Manerg's Monumental Mix Four >> Play

What has now become a tradition the past few years, my good pal Manerg picks some of his favourite songs from the past year. We both agreed that while it's been a rather dire year all round, musically it has been very strong, and he found it just as tough as me to pick a few favourites. So, maybe in a few weeks he'll provide us with a second volume! Like the previous "Monumental" mixes, I've found his choices highly enjoyable, with a few artists I'm unfamiliar with which I'll need to check out. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and as always, stay safe!

 

  1. Sault - Scary Times (3:39)
  2. Pree Tone - Hidden Beauty (4:10)
  3. Homunculus Res - Tetraktys (3:30)
  4. Little Barrie & Malcom Catto - You're Only You (3:20)
  5. Wire - Humming (3:28)
  6. Psychedelic Suns - How Hard It Is to Let Go (2:55)
  7. Deradoorian - It Was Me (4:23)
  8. Ghost Funk Orchestra - Little Bird (4:15)
  9. Osees - If I Had My Way (2:45)
10. Chloë March - To a Place (2:58)
11. King Creosote - Susie Mullen (4:43)
12. Drab City - Working for the Men (2:04)
13. Alex Izenberg - Revolution Girls (3:09)
14. ROY - Stone of Infinite Power (3:03)
15. Vinyl Williams - Magicland (3:38)
16. Caitlin Pasko - Even God (5:28)
17. Lake Ruth - Aging Now (2:37)
18. Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Sweet Freak (4:17)
19. Holy Fawn - Candy (5:42)
20. Green Seagull - Simeon Brown (3:06)
21. Psychic Temple (feat. Chicago Underground Trio) - Lightning (3:41)
22. Joan of Arc - Creature and Being (2:09)
23. Population II - Ce n'est Rêve (7:25)
24. The Innocence Mission - The Brothers Williams Said (3:29)

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Cate Le Bon - Looping Melodies

 

Short bio:
Cate Le Bon (born Cate Timothy on 4 March 1983) is a Welsh musician and producer, now based in Los Angeles. She has released five solo albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon is singled out by critics for her "beautiful, haunting voice". She described writing and performing music as "important to me, it's just an expression and sometimes it's not necessary to moralise it". Le Bon claimed that "early experiences with a string of pet deaths had a profound lasting effect on me" and informed her initial self-admitted "abnormal fixation with death". She describes her lyric writing as "foraging for words and then everything falls into place".


My interest in Cate Le Bon began after hearing her 2nd album, Cyrk, in 2012. PopMatters.com said about the album: "At its best moments, Cyrk sounds like an edgier version of The Wicker Man soundtrack; the same sense of mystery pervades. Everything about it evokes swinging garden gates, desolate vales, and dusk setting in far too soon."

I'd say my favourite album by her is "Crab Day", released in 2016. Allmusic.com had this to say about it: "For fans of her particular brand of knotty, carnivalesque art-pop, which sounds like an amalgam of Os Mutantes, Nico, Stereolab, Syd Barrett, and Shirley Collins, Crab Day will be a delight." There's certainly elements of the aforementioned artists on the album, but she brings her own uniqueness to it. I've just noticed some reviewer on allmusic also stated "She sounds like Nico if Nico knew how to have fun". Well... not much I can add to that, even though I am a huge fan of Nico's solo work.

As well as her solo releases, Le Bon has collaborated with many artists, most notably with White Fence's Tim Presley, recording 2 albums under the name of DRINKS. Other notable collaborations are EP releases with Bradford Cox and Group Listening. For this collection I concentrated on her solo releases, taking tracks from her 5 albums and 3 EPS, plus her contribution to a Wilco tribute album, the track "Company in My Back". As per usual, info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest collection, and stay safe!

  1. It's Not the End (3:19)
  2. Fold the Cloth (5:01)
  3. Wonderful (2:36)
  4. Hwylio Mewn Cyfog (4:23)
  5. Sad Nudes (2:56)
  6. Sisters (4:02)
  7. I'm a Dirty Attic (3:04)
  8. I Just Wanna Be Good (3:00)
  9. Out to Sea (2:36)
10. Baw Waw (2:43)
11. Company in My Back (4:04)
12. Falcon Eyed (2:48)
13. Mirror Me (3:47)
14. The Eiggy Sea (4:36)
15. Home to You (5:25)
16. Crab Day (3:46)
17. Sad Sad Feet (3:33)
18. I Can't Help You (4:00)
19. We Might Revolve (3:46)
20. Here It Comes Again (3:24)
21. Ploughing Out (6:50)

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