Showing posts with label Crystal Lake IL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crystal Lake IL. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

bdphones - Turning Off (Love Songs) [2012]


Okay, so this tape dropped onto the web a couple months ago and I've been continuously meaning (and subsequently forgetting) to post it. For those of you who haven't read my previous Bedphones post (just click the link already), the now-named bdphones plays some rather beautiful pop songs that are hard to pin down stylistically. It's not that the music jumps around a lot; it's more like you can hear that the guy has a lot of original ideas and cool influences that he channels into these very unique, gorgeously-produced, hypnotic folk ballads augmented by synthesized guitar, mandolins, electronic rhythms, and vocals that arrive on your ear's doorstep with a haunting melancholy. I honestly can't recommend this enough, so if you trust anything I ever say about music, dear reader, do yourself a favor and snatch this release. Damaged outsider pop jams, these are, in the best way possible.

Turning Off was released digitally (fo' free) back in May but it doesn't appear to be available yet physically. In the meantime, you can acquire all manner of quality DIY wares from SSF Tapes, who puts out bdphones' music.


bdphones bandcamp
bdphones soundcloud
SSF Tapes bigcartel

Monday, February 13, 2012

Bedphones - The Exchange CS [2011]


This tremendously ear-pleasing cassette came out on SSF Tapes (+tumblr blogspot) about eight months ago. It's sofa-king good. Bedphones is a one-man avant-pop project from the periphery of Chicagoland (namely, Crystal Lake, Illinois). The sound is pretty eclectic, with acoustic guitars, 'lectric beats, ethereal vocals, mandolins, and keyboard-ish stuff coming together to make a really comfy grey-day listen. (Not that it sounds 'grey' or bland, mind you, but rather it is something to keep your mind awake on that sort of day -- and we get plenty of those during Midwestern winters/springs/autumns). I've been spinning this pretty frequently since I got it in the mail, and it's one of those albums that just kind of feels good to listen to. Relaxing, engaging, and original. I can't speak from experience, but this tape would probably go great with opiates (*not endorsing the use of opiates).

Bedphones will have a new release in the near future, also on SSF, so keep your eyes/ears/nose/tongue/skin/kinesthetic sensors open!

I should also take a second to once again plug the SSF Tapes label, where you can find cheap-as-free tape releases by Acidic Tree, Gunther, and WEYE. In addition to that, there are a bunch of great zines there that are worth buying/trading for and reading/passing around to all your friends. Get into it or pose, dawg.

Buy a tape, or get a free FLAC copy
wet my lips to dissolve her lysergic kiss