Monday Mix #25

The Lowest Bitter - Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav are a band that I’ve never really embraced, but after hearing their latest record, I’m starting to wonder why. In the past I’ve found them a little rough, but perhaps I misjudged them. I'll certainly be giving this album (and their last) a thorough listening

Big and Small – Sui Zhen
I saw Sydney artist Sui Zhen for the first time at her EP launch last Saturday and was quite impressed. She has one of those very special voices and uses it well within her soft-yet-powerful blend of music. Fans of Joanna Newsome should definitely take notice. I don’t think this song does her talent much justice though, so you should defintely try to catch her live if you can.

In Your Hands – Tin Alley
I feel as if I like Tin Alley when I shouldn’t. It’s as if their music isn’t really the type that I would normally listen to, but I can’t help but be impressed by it. I have no doubt that there will be someone (or many ones) out there, who will thoroughly enjoy this band.

Carry The Zero – Built To Spill
My little brother recently mentioned that he was getting into Built To Spill and when I stopped to think about it, I remembered what an incredible band they are. The album which this song comes from, Keep It like A Secret, is especially brilliant. Perhaps we should all take this opportunity to revisit their expansive and highly-rewarding back catalogue.

One Chance – Skipping Girl Vinegar
Skipping Girl Vinegar win the prize for the most elaborately (excessively?) packaged CD to ever be sent to me. Firstly, the disc is designed to look like a vinyl and is packaged in the signature white cardboard sleeve with a hole in the middle. On the back of this is a little library book pouch, complete a removable card that gives details of the CD, stamped and signed as if previously borrowed. All this extravagance is then encased in a nice smooth plastic sleeve. Not only is it a lot of effort to put into a two track single, but it’s also quite a risk to send one of these resource-intensive CDs to a blogger who will more than likely look at it once and then forget about it. Well that’s exactly what I WOULD have done, had I not been blown away by the packaging. Apparently their gamble paid off, because this CD managed to remain in my consciousness long enough for me to realise that it actually contains quite a good song.