altered the fundamentals of early surf pop and 1960’s AM radio by articulating beautifully dense atmospheres of ambiance and ennui. Their songs tend to materialize with an engulfing simplicity, as if they wrote them after a day at the beach on ether. Early in the EP, it becomes ruefully apparent that Mother Son exhibits an almost otherworldy ability to focus on the negative space their instruments and vocals have left behind to create songs with infinite depth. Echo, reverb, and some synth drone frequently fill in the absences after the distorted, yet oddly sunny, guitars make their exit. Continue reading →

Chris Otepka’s vocals hurt and hurt deep. With a voice that churns out exhausted disillusionment like it was his second language, every track he writes easily takes onDark Was the Night, released in stores, digitally, and triple vinyl formats on February 13. The Red Hot Organization is the leading international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture, according to their website. Since 1989, they have produced over fourteen groundbreaking albums with compiled music ranging from jazz to country to world music.

Dark Was the Night boasts a track list that includes new and covered material from more crazy good independent artists than you can shake a stick at. The album features such mind-bottling collaborations as The Books and Jose Gonzalez (Cello Song), Feist and Ben Gibbard (Train Song), The Dirty Projectors and David Byrne (Knotty Pine), and Cat Power with Dirty Delta Blues (Amazing Song). Glancing through this monumental track list, I can’t help but