Weekend Mix Tapes Edition: Tossin' Off Your Compliments, Wow

Sam Smith has the kind of voice that wraps around you like a blanket, comforting you with its beauty and raw emotion. (Or is that just me?) I first heard this with "Lay Me Down," with his acoustic version that's so impeccable and intense it'll make your heart break. Then there was his acoustic take on Disclosure's "Latch"—which was already great—and holy shit:



This week, he's done it again with "Safe with Me," but this time with some production from Two Inch Punch that takes things to a slightly different place. Get ready to believe in love:



Then there was this terrific, minimalistic video—lights in tree branches, that's it—to match perfectly with Volcano Choir's song, "Byegone" (Volcano Choir = Justin Vernon of Bon Iver with band Collections of Colonies of Bees).

I don't know what I love more: when Vernon starts declaring, "Set sail! Set sail! Set sail!" or at the end when he sings, "Tossin' off your compliments, wow/Sexing all your Parliaments" — what does that even MEAN? Oh, just listen:



Finally, in other music news that left me absolutely delighted this week, AlunaGeorge's debut LP, Body Music, is now available to stream. It's perfection. Standout tracks: ALL OF THEM. But here are a couple of my favorites.





One week till Lollapalooza madness! Happy listening.

Monday Mix Tapes: Love is an Exquisite Kind of Pain

It's no secret that I think Jessie Ware can do no wrong. Because she can do no wrong. Here she is, performing "Confess to Me" with Disclosure on Jools Holland and perfecting the art of a bare midriff:



Speaking of women who can do no wrong, I think it's been a little too long since Lykke Li has made an appearance here. Never fear! She's featured on David Lynch's upcoming album, and it's slow and dreamy and just right.



And oh wait, I have another fantastic female vocalist to talk about: Eleanor Friedberger. I saw her at Empty Bottle here in Chicago last Friday—perfect timing, as I'm currently obsessing over her new album, Personal Record.



One of my favorites from the album is "I'll Never Be Happy Again," although nothing can top "Stare at the Sun," in my humble opinion.  But "I'll Never Be Happy Again" is the perfect track to lead into that one. It feels wonderfully dramatic and yet calmly realistic to me at the same time, and I love it. "After perfection, it's all downhill"; "Love is an exquisite kind of pain"—girl, I feel you.



Finally, here's a track from Quadron's new album, Avalanche. (Quadron = electronic soul duo, singer Coco Maja Hastrup Karshøj and producer Robin Hannibal of Rhye, another love of mine.) I listened to this album this morning while I got ready for work. Then I listened to it again while I wrote some Groupons. And then again while I made dinner. In other words, I like it a lot.

This one, "LFT" (Looking for Trouble), is in heavy competition with the track "Better Off" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) as my favorite.



Happy almost Tuesday! Maybe next time I'll feature some dudes. I think there are some men making music somewhere, right?