Can’t. Stop. Listening.

Our most recent musical obsession of late is without a doubt Ryan Adams‘ ambitious, much-buzzed-about, bizarre, visionary (yes, I said visionary) beginning-to-end sequential cover of Taylor Swift‘s album 1989.

We’d heard about the project but, honestly, not thought much of it. Adams strikes me as a fairly sincere, nice guy, so I didn’t for a second think it was a tongue-in-cheek thing (which, it turns out, it is not), but I also didn’t expect it to be all that great in the end. Boy was I wrong about that. Whether you’re familiar with the original versions or not, whether you’re a Swift fan or not (I assume there are some people out there who don’t like Taytay, right?), it’s worth a listen. More than that, I’d wager there’s something there for most everyone. It lives and breathes as it’s own album almost, and I keep finding myself forgetting the songs’ origins…until Adams sadly croons “haters gonna hate hate hate” maybe.

As Adams told Rolling Stone recently, the project started off as a personal catharsis and his admiration for Swift and her music is, in fact, 100% sincere. When rumors of the Adams’ 1989 surfaced, Swift was nothing but genuinely excited to hear it. Once it came to fruition, Adams’ sent Swift everything and the two talked it out in detail the next day. And as Adams claims, that was originally going to be it—”I just wanted to make it for me and play it for her and be done,” he told Rolling Stone. But, after being encouraged by friends and Swift herself, Adams finally decided to let his 1989 live. And thank god he did, for it is awesome.

“It’s not a reimagining or a reconstruction at all,” Adams told Rolling Stone. “It’s a parallel universe. That’s how I think of it. We’re creating an alternate universe, like in Marvel Comics.”

Dude’s speaking my language. Give it a listen below.

(Adams’) 1989 is available now digitally and will soon enjoy CD + vinyl releases. Keep your fingers crossed for a Swift-Adams world tour.

A huge thanks to our college days friend, Jonathan, for this find.

Roman GianArthur is an Atlanta-based musician most commonly associated with Janelle Monáe‘s Wonderland Arts Society, an artists’ group that seems most simply described as eccentrically awesome R+B. Roman’s no exception. As Wonderland describes him:

“Like Stevie Wonder and Prince before him, Roman is a miracle in the making, a jaw-dropping singer, composer, arranger, producer, and performer —an innovative and inspiring 21st century redefinition of what it means to be an artist.”

Lofty words, but this first exposure we’ve experienced is very much innovative and inspiring. The project/EP—OK LADY—exists as a creatively beautiful, soulful mash up of Radiohead + D’Angelo covers…which is as strangely alluring as it sounds.

Listen below and download any and all tracks for free via GianArthur’s SoundCloud page. Monáe herself shows up on track 4.

We’re hereby presenting our September 2015 mixtape, an accumulation of new songs from largely new (to us) artist that have us excited in the studio.

This month, we start off with a Brooklyn band that we’re really loving of late, Eskimeaux, before moving on to Eliot Sumner, who we simply cannot stop listening to (we gave her a brief shout-out and caught her live at the beginning of this month, which we highly recommend doing). We’ve also got some great new tracks from glitchy London artist, Farao, NYC orchestral chamber pop group and longtime studio favorite Miracles of Modern Science (who we interviewed last week), and the much-buzzed-about (and worth of said buzz) Empress Of, who, we hear, is about to join our ranks as New Yorkers who move to Los Angeles. And much more music, of course.

Listen on, friends.

And, if you’re new to the mixtape series, feel free to check out past installments and/or navigate to music-related articles via the MUSIC tab in the right-hand column.

Brooklyn band Miracles of Modern Science has been a longtime favorite at raven + crow. Since we happened upon them opening up for an eccentric British band in a dark, off-the-beaten-path spot some six or seven years back, we’ve watched the band grow and improve with every step of their evolution. They’d likely best be described as chamber pop in one of its most literal interpretations, playing their poppy, catchy, remarkable originals and frequent covers with traditional stringed instruments and drums. We’ve featured MOMs on these pages a number of times before and even did a phone interview with band founders, singer/stand-up bassist, Evan Younger, and mandolinist, Josh Hirshfeld, in 2011.

Now, Miracles of Modern Science seems to be entering a new phase of their life as a band, releasing a second full-length—Mean Dreams—just last month full of refreshingly inventive departures to their song-writing, embarking on a massive US tour, and taking on some line-up changes, the most recent of which is the departure of longtime cellist, Geoff McDonald. We took a few minutes to talk with Evan on the road as they prep for a show in Hollywood tonight. Read on to hear about the band’s growing pains, check out their copious, always excellent covers, and read about what into the making of their new album.

raven + crow: So, we first caught you guys at Death by Audio in…maybe 2009? 2008? You all were opening for Micachu + the Shapes and Anni Rossi, which turned out to be an earth-shattering show all in all. We talked to you all back in 2011, but how have things been going for the band over the past few years?

Evan Younger: That was a great bill! It’s funny to think about though, because it feels like our entire “career” has happened since we last talked. We put out our first LP (and now our second), went on our first (and now fourth) US tour, and started making YouTube videos, which are now a big part of what we do. We’ve had our share of struggles and doubts in that time also, but they’ve made for good lyrical fodder for the new album.

Yeah, totally—we’ve really enjoyed watching you all “grow”, as it were. It was a huge, awesome surprise to discover three bands we ended up loving so much in that one fateful night in Brooklyn, and we’re glad you all are still making a go of it; beyond that, you all have just gotten better and better every year. But I feel like, the older we get, the harder it is to balance band life with work life or family life…or just other life in general. Have you all struggled keeping the band together and active while keeping everything else going?

Oh yes. When we’re not away on tour, we’re locked in our tiny studio all day (and stressed about whatever we’re currently writing/recording/mixing/shooting/editing). It takes a toll on relationships, friendships, sanity. Mean Dreams is more or less about that struggle—especially “Mothers in Jeans“, “Theme from the Magicians”, and “Fidget.”

All awesome songs, if it’s any consolation. Staying on the topic of terrible pain, I know it’s still fresh, but how has the loss of Geoff (former cellist) hit everyone—Geoff included?

The transition came at such a crazy time that we haven’t fully processed it. We’ve had videos to shoot, an album to release, a new cellist to find and had to get up to speed for a huge tour—so any questions about our creative identity we’ve had to shove aside for now. And Geoff is moving to Germany with a baby on the way, so I don’t think he has much time to ruminate either!

He helped record the new album though, right? Was this a decision he came to after or before doing that?

While we were writing and recording last year, Geoff was stretched very thin, with conducting jobs in multiple states and a long-distance girlfriend (now wife) in Germany. But we tried our best to work within his small pockets of availability. He and we both knew it was an unsustainable dynamic, but he was such a crucial creative force in the band that we felt compelled to see the album through with him. It was only after we finished that he got the news that he was going to be a father, and that made his decision obvious.

It sounds like it tipped the already tipping scales for him and you all. And now the MOMs are all uncles, so that’s great. How’s Kirin fitting into the fold then? It must be tough to suddenly be thrust into this tight-knit group, three of you who’ve been at it since the beginning, right?

We came to her with such a crazy ask—”Hey, are you free for 2 months of touring, starting in 2 weeks? You’ll have to learn our entire repertoire. Oh, and we need to shoot 3 music videos before we leave.”—that I’m amazed how well she’s rolled with the punches. We do have a massive back catalog of inside jokes, but she’s catching up quickly.

Seems like. Bigs ups to Kirin! Great video for “Follow Your Heart (or Something)“, by the way. GoPro + jogging around Greenpoint is a winning combination. Was that song lyrically a sort of play on the pop anthems of today?

Thank you! We weren’t trying to parody anything in particular. We had written this rah-rah arena-rock chorus, but we were feeling pretty downtrodden and cynical, so we had trouble writing anything earnest and uplifting without scare quotes. So we ran with that—the group vocals deliver the uplifting message, and the lead vocals undercut it with doubts.

Sounds very life-like. Are you all working on any other videos for singles from the album?

We just put one out for “Mothers in Jeans” and we have two more in the can—one for “The Chop” that has some stop motion elements, and a dance-based video for “Bad Body“. We have an idea for “Don’t Feed the Party Animal” we’re excited to shoot when we’re back from tour.

That all sounds 100% awesome. We’re huge fans of the single you all recently released, “JimJams“. It seems like a bit of a departure in terms of the nuanced sound. It’s definitely still you all, but with the plucky melodies and especially Serge’s hyperactive drumming, it seems like you all were pushing for something new—true?

Serge was pretty new to the band when we started writing “Jimjams”, and his drumming definitely shaped the direction of the song. The song began life with Josh’s opening mandolin riff, but it went into the “must finish” pile once Serge started playing crazy breakbeats over it.

Yeah, it comes through that the drumming drove the song, in a way I really love. And the rest of the album—do you feel like it’s a lot of departure or forced growth from you all?

Yeah. We’ve kept the same instrumentation across every album—that has been, so far, our defining creative limitation. But most of all we wanted to write better songs on this album. We used to drape lyrics over otherwise finished songs, almost as a reluctant afterthought. But this time we set out to write coherent lyrics that would seem to motivate the musical moods and structures, even if the instrumental parts were written first.

No, we’ve noticed a certain lack of tongue-in-cheek sci-fi steampunk themes. I like sci-fi steampunk, but I’m probably a bigger fan of sincerity in lyrics. Tell us about the album title, though—Mean Dreams.

It came about as a playful iteration of MEEMS, the title of our previous release. But once it was uttered, we realized the album is about our “mean dreams”—in multiple senses of both words.

Got it. I’m definitely getting a clearer picture of the struggle you all have faced as a band over the years. In between albums though, you all do some really, truly great covers—anything new you all are working up for tour?

We just put out a cover of “Lean On” by Major Lazer/DJ Snake/MØ, and we’ve got a couple more on the way.

Oh, totally love that new Major Lazer album. It’s got some great stuff. How’s tour going so far? It’s a pretty big one.

Before we left, I was more stressed than excited, since it was such a mad scramble to get everything done before we left. But now that we’re on the road, we’re having a blast.

Looks like from the various social medias. Nice Breaking Bad shot, by the way. Any non-show plans at along the way? Scale the letters of the Hollywood sign? See that giant ball of yarn, wherever it is? Find your spirit animals?

We don’t have too many days off, honestly! But our best tour adventures are usually unplanned. We’ll keep you posted….

Please do! And have a great show tonight.

MOMs play the Hotel Cafe in our neighborhood tonight—if you’re around, you should go. Check their Facebook page to see when they’re hitting a town near you and visit the band’s site to order their new album, Mean Dreams, in physical or digital formats.

Check out the video for “Mothers in Jeans” below.

A song that’s been in heavy rotation at KCRW of late and caught our ear is Eliot Sumner‘s excellent “After Dark”.

Little did we know that Sumner is the daughter of Sting and Trudie Styler and lent her vocals to myriad songs over the years, including our favorite Miike Snow track, 2009’s “Animal”.

Her unique vocal style plays out well over her own work, which is subtly catchy and just poppy enough. KCRW’s featuring “After Dark” as today’s Top Tune, so head over to their site to download the track for free today only. She’s also playing a show tonight at the Echo with the also excellent trio, On and On.

“After Dark” comes from Sumner’s just-released EP, SMPLR, which you can listen to + buy via iTunes.

The new single from Los Angeles indie heroes Silversun Pickups has been burning up the airwaves of KCRW of late, and we have to say, we’re fans.

The track—titled “Nightlight”—is one of those songs that’s just jam-packed with melodica hooks; to the point of absurdity. I mean, beautiful, ear-worm absurdity, but absurdity nonetheless. It’s like, “Oh, here’s the hook. Nice…. Wait, no, that’s the hook. Okay, cool, I like it…. Wait, wait. THAT’S the hook.”

And then there are, like, three new vocal hooks. Followed by a new keyboard hook right after the first chorus. It’s crazy, I tell you; CRAZY! But awesome-crazy.

The video for the song is equally over-the-top in a very dramatic, extremely LA-noir-cinematic way. Directed by Mark Pellington and starring Meg Steedle, it’s got it all—dark city-scapes of Los Angeles; beautiful, nearly dressed women; random blood splattering; creepy hotels; weird contact lenses; you name it.

All jokes aside, it’s pretty cool. Give it a look/listen/shiver.

Silversun’s new LP—their fourth proper studio album, Better Nature, comes out September 25th and can be pre-ordered in all its various formats now via the band’s site. Silversun are touring now and likely hitting a venue near you; likewise, check their site for more details.

Posting our eighth consecutive monthly mixtape today, featuring new songs from some longtime favorites like Oxford’s Foals, Danish prog-rockers Mew, and Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, newly renamed Jr Jr (which evidently the real Dale Earnhardt Jr is kinda bummed about).

We’ve also got some great songs from newcomers like Swedish folk trio Small Feet, North Carolina’s emotively, blissfully chaotic Adjy, and Stolen Jars, who we interviewed early this year and who’s planning their full-length debut later this month (free downloads of the three singles from that album on the band’s site, by the way).

Enjoy!

Sharing a track that premiered a little earlier this month and has been gradually working its way up our lists of favorites of late.

“Feel You” is a sadly beautiful pop song by Julia Holter that wanders from a gently driving, catchy verse to open, more sweeping choruses, giving us a bittersweet glimpse into the Los Angeles native’s song-writing.

The video features Holter and her dog, exploring southern California parkland, brooding in apartments, and looking wistfully into the distance together. I welcome the dog on any and all future video and/or song-writing collaborations. You can see it in his eyes—old soul with that one.

“Feel You” is the first single from Holter’s forthcoming album, Have You in My Wilderness, which is out September 25 and can be pre-ordered via Domino.

This is weird—I was 100% sure that we had featured Las Vegas-based Shamir on one of our monthly mixtapes. Turns out, I’m 100% wrong. I think it’s a matter of him not having recent work available via his SoundCloud account, but, regardless, the dude is awesome. And he just announced his first ever headlining US tour, which we’re excited about.

To celebrate, watch his video for what has to be our summer party hit, “On the Regular”, and prepare to be wowed.

Heroes of Hoboken, Yo La Tengo, just released this dreamy cover of The Cure‘s classic 90s hit “Friday I’m in Love” and, along with it, this less dreamy, more nightmarish video in which singer/drummer Georgia Hubley starts off wandering through Silver Lake picking up little toys and then…well, just watch.

And happy Friday!