121. Dirty Projectors - ‘About to Die’ EP + Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Dirty Projectors - ‘About to Die’ EP + Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Ingredients: Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port.

Mixing Instructions: Pour in a port glass and serve.

Notes: During our honeymoon trip to Paris, my wife and I visited the famous modern art mecca, Le Centre Pompidou.  One of the exhibits was a series of staged rooms that were to be viewed through small portals with room only for eyes and nose.  The effect was that of being a fly on the wall taking in various musty life-scenes frozen in time: kitchens with overflowing dishes, 60’s mod living rooms with ash trays and lime green furniture, etc.  When listening to the About to Die EP, David Longstreth & Co. seem to be staging in the listener’s mind a series of life-scenes, filled with white hospital sheets, knotty pines, handcuffs, seat belts — all reminders of life’s contraints and the constant shadow of death; a somewhat sour air of inevitability.  Maybe…but, for now we are alive…so we drink tawny port and we rejoice in the hilarious beauty of it all.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

42. Yeasayer - ‘Fragrant World’ + The Brooklyn

Yeasayer - ‘Fragrant World’ + The Brooklyn

Ingredients: 2 ounces rye whiskey, 1 ounce dry vermouth, 1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur, 1/4 Bittermens Amere Nouvelle (American variation of Amer Bier). 

Mixing Instructions: Combine ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and stir until well-chilled.  Strain into a cocktail glass.

Notes: If Boyz II Men spent a night smoking hookah and drinking cocktails with a posse of highly-talented English electronic artists they might start getting in the same ballpark as Yeasayer’s third album.  ’Fragrant World’ finds the Brooklyn trio reinventing their sound to something a bit more restrained and complex, but nonetheless incredibly fascinating.  The electronic and R&B influences run deep with opening track “Fingers Never Bleed” giving listeners the perfect blend of what’s in store.  ”Longevity” follows with bass lines that require an excellent sub or headphones to truly enjoy - a highly addictive song.  Other gems are sprinkled throughout.  Some fans may find this album a little less accessible upfront, but after multiple listens it is evident that Yeasayer crafted something that gets better with time, something worth digging into.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound