Daily Jam - Sunrise

I've been doing some deep dives on YouTube lately, sifting through a veritable tsunami of obscure albums and singles from all over the world in various genres.  And the last few days have proved overwhelmingly fruitful with dozens of awesome songs coming across my eardrums to my utter delight.  Like this cool mix of psychedelia and easy listening soft rock from the Japanese group Inoue Takayuki Band.  Dig on the tranquil, melancholy sounds of "Sunrise" below, our Daily Jam.

Drugdealer & Weyes Blood

Throwback pop artist Drugdealer is back with a couple of new tunes this month, featuring his usual blend of AM soft rock and indie pop.  On "Real Thing," he reunites with former collaborator Weyes Blood for some soul-infused vibes.  Check it out below and download it, along with "The News," here from Mexican Summer.

Haylie Davis

Here's a nice, soothing slice of soft rock-tinged cosmic Americana from LA artist Haylie Davis.  "Country Boy" plays like some kind of AM radio daydream, have remembered bits of melancholy pop and nostalgia-tinted sounds.  Check it out below and download it here from Fire Records.

Daily Jam (Cheese Week) - If She Would Have Been Faithful...

I unabashedly love '80s era Chicago, so i should probably just post their songs on the regular instead of during Cheese Week.  But i've already started listening to today's selection, and i'm not gonna stop.  So here's "If She Would Have Been Faithful...," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Time

Here's a classic, melancholy tune from The Alan Parsons Project for your Thursday.  Listen to "Time" below, our Daily Jam.

Swimming Bell

On the new "Somnia" EP, New York artist Swimming Bell (Katie Schottland) makes a dreamy mix of folk and soft rock that she describes as "the feeling of sinking into water, where everything is softened and suspended."  Right on.  Dig on the chilled out vibes of "Meet My Shadow" below and get the cassette here.

Daily Jam - Music and Dreams

Here's a little psych-tinged soft rock that veers really close into yacht rock territory from singer/songwriter Robert Lester Folsom's 1976 album "Music and Dreams."  Listen to the title track below, our Daily Jam.

Brian Ellis

San Diego pop artist Brian Ellis just released a possible contender for album of the upcoming summer, albeit a strange one, with his breezy, funky, and smooth soft rock opus "Lifetime Supply."  I can practically feel the sand between my toes, the sun and wind on my face, and the fruity cocktail in my hand listening to it.  Dig on the dreamy throwback pop of album closer "Blurred" below and get the LP here from CQQL Records.

LAKE

Washington band LAKE make airy, breezy, dreamy soft rock that feels suited for days by the pool, or in the sun, or dare i say on the yacht.  New album "Bucolic Gone" dropped last week.  Get it here from Don Giovanni Records and listen to the wonderful title track below.

Daily Jam - The Air that I Breathe

Some circles may remember The Hollies’ 1974 hit “The Air that I Breathe” solely for its use in an early 90’s television commercial for house paint (I watched a lot of TV when I was a kid). Some might remember it for being the reason that Radiohead now pay royalties to songwriters Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood due to the song’s similarities to “Creep.” For some reason I remember it as background music to growing up in west Texas in the 1980’s. And I’m not sure why.

There’s a part of me that really wants to believe that my dad had a Hollies album, Hollies from whence the song appeared or a greatest hits compilation or something like that. And there’s another part of me that really wants to believe that said album was an 8-Track tape.

Naturally, I have no evidence to support these beliefs.

I suppose it’s certainly possible that in my dad’s music collection somewhere was a Hollies 8-Track. He had plenty of them in the mix with his vinyl and assorted cassette tapes (if memory serves, he may have even had a reel-to-reel in there somewhere), but the band doesn’t really fit into his wheelhouse. There were a handful of rock n’ roll records in my dad’s arsenal, but at his heart, he was a jazz and bluegrass kind of guy. And after he passed away a few years ago, my mom, my siblings, and I divvied up what we wanted to keep of the collection, and the rest was lost to time. I don’t recall ever seeing the mythical Hollies 8-Track in the bunch.

But “The Air that I Breathe” is prevalent in my memory of the time. Maybe it’s manufactured, or maybe I’m misremembering things, or maybe I heard it somewhere else that my mind can’t place. Our lazy brains can be notorious for just making shit up so that random things make some sort of coherent sense in our psyches. Why a 1970’s soft rock hit wormed its way into mine is beyond me.

Good jam though. Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Harp

It's been a spell since i last thought about Denton, Texas band Midlake and their catchy, mellow mix of'70s folk and soft rock.  Former member Tim Smith has a new album coming out next month with his latest project Harp, the duo of himself and wife Kathi Zung.  The pair's upcoming "Albion" LP is a wistful and moody mix of folk and '80s synth pop that reminds me a little of the kind of stuff that Indiana band Odawas was making 15 years ago.  Beautiful stuff.  Check out "I Am the Seed" below and pre-order the LP here from Bella Union.

Daily Jam - Moonshine

It's been over a hundred degrees here everyday for weeks now and weeks to come.  It makes me want to get back to the Pacific coast.  Here's some Dennis Wilson to put me in the appropriate mood.  Listen to "Moonshine" below, our Daily Jam.

The Lemon Twigs

I almost slept on "Everything Harmony," the latest from New York duo The Lemon Twigs, but for some reason felt compelled to give it a listen yesterday.  And holy moly am i glad i did.  It's pure pop bliss from start to finish, a collection of 70's soft rock and psych pop inspired gems.  Instantly hummable.  Check out "Any Time of Day" below and order the album here from Captured Tracks.

Daily Jam - Make It Easy on Yourself

He passed away earlier this year, which devastated my mother-in-law, so let's listen to some Burt Bacharach today.  Check out "Make It Easy on Yourself" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Dirty Work

It's always interesting to me to see what old songs i can play that my kids will like because it's always the most random things.  Like Steely Dan's "Dirty Work."  They totally hum along, and i sweat i heard the 8-year old singing it to himself in his room the other day.  Anyway, listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Rainy Day

Originally recorded in the '60s and then shelved until the Finders Keepers record label unearthed it in 2006, Susan Christie's "Paint A Lady" LP is full of dreamy, soft-rock tinged psychedelic folk that we really, really should have all been hearing for decades before its release.  Every song is that wonderful.  Anyway, let's listen to the melancholy album opener "Rainy Day," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Do You Feel It?

For whatever reason when i was in Spokane three weeks ago, yacht rock was our sound of choice.  We jammed it for hours on the road trip from Port Orchard east through the mountains, either on satellite radio or the mix i compiled specifically for the weekend.  And it followed us everywhere, playing from stereo systems wherever we went.  And one of those breezy, feel good tunes came from The Alessi Brothers (also sometimes known as simply Alessi) and the opening track from their 1976 self-titled album.  And look at that album cover.  Look at that hair.  And dig of "Do You Feel It?," our Daily Jam.  I'm going to the beach.

Daily Jam - Rise

I don't care who you are or who you think you are, this song fucks.  So without further ado, Herb Alpert's "Rise," our Daily Jam.

Poison Abbey

Here's a silky smooth pop jam from Australian artist Poison Abbey.  "Upmarket" plays like something that would accompany a day at the pool, or on the deck of a boat.  Yeah, it's yacht rock.  Listen below and get it here Dinosaur City.

Tame Impala - Patience

Hey, it's new music from Tame Impala.  New jam "Patience" finds the band continuing to explore the synth pop and psych sounds they began with 2015's "Currents" venturing into chilled, soft rock territory.  I think i can get behind this.  Spring's begun and Summer's only around the corner, and "Patience" certainly has some pool vibes going for it.  Anyway, listen below, and probably be on the lookout for a new record sometime in the near(ish) future.