ICYMI (Best of 2018): Oliver Coates “Norrin Radd Dreaming” (Minneapolis Show w/ Thom Yorke Thursday!)

We are coming up on year end list time and we realized that we didn’t get around to posting about some of the music that will end up on our “best of” lists. The “ICYMI (Best of 2018)” series allows us to give an appreciative nod to some songs and records we loved this year beyond just dropping them into a list. Enjoy!

I was a huge fan of Oliver Coates’ Arthur Russell-esqe sound collages on his last record, the stunning Upstepping, which was one of my favorite records of last year. Coates also has been instrumental (pun intended) in fleshing out Radiohead’s sound on their most recent records, and his continual evolution as an artist continues on his great new LP RVNG INTL released Shelley’s on Zenn-La. Using stringed instruments, atmospheric vocals and jittery electronics, this is a collection of songs that are layered and intricate while still possessing a sense weightlessness. It is a perfect record to let yourself get lost in dreams as it floats through your headphones.

You can check out the lush and hypnotic sounds from his new record via the song “Norrin Radd Dreaming” above. You also can see the man in action this week when his tour with some guy named Them Yorke rumbles into Minneapolis for a stop at the Northrup Auditorium on Thursday night. Show is sold out, so if you didn’t get tickets, you’ll have to wait until next time to see Mr. Coates, and I understand Yorke’s band doesn’t make many stops in the area, but who knows?