Robin Pecknold Drops Some New Folky Tunes on Twitter

Yesterday, Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold dropped a free, three-song EP via Twitter. S'all good if your a fan of harmonies, acoustic guitars, and/or beards.

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Robin Pecknold - I'm Losing Myself (feat. Ed Droste)

Robin Pecknold - Derwentwater Stones

Robin Pecknold - Where Is My Wild Rose

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Artist Spotlight: The Dodos Might Be Returning to Form

I've been onboard The Dodo's bandwagon since "Jodi" made its way onto the blogosphere way back in February 2008 (proof!).

Then I was completely let down by the duo's junior effort, 2009's Time to Die. They all but abandoned their rhythmic, finger-picked guitar & drum sound in favour of more fleshed out nonsense, completely stripping away what made the band so interesting in the first place.

While I've got a little hope for their forthcoming record, No Color, "Don't Stop" is a pretty promising first single, sounding like a return to good form (I hope). Since it's a coin flip whether or not their next album will be any good, I'm hosting the new track, plus some older Dodo favourites.

I still spin my double-vinyl copy of Visiter when the weather get warm. Listen to "Jodi" first.

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The Dodos - Jodi
The Dodos - Don't Stop
The Dodos - Horny Hippies
The Dodos - Fools
The Dodos - Park Song

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Listening to The Last Dinosaur (or Watching Pee-Wee)

For better or worse, I spent most of my day staying in sick. It was one of those awful colds where you can't do much more then lay down and even that's a chore. At one point, I ended up watching my copy of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.

I got to the scene where Simone's boyfriend Andy chases Pee-Wee around those giant dinosaurs (see the movie, it's classic) and it reminded me of this band, The Last Dinosaur. They're a duo from the UK who I blogged about almost three years ago (WHOA).

Back then, I only had one track from the band, "Home," but I loved it as much as I could a full-length. I wondered what happened to those guys and a quick Googling revealed an album released this past February on Rough Trade, Hooray! For Happiness. Talk about musical serendipity.

I've been listening to the record all day and just like "Home," every track is a sprawling, lo-fi, beautiful mess. From what I can tell, most of the songs on Happiness are just the band's mastered demos, which means the LP is pretty much two friends playing whatever gentle, mostly-instrumental tunes come to mind in their bedrooms.

"The Last Dinosaur is Jamie Cameron and Luke Hayden," says the band's Myspace. "They stay up late at night and record whatever happens on a multi-track recorder and a few microphones."

And that's what this collection of songs sound like. The tracks meander, ebb, and flow, seemingly going nowhere before bursting with emotion. The band is always patient, always taking their time, filling space with a collage of instruments before arriving at drum-filled climaxes. Maybe it's the cold medicine, but I'm in love with this record, slack edges and all.

I also really want to visit the Cabazon Dinosaurs.

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Home - The Last Dinosaur
Fool - The Last Dinosaur
Maps - The Last Dinosaur
Every Second Is a Second Chance - The Last Dinosaur
The Song Playing at the End of the Film of My Life - The Last Dinosaur

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AotW - Fantasy Memorial by Dinosaur Feathers

So I've been spinning Dinosaur Feather's new LP non-stop and I've only had the record for a little over two days. That's a good sign. These Brooklyn dudes play a shopworn collage of avant-pop pastiches that manage to sound both pretty unique and very familiar. I'm sold.

Grabbing style from The Dodos, acoustic Animal Collective, Born Ruffians, Minus the Bear, Dirty Projectors, Andrew Bird, and a bunch of your other favourite bands, I'd say the songs on Fantasy Memorial sound like danceable freak folk, but then again, none of the tracks here really sound the same.

While that kind of diminishes the album as a whole, the schizophrenic musicianship suits Dinosaur Feather's catchy eccentricities. One track could have drums machines, hand-claps, and doo-wop vocals, while others sound like Grizzly Bear covering Radiohead's "There There."

These guys are all over the map, yes, but the culture cramming works and all these different sonic elements play off each other incredibly well. It doesn't hurt that the record sounds like autumn either. If you like the posted tracks, grab the whole LP by clicking here.

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Family Waves - Dinosaur Feathers

Teenage Whore - Dinosaur Feathers

I Ni Sogoma - Dinosaur Feathers

Know Your Own Strength - Dinosaur Feather

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