sum the greater mixtape #2

after spending much effort preparing the mixtape over the weekend, i haven’t had any time to post it, and for that i apologize. i want to make sure you get not only music but a breakdown of the tracklisting and a blurb about the band, my thoughts (if any in particular), and links to find out more. if you’d rather just have the mixtape, by all means please let me know.

at any rate, here it is, and i hope you enjoy!

<3 / ∑>

[as always, you can download the mixtape by entering your email at right]

1. The Golden Filter - Thunderbird

Big ups to The Golden Filter (whom I’m incredibly honored to count among the followers of this blog :) ) for being the #3 most blogged about artist and #7 most Tweeted on HypeMachine’s charts! Very well deserved for this gem, which, by the way, you can pick up for free along with a dub remix from their amazing website. GO!

2. Little Dragon - Looking Glass

I love how casual yet danceable this track is. Nothing too complicated, just a simple beat, swaying bass, some dreamy synths, and a soulful voice. But the result is exceptional. Sweden is dominating pop these days in a serious way. Listen to more at their MySpace.

3. Evan Voytas - Getting Higher

This is one from the blog this week — the only track I had time to post. I couldn’t not post it. I’ve been playing this song any time I’ve needed to get cheered up lately. It’s one of those great songs that holds the capacity to change your mood in a positive direction every time. More on Evan and a free MP3 on the original post.

4. Hey Champ - Cold Dust Girl

Who would’ve thought the midwest to be a hotbed of cheesy-but-brilliant electro-pop djs? Thanks these guys and French Horn Rebellion, the number of Brooklyn hipster girls’ PBR-case dresses dropped on the dancefloor has skyrocketed. Check out more tracks on their MySpace.

5. Fol Chen - Cable TV

After discovering these guys by listening to every single artist that was playing SXSW (exhausting, I must admit), I caught them at the Echo Curio in LA and was blown away by the energy. Guess this week’s start is all about dancing to positive vibes :) They’ve put out a free album here.

6. The Nights - Lonely Soul

I owe this one entirely to the guys at Future Sounds, who put this track on their Future Sounds 33 mix (probably the best mixtape I’ve heard all year). I have been wholly unable to track down any more info on this band, or even a means by which to contact them in the hopes of having them on sum the greater. What seems like a downtempo MGMT is apparently augmented by a sax in the live show. More here.

7. Why? - Against Me

My best friend has been listening to a bunch of Why? lately and convinced me to get back into them. The clincher was this YouTube video on a Silverlake rooftop. Just in time, as their new record, Eskimo Snow, just dropped. And now I’m very sad to see I’ll be missing them here in San Francisco on October 17th (I’ll be in North Carolina, probably at a NASCAR race…no joke).

8. Port O’Brien - My Will Is Good

Continuing their tradition of canticles about life on the seas in Alaska, Port O’Brien brings their latest effort, Threadbare. Despite every song bordering on desperation, there’s always a sense of optimism in their songs that I truly enjoy. Join their mailing list to get a free track here.

9. The Rural Alberta Advantage - The Deadroads

I’ll be honest, I heard about this band from Fred Wilson (a well known Venture Capitalist). I’m still not sold on the whole record being earth-shattering, but it’s quite impressive, and has moments of absolute brilliance. As their name implies, they make one wistful for a simpler life on the Alberta prairies. You can buy the album from their site using PayPal, and can get a couple more free tracks there as well.

10. The Morning Benders - Waiting For A War

The Morning Benders are bay area natives, and lead singer Chris busies himself producing other great local acts (like the next track on the playlist, often at the studio up the street from my apartment). This gem is off 2008’s Talking Through Tin Cans, but I’ve had the honor of hearing a few tracks off the new record (produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear) and I dare say they are beyond fantastic.

11. A B & The Sea - Suzie

These guys have gotten some blog love lately, and understandably so. Like The Drums, they have an easy SoCal surf-pop vibe to them. The crazy part? They’re from my home, frigid, nowhere-near-surfing state of Wisconsin. Listen their other songs here.

12. MuteMath - Spotlight

While I can’t say I listen to their recorded music regularly, I will always be more than happy to attend a MuteMath show. They played a small room in my college student union my sophomore year (with Matt Kearney opening) and blew the roof off. They’re the hardest working and most energetic band I’ve ever come across. They were even willing to throw out an entire album’s worth of music in the process of getting their next album right.

13. Miike Snow - Black & Blue

Black & Blue is latest Miike Snow video to surface. And arguably the best. As I said last week, every song on this record is a hit single. Take your pick.

14. Washed Out - Hold Out

Recent blogosphere favorites Washed Out hail from the southeast, but have a universal sound. It took two listens before I paid attention (perhaps intuitively dismissive of what I prejudged to be overhyped), but a rainy Saturday in my cousin’s car on the way home from an art museum sold me. Pick up the EP here.

15. Atlas Sound - Walkabout

Oh man, I am on a roll here with artists from the southeast that have been blogged near to death. Atlas Sound is the solo project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox. That’s about all I’ve got.

16. Hesta Prynn - Whoa Whoa

Hesta, like Miike Snow, was a favorite of last week’s playlist, so I’ve included her again. Much more to come from this fantastic indie rap chick.