Required Listening
Hey there everyone! Spring has officially sprung here in LA – 80 degrees, breezy and beautiful. Here are four albums you really should be listening to if you aren’t already. These aren’t necessarily new releases, but they are too good for you to miss. Think of this as a musical public service announcement.
Clockwise from the top left:
1.Mayer Hawthorne – The Strange Arrangement. This album has been out since last September, but mmmm so good. This neo-soul crooner knows how to do it.
2. Corinne Bailey Rae – The Sea. This one’s for Jessica. This Sophomore album was released in January after this UK songstress took a two year hiatus after the untimely death of her saxophonist husband.
3. Gonjasufi – A Sufi and A Killer. Gonjasufi’s sound is sort of the antithesis of Mayer Hawthorne. He’s an enigmatic yoga instructor from San Diego now living in Las Vegas. His haunting and staggering vocals are complemented by the lo-fi grainy beats from LA beat scene heavyweights and Brainfeeder top brass: Gaslamp Killer and Flying Lotus.
4. Broken Bells – Broken Bells. We here at GBM are pretty in LOVE with Broken Bells – as is LA’s finest radio station KCRW, so we’re in good company. We saw their first ever live show last month and it was awesome! The album is super solid and you can really hear what the dynamic duo of Danger Mouse (1/2 of Gnarls Barkley) and James Mercer (lead signer of The Shins) each brings to the table.
- Curt
[...] the song “One Track Mind” from his album A Strange Arrangement (which was part of our required listening back in March). The video is a bit reminiscent of Lars and The Real Girl… kind of interesting [...]
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