a track it means it wasn't on youtube so won't play on the embedded player, but the song will still be in the downloadable compilation don't you worry

Sweet

Since I Left You – Avalanches

Shoo Be Doo – Letherette

Stay Close – Delorean

Shy – A Sunny Day in Glasgow

Drama Cum Drama – Autre Ne Veut

The Nothing – Baths

My Girls – Animal Collective

Kim & Jessie – M83

Aminals - Baths

Gravity – Lusine

Sun – Caribou

Summer of Summer – Lone

Marriage – Gold Panda

Now You See Me – Emeralds

Rill Rill – Sleigh Bells

I've saved my favourite list til last, these are the sugar-sweet sounds of the synthiest of summers, moving between the light and dark of summer electro. Kicking off with my favourite song of all time (I know, that's a big statement but there you go, this is it), the Avalanches' stunning Since I Left You (I've left the brilliant video in there too), this playlist begins with some shining summer beats; Delorean's Ibiza-pop Stay Close shimmers with fun and Baths' most recent single The Nothing is another banger.

After a few classics from Animal Collective and M83 we move to choppier pastures, another great Baths track, Lusine's fantastic vocal cuts in Gravity and Gold Panda's unforgettable Marriage. The list rounds off with Emeralds' stunning fusion of the analogue and the digital in Now You See Me, and what is probably the summeriest track I've ever heard is saved til last, Sleigh Bells' synth-pop anthem Rill Rill (also replete with a rather gorgeous video).

P.S - I really wanted to stick Blue Hawaii's Belize into this list but couldn't find it on youtube, and after wasting an hour trying to work out how to upload it I gave up. But you can check it out here if you're interested.

Over the next week or so I'll be doing a selection of reviews of some of the best albums for summer, so let these lists whet your appetites and get some sun til then.

Baths – Cerulean

I first heard of Baths when I saw his excellent remix of Gold Panda's Marriage, and looking him up I found out he was signed to the experimental hip-hop label (and one of my personal favourites), anticon. But what was this, Hip-Hop instrumental with fluttery vocals? Granted, not all of anticon's projects are strictly Hip-Hop but the general style of lyricism and aesthetic is firmly grounded in that area. So I was pretty suspicious playing this album for the first time.

From the very first play, I could see I was on to something special. Firstly, the anticon idea was slightly mis-directed. Although Baths shows strong influences of Hip-Hop in his beats, his general sound has much more in common with the L.A. Beats movement exploding in California at the moment, setting him in the illustrious company of artists like Flying Lotus, Nosaj Thing and Teebs.

The first thing you notice about the album is the strange collision between his voice, fluttering between highs and lows, and the hard-hitting beats laced through each of those tracks. This is music to be played loud and moved to. I was most wowed on my first listen by his lead single, Maximalist, which stutters along with tumbling synths and frequent drops introduced by perfectly implemented vocal samples, even including a cheeky self-referential woman's voice saying “It takes a lot of courage to go out there and radiate your essence” preceding the hardest and most satisfying drop of the whole track. And if his music is any one thing, it's satisfying: the crunchy beats are mixed with his excellent sensibility of when to change up the track, introducing samples ranging from the melancholy piano of ♥ to the children's voices in album highlight Aminals.

He marries a constantly shifting, whirling synth arrangement to scientist-precise beats and it's all carried off superbly. The overall effect of listening through this album could be likened to sitting in one of the best sounding tumble-dryers in the world. At some points the sheer breadth of his percussion textures are enough to drive a whole track on their own. Some of the best tracks are definitely the more upbeat ones. Hall sounds all over the place until it settles into a head-bobbing throb shot through with his squeaky vocals. My personal favourite is Indoorsy with its stuttery machine-gun beat and layers of synths that build and build until it explodes into a dancey anthem for shut-ins everywhere, with lyrics like “It's a breezy, beautiful day / the birds and girls and their weightless ways...so I pull my curtains closed...and sleep and stir in bed til it ends”.

Yet the thing that elevates this album to excellence is its sheer consistency. The more upbeat tracks are indeed excellent, and while a few tracks miss the mark slightly (Rain Smell doesn't quite live up to its chilled vibe as well as Rafting Starlit Everglades), he manages to inject a surprising amount of calm and emotion into such a beat-heavy album. His call out “Tell me you need me” in Plea has a real straining sorrow to it, and the refrain to down-tempo album closer Departure; “Smile for me if you can / I want to have that in my head” is heartbreaking if you're in the mood to really listen.

Cerulean is an absolutely stunning first album, showing a mastery and range rare in debut LPs. If you give it time, I guarantee you will keep coming back for more.

9/10

Baths Live at Cargo Review - 3 May 2011

An artist who performs without any live instruments faces some obvious problems. In order for people to pay to see them in person, there has to be an immediacy and an energy to their performance. What is also required is a certain level of deviation from their recorded material during the set; the audience doesn't want to get the impression that they're watching an artist just pressing play on their laptop and perhaps occasionally moving the fader switch.

As soon as Baths started up his first track it became clear that this wouldn't be a problem. He opened with Apologetic Shoulderblades, the first track from his debut LP, Cerulean. And for the first thirty seconds or so the only instrument he used was his own voice. The melodic, straining vocals of his music can often play second fiddle to his hard, stuttering beats or any of the great effects and samples he implements on record, but throughout the performance his vocals really shone.

On a giant soundsystem and with a mid-sized but very energetic crowd his beats came hard and fast, throbbing through the smallish venue until a good half of the audience were dancing. (Some, however, only began to get their groove on after he took a time out to tell everyone “C'mon, I wanna see you dancing! Just get a little gay!”). He played through the majority of his only album, with crowd favourites being the expected best cuts Maximalist, Aminals (he asked us to get our claws out) and Hall.

Taking a cue from his excellent warm-up, Star Slinger, Baths added a lot of dancey layers and beats to his tracks, making the gig feel sometimes a little like an excellently DJ-ed club night. He also incorporated a fair amount of glitchy stutters and spine-tingling drops just to make sure everyone was moving by about halfway through the set.

A pleasant surprise was that a few of the tracks on the album that shone less brightly benefited enormously from this treatment, You're My Excuse to Travel being a real crowd pleaser as he bounced across the stage with infectious enthusiasm. In a recent interview he commented that although he was just one man, he liked to think he made the sound of a whole band, and he had more than enough presence to fill the stage.

He also played quite a lot of new material that was extremely different to his released tracks, with a much darker techno sound (A repeated line I managed to make out was “I won't let you bury your body in my graveyard”) that sounded like a promising direction for such a young talent to take. When he stepped off the stage at the end to chat to those left at the bar I asked him when he was planning a new release (after he gave me an enthusiastic, sweaty hug) and he said he was hoping to have something out by summer.

It was an energetic and thrilling gig that didn't once get boring, in fact there was an audible sound of disappointment from the crowd when he stopped- he could've gone on twice as long, and everyone would still be dancing.

A special mention should go out to Star Slinger, who was supporting but played for almost as long. His glitch-fueled beats and samples ranging from hip hop to 50s movies in true J Dilla style were completely enthralling, definitely one to watch out for and a superb performer.

5/5