Wild Country EP by Wake Owl

   You may remember that we featured the lead single to this EP a couple of months ago, and yesterday, the whole thing finally came out. It's got a couple of very solid tracks, that I think most of you will enjoy. It sort of has an Avett Brothers-esque sound, without any instrumentation that's too wild and crazy. The voice pairs nicely with the accompaniment, and the two complement each other. If you're looking for some standout tracks, I would recommend "Wild Country,""Gold," and "Seaside." But honestly, its 20 minutes long, so listen to the whole fucking thing, don't be such a scrub.
Moistness Level: SWAMPY

Wait So Long by Trampled By Turtles

Trampled By Turtles is a modern day bluegrass band, and this is their most popular song. You're gonna have to blast this, and tap/pound on your steering wheel along with the beat. And it will be glorious. Check out the accompanying video too, because it's got some really cool shots of them playing.
Moistness level: DAMP

The Oh Hello's

There's something about free music that just intoxicates me. If your cousin Joe in Boise has a mixtape, let me know because I'd love to download it and have it sit in my Itunes for a couple months until I finally listen to it. I must've downloaded this album a couple of months ago, because I had never heard it until a couple of days ago. Anyway, it's only four tracks, so it'll run you about 15 minutes to listen to the whole thing (which I recommend). But if you're looking for just one song, the first one, "Hello My Old Heart" is definitely worth a listen. And the entire album is available, for free, on their Bandcamp page.
Moistness Level: Drizzling

When it Rains by Dag Savage feat. Aloe Blacc

Is this the kind of music rappers are making now? Maybe it's time to get back into rap, because this stuff is great. You've got a little soul-style singing in there, and an old school style beat, and a classic flow from Dag Savage. Also, if you watch the music video, we're practically required to post this song. Soooo much water imagery.
Moistness Level: Flooding your basement

I Wonder by Rodriguez

This guy, Rodriguez, had been a construction worker for most of his life. He recorded two albums in the early 70's, but they were a complete flop, so he moved on. Meanwhile, in South Africa, someone had bootlegged a copy of the record, and it had gone viral. According to this fuckin awesome documentary about him, he was bigger than Elvis and The Rolling Stones. The entire country thought he was dead, until 1996 when some folks found him, and brought him back for a huge sold-out tour. Can't even begin to explain how crazy of a story this is. Definitely a shame that he wasn't appreciated in his own country.
Moistness Level: Sopping

Near Light by Ólafur Arnalds

This guy is one of the cooler musicians we've featured here. He's an Icelandic chamber musician and composer. This whole album was recorded in his living room in Reykjavík, Iceland, and videotaped. A crazy little tidbit, all the musicians playing in that video are related to him, which I think is pretty wild. It's got no words, but if that doesn't scare you off, you're in for the most relaxing three and a half minutes of your day. 

 

Smash Mouth - Walkin' On The Sun

Possibly one of the greatest songs of the 1990's and one that often gets overlooked, due to a certain overrated song that glitters a tad to much to be considered gold.  This may have been my first CD purchase ever, which will be a very antiquated sentence in a few years.  This band was also possibly the drunkest, sloppiest, skeevyest, trashiest, and greatest concerts I have ever been to.
Moistness Level: SLOPPY

Up, Up, and Away by The Fifth Dimension

    This is just a feel-good song. A great example of mid-60's exuberance (if that was even a thing, maybe it was just this song), this song simply makes ya feel good. Lots of soaring vocals, and fitting background music makes you literally feel like you're in a hot air balloon. Not actually, but it definitely makes you think about how cool a hot air balloon would be.
Moistness Level: DAMP

Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Perpetuum

You've heard this somewhere.  You know you have.  You stop wondering where you've heard it in just enough time to realize how sturdy the piece is, though it is made of many moving parts.  You listen to the cello part individually, and realize how scattered and oddly places his notes come in, but then zoom out and realize that it is just a thread in the tapestry, and that this song might be your favorite song ever.
Moistness Level: Dripping

The Stooges Brass Band- Stooges Party

So here's your semi-regular Friday song to turn up all the way and jam out to after your classes and or work are finished for the long weekend.  This weeks pick is an interesting one.  The Stooges Brass Band are exactly that.  A brass band.  But they rap, and sing, and do cool stuff that you may not expect from a brass band.  They're like the roots, if the roots were more big band influenced then rap influenced.  But unlike that group your high school band director shows you to try and convince you that the genre is still hip, this is actually cool.  Real cool.  Mix it into your party tonight, if you can get away with it.  Bring a smile to a band director somewheres face. Also if you want an explicit rap song sung by a brass band, check out "We make em say ooo" here

Widowspeak - Almanac

Now i realize this may not fit the traditional set of links we provide.  But not to worry, we have not sold out (but if anyones buying let us know...) but are merely suggesting after reading this post and showering the rest of our website with the attention and praise it deserves, wander on over to this particular page on NPR and check out this album.  It hasn't dropped yet but its worth the early listen.  Its really really good.  Somewhere between Piers Faccini (see moist melodies), M83 (see moist melodies, and Lana del Rey (See Moist melodies).  Basically this album is a combination of a lot of sounds we like and it is something all its own.  Give it a listen. Than get back inside to moist melodies, dinners almost ready. http://www.npr.org/2013/01/13/169049970/first-listen-widowspeak-almanac#playlist

Sam & Dave - Soothe Me

I have a major soft spot for some good ol Chicago style blues and soul.  "The Blues Brothers" is one of my favorite films, and if you are a beginner to the genre, the soundtrack of that film, or simply watching it will peak your interests in the genre as it did for me.  Sam and Dave were incredibly prolific in this genre and while their songs such as "Soul Man" and "Hold on, I'm Coming" are well known, for some reason their names are not on the level of say, Ray Charles.  Now i'll step down off my soapbox, but listen to this song. Its good. I like it.

New Album: "Fool Moon" by WIDOWER

   

     WIDOWER is a folk band out of Seattle, who, yesterday released their first album since 2008. Expectations for this album were high, as the lead single (which we actually posted about here) attracted a lot of positive reviews. I sat down today to listen to it, and loved it. It opened with a raucous rock song that took me by surprise, but ended up being one of my favorite tracks. Eventually, it does slow down a little bit, in the vein of "Oh Catherine, My Catherine," the album's much softer lead single.  This is another album that I'd love to get around to doing a full review of if I ever have time, but for now, my "review" will be that it's good, and that I think you will enjoy listening to it. A link to purchase/stream the album, or simply stream below.

 

Run Wild by IAMWE

    So Moist Melodies has kinda been around for a couple months now, and it's been really cool so far. We're far from being an "established" blog, but we've certainly improved our visibility a little bit. One unexpected result of that, is that up and coming musicians have been trying to get their music featured on our site. Whether by e-mail or Twitter, more than a handful of bands have reached out to us to have us take a listen to their music. I speak for myself when I say that I've glossed over a lot of them, and I'm not sure why. I finally started going through some of them, and the first one I listened to was an instant attention-grabber.
    IAMWE, a band out of Phoenix, AZ reached out to us over Twitter a couple of days ago, and I finally listened to (and downloaded) their free single, "So They Say." Starting off with a sweet drum beat, the song moves from kind of a slow start, to a rousing chorus, all while maintaining the drum beat that drew you in initially. Listen, and download the song below. And keep sending us music!

New Album: "Tropic" by Pickering Pick

     Sam Pickering Pick, and his musical pseudonym Pickering Pick (I can't say for sure if his last name is simply perfect for his profession, or if he changed it) just released the album Tropic today, January 15. Hailing from the south of England (near Bristol, for those that care), he moved to Northern California to record this soft, acoustic guitar-driven, folk album. I've made it through one listen (many more to come, I'm sure), and I don't want to speak prematurely, but it's a damn fine piece of music. Maybe one day soon I'll get my act together, and write a full review, but for now, I encourage you to listen to it below, and if you like it, buy it here. If you're looking for a standout track, I'd reccommend either "Rising Sign" or "Standing Stone."

I Forget You by Bago

    Not sure exactly what genre this is; if I had to put a label on it, I'd say it was a combination of soul, witch music, and maybe a little dubstep. I don't really know, if we're honest, I think genre labels are becoming a lot less useful in the internet age, but I digress. Basically, it's a haunting track, but the voices fit perfectly with the mood of the song. Also, please note that you can download this song for free. And the entire album, if you so please, right here on their soundcloud. Unfortunately, you're gonna have to go through each song individually, but if you like it, it's worth it. 

Also, A+ for the album cover featuring O.J. Simpson. Great when a band from LA gets LA. 

Superman by Goldfinger

    I have been looking for this song basically since I first played Tony Hawk Pro Skater, all the way back in probably 2nd grade. Last night, while pwning some n00bs in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, I finally found this song. And it's just as good as I remember. Makes you want to go out and stand at a staircase all day, do some graffiti and shred some rails on a skateboard. Maybe I'll just stick to video games.

A Soldier's Burden by Brett Detar

Oh wow, look how fancy this is. That's an individualized song-streamer, AND a free download of the song. That's not something you get every day. And luckily, it's a good song too. Thanks Brett Detar. Inspired, at least partially, by his father's service in Vietnam, this song doesn't share many of the traits of other war songs. While far from upbeat, it certainly does not qualify as a dreary song. Which is nice, nobody wants to be sad. Enjoy, and download the song if you like it. In fact, you can get an entire album for free at his website. Enjoy!

Collie Man by Slightly Stoopid

This Slightly Stoopid is infinitely catchy. It just makes you want to go cruising in the sun somewhere. Give it a listen, and although you've probably heard it before, maybe you never knew the title, or maybe you need to go listen to it again, because it's as good as ever.

The Most Logical Thing by Silent Old Mtns.

This song is catchy as hell, and that's really all there is to it. It's got horns in it, so that's pretty cool and unique I guess. I don't know anything about the band, but I've listened to their whole "Velvet Racoon" album (which you can listen to, here) and it's all really good as well. Enjoy.

The Doors

     I hate to admit this, but I've never given The Doors much of a chance. I like all their popular songs, I know who Jim Morrison is, etc. but I never got The Doors. But today, on a whim, I listened to their self-titled debut (I think?) album, and holy shit. I get it man, these guys are good. The fans who toured with this band year after year didn't do it just for the drugs, it appears. Take a listen to this off the beaten track song, and if you like it, I'd recommend the whole album. Also, if anyone out there could make this happen, I'd love to just hear all the keyboard solos just like, on their own. Because they are sick.

Some sweet rock and roll to restore some masculinity after those last two posts...

More Swedish Fish for your ears

If you liked the first one, you'll like this. if you didnt like the first, you might not like this either, listen to it, or don't, we don't mind.  But its good. Its so good. Enjoy!

Veronica Maggio - Jag Kommer

This song is so damn catchy, the singer is so damn cute and also, its so goddam catchy! Enjoy a little candy for your eardrums thats obscure and european and swedish enough to be considered cool.  Its like swedish fish for your eardrums.  Swedish fish are an underrated candy. Except for the mixed colored ones, those suck, all red for me please....

Valerie by Amy Winehouse

This is one of the best semi-live female vocal recordings I've ever heard.  Thats not hyperbole.  Before she died Amy Winehouse made some outstanding music.  This song is why its so good. its the simpler, darker, more stylish, better sung, ballsier version of whatever artists like Adele and to an extent Florence and the Machine are trying to accomplish today.  I defy you to find a better vocal performance than this one right here.  That said, Enjoy :) and ignore the annoying french at the beginning, just skip in a few seconds.

Houndmouth EP

The "Houndmouth EP", which came out this past August, is the first taste we've gotten of this Louisville, Kentucky band. It's only four songs, but there is a ton of potential there. There are two lead singers, one male and one female, which makes for some awesome harmonies, over a sound that is reminiscent of The Band. I guess it's a pretty big deal for a band to be drawing that type of comparison so early in their careers, but it's definitely a valid one. Give it a listen above, and click the link for purchase information. You'll find that outside the UK, you'll have to buy a digital copy, because vinyls and CD's only ship inside the UK. Which sucks. And is a pretty poor reflection on us, as American music fans. Regardless, we've got some good sounds coming out of Louisville. Listen after the break.

The Moist Melodies End-of-Year List

After much anticipation, it’s finally here. The first ever Moist Melodies end-of-year list. We are not going to say that these are the “best” albums of the year, because that would be stepping out of our roles. There are plenty of albums out there that may be “better” (whatever that even means), that we simply did not hear. If you think we really missed the mark, let us know in the comments! Basically, this is just a list of albums that came out this year, that we particularly enjoyed listening to. The two of us disagreed on some, agreed on others. Basically, if an album is included on this list, we feel very confident recommending it to you. We tried to include one or two particularly good songs from each album to give you a little preview. Purchase/download information is included in the links. Support the artists! Or just pirate the albums and go to some concerts. Hit "Read More" to see the list.

I Found You by Alabama Shakes

   
   If you haven't already heard of the Alabama Shakes, you should. They're a undeniably cool band.  They're a catchy blend of old country blues, rock and roll and soul, which when put together, sounds incredible. This is thanks, in large part to the woman lead singer who has more soul and blues in her voice than most men in the genre combined.  Listen to this song, then download their album and listen to the rest of that too.

  

Circuital by My Morning Jacket

I'll admit, I've been avoiding listening to this band because their name reminds me of the types of bands kids in middle school would listen to while they smoked cigarettes after school to be cool. If you can get past that stigma, you'll find that this band, and song, are pretty awesome. It starts out pretty with some atmospheric synths, that give way to the bass line that pretty much defines the song. Some Local Natives-esque vocals follow, and it gradually builds to a rousing rock song. Hope you enjoy it.