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It’s the end of the week, which means it's time to get your groove on... The ongoing listening series otherwise known as The Well-Played List features the most listened-to, jammed-out songs, albums and artists of the week as submitted by the CL Music Team along with a rotating crew of tastemakers — local music promoters, record store and venue owners, music fans and scenesters, DJs, musicians, and a radio personality or two; check the past several week’s worth here. Audio and video included, along with any applicable show information. And on that note, what are you jamming this week? Tell us in the comments…
LEILANI
Black Mountain, Black Mountain (2005) When The Husband puts this album on, I inevitably stop what I'm doing and make him remind me what we're listening to again, because I love it but it's so eclectic-psychedelic rocking, then weird in a Velvet Underground kind of way, then heavy metal, then chugging and grooving and seething and repeating like a bad acid trip — that I forget it's all one band. What is it about high quality bands with 'black' in their names? I have to look into this matter...
The War on Drugs, "Red Eyes" (2014)
There's something uplifting and light about the new single by roots-shoegazy indie rock band The War on Drugs, and it makes me want to hear the rest of their third LP, Lost in the Dream, but I have to get past listening to this track first, which kinda reminds me of Arcade Fire, Springsteen and my childhood all at once. Check it after the jump along with the rest of this week's recs...
GABE ECHAZABAL
Neil Finn, Dizzy Heights (2014) As a huge Neil Finn fan, word of a new solo release was met with great anticipation and expectations. When the singer-songwriter broke away from his older brother Tim’s band, Split Enz, to form his own outfit, Crowded House, all he did was find ways to improve his already sparking craft. Crowded House has turned out album after album of smart, witty, melodic pop for decades but it wasn’t until 1998 that Neil decided to step out and release his very own solo pop masterpiece Try Whistling This. Several side projects and solo albums later, Finn has once again graced us with another solo outing and the results are better than I could have imagined. Dizzy Heights finds the tuneful New Zealander trying his hand at some soulful numbers, some solemn plaintive stuff, tinkering with falsetto vocals and delivering some of his most personal, thoughtful and evocative lyrics ever. Longtime Finn fans are elated with this album and why shouldn’t they be? Neil Finn has steadily and surely rewarded loyal listeners with solid, emotive, catchy tunes for more than 30 years and Dizzy Heights beautifully shows that he’s got plenty more magnificent work inside of him and alot more music to thrill his listeners with. “Recluse,” my favorite track on the album, is arguably one of Neil’s greatest pieces of work. It’s funny, touching, memorable and damn fun to sing along with. This one’s been on heavy rotation at home, in the car and at work, and will undoubtedly place strongly in my year-end “best of” list when 2014 winds down. "Flying In The Face Of Love" below.
INFINITE SKILLZ | Emcee; promoter/owner/main dude, B.A.S.E. Inc. Music
CLP Nation Presents: Lab Rats Vol. 1 - I've been working on getting my new site ready to go live and the soundtrack to those efforts has been this a la carte mixtape from the squad over at CLP Nation. As can be expected when you have 14 tracks and 15 different emcees, it is an eclectic mix. Production duties are handled by CLP's Mario Dhanpath and Alec Burnright. Other than track 6 (full disclosure: it's mine), my favorite track is probably "PHD" by Twank Star, Young Bub, and Burnright. Check it below. Then listen to the full album here.
NIKKI SMITH | Writer, music connoisseur.
My music taste this week: All things funky. After getting to see RJD2 and The Flaming Lips on Saturday at Gasparilla Music Festival, I've been craving some different kinds of funk. So my jams this week started with Alt-J, "Intro." The song may be short, but it’s a goodin'. The British indie rock band has such a unique style and use an intriguing variety of instruments to create a full sound unlike any other band. The vocal harmonies are fun to sing along to, if you’re into that. Next we have Breton, "Jostle." This song instantly makes you wanna dance. Although I sit at a desk and can’t exactly jump around like it makes me want to do, it's great to help pick your spirits up when you’re in a black mood such as I was in, on this dreadful time change Monday. Ironically, Breton did a remix for Alt-J's "Fitzpleasure" prior to forming as an official band. Lastly, we have Pick a Piper, "Lucid in Fjords." Also very upbeat, the vocals entrance you instantly. Pick a Piper is a collective group of musicians that together form sounds that instantly puts you in the right mood.
ANDY WARRENER | freelance writer, CL & TBT.
Recent tour stops in Tampa peeped me to an edgy string quartet called Under the Willow. I saw them at Skipper's, opening up for Beau Soleil and they rocked it. Husband and wife tandem Erin (vocals, violin) and Pat Donoven (guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro) kickstarted the band in 2008 while living in Chicago. In 2012, multi-instrumentalists Hayley Skreens and Joe Lenza joined the band. The stacking of utility players in the lineup means they switch instruments with nearly every song they play. According to their website, "Under The Willow blends the sounds of folk, bluegrass, newgrass, jam band, rock, reggae and Americana with a twist of soul." The group just played the 2014 Gasparilla Music Fest on the Higher Ground Stage and is back on tour already, having cast off their day jobs in Chicago for the gypsy life of traveling musicians.
A spicy complement to the Willow quartet is Louisiana's own Beau Soleil. This cajun band graced the stage at Skipper's and got just about every foot in the building tapping. Brothers Michael and David Doucet are not strangers to the scene, having released their first album in '77. Their sound is unique even if it revolves around Cajun and zydeco music. Most lyrics are either sung in English or Cajun French. The group actually won a 'Best Traditional Folk Album' Grammy in 1997 forL'Amour Ou La Folie (Love Or Folly), released on Rhino Records in 1996.