I think I can declare Bridgetown Records to be my favorite record label out there right now. Simply pound for pound, since I discovered Bridgetown Records thanks to their Cloud Nothings release, there has never been a moment I was not interested in something they have released. Case in point their latest batch which is possibly my four most favorite releases so far, so much so that is would be a crime not to showcase it all.
Here is the shinning example that no-fi music is not only alive and kicking, but producing some quality material as well. Two members from the Boulder, Colorado scene come together to produce something even more different than their previous music. About a thousand Wavves comparisons will probably pop up as a reference point, but that is a bit of a cheap shot. Instead see it for what it really is: Four uber blown out and wonderfully riff heavy indie garage tunes with lyrics about teenage child hood and all the (painful) memories that come with it. Look a up coming cassingle and 12" full length to come soon as well from this extremely talented duo.
Picking up (at least for me) where their live CD stopped, Bedrooms on Fire by Trudgers is six more tracks of dark and chilly synth music. More the doom and gloom of fellow contemporaries Puerto Rico Flowers than the beats of Cold Cave per se, Trudgers is as if a monk had decided to quit the monastery, moved to the seedy part of South Califorinia, and fell in with the goth crowd. Every part of the song, both lyrically and musically, is repeated over and over again so that what winds up rubbing off is the tone and boxed up emotion of the songs. It's raw and unnerving, but with a lot of this dark, emotional music, there is an inverted beauty to it as well.
Ambient shoegaze? I think that is probably the best way to describe the work of Jen Paul/No Lakes (that's the full band name in case you were wondering). Collected here are two of Jen Paul/No Lakes previous releases, which spread over this CD-R, which strangely works as the perfect format for these 16 tracks, captures the sound of the artist. Dark night time feeling music, played with little else but a few swelling guitar notes, help invoke the very sensation that is captured by the cover art. This is music that get's set to sadness and loss, and that is meant in the very best way possible.
It has been a while since a new release by a band I don't know has made the words "HOLY SHIT" flash like neon sign in my head, but fuck if that's not what happened when I put Whirl's Disstressor into my tape deck. After the atmospheric and moody intro "Preface", the tape snaps forward with a single sharp drum beat into the My Bloody Valentine worthy "Leave", with the most heavenly voice and blaring shoegaze riffs come pouring out of my speakers, layered perfectly on top of one another. Captured in a single cassette is seven of the best pure shoegaze tracks I have heard in a very long time. Each track is an explosion on top of another, bombastism on to itself, ending all too soon for sure just seven tracks later. The reason why Whirl rises above the sea of other current shoegaze bands is beyond me, other than the fact that their music is so perfect. This is a release that most be owned.
(mp3) Whirl-Leave
Links:
School Knights on Myspace
Jen Paul/No Lakes on Myspace
Buy it all here, at Bridgetown Records
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