New Eclectic this week: Sufjan Stevens, My Morning Jacket, The Pineapple Thief, and Surfaces x Elton John!!!
Cinematic world stories, Pink Floyd vibes, heavy ambience, and uplifting groove 🙌
Happy Monday everyone! Thanks for reading and sorry for the delay publishing this week’s finds.
This has been my busiest week in a long time. 😅 Crash was inundated by Isaac’s appearance on Tucker Carlson, and we’re just flying by the seat of our pants trying to keep up with demand from job seekers.
I guess having our URL displayed right on the screen [on the highest-rated cable news program in history] during mass unemployment when everyone is at home [and thinking about their career] might have been more than any of us could’ve expected.
— Isaac, our CEO
Indeed. Indeed. Nevertheless, I’ve still got some sweet ear-treats to share with you all this week! Let’s hear what we’ve got.
Listen on Spotify • YouTube
Remember—the best way to listen is like it’s the radio. Let it wash over you while you work. (I order songs in the best flow possible. If you really don’t care for something, skip it, and hit reply to let me know why!)
Sufjan Stevens’s Rajneesh
Rajneesh, also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh, and later as Osho, was an Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement.
– Wikipedia
Where to begin? Coming in at 10 minutes 29 seconds, this incredibly progressive piece infuses so many different sounds in Sufjan’s signature experimental way, it’s hard to say what I love most about it.
It starts with a simple guitar melody, and Sufjan’s smooth voice narrating a curious story of storms, snow, and restoration. His vocal range rivals that of Dimash Kudaibergen, who we discovered in a previous newsletter.
It progresses into an epic choral and worldly experience that surrounds and fills you with energy, before suddenly dropping off just before the middle. It takes on an electronic vibe, yet Sufjan mixes it masterfully with the traditional world sounds.
Then, towards the end, it descends into a dark, creepy ambience reminiscent of a thriller film score, finally transforming into slow, sweeping synths that feel almost like a guided meditation.
My Morning Jacket welcomes us home with an amazing new album
The Waterfall II is my new favorite album of the year. I’ve had it on repeat for hours.
While 5-piece, est. ’98 rockers My Morning Jacket have mostly stuck with a postmodern rock-ish sound throughout their career (from what I can tell so far), this album has some hard Pink Floyd & Queen vibes, and makes great use of an amazing range of sounds. Every song is unique, different, and woven together into this delicious musical mosaic. A must listen from start-to-finish. (David, Kris, Joey, I’m talking to you!)
The folksy “Welcome Home” is the second-to-last track on the record, but I chose to feature it because of its particularly catchy melody, which is a hallmark of the Eclectic experience I try to create: stuff that’s both unique and memorable.
Enjoy, and remember, listen to the whole album when you’ve got 46 minutes to listen:
The Pineapple Thief breaks it all
Four-piece British prog-rockers strike again with this 2020 single, a twisting musical journey of just 4 minutes 22 seconds teasing at the upcoming album ‘Versions of the Truth’ (coming September 4th).
As usual, they strike an exquisite balance between unapologetically heavy riffs, multilayered vocals, and stripped-down ambient sound. Best enjoyed between “Insane Realms” and “Courage.”
(Bonus: The official music video below is produced in my personal favorite way: studio recording + live performance + b-roll!)
Surfaces & Elton John learn to fly
If you’re not familiar with Surfaces, they’re the official feel-good singers of the late 2010s/2020s. Their incredibly uplifting and eclectic style has earned them a staggering 20 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and they’ve only been on the scene since 2017.
This widespread and rapid success may be in large part responsible for their ability to collaborate with Elton motherfreakin’ John, and I’m all about it. 🤤 This track is incredibly groovy and feels just like you’re riding a rainbow-expelling jet like the happy people in the video.
The extended version is better, by the way… just wait til the end. 😊 You’re welcome.
Alright music-lovers, that’s all for today! Please hit reply & let me know if you’ve found something awesome I should feature.
Thanks for reading, and have a music-filled week ✌️