“These records are some of our favorites! Not only are they mostly our friends, but the albums as a whole are stunning and we’d listen to them consistently even if we didn’t know and adore the musicians.”
“We love listening to vinyl in general because it’s such a romantic way to listen to music, and it’s sort of a dying tradition to listen to an entire album front to back and really digest what the artist was trying to achieve with each song and the order they chose to put them in.”
Jenny O, Automechanic | “This magnificent woman is a friend of ours, but that’s not the only reason we listen to this album, Automechanic, so much. This could easily be our favorite pop album EVER.
It has the perfect mix of retro nostalgia and newness to it that is so addictive! Her producer, Jonothan Wilson is brilliant and creates such depth and it’s the kind of record that you hear something new every time you listen.”
Elephant Revival, Break in the Clouds | “This band is our musical soul mate. They are longtime friends of ours who we get to collaborate with often and we love every sound that comes out of them!
We especially love how different each member is musically, but put together it makes more than a whole. All 5 members are songwriters, so that makes each of their albums very versatile which is our favorite part. Their listeners are NEVER bored.”
John Craigie, The Apocalypse Is Over | “He is the true troubadour of our time. He has traveled solo to all 50 states singing his beautiful songs and making people laugh.
But his records are a whole different beast! He goes to great lengths to make each record stand alone.”
Father John Misty, Fear Fun | “This album became somewhat of a staple for me on long tour related drives, I enjoy the whole album front to back. I acquired a vinyl copy of the album when I went to see Josh Tillman perform as Father John Misty at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. His quick wit and stage antics much like a reinvented Mick Jagger are worth checking out.
The album Fear Fun harkens back to the ’70s in a good way, and producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson is perfect for that. With touches of rock, blues, ballads, country at times reminiscent of the Beatles, the album has lush harmonies and lyrically is comedic and also insightful. With references to Hollywood and Babylon this vinyl came complete with a manuscript on a hypothetical video game called “Bed Bug Mountain,” and youthful yet twisted cover art done by Dimitri Drjuchin.”
—Niko Daoussis, guitar, Shook Twins
Environments, New Concepts in Sound, Disc 1 | Some of the coolest vinyl I have come across are the Environments series. This one in particular is great for relaxing—side A is called “The Psychologically Ultimate Seashore.” A calming hush at the oceans pulse begins this journey and by the end you feel like you’ve been on the beach in Mexico writing a novel since the needle dropped.
Side B is Called “Optimal Aviary” which is a lovely retreat to a bird sanctuary with chirps and whistles from a wide array of birds. Sometimes music to not what you want to listen to as a musician and a mental break into the nature of sounds can be a rewarding endeavor.
—Niko Daoussis, guitar, Shook Twins
Shook Twins’ album, What We Do arrived in stores just yesterday, April 8, 2014.
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