In late 2012 Seattle songwriter Gabriel Mintz  released a 7-inch on local vinyl label Fin Records, and it’s clear that putting this pair of basement demos put to wax was one of 2012′s best developments. Side A’s “Western Days” is a lolling, pretty acoustic diddy sporting a sweetly memorable melody that maybe should’ve been titled “Western Daze.” Boasting some vaguely Eastern half-tones and out of phase vocals the flipside’s “Smunk” has Mintz embarking on a much more unique trip.  The initially herky jerky guitar progression somewhere smoothes out and verges on hypnotic by the end of the 3 minutes. The video only cements the sense that whatever a “smunk” is, there’s definitely something weird going on here.