Hood - "They Removed All the Trace That Anything Ever Happened Here". Taken from Hood's quite-good 2001 record, Cold House. It's a strange, lingering, late winter song. Narcoleptic indie rock that intercuts melancholy murmuring with electronic flickers, a wary electric guitar, and an erratic rap by Doseone (?). Better than it sounds, I think; like late Talk Talk crossed with Clouddead. Hood's earlier work (six albums, countless eps, comp tracks, etc.) is excellent, too. They're dark water music. (i was gonna post the song myself, but then i realized hood offers it for free on their site, so there you go.)

The Magnetic Fields - "I Don't Really Love You Any More". Gay and liberated chamber pop, cantering along at a speedy pace. Stephen and Claudia's vocals blend into a single, arch-but-genuine voice. "I am a gentleman / think of me as just your fan." There's also ukelele, cello and drum taps, as well as something wheezy and sincere deep in the background. It's a trifle that in the right circumstances could be absolutely joyous, absolutely euphoric... that is, unless you turn it on one day and wonder if maybe Merritt's being ironic, whether perhaps there's a possibility here for devastating, glassy-eyed resignation, false cheeriness. And then you can't listen to it properly again. (oh and yes, taken from the Fields' I, due in may.)

elsewhere: be absolutely sure to explore the haunting bulgarian vocal music at tofuhut, and the light dance delight that is the Katerine track at fluxblog.

see you on monday, although i may do a non-mp3 post over the weekend!