Fresh Track: How to Dress Well “Ocean Floor for Everything”
Hauntingly beautiful. That is how I describe the sound that comes from Chicago-based Tom Krell, AKA How To Dress Well. A mix of R&B undertones, fuzzy lo-fi, falsetto vocals, and electronica, it doesn’t follow any structure other than that of heart and soul. When listening, you suspend your immediate reality and live in a world of memories, both memorable for their bliss as well as pain. Its nostalgic core reminds me of listing to the crackle and fuzz of a record spinning in place or watching leaves blow in the wind; it let’s me see and notice the grandeur in the small things that exist all around us in life.
“Ocean Floor For Everything” is latest single from the next album entitled Total Loss due out later this year. The album is the follow up to 2010’s ridiculously fantastic Love Remains record which featured one of my personal favorite songs ever written in “You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Going”. Here, Tom’s creative ingenuity gives us a breathtakingly beautiful R&B feel over drippy keyboards. Enjoy it below.
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Written by Greg Dahman
Video: Serengeti “Don’t Blame Steve”
Serengeti’s latest EP sees him reprising his role as Kenny Dennis, a 40 something, O’Doul’s swigging, Brat eating Chicago sports diehard. It’s a big style switch from the introspective, storytelling style he’s perfected on his last couple releases (My 2011 album of the year Family & Friends and his collaborative EP Beak & Claw with Sufjan Stevens and Son Lux), but Geti sounds as comfortable as ever in the role. Joining west coast label Anticon has proven to be a great move for Serengeti, giving him access to several talented producers that the label houses. This EP marks the first time he’s worked with Anticon super-producers Jel and Odd Nosdam, who are also producing his upcoming LP C.A.R., set to drop in June.
Kenny Dennis has been one of rap’s best alter egos for a while now, but he takes things to another level on the song “Don’t Blame Steve”. You see, Kenny is a Cubs fan. Not just any Cubs fan, but a fan who was sitting next to Steve Bartman on October 14th, 2003. Kenny says he, not Bartman, knocked the ball down and wants to set the record straight- “Team collapsed, 8 runs in the 8th, errors, managerial and pitcher mistakes. But they blamed it all on the fellow, to my left”. Kenny goes on a tirade, rattling off the name of every obscure Cub that should be blamed instead of Steve and insists “if a ball comes at ya, you knock it down”. As great as the song is by itself, Serengeti’s video for “Don’t Blame Steve” is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
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Written by John Bugbee
Fresh Track: Open Mike Eagle “5ree Thinkers”
Originally hailing from Chicago, rapper Open Mike Eagle has been carving out a niche on the west coast independent hip hop scene for a few years now. Mike’s crew the Swim Team is the next generation of Cali’s legendary Project Blowed collective, but lately his work has been putting him in a class all his own. Since the release of his strong sophomore album Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes last year, Mike has released two stellar EP’s to prep for his upcoming LP in June.
“5ree Thinkers” is the first track off his latest EP Rent Party Extension and has quickly become one of my favorite Open Mike Eagle songs. Mike has always had something to say on the mic, but his style has become more distinct and nuanced on recent material and 5ree Thinkers might be his most evolved song yet. Open Mike lets listeners know he’s “on that free thinking double talk, my peoples out there like NASA space shuttle walks”. It’s this type of attitude and self-awareness that has helped Mike cultivate a style all his own that is becoming more insightful and artistically fragmented with each release. In the third verse, Mike even references an episode of the classic live action sitcom “Dinosaurs,” stating that it contained the explanation for all the secrets of the world. Heady stuff Mike, heady stuff. Grab a free copy Open Mike Eagle’s Rent Party Extension EP.
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Written by John Bugbee
Thought on Tracks 