I made my triumphant return to San Diego this passed week and checked out A A Bondy at the Casbah- successfully blowing my mind and getting me nostalgic all at once. There is something about his coarse voice, his tired eyes, his soft face- it makes you feel bad for putting him through the agony of revisiting these songs, these places right there in front of you. But he does- he puts himself through it every night in every city. The only song that has a beat, a little blood coarsing through it is, ‘Killed Myself When I Was Young’ as he sings, “and I will come back someday, if I do not lose my way” and when he says those words he means them. He holds on to every syllable furiously. He makes you think about home and where that is for you, and the harmonica starts whailing and everything feels warm and you look around and see some of your favorite faces and you feel safe. That’s what his music does to you. Its the collective exhale. 

Afterwards we all stood out front and he was loading his gear out and he accidentally spit on my friend Noelle, which is hilarious and I really wish I were there to see it. No one messes with Noelle, good thing he meant no harm, that girl can hurt someone. I love Noelle. 

A A Bondy- Killed Myself When I Was Young

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My good friend David once saw A.A Bondy play at SXSW a while back and he said it seemed like that man had lived a life. From the sadness in his coarse, bluesy voice, there were secrets stirring, and memories lodged in his gut that he turns into words to whail and whisper. Though I have yet to see the man myself, I bet it’d be real accurate, not in a spooky way (although David has a way of reading minds) but in a way that when he performs, he can feel it in his teeth once again, aching with each verse and chorus. Unless he has made a fool of us all- I wouldn’t discount this as a possibility. But there is a depth in A. A Bondy that leads us to quiet spaces, making us bury within ourselves in a slow-churning kinda way. His new album, ‘When The Devil’s Loose’ is out today, and is a sleepy collection of songs that are a little more sombre than ‘American Hearts’ but with the same blues-folk sound. If autumn had a sound, A. A Bondy has perfected it. 

A. A Bondy- False River

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A. A Bondy- Oh The Vampyre

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…and an old one-

A. A Bondy- Killed Myself When I Was Young

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Hey all. Here’s a Sunday afternoon mix. Soon, you’ll be able to download these little guys- but stick around and listen here. Hope you found some cash on the ground, or you hit all the green lights. Love!

Langhorne Slim & the War Eagles- She’s Gone

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Midwest Dilemma- The Great Depression

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Edwarde Sharp and Magnetic Zeroes- Day Dream

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Bad Veins- Gold and Warm

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Cryptacize- The Cage

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The Thermals- You Dissolve (daytrotter sessions) 

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Rogue Wave- Eyes

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Pree- In The Parlour

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Florence and the Machine- Hospital Beds (Cold War Kids cover)

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Taken By Trees- Sweet Child O’ Mine (Rolling Stones cover)

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A. A Bondy- Im On Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)

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