52 Weeks of Mixtapes
Week 8
Welcome back to 52 Weeks of Mixtapes, my second music series for The Low Major.
Every Sunday - unless it’s a week where I’m getting out and enjoying the world - I’ll publish a mixtape of music centered around something - a feeling, a time, a person, a place. We’re running on vibes here. Each playlist cover will be a photo or an edit that’s my own work. This shit’s organic.
Two (self-imposed) rules for this project:
Each mixtape will never be more than an hour - usually in that 45-60 minute space, long enough to run with it, but I’m not gonna brute-force any level of length. Quality over quantity, as they say.
I’m also going to try to avoid reusing artists within the same mixtape and tracks within the same month. Sometimes songs are good enough that it’d be silly to not touch on them again, so you might see some old friends.
I’ll link to the playlist, talk a little bit (like, one sentence) about each track, their ordering and why they were included, and that’ll be all. Pretty simple, and hopefully enjoyable for you.
a change of scenery
getting out and touching grass
1 | Airliner | Cheers Elephant | 3:32
It’s just a fun song, the type of music that reminds me of getting out there into the world a bit and finding that new spot.
2 | Honeybody | Kishi Bashi | 4:26
The sweeping string arrangements are a highlight from the very first breath of song, but it’s the last-gasp build that really sells this, when the keyboard and that sudden melodic synth wash over you and that cello all together.
3 | Break My Fall | Doc Robinson | 4:48
Now we’re moving more into the true heart of this playlist, which is folk-tinged indie rock, deep in scope and range but decently similar in sound. Love this chorus.
4 | Masterpiece | Big Thief | 3:51
Sometimes I look out at the world and this is the only song that comes to mind. It’s utterly delightful.
5 | In The Light | The Lumineers | 3:52
Soft little piano-driven ditty from a group that I haven’t really listened to much in the 2020s - but they’ll always have a very soft spot in my heart.
6 | Michicant | Bon Iver | 3:46
Few are better at “get out into the woods” than the guy who literally did just that.
7 | Meet Me in the Woods | Lord Huron | 4:22
Lord Huron has perfected walking the line between indie, folk, and bluegrass/country with the sort of practiced ease that makes their music quite comfortable to come back to.
8 | After the Storm | Mumford & Sons | 4:06
It’s not quite the frantic strumming that got this band big, but it’s the sort of melancholia that’s tinged all of their work near its best.
9 | Curls | Bibio | 3:18
Very simple, very beautiful. Lovely song that reminds me of a quiet evening in the pre-spring weeks in the Midwest.
10 | Fall Hard | The River Monks | 5:42
I love a folk song that relies a little more on stronger instrumentation. Harder to replicate around a campfire, just as appealing.
11 | The Story I Heard | Blind Pilot | 4:33
I just love listening to this song. Bit of a pick-me-up after a lot of slower tracks.
12 | No More Darkness, No More Light | Amos Lee | 2:57
Carefree - exactly how I feel on the trails. It’s perfect.
Enjoy the list! I’ll see y’all next week.