Indie

IMF Favorites (November 2020)

This is my EP: Powerlines

It was my first studio recording and I was excited and nervous. I think both of those feelings come through in the songs, which are poppy indie songs with hazy sounds that could almost have been found on a VHS from 1990 except for the futuristic touches here and there

I recorded these songs at a really hard time when I had to go to voice therapy because I had hurt my vocal cords and I was just recovering after a year wondering if I’d ever be able to sing again. I still hadn’t fully recovered during the recording process, but the result is cool because my vocals are a lot breathier than usual. My philosophy is: turn mud into gold whenever possible

This album comes with a beautiful digital lyric book with photos I've taken which fit the atmosphere of this album. It also comes with high quality digital copies of the front and back cover

A physical copy of the album, the lyric booklet, and more can be purchased on the merch section on my bandcamp page

POWERLINES (EP)

IMF Favorite Songs 1

IMF Favorite Songs

IMF November 2020 Spotlight

Wrong Things

Falling up

Your stratospheric fear of catastrophe’s near, fast it’s here 
Atmosphere past your ears, fall but you’ll neverland
Second star to the right…

I’m gripping the grass and I’m pulling up daisies
Thank matter for mass and the comfort of gravity
Airplane eclipses over spirals of math, would or could the impact kill me?
Yes, yes, yes. No, no, no, no, no.
It’s just the high-noon moon saying “shoot for the stars!”
“Be the next big constellation, connect the dots between your parts!”

Dandelion seeds yet to ride on the breeze
You make a wish upon the dead but turn and call it a weed.
Only plastic flowers never die

With the bones of a crow and ambitions of candlewax
What do you know of control? The wind is simply at your back
It really seems pollen’s more clever than bees, so you cue the final words of Leary:
And cry “Why, why, why? Why not? Why not? Why not?”
I’d rather be a hot-air Hindenburg than an elephant tied right down to its stake
Cut ties, shed the dead weight. I ain’t saying it’s fate, but there are no mistakes

And dandelion seeds yet to ride on the breeze
You make a wish upon the dead but turn and call it a weed.
Only plastic flowers never die. 

While I cry on skies of blue linoleum. 
Clouds of spilt milk, but am I the cup?
Here comes the sun, am I falling up?
Falling up. 
Here comes the sun, am I falling up?

Disney-Pixar Ludovico, Shirley Temple maraschino
Hotel rooms of Motley Crüe, Broadway producer improv troupes
Ray-Bans in your living room, eyeline hurts to be in view like
Stage fright only when its karaoke night with friends leave early
Did I earn this stupid hat? Is now really a good time for a new tattoo?
Oh, is now really a good time for a new tattoo?  

The larger they are
The harder they tend to fall
Much larger than life cause from such height
Life looks awful small

And dandelions grow in dirt
Magic mushrooms grow in piles of bullshit
I grew up in suburbia. 
Love us or hate us, pick us you’re killing us, and 
Dandelion seeds yet to ride on the breeze
You make a wish upon the dead but turn and call it a weed
Only plastic flowers never die. 

While I cry on skies of blue linoleum. 
Clouds of spilt milk, but am I the cup?
Here comes the sun, am I falling up?
Falling up. 
(Dandelion seeds yet to ride on the breeze 
You make a wish upon the dead but turn and call it a weed.
Dandelion seeds yet to ride on the breeze, you make a wish.)
Here comes the sun, am I falling up?
Falling up. 
(Dandelion seeds yet to ride on the breeze
You make a wish upon the dead but turn and call it a weed.
Dandelion seeds yet to ride on the breeze, you make a wish.)
Here comes the sun, am I falling up?

Did I earn this stupid hat? Is now really a good time for a new tattoo?
Oh, is now really a good time for a new tattoo?

Your stratospheric fear of catastrophe’s near, fast it’s here 
Atmosphere past your ears, fall but you’ll neverland. 
Second star to the right…
And straight on ‘till you die.

Falling Up

Synthesisers and electric piano.
Dedicated to Rick Wright and Simone Veil.
Paris 2017.
Photo by Elena Nicolai

In The Fundamental Mood

Free Mixtape

Packy - Falling Up

Connection pt. 1, "Limitless"

Too Much

Welcome

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4ioJGh4V9tFfCUSCZIvfO0

Itunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/distant-galaxies-single/1506135967?uo=4&app=itunes&at=1001lry3&ct=dashboard

Bandcamp: https://interstellarnoise.bandcamp.com/track/distant-galaxies

Distant Galaxies

Alpine

snow day

"Daydream" expresses the feeling of monotony in one's life. It is easy to get lost in daily routines. Going through the same motions every single day can cause one to lose their sense of self, and their sense of individuality. It becomes difficult to look at yourself in the mirror knowing that you aren't living your life the way you have always wanted to. It seems to be that the only place where one can truly be themselves is in their daydreams.

Music & Lyrics - Dakota Deyoc
Production - Dakota Deyoc
Engineer- Daniel Konopka
Cover Art - Kenneth Downie

Daydream

Lyrics!
I may not know you
But my city does
And she tells me so many stories
Of nights you were drunk 
Hills you graced with sweet lullabies 
It erodes back to me
How you take your coffee and morals 
Plain and strong 

Come on now palm reader
Please look at my hands
Trace every line and vein
Tell me what your god has planned 

The beauty in your goals
Yet I see them now
In your rose petal lips and those star balm hands
St. Valentine needs no lover 
That’s just a myth my pet
For even deities 
Crave human beings

Come on now palm reader
Please look at my hands
Trace every line and vein
Tell me what your god has planned

Thank you so much for listening!!:)

Palm Reader

Got time reminds me of a warm night in the summer, outside under the street lights and everything else is dark. With people or sitting alone on the porch. Listening to the sounds of cicadas and the quiet, waiting for someone

Stream the full POWERLINES EP here: https://songwhip.com/max-oakland/powerlines
Stream Got Time here: https://songwhip.com/max-oakland/got-time

Got Time came to me when I was experimenting with recording on my computer with beats from Garageband and using a glass from my kitchen to play the guitar, making a slidey sound. It's one of the most relaxing, pretty songs I've ever written and I love it because of that.

When I’m in the road I make it out. When I’m in the road, I make it out

Night is falling. Dream so easy. Leaves are falling down
Night is falling, dream so easy, leaves are falling now
Night is calling. Dream so easy. Leaves are falling down
Awoo
Waiting, waiting for you
Awoooo
Waiting, waiting for you…

When I’m in the road I make it out. When I’m in the mode, I make it loud

Night is falling. Dream so easy. Leaves are falling down
Night is falling, dream so easy, leaves are falling now
Night is calling. Dream so easy. Leaves are falling down
Awoo
Waiting, waiting for you
Awoooo
Waiting, waiting for you…

Power Lines Mixed Unmastered

Got Time

Working on my first EP "Half Spoiled", this is the first track from it.
Guitar by @pilukaus from Sloth Machine.
Mix by Lasse Zacharias from The Janitors.
The remaining elements by me.

Lyrics:

Love their dejected faces
When the injection fails it‘s
Poison anyway
To kill the color, turn it all to grey

My beloved creatures
Don‘t you know all my features
You want to take away
Are just the fuel that gets me through the day

Rich, a beauty and almighty
What else could one ever wish for
If you can‘t see that I‘m right, dear
I'm gonna leave through the back door

I am the universe
I cradle all my precious angels
I‘m the kindest ruler of them all
I am the universe
I‘m cradled by my precious angels
They have locked me down

I am the universe x4

They say that I have no one
They say I‘m on my own now
No home, nowhere to stay
They’re lies, all lies, I won‘t be led astray

What, about my villas?
Big, gold and marble pillars
I‘ll help you, children mine
A million dollars gift will do just fine!

I have always been almighty
What else could one ever wish for
If you can‘t see that I‘m right, dear
I'm gonna leave through the back door

I am the universe
I cradle all my precious angels
I‘m the kindest ruler of them all
I am the universe
I‘m cradled by my precious angels
They have locked me down

I am the universe x4
 
(Solo)

I am the universe
I cradle all my precious angels
I‘m the kindest ruler of them all
I am the universe
I‘m cradled by my precious angels
They have locked me down

Half Spoiled

universe

universe (feat. @pilukaus)

It's Gonna Be A Good Sunset

LOVE AGAIN

Tracking Engineers: Joey O'Brien, Grant Wilson
Mixing/Producing: Joey O'Brien, Matthew Estevez
Music: Matthew Estevez
Mastering: Amy at Yes Master Studio
Artwork: Mikki Nunn

For The Love Of God

Home Alone

I wrote Die Alone sitting on the floor of my room. It was really different from my other songs at the time, but it stuck with me. At first I recorded it with GarageBand on my computer with loud vocals and noisy guitars. My brother Alec and I recorded it later with our band The Peaches for our Flyover Country album. Later, I redid it for fun, first in Garageband with some of the backing instruments that can still be heard in the final version and then took that to my friend Jake Whitecar Orangutan Sound studio in Montana where we recorded the final vocals, instruments, and live drums. I can’t believe there was a time when we could actually travel

Jake asked Jon Filkins to provide real, live drums and Amanda Ceaser to add background vocals. He also played bass, some synths, and some guitar. The song wouldn’t be what it is without their amazing contributions and I can’t thank each of them enough for participating

The result is peppy, but also dark. It has a heavy beat and some really cool vocals. I especially love the bridge where it gets really quiet and echoey and then builds to the most intense moment of the song

I recorded this song at a really hard time when I had to go to voice therapy because I had hurt my vocal cords and I was just recovering after a year wondering if I’d ever be able to sing again. I still hadn’t fully recovered during the recording process, but the result is cool because my vocals are a lot breathier than usual. My philosophy is: turn that mud into gold if at all possible

Die Alone. It’s about knowing that something or someone beautiful is gone, hoping they might come back someday, but not waiting around because you also have a life to live. It’s a dark song. Not exactly happy, but not unhappy either. Just fresh and raw from the pain and disappointment. The title comes from the phrase “You don’t die alone on the road”, which came from nowhere but really fits the overall energy, about moving forward despite all the uncertainty

In my mind, it’s a lot of dark night driving images which is going to feature in the video that will be released in the weeks after the song.

Die Alone will be out on ALL streaming platforms on Friday, September 25th. Here’s a pre-save link for the fans who don’t want to miss release day: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/maxoakland/die-alone

Listening to it, following me on Spotify and other social media, and sharing it will help me make this hard-won song as successful as possible. Thanks for your support, it’s always helped me keep motivated

Lyrics:
Oh I know it’s gone forever, but I can’t help but wonder
Can’t help but wondering
Filth dissolved in rain, like the clouds crashed and we're OK

You don't die alone on the road. Too many monsters to take your soul
You don't die alone on the road. Just gonna sell everything you know

Oh I know it’s gone forever, but I can’t help but wonder
Can’t help the wondering
Salts like cyanide washing away in the tide

Keep this one in my pocket to remind me of younger days
when the smoke we saw was dragons evolving in their caves
into you and your little sister all alone now in the snow
have we become the monsters when we drive away all alone?

You don't die alone on the road

Credits:
Songs by Max Oakland
Produced by Jake Whitecar and Max Oakland
Mixed by Jake Whitecar at Orangutan Sound in Missoula, MT
Performances
Max Oakland - Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Programming, Slide, Samples
Jake Whitecar - Bass Guitar, additional guitars & synths
Jon Filkins - Live Drums
Amanda Ceaser - Background Vocals

Die Alone (Single)

Die Alone

EP2-V2

When The Lights Are Out

Moonglow - Fall Asleep On Repeat (feat. Elizabeth Wyld)

Stream/Download Fall Asleep on Repeat EP:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/moonglow/fall-asleep-on-repeat/

Written by Jeff Citron

☾ FOLLOW MOONGLOW ☾
↘︎Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonglowband
↘︎Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3o2EsqVjKcGSirgGG0DDhK?si=6hl0kKOtQSGM3K-AID-itg
↘︎Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonglow.nyc
↘︎Twitter: https://twitter.com/moonglowband
↘︎Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/moonglownyc

Fall Asleep On Repeat (feat. Elizabeth Wyld)

One muggy summer night, I was hiking by the cliffs. I heard the vague sound of music coming from a parked car next to me. I couldn’t really make it out but I thought I could make out a piano and a beat. As I walked away, I started getting a melody in my mind. “Ready, are you ready? Ready?” And I liked it so much I started singing it into my phone as I walked along. I knew I looked weird but the song was too good to care.

And that little g̶i̶r̶l̶ song grew up to be Waves of Gold

This is the song that really sets the tone of the Powerlines EP for me. It’s the most Powerlines of the songs, the most retro, the most faded VHS, the most sunset. The most of all the things that makes this EP what it is. Hope you like it :)

Lyrics:
Are you ready? Ready for your waves of gold?
Are you ready? Ready for your waves of gold

You know your waves of gold
No I won’t I’m trying not to
You know you’ll waste your gold
No I won’t I’m dying not to
You know you’ll waste your gold
No I won’t I’m sorry for you
You know you’ll waste your gold
No I won’t I’m sorry for you

When I saw your face I knew that I would leave this place
When I saw your mind I knew that you’d be unkind
The flashlight over there, the monsters everywhere
The countless, endless hours questioning

Ready, are you ready? Ready?
Ready for your waves of gold
Are you ready? Are you ready? Ready?
Ready for your waves of gold?

You know your waves of gold
No I won’t, I’m trying not to
You know your ways to go, Uh huh
No I won’t, I’m dying not to
Your know your ways to go
No I won’t, I’m sorry for you
Your know your waste your gold
No I won’t, I’m sorry for you

When I saw your face I knew that I would leave this place
When I saw your mind I knew that you’d be unkind
The fleshlight over there, the marks on underwear
The countless, endless hours questioning me

When I saw your face I knew that I would leave this place
When I saw your mind I knew that you’d be unkind
The flashlight over there 
The monsters under stairs
The countless endless hours questioning 

When I saw your face I knew that I would leave this place
When I saw your mind I knew that you’d be unkind
The flashlight over there 
The marks on underwear
The countless endless hours questioning 
 
Me, me, me… My my my…. Flesh flesh…
Four three two one

Ready, are you ready? Ready?
Ready for your waves of gold
Are you ready? Are you ready? Ready?
Ready for your waves of gold?

You know your waves of gold
No I won’t, I’m trying not to
You know your ways to go, Uh huh
No I won’t, I’m dying not to
Your know your wings’ll grow
No I won’t, getting better in the moment
Your know you’ll waste your gold
No I won’t, I’m happy for you

Ready, are you ready? Ready?
Ready for your waves of gold
Are you ready? Are you ready? Ready?
Ready for your waves of gold?
You know your waves of gold

Credits:
Songs by Max Oakland
Produced by Jake Whitecar and Max Oakland
Mixed by Jake Whitecar at Orangutan Sound in Missoula, MT
Performances:
Max Oakland - Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Programming, Samples
Jake Whitecar - Bass Guitar, synths
Jon Filkins - Live Drums
Amanda Ceaser - Background Vocals

Waves of Gold (Single)

Waves of Gold

The F-use debut album, I Don't Feel Like I Belong Here

Music by jjyy 
Music and Lyrics by Flora Lin
Mixing and Guitar by Hugo GT
Cover art by woolion
Special thanks to our Pigeon Sightseeings 🕊

-------------------------------------

Summer of young love

Late in the night
All my dreams are wandering in my head and
Blurry rain and dim light hide sweet memories ahead of the sunset
Everytime I see your face I
Keep on wondering if I am still awake and
With you staying close the night will never end

Oh long lines of your love
When morning comes and the haze fades away
I lose all of my cool
Along lines of young love
Everytime I fly away
When I'm afraid of your spell

The last time I'm hiding from you
The last time I tell myself I'm not ready yet

Holograms and fantasies all
Filled with fallacies
Thinking and not acting
Returning to the start again

Oh long lines of your love
When morning comes and the haze fades away
I lose all of my cool
Along lines of young love
Everytime I fly away
When I'm afraid of your spell

Oh long lines of your love
Along lines of young love

Oh long lines of your love
When morning comes and the haze fades away
I lose all of my cool
Along lines of young love
Everytime I fly away
When I'm afraid of your spell

Lost you are dispersing trails of your bread
Silently fly away (Somewhere far away)
Maybe one day you'll remember my name
Walk with me in the sand (Somewhere far away)

Summer of Young Love (feat. Flora Lin)

Everybody loves the quote that Einstein never said
And we bang our heads into the wall over and over again
All the people, all the time, I learned that one in school
Is it better to be silent than to prove myself a fool?

Everybody but me

Everybody loves to think what happens in their mind
Is the way that things should play out every single time
All the people, all the time, you can't get fooled again
Bang your head into the wall, cut out the middleman

Everybody but me

Everybody...

Recorded at Cardinal Recordings by Mike Weiser and Stephen Angello

Life Coach

Her little wrists
Set the mind to ease
Time we’ll see
How deep she buries me
How many turns till we know
That these lights are letting go

Letting go
Pissing out my nose
Already let me know
Was kicking around the bend
Kicking around

Got no love for her
Been wasting all her time
I’m out there
Not here
Somebody loves you
Somebody loves you
Somebody loves you 

It’s just too late
Never keep the rabid dogs
Hiding the wilt of disease
Steel tip in the door
Steel tips in the doors

Letting go
Pissing out my nose
Already let me know
What's kicking around the bend
Kicking around the bend
Kicking round the bend
Kicking round the bend
Kicking round the bend

The Bend

Cursory glance
To deliberate blinds
The realities of the knowing eyes
Pushed me to move
Rearrange a few lies
Love showered me in praise left me to dry

Prodigy child 
To prodigal son
The fascination in “be all but one”
Left me to be
Mediocre at some
Couldn’t take it alone
But couldn’t give up the gun

Now everything is so heavy
Heavy on my mind
Wanna say I’m not ready
But time isn’t mine
Try to keep it steady
And hold on tight
But everything is so heavy
Heavy all the time

Love of a child
To love for a day
The narrowing of life swept years away
Urged me to beg
Forgotten lives to stay
Memories are strong but not enough to sway

Now everything is so heavy
Heavy on my mind
Wanna say I’m not ready
But time isn’t mine
Try to keep it steady
And hold on tight
But everything is so heavy
Heavy all the time

And I could pretend the hurting wasn’t here
But closing both of my eyes it won’t make
All the weight disappear
And I could ask to lay my cross down for the day
But it can’t stop now
It couldn’t stop anyway
Could you help me carry it 
Could you help me carry it
Could you help me

‘Cause everything is so heavy
Heavy all the time
Wanna say I’m not ready
But time isn’t mine
Try to keep it steady
And hold on tight
But everything is so heavy
Heavy all the time

Everything is so heavy
Heavy all the time x4

Heavy

Bandcamp link: https://murred.bandcamp.com/track/eversleep
Murr is back with some experimental jank.

Half the stuff you hear in this one are samples from Tik Tok. The other half are clicks and clacks from recording failures. Let's call them happy accidents.

Vocals by Me
Photo by Safalgar
Photoshop by me

Download

Eversleep

Low budget alternative pop rock. Max Oakland's music is perfect for the liminal times when the day is ending or beginning. Driving around on a summer night right before sunset, walking through alleyways, sitting at home, on a bus, anywhere

Max strives to build community through the art that he creates. With its stripped-down production and complex arrangement, Max’s music truly drives you to look into yourself to see whatever may be there.