Top Pops! April 2014: Mirah, Wild Ones, Eyelid Kid, Tourist ft. Will Heard, Lianne La Havas

Mirah returns with Changing Light, Portland’s Wild Ones pump out their debut album, California’s Eyelid Kid is a grower, and Tourist guest-stars Will Heard and Lianne La Havas.

“Pop music shouldn’t always get a bad rap,” says Top Pops!, a recurring selection of indie pop highlights across a selection of styles, updated every month to keep you on your dancing, shaking toes.

+++ FULL POST + ALL TOP POPS! COLUMNS + ALL MUSIC COLUMNS

Mirah – “Radiomind” (Absolute Magnitude Recordings)

Mirah: a staple of female indie rock of the early aughts, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Mentions of her have fallen off in the recent past, but with her latest record, Changing Light, Mirah steps solo back into the limelight after nearly five years of shying away from it. The sentiments are complex, as evidenced by album singles like “Radiomind”, which expresses both lightness and weightlessness, and “Oxen Hope”, which delves into doubts and heartbreak. Yet all might seem well, when we hear her sing the words she sings in “Radiomind”:

“Now all the days and nights that I’m dreaming
I get to breathe the breath you’re breathing
It’s been a long way back to believing someone
Can love me and the radio of my mind

Changing Light will be self-released on May 13th, 2014, via her own label, Absolute Magnitude, with support from her own home, K Records.

 

Eyelid Kid – “Time Travel”

Man, is this track by Eyelid Kid a grower or what! I’ll admit that while it begins with a solid enough rhythm and promises of experimentation, I wrote it off quickly as just another one of many indie pop songs that generically blends into the background. I soon found, however, that Eyelid Kid are Californians with a grandoise musical plan; “Time Travel”‘s occasional horn, airy female vocal, and restrained but funky guitar all progress gradually and tastefully towards more and more fascinating heights. A bit like time travel itself, the track may only be four minutes long, but still manages to confuse one’s grasp on time with its unique progression.

 

Wild Ones – “Keep It Safe” (Topshelf Records)

From Wild Ones debut full-length record, Keep It Safe, “Paia” sees the band at some of their adorable dancey best. With mousy vocals like Jane Penny of TOPS, Danielle Sullivan holds the stage front and center as fluttering tropical guitar grooves and simple basslines tickle beneath without either detracting or causing too much of a fuss. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it means only that “Paia” feels a bit like a complete and satisfying ecosystem in and of itself.

Enjoy, also, the deconstructed experimental remix of “Paia” by Brooklyn’s My Body as well as a playful remix of “Rivals” from late 2013, by Trails and Ways.

 

Tourist – “Patterns”

Husky and rich in her delivery, vocalist Lianne La Havas stands before a gospel chorus of female singers to lend some conviction to the dizzying background of “Patterns”, until the instrumentation itself shows off its strength midway through by erupting into a 2-step rhythm. This track comes from Tourist aka William Philip’s Patterns EP, and you can catch him at an upcoming run of the United States festival circuit, with dates at Counterpoint, Sasquatch, Lightning in a Bottle, Movement, and Governors Ball. Funny how these things work.

Below, you can also hear “I Can’t Keep Up” featuring Will Heard, from the same Patterns EP.

Ω

Written by
Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Managing Editor of South Seattle Emerald, and Co-Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!, and are pursuing a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota.

View all articles
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Written by Vee Hua 華婷婷
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x