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Intro
01:08
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The famous “one song a year” hit maker recorded this with Kris just before getting on a plane to Thailand. He’s back this year with a slightly new sound, but still, it’s those same infectious melodies and confessional lyrics that get us every time. Will 2015 see more than one Bleeding Gums song? We all hope so. It’s stupid how great of a songwriter and singer he is.
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Rising from the ashes of Summer Vacation, Winter Break is the greatest band in Southern California at the moment. This is the first track off their debut album, and we are honored that they chose GP4 to host their coming out party. Their record will be out next year and I guarantee you will hear their name passed around in those type of conversations where everyone is name dropping bands to sound cool.
Winter Break - S/T coming soon
LP - Lauren Records/Asian Man Records
Cassette - Making New Enemies
"closed off an operation
i’m standing close enough to hear
i drop the pen from my nervous hand
let go way too soon. how soon is measured
how soon is measured in numbers
figures lie, i can't react without turning my eyes
are full of self-satisfaction, you don't know this
i'm not telling you anything you want to hear
systems hold us down, do you wanna hear this?
don't want it, makes me sick
how can i know that you're not gonna fuck me right back
when i turn around and walk away and leave this room
is colder than a thousand slurpees poured down my back
at home, i take off my clothes and drift to sleep
i don't wanna.... leave.... anymore
make it worth my time and try to dissect this
when i say i want, i want, i want"
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Animal City is like your cool older cousins from Chicago who you wish you could hang out with more. Sal and Dakota are two of the most fascinating lyricists I’ve heard, and I can’t understand why they aren’t the biggest band in the Midwest. This song is a demo for their upcoming album, but their past two full lengths are masterpieces of genre-less music and bottomless wit. They never stop creating, be it music, or videos, or zines, or strange art projects you can’t exactly categorize, and I truly envy their endless pursuit of craft.
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5. |
Blowout - Guts Grown Up
03:03
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This Portland trio is the perfect thing to listen to if you like driving alone and singing at the top of your lungs while hydroplaning down I-5. Laken Wright’s vocals bounce between passionate screaming to soft and sweet crooning, and the music follows suite. Unfortunately their line-up is now spread across the country, but I don't think that will slow them down too much. The world is thirsty for more female vocalists and Blowout is the right band to quench everyone’s thirst.
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Come on, who doesn't love sour guy? He plays every instrument, records and mixes it all in his bonus room, and has contributed the most sincere and heartbreaking songs to each GP. Even though he claims to be in a "two year writer’s block", I think this song squashes that theory. Keep going Sour Guy. The world needs you.
"I won't fight
I'll clench my jaw but turn away
It's bigger than me
I'll learn to yearn
She won't return
I'll grow to accept the pain
These holidays weigh on me
Memories flood my mind, then burst into crying
I miss our family
I crave her love
Please let me go back
I'm trapped in the present
So I'll give up hope
I'll give in"
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Yes this is the same Slaughter Beach as GP3, and yes he has added “dog” as an appendix to his band name, and yes this is Jake from Modern Baseball- but never mind that. Jake plays each instrument in his songs, like a lot of people, but these are no simple songs. It’s a dream of mine to jam with Jake one day, and maybe he can give me some guitar and drum lessons. But until then, I’ll settle for listening to this and his EP “Dawg” on spotify.
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8. |
Just Friends - Daydream
01:58
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Have you ever seen Just Friends play live? Holy shit. Imagine an ultra high energy sing along equipped with hugs and strange dance moves and leaving feeling as if you’re a part of a new family. Sam Kless is the greatest front man in the Bay Area and possibly the nicest dude I’ve met all year, and the band is stocked with extremely proficient musicians. They have a new album coming out in 2015 and you can bet your bottom dollar there will be a lot of hype around them.
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Made up of Sam "Stumpy" Evans and Toast from Bear Puns, Ménage a Sabre's are a lovely duo. I’m not sure if this is a one time song, or if they have plans to make more music in the future, but I think they could make the ultimate bubble bath album if they wanted to. Last October we stayed up late drinking whiskey and jamming with Sam in a cabin in the Virginia countryside and he played this song for us. It’s definitely my favorite song I’ve heard from him.
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Fresh off his debut EP, “On Second Thoughts”, Weston hits us with another zinger to knock out the year. Weston picks up the guitar at any free moment, never afraid to sing his golden heart out, and always working on a new song so rigorously you’d think he was possessed. He has the personality of a zenned-out cleaner Woodie Guthrie, great with parents, great at basketball, and the best finger picking acoustic guitar player I know. Every time he shows me a new song, I get a surge of jealousy and immediately start working harder on my own stuff. I know he’s got a lot of free time this winter and I can only expect he’s putting it towards a new album. All fingers crossed.
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11. |
Soapbox - Summer Storm
03:03
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After his debut on Group Picture Vol. 1 and then his disasterpiece, Psalms From Rainy Day Land, Soapbox spent some time in the big house for getting caught up in a mysterious smuggling operation between Honduras and Orange County. Since getting released on parole, he scored The Legend of the Giant Killers, an upcoming MNE documentary, and has been working on the newest Daydream Dystopia record. This song was intended for said film, and the drums were made by his main man Milk.
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Neighbor’s Kid wins the award this year for “greatest musician I know”. I think he may have won last year too? One guy, one garage studio in Portland, and many instruments. I can’t keep up with him when we jam. All I know is that I don’t hear from him for a few weeks, and then suddenly he sends me a handful of songs, all completely different, and all amazing. I like this one especially because of how long and layered it is. Get lost in this sonic mirage.
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13. |
Alex Maddox - Understand
02:56
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This angel voiced heart throb has relocated from Seattle to San Francisco, but he did not lose any quality in the move. If your in a bubble bath, lying around naked with a partner, driving through the countryside in light snow, or looking for something nice to put on while you and your mom clean the house… put on Alex Maddox. I am praying that his new big boy job doesn’t stop him from making music, because he is too pleasant to spoil.
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Good old Tough Stuff. A staple of the SoCal scene and the sweet hearts rising steadily through the ranks of punk-dom. To me, their songs sound like they come from a kid with severe ADHD, but who is also charming and romantic when he wants to be, got decent grades in school, and is actually pretty social at family holiday parties. Everything Tough Stuff releases keeps getting better and I’m sure their new full length coming out next year will be their best material yet.
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15. |
Humphrey Orlando - Spell
06:42
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Since his debut on 2012’s GP2, many people have asked me if Humphrey Orlando is a wandering beach bum, a witch doctor, a dusty-eyed hermit, or an alcoholic con artist. The truth is, all of the above. Humphrey doesn’t communicate with the outside world often, but when he does, it is in these beautiful, simple, and sloppy ballads. His songs don’t seem like much at first, but for some reason they hypnotize, calm the soul, and massage some inaudible and intangible truth.
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My dear old friend, roommate, and Hemingway front man, Benny is the master of curt cold words and gloomy pop songs. But you wouldn’t really know it in this tune. This song is different for him in that it is based on Kyle B Hart’s “The Mustache that Cured World Hunger”, and he’s describing some shenanigans in Tanzania rather than a break-up in the rain. While Hemingway is gaining momentum and notoriety, Benny is making music videos for other bands, writing his infamously chill poetry, and posting pictures of the girl he babysits on instagram.
"it was a cool autumn night,
when the mustache first took flight.
across the world to find some food.
extremely hungry with nothing to lose.
it went to China and Japan.
stopped by France and Pakistan.
collecting food across the globe.
into the night so far from home.
flying high up above the ground.
close to Italy when it heard a sound.
of a grumble couldn't be ignored.
hungry stomachs that needed more.
it knew it just couldn't go back.
this wasn't any ordinary mustache.
it had a plan to help those in need.
bringing food to the hungry.
it was the mustache that chose to care.
feeding the world with plenty to share.
it didn't ask for a thing in return,
just wanted to help the world concern.
about a problem that could easily end
if we only cared as the mustache did.
bringing food where there wasn't enough.
helping people in Tanzania.
stomachs full with plenty to eat.
showing us how the world should be.
it isn't a fairytale or make believe
to say that people still go hungry.
it's easy to just think of ourselves.
and forget those who need our help.
it was the mustache that chose to care.
feeding the world with plenty to share.
it didn't ask for a thing in return,
just wanted to help the world concern.
about a problem that could easily end
if we could only care as the mustache did."
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The mysterious Milk Flud… Is he insane? Is he pulling a trick on us all? Is he deceptively pathetic? Is he a chilled-out mastermind describing the secrets of the universe through crunchy drums, subliminal samples, and lo-fi romanticism? All I know is that Milk Flud laughs last at jokes only he understands, and Milk Flud is the master of the sonic collage.
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18. |
Walter - Winter Shy
02:13
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Did he just say “dharma”? Wow. And I thought Chamomile was a bad song… This guy needs to go back to writing sappy lyrics about chocolate milk and otter pops.
"I can hear it in my head, but I can’t play it
It comes out as someone else’s song
Home alone and comfortable
Waitin on my karma to untangled
I can feel it on my tongue, but I can’t say it
Could never memorize a poem
Ya, I know, go tell it to the ocean
and live out your dharma on the coast
it’s not as easy as you think
a new disguise for every wink
turning demons into diamonds in your spare time
impossibly riding your own wake
grandiose visions fade
and no thing can hurt me
as long as i am winter shy, and alone
Nevermind
Lesson learned
Oops, I think we found it
I will notify the lost and lonely
Tell them it’s come true
So spare your thanks
Cut and paste collages of forever
And no, I’m not trying to find myself
Just looking for my muse
I understand the joke but can’t explain it
I’m fine to laugh at it alone
As long as i am winter shy, I’ll know"
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Making New Enemies California
www.makingnewenemies.org
Art Collective / Utopian Cult /
Soul Posse
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