The World Was On Fire, No One Could Save Me But You

Nostalgia and music go hand-in-hand, and it's an age-old concept that is quite easy to grasp. The soundtrack to our lives is most frequently the melodies of our favorite songs and the lyrics that eerily echo our experiences at a given time. So it seems natural that, at some point or another, the musicians of the world would use the feeling of nostalgia to dictate their musical directions. Now, don't be confused by what I'm implying. There will always be the retrograde trend of “what is old is now new”, its an ethos bands like The Strokes have made a career off of. Re-popularizing the fads of a previous era and applying a modern twist is almost a necessity in pop-culture, it's how we learn and diversify incrementally. However, nostalgia isn't as much the idea of 'retro' chic as it is an ache for better times. It is not about a sense of style so much as a depth of feeling.

As of late, I've been attracted to music that provides the aforementioned quality - much of which being in the original form of the artists of the 50's and 60's. I've been tracing the lineage of some of my favorite newer influences down to the originators, a process that's opened my ears to a lot of acts I'd never heard of along the way. Rather than outline a list of my discoveries from that experience, I'll instead point to several newer acts who evoke that sense of nostalgia so well. I hope giving them your attention might send you on your own little musical-discovery road-trip through some dusty, old used-records crates.

(Cover of Dirty Beaches ”True Blue“ b/w “Sweet 17” 7" on Zoo Music)

First and foremost, there is Dirty Beaches. Alex Zhang Hungtai can single-handedly be held accountable for a boom in used records sales this year. His homage to 50's and 60's era rock n' roll pioneers has made him a modern-day Elvis amongst the indie-world. His music is as evocative as his persona, matching lo-fidelity recordings with a high-fidelity one-man stage show. On last year's “True Blue” single, he stamped out some of his earlier, more experimental and instrumental-only recordings for a guitar-loop-based love-lament on which his croon became the focal point. It marked a new direction that was further exemplified on his terrific Badlands LP and In U.S.A. tour-only CDR, and his since garnered him with endless praise and attention nearly everywhere you look.

(Dirty Beaches ”True Blue“ video)

(Dirty Beaches “Golden Desert Sun” video)

With the stakes now raised, it seems Huntai's working even harder to keep up with the rate people seem to be consuming his music at. He's released several more singles, live sessions, a soundtrack to an upcoming independent film and still manages to compile mixes of his friends bands and imaginary Wong Kar Wai film scores while traversing the world. It's a beautiful and dedicated work ethic from a man whose sense of pride in tradition is as strong as his commitment to trend-rebellion.

(Cover of Die Jungen's self-released $ digital EP)

Another one-man music machine rising in the ranks is the U.K.'s Klaus Von Barrel. The man whose initials define his dark-wave alterego, The KVB, isn't content with just one project at a time. He's recently released an EP entitled simply $ under the new moniker Die Jungen. Now whether or not the title of his release is too imply he's banking off the charm of sunny, beach-town drifter songs or he just was marking it as an item for sale is yet-to-be determined.

(Die Jungen's video for ”Drowning“)

(Intro to Dark Days 011 short video soundtracked by Die Jungen's “In The End”)

The new project doesn't seem to have much info on it, but it seems more visual accompaniment is springing out of Von Barrel's vimeo account - which is a promising sign. Hopefully he'll be able to balance the two projects simultaneously, as both are equally intriguing. Where The KVB is an exorcision of post-punk, goth and minimal-wave demons, Die Jungen is an homage to the period of music that accompanied archival footage of light-leaked 8mm daytrips. It sounds more like all things washed out than even Washed Out wishes he could.

(Cover of Mood Rings Sweater Weather Forever EP on Double Phantom Digital)

Lastly, one of the most promising new discoveries to emerge this year are Atlanta's Mood Rings. While not a one man show, this four-piece band delivered an impressive 4-song EP recently on entitled Sweater Weather Forever, that's already got them the attention of like-minded predecessors like The Raveonettes. Mood Rings brand of psychedelic, bubblegum-pop delves into the deep terrain of reverb-drenched melodies and lulling vocals, making it an easy pill to pop for fans of the Phil Spector catalog or anyone wishing Marc Bolan had gone through a heavy Buddy Holly phase. Of the three listed acts here, Mood Rings definitely sounds the most aware of their modern surroundings. Fortunately, they keep the fidelity at bay, ensuring their vintage sound doesn't get overglossed in production.