Dig into this week’s Saturday Alternative playlist! The Fitting Room album was A Black Mile to the Surface by Manchester Orchestra, out now on Loma Vista.
Andy Hull and Robert McDowell of Manchester Orchestra recently joined me in studio here at WTMD, and one of the things they mentioned when talking about their new album was that they had to get away and remove themselves from their busy/happy lives, specifically from their families, to be able to write it. So, they left their homes and secluded themselves in a cabin in Asheville and got to work. Andy began putting together a broad concept – building characters and stories from both his personal experiences and fears, like that of fatherhood, and also from outside influences. Works of the Coen brothers entered his mind, and a “Fargoesque” world began taking shape. We sense that darkness throughout the record, from the moment we lay our eyes on the artwork and read the title, A Black Mile To The Surface. The songs don’t immediately hit you in the gut with driving guitars like in albums past, but that’s not to say there aren’t plenty of epic moments, and the band’s restraint only helps lift those moments even higher, making the album an incredibly moving piece as a whole.
—hour 1—
Slow Down – Art Feynman – Blast Off Through the Wicker
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1998 – The Dears – Times Infinity, Vol. Two
Cant Hold On – Black Lips – Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art?
Grave Diggin’ – The Buttertones – Gravedigging
Impossible Man – The Fresh & Onlys – Wolf Lie Down
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Super Natural – Turnover – Good Nature
Petals – TOPS – Sugar at the Gate
New Thing (NOT CLEAN) – Lee Ranaldo – Electric Trim
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Private Party – She, Sir – Rival Island
Death of a Football Manager – Little Cub – Still Life
Neighbors – Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins
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Stale Smoke (NOT CLEAN) – Blis. – No One Loves You
Vincent – Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial
—hour 2—
All Hail – PINS – Bad Thing EP
Better Find Out – Together Pangea – Bulls and Roosters
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Rainbow Ridge – The Cribs – 24-7 Rockstar Shit
Enter Entirely – Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound
See Through – Splashh – Waiting a Lifetime
Little of Your Love – HAIM – Something To Tell You
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Bird Brains – Holy F*** – Bird Brains EP
Murdered Out – Kim Gordon
Arabian Heights – The Afghan Whigs – In Spades
Don’t Delete the Kisses – Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life
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Asido – Purity Ring
Your Time – Nick Murphy – Missing Link
Californian Light – Childhood – Universal High
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Valley Boy – Wolf Parade – Cry Cry Cry
Harry Potter – The Whistles & The Bells
—hour 3—
Under the Sun – DIIV – Is The Is Are
Takin’ Over – Humming House
—10
Sorry Is Gone – Jessica Lea Mayfield – Sorry Is Gone
From A Soon-To-Be Ghost Town – Fruit Bats – Absolute Loser
Down the Line – Beach Fossils – Somersault
Sensitive Guy – Baio – Man of the World
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—FITTING ROOM–
The Moth – Manchester Orchestra – A Black Mile To The Surface
Lead, SD – Manchester Orchestra – A Black Mile To The Surface
The Alien – Manchester Orchestra – A Black Mile To The Surface
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Moonshine Freeze – This Is The Kit – Moonshine Freeze
Dama De Lavanda – The Paperhead
Planets – Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – Choir of the Mind
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All the Pretty Girls – The Darkness – Pinewood Smile Deluxe
