WARMER MIXTAPES #421 | by Lydia Cole
1. Mulholland | I Used To Be A Cowboy
The imagery in this song strikes me. It is a full Moon over a still, solitary tree. Silent stars shining down on a ranch. So much soul. And I can't get enough of all that bass.
2. Ben Abraham | Made It In The End
This guy is full of talent in the best way possible. He balances it out nicely with a whopping dose of self-doubt. Yeah, a true artist, in the least pretentious way. Everything about this song hugs you. Velvet vocals, soaring strings… But most of all, it's a happy ending. We made it in the end.
3. Gotye | Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
Most incredible song I have heard in such a very long time. No explanation can do it justice!
4. Luke Thompson | Foreigners
This song is a dream. Willow trees are dripping into streams and streams are singing to children, and children call at the birds and the birds dart around the sunbeams cast by the willow branches. We're in the Garden of Eden again, we're naked, the Sun is shining, the dead are now alive, and all is well.
5. Kimbra | Two Way Street
Who is more expressive and creative than this girl? One of my biggest pleasures in music is rhythm, it really gets me. Notes are essential but they don't have a message until you give them an accent to speak with, and that accent (in my mind) is rhythm. My complete respect goes to Kimbra for being so expressive, so clever and so mature in her craft.
6. Matthew Holleman | Call Me Out
Matthew is one person I am proud to call a friend, and I have unofficially adopted him as my big brother. He is raw and rough. You can't box him or even know what to expect from him, as a person. His songs come out much the same and it is a total blessing to me. Real people are rare. This song in particular I am finding to be very touching.
7. The Paper Kites | The Mortal Boy King
These guys are just totally solid. There are so many Folk bands out there at the moment but these guys are not just adding their 2 cents to the mass of it all. Their songs are perfectly crafted, a tasty balance of good pop and folk. Catchy and deeply affecting. Their live delivery is just astounding. They are tight. Impeccable vocalists and tasteful instrumentalists. And completely beautiful people. They are going places.
8. Ben Abraham | Speak
I know he has already featured… But this is what I am listening to: a soul singing out, not just a voice. A soft and powerful, vulnerable and strong 4 minutes and 15.
9. Bon Iver | Beth/Rest
Please play this song at my funeral. I can't listen to this song standing up. I have to hunch over on the floor. And maybe cry. To me it sounds tragic, comfortable, vulnerable, hopeful, exhausted.
10. Sarah McLachlan | Angel
For when you need a good cry.
