I realized that the “Best of” title was silly. First of all, the fact that I could know all the best music of a single month at the moment that month was over was silly. Secondly, the thought of Spotify actually having all the best music is laughable. So, even with this 19-track playlist, I think “A March Sampling” is a much more apt title. Personally, the fact that no tracks off of Julia Holter’s Ekstasis could be included renders this list moot, but I finished it up anyways (Black Breath’s Sentenced to Life also could not be represented here, unfortunately). It’s sad, because this list will never be what I want it to be. Meanwhile, the underwhelming Port of Morrow gets one of its few interesting tracks represented. Sigh. Forgive my complaining, though - there is still a good amount of good music here. Ceremony’s Zoo grew on me quite nicely, and the single is wonderful. The Men’s new album is excellent, The Shoes’ single is as addicting as Tetris (resisted BTVS and drug references), Xiu Xiu released some gloriously weird tracks, Kiernan McMullan’s new record got an 8.9 from our very own Joe Brown… We really are spoiled when I can complain of such trivial things. Enough words - enjoy the mix. As is often the case, I like to follow up a serious, somber track at the end of the album with a fun little epilogue. [link]

Tracklist:

1. Ceremony - Hysteria // Zoo
2. Miike Snow - Paddling Out // Happy To You
3. Now, Now - Dead Oaks // Threads
4. Kiernan McMullan - What If // Two Years
5. Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s // Rot Gut, Domestic
6. Oberhofer - HEART // Time Capsules II
7. The Shoes - Time to Dance // Time to Dance
8. Yellow Ostrich - Elephant King // Strange Land
9. The Men - Turn It Around // Open Your Heart
10. Vcmg - Spock // SSSS
11. Nite Jewel - One Second of Love //  One Second of Love
12. Xiu Xiu - Hi // Always
13. s / s / s - If This Is Real // Beak & Claw
14. Tanlines - All of Me // Mixed Emotions
15. Unsane - Decay // Wreck
16. The Shins - The Rifle’s Spiral // Port of Morrow
17. Daniel Rossen - Silent Song // Silent Hour / Golden Mile
18. Mirroring - Silent From Above // Foreign Body
19. The Magnetic Fields - Andrew In Drag // Love at the Bottom of the Sea

- Tyler Hanan

“Museum Day” - s / s / s

We haven’t joined the s / s / s chorus yet (though we did cover Sufjan’s Record Store Day split 7” with Rosie Thomas), but now that Sufjan Stevens/Son Lux/Serengeti collaborative’s EP Beak & Claw is streaming [link] and up for purchase purchase [link], I have another chance at a well-timed blurb. 

While this peculiar assemblage of artist is already remarkable after only listing the names involved, listening adds another layer of intrigue. The press release’s comparison to “the cracked futurisms of Shabazz Palaces” aren’t totally off-base, though this has a much brighter, above-ground atmosphere, unsurprisingly. The meandering path of “Museum Day,” stutter-stepping along with it’s odd blips and sounds, is a rather challenging opener with its steadfast dedication to odd sounds and being off-kilter. It’s actually the most challenging of the four tracks; though it does have a traditional chorus/verse structure and the choir-and-percussion-heavy ending do bring a warped bit of cohesion, the other three tracks are initially easier to follow. It’s fun to study the ins and outs of Beak & Claw. It might even be one of my favorite EPs of the year (though nothing has arisen as a serious threat to Kindred yet).

- Tyler Hanan