What I’m Reading (And Listening to!) This Week – Week 3, 2018

I two articles link this week, but I have two album recommendations. The links in the body of the album reviews are Amazon affiliate links, and there’s also a Spotify link

Gizmodo
Turns out figuring out where you’re from based on your DNA is really hard and figuring out where you’re from depends on how (and when) your ancestors lived in a particular place.
Atlas Obscura
What’s the deal with Mormons and caffeine? It’s complicated…
 

 First Aid Kit —Ruins

I fell in love with the Swedish duo of Klara and Johanna Söderberg the first time I heard “Emmylou” from their 2012 album The Lion’s Roar.  They have a folk-country sound that’s much more Nashville than Stockholm, but if the mention of the country genre makes you cringe, know that the Emmylou of the song I mentioned earlier is Emmylou Harris and on that same song she also name-checks Gram Parsons, June Carter Cash, and Johnny Cash — that’s the country they’re emulating: Old School. Ruins may lean a little more into the country twang than the more folky previous album, but the interplay of their voices and the musicianship will make you lean back and enjoy.
It’s winter. Even in California, it’s cold and rainy and, well, maybe a little dreary. Need something to pick you up? Maybe you rely on pathetic radiant heaters for your only source of warmth like me? If so and you need to instantly transform the room from see-your-breath chilly to tropically sweltering, just drop the proverbial needle on Camila Cabello’s full album. If you’re unfamiliar with her name, you’ve undoubtedly heard the earworm “Havana” — it’s been pretty inescapable, and for good reason. It’s on this album, but lest you think she’s a one-hit-wonder, just about every track here raises the mercury. It’s a glorious summer pop album just in time to thaw even the most severe Bomb Cyclone.