Colours-S/T EP

This releases is sort of really old, but who cares when it's this good? Colours, as obvious by the spelling of their name, are an Australian entity of one shoegaze obsessed man. It's strange at a point when shoegaze is one of the most influential genres, with its essence heard in too many bands to list. However, fewer actually try to play the genre itself, or try to approach it in new ways. That's were Colours comes in. In just four songs Colours manages to cover the entire shoegaze world as it has evolved over the past twenty something years. From opener "Could I?", the EP creates the sense of being engulfed in a noisy vortex, but instead of abject horror, it's utter muli-guitar and ghostly vocal style bliss. It's meant to be blasted at the dead of night in a nightstand lamp lit room, to both indulge in and push back the encroaching darkness. It's fucking great shoegaze, and proof that Australia is the Mecca for all great music now.



Links:

Colours on Bandcamp
By the Colours' 12" EP here, from Free Loving Anarchists

Bands to Care About: Heidi Klum's Bangs

Heidi Klum's Bangs are not trendy in any sense of the word. Their name is not particularly cool, they don't live in Brooklyn or LA (actually some place called Mountain Home, Arkansas), and their debut album was not only released on CD, but is meant as the whole it was crafted as, which in turn is a sort of epic narrative. No, what Heidi Klum's Bangs is is one of "those" bands. One of "those" bands that this stumbled upon completely by accident or luck, that for some completely unexplainable reason is unknown to everyone, yet the people who do know about them just won't shut up about them.

Heidi Klum's bangs formed last year by two brothers, Zach and Dylan Beck, who mange to perform a myriad of minor miracles with their music. The sound produced could be linked to something resembling an alternate universe version of Nana Grizol. A clear love Elephant 6 (especially Neutral Milk Hotel) is present here, as everything from a glowing acoustic guitar to a mini horn section are layered over near stream-of-conscious style delivery. It's a testament to the band that the album, Palace Pier, has an unbelieveable warmth emenating from every part of it, despite being crafted in a basement on a digital recorder. For anyone who ever gets a physical copy of the album, it's like holding a treasure in your hands, as nearly every aspect of it has been lovingly hand crafted by Zach Beck himself.

Heidi Klum's Bangs is the product of the purest desire to create music. While some might (but who would be that cruel), as to write off the band as "twee", "simplistic", or "Elephant 6 rip-off", nothing could be further from the truth. Words fail to describe how wonderful this band is, in every sense. Palace Pier is currently available from the band's bandcamp, so please infest in the utter wonderfulness that is this band.

(mp3) Heidi Klum's Bangs-The Sea Runs Red and Gold
(mp3) Heidi Klum's Bangs-Skye
(mp3) Heidi Klum's Bangs-The Horizon Drawing Near

Links:

Heidi Klum's Bang's Bandcamp

Dead Gaze-It's Not Real

After way, way too long, Group Tightener is finally is finally putting out Dead Gaze's 10" EP, and of course with said news comes new songs as well. "It's Not Real", helps to solitify the sound Dead Gaze is producing now, a mixture of his uber, blown-out guitar rockers ("This Big World", "Take Me Home or I Die Alone"), and his lighter, ambient-infused tunes ("Enz", "I'm a Mess When Your Gone). I know a lot of posts about Dead Gaze seem to relay the same information: his use of warped vocals, no-fi production, and pedal drenched style. Hopefully "It's Not Real" will help shift perspectives, for while it does encase those qualities, it also adds a real sunny pop sense which in turn gives a new feel of balance to the whole affair. It also is a stunning, perfect, end of summer tune.



Links:

Dead Gaze on Myspace
Pre-order the 10" EP here, from Group Tightener

Weekend-Hazel

This is a mild secret, but I have resolved to not let a single Weekend song that passes by me. After passing by all the announcements for Sports, only to ignore it, only to have my head blown apart (figuratively and slightly literally) after one listen to "Coma Summer", I am just reminded of the wonders that is the entire shoegaze genre. Proof in point with "Hazel", a new song off their upcoming Red EP. It's slightly less...intense and static infused than their previous songs, but that is the nature of band evolution and I mean that last statement in the best way possible. The result being sort of Weekend's version of a Pixie song, using distortion and blasts of feedback to create a back and forth that morph them from My Bloody Valentine comparisons to The Jesus and Mary Chain.


Links:

Weekend on Facebook
Pre-order Red here, from Slumberland Records

Video: Echo Lake-Breathe Deep

A little while ago Echo Lake dropped the reverb-based bliss that was the A-side to their new single, "Another Day". Now the band has released the B-side to the world's ears in the form of a new video. And wow, what an insanely gorgeous video. A mixture of HD VHS style recording (yes, I know that is an oxymoron), and multi-color strobe lights, it's more mind melting than their Young Silence video. Truly, this is what LSD imposed on a band playing feels like. Oh, and the song itself it as airy, elegant, and outstanding as always. I can't for Echo Lake to drop an LP.

Links:

Echo Lake's Website

This Many Boyfriends-Young Lovers Go Pop!

Add this to the pile of bands I didn't think I would hear from again. This Many Boyfriends was a band I fell in love with a year ago, producing pure sugar in the form of indie pop songs, oh so wonderfully similar to their inspiration Los Campesinos! They released their debut mini-album in 2010, and have been sort of quite since. Then last week I stumble upon Angular Record's website only to discover that they will be releasing a new album and 7" within the coming months. "Young Lovers Go Pop!" introduces the marvel of better production, morphing the band's sound from the purity of demo tape to the shimmering gloss of a knotty and pitch perfect song. Truly, the chorus itself, composed of nothing but the title and "oh oh oh"'s is the greatness of indie-pop in repeated, singular moments. Or to put it more hyperbolically, this might be a song of the year contender.



Links:


This Many Boyfriend's Website
Pre-order the Young Lovers Go Pop 7" here, from Angular Records

Born Gold-Alabaster Bodyworlds

Thanks to a certain friend, I had recently filled my iPod with as many Gobble Gobble tunes as I could get my hands on. It is so hard to put into words what Gobble Gobble music was like, mainly because you could probably use the entire English language and still feel like your missing some words to aptly describe their music. Their live shows spoke volumes of the band itself, which involved, but not limited, stilts, shoves, face paint, and giant butterfly wings. Songs like "Boring Horror" and "Cat Eggs" are still some of the most insane, bonkers, twitchy, and catchiest songs ever created in the "pop" medium.

The reason the majority of that previous paragraph was in the past tense was because last night Gobble Gobble ended. Or more properly they have morphed into Born Gold, and produced some of the same bat shit great music as before. "Alabaster Bodyworlds" is just the type of song that could be pictured being pumped out of some dance club at the edge of the universe, with multi color lights that can't be imagined, triggering the few thing in your brain not already stirred up by the song itself.



Links:

Born Gold on Tumblr
Pre-order Bodysongs here, from Hovercraft and Crash Symbols
For the perfect understanding of why Gobble Gobble was incredible, go here.

Trailer Trash Tracys-Dies in 55

Wow, never thought I would be writing this post. After nearly a year and a half of not hearing a peep out of the band, they suddenly have released "Dies at 55", not to mention a new sound, style, and just about everything to go with it. Gone are the dark industrial tones, the recording hiss, and darkness paired with beauty. In it's place is drum twitch, shimmering and star-like synth, and actual sunshine. It's disorienting at first, almost like a new band high jacked the original Trailer Trash Tracy's name without realizing it. However, as the same ethereal vocals come in to guide and lift the song just like before it all mends together in a wash of haze and light.

(mp3) Trailer Trash Tracys-Dies at 55

Links:

Trailer Trash Tracy's Website

Campfires-Amelia

It’s always fun to discover a new Campfires song floating around the web. They’re like mini treasures because you never know when one will appear, on what format in what situation. “Amelia” is a nice new step for the band, having a lot less of that “everything is falling apart” sound to it especially in the percussion. In fact the whole song is probably the most the band has ever gotten to invoking their name in a song. However, that all adds up to something wondrous, a sparkling indie/folk/pop/mild psychedelia tune that doesn’t erupt like the others, but has a slow burn effect to it that swallows the whole body. “Amelia” is off Twosyllable's Chicago Compilation cassette that is filled to the brim of bands waiting to be adored by all as they pop said cassette into a speaker to envelope them and all those around.

(mp3) Campfires-Amelia

Links:

Campfires’ Bandcamp
Buy the Chicago Compilation here, from Twosyllable Records

Video: Stay Calm-Take What You Need

This is Stay Calm. As alluded to by Zac Pennington in my interview with him a little while ago it's one of his new bands, along with Joe Kelly of 31knots and Panther along with Claudia Meza of Exploded into Color. It's incredibly percussion heavy band, and it would not be wrong of people to call this Exploded into Color 2.0. However, there is nothing wrong with that because a) Exploded into Color were horrible under appreciated while they were around, and b) this is some great...let's call it a new genre defying sound. "Take What You Want" sort of has a Bush Tetras edge to it, but not nearly as angular. Maybe if all the members has grown up in the country and out of the dark city. It's dancy, but not cliche, punky without being aggressive, plus a few of the best elements from a bunch of other genres. The result being the mini epic that is "Take What You Need".

Links:

Into the Woods' Website