Daily Jam - Television Snow

Here's some excellent, moody instrumental music from Johnny Jewel, inspired by "Twin Peaks."  Listen to the smokey "Television Snow" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Shadow

This column was originally published at the end of the summer in 2017.

So, I’m writing this column before the finale of Twin Peaks: The Return, but as it will air before I post this sucker online, I’m going to say that I’m sure I was riveted and will be talking about it for days…as I pretty much have with every other episode in the last three months. The consensus has been that getting a third season of the show has been a gift, and I concur wholeheartedly. Lynch and Frost drew me in hard this summer, and I’ll admit to maybe being a little obsessed. Okay, being totally obsessed. And now it’s over. And I’m going to miss getting a new installment every Sunday. And one of the things I’m probably going to miss the most is seeing my (almost) weekly music performance from The Roadhouse (aka the Bang Bang Bar).

So many great (and sometimes unexpected) performances were featured on the series, each feeling as much a part of Lynch’s soundscape as Julee Cruise or Angelo Badalamenti. I discovered some new artists, some new tunes, gained a new appreciation for some old bands I’ve listened to for years, and am now pumped for the upcoming new soundtrack albums coming out later this month. And starting it off was one of my favorite bands from the last decade, the dreamy and wistful Johnny Jewel project, Chromatics, performing the wonderful “Shadow.”

Originally surfacing a couple of years ago and intended to be on the band’s new album Dear Tommy, I kind of forgot about it, as that album’s release date kept getting pushed back farther and farther. We’re still not sure when (or if) we’re going to get it (we didn't), but seeing the band play the song on Twin Peaks got me anxious with anticipation all over again. Dreamy synths, poppy, subdued disco beats, Ruth Radelet’s angelic and haunting vocals, and Jewel’s airy and retro production aesthetic create a sonic environment that pairs all too perfectly with Lynch’s own audio and visual world. I want them making art together forever.

But now it’s ended. And maybe we’re sated, or maybe our hearts hurt, or maybe we’re cueing the whole thing up to watch and hear and love all over again, but at the very least, we got to experience something special, an intoxicating mix of experimental filmmaking, warped narrative, and pop art, a magnum opus that could very much prove to be a defining moment for all of the artists creating it. It was wonderful to visit this world again.

“…for the last time…for the last time.”

Curses

Berlin-based producer and darkwave synth artist Curses has signed on to Johnny Jewel's Italians Do It Better label, which i must admit is really the perfect fit.  Dig on the moody and dreamy new tune "Elegant Death" below and be on the lookout for upcoming new album "Another Heaven" sometime later this year.

Daily Jam - Hands in the Dark

Closing out the year with an old track from Chromatics.  Seemingly like a lot Chromatics songs, there are either a dozen different versions or the track appears on a dozen different releases.  Anyway, "Hands in the Dark" is i believe the first track i ever heard from the band back when the "After Dark" compilation came out in the long, long ago that was 2007.  Check the track out below, perfect for your New Year's Eve party tonight, and our Daily Jam.

Desire Featuring Mirage

Desire's new album "Escape," their first in over a decade, is due next month.  Here's a new track from the duo featuring an assist from Mirage.  Watch the video for "Love Is a Crime" below and download the song here from Italians Do It Better.

Sally Shapiro

I totally forgot that Swedish pop duo of Johan Agebjorn and Sally Shapiro had rescinded their breakup and are supposed to be back next year with a new album.  And that's it's being mixed by Johnny Jewel and released on Jewel's Italians Do It Better label.  He's probably got the time these days.  Anyway, check out the dreamy, 2011 vibes of "Forget About You" below and look for the upcoming "Sad Cities" LP in February.

Chromatics - Shadow (Maceo Plex Remix)

Head on over here to Italians Do It Better, and for a dollar, you can download an EP of "Shadow" remixes from Chromatics, easily one of my favorite songs, if not just from the band than from the last decade in general.  Check out the club ready remix from Maceo Plex below.

Mothermary - Resurrection

Electro-pop duo Mothermary just released a video for their track "Resurrection" from the excellent compilation album "After Dark 3."  Check out the spooky synth-vibes below and get the album here from Italians Do It Better.  The vinyl is up for pre-order now too!  Hooray!

After Dark 3

Johnny Jewel and Italians Do It Better are back with another compilation album, "After Dark 3."  These are always great and seem to come in 7 year intervals.  Check out the whole thing below (i'm particularly digging Orion's cover of Vivien Vee's "Higher" right now) and download it here for a dollar.  And keep your eyes on the label for a proper vinyl release in the future.

Desire

Here's another new single from synth pop artist Desire from her upcoming "Escape" LP, out sometime this summer on Italians Do It Better.  Watch the underwater video for "Liquid Dreams" below and get the single here.

Chromatics - Teacher

Could it be?  Could it finally be happening?  Chromatics just shared a new video for now song "Teacher" along with a full tracklisting for the long absent "Dear Tommy" LP.  Maybe it's just around the corner.  Maybe.  Anyway, check it out below and keep an eye over here at Italians Do It Better.

Angel Olsen Remixed by Johnny Jewel

Angel Olsen's "All Mirrors" was one of my favorite songs and albums last year, and now the standout track gets a synthy, dance remix from Johnny Jewel.  It's wonderful, and a great way to start today.  Check it out below and download it here from Jagjaguwar.

Desire - Escape

Here's some new glimmering synth pop from Desire.  Watch the video for the Johnny Jewel produced "Escape" below and get the song here from Italians Do It Better.

Chromatics - Famous Monsters

Here's a new spoken word and dreamy disco track from Chromatics.  The group's output has been overflowing lately, but still no "Dear Tommy."  Anyway, check out the video below and get the single here from Italians Do It Better.

Orion

It's shaping up to be a banner year over at Italians Do It Better.  Here's a new synth pop single from Rhode Island's Orion.  Check out "I Want You So Bad" below and get it here.

Desire - Bizarre Love Triangle

Last May i got to see Chromatics when their tour swung through Austin, and opening act and fellow Italians Do It Better member Desire performed a wonderful cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle."  It's one of my all time favorite songs, so i was pretty stoked yesterday to see that the cover was released for download.  Listen below and get it here.

Chromatics

I thought something was up.  So, last night Johnny Jewel dropped a surprise Chromatics album...that's not "Dear Tommy."  Who knows if that will ever actually come out, but for the time being at least, we've got some new music from the band with their latest offering "Closer to Grey."  Check out the album opening cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" below and download the record here from Italians Do It Better.

Chromatics - I Want to Be Alone

Are Chromatics ever going to release their long gestating "Dear Tommy" LP?  I don't know and neither do you.  But they just keep on teasing and releasing new songs.  Here's the latest, a haunting cover of folk artist Jackson C. Frank's "I Want to Be Alone."  Watch the video below.

In Mirrors

I don't know too much about LA artist In Mirrors, though the latest single from the project, "Humans," is a dreamy, brooding piece of synth pop heaven.  And i'll get to hear more in couple of weeks when they open for Chromatics at Emo's in May.  Check out the Chromatics directed video for the song below.

Chromatics - Time Rider

Chromatics just announced a North American tour and released a video for new single "Time Rider."  Could "Dear Tommy" finally be on the horizon?  Anyway, watch the video below, download the song here from Italians Do It Better, and try to catch the band in a city near you (fingers crossed i'll be able to attend the Austin show in May).