36. Niki & The Dove - ‘Instinct’ + Dolin and Soda

Niki & The Dove - ‘Instinct’ + Dolin and Soda

Ingredients: 2 ounces Dolin Blanc vermouth, 2 ounces seltzer or soda water, strawberry or plum wedge for garnish

Mixing Instructions: In an ice-filled glass, stir together Dolin and soda water.  Garnish with fruit. (via Saveur)

Notes: Some things are beautifully in their precision - ‘Instinct’ + Dolin and Soda both fall into that category.  It is evident that the two years spent crafting this debut album were well spent with each beat, synthesizer and vocal carefully curated.  The end result, a windswept pop/dance album that feels like so much more.  Skaal!!

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

35. Trampled by Turtles - ‘Stars & Satellites’ + The 56 Julep

Trampled by Turtles - ‘Stars & Satellites’ + The 56 Julep

Ingredients: 2 1/2 ounces Wild Turkey 101, 3 sprigs of mint (six to eight mature-sized leaves), 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar, 1/2 cup crushed ice

Mixing Instructions: In a traditional silver julep cup or double-old fashioned glass, muddle two sprigs of mint with the brown sugar and one ounce of Wild Turkey 101 for a few minutes, crushing the mint leaves with a spoon.  Add the crushed ice, the remaining bourbon, and garnish with a sprig of mint. (via Buzzfeed)

Notes: Some bands are meant to mature at their own pace like a good wine or whiskey.  This Duluth, MN bluegrass band has built their following slowly, coming into the national spotlight in 2010 with the release of Palomino, their fifth album.Two years later they’re back with a more mellow and refined sound, interspersed with a few of their fast-paced ramblers.  Few genres of music tie together better than bluegrass and bourbon…enjoy this slight variation of the mint julep as Tramped by Turtles lull you into the night.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

34. The Temper Trap - ‘Temper Trap’ + Indian Lime Soda

The Temper Trap - ‘Temper Trap’ + Indian Lime Soda

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounces gin, 1/2 ounces simple syrup, soda water or seltzer, juice of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon cumin, 2 tablespoons celery salt, lime slice

Mixing Instructions: Dip the rim of an old-fashioned glass in a plate containing 1/2 the lime juice.  Combine the cumin and celery salt on a plate and dab the rim of the glass in it so that only the outer edge is covered. Fill the glass with ice, add the gin, remaining lime juice, and simple syrup.  Top off with soda water then sprinkle with a pinch of the cumin-and-salt mixture.  Garnish with lime slice. (via GQ)

Notes: The band’s sophomore album took quite a few whacks from the critics, but don’t let the opinion of a few scare you off too quickly.  Sometimes one has to do a little mining to find the gems.  Mix your drink during the opening track, ‘Need Your Love’ and use ‘London’s Burning’ as an opportunity for a quick bathroom break before settling back in for ‘Trembling Hands’, a melodic beauty and the album’s winner.  Other highlights include ‘Miracle’, ‘Never Again’ & ‘Rabbit Hole.’    

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

33. First Aid Kit - ‘The Lion’s Roar’ + Planter’s Punch

First Aid Kit - ‘The Lion’s Roar’ + Planter’s Punch

Ingredients: 3 ounces dark rum, 1 ounce lime juice, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, 1/2 ounce grenadine, 1/4 teaspoon superfine sugar.

Mixing Instructions: Stir well with ice then strain into a highball filled with ice.  Stick a straw in it and garnish with a lemon.

Notes: The voices of the young Soderberg sisters (Swedish) blend together in a sweet and delicious way like, well…rum, citrus and sugar.  There must be something in the Scandinavian water as the album channels classic Americana spirits from Joni Mitchell to June Carter in a way that feels eerily similar to Kristian Matsson’s (Tallest Man on Earth) connection to Bob Dylan.  Mesmerizing harmonies, sweet, smooth — an earnest effort that will give you reason to pause and sip your  punch as a flood of youthful memories come rushing back.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

32. JEFF the brotherhood - 'Hypnotic Nights' + Margarita

JEFF the brotherhood - Hypnotic Nights + Margarita

Ingredients: 1.5 oz tequila, 1/2 oz triple sec, 1 oz lime juice

Mixing instructions: Rum the rim of your cocktail glass with lime juice, dip in salt.  Shake ingredients with ice, strain into glass, enjoy.

Note: It’s the album of the summer, for those who’ll have it.  Take your portable turntable outdoors, grab a margarita (or a pitcher of, perhaps), and let JEFF the brotherhood solidify your closing summer memories to music. 

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||    Insound

31. The Walkmen - ‘Heaven’ + Rob Roy

The Walkmen - ‘Heaven’ + Rob Roy

Ingredients: 2 ounces blended Scotch whisky, 3/4 ounce Italian vermouth, 1 dash Angostura bitters.

Mixing Instructions: Shake whisky, vermouth and bitters vigorously with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of lemon.

Notes: From the opening track, “We Can’t Be Beat” come these throat-tightening lyrics, 'Oh, golden dreams all lose their glow/Oh, I don't need perfection, I love the whole.'  This album is anti-rock & roll in many ways and it’s refreshing — it’s what happens when adults make music, people who have let go of many things yet found firmer ground in the process.  Songs like “Heaven” make it clear that The Walkmen are comfortable with who they are at this point…it seems this freedom has allowed them to make music with both weight and glory.  A classic.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

30. The Tallest Man on Earth - ‘There’s No Leaving Now’ + Black Velvet

The Tallest Man on Earth - ‘There’s No Leaving Now’ + Black Velvet

Ingredients:  Guinness Stout, Brut champagne

Mixing Instructions: Half-fill a Collins glass with stout and top up slowly with champagne.  Stir gently.

Notes:  Albums prior would have called for a Guinness by itself…this one finds Kristian Matsson with a little more silver than steel.  The grit is still there, but it’s bit more tempered.  With that said, his voice still captivates as much as ever, just damn good music.  Enjoy.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

29. Purity Ring - ‘Shrines' + Vodka Gimlet

Purity Ring - ‘Shrines' + Vodka Gimlet

Ingredients:  1.5 oz Vodka, 3/4 oz lime juice, 3-4 lime slices

Mixing Instructions:  Pour vodka and lime juice into mixing glass.  Shake and strain into glass.  Add lime slices.

Notes: When you hear Shrines, you won’t believe it’s a debut album for Purity Ring.  It is so absolutely well done and refined that you’d think those two had been making albums for years.  Depending on your individual taste, it might seem more electronic than you are use to hearing… but we think you’ll like it more than you expect.  By the time you get to lofticries, you will have already switched favorite new songs about 4 times… but we’re confident you’ll then realize that, in retrospect, the whole album is that good.

purchase vinyl:  Amazon  ||  Insound

28. Passion Pit - ‘Gossamer’ + Pink Gin

Passion Pit - ‘Gossamer’ + Pink Gin

Ingredients: 3 ounces Plymouth gin, 3 dashes of Angostura bitters, ice

Mixing Instructions:  In an old-fashioned glass filled with ice add the gin and bitters then mix until pink in color.  

Notes:  The Pink Gin was first enjoyed by British sailors in the Royal Navy in the late 1800’s.  Bitters was used as a remedy for sea sickness and Plymouth gin (a sweet gin) was added to “help the medicine go down.”  This medicinal drink seems an apt pairing for an album that tackles a range of ailments from depression to financial strain.  Gossamer, described by one reviewer as, “…a tortured beast, disguised in a crunch candy shell,” may have a dark hue, but it’s not all downer.  Instead it’s a liberating departure from the typical surface-level loathings bandied about in most pop music, a courageous step out of the garden and into adulthood with all its complexity.  Sip your gin and breathe…light always seems to find a way through the cracks.

Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced. - Leo Tolstoy

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

27. Y La Bamba - ‘Court the Storm’ + Banana Daiquiri

Y La Bamba - ‘Court the Storm’ + Banana Daiquiri

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 1 tbsp triple sec, 1 banana, 1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice, 1 tsp sugar, 1 cherry

Mixing Instructions: Combine all ingredients (minus cherry) with a cup of crushed ice in a blender.  Blend at low speed for 5 sec then blend at high speed until firm.  Pour contents into glass and top with cherry.

Notes: This album is likely quite different from anything else in your music collection.  The combining of both American folk-pop with traditional Latin influences and instrumentation sometimes gives Y La Bamba a slightly schizophrenic feel, but in a way that charms and invites deeper investigation.  This is an album to take in slowly and methodically which is why a frozen drink seemed fitting…tasty, but not made for gulping down all at once.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

26. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation + Kahlua Latte

Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation + Kahlua Latte

Ingredients:  1.5 oz kahlua, 1.5 oz vanilla vodka, 1/2 cup milk, 1.5 oz coffee of your choice… but don’t be cheap or your drink will be.

Mixing instructions:  Mix Kahlua, Vodka, milk & coffee into a glass… stir it up. Pour over ice.  

Listening instructions:  This album is incredibly well done and gets better and better with time.  We chose to pair it with a mixed coffee-drink because although it plays well almost anytime… we always want to listen to the whole thing on the same kind of days that we want kahlua in our coffee.  A treat for a lazy sunday afternoon.  It might sound at first like a sleepy album, but the beats on these songs will surprise you if you’ve never turned it up… so do that and enjoy.

Purchase vinyl:  Amazon

25. Cloud Nothings - ‘Attack on Memory’ + PBR Boilermaker w/ Jameson

Cloud Nothings - ‘Attack on Memory’ + PBR Boilermaker w/ Jameson

Ingredients: 1 can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, 1 1/2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey

Mixing Instructions: crack open beer…pour shot of whiskey…boom!

Listening Instructions: Pick a time when the neighbors are out so you can play this album as it is meant to be played…loud.  The first track “No Future/No Past” will give you just enough time in the first 3-min to get your stuff together before Dylan Baldi begins to let it rip.  Take your shot and sit down for the epic track of the album, “Wasted Days” an 8:54 song that showcases why this band is on every rock geeks radar.

24. Dan Auerbach - ‘Keep It Hid' + Four Roses Small Batch

Dan Auerbach - ‘Keep It Hid' + Four Roses Small Batch 

Ingredients: Four Roses Small Batch bourbon whiskey

Mixing instructions:  Neat

General instructions:  The Dan Auerbach album Keep It Hid slid in after the Black Keys album Attack & Release and before Brothers.  Our guess is that anybody who took the time to seek out that album and appreciate it for the genius that it is would probably be the same person that would seek out an understated, but beautiful Four Roses Small Batch bourbon.  An iconic, but tightly held whiskey and a lesser known, but high caliber, vinyl release Keep It Hid will leave you respecting yourself for the long haul.

purchase vinyl:  Amazon  ||  Insound

23. Father John Misty - ‘Fear Fun’ + Lost Generation

Father John Misty - ‘Fear Fun’ + Lost Generation

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounce Tanqueray Rangpur gin, 3/4 ounce agave nectar, 1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/4 ounce Vieux Carre Absinthe Superieure, 2 ounces grapefruit juice and a dash of Angostura orange bitters.

Mixing Instructions:  Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake vigorously and strain into an ice-filled 7 ounce rocks glass.  Garnish with a star anise.

Listening Instructions: This album is like a voodoo cauldron of equal parts Hunter S. Thompson, Waylon Jennings and Will Ferrell (Everything Must Go or Stranger Than Fiction not Anchorman).  Four years with Fleet Foxes seem to have given Josh Tillman a little more spice in his stew as this album is a departure from the slower, more melancholy Year in the Kingdom.  Moderate volume as you’ll want to listen closely to the lyrics…they’re interesting, in a good way.  Great tracks sprinkled throughout with “I’m Writing a Novel” standing out as a favorite, “Only Son of the Ladiesman” packed with some Fleet Foxes-like harmonizing and “This Sally Hatchet” taking one back to some of the trippy goodness of The Beatles.

source: Vegas Seven magazine

22. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - ‘Here’ + Blood and Sand

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - ‘Here’ + Blood and Sand

Ingredients: 1.5oz scotch, 3/4oz cherry brandy, 3/4oz sweet vermouth, 3/4oz fresh blood-orange juice.

Mixing Instructions:  Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a cherry or orange slice or both.

Listening Instructions:  A perfect summer album to enjoy on the deck, patio or porch with friends.  The Blood and Sand seemed appropriate as the vibe of this album is part revival meeting, part summer camp with the usual hand-clapping joyfulness we’ve come to expect from Sharpe and the gang.  ”Man on Fire” is a great opener so have your drink ready before dropping the needle.  ”I Don’t Wanna Pray” is a good one to dial up the volume for as you’ll need some extra thump to go along with the foot-tapping the will inevitably ensue.  A satisfying summer album to enjoy with a child-like appreciation and a good cocktail in hand.

source: Strange but Delicious

21. Andrew Bird - 'Break it Yourself' + Black Gold

Andrew Bird - ‘Break It Yourself’ + Black Gold

Ingredients: 1 shot Tennessee whiskey, 1 shot Kahlua, splash of Coke, ice, stick of Kit Kat (for garnish…no kidding).

Mixing Instructions: Pour whiskey and Kahlua into glass with ice, top off with Coke, throw a stick of Kit Kat bar on top for good measure.

Listening Instructions:  Bird’s music has never been categorized as easy-listening, but this album seems a bit more relaxed without losing the depth, precision and complexity that he is known for.  The first two tracks are palate-cleansers, use them to tinker with your drink and get settled for the rest of the album.  ”Danse Caribe” and “Eyeoneye” are both excellent and display of Bird’s range of skills.  ”Lazy Projector” is one that could get lost in the shuffle, but deserves some concentration.  This album will grow with age as one peels back all the layers…an enjoyable experience for people who truly love music.

20. Glen Hansard - 'Rhythm and Repose' + Scotch and Soda

Glen Hansard - ‘Rhythm And Repose’ + Scotch and Soda

Ingredients: 2 shots of scotch whisky, 2 shots of club soda, ice.

Mixing Instructions: add scotch to a glass with ice, add soda to top off, stir and drink.

Listening Instructions: take a sip, close your eyes, shut up and listen.

19. Hot Chip - 'In Our Heads' + Vodka Collins

Hot Chip - ‘In Our Heads' + Vodka Collins

Ingredients: 2 oz Vodka, 1 oz lemon juice, 1 tsp simple syrup, 2 oz club soda, lemon wedge, orange wedge, cherry

Mixing Instructions:  Combine Vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker.  Shake with ice and strain into a glass with ice.  Pour in club soda and garnish with a lemon wedge, a wedge of orange, and a cherry.

Listening Instructions: This album is all peaks and no valleys… even the slower tracks will get you going.  Heavy on the volume, plenty of head and shoulder room for bopping along - and don’t be afraid to clear the floor if you have to… because you might.  

Purchase Vinyl:  Amazon  ||  Insound

18. Perfume Genius - 'Put Your Back N 2 It' + Vesper

Perfume Genius - ‘Put Your Back N 2 it' + Vesper

Ingredients:  2 oz Gin, 1 oz Vodka, 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc, Orange

Mixing Instructions:  Combine gin, vodka, and lillet blanc in a cocktail shaker.  Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with an orange twist.

Listening Instructions:  Folks, this album is amazingly well done and there is a huge void in your catalog if you’re missing it.  Put Your Back N 2 it might be best enjoyed on your own, but hey, we’ve all got a place for that.  You’re allowed to love it more than anything else you’ve heard lately, and you just might.  Put it on the next time your plans fall through and you find yourself with nothing else to do, as if you’d rather be doing anything other than listening to this on vinyl and drinking a Vesper.  Vinyl for a night alone, a drink to get you through it… If you start getting too mellow, let the triumph of “Hood” snap you out of it.

Purchase Vinyl:  Amazon  ||  Insound

17. Fun - 'Some Nights' + Blood Sage

Fun. - ‘Some Nights’ + Blood Sage

Ingredients:  1/2 shot freshly squeezed orange juice (blood), 2 fresh sage leaves, 2 shots Bombay London dry gin, 3/4 shot freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/2 shot Monin Pure Cane sugar syrup (2:1 sugar/water), 1/2 fresh egg white (yeah…that just happened).

Mixing Instructions:  Muddle orange and sage in bottom of shaker.  Add other ingredients, shake with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.  Garnish with sage leaf.

Listening Instructions:  With a name like Fun. it should be obvious this isn’t a sit-quietly-in-the-bath-tub album (sorry @johnroderick …you can still have a roast beef sandwich with it though).  Nate Ruess channels the ghost of Queen throughout the album making it seem as though the cast of a rock opera is invading your home before heading out for a night on the town.  You’ll have just enough time to mix your drink during the intro to “Some Nights” before you must be ready with drink in hand to salute the vinyl as the strong drum lines thump you into a happy trance.  Not many weak points on this album…everyone has heard “We Are Young” by now, but you’ll be surprised how much more there is to this album if you haven’t given it a thorough listen.

source: diffordsguide.com