#jon mckiel

[dustedmagazine]

Tim’s 2024: A Question of Focus

DIIV

The more time I spend listening to new music, the more I realize the extent to which my year-end list is largely dependent on the records I’ve chosen to focus on reviewing for Dusted. It takes time to listen to and digest music to the point where I find myself with something approaching insightful to say, which means I’m pretty discerning when it comes to choosing albums to review. There’s only so much time available to listen to new music, so it pays to focus the firehose of continuous new releases into a manageable stream. All of the following have necessitated repeat listens, not only in order to get my head around them, but also to get my head into them, to lose myself in their world. There’s been a hell of a lot of great music released this year; these are the records I kept returning to.

1. DIIV — Frog In Boiling Water (Fantasy)

DIIV’s third album, Deceiver, felt like a step up for the band, and Frog In Boiling Water is the band really hitting their stride, melding shoegaze, dream-pop and grunge into a heady, addictive brew that scratches the same itch that Loveless and Siamese Dream did when I was a teenager. Thick, complex guitarscapes such as “In Amber” and “Somber The Drums” characterize much of the album’s appeal, but it was the scouring, dread-soaked “Soul-net” that I replayed more than any song this year.

2. The Smile — Cutouts (XL)

It’s been a good year to be a Radiohead fan, with two albums from The Smile, a solo tour from Thom Yorke, and a book of photography from bassist Colin Greenwood. The Smile’s Cutouts, the second of the year’s two albums, balances head-nodding guitar intricacy with zone-out synth jams. Compared to January’s Wall Of Eyes, it feels like an embarrassment of riches on the songwriting side.

3. Loma — How Will I Live Without A Body? (Sub Pop)

Emily Cross, Jonathan Meiburg and Dan Duszynski took a bit of a left turn on their second album, Don’t Shy Away, veering into more synth-focused art-pop territories. It didn’t always cohere, so it’s a relief that Loma have returned to what they do best on album three: stark, haunted indie-rock with plenty of atmosphere and gorgeous songs.

4. Luke Temple and The Cascading Moms — Certain Limitations (Western Vinyl)

Following his diversion into Arthur Russell-esque beat-drift under the pseudonym Art Feynman, Luke Temple returns to releasing music under his given name and recruits new band The Cascading Moms. Their chops are razor-sharp and the songwriting swings between languid and impressively funky.

5. Jessica Pratt — Here In The Pitch (Mexican Summer)

I’d not paid much attention to Jessica Pratt before this year, but Here In The Pitch’s combination of classic 1960s wall-of-sound production and simple but affecting songwriting really won me over. In some ways it feels like a more digestible cousin of Cindy Lee’s colossal Diamond Jubilee. “World On A String” and “Empires Never Know” are especially stunning.

6. Jon Mckiel — Hex (You’ve Changed)

2020’s Bobby Joe Hope was Jon Mckiel’s low-key breakout with its combination of found-sound tape loops and affecting songwriting. Hex digs deeper into more abstract territories that feel dark and dejected yet sweetly hopeful.

7. Winged Wheel — Big Hotel (12XU)

To my mind, shoegaze is at its best when the whole surge of sound feels like it could collapse at any moment. What keeps Big Hotel on the rails and piledriving forward is the twin-drum attack of Fred Thomas and Steve Shelley. The swirl and burn of the music’s relentless momentum feels like trying to take refuge in a wildfire, cooled by the balm of Whitney Johnson’s airy vocals.

8. Rosali — Bite Down (Merge)

This one was a common pick on our mid-year lists, and for good reason. Bite Down strikes a sweet balance between the melodic songwriting of my personal Rosali favorite Trouble Anyway, and the shaggy jams of her backing band Mowed Sound.

9. Nilufer Yanya — My Method Actor (Ninja Tune)

Single “Mutations” pulled me in with its intricate guitar and bass work, the tumble of toms, and Yanya’s disaffected purr. My Method Actor mines this seam thoroughly, approaching mid-tempo indie-rock with an artisan’s attention to detail and some achingly beautiful arrangements.

10. Body Meπa — Prayer In Dub (Hausu Mountain)

Much like Winged Wheel’s Big Hotel, Prayer In Dub throws the listener into a dense, swirling guitar-bass-drums soundscape of intricately shifting layers. The playing is absolutely stellar, especially from drummer Greg Fox, and sounds amazing when loud.

10 more in alphabetical order:

Cindy Lee — Diamond Jubilee (self released)

Ned Collette — Our Other History (Sophomore Lounge)

Corridor — Mimi (Sub Pop)

English Teacher — This Could Be Texas (Island)

Horse Jumper Of Love — Disaster Trick (Run For Cover)

Itasca — Imitation of War (Paradise of Bachelors)

The Smile — Wall of Eyes

Svaneborg Kardyb — Superkilen (Gondwana)

Wand — Vertigo (Drag City)

Xiu Xiu — 13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips (Polyvinyl)

[bandcampsnoop]

8/3/24.

Wow. The last time Nap Eyes (Nova Scotia, Canada) had their own post was 2018. Since then, they've garnered mentions in posts for Jon Mckiel, Olden Yolk, and Bingo Trappers.

Now, finally, Nap Eyes have emerged from a prolonged hibernation to deliver "The Neon Gate". First, I didn't realize Brad Loughead had previously been a member of Each Other. Makes sense.

Nigel Chapman's vocals have always set Nap Eyes apart from other bands mining a similar sound. So, if you took out Chapman's vocals the pace and sound of the music might recall Stephen Malkmus, Pop Filter/Ocean Party, Twerps, Ultimate Painting...this list could go on and on.

Paradise of Bachelors is handling this release - they have had a hand in each and every Nap Eyes release.

[aquariumdrunkard]

The Lagniappe Sessions :: Jon McKiel

Jon McKiel is responsible for one of our favorite records of 2020, the wildly hypnotic collection of songs that is Bobby Joe Hope. In anticipation of its follow-up, we caught up with the Canadian musician as he lays down his inaugural Lagniappe Session, paying tribute to both a ’70s childhood AM radio staple and what is sure to become a future classic.

[manitat]

Jon McKiel - Concrete Sea

[blackmail-victim]

Jon McKiel - Bobby Joe Hope (2020)

[voskhozhdeniye]

Musical Obsessions 2024

Airiel, quite a bit from them*

Alan Sparhawk: White Roses, My God*

Andy Stott, a lot from him.

Anna von Hausswolff, I'm going through her albums.

Austin Cesear's Cruise Forever

Autechre, I'm going through their albums.*

Bat For Lashes: The Dream of Delphi

Belong: Realistic IX

Beth Gibbons: Lives Outgrown

Beyoncé's 16 CARRIAGES, RIIVERDANCE, II HANDS II HEAVEN

billy woods, I'm rummaging through his albums.*

Biosphere, I'm drifting through his.

the body, I've gone through their albums. I've barely touch the collab albums.

Boris, I've been jumping through their albums.

Bowery Electric, I finally grabbed the last album.*

Burial: Dreamfear / Boy Sent From Above

The Caretaker, I'm randomly going through his albums.

Chat Pile: Cool World

Chelsea Wolfe: She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She

Cocteau Twins, I'm going through their albums.*

Coil, of course.

COLD GAWD: I'll Drown On This Earth

Colin Stetson: The love it took to leave you

The Cure: Songs Of A Lost World*

Danger Mouse & Black Thought's Cheat Codes*

The Decemberists' Joan in the Garden

DIIV: Frog In Boiling Water*

Emeralds, even more than last year.

Erykah Badu*

Fiddlehead, I've been listening to them a lot.

the fun years*

The Future Sound of London*

Glenn Branca, finally doing a deeper dive than I had in the past.

God Body Disconnect: Dreams to be Buried In

Godflesh, I'm slowly going through their albums.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD”*

Grouper, I'm going through her albums.

James Devane's Beauty is Useless

Jessica Pratt: Here in the Pitch*

Jon Mckiel: Hex

Kali Malone, I am slowly going through her albums.

Keeley Forsyth: The Hollow

Kendrick Lamar, it is what it is.

Kim Gordon: The Collective*

Laryssa Kim's Blue Velvet - Fortezza Sacra

Lawrence English, I'm randomly hopping through his albums too.

Lupe Fiasco: Samurai

Lussuria's Migrate Exquisite Corpse

Lustmord: Much Unseen Is Also Here

Man Without Country's Beta Blocker

Mary J. Blige, every song: I'll love you forever, every dude she's dating, time to fuck you over.

Midwife: No Depression in Heaven

Moon Diagrams: Cemetery Classics

Moor Mother: The Great Bailout / The Great Bailout (Deluxe)

Muslimgauze, by July I realized I'll never hear all of his work. Bless him.

Nala Sinephro: Endlessness

Nirvana*

Norman Westberg's After Vacation

Nu Shooz's I Can't Wait, is the song in my head at all times.

The Orb, I'm going through their albums.

Pharmakon: Maggot Mass

Rafael Toral, I've been going through his work.

Saul Williams, his music and his Twitter have helped me survive this year.

Shellac: To All Trains

Slow Blink, I've been going through her albums.*

Sprain's The Lamb As Effigy*

SUNN O))), a lot.

Uboa: Impossible Light

Unwound, slowly going through their albums.

Windy & Carl, I've been going through their work.*

Bold and italicized indicates a favorite released this year.

This list does not really show that this is the most music I've listened to in a year. I'm typing this on December 3rd, and expect to have 60,000 plays on Last.fm before the end of the year. 2022 was my previous high, 45,000+. I don't feel as musically burned out like I did at the end of 2022, but I really want to slow down next year.....

As usual, choosing a favorite is like pulling teeth, so I'll do something different this year.

Colin Stetson, Kim Gordon, Moor Mother, & Pharmakon are my favorites. Colin and Kim are for the musician in me. Moor Mother and Pharmakon are for the writer and musician in me.

The regular edition and deluxe edition of Moor Mother's album are two different mixes of the album. The regular edition chops what sounds like a long form spoken word piece into nine claustrophobic noise pieces. The deluxe version stretches them out into three twenty-minute extended pieces. The extra time allows them to be more cinematic in their scope. I think you see where I'm leaning. Also, I BE KNOWING. What happened to the person who wrote that?

I truly don't know radio music anymore. The "new" songs we get at work are all the hits from twenty years ago, and last decade Tswizzle garbage. @knightofleo around here, the white radio stations don't play anything from Beyoncé past 4, at work, nothing past I Am... Sasha Fierce, No Crazy in Love. The white stations remove Jay's verse. I believe we feel the same about him, but the whitewash is fucked up. They cut Wyclef out of Killing Me Softly with His Song.

I said my goal for this year would be to really check out noise rock bands. I started with Boris, and then moved to pure noise. My plan for next year is to check out early electronic music, Éliane Radigue and Catherine Christer Hennix come to mind. Along with contemporary and experimental classical. Harry Partch, La Monte Young, György Ligeti, Steve Reich, you see where I'm going with this. This also allows me to cheat and dip into "Third stream," which puts be back into jazz.

Airiel: That is a potent combo of earnest lyrics and shoegaze.

Alan Sparhawk: What a pure album.

Autechre: Going into their music, all I heard was how divisive LP5 was. I spent last year with the first three albums. First time listening to Chiastic Slide, and I knew where LP5 was going.

billy woods: Bless him, I'm so tired of this abusive relationship with hip-hop.

Bowery Electric: First album, guitars in your face. Second album, guitars slightly buried underneath beats. Third album, guitars papering trip-hop beats.

Cocteau Twins: For the longest time, '80s synth heavy music sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. I remember being introduced to Kate Bush in 2003, and thinking it was the worst thing I had ever heard. I was recommended Cocteau Twins a little while after getting into Slowdive. I heard those synths, and was like nope. That's a barrier that's gone now.

The Cure: The new album sounds like a direct conversation with Disintegration. The older Robert Smith trying to send answers back to his younger self.

Danger Mouse & Black Thought: I heard about this before it was released a few years back, but never checked it out.

DIIV: I am not the biggest fan of the new sound, but it still produces beautiful music.

Erykah Badu: Over the summer, I started going through Erykah and Mary J. Blige's albums. I've always known their music, but had never really went through their albums on my own accord.

the fun years: They are interesting. Their early albums are exercises in tape loop experiments. Their album from last year sounds like a lost Boards of Canada album.

The Future Sound of London: Currently going through their and The Orb's albums. I'll probably lump Orbital in next year. I am very interested in the sound collage their songs are. Before my car started having problems, I was planning on buying an expensive sampler to run my synths through. Basically, I want to DJ Shadow my own music. I can do it with the computer, but I desire the physical feel of chopping audio up. I refer to Shadow because he's always been a touchpoint for me, but TFSOL and The Orb are more erratic/ambient at times.

Jessica Pratt: I love her voice.

Kim Gordon: This album effortlessly sounds like what I'm trying to do with my music at times. Just disgusting, corrosive, battery acid beats.

Nirvana: I am thirty-five. I have avoided Nirvana my entire life. I think you can guess why. I remember reading an article from someone who saw Joy Division live. They said, the problem is, those who weren't there will never understand the promise we saw in that band. Those too young to have been there can only view the band through the eyes of tragedy. After Kyle died, I figured fuck it. I love Bleach, that's an ugly fucking album. Nevermind is interesting. In Utero is terrifying. "I wish I was like you, easily amused." Yep.

Slow Blink: Thank you @the-inevitable-minor-fires

Sprain: I didn't grab The Lamb as Effigy until this year. That is a mental breakdown on tape.

Windy & Carl: Thank you @zombimanos

As for my music, I'm still inspired by the usual suspects. Thinking about the slipperiness of The Future Sound of London and The Orb, the crudeness of the body, and the dead weight thump of Andy Stott. Slow Blink and the fun years really have me thinking about tape loops. I don't have the time, space, or money to actually do them, but I'll grab a sampler next year. I have been denying myself the desire to make nasty harsh noise drones.

Last year's list.

[onthecrescentofthehill]

fanmix I made for burrow’s end featuring moodog, bill callahan, josé gonzález and more. these stoats are taking over my life…

thanks!

full track list below:

No, The Wheel Was Never Invented - Moondog

Look at What the Light Did Now - Little Wings

Waters Of March -Tok Tok Tok

Free's - Bill Callahan

Sun Giant - Fleet Foxes

Just Like Anything - Jackson C. Frank

Build a Nest (feat. Ruby Parker) - Jeff Parker, Ruby Parker

Below The Valleys - Louis Cole

Mourning Dove - Jon McKiel

Sleeping Bear, Sault Ste. Marie - Sufjan Stevens

The Lonesome Border, Pt. 1 - Dear Nora

Just Before Dawn - Sonnymoon, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

The Nest - José González

Rare Things Grow - Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Running, Returning - Akron/Family

[jefferyryanlong]

Infinite Pau Hana - January 18, 2022

“billy they don’t like you to be so free”

Hour 1

Main Title Theme (Billy) - Bob Dylan House of Glass - Warlocks Pow R. Toc H. - Pink Floyd Talking to the Grass - Curly Putman Surf’s Up - The Beach Boys Late Letter - Pete McCabe The Lantern - The Rolling Stones Morning Dew - Jeff Beck Need Your Love - Cheap Trick Redondo Beach - Patti Smith

Hour 2

Ojos Del Soul - Y La Bamba Nuestra Tema - Silvio Rodriguez Sampa - Caetano Veloso Nao Identificado - Gal Costa La Premier Bonheur Du Jour - Os Mutantes South American Getaway - Burt Bacharach Love Song for the Dead Che - The United States of America Cotton Eyed Joe - Terry Callier Send in the Clowns (live) - Cleo Laine Little Girl Blue - Lena Horne The Body Breaks - Devendra Banhart  Moon River - Frank Ocean Mourning Dove - Jon McKiel

Hour 3

Come on Feel the Illinoise! - Sufjan Stevens Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois - Sufjan Stevens Snow Is Falling in Manhattan - Purple Mountains I’m Getting Back into Getting Back into You - Silver Jews Hold Out for Love - James Yorkston, Nina Persson, and the Second Hand Orchestra Hometown Hero* - Andy Shauf Animal Kingdom Chaotic - Jesca Hoop Butchie’s Tune - The Lovin’ Spoonful Got a Feelin’ - The Mamas and the Papas  SOS - ABBA This Magic Moment - The Drifters Dreaming - Sun Ra and the Cosmic Rays My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains - Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band Watercolours Into the Ocean - Destroyer

* - by request

KTUH - 90.1 FM Honolulu, 91.1 FM North Shore, ktuh.org

[theam-cjsw]

The AM: July 29, 2024

2024 has been a fantastic year for music so far. This week's episode takes a stroll through 30+ albums released in the first half of the year, from ambient to jazz and psychedelica—check out the rest of the list in the full blog post at Wander Lines.

This is also the last AM with Peter at the helm for the next month. Syf from Acheulean Age and Emily R from Greenhouse will be filling in for August, so you'll be in good hands. Enjoy and see you in September.

Listen at cjsw.com or use the embeds below.

Hour One:

A Treasure Chest Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer • The Closest Thing to Silence

Get Some Rest Ezra Feinberg, featuring Mary Lattimore • Soft Power

Matsutaké Caméra • Caméra

Cutting and Layering Osmanthus • Between Seasons

Insecurities Shabaka, featuring Moses Sumney • Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace

Burnt Likshen Ayal Senior • Ora

Poeira Sam Gendel, Fabiano do Nascimento • The Room

On the Surface Bilal Nasser • How Can We Say Nothing

The Quarrel Geotic • The Anchorite

Flatland Buildings and Food • Echo the Field

Theme for Feeling Drunk and Cool Easy Idiot • Stock Music II

Cyclotron Temporal Waves • Temporal Waves

Hour Two:

Peace Piece Organic Pulse Ensemble • Zither Suite

Distance Learner Fuubutsushi • Meridians

Gloaming Way Circles Around the Sun, Mikaela Davis • After Sunrise

Bebaynetu The Sorcerers • I Too Am A Stranger

Floating on a Moment Beth Gibbons • Lives Outgrown

Lost in the Woods (Paranoia) Project Gemini • Colours & Light

No Mast Loving • Any Light

How Can I Possibly Sleep When There is Music (a response to Ryōkan Taigu) Luka Kuplowsky • How Can I Possibly Sleep When There is Music

Lugar Lau Ro • Cabana

Overwhelmed and Unprepared Unessential Oils • Unessential Oils

the wildflowers are upon us OHMA • On Loving Earth

Hour Three:

What's It Going to Take Cindy Lee • Diamond Jubilee

Fly! Little Black Thing Yu Ching • The Crystal Hum

Moon Retep Folo, Dorothy Moskowitz • Afterlife Album

Rue du Repos Bibi Club • Feu de garde

Hex Jon McKiel • Hex

Distant Dream Magic Fig • Magic Fig

Crushed Velvet Molly Lewis, featuring Thee Sacred Souls • On the Lips

Better Hate Jessica Pratt • Here in the Pitch

Bot for Teacher Eye of Newt • Stay in Your Lane EP

Cold Water In My Tea ROY • Spoons for the World

Fields of Grass / 9 Is the End (It's Over) Psychic Temple • Doggie Paddlin’ Thru The Cosmic Consciousness

[noloveforned]

we're back on wlur from 8pm until midnight for this week's show and if you can't listen live you can check out last week's show on mixcloud.

it's been quite a week! i flew down to florida early monday morning to take my mom to a rolling stones concert in orlando that night. seeing the stones is a bucket list item for her- she's been a fan for over sixty years but never had the chance! i picked up some floor seats on the secondary market last month and we had a total blast. we then crashed and mom dropped me off at the airport first thing on tuesday morning.

ps- that hoarseness last week was strep trying to ruin my trip! yay for antibiotics!

no love for ned on wlur – may 31st, 2024 from 8-10pm

artist // track // album // label courtney barnett and kurt vile // let it go // lotta sea lice // matador mammoth penguins // nothing and everything // here // fika oh boland // (no more) soft talk // western leisure // meritorio love battery // foot // dayglo // sub pop ultra lights // clockin' out // nostalgia 7" // chunklet the infinites // the bureaucrat // archetypes // meritorio melenas // k2 // ahora // trouble in mind plus/minus // gondolier // further afield // ernest jenning winged wheel // smudged textile // big hotel // 12xu sunlit // break my heart // sunlit // elefant caroline davis and wendy eisenberg // flounced // accept when // astral spirits sunburned hand of the man // nimbus // nimbus // three lobed bonnie 'prince' billy, nathan salsburg and tyler trotter // hear the children sing // hear the children sing and the evidence // no quarter tom skinner // camille // voices of bishara- live at "mu" // international anthem john taylor sextet // interfusion // fragment // jazz in britain jasmine myra // rising // rising // gondwana blu and shafiq husayn featuring jimetta rose, donel smokes and tiron // roll up // out of the blue // nature sounds don blackman // yabba dabba doo // don blackman // arista ibibio sound machine // political incorrect // pull the rope // merge kool and the gang // you are the one // emergency // de-lite mint field // sueño despierto // aprender a ser // felte jon mckiel // still life // hex // you've changed amy o // reveal // mirror, reflect cassette // winspear yea-ming and the rumours // before i make it home // i can't have it all // dandy boy blueboy // a gentle sigh // singles 1991-1998 // a colourful storm

[dustedmagazine]

Jon Mckiel — Hex (You’ve Changed)

Photo by Colin Medley

Jon Mckiel treats songs like miniature epics, rendering each detail in glowing, psychedelic hues. Though the basic framework of his music may be familiar, the feeling is perpetually off-kilter. On 2020’s Bobby Joe Hope — which I would have written about for Dusted’s Slept Ons in early 2021 if I’d have discovered it early enough — Mckiel combined the often mutually exclusive worlds of songwriting and sampling into a unique and beguiling brew. This knack for the uncanny continues on Hex, which feels even more kaleidoscopic.

Mckiel and co-producer Jay Crocker understand how peripheral details, such as backing vocals and percussion, can transform a song from good to great. Take “String,” for example, which begins with a disorientating and scratchy guitar loop. Next comes swirling synth arpeggios, then multi-tracked vocals, plus multiple rhythm guitar and percussion layers. The songform seems to warp and bend in real-time, an endlessly malleable resource. Best comparison is Olivia Tremor Control reined in, and Mckiel’s voice falls somewhere along the continuum between fellow Canadians Andy Shauf and The New Pornographers’ Carl Newman.

On one end of Hex’s musical spectrum we have “Concrete Sea,” a spare acoustic cover of a 1972 song by Terry Jacks, rendered simply with a smattering of slide guitar and percussion. At the other end we have “Memory Screen, pt. 2,” which begins as a gently wavering bedroom pop song, before unspooling into three-and-a-half minutes of spacious, swooshing ambient. In between there’s the fantastically groovy title track, an addictive slice of dusty, retro sampladelia with a gorgeous saxophone solo; “Still Life,” which features a long, tropical-sounding instrumental introduction that could almost be off a dub record; and the gorgeous “Everlee,” which harks back to the 1960s sun-shining tunefulness of Bobby Joe Hope’s“Deeper Shade.”

In Hex’s 34 minutes Mckiel ventures far and wide, but always brings you back to the strangeness of seeing something familiar in a new light, wondering at the possibilities.

Tim Clarke

[supersupersounds]

Jon Mckiel - Hex

Like a lo-fi Gorillaz that would rather be living in the 60s, this record just sounds different. It's great. -Kris

[aquariumdrunkard]

The Aquarium Drunkard Picture Show

Weird times, strange signals. Reverberating from the hills of Glassell Park, California, welcome to episode twelve of the Aquarium Drunkard Picture Show.

Feat: Cass McCombs | Jon McKiel | Quilt | Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears | Triptides | Hollow Hand | Amen Dunes

[jimdashb]

Jon Mckiel - "String"

[blastikmusik]

sunny side down 666

Briston Maroney - I Told You So Dehd - Mood Ring Iron & Wine - You Never Know Ultracrush - Summer Camp mui zyu - everything to die for Beth Gibbons - Floating On A Moment Holly Macve - Time Is Forever okaywill - Astral Projections Glad Sisifus - Fill The Gaps GOBLYNS - SAKURA Short Wave Craft - Northern Winds Jon Mckiel - Hex A. Savage - Black Holes, The Stars And You Deny - Labasheeda Amen Dunes - Purple Land