LISTEN: Rickolus - "Candy Blood"

MP3: Rickolus - "Candy Blood"

Richard Colado (a.k.a. Rickolus) sounds something like a cross between Guided By Voices, Grandaddy, and Sparklehorse. His jangly pop tunes sound more like passionately executed sketches than carefully rendered musical ideas, but that's exactly the soil from which Rickolus' charm grows. This rough characteristic invokes a feeling that things are about to crumble -- as if it's a battle to hold on -- but with a few chords and an underhanded kick of cheer, it all holds up well and strong.

"Candy Blood" is from Rickolus' new album, Coyote & Mule, out 2/14 on Circle Into Square.

REVIEW: Big Pauper - Beyond My Means

Big Pauper - Beyond My Means
MMMM

There’s a genius to finding harmony in seemingly incongruent sounds; there’s a kaleidoscopic vision to the mind’s ear that sees not differences but rather links between what most of us perceive as wholly different. It’s one thing to do this with a group of songs popularized in our culture (a la Girl Talk), but it’s something entirely different – not to mention almost mind-bending – when audio ripped from TV and film enters the fold.

Like experimental sound collage band Negativland before him, Portland’s Big Pauper recontextualizes a vast array of sounds culled from old records and his absolutely massive VHS collection. On his solo debut, Beyond My Means, art of the past is reborn as fresh and relevant content – whether it’s fragments of old songs or old TV/film dialogue from obscure sources (Portuguese horror, nunsploitation, etc.). Working with sound outside the realm of music, Big Pauper is like the avant-garde version of Girl Talk, turning an eclectic mix of media into a unified, harmonious whole. There’s something rather mesmerizing about the man’s ability to create songs almost exclusively out of VHS audio clips and vinyl rips, finding melody within the diversity of the source material.

VIDEO PREMIERE: powerdove - "Sickly City"

Annie Lewandowski (aka powerdove) epitomizes the word "haunting" with such sparse instrumentation on powerdove's debut album, Be Mine. Over a patchwork of twinkling chimes and bells, sustained woodwind notes, swells and scratches of cymbals, and more, Lewandoski gently plucks her acoustic guitar as her voice soars and melts into the heart and mind. It's the simplicity of the music that emphasizes the impact of her enchanting, intimate delivery. The music is inescapable; Lewandoski sounds as though she's playing directly at your ear. It can be beautiful or eerie and everything in between.

Today, Mixtape Muse is proud to have the privilege and opportunity to premiere the new video for Be Mine's "Sickly City." It's a track that toys with, in an indirect way, the contrast between (re)birth and destruction, perfectly illustrated by the video's use of public domain footage documenting the demolition of New York's Star Theater. The way the music and visuals complement one another makes this video a must-see.

BUY: Be Mine is out February 15th through Circle Into Square. Purchase it at Amazon or Amazon MP3.