Time, as Metallica taught us, marches on. And while it’s hard to imagine getting together with a large group of people to do anything other than protest, moving our bodies around a thumping groove might be a viable alternative: the dead don’t dance, after all.
Next weekend, The House of Creatives Music Festival will be taking over Miami Beach’s Bandshell Park, with sets from the Flaming Lips, Crystal Castles, Shigeto, The Drums, Empress Of, and more. It’s a long way down to Miami, so we asked Small Black to make us a playlist of the music they’ll be listening to on the way down there. Give it a listen below via Spotify, and glean a little insight on the songs courtesy of singer Josh Kolenic.
Japanese Breakfast, “In Heaven”
Michelle Zauner made a beautiful & uplifting record about loss that touched me immediately on first listen. One of my favorite indie rock releases in awhile.
Mr. Twin Sister, “Lady Daydream”
Feels like I spent most of the summer at Rockaway Beach with Bryan from Mr. Twin Sister. Reminded me of how damn good his band is; their live show is not to be missed these days. You can’t beat a band that’s been playing together since junior high school in the age of solo Ableton performer.
Pantha du Prince, “Frau Im Mond, Sterne Laufen”
I had no idea what that title meant, so I Google Translated it and got “Woman in Moon, Stars Racing,” which is cooler than I even thought it would be. Pantha has such a specific tone palette that makes all his tracks unmistakable.
Kaytranada, “Together”
Washed Out turned me onto this in Athens in the spring. Then I heard he had Craig David on the album and I was sold 1000%.
Jack J, “Thirstin’”
Everything these Mood Hut dudes do sounds warm and great. Can loop this one for a while.
Faten Kanaan, “Spy Films”
Faten’s been delving way deep into the analog synth world over the past few years, and her new record The Botanist & The Archaeologist is a pretty lovely, ornate exploration of the pure tone and full sonics they make possible.
Drugdealer, “Suddenly”
This album pulls from a lot of ’70s songwriter stuff I love, and this track has Weyes Blood on vox. Veering toward Carole King here and I sure ain’t gonna complain.
Nots, “Blank Reflection”
I’ve been to most of Nots’ shows when they’ve made it to Brooklyn. They’ll win you over pretty easily with their fierce commitment and the energy of their performance.
Broncho, “Fantasy Boys”
Every time this band has played somewhere I was, I had to ask who they were. I love the lo-fi production and songwriting chops.
Harumi, “Fire By The River”
I found this band on a mix that Trish from Broadcast made. I don’t know much about them other than the fact that they’re Japanese psych.
