Nightlands - Suzerin (A Letter to The Judge)

Not my friend, his friend. I wish Dave was my friend. I need this record and I need to find a way to see him live. It’s one of the more liberating things I’ve listened to in a while.

via yvynyl:

My friend Dave Hartley plays in tons of bands here in Philly - War on Drugs, BC Camplight, Buried Beds to name just a few. He is one of the best journeyman bassists in town. Dave’s been telling me about this solo record he’s been working on for ages it seems and then today, he drops it in my lap.  And I’m afraid.

You know the feeling. Whenever you hear about something that a friend has been laboring away at, you *want* to like it. You know what it means to them. You pray that its gonna be as good as your expectations. You don’t want to let them down.

I just let out a HUGE sigh of relief… which quickly morphed into goosebumps. Holy shit, Dave. You just wrote a masterpiece! Take your pick: is this more Brian Wilson or Panda Bear? More Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young or Fleet Foxes? The sprawling instrumentation is so deliberately crafted, the vocals so lofty, so hungry. This record is a winner any way you slice it.

Go on, have a listen to the whole thing yourself. It was torture just picking one track.