Nik Freitas “Sun Down” (Team Love 2008)

Oh, how lovely this record is. Lo-fi phenom Nik Freitas has put together an elegant folk piano-pop record that, like the last edition of Short Takes, owes a lot to Paul McCartney, not to mention a heaping spoonful of Paul Simon. Sun Down is alternately altogether jaunty and positively delicate. And it’s all gorgeous. “All The Way Down,” with its choir and dancing pianos, is your favorite Billy Joel song that you can admit to still enjoying. In “What We Become,” Freitas plays add-on, building from a miniscule piano chord progression, gradually adding in vocals and a gently thumping drum machine, and though it’s a lengthy pop song, it never gets boring. Again, this record is just gorgeous.

Nik Freitas - Sun Down.mp3
Nik Freitas - All The Way Down.mp3

Buy Nik Freitas’s Sun Down before you do anything else today.

Andy Mitchell “Less Talk, More Static” (Self-Released 2008)

Andy Mitchell, a college student living in Middlesbrough, England, sent us his debut lo-fi indie rock record. Titled Less Talk, More Static, the album was recorded in his dorm room during the early morning hours, a time he calls the best part of the day as well as serving as the thematic structure of the album. Mitchell certainly likes Radiohead and the Smashing Pumpkins, and those influences are abundantly clear here. In fact, the album sounds like a Smashing Pumpkins title I wouldn’t throw across the room, which around here, is truly a compliment. Occasionally, Mitchell gets carried away with layering, especially with synth, when more simplistic arrangements would better serve the songs, but he’ll figure it out; the guy is loaded with potential. While Less Talk, More Static has a tendency to sound a bit samey from song to song, it’s definitely enjoyable and certainly isn’t bad by any stretch. Trust us on this one, we’ve received plenty of terrible debut records over here.

Check out Andy Mitchell at his myspace page.