The Repo Zone: 1999

[Repo]

[dihansse]

Hi Tilly here is my rec on mellow albums:

Reading, Writing And Arithmetic by The Sundays

The voice of Harriet Wheeler on this album is just so soft yet so expressive and the same goes for the guitars. And best of all: there is not a mediocre song to be found. The Sundays haven't been able to surpass this album on their follow-ups but this one is in my book one of the better albums to go back to whenever I feel I need to listen to something mellow.

[Repo]

[Mercury]

[Repo]

[Repo]

16. The Ride Home

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside O...o La Tengo

You’ve just had the perfect day. Sun drenched and bone tired, you gather up your things with your friends. There is sand in your hair and on your bare feet, but you don’t care. You can wash it off tomorrow. You pile into the car laughing about some inside joke that no one outside that day would ever understand. The car hits the road and everyone grows silent, lost in their own little world as they reminisce and take in the day. Sinking into their seats as the sun begins to set on the horizon. THIS is the album for that ride home. No one says a word. Because no one needs to. There’s nothing to say. The days fond memories and the music meld perfectly together as the wind from the half open car windows plays with your hair. And you all fall half asleep with a half smile on your face thinking the same thought - this was the perfect day.

Grade: A. Finishing perhaps one of the greatest four run album runs in indie, hell rock history, …And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is Yo La Tengo at their mellowest. They know the perfect music for the ride back from the Jersey shore, and this is it. Like all the albums in this four run stretch from Painful to ATNTIIO, this is essential indie rock. Yo La Tengo always got a bit overlooked perhaps because they never broke up or maybe because their music was always a bit more understated and less headline grabbing, but they are easily one of the greatest indie rock bands of the 90s. And you need to look no further than this (almost) seamless masterpiece to find out why.

Aside: My one (minor) quibble with this album is with “Cherry Chapstick”. It’s a great song, but breaks up the super mellow vibe of the rest of the album. It’s a song that would have fit much better on Electr-o-pura or I Am Not Afraid of You and Will Beat Your Ass.

Essential
1.Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
2. The Fun Years - One Quarter Descent
3. Virginia Astley - From Gardens Where We Feel Secure
4. Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven
5. Bonnie "Prince" Billie - The Letting Go
6. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
7. Gene Clark - No Other
8. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
9. Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
10. Real Estate - Days
11. Harold Budd - Pavilion of Dreams
12. Bob Dylan - Self-Portrait
13. Beach House - Bloom
14. Real Estate - Real Estate

[Repo]

17. Through the Eyes of a Child

Finally We Are No One by múm


“Shhhh….“ She whispered. “You need to keep it secret”, she said wide-eyed and with total sincerity. “The unikitty came last night. I saw him!” No album captures the world through my children’s eyes quite like this. A world where bunnies hop around the world hiding dayglo painted eggs under furniture and place neatly laid-out chocolate kisses & gumdrops in little baskets. This is an album that only could have sprung from Iceland. If Bjork and Sugur Ros had a magical elven daughter, this is the album she would make. Where the sunlight sparkles off of melting glaciers as they gather into bubbling brooks. The whole album bubbles and percolates with the magical sounds of the forest. Where wood sprites still live and can and do protect us from all sorts of dangers. And if you listen closely, you can hear the laughter and giggles of children.

But most importantly it captures how children see the world. It captures their faith. Their trust. There’s an undying hope that springs from these songs. It fills the air. That everything is going to work out and that the world is a magical place. A world where unikitties and rainbow unicorns exist and have the power to make Daddy all better. I believe in this world. I believe in this magic. Because I have seen it. Seen it in the eyes of my child.

Grade: A+. This is a magical album that really is the love child of Bjork and Sugur Ros. Check it out if you don’t believe me. Because it's true. It’s an album that could only have sprung from the heart of a child. It’s ethereal and beautiful. Straddling the lines of post-rock and indie electronica, it doesn’t quite fit into any neat categories . It doesn’t need to. And it vaults all the way to number one.

Essential
1. Mum - Finally We Are No One
2. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
3.. The Fun Years - One Quarter Descent
4. Virginia Astley - From Gardens Where We Feel Secure
5. Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven
5. Bonnie "Prince" Billie - The Letting Go
6. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
7. Gene Clark - No Other
8. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
9. Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
10. Real Estate - Days
11. Harold Budd - Pavilion of Dreams
12. Bob Dylan - Self-Portrait
13. Beach House - Bloom
14. Real Estate - Real Estate

[undefined]

love that writeup Tilly! múm are one of my favorites and you totally nailed just everything about that record. Really precious, "single-tear-drips-down-cheek" type stuff

what kind of mood/general sound do you say think your mellow journey is currently finding you in? Would love to drop some recommendations (and selfishly demand request cool writeups on them).

do you still want me to drop my writeup for the Fun Years here? I don't know if I can live up to the one you did

[Repo]

[Repo]

18. California’s Burning

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

John, The Wolf King Of L.A. by John Phillips

Sometimes an album comes out of nowhere and just steals your heart. You didn’t see it coming. You didn’t expect it. The crush starts off unassumingly enough. But then it grows. It creeps under you skin and forges with your muscles, with your tissues. Its just one of those albums that gets better with every single spin. The songs just seem so natural, like they’ve always been a part of you and you can’t imagine that album not always having been in your life. It has the feel and soul of a late 60s The Band or Dylan album while being Laurel Canyon at its core all the way. I’m convinced this is Father John Misty’s favorite album. I’m positive that in his teens he played it every single day, and just dreamed of being this Wolf King of LA. Ask him yourself, if you don’t believe me. I don’t need to.

It totally captures the spirit and fire of an old time saloon straight out of Deadwood. With a piano in the corner and beer & whiskey merrily going around. Everyone’s in great spirits and laughter and hearty conversation fill the air. You sit in your seat as the beers kick in feeling free & easy after a hard days work in the sun singing and dancing to yourself. Not a care in the world. Occasionally, the local drunk actually does get up to dance by the piano and everyone gives a knowing laugh, egging him on & inwardly hoping he will fall. You get the feeling that Rocky Raccoon is going to step through those saloon doors at any moment. And maybe, he just might.

Grade: A. This is a total lost classic, and easily one of the Laurel Canyon’s best albums from its heyday. It’s free & easy and completely natural and effortless. A good time, drinking album with a backing band (and backup singers) to die for. The slide guitar steals the show on quite a few numbers but the playing from all is impeccable. This must have been quite the project to put together, and it’s a bit of a shame it’s not more well known. It’s combination of country, folk and rock is really second to none. And it drunkenly staggers all the way to number three.

Essential
1. Mum - Finally We Are No One
2. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
3. John Phillips - John, The Wolf King of L.A.
4. The Fun Years - One Quarter Descent
4. Virginia Astley - From Gardens Where We Feel Secure
5. Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven
5. Bonnie "Prince" Billie - The Letting Go
6. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
7. Gene Clark - No Other
8. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
9. Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
10. Real Estate - Days
11. Harold Budd - Pavilion of Dreams
12. Bob Dylan - Self-Portrait
13. Beach House - Bloom
14. Real Estate - Real Estate