Mikey S. (a.k.a. Blackbird Blackbird) has proven to be one of the hardest working men in the San Francisco music scene in the past few months. In the span of a few short months, he released a slew of singles including a completely re-worked and re-outfitted drifting cover of Modest Mouse’s “Float On,” a free EP, a number of fantastic remixes, DJed a fantastic show at Sub-Mission in San Francisco, and released his debut album entitled Summer Heart LP. Not bad for a former punk drummer whose electro-pop career seemingly spawned out of nowhere. But don’t let the limited resume lead you to believe he hasn’t put a lot of heart into these tracks. In fact, Summer Heart is an amazingly solid collection of laid-back, twinkling beat-induced rhythms and shimmering melodies. Like the luscious nectarine-raspberry upside-down gingerbread cake that Kasey is featuring on eating/sf, this album is so good and so “now” it’ll get stuck in your head for days.
He is often blandly written off as just another chillwave artist, but unlike many of the other chillwave mainstays, the tunes on Summer Heart aren’t about hazy nostalgia, but instead, tracks like “So Sorry Girl” and “Ups and Downs” are crisply here and now. However, like artists like Washed Out or Memory Tapes, Blackbird Blackbird wouldn’t be a bad choice if you were looking to tune out and sink into a soft leather chair with a pair of headphones, but also wouldn’t be a bad choice if you wanted to soundtrack a chill outdoor summer-evening dance party. The album is available for digital download from his Bandcamp page and will be available in physical format from Wonder Beard Tapes. Folks in the Bay Area can catch him on August 12 at Milk Bar in San Francisco with Teen Daze.
Blackbird Blackbird – Pure
Blackbird Blackbird – Hawaii (Teen Daze Remix)
Head back to eating/sf to read Kasey’s recipe for the stunningly beautiful and incredibly delicious nectarine-raspberry upside down gingerbread cake.
