new: Dana Jewell Wants 7-inch

Make My Heart Burn

Friends are fun. What's even more fun?! When friends put out other friends tunes. Friends!

All kidding aside, friends, this one has been a long time in the making and it's really great to finally have it on the turntable. Olympia, Washington's Dana Jewel is no stranger to Underwater Peoples. The head of Wild Animal Kingdom Records used to play in the live version of surf/jungle band Pill Wonder, and has also been featured on the always enjoyable UP seasonal comps...Hey guys, no pressure, but it's been a few too many seasons without a new one…Just sayin' :)(

Now comes Wants, a collection of heart-felt tunes from a man who might as well be considered the product of a one night stand Jonathan Richman had in the PacNW some twenty years ago. (Imagine if Richman sang about Seattle like he did New England….Oh, New England.) "Wants" the song is the perfect duality of yearning for love, and the subsequent rejection of it. Pain is pleasure, and vice versa? If that fits your fancy, be sure to grip Wants over at the UP web zone.

mp3: Pario Marty "I Will Be"

"Plymouth Rock Roll Over"
(Art by Brittany Botz)
Wild Animal Kingdom Records just reissued an early recording by former Olympia resident and current Real Estate front man Martin Courtney IV. Floating in a nostalgic dreamscape is the vibe on "I Will Be", an eerily tranquil soft excursion with nods to Taking Tiger Mountain-era Eno and Brian Wilson, who actually appears for a short moment during the outro. Check WAKR for more details soon.

In other news, WAKR head honcho Dana Jewell will be hitting the East Coast in a few weeks and will be playing the Bobka showcase at the Northside Festival. Highly recommend coming out for this very rare show by Mr. Jewell. Also on the bill; No Demons Here, WOOM, Big Troubles, Arches, Andrew Cedermark and Ducktails. Saturday June 26th at Shea Stadium. Come Early, stay late.

Pario Marty- I Will Be

new: Pill Wonder, WAKR Monthly Mix Tape

"Yeah They Do"

Since picking up a few choice cassettes from Wild Animal Kingdom at the Underwater People's Showcase, I've been keeping my ears on the small label, run by Olympia's own Dana Jewell. Considering WAKR has released a bevy of beautifully handmade small batch cassette albums, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the new Pill Wonder tape continues the tradition. Pill Wonder played a cheerfully shambolic set at the Market Hotel two weekends back, and Jungle/Surf, the title of the new cassette, is an apt description of their sound. Bubbling with rainforest humidity and play pen playfulness, Pill Wonder's cassette is way more Elephant Six in nature, than, say Animal Collective, who I'm sure people would find a fitting touch point. Rousing in a manner much like that of a Kung Fu Panda in the midst of a noodle fight, tracks like "What We Know" and "Wishing Whale" ooze with gelatonus excitement, as if Wil injected ecto-cooler into his computer mic in order to get right on the Ghost Busters funk tip. As WKR notes Jungle/Surf "took three years to complete and was recorded single-handedly by Wil on his Dell Computer using the Adobe Audition Program downloaded illegally in his mother's bedroom." This cassette is limited to 25, as it will released by our boys at Underwater People's on beautiful 12" vinyl in the next lil bit.

Not one to get bored, Dana also recently started a WAKR Monthly Mix-Tape Club, a series which will highlight specific artists, motifs, and themes, and will be curated by some of the raddest dudes and ladies around. Dana writes, "To join MM-TC, I ask only that you pay for the shipping of the tape from Olympia to anywhere in the continental US for only $1.50 Monthly or for a full year subscription $18.00 so essentially the actual cost of the musix and tapes are free for you!" This is amazing. Luckily for me, I've been asked to curate an addition, and couldn't be happier about it. Sign up asap as I have no idea how limited these will be. And, well, because they are sure to be incredible. It'll be good. Feel good. All good. Etc.

Pill Wonder- What We Know

video: Dana Jewell "No Family" & "Homeward Bound"

"I Wish I Was"

Coming on like a revelation after 25 minutes of ear shattering reverb courtesy of Big Troubles, Dana Jewell's early set at the Underwater People's Showcase was one of the most intimate set of the evening. Backed only by a guitar and his voice, which rings like an old familiar friend you rarely see, the proprietor of Wild Animal Kingdom Records, whose WAKR Vol. 1 and Vol.2 have become staples around Bobka HQ, performed a short set of ballads, including WAKR Vol.1 standout "No Family" and "Homeward Bound," a timeless tale chronicling ones longing for steady shelter, a warm bed and a good meal. A long way from his home in Olympia, Washington, Jewell seemed delighted in his Brooklyn surroundings, albeit a bit flabbergasted, but it's his unbriddled sincerity and genuine good heart that shine through on his performance, giving Jewell a sort of "man, I really want to be friends with that guy" quality.