Mercury Rev - Deserter’s Songs
The album “spawned a sub-genre of its own, with subsequent releases by the Flaming Lips (The Soft Bulletin, also recorded by Fridmann at his Tarbox Studios), the Delgados (The Great Eastern; Fridmann again), and Grandaddy (The Sophtware Slump) all hewing to a similar balance of lyrical intimacy and orchestral expanse.” - Pitchfork
I first heard this album during a layover on my way back from my first trip to Colombia back in 2016. I was combing through Light in the Attic’s catalog looking for some future Good Thing picks when I saw that they had reissued Deserter’s Songs* - a late 90s classic that passed right under me and my noses at the time. I was in the food court listening on noise cancelling headphones which enabled the music to fill my whole skull to the brim and force out anything that wasn’t these beautiful sounds. Everything in the airport began to move in sync with the opening keyboard. By the time the drums and saw made their dramatic entry less than 2 minutes into “Holes” it was decided - this had to be part of the subscription. To be sure, many albums start off just as strong as Deserter’s Songs but almost all of them weaken as the album progresses. Somewhere near the middle of side B it loses you and suddenly that first song doesn’t seem as good as it once was. Knowing that, I kept waiting for the point when this record would drop off as well but it just never does. There are so many moments throughout that cause me to exclaim, “God this album is just SO GOOD!” It is, in a word, a masterpiece.
- Will Pratt 5/3/21
*LITA reissue is sadly out of print
Otoniel Hoyos - El Palmar, Colombia
Otoniel Hoyos' coffee is wildly good. If you've had some of La Muralla this year, which is a community blend to which Otoniel contributes, you might understand why. This microlot of Pink Bourbon and Tabi is just incredible. Once the cherries are harvested, they're dry fermented for 24 hours and then washed, with drying taking nearly three weeks to hit the desired moisture content. Our friends at Osito helped source this lot, having worked with Otoniel for the past two years and selecting nearly all his coffee this year for microlots. Prepare your palate for florals, tropical fruit, and candy-like sweetness. Oh, man, this is so good.