This is the first One-Liners of 2020 — the first of many, I suspect. I’ll be focusing on a larger project for the next few months and will be leaning heavily on this less-robust-but-nevertheless-useful format.
For the first one, I have a bunch of good recommendations. Not all are profoundly new — I’m finding that trying to aggressively follow a discernible news cycle is not something for which this site is built. Anyway, let’s carry on and get to the music already.
Holiday Sidewinder – ‘Stay Another Day’
Tender earnestness doused with a fraught sense of impending loss. Stream the King Amour release below.
Outblack & Zhee – ‘Then Again’
The latest single from Anoraak’s poignant and compelling R&B side project Outblack is beautiful — Zhee’s guest vox, in particular, are a revelation. Stream the latest gem now, released via Anoraak’s own Endless Summer. (And don’t forget to embrace Anoraak’s nu-disco vibes.)
Repeated Viewing and Timothy Fife – Paranormal Sounds of the Synthesizer
A hauntingly challenging split that will invoke some unsettling but nevertheless fulfilling emotions. Get it via Burning Witches Records. (Regular Vehlinggo readers are anything but new to either Repeated Viewing or Timothy Fife, btw.)
Macintosh Plus – ‘Sick & Panic’
One of the pioneers of vaporwave returns with a beautiful experiment in deconstruction that *sort of* sounds like SOPHIE put through the Large Hadron Collider and blended with the atomic essence of Macintosh Plus’ groundbreaking 2001 LP Floral Shoppe. The artist AKA Vektroid never disappoints. Out now.
Daniel Lopatin – Uncut Gems (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Daniel Lopatin previously scored a Safdie Bros. film under his more well-known pseudonym, Oneohtrix Point Never, but for his kosmische-laced, Vangelis-drenched score to the frenetic Uncut Gems, Lopatin sheds the moniker and provides us with one of his finest releases. Buy the vinyl, FLAC, and other formats straight from Warp.
Cinnamon Chasers – She Loves
What a rewarding pair of songs from a longtime stalwart of synthy bliss. Out now via Modus Recordings. Little-known fact: The British musician AKA Russ Davies is the half-brother of John Carpenter fixture Daniel Davies. A knack for writing good music runs in their family, certainly.
Centric81 – Colours
On his first new album in a couple years, the artist formerly known as Syntax will bring you back to the celestial realm in no time. Out now via Rosso Corsa.
The Chap – Digital Technology
The witty and talented UK band returns with a catchy and incisive collection of synth-laden rock and pop songs. Out Friday via Lo Recordings.
And just because….
(Editor’s Note: As established in this post, the One-Liners column is a concise but meaningful way to highlight Vehlinggo-recommended releases. It’s not exactly weekly, but it can be. Entries are almost never one line, but they could be. Check out the most recent one before this new post.)
