Electrician-All is Lost in the Light

For the most part, a large majority of folk/acoustic music bores me. It just is unable to grab my attention, all seemingly pulling from the same exact sound and style. Which is why it was so surprising that Electrician and their music was able to grab me, easily at that. "All is Lost in the Light" pulls from the Phil Elvrum school of acoustic music, my favorite school. Mood setting sythns float around fragmented lyrics about becoming increasingly discourage with the world come out slowly, along with equally staccato guitar lines. "All is Lost in the Light" just envelopes as you listen, simple lyrics giving way to grander expressions of sadness. Perfectly evocative of the coming fall, Electrician have just produced a utterly sad song that I cannot believe is this gorgeous.


Links:

Electrician's Website

Single Alert: Thee Oh Sees w/ The Mallard Split 7"

Famous Class Records has been doing something every cool with their LAMC single series. They ask one established band to contribute a new song to one side of a single, then ask that band to pick another band they like to be featured on the other side. Thus creating a showcase for not only new bands, but an awesome split single in the process. The latest band to contribute to the LAMC project is the ever prolific Thee Oh Sees. "Wait Let's Go" is Thee Oh Sees in their chill, '60s mood: simple, clean acoustic guitar over Beatles' like harmonies and slinky bass lines. People forget that Thee Oh Sees are not just manic energy, but can create really catchy pop songs too, as " Wait Let's Go" proves so well. Thee Oh Sees choose fellow San Franciscans (as well as fellow Castle Face record mates) The Mallard as their flip side band. And if The Mallard stay true to their psychedelia damaged post-punk, one can expect a a quality juxtaposition between the two sides.


Links:

Thee Oh Sees' Website
The Mallard's Tumblr
Buy the split single here, from Famous Class Records

Cold Cave-A Little Death to Laugh

Well, this is an awesome little surprise. Cold Cave announced a brand new single that will go along with their upcoming tour with Divine Fits. Band master mind Wesley Eisold made the three songs on the record completely by himself, probably between the line-up changes that have been occurring with Cold Cave. In turn, you can hear a real shift in sound with the title track "A Little Death to Laugh". Gone is the bombarding intensity and lyrical sprawl that made up most of Cherish the Light Years. Instead, it is a return of sorts to the Love Comes Close style of minimal arrangements, with sharp synth arrangements and stilted lyrical release making up the song's being. It is the return of Cold Cave in their detached, coldwave form, and it is still as great as well.



Links:

Cold Cave's Website
Pre-order the A Little Death to Laugh 7", from Cold Cave/Heartworm Press

Live: Thee Oh Sees/Ty Segall/Flesh Lights/Gal Pals @ La Zona Rosa9/15/12

I thought I had a proper idea of the chaos that would ensue when I entered this show. Hell, I had even seen Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall at fests and other clubs before. However, under the darkened lights of La Zona Rosa something happened that morphed this from just a standard garage/punk show to something more. At its core it was the degree of insanity and intensity that was shared between the bands and the crowd as one played while the other went wild. More so though, the thing that made said insanity and intensity so constant through out the night was the fact that every band that touched the stage played like they were on fire. It was a manic, hot, and seemingly crazy night, but also one of the best shows I have seen all year.

Gal Pals

Unfortunately, one band has the duty to start everything off and that night it fell upon Gal Pals. A local band that I hadn't heard of until that night, they weren't bad in any sense. In fact they performed quite simple but catchy distorted pop-garage; a little Super Wild Horses with some Vivian Girls in their as well. The set though was just so minimal that it just didn't grab you, no matter how hard they tried. Still, it wasn't a half bad intro for the night, even though the cat calls and douchebagish taunts in between songs didn't help.

Flesh Lights

When the Flesh Lights took the stage is when the show truly started. Shedding any of the power-pop hooks that balance out their jagged punk sound on record, the Flesh Lights played a set of hyper-gruff, solo filled, modern punk that immediately ignited a mosh pit in the crowd that would last for the rest of the night. The Flesh Lights soundtracked it perfectly, being everything a local punk band should be. They went crazy with their guitarist flailing, their bassist jumping from his own amp, and their stone-faced drummer both bashed away at her kit and kept the band steady as well. As a perfect finale, they invited a friend to play drums while the Flesh Lights own drummer grabbed the microphone. The band then launched into a stupendous cover of Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized" that confirmed the Flesh Lights are one of the best bands in Austin.

Ty Segall

At some point Ty Segall will stop being good. His songs won't be as great as they are now, and he won't be able to rock out with his band like he does now. That time is nowhere close to coming. Easily the best Ty Segall show I have ever seen, it worked because, contradictory, of the constraint. This is not to say Segall and his cohorts did not go crazy. They went beyond crazy, shoving so much energy and noise into their songs that it was a miracle that the show didn't deform or start blurring together. But because Segall eventually would have to get off stage for Thee Oh Sees, the sprawl that sometimes emerges from his sets didn't occur here, leading to much more focused set instead. Like I said earlier, not to say their was any lack of energy from the band at all. They were beyond full force here, just laying waste to every song they played. It was summed up perfectly as Segall pulled off a rock star move, trying to have the crowd carry him and his mic while he played "Caesar". It seemed like he was actually pulling it off before he was quickly dropped. That didn't matter though as Segall quickly jumped back on stage and bashed through the rest of the song as members of the crowd sang the song through the discard microphone. It was rock star glory and sloppy, garage abandonment all rolled into one, and the perfect embodiment of the show (and band) itself.

Thee Oh Sees

Jesus Christ. Let it be know that every story you have ever heard of how incredible Thee Oh Sees are live is absolutely true. After the glory that was Ty Segall and co.'s set, one would think that anyone that stepped on stage and tried to match it that would be setting themselves up for an impossible goal. Thee Oh Sees pulled it off without a slightest bit of effort on their part. As drained as the crowd was from Segall set, as soon as the band launched into "The Dream" a second wind enveloped everyone, the wonderfully spastic and weird energy from the band being absorbed by everyone as they played. While there was no shortage of stage diving with Ty Segall's set, with Thee Oh Sees it was just kicked into overdrive, with people practically diving to every song, especially when the realization hit that not only was the back area not guarded (thus allowing for prime stage access), but that security was not going to do anything to stop the stage divers either. It was that constant danger/excitement, along with the wild pit, all soundtracked to Thee Oh Sees' psychotic garage psych that made the set so incredible. Their was never one point during their show where one of your senses was not hit was some sense of craziness. But Thee Oh Sees found the good kind of crazy, and brought that sense to everyone at La Zona Rosa.

Blog Give Away: Gap Dream LP

Gap Dream's debut LP is currently one of my favorite records of the year. Just look here to see me gush all about it. In fact, the record is so good that I feel the need to share it with someone. Thankfully, the folks at Burger Records agree, and I happy to announce the first ever blog giveaway for The Creative Intersection! The lucky winner will get a free copy of Gap Dream's stupendous debut on vinyl (with a digital download of course).

Here's how it works:

1. Either leave a comment of one of your favorite records this year in the comment section with an email

OR

2. Retweet the corresponding tweet that I will put out with this post

3. Doing either gets you entered into the contest. Doing both gets you entered twice

4. The contest will end at 6 PM EST 9/21, so enter quickly.


And remember, you can always grab a copy of the record from good ol' Burger Records.

UPDATE: Congrats to Carly F. for winning the LP. I want to thank everyone who participated. It's really awesome that so many people like Gap Dream enough to enter.
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As an added, unintentional bonus, Gap Dream will be releasing a brand new 7" soon on Suicide Squeeze Records. If the super catchy "Generator" is any indication, not only will the 7" be flat out great, but Gap Dream is slowly is sound further as well. The hand claps are a nice touch to the old school garage vibe that the song encompasses perfectly. A nice bonus treat that should not be missed at all.

Titus Andronicus-In a Big City

I think Titus Andronicus are one of the few bands I can say I truly love. I think both of their albums are flat out classics, and the band holds second place for band I have seen live more than any other (which is five, beaten only by Los Campesinos!). So suffice to say, I was more than excited about the announcement of the band's third record Local Business due out in October. And the first (official) single "In a Big City" really, really makes me happy that my excitement is apt. "In a Big Country" is Titus Andronicus at possibly there catchiest ever, the usual indie-rock distortion supplemented with chiming and shimmering guitars, as well as Patrick Stickles vocals which are complimented by "oohs" from his fellow bandmates. It is also the band at there rousest (new word) as well, with Stickles lyrics no less passion filled, if a little more indirect, as they were on The Monitor, here examining the way a new city can change one's outlook on everything. Though, if the self-made lyric video is any indication, they are not to be taken so directly anyway. Still "In a Big City" personifies all of the things that make Titus Andronicus songs so great: epicness that is not chessey, a sense of importance in an age of apathy, and pure out rock songs that never become clichés. Not bad for a song that is half-partly an homage to Big Country's "In a Big Country".



Links:

Titus Andronicus's Website
Pre-order Local Business here, from XL Records

Vaadat Charigim-Odisea (Odyssey)

Vaadat Charigim have returned rather quickly with another track off their upcoming debut album. "Odisea (Odyssey)" is based on detachment; as their city is being destroyed and turned near apocalyptic, all that's on the narrator's mind are the small details and wanting to be with the one he loves. The lyrics are fitting though, as "Odisea (Odyssey)" finds the band dipping themselves more into a darker, shoegaze style, stretching the track out to a longish 6 minutes and adding loud, crunchy guitar streaks to the track, especially in mini-sprawl that makes up the center of the song. Not many bands approach bleaker subjects like this without worry (especially a band that probably has to actually deal with this possibly happening to them), but Vaadat Charigim manage to approch it easily from both sides, and produce a pretty nice indie rocker too.



Links:

Vaadat Charigim's Facebook

Bare Pale-I Never Could

A few days ago I got possibly the most minimalist promo request I have gotten in a long time. It was nothing but a line in the message section and a link to their soundcloud. I'm so glad I clicked on that link though because it lead to one super fine no-fi tune.

Bare Pale's "I Never Could" is the type of post '90s indie rock that my heart always quivers for. Complemented by heartwarming lo-fi recording, mountains of über-distorted guitar riffs and cymbal crashes play simple but so great teenage-garage level indie rock. The mumbled lyrics seal the deal as they amplifies the sense of despondence and melancholy contained within it. Burger girl art work or not, this is purely one sad, indie rock gem and it is an excellent one at that.



Links:

Bare Pale's Facebook

Album Review: Gap Dream-S/T

It's usually a little cheap to compare a band to their fellow label brethren to explain their sound. While it seems logical, it has a tendency to limit perspective and unintentionally pigeon-hole not only the bands, but to an extent the label as well. However, I know there will be nothing limiting about talking about Gap Dream in the same breath as his label mates on the glory that is Burger Records.

There are various ways to approach the make-up that is Gap Dream. Gap Dream really is the work of one man, Gabriel Fulvimar, who can almost be considered an elder statesman in the certain circles of the garage rock underworld. Those facts are brought up not because Gap Dream's debut sounds purely like that of one man or purely retro, but they do inform the music.

The closest it can be described is if Conspiracy of Owls (70s AM radio loving who released their debut LP on Burger as well) had asked King Tuff to start fronting their band. Much like King Tuff, Fulvimar has the ability to be steeped in the old while still bringing in new ideas (not to mention a slightly similar high pitched vocal quality). Tracks like "Go Ahead" and "My Other Man" really showcase this as they have a deeply laid back, psychedelic feel to them; they wouldn't sound out of place pumping of a car in the the '60s or '70s. Still, Gap Dream is not a a one trick pony. The outstanding opener like "58th St. Fingers" is a dark, moody slice of excellent psychedelic, with just a hint of folkieness infused within it that really just sets the album. In fact, the whole album has bleak undertone to it. While it never overshadows the music, and the album still has sweet summertime hooks and vibes, the sense of melancholy on a song like "Leather" with Fulvimar singing about that "You have your demons and I have mine/Let's hope that they never combine" cannot be ignored either.

However, like I said, Gap Dream never drowns under those emotions, instead producing an album that is very three dimensional. Fulvimar is a master at crafting garage-psych gems and has in turn crafted a gem of an album. It says something that Burger Records was will to repress this album onto vinyl after already doing a run of cassettes. Gap Dream is destined to soundtrack several hot, summer nights, lazy, drug filled days, as well as a few broken hearts, and that is just absolutely perfect.



Links:

Gap Dream's Facebook
Buy the album here, from Burger Records

Cassette Review: Honeyslide-S/T EP

It's both fitting and unfitting that Honeyslide label their music under "noise" rather than any other genre. At the core of every song on this beyond excellent debut EP is the way the band twists and turns sound. More so though, is that Honeyslide have produced possibly my favorite shoegaze releases of the year. It is unbelievable how these kids from London managed to produce such great music on their first release.

I think it might have to do with Honeyslide being one of the few bands to properly channel a '90s indie rock influence correctly. This is not meant to be dismissive in anyway. Take "Made for You" which lulls you in with gentle bass lines, a memorizing guitar riff, and sleepy vocals before pulling a Pixies and just engulfing you in utterly beautiful distortion before dropping back again. "Dripping", possibly the best track on the EP, opens in a similar way before morphing into a stoner shoegaze like take on Pavement's "Fillmore Jive", which is just as great as it sounds. "I Do" is as close as the band gets to their countrymen Yuck, but are still clearly in their own world with vocals so drenched in distortion they blur when the Moses Whitley's vocals end and Meytal Ben's begin. Closer "Sickly" is the closest the band comes to being pure shoegaze, dialing back the noise a tad to make clear the beautiful melodies the band uses to meld these songs together. It also serves as the perfect counter point to "Walter Steiner", the cassette's actual closer, which demonstrates the band can create near pure noise as well to the point of almost desolating the hooks contained within them.

It's a bit tricky to say what exactly propels Honeyslide's debut above the mountains of other shoegaze/indie rock/what have you bands out in this scene. What I do know is that that Honeyslide not only stand out, but tower over most of these other bands, and this EP is proof of even better things to come.



Links:

Honeyslide's Website
Buy the cassette EP here, from the band

Guilty Ghosts-All Flesh is Grass

Guilty Ghosts (AKA Tristan O'Donnell) is an artist I've been bad at keeping up with, which I don't understand why because I love everything I hear from him. Case in point his new song "All Flesh is Grass" from his upcoming Trespasser EP. "All Flesh is Grass" is removed from the Guilty Ghosts' previous sound, in that the beats that made up half of the tracks are noticeably absent here. That is OK though, because Guilty Ghosts has mastered guitar based ambient music, here layering guitar riff onto guitar scape onto another guitar riff, etc. The way the track manages to expand just through the subtle guitar discord that builds in the background is nothing but sublime. The result being a beautifully dreamy track, that is both perfectly atmospheric and encapsulating of dusk. Every mood and memory Guilty Ghosts tries to evoke with "All Flesh is Grass" he nails perfectly, creating a song that envelopes you ever so effortless.



Links:

Guilty Ghosts' Website
Get the Trespasser EP soon here, from Guilty Ghosts himself

Video: Bleeding Rainbow-Pink Ruff

I have been sitting on this for way too long. Bleeding Rainbow were Reading Rainbow, a wonderfully reverb filled duo who crafted super catchy, minimalist indie pop that was at the intersection of shoegaze and c-86. Now with the name change for whatever (probably copyright related) reason, the band has also taken the opportunity to expand into a four piece and greatly switch the their sound.

Gone are the intertwined girl-boy vocals and warm, inviting fuzz of Prism Eyes. Instead, with "Pink Ruff" of their upcoming Yeah Right, the band dives head first into modern noise pop. The band still retains a good chunk of their original catchiness, but much like their peers Eternal Summers, who also expanded their line-up, while you can see the connective thread, the end points are very different. A heavy level of darkness has enveloped the band, along with an almost sludge like quality to what is now Bleeding Rainbow's sound, all the while laying in sharp contrast to the clear vocals of Sarah Everton. The video brings this all to life. While being a simple in concept, the way it uses bright, but moody color and Fight Club like editing allow the same distorted, dark sense of "Pink Ruff" to come to life. While Reading Rainbow are dead, Bleeding Rainbow is a more then welcome replacement of excellent, distortion filled indie rock.



Links:

Bleeding Rainbow's Tumblr
Get Yeah Right from Kaine Records in January

MINING BOOM-PDA

Another day, another utterly wonderful guitar gem from an unknown band from the bottomless well of talent that has been called Australia. MINING BOOM dropped off "PDA" from an upcoming cassette/7" they have in the works. "PDA" is just purely excellent indie rock; it has the breezy to it like a Captured Tracks band mixed with the catchy riffage the Strokes use to produce. It's speedy and simple, sort of like how Cloud Nothings use to do it before they got infused with post-punk and angst. A song that could have easily turned out monotonous and repetitive (the song rarely deviates in style and instead settles into a a super catchy riff and groove), in the hands of MINING BOOM comes out perfectly. "PDA" is just a wonderful four minute earworm, a remind of what indie rock is like done right without trying to meet some vague sort of expectation, and instead just made into effortless guitar rock.



Links:

MINING BOOM's Facebook

Toxie-Tearing Up the Streets

Back in the distant year that was 2010, a band of youngsters from Memphis by the name of the Magic Kids were crafting classic 60s summer time pop. They were great, and their debut is still one of the best summertime albums out there. But as quickly as they had come, they dropped off, without any news as to why. Thankfully, some of those linger questions have been answered now that Toxie has emerged.

Toxie is a new band out of Memphis that combines three members of Magic Kids along with Madison Farmer of Coasting to even out the mix. "Tearing Up the Streets" is one of the first tastes from the band, a nice merging of both bands styles. "Tearing up the Streets" is at its heart a great post-punk song, with start and stop guitars and drums riffs, off-kilter vocal delivery, and a left field build up during the bridge that sneaks up on you before throwing you back into the song. The song just inherently feels off. At the same time the band adds a sunshine sheen to the song, filling it with so many hooks that its ready to burst. Toxie craft some truly catchy post-punk, and something tells me their upcoming 7" for Goner will be equally addictive.


Links:

Toxie on Bandcamp

Cassette Review: Vehicle Blues vs. Shivering Window

Split releases can be a tricky thing to pull off. The release can be soon as discardable, or the bands' sound and ascetic don't synch up right, throwing the whole release off. Thankfully, Juniper Tree Songs manages to bypass all of this with their newest cassette, a split between one man projects Vehicle Blues and Shivering Windows.

Vehicle Blues (AKA Gabe Holcombe) picks up right from when I last heard him; on those great Bridgetown Records EPs that came out way back in 2010. His guitar playing has gotten more confident, pushing the songs from hazy, post-shoegaze territory to hazy, lo-fi indie rock territory. His songs are still just as effortlessly inviting as ever, murk and distortion never sounding this warm. At the same time Vehicle Blues' songs still maintain their Gothic edge, capturing a darker, or at least dower view of their world. See a track like "Sprayed Our Names at Every Station", about trying to leave one's mark on a world this While this contradiction should not work, the band's ability to despite of it is what makes the music so captivating.

Shivering Window's (AKA Matthew Gray) proofs that his debut cassette was no fluke. Here, he branches out, not content sticking to just the lo-fi guitar banging of Inner-Exo. "Little Skulls" sets the tone right a way, a short atmospheric creeper built on nothing but Gray's voice and a sparse drum machine. "Old Scratched Youth" is as close as Shivering Window comes to their old sound with Gray crafting another great, sparse, and dark static filled guitar banger. "Ash on You" on the other hand brings an immediate melancholy feel to it, with the fuzz cranked down and drum machine absent. In turn it might be Shivering Window's best song to date. The band ends their side with a smirk in the form of a final, quick instrumental named "Inner-Exo".

Juniper Tree Songs have produced another quality tape with this split. It's tiny and concise, but still manages to impart the sense of gloom both bands channel. In fact, the tape works so well due to the duality by which both bands are able to channel that emotion, and how that turns out differently. It's a moody, quality l0-fi cassette, and proof of how that genre can produce small treasures.





Links:

Vehicle Blues' Facebook
Shivering Window's Soundcloud
Buy the cassette here, from Juniper Tree Songs