This month’s mixtape brings you—as usual—a ton of new music that we’ve been enjoying in the studio, by artists new + old.

Welcome returning longtime studio favorites include the Brooklyn band with a funny name, Rubblebucket, who kick things off with the catchy, true-to-form lead single from their coming fifth full-length, Sun Machine, out in August; Swede, Victoria Bergsman, better known as Taken by Trees (and maybe even better known from Peter Bjorn and John’s 2006 hit “Young Folks”), who’s taken a welcome electronic-leaning turn with her new album, Yellow to Blue; French singer, songwriter, and superb dancer Christine and the Queens (AKA Héloïse Letissier), who seems to be shifting to moniker and public persona a bit to the simplified ‘Chris’ (and who has giant billboards in Times Square and down the street from us in Hollywood—bully to you, Chris!); SF electronic duo Cathedrals, who are back with a sultry new single, “Hits Me Like a Landslide”; Los Angeles’ own king of glitch, Mark Redito; and a band we’ve followed for a decade, Minneapolis-based (now) duo Now Now (né Now Now Every Children), who are back with their first new album in six years.

New (to us) artists include Richmond, Virginia’s very own Natalie Prass, who gives us an infectious, fun track from her just-released album The Future and the Past (check out the video below); Nashville-based Sophie Allison and her band/alter ego Soccer Mommy; two cousins from London who comprise Otzeki, a jagged, electronic pop duo; Singaporean singer-songwriter Linying; and a newly formed electronic LA trio we’re excited about, Overjoy.

Then we’ve got some other returning artists whose work we’ve featured in the past, including English electronic musician Sam Breathwick, who writes and performs under the collegiate name Vasser; Swedish songstress Matilda Mård, AKA  Many Voices Speak; NYC-based pop Aussie, Kate Kay Es; and London duo and crafters of addictive dance music, HONNE.

Enjoy! And, as always, if you want to hear past mixes, scroll back through these pages for 3+ years of music or visit and follow us via MixCloud.

Art—fern + adorable quilt of Japanese textiles made for us by good friends.

We both came to really appreciate music in an age still dominated by full-length albums; an age of first cassette tapes, then CDs and then, when we hit college-age, vinyl, in its fledgling re-emergence.

So, yes, we’re rather old, but more to the point, we still often think of consuming music in doses akin to traditional album formats—10-15 songs, all tied together in some sort of theme, even if it’s just in the sense that it shows you a snapshot in time of a particular artist or artists and their work; side A, side B, with strong openers on each side and ending on something with a tone of finality and/or summation.

Whether it’s intentional or hard-wired, we often approach these mixtapes in the same way—this month, we start with one of two brand new and timely songs by one of our favorite bands, Braids, each of which tackles how we interact with each other in this digital age. In their own words:
“For those of u that have ever taken selfies, contorted ur body for selfies, pushed up ur breasts, hid ur breasts, hid ur ass, pushed up ur ass, exaggerated ur bulge, exaggerated ur collarbones, turned up the contrast, softened ur lines, been ghosted, ghosted, used tinder, failed at tinder, fallen down an instagram hole, deleted and downloaded it, deleted and downloaded it, deleted and downloaded it, wandered the drug store for clarity, thought hair dye could ease ur pain, at least for a couple days, and flipped the bird at 1 or all of these things – these songs are 4 u. We hope you can sing with them, scream with them, dance with them, laugh with them and dream of how u want to feel and deserve to feel. Take a moment for urself.”

In a kind of echo to that opener, we end the mix with the return of  Belgian musician, rapper, singer, and songwriter Stormae who gives us his first original material in five years, “Défiler”, about being left behind and having your head stuck in your phone and wondering maybe which is worse. Last month, Stormae’s label Mosaert presented its very first fashion show at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris to mark the release of its latest collection, “Capsule no 5“. Dubbed an “enhanced fashion show”, the whole thing combined movement and choreography by dancer and choreographer Marion Motin with an intricate set designed by Mosaert and Le Bon Marché’s creative teams and Stormae’s 9+ minute song setting the sonic backdrop. The video for the song, by Sacha Wiernik and Luc Junior Tam, captures the whole impressive event.

And giving the spine to the mix (or kicking off the ‘second side’, whichever you prefer) is another significant return—that of longtime favorite Lykke Li.  The Swede-turned-Angeleno has teased a new album out June 8th—her first in four years—and, by the sound of this track and another she’s released, fellow fans will not be disappointed.

In-between those three musical pillars we have a dreamy new song from Nashville’s Bantug; the return of Sydney-born, Paris-based songwriter Jack Grace; and some dystopian hip hop from Chicago’s Air Credits (“music from the not too distant future, when the planet’s water supply has all but ceased, the landscape turning to desert, the desert turning to wasteland”), which features Show You Suck, who we featured a couple years back. Then we’ve got a string of AKAs that played SXSW this year—breezy hip hop, also from Chicago, from Knox Fortune (AKA Kevin Rhomberg); something a little jazzier from the always-impressive Cadence Weapon (AKA Toronto’s Roland “Rollie” Pemberton); and a beautiful  soundtrack for dreamily driving through the desert from Slisbee, Texas’ Lomelda (AKA Hannah Read).

We’ve also got the first new work from DJ/producer/mash-up-artist/musician Girl Talk, featuring Brooklyn’s Erick the Architect; a nice pick-me-up from Brooklyn’s Maria Usbeck; more melodic electronic music from France’s Kidswaste featuring DC’s Manila Killa; a bouncy sing-along from Sydney’s Alison Wonderland; a glitchy banger from Stockholm’s Baba Stiltz; and something a little more pop than noise from Meghan Remy’s U.S. Girls.

As always, enjoy.

Below, the aforementioned video/fashion show and the lovely cover art for Braids’ new split single, by photographer Melissa Gamache.

Back in May of 2016, we were lucky enough to catch Peter Bjorn and John at one of our favorite, more intimate Los Angeles venues, the Echo. Opening up for them was an unknown-to-us solo act, Okay Kaya, AKA Norwegian singer-songwriter, Kaya Wilkins. It was one of those great moments when the opening act proves nearly as powerful and enjoyable as the band you originally came to see. Her set was stripped, emotional, and moving…until some drunk douche in the back heckled her for some reason. Well, if life were an 80s movie and she actually gave a fuck (which I highly doubt she does), said douche would get turned away the door at her coming, I presume to be sold-out shows in support of what could be one of the year’s best albums. We’re kicking this mixtape off with one of two singles from coming full-length, Both (we have a video for the other below because we love it so much).

What other sonic gems are we sharing this month? Glad you asked.

As always, Australia’s exploding music scene has bled into this mix, first with the straight-up pop danceability from Sydney’s Nicole Millar. Then we seem to have inadvertently lauded on-high our old home of Brooklyn with a  string of artists who are keeping it legit in the ‘borough of trees’—we’ve got some catchy glitch from solo project A Beacon School and Brooklyn-by-way-of-San-Juan Balun, some excellent, slightly less glitchy female-fronted electronic pop from Half Waif and Mothica; and some solid indie pop from four-piece Plastic Picnic. Then we’re getting back to our current home of Los Angeles with some experimental electronica from French-American artist, Sydney Wayser, better known by her stage name, CLARA-NOVA and taking a trip up to the great white north with Montreal’s Men I Trust, both new favorites in the studio.

Then, don’t shut this down before you give it a try, but we’ve got some witch hop (it’s a thing, I swear) from an artist we kind of inexplicably love, Scranton’s own Wicca Phase Springs Eternal. We’ve also got lovely new singles from the most excellent Londoner Nilüfer Yanya, Gothenburg’s Little Dragon, and one teaming Scottish electronic band CHVRCHES with The National‘s Matt Berninger.

And while we hate to play the comparison game, we’re ending things out with a track from Melbourne’s G Flip that has us wanting to dance around the bedroom like we’ve got old Robyn pumping out of shitty speakers at maximum volume with early aughts pre-caffeine-prohibition Sparks in-hand (our twenties were heady, orange-tinged days with little disposable income) before letting none other than Tracey Thorn drop the mic for us via a new collab with London electronic artist George Fitzgerald that’s co-writen with Oli Bayston, the frontman of one of our favorite bands, Boxed In.

That’s it! Enjoy!

And by way of follow up to the video below, you can donate to Planned Parenthood here.

The social media platform Facebook has come a long way since it first started in 2004. Back when we first joined up in 2007 amid a scant few friends at the time, I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the platform would grow to become one of the largest companies in the world with 2.2 billion monthly active users or that it could unite and incite movements for socio-political change halfway around the world or, I don’t know, be used as a tool by foreign powers to help seat a reality TV star and all-around awful human being to the highest office in our land.

Now, with CEO + founder Mark Zuckerberg testifying the Senate Judiciary Committee in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, at the very least, this should prove to be a major turning point, not just for Facebook, but for social media in general. The loss of data and, with it, trust, has pushed many of us to re-examine how we use the web, what we make public, and how we value our information. But, as many point out, Facebook isn’t alone in how they treat their users and monetize their information. Writer Louise Matsakis put it most eloquently for WIRED recently: “Facebook collects arguably the most private information, but plenty of other popular social networking apps like Snapchat and Twitter collect your data too. That’s their entire business model: When you’re not paying for a product, you are the product.”

Even before all of the scandal, many within our own social circles seemed to be losing interest in Facebook and the like, for myriad reasons. But what many keep coming back to—ourselves included—was the now-Facebook-owned company, Instagram: What does all this mean for the much-beloved image-sharing platform?

California-based creative digital marketer and longtime friend of raven + crow John Capone put a timely edge on the whole affair for us—”I feel like in the ether now is that people like Instagram and it’s generally evolved pretty well and not become a pile of flaming garbage like Facebook and Snapchat have recently,” John told us. “But the fear is there for users and marketers alike no matter what perspective you have. There’s only so much a user can do (especially with Snap where the developers ruined it) but I’ll always advocate for good citizenship when it comes to these communities.”

With that in mind, we reached out to some of our favorite Instagram users—artists and entrepreneurs who we think use the platform well—for advice on how to keep the ship afloat in this sea of uncertainty. How do we keep Instagram fun and—especially for fellow business-owners—valid in this climate?

The resulting common thread: be true to yourself, your brand, and your community.

Below, we’ve collected advice from friends and colleagues in our various communities on how best to keep it all from burning down. Click their IG banner image to visit their accounts (they’re all awesome). And the last bit of advice from Tomoko is short + succinct, but you really do need to see what she does with stories—magical stuff.

Stacy Michelson—artist, designer, lover-of-food, and real-life Energizer Bunny
IG is my favorite tool to use to connect with people and showcase my brand and what I do. It also gives me a chance to allow people to get to know ME. I don’t have a formula for posts, but I try and do 75% biz and 25% Stacy the person, so you feel like you get a sense of who creates this stuff. And I love stories. I love watching people’s stories and I love making them. I really feel like you can know someone better that you’ve never met with video. It’s their voice, their face, their humor, their life. I have been able to post the day-to-day silliness of my life and interests, like what i’m eating, cooking, and the silly songs I make up all day long. People seem to really like that and tell me often—in comments or in person at events—that my songs and general goofball-ness is a favorite part of their day. How cool is that? Hopefully that connection they feel with me turns into internet friend and then customer. AND I always try and reply to comments unless it’s mean, in which case I just swipe delete and forget it. No point in putting energy into that nonsense.

Jacky Wasserman of vegan apparel company beetxbeet
I think the best thing is to stay true to yourself and your brand. IG is a place that started as a way to connect with others, so just going back to those roots no matter how IG choses to change their algorithm etc is a good way to look at it—finding new ways to stay engaged and connected with your audience through the tools IG provides. We don’t know what kind of future IG has but, for now, taking advantage of the ways it can help connect you to others and market your brand is what we have to work with. If you are concerned about losing the platform, I’d say make sure to have your customers visiting your site often through blog posts and newsletters so there’s still a way to connect outside of the app.

Carolyn Suzuki—artist, illustrator, and princess of pattern
To be a part of a community, I think it’s important that you leave supportive comments for others, follow those who inspire you, and post and share your work on a consistent basis. I think the last point is probably the most important—you want people to know you’re out there doing the work and showing up everyday. Regardless of the quality of work, this commitment is what’s inspiring and I think other makers out there can feel that!

John Sepal—photographer and style documentarian behind Tokyo Camera Style
I honestly don’t care about analytics or numbers—my interest in IG is based on using it to share/celebrate a slice of photographic culture with anyone interested. The popularity tokyocamerastyle has gained is due to consistent content that is informative and positive. The fact that there’s a documentary angle is interesting—the cameras I post are ones I see out on the streets being used. Recently I’ve been expanding from just gear to my real interests—photo exhibitions and photobooks. I try to present things in a fair and clear manner and people respond to this authentic aspect. I don’t like accounts that re-gram other peoples’ pictures or request of cameras or bags to gain a following. That’s boring. Everything on TCS is original stuff that celebrates something that film photographers around the world can feel a part of.

Allison Sherman—sustainable fashion blogger
First, be thoughtful in the content you post. You don’t have to write something personal or even relevant every time you post a photo, but the image and visuals are very important—that’s what catches people’s eye! If it’s something you like but that doesn’t necessarily match your feed or vibe, post it on Instagram stories or post multiple photos and do a swipe to see more feature and have the first photo match your vibe. Similar editing style is also very aesthetically pleasing!

And check out the explore page or search relevant tags that you’re interested in. Often times you’ll stumble upon great accounts. Like their photos, comment, and/or follow them! Not sure of who to engage with to increase your following? Pick an account that you have similar content with or a similar account you aspire to be like and go and see who likes their photos. Choose those people to connect with!

Find an Instagram planning app that works for you! I use an app called PLANN. It helps me plan posts ahead of time and keep photos in the queue for me to post later. If stuff is in my camera roll, it often gets lost with all the other photos I take and it’s nice to have all the solid insta-worthy photos in one spot. I know there are many other apps like this, but PLANN was only a one time payment of under $7 and works pretty well! I had a free trial of another app that wanted me to pay monthly making it over $100 a year—yikes! Some Instagram planning/analytics apps are free but don’t have many features, so do a little research and find one that works for you!

Tomoko Imade Dyen—Japanese food ambassador and IG story savant 

Use stories to tell a story! It doesn’t have to be an epic, but do tell more than what you are doing.

One of our favorite photographers to follow on Instagram is NYC-based music photographer Shervin Lainez. His work consistently captures the voice of some of our favorite bands and artists, showcasing both their unique styles and shifting visually, chameleon-like, from subject to subject. We took a few minutes to talk with Shervin—hands pictured above, hatting Regina Spektor, more fully pictured below—about his approach and process, picking his brain on some favorite subject in the process.

raven + crow: Thanks so much for making the time to talk, Shervin. We’re big fans of your work. I guess one thing I’m wondering is how the way you approach shoots has evolved over time? I feel like, from an outside perspective, many of your shots have gotten even more specific or themed as your career’s progressed, but I’m curious how that looks from where you stand.

Shervin Lainez:  As strange as it sounds, my approach has stayed totally the same for the last 8 years—I hear the music and get a sense of the musician’s vibe/tone/mood, then I look at previous photos they’ve done and go from there. I don’t do a lot of preparation…it’s mostly just getting two people in a room and the chemistry dictates what the photos will look like.

That’s fair. I guess if your process inherently feeds off your different subjects like that, the end products would evolve as you continue to shoot different subjects. I’m wondering how you got into this world of music photography in the first place though; more specifically this very niche part of the music world of largely independent creators with very distinct voices themselves.

I only ever wanted to photograph bands—it’s the first thing I took pictures of and it made sense as the way I could best contribute to the music world, you know? My job was to figure out how I could be a part of the music world and just go straight for that.

You used to live in DC, right? We actually used to call DC home before we moved up to Brooklyn and it still holds a dear place in our hearts.

Yeah! I’m from Northern VA, which is right outside of DC—I grew up going to concerts in DC. I love DC, it taught me a lot about how to build relationships with creative people.

Totally agree, on both counts, really. Were you involved in DC’s music scene at all? It has had some shining moments, especially some years back.

Yeah! Some of the first bands I shot were DC bands—Dismemberment Plan, Q and not U.

Oh, shit! My old band, Speedwell, played some of its first shows with Q and not U back in college, down in southern Virginia, where we were all from. And we played one of our very last shows with D-Plan back at the old Black Cat—small world! …not to make this all about me. What brought you to New York then?

I spent years in DC shooting bands—it was time to go somewhere bigger with more musicians.

Yeah, that was a natural creative next step for the two of us too. Favorite thing about New York?

So many artists, so many creative people, so much trash, so many human beings.

I think that’s written on the city flag, yeah?

We have plenty of friends in the photography world, many of whom worked before and after the shift in the industry brought about by digital photography—do you find it challenging making a living in this creative industry when anyone with an iPhone and an Instagram account can call themselves a photographer?

Being a photographer is a discipline—you have to commit to it…whatever the device or tool you use is up to the times and technology, but as long as you have a true commitment to creating what you consider art, then i believe you will succeed on some level.

Who are some idols of yours in the photography world, past or present?

All of my idols are musicians—Björk and people like her who changed the game visually; I never looked up to photographers.

This is heresy, I know, but what’s your current favorite artist photo you’ve taken. …c’mon—Pick one pick one pick one!

I love the photos I just did for Pheobe Bridgers and the band Chvrches (above).

PHOEBEFUCKINGBRIDGERS. She’s the best.

You’re a music fan and I’m sure you play it cool on set most times, but was there ever a time when you were like, ‘Holy fuck, I just shot one of my musical idols’?

I got to take photos of Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead) once and I thought I would pass out.

Yeah, that makes sense. Nicest artist you’ve shot?

Regina Spektor.

I’ve heard she’s a gem! And craziest in terms of your experience?

One time during a shoot for the band Dresden Dolls they got completely naked with a golden chainsaw and jumped in the shower.

That oddly does not surprise me. How do you spend your time behind the lens when you’re not doing music shoots?

It’s more or less my whole life. It kind of has to be.

And techy question—what’s your gear?

Nikon D810, kit lens and a proFoto 300 strobe.

Awesome. Thanks again for taking, Shervin.

Below, Shervin’s photos of some of our favorite artists—Sylvan Esso, the aforementioned Phoebe Bridgers, Maggie Rogers, and Wye Oak. Check out more of his work on his site and Shervin’s Instagram.

This month’s mixtape rides the wave of new music that continues to wash in this year as artists come out of creative hibernation and gear up for festival season—with SXSW now in the rear view, we’re still sifting through new discoveries, some of which made this mix, some of which will surface in months to come.

We’re starting out with North London duo Megan Markwick + Lily Somerville, better known as IDER, who reside somewhere in the Venn diagram overlap of R+B, folk, and electronic pop. We’re following the new up with some old though—fellow Brooklynite-turned-Angeleno and longtime favorite, Twin Shadow, (AKA George Lewis Jr) who brings us a danceable single featuring sisterly trio HAIM that has us very excited about the new album. Vienna’s Leyya follows Mr. Lewis with another uptempo single from their excellent full-length Sauna; then we’ve got a new one from the man who pretty much unanimously won SXSW last year, Anderson .Paak, and a fun one from Jacksonville newcomer Yuno (who happens to be hitting the road with Twin Shadow next month).

Brisbane’s Mallrat gives us a promising single and plays southern California next month; Bay Area artist Still Woozy stays nicely laid back with “Cooks”; some uncharacteristic but great, almost J-pop-ish music from Melbourne’s Woodes; we’ve got a great, string-filled single from fellow Maggie Rogers tour mate (in addition to the aforementioned HAIM) Caroline Rose (who wins for best cover photo ever—see below); and Oakland’s Madeline Kenney proves rhythmically + melodically agile with her track “Still Learning” (feat. Naytronix) (Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak + Flock of Dimes is working with Kenney on her next album which will inevitably be one of our favorites of whatever year it comes out).

After that, the mix careens into new wave/post punk territory with the bands Ought + Corridor—both out of Montreal—the return of NYC’s Parquet Courts, and much-buzzed-about Brits, Shame (they have an awesome video for another track that we couldn’t help but embed below). Finally, we’re easing into the great musical void and ending things off with one more Brisbane band—eclectic four piece Cub Sport, who bring us a glitchy R+B track “Good Guys Go”.

Enjoy the music and your respective lionlike weather, east + west coasts—lambs are supposedly right around the corner.

This is excellent:

By way of follow-up, of sorts, from our very first mixtape of the year, David Byrne has released an interpretation of his track “Everybody’s Coming to My House” (which kicked off that mix) by The Detroit School of Arts Vocal Jazz Ensemble.

He sets it and the larger project up:

A few months ago Eric Welles-Nyström, who I met through his work on William Onyeabor, came to me with an idea—what if we invited students and aspiring artists, filmmakers, choirs, animators, directors and actors in sometimes overlooked and underestimated cities and communities to create videos based around the songs on my new record. Besides having the potential of being really cool and inventive interpretations, this project might give the creativity tucked away in so many corners a chance to be seen and heard. Eric wanted to find people who personally embody the positivity I’ve been sharing in my Reasons to be Cheerful project—or who are actual representations of an American Utopia.

I loved the idea and immediately said, “Let’s do it!”

The first one is done and it is amazing. This interpretation of “Everybody’s Coming To My House” is transformative. To my eyes and ears it completely changes the meaning, heart and soul of the song. It is more welcoming and becomes more about inclusion and joy. We ARE all in the same house—if we want to be. I’m jealous, in some ways it’s better than my own version.

Watch + listen below (and click the full-screen toggle in the lower right for a better viewing experience).

What is it about February and new music?

Practically speaking, much of it likely has to do with not wanting to get lost in the pre-holiday white noise and giving enough time to recover from the slackening of attention that follows, but it’s nice to think of it as the creativity of the year slowly coming out of hibernation, giving some gigantic bear yawn before bounding out into the world, renewed and ready to do it all again but better.

And this month’s mixtape reflects just that, featuring the return of some of our favorite artists—Merrill Garbus’ Tune-Yards, whose just-release fourth album stands as her poppiest and perhaps strongest to date; Canadian musician Cecil Frena, who previously performed under the moniker Born Gold, and, before that, Gobble Gobble, and of whom we are very fond; Danielle Johnson AKA Danz AKA Computer Magic with her sophomore full-length out later this month (though, to be fair, she’s put out 10+ EPs and singles collections in the US and in Japan out over the past eight years; we did a now-old interview with Danz that still holds up for the interested); Sydney’s Middle Kids, who will celebrate their debut full-length in May; Philly’s most excellent Hop Along, who have a new one coming out in April; and, maybe most exciting off all, the long-awaited return of Wye Oak, with whom we kick things off.

Ever being ones to push our musical universe outward, we’re also highlighting many a newcomer, including Cape Town’s Amy Ayanda; the solo project of Columbus, Ohio’s Frances Litterski, Effee; NYC electronic duo Satellite Mode; Berlin-based artist O-SHIN; Queen of Smooth, Wafia, who’s based either in Australia or up the street (as with most musicians these days); some highly emotive electronic music from two more Australians—What So Not (AKA Emoh Instead AKA Chris Emerson) featuring a favorite find of 2016, Sydney musician BUOY; Manchester four piece New Luna with something catchy and promising; the very excellent undergrad Sidney Gish (we’ve got an interview with her we just did and should be posting next week); and Dublin band Cloud Castle Lake, whom we were lucky enough to catch earlier this week with an intimate set at Hotel Cafe, during which time our minds were fucking blown.

Honestly, if at least one of these bands doesn’t end up being your new favorite, we’re terrible at our jobs…technically being running a creative agency, but, in this case, consider us your new music sherpas. Please enjoy.

This month, I think a lot of us—ourselves included—are hoping for a good start to what will be a great year.

Well, it’s not really in our power to guarantee that, but we can promise a great start to this first mixtape of the year—a brand new song from none other than David Byrne.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard any new solo material from the ex-Talking Heads frontman, but he’s been far from idle. In addition to collaborating with artists such as Brian Eno and Annie Clark of St. Vincent over the years, writing his own musical, and popping up as a guest artist on myriad albums and performances, Byrne’s remained an outspoken and observant critic of art and popular culture, penning books, essays, and op/eds on everything from music theory to the death of creative culture in NYC. (He’s also a prolific mixtape contributor; in a time when we’re drastically cutting our email subscriptions, we highly recommend signing up of his newsletter; it’s solid.)

This new song is one that’s written with collaboration from Eno for Byrne’s coming solo album—American Utopia (out March 9)—and it’s a banger, as the kids say.

We’re following that one with another party-/protest-ready one from studio favorite Sylvan Esso—their just-released “PARAD(w/m)E” (…it’ll make sense when you hear it). Then “Midas” is one of many favorites off the wonderful debut by Leeds-based newcomers Noya Rao—well-worth checking out the full album from them though. Following that up with a couple nice thumping, dancey numbers from two Sydney-based musicians—Hayden James featuring GRAACE (also out of Sydney) and Basenji (not the dog) featuring Tkay Maidza (from Adelaide, which we hear is kinda near Sydney…meaning in Australia) before hitting a new one from experimental Philly band Palm and a track from a great EP by a new favorite, Gloucestershire duo Ardyn.

We’ve been pretty into New York trio Sunflower Bean since their 2016 debut, but, if their new single “I Was a Fool” is telling at all, we’re in for a much more mature, awesomely grooved out vibe from them that has us very jazzed for their follow-up in March. Following that up with two supergroups of sorts off of Berlin label Morr Music—Spirit Fest (comprising Japanese duo, Tenniscoats, and members of Notwist, Jam Money, and Joasihno) and Icelanders Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason (more from them on these pages soon).

Then another favorite, Maggie Rogers, debuted a new single last fall that we’re just getting around to highlighting—as with everything she touches, it is gold. And we’ve got a great track from yet another Sydney band—electronic duo Chymes—before moving on to a brand new one from Brooklyn’s Chrome Sparks featuring Angelica Bess. Finishing up with a slow-burn beauty from Swedish wünderkind Kasbo and a song from an album that’s quickly becoming one of after-the-fact favorites from 2017—The Kid from Los Angeles’ own Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith; it’s weird and wonderful and kinda everything we love—another that’s well-worth a listen beginning to end.

Enjoy.

Here we go, 2018!

Continuing our self-imposed tradition of hand-illustrated, hand-lettered holiday cards at year’s end, we decided to honor the memory of Mr. Thomas Earl Petty, who touched countless lives, our own included.

Happy 2018, friends; let’s live with love above all and burn through the hate with action.

Here’s Tom’s final performance of “Wildflowers” at the Hollywood Bowl, just over the hill from our house, last September.