Gold Panda Album Review

Gold Panda - Same Dream China by smithblogsatlanta

This afternoon, I fell into a blissful nap. I awoke in my dream overlooking the contoured earth of central china. The rice terraces stretch for miles and miles. In the background, the mandolin fades in and out with the steady hum of the servers and processors fueling this dream. Electrical impulses streaked across the sky to the deep bass rhythms and simple but complicated hand clap beat.

I absolutely love music that will take me "there." Lying in bed, on the verge of unconsciousness, the music of Gold Panda and my imagination took me far away. The track I posted above, "Same Dream China", is just one of many incredible pieces on Gold Panda's latest release, "Lucky Shiner."

Gold Panda - Vanilla Minus by smithblogsatlanta

The formula for Gold Panda is fairly simple and straight forward. Many of the songs start off with a simple loop. A few of them, like "Vanilla Minus", are unbearably harsh and repetitive in the first bars. That is until the second wave of loops drop. Add in incredible bass line. Add in sweet sounding strings and a dance beat. Now you have something special from what seemed like nothing. The individual components to each song are very simple but the complexity of the composition is what makes this album truly remarkable [and an audio amusement park with headphones].

There have been very few releases this year that have rivaled Gold Panda. The best part about this music obsession is that even with the ridiculous amount of music I go through, I still find music that surprises me. I hope Gold Panda will do the same for you.

Miami Horror "I look to You"

I am ashamed to admit that I have not bought the album yet... But this is going to change. Every track I hear by Miami Horror keeps getting better and better. Here is a tasty new video from the group to send you into your labor day weekend. Cheers!

I Look To You from Miami Horror on Vimeo.

Holly Miranda "Joints"

Sometimes you come across music that floors you. Holly Miranda's album The Magicians Private Library was recommended to me last night. I loaded it up on my phone to listen to at work. The album starts with "Forest Green, Oh Forest Green." This track has a sorta Cat Power meets Beirut feel to it. I immediately looked her up on youtube and found this masterpiece above.

Where have I been? What rock have I been living under? This woman is amazing! I have only had a chance to hear the album once and I literally can't wait to hear it again. I have a feeling this one is going to get stuck on repeat.