bleeklino is a name I've been familiar with for about a week. The singer/songwriter (aka Nico Haag) has Windy City ties (according to SoundCloud) yet resides in Birmingham, Michigan (according to Facebook). While he has been crafting acoustic dream pop for quite some time, comparable to a blending of Beach House with Animal Collective with The Dodos with Islands and everything in between, thus forming his own unique sound, he most recently stepped onto my radar with his track “evil lies” which was released last month.

The song, which should be in an independent movie soundtrack sooner than later, sounds like something that would fit within Little Miss Sunshine or Juno. Outdated references, maybe, but I'll still hold to it. 

“Evil Lies” is actually piece of a larger puzzle, of bleeklino's River Bones EP, an EP that was released at the end of last week. Released only as a fourteen minute single song upload on SoundCloud, the seven song project is folksy, cool, stripped down, barren, slightly stoned, and experimental.

Think Lou Reed listening to early Beck, or maybe early Beck listening to Lou Reed, bleeklino's voice remains his own, high pitched and cozy, comfortable in his own skin. Not far from of Montreal, actually. Okay, just listen to the EP. I hate listing comparisons, especially with such a strong talent who stands on his own, not needing an, “Oh, he sounds like this.” Yes, just press play, and after you're done digesting River Bones EP, be sure to check out the additional 30+ songs on his SoundCloud, including last year's Feelings Missed EP.