new: Guided By Guided By Voices/ WAKR MM-TC II

Pollard
The long awaited Guided By Guided By Voices compilation courtesy of the ever wonderful Wild Animal Kingdom is now available for auditory delight. A collection of sixteen tracks from the GBV canon by a bakers dozen+ of artists that, if you are reading this, you might enjoy. Enjoy a taste with Martin Courtney's take on "Kicker of Elves" and "As We Go Up We Go Down." Also, grip Alex Bleeker & Evan Brody's take on "Motor Away."

In addtion, remeber to sign up for the phenomenal WAKR Monthly Mix-Tape Club, set to roll into its second year. The first twelve months were phenomenal. Everyone should be a member. Sign up here and receive a new mixtape every month from some passionate young folks.

Martin Courtney- Kicker of Elves/ As We Go Up We Go Down
Bleeker & Brody- Motor Away (via FADER)

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

video: Pill Wonder at the Delancy- CMJ

"And They Look You In The Eye"

One of the most enjoyable parts about CMJ is getting to hear some of your favorite acts from far away for the first time. While Pill Wonder were in town for the UP Late SUMMR Showcase in August, it was only Dana and Will who arrived, fleshing out the live band with former Olympia, WA resident Martin Courtenay and UP mainstay's Ari Stern and Mike Mimoun. That night, drunk as hell, I asked Dana and Will to come back for CMJ, despite not having a show lined up. A week or so later, I emailed Dana with a few specifics, some dates, a venue, etc. He later informed me that the entire Pill Wonder collective, all seven Pacific Northwest raggamuffins, would make the cross country flight to grace us with their shambolic, tribe of good kids from small town vibes. This c. axel capture from the Delancey show on Friday night finds Pill Wonder playing "Gone to Market," a tune not too out of step with the homespun, ragged jubilance often associated with the Elephant 6 collective. It's a feel good tune, with glockenspiel, a whole bunch of synchronized "oohs" and some surfy riffs that'll sure to brighten this dreadfully rainy day. Make sure to check the Chocolate Bobka Takes on CMJ channel on Vimeo for hot shots from Ray Concepcion, Pixelwhorse and le Bobka. (Elise has a pretty dope Frat Dad vid in their, also from the Delancey. Four words- Doritos: Late Night Taco.)

comp: Brasil Could Be Your Life

Wild Animal Kingdom, Indeed

Wild Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite upstart labels and they've been churning out a lot of choice material over the past few months. Recent releases include Pill Wonder's Jungle/Surf, which would definitely prove an apt score for this vid of dudes surfing the Amazon, and the first installment of the must purchase WAKR Monthly Mix-Tape Club. The latest WAKR issue finds the Olympia-based dudes mining the fruits of South America. Brasil Could Be Your Life was curated by Lilian De Munno, a friend of the WAK who resides in Brasil, so yeah, her take on the music of Sao Paolo and Rio is probably more authentic than yours. The new mix is simply described by the following: "Q: How endearing is it to hear Portuguese speakers sing about t-shirts and love in English? A: Very." Truth. An early standout has to be "e o sol brilhou sobre o verde" by Supercordas, a psych act from Sao Paulo whose upfront use of theremin and tape loops recalls Elephant 6 and Smile-outtakes, as well as tropicalia. Bearhug's "A Storm, A Night Out (edit)" is another doozy, fusing lo-fi pitterpat drum beats with skill saw melodies. It's defiantly lo-fi and charming. Highly recommended, especially if you aren't sick of fuzzy vocals.

Supercordas- e o sol brilhou sobre o verde
Bearhug- A Storm, A Night Out (edit)

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.

mp3: Julian Lynch "Nen Vole"

"The Wind Blows"
Our man Sawyer from Underwater Peoples, who could play Francis Ford Coppola in a live theatrical reenactment of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, peeped me to the Wild Animal Kingdom this morning, noting that "before The Chiller's Mansion, and before even the existence of Underwater Peoples, existed the Wild Animal Kingdom. These guys are our inspiration, our father figures.... We stole their artists." It's true. Real Estate, Desolation Wilderness, Pill Wonder, Fluffy Lumbers and Julian Lynch, amongst others, all appeared on Wild Animal Kingdom cassette compilations. Anyway, while I haven't physically gotten my hands on either of these tapes, I did snag a copy of WAK Vol.2, and while I'm fairly familiar with much of it (Liam The Younger, Real Estate, Fluffy Lumbers), the mix also contains a phenomenal Julian Lynch track that I hadn't heard until this morning. "Nen Vole," which also appears on the Born2Run cassette Lynch released earlier this year, finds Lynch channeling an adolescent Neil Young stuck in a cabin with a few guitars, weeping the night away while a sole candle dances with a draft from the floorboards. It sways and shutters its eyes and dreams of places far far away. It's soft as wool in the dead of winter and warmer than bourbon on the hearth, or can cooked beans on an open flame. It's a feeling we associate with the good, sad times. Blanket time.

Julian Lynch- Nen Vole