198. Akkilles - ‘Something You’d Say’ + Good Hurt

Akkilles - ‘Something You’d Say’ + Good Hurt

Ingredients: 2 ounces rum, 3/4 ounce grapefruit juice, 1/2 ounce Dubonnet, 1/4 ounce simple syrup.

Mixing Instructions: Mix ingredients in shaker, shake with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Notes: Maybe (probably) it’s because it was a cloudy Saturday morning the first time I put Kansas City-based Akkilles’ debut LP on my turntable, but I couldn’t help thinking “Man, this is the perfect album for a cloudy Saturday morning.” The experimental project of David Bennett, Akkilles fills a folk-gaze (possibly just made up a genre) niche that would land in my vinyl collection somewhere between Kurt Vile, Dent May and Beach House.  Chill, reverb-drenched vocals create a good amount of float, but the instrumentation, especially on standout track, “Country Boy Deluxe”, stays interesting enough throughout that one doesn’t float off to sleep. An album that deserves attention during the quiet part of your day, listen with a smooth rum cocktail that will soothe your soul in tandem with Bennett’s crooning vocals.

purchase vinyl: bandcamp

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