Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas

There is a time in your life when you want to recede, want to hide from the world, but still wish to view and vicariously participate with all the colour and exuberance of the night, the wonder of the unknown and the joy of the formidable. This kind of thing is what I like to call a romantic's paradox. I probably suffer from this more often than not. In any case, Heaven or Las Vegas works as a soundtrack to my mindscapes and provides me with the company of someone magical. What is certain is that there's a very fine line between the glitz, glamour and brightness of Las Vegas and the ethereal beauty of what you perceive as heaven. And somehow this album captures that moment so well. Are these the comforts of madness people speak of? Sure, whatever floats your boat.

i wear your ring

Pram - Museum of Imaginary Animals

You guys have read Alice in Wonderland right? When I was a kid, I used to wonder what a real-life wonderland would be like. Mysterious, winding paths to new uncharted terrain, my imagination creating the scenery around me. A sense of childlike wonder, the innocence of bravery and brevity, spending time in a world that feels like it is underwater, slow, deep, blue and caressing you at every passing moment. Keyboards that play off each other in arabesque and jazzy overtones, melodica, harmonica and theremins notwithstanding. Rosie Cuckston's voice is your guardian angel, just fucking listen to her. Your head fills with colours, your dreams are more tangible than the surface you're sitting on. Put simply, this is just one of the finest albums ever, and almost no one seems to be aware of Pram's existence.

For what it's worth, I've stopped following the rabbit with the clock a long, long time ago. Here, I'm home.

play of the waves

Lush - Split

Lush were a britpop/dream pop act that was active from 1988 to 1998. My favourite Lush era was their shoegazer era, their early EPs and their 1994 full length, Split.

Sweet, sweet, wistful dreampop full on yearning, longing and daydreaming. Berenyi/Anderson's vocal harmonies + beautiful melodies. Essential listening.

let me try to pull you free

Low - I Could Live in Hope

Legendary American slowcore act Low formed in Minnesota in 1993. Their debut, 'I could live in hope' marks the beginning of a wonderful journey of one of the greatest american bands in recent times.

Good with: wines, pills, depression, suicide, oncoming winter weather, lying down and staring at the ceiling. Understated, gentle and devastating beauty.

rope

Cranes - Loved

Cranes were a British band formed in 1986, whose style has ranged all over from dream pop, gothic minimalism, shoegaze, alt rock and trip hop. Alison Shaw's vocal delivery is the dealbreaker here, either you're going to fall helpless in love with these sounds or shun them altogether. Here's my favourite record of theirs, Loved.

James and Alison Shaw, the brother-sister songwriting team from Portsmouth, England that's best known as CRANES, are not without pretensions: They originally planned to make Loved a double album with half devoted to a musical interpretation of The Flies, the expressionist play by tortured French novelist Jean Paul Sartre. That plan was shelved (they had to settle for cover art by French painter Edgar Degas), and instead, their third album delivers 11 oddly seductive pop songs that mix brutally powerful drumming, a Cocteau Twins-like wall of shimmering guitars, and the lovable little-girl-on- helium vocals of Alison Shaw. Almost flawless. 


into the night

Theredsunband - The Shiralee

Theredsunband was a band I stumbled upon quite randomly. I was wandering through Australia at a very hazy, melancholic phase in my life, and happened to see them perform at the Oxford in Sydney, only word of mouth leading me into them ( I'd previously heard that they resembled Mazzy Star, so I was sold fairly easily, I should say). They were touring at the time in support of their new record - The Shiralee. Well, suffice it to say it was an enchanting evening, I've been enamored with them ever since.

Their brand of dream pop/garage rock, lazy, breezy and introspective seems perfect for what I look for here. It's a pretty personal record, they've stepped up the songwriting since their debut; and the mid-end section of the album is flawless. Also contains an amazing cover of Bill Callahan's 'Bathysphere'. Hope y'all dig it as much as I do.

you were already gone, i just heard the echo

Cocteau Twins - Victorialand

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative/dreampop band active from 1979 to about 1997. Hugely influential and unique, they forged a sound that was ethereal unlike any other, and well, they had Liz Fraser, who could quite possibly be the best female vocalist of all time. 

Sometimes Cocteau Twins albums may sound a bit dated, even if they are perfect otherwise. But with no drum machines on Victorialand, there's nothing holding this back. Stratospheric ambient pop, if there ever was such a thing. 

The thinner the air

Seefeel - Polyfusia

Seefeel formed during 1992 in London, England, when guitarist Mark Clifford and drummer Justin Fletcher met vocalist Sarah Peacock and bassist Darren Seymour. They released their first EPs on the Too Pure label in 1993. Stylistically situated at the intersection of dream pop/shoegaze and ambient electronic/IDM, their music has a distinctive sound. This might have contributed to the band getting a contract with the seminal electronic label Warp Records in 1994. 

Pretty much a textbook definition of hypnotic repetition, Polyfusia is the compilation of their Seefeel's three EPs (More Like Space, Time to Find Me, and Plainsong). There are probably reference points to this (from the advent of Warp as a premier electronic label as well as the shoegazer scene of years before), but nothing quite like it. You're exactly halfway between now and the distant future, organic and electronic. Stare into space.


more like space

Yo La Tengo - And then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out

American alt rock band formed in Jersey, in 1984. One of the most consistently pleasant catalogs of music of any rock band, here's my favourite album of theirs; And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. 

Yo La Tengo's most consistently brilliant record is also their quietest, as husband and wife Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley turn the volume down while exploring decidedly grown-up relationship themes. It's definitely not the shoe-gazer-tinged barrage of guitars they've supplied in the past, but the silences here speak louder than an amplified guitar ever could. One of my definitive picks for albums to listen to in the wee hours. 


I wanna be Paul Le Mat, in 1980

Galaxie 500 - On Fire

Galaxie 500 were an indie rock band from Boston, MA. Their signature hazy, lethargic and psychedelic sound was to be a major influence on dozens of great bands in years to come. In 1989, they released their magnum opus, On Fire. 

Really, this is a record about nothing at all. Most albums are thematic, trying to fill in the voids and the mundane moments of human existence; whereas this album cherishes those moments. Dean Wareham's idiosyncratic voice and his nonchalant yet unique style with the guitar backed by what was probably one of the most understated rhythm sections of all time in Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang. The result is one hell of a nostalgic record washed with melancholic delay and reverb, and a sound that is far ahead of its time. Simply one of the most underrated albums of the 80's - every note and chord seems perfectly poised and every other flaw on 'On Fire' exists just to add to its character. Winter beckons, believe you me this will be a worthy companion for evenings when you don't really feel like doing anything at all.

Watching trees decompose