Trifecta of Tranquility

So the 3 artists I'm about to discuss will most definitely not be anything most of you haven't heard about already, but I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the amazing new music from Explosions in the Sky, Fleet Foxes, and Bon Iver. Both Take Care, Take Care, Take Care by Explosions in the Sky and Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes have been out for weeks now, and have been absolutely the sources of comfort in my world of chaos and end of the year stress. Explosions in the Sky do an absolutely amazing job at arranging incredibly long pieces, and yet manage to create enough texture and sophistication in each song that you are completely unaware you have been listening to the same track for over seven minutes. We all knew they were talented, as exhibited in their previous albums and on the Friday Night Lights soundtrack. But my god, is this album amazing. "Human Qualities", "Be Comfortable, Creature", and "Last Known Surroundings" are my favorites off of the album... if you are at all in need of some relaxation or decompressing, these should be your go-to's. And as for Fleet Foxes... where do I even begin. The melodies and instrumentation on songs like "Bedouin Dress", "Lorelai", "Grown Ocean", and "Battery Kinzie" effortlessly combine what is good about modern-day folk rock and what should always be loved about down-to-the-roots folk music. These guys kill me, every musician writing this type of music (or any acoustic music, for that matter) could and should learn a lot from them. And finally, I know I stand among millions who are saying this right now, BUT I CANNOT WAIT FOR BON IVER'S NEW ALBUM. It drops early June, and they have already announced the first leg of their upcoming international tour. Sadly it does not yet have a stop in good old LA, but fingers crossed that that will change very soon. They posted "Calgary", one of the tracks of their forthcoming self-titled album, on Youtube a couple of days ago; it is so breathtakingly beautiful I didn't quite know what to do with myself the first time I heard it. Needless to say, the summer music scene is off to a pretty solid start. Listen to "Human Qualities", "Battery Kinzie", and "Calgary" below: