Various Artists - Mixtape Nostalgie.

Hey guys. I liked the way my first playlist was received by the (small) community that visits UG. So my girlfriend made a playlist aswell. Hope you enjoy it as I did.

This is a mixtape about childhood, dreams, good feelings you had once and need a bit of it again, nice moments, special people, special places, and whatever you feel like its worth feeling again.
Hope you guys like it :)
Rocketfalls 

Tracklist

1. Welcome to Lunar Industries- Clint Mansell
2. Doppelgänger- Efterklang
3. Eastern Glow- The Album Leaf
4. Everything You Do Is a Balloon- Boards of Canada    
5. Deep Blue Day- Brian Eno
6. Lazy Calm- Cocteau Twins
7. Der Tod Wuotans- Burzum
8. Vanishing- Architecture in Helsinki
9. Parks- Four Tet
10. Kaini Industries- Bibio
11. Lakeside- Bibio
12. You were the one- False Awakening    
13. A Ribbon- Devendra Banhart
14. Needle In The Hay- Elliott Smith    
15. Prospect hummer- Animal Collective & Vashti Bunyan    
16. Window Over The Bay- Vashti Bunyan
17. I Lost Something In The Hills- Sibylle Baier
18. Three Hours- Nick Drake
19. Blue Ridge Mountains- Fleet Foxes

Cover photo http://lilabatista.com/
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Nick Drake – Pink Moon [MP3][320]

Pink Moon
Label: Erased Tapes Records
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1976
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk











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A classic. That's what I say about this album.
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Nick Drake was an unknown soldier in the 1970s. Blending lush orchestrations with a bluntly emotional voice, his music would although at the time not become popular, grow to be some of the most influential music of the haven that the ‘70s were for originality. Singer/Songwriters are pretty universally enjoyed; I mean who doesn’t like ‘Flake’ by Jack Johnson or ‘Say Yes’ by Elliott Smith. Usually you’ll find that huge Cryptopsy/Spiral Architect fan talking about how whenever he needs to calm down he throws on Damien Rice’s ‘O’. Well, most of these artists owe their ideas to Nick Drake’s ‘Pink Moon’. Sitting next to Talk Talk’s ‘Laughing Stock’ as one of the most emotionally barren and gorgeous sounding records of all time, Pink Moon encompasses the feelings of despair and isolation so effortlessly it’s a wonder it isn’t more widely respected and known than it is. Although I’m a big fan of the acoustic meanderings of most singer/songwriters, I do find myself usually becoming bored with the sheer playing inability in most of these artists, but with Nick Drake this problem is nowhere to be found. His unique and technical ability behind a guitar is astounding and highly compliments his very ethereal vocals. While some people tend to dwell on the suicide he supposedly committed, I try to remember Nick Drake not for the actions he transpired, but for the wonderful timeless music he created.

‘Pink Moon’ has a cast of ten very similar songs. All of the songs are formed between only two instruments, Nick’s guitar and vocals, except for the title track which features some haunting piano melodies. Most of the songs are done in a way that makes them mildly upbeat and beautiful, but the occasional gloomy dark song is experimented with on the album in the form of ‘Things Behind the Sun’ and ‘Parasite’. While the lyrical messages behind most of the songs are typically depressing affairs, this topic only seems to soak through into the actual musical half of the album in the two dark songs. ‘Pink Moon’ is mostly concentrated in the genre of Folk with most of the songs blending together stylistically, but tracks like ‘Know’ which is based around an extremely simple guitar line and the short interlude ‘Horn’ help make the album more interesting and seem less repetitive. Nick’s voice is very unique in itself due to the fact it has a deep yet very soothing, beautiful sound. Whereas most singer/songwriters reach their moments of beauty with the falsetto sound, Nick like Jeff Buckley on his album ‘Grace’ is able to exude emotion in various ranges of his voice, which also helps establish striking differences in the ten tracks on this album. All in all, the tracks on this album are similar yet different, but always rewarding. Few tracks stand out, because they are all excellent by my personal favorite would have to be ‘Things Behind the Sun’ just because of how elegantly depressing it is. Every song can serve the dual purpose of either being, light and relaxing, or tense and emotional depending on how the listener is relating to it.

‘Pink Moon’ is a simple album made by a talented man that any musician or music listener should enjoy. The accessibility to this album is simple, because it is always representing an emotion or feeling that anyone can relate too. While the album does have some depressing undertones, like most popular music Nick Drake is able to make a musically upbeat and happy sounding song out of what were most likely some of his darkest feelings. This ability to make an accessible, moving piece that is both filled with despair and hopefulness is what makes ‘Pink Moon’ such an everlasting and excellent piece of work. It’s really an album anyone can pick up and really enjoy whether you are a metal, rap, or indie fan and that is where the perfection lies in it.

Review by Sputnik Music [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/6718/Nick-Drake-Pink-Moon/]

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Nick Drake - Bryter Layter [320][MP3]

Bryter Layter

Label: Island Records

Format: Vinyl, LP

Country: UK

Released: 1970

Genre: Rock

Style: Folk, Indie, Folk Rock

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Nick Drake was without a doubt an underestimated genius. Underestimated not by others, but by himself. He was a man of recluse and low self-confidence. He always thought he wasn’t talented musically, and it puzzles many how he could even think of himself as un-talented, nevermind actually believing it.

One would have no idea that he thought of himself like that after listening to Bryter Layter. This was probably his most orchestrated album, containing not only his soft-spoken voice, guitar and violin but also drumming, bass, piano and a brass instrument here and there (Such as the saxophone in 'At the Chime of a City Clock') even going so far to include a xylophone during the song 'Northern Sky'. He definitely went all out on this album and it really shows.

Even with the use of so many wonderfully arranged instruments, it still seems simplistic enough to be a nice calming listen, but while retaining enough depth so not to come off as boring or repetitive. But when it comes down to it, what do people end up listening to? That’s right, his sweet 'gentleman' tone of voice and his amazing finger picked guitar playing. 

Songs like 'One of These Things First' are easily a prime example of this, when ever you listen to it, you’ll initially be in awe of the majestic piano but by the end your attention always wanders back to Drake’s soothing voice and melodic guitar playing. Not only does his voice leave such as an impression, the lyrics he sings always have a very nice message.

Take 'Hazey Jane I' for example, a song the seems like it’s about a woman so infatuated with a man that she passes by on so many other things in life she could be enjoying. But for some reason these songs never come off as being too depressing, unlike a lot of his other work. Again, this is probably contributed to the fact that the other instruments he experimented with on this album give it more of an upbeat feeling, no matter what the subject matter is.

However, these lyrics and messages are vital, mainly because one of the only let downs on the album (and it’s not really THAT big of a let down) is the title track, 'Bryter Layter'. This instrumental track, clocking in at 3 minutes and 22 seconds sounds slightly dated and sounds like a cheesy intermission tune. Compared to the brilliant songs before and after ('Hazey Jane I' and 'Fly' respectively) it comes of as being a little bit of a filler track, but its intended purpose was probably just for him to experiment on an instrumental song, and just try something out of the ordinary.

Even more out of the ordinary is the 6 minute song, 'Poor Boy'. Easily one of the most epic songs in all of Nick Drake’s relatively short career it truly is a masterpiece. Using choir vocals in the chorus, and his own voice during the verses. It also features such wonderful arrangements for saxophone, piano and guitar.

'Sunday' is really the perfect way to close out an album, a calm flute melody played over a brilliant sounding guitar and later on, an organ. It just puts the whole album in perspective, despite it not being as powerful as the other songs on the album.

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This review belongs to sputnikmusic.com  [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/8049/Nick-Drake-Bryter-Layter/]

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Alexi Murdoch - Time Without Consequence [MP3][320]

Time Without Consequence

Label: Zero Summer Records

Format: CD

Country: UK

Released: 2009

Genre: Rock

Style: Folk Rock, Acoustic, Indie, Folk

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The poetry of this album is groundbreaking. This guy's ability with words are genius-like. Specially Shine, All My Days and All My Days helped me alot when I was sad or thinking too much. Hope you like this, and that you become a better person :)

I dare to say he is a modern Nick Drake.

Ripped from pure FLAC to MP3 320Kbps

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Here, after long anticipation from those fans (along with, of course, some more discerning listeners), he releases his first LP, Time Without Consequence. Luckily, it moves him beyond the pop sentimentality of “Orange Sky,” into the more interesting realm of indie folk. 

His voice has an easy appeal, and begs for comparison to Nick Drake, with its melancholic, lazy delivery and vaguely U.K. accent, and it lends itself well to these songs of loneliness, romance, and mortality. The album opens with the slow crescendo of a nicely accessible acoustic guitar line in “All of My Days.” We sense that things may not be headed in entirely the right direction, however, when in the last verse of this tale of a search for love, he finds it. Um, are you sure you’re a folk singer, buddy? It harkens back a bit to the OC, and has the smell lyrics designed to appeal to sixteen-year-old girls. We almost wonder if it was part of the original song. 

Murdoch hits his stride well with the chords, hammer-ons and pull-offs of successfully catchy, creative folk guitar, at times layering acoustic and electric, slide playing and fingerstyle, along with some appropriate bass/drum accompaniment, such as in “Song for You” and “Blue Mind.” He even pulls off some more adventuresome feedback and harmonics on the more jam-oriented “Home.” He best displays his versatility when he throws in some slides and quarter-note bends to create the blues hooks and mood of “Dream of Flying,” probably the strongest effort on the album. 

The musicality does, however, meander at times. On “Breathe,” the muted chords and obvious metaphor for mortality make us wonder a bit if he’s deliberately “trying out a Dave Matthews thing.” “12” is enjoyable, but the outro finds him moaning over some stratospheric slide playing with distortion and effects that come almost uncomfortably close to being a Coldplay song. 

As for the writing, while Murdoch has a knack for phrasings that catch one’s ear for the romantic, he sometimes stretches a bit to use those phrases. In “All of My Days,” he starts with the line “I have been searching for all of my days,” and continues to use “all of my days” as the refrain at the end of each line, which eventually finds him awkwardly singing, “Many a night I’ve found myself with no friends standing near - all of my days.” His repetition of “love you more than anyone” in “Love You More” finds him struggling for rhymes, as in “love you more than time to come.” 

Alexi Murdoch is very talented guitarist with good writing ideas, and the album is more often palatable than not.. His next challenge will be to hone his style into something uniquely his own while keeping up the variety, and working out some of the kinks in the flow of his writing. But neither of these things is unreasonable for a young musician to overcome, and it seems likely that as Alexi Murdoch matures, he will grow into an even more enjoyable folk singer.

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Joni Mitchell - Blue [MP3][320]

Blue

Label: A&M Studios

Format: Vinyl, LP

Country: US

Released: 1971

Genre: Pop

Style: Acoustic, Ballad, Folk

Joni Mitchell's "Blue" is without a doubt one of the finest pieces of singer-songwriterdom.

The album, released in 1971, is a magnificent culmination of her piano and guitar talents, this time adding the simplistic and almost exotic beauty of a lap dulcimer. The album was written while she was living in Europe after her breakup with fellow musician Graham Nash, in a cabin with no electricity. The album's tones are highly personal; loneliness, homesickness, confidence, excitement, and deep sorrow. Joni's always been a terrific poet (some fans might be surprised to learn Joni never attended the songfest that inspired the oft-covered "Woodstock"), but Blue is the first album that leaves behind any of the cuteness or just-not-true-enough songs that diluted Ladies of the Canyon ("Morning Morgantown" "The Circle Game"), Clouds ("Both Sides Now"), and pretty much all of Song to a Seagull. (Note: It's not that these songs aren't good, but her talent is not perfected as it is in this album.) "All I Want," "Carey," "California," and "This Flight Tonight" are all songs of desire to go home, being lonely, being slightly, if not very, detached. "My Old Man" is a special tune, if not just for the actual aural document of Joni's ringing soprano, which she lost as she got older. "Little Green" is her "The Circle Game" perfected (and sadly, a very personal account of her giving up her daughter), and "Blue" is in yet another ballpark. "Blue" and "A Case of You" are Blue's truest gems. "Blue" is a sad song, but somehow alluring (I think she even ends the song on a major chord, but I could be wrong), a bit about the probable plight of the Cool: "Acid, booze and ass, Needles, guns and grass; lots of laughs, lots of laughs. [...] Everybody's saying that Hell's the hippest way to go. Well, I don't think so, but I'm going to take a look around it though". "A Case of You," one of the most beautiful songs e'er written, which this reviewer struggles to write about lest she bruise its delicate existence, is the best song on the album. A truly sad, melodic, heartwrenching piece. (In trying to find a lyric to share, they are so perfect they cannot be set apart!) "The Last Time I Saw Richard" is our favorite. In true Joni fashion, it's poetry in motion -as lyrics- and it's some of her best work. Hardly a breath where it doesn't belong, she tells a story of friends (or lovers) growing apart. The hardly-blemished Blue is a masterpiece, and will be a classic UNTIL THE END OF TIME.

Review by nobunka

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Oren Lavie - The Opposite Side of the Sea [MP3][320]

The Opposite Side of the Sea

Label: A Quarter Past Wonderful

Format: CD

Country: US

Released: 2008

Genre: Folk, Indie

Style: New Age, Vocal

This is one of my favorite albums ever. It's sweet, easy-listening, peaceful. It exercises your brain for you to become a better person inside and out. It's like a therapy. This is one of a really few albums that create images on your brain, it's like reading a book.
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Yes, another discovery through TV ad music: Oren Lavie, one of the coolest, most talented but understated artists on the indie scene. No lack of writing talent here - there's poetry in every lyric, not to mention the throaty, intimate (maybe even sexy?) delivery of those words into silky, very male, odes of expression. Rounding out the package are playful and original musical arrangements of the folk/rock genre that keep your ears at attention no matter how relaxing the voice. Luckily, the good taste and strong effort is sustained throughout the album - filler material is just not part of this opus.

A very edgy, forward use of Lavie's music, but oh how lovingly poetic in a boomer father-daughter kind of way, is in a car ad promoting safety throughout the young life of said daughter. You can find the video of the Chevy Malibu commercial at YouTube, featuring a part of the "Her Morning Elegance" track (slightly modified). You can see it here.

The most succinct summary of Oren Lavie's bio is at Artistdirect (below); the funniest is the self-written one at Myspace; the most extensive, at tuition-music. His flash-based official site (orenlavie.com) is very complete and quite original in that it opens its own browser window with a virtual booklet like you find in the CD case. You even hear the paper page turning when you drag the corner of a page with the mouse pointer.

Review by QuietGeek

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Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left [MP3][320]

Five Leaves Left

Label: Island Records

Format: LP

Country: UK

Released: 1969

Genre: Folk

Style: Contemporary Folk, Chamber Folk

I won't talk too much about Nick Drake because it appeared in such a incredible moment in my life, It seems it had to. And it seems I met him someday in past lifes, it's pretty weird. This is one of the albums that made me create this blog. Every human being should listen to this. Really.

Maybe you'll notice the same when you listen to this album. It's just... deep.

Files are MP3 320Kbps ripped from pure Flac.

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In 2003, the album was ranked number 283 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Five Leaves Left, recorded in 1969, was the first of three albums by British folk musician Nick Drake. Like Bryter Layter but unlike Pink Moon, this album contains no completely solo songs. Drake was accompanied by members of the British folk-rock groups Fairport Convention and Pentangle.

It’s a little belief of mine that what’s wrong with the modern world can be summed up in just one small word: cliché. No matter where we turn to in an attempt to avoid the hackneyed, overdone phrases that make up a huge amount of our lives, we hear them: a musician who’s going to be forgotten within a year is a genius, a world leader who makes a decision we disagree with is the new Hitler, and some whining singer is the spokesman for Generation X. Just out of interest, what the hell is Generation X, anyway? I gather that I’m a part of it, but I can’t say that I either know or care what it is. But anyway, I digress. My point is this. As a way of expressing our views on life, cliché is horrible, and yet it’s growing all the time, undermining things that should be expressed in strong terms. Having said all that though, I’m going to have to use a phrase here which is used in pretty much every description of Nick Drake that you’re ever going to read. Here we go. 

There are few artists who have been more underrated than Nick Drake, who have then gone on to influence so many people.

There. I said it. It’s the ultimate cliché surrounding Nick Drake, and yet it’s completely impossible to mention him without using it at least once. Why? Because it is undeniably completely true. The list of artists that Nick Drake has inspired is massive, ranging from Elliott Smith to Iron & Wine, to a huge number of singer/songwriters that exist in the outer ranges of popular music. And yet this is a man that could leave the master tapes of his final album, Pink Moon on the front desk of his record label before waiting days before anyone even noticed that he’d left them there. There’s something faintly incompatible about those two statements, don’t you think?

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