The Creative Intersection

Marshall Trotter-Jumps

2012-02-07T11:49:00.000-08:00

Despite a more than six month gap in any new release, Mirror Universe Tapes is still very much alive. So what does one of the best cassette label's in the country do after such an extended break? Start releasing great music right away, first off with Marshall Trotter. While going by the name Aux Arc, Trotter had released a few songs here and there, but the Small Troubles tape which he is releasing under his own name will help to bring his music together both past and present. "Jumps" is a good starting off point, a song Trotter had been working on since his Aux Arc days, but is fully formed now. It's what I would imagine quite, acoustic Dead Gaze (think "Stay, Don't Say) would sound like covering Animal Collective. At its core "Jumps" is an askew campfire song with very fun, haunting vocal, but the song kaleidoscopes from that tangent so well, stringing in so many bells and whistles (some times literally) that "Jumps" is never as it was only moments ago. Trotter may cut and paste the beauty of the song, but he rearranges it into something even more stunning.

(mp3) Marshall Trotter-Jumps

Links:

Marshall Trotter's Website
Get the soon to be released Small Troubles tape here, from Mirror Universe Tapes

Cassette Review: Duke Raoul-Young Starlings

2012-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Collectives are cool. Looking back to something like Elephant 6, or something modern like the Cats Purring collective, getting a bunch of like minded people to make music together almost always leads to good things. case in point when I stumbled onto the Anti-Ghost Moon Ray collective and one of their offshoot bands release's Young Starlings by Duke Raoul.

What's fun with Young Starlings is playing the "spot the influence" game with the cassette. "Clock & Dagger" would not make it feel out of place on one of Yeasayer's earliest releases. Else where the band crafts more traditional indie fare on the EP's other three tracks. The title track sounding like a much more dreay, dark Pains of Being Pure of Heart tune, and "Break Up Your Routine" sounding like The Cure covering Sonic Youth circa Rather Ripped. Closer "Made of Magic" is especially excellent , going from ricocheting, dancey post-punk riffs of the verse to indie rock of the chorus, to the mini noise crescendo that helps to close the track before snapping back into place with the intro riff.

Despite all the different refrences points, Young Starlings is definitely a case of being greater than the sum of it's parts (even though the parts aren't bad to begin with). What connects all the different points of Duke Raoul's release is the ever present retro feel. Despite all the a fore mentioned modern bands, this cassette could have easily be heard playing on a college rock station around 1989. A mixture of the ever present, slight lo-fi sound of the recording, plus the old school style of the cassette design (down to the stereo logo) help to solidify this. I know a lot of this unintentionally sounds dismissive, however trust me when I say that Young Starlings contains a massive amount of quality to its ever so slightly scattered four songs.

(mp3) Duke Raoul-Young Starlings

Links:

Duke Raoul's Facebook page
Buy Young Starlings here, from Prime Cut Music
Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Collective's Website

The Flaming Lips and Erykah Badu-Now I Understand

2012-01-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Chaotic. If there could be one word to describe The Flaming Lips output over the past year, in either solo gummy form or collaboration form, chaotic is the optimal word to describe it all. This is a band that released a song called "I Want to Get High, But I Don't Want Brain Damage", and that only manged to be about the 6th craziest thing they did that year. So it comes as a big of a surprise when the first musical offering of 2012, after releasing a 24 hour song, after playing a two night extravaganza with the Plastic Ono Band, is something as pretty as "Now I Understand". A deep haunting piano drives the track as iPhone's Siri and Erykah Badu trade of questions and answers for the universe. It truly feels like floating in space while listening to this song. Let it into your brain and watch as it expands your soul ever so slightly.

Links:

The Flaming Lips' Website
Erykah Badu's Website

Andrew Bird-Eyeoneye

2012-01-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

Andrew Bird makes his best material when he's angry. Not when he's being whimsical or sweet, when he's flat out pissed and wry. Case in point with "Fake Palindromes", possibly Bird's best song ever, the one where he substitutes whistling solos for detailed revenge fantasies and monster metaphors. Which is what makes "Eyeoneye" such a great song. The wobbling, discordant violin lines that open the the song are just some of the best of Bird's career, effected to hypnotic proportions, as a tale is cast of someone Bird knows being and acting like an ass. Since the majority of Andrew Bird's singles have been relatively subdued (to properly showcase the accordingly low key albums), it's nice to see Bird come out of the gates with what's his equivalence of a sonic boom. Break It Yourself looks like it might be the Andre Bird record I've been waiting for for the past five years.

Links:

Andrew Bird's Website (where you can get the super deluxe version of Break It Yourself)
Pre-order Break It Yourself here, from Mom + Pop Records

War-Brodermordet

2012-01-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Finding out that the front man of the incredibly great punk band iceage is collaborating with a member of the also great hardcore band Sexdrome (who I free admit to discovering through iceage's cover of them), the part of my brain that love's loud music started doing back flips like I'm guessing everyone's who read the headline as me. Then I clicked on the actual track, and it blew my mind...mainly due to how it is in no way a punk song. Apparently these two violent men managed to channel their dark, violent urges into this bleak, throbbing track dubbed "Brodermordet". Lo-fi synth and drum beats fade in and out, bringing to mind the more spaced out work of Total Control, with barely audible vocals popping in to give "Brodermordet" just enough of a sinister undertone as well. Not at all what I was expecting, but still an excellent track none the less. Can't wait to see how the rest of this 7" turns out to be.

Links:

Pre-order War's At War with Youth 7" here, from Sacred Bones Records

Campfires-Slaughter Tropes Cassette

2012-01-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's weird, but Campfires music works better in long form then in short bursts. Take for example their previous release, the Dusty Mansions 7" they did for Small Plates. It was a mighty mine seven inch, and it had some of their best songs to date (especially the impeccable "Chasing Planets"), but it also felt strangely incomplete at the same time.

Which is what makes their latest release, the triumphant return to the cassette that is Slaughter Tropes, all the better. This is the way Campfires was meant to be heard, with all the dimensions of the band present at once. Because yes, for every "Melted Rubber Soul", the cassette's lead off track of gooey guitar lines piled on cooed vocals, there is also the 30 second sound college of "Fuck Zurich Anyway" or "So Far Gone" which is just the band repeating the song title over and over again. And these sections/songs, which would be throw away moments on most other bands' releases, work so well when done by Campfires (mostly thanks to the band's ability to meld beautiful, fragment melodies into those fragments of songs). Campfires has realized what Guided by Voices figured out (and in turn forgot as well); that experimentation with one's sound can flesh it out and expand everything around it. Especially when your crafting songs as bright as "Distant Hills" or "Red Five & Dime", they jump from simple psych pop to glorious lo-fi psychedelic gems.

(mp3) Campfies-Melted Rubber Soul
(mp3) Campfies-Distant Hills

Links:

Campfires' Website
Buy the Slaughter Tropes here, from Campfires' bandcamp

White Fold-End of Now

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know a lot about electronic music. I'll be the first to admit it. However, I know a good song when I hear it, and I've been sitting on this one for too long. White Fold is a collaboration between two guys from the Swill Children fold (W-H-I-T-E & Jesse Hlebo) who for their first outing have created the nicely great Feral/Free EP. "End of Now" is the showcasing track off of it; a dark pulsing animal of beeps that sound sound like yelps and super echoed, tribal drums. Add to that the cave like howls that creep through out as well as the bracing synth that shows up midway through, and you have one spooky like tune here. The Feral/Free EP is only in a batch of 50, so grab one before they run out.
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While you're there, check out some of Swill Children's other releases. There is a lot of hand crafting and effort put into all their releases, and their "Quarterly" publications are some of the coolest things I've seen around. Seriously, check this stuff out.

(mp3) White Fold-End of Now

Links:

W-H-I-T-E's Bandcamp
Jesse Hlebo's Website
Buy the Ferel/Free EP here, from Swill Children

Internet Forever Releasing Their Debut Album

2012-01-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

Internet Forever are back! Those are words I thought I would never get to type, mainly due to the attention removing ability of the internet, and the fact that Internet Forever hadn't made a musical peep in close to a year. However, that changed as Internet Forever announced their debut album, to come out on February 17. The band also dropped a video for their newly recorded album version of "Break Bones". The band has really morphed much the same way Trailer Trash Tracys did when they disappeared and reappeared; the music had become coated in a shell of studio production with the drums blasting through speakers crisp clear guitar work, but still has a wonderful indie pop nugget center. Also, be prepared to be lost in the deeply trippy day-glo infused Mexican art video.
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The entire album is not jsut hyper polished material from the band's singles, thankfully. "Center of the Universe" I think typifies what to expect from Internet Forever's debut. Explosive drums combined with a swirling cocktail of shimmering guitar and everywhere-at-once synth stacked upon singer Alex's sugar sweet vocals. It's overproduced indie pop to be sure, but the best kind of overproduced indie pop.

Links:

Internet Forever's Website
Pre-order the album here, from the band

Tanlines-Brothers

2012-01-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

The synthy excellence that is Tanlines will be releasing their debut album Mixed Emotions on True Panther Sounds all the way into the distant future that is March 20. In the mean time, the band has dropped their first single, "Brothers" from the album. It's incredibly warmth for an electronic song, with the sound of waves crashing on a beach loop through out while minimalist keyboard and guitar work are used throughout to build the song to higher and higher points. LCD Soundsystem style lyrics come spewing out as questions without answers are asked about life and those around you. Tanlines have produced a stunning, melancholy pop song, and maybe 2012's first great song.

(mp3) Tanlines-Brothers

Links:

Tanlines' "Offical" Website
Pre-order Mixed Emotions here, from True Panther Sounds

Video: Youth Lagoon-July

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is Youth Lagoon's second video to accompany a song off their astounding debut The Year of Hibernation. The second to have the genius of Tyler T. Williams create it. And the second to be utterly visually and emotionally stunning. There's something to using nose bleeds as an abstract metaphor for one's entire world falling apart. Just watch it and be amazed, and try to avoid making to many Melancolia connections while you are.

Links:

Youth Lagoon on Facebook

Sweaters & Pearls Discography

2012-01-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

7 Inches is the ever excellent blog that combs through the vast magnitude of singles that are released at a mind numbing rate, and manages to fine a great piece of wax for everyday of the year. Now, like so many blogs, they have moved into the record making business. With that comes the birth of Sweaters & Pearls Records, a commitment to colored vinyl releases, and showcasing some of the best unknown indie rock around.

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The Ceiling Stares/The Super Vacations split 7"

Sweaters & Pearls first release is a split between two "The" bands, as well as a "split" release with Velocity of Sound Records. The Ceiling Stares "A Tunnel Through Air" is a great, hodgepodge of a indie rock song, filled with a fuzzed and drugged guitar line, melodic keyboard undertones, Television like breakdowns, and chanty-esque vocals. It sounds utterly familiar, yet out stop just enough to never be be to place how. The Super Vacations are the perfect counter point to the Ceiling Stares. Buzzing, fast paced guitars and songs that bring to mind the less stoney work of the Fresh & Onlys. The band ha quite mastery in making guitar shifts from sunny to tense, tight, and bleak, as best demonstrated on the opening riffs of the appropriately titled "Hexing". Excellent post-punk with a little California beach garage placed within them.

Stream: The Ceiling Stares-A Tunnel Through the Air

Stream: The Super Vacations-Hexing

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Fat History Month-A Gorilla EP

Truly, I was not expecting much from a band called Fat History Month. A best, I was hoping the 7" would be some sort of passable guitar rock that was stupid in the right ways. Boy was I wonderfully proven wrong. Contained within these bright banana colored grooves are four, beer soaked indie rock tunes which are some of the best I've heard of the genre in a while. This is what's played in basements, by guys are drink too much in order to get over the pain of their lives, while said pain drips into their songs as well as a general decrease in ability to play, but this somehow compliments the songs even more. It's as if Andrew Cedermark decided to cover the Silver Jew's "Secret Knowledge of Backroads" and take that sound as the basis for an entire band. From the opening notes of "Gorilla" the guitar dissonance builds to heart breaking levels that by the time "Heart Takes a Beating" you know the band isn't joking. It would be much more brutal if the music wasn't so great.

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Soccer Mom-You Are Not Going to Heaven EP

A title as harsh as You Are Not Going to Heaven should be the dead give away that Soccer Mom are not the twee band their name suggests. Instead, you get the awesome mixture of Rather Ripped era Thurston Moore fronting a shoegaze band that has listened to too much early '90s indie rock. This 10" has a wonderful balance to it, while taking so many cues from classic indie rock, Soccer Mom's ability to jump one style to the next keeps the band alive and thoroughly excellent. Simply compare "(A) Natural History", which sounds like "Incinerate", to "Unwanted Sounds" which conjures to mind "Only Shallow" by My Bloody Valentine. But it all works into a cathartic combination of everything great of indie rock, mushed together in a blender, and spread over these six tracks. Warm, loud, and fuzzy in all the right ways, Soccer Mom make music to submerge one's brain into, just perfect guitar music to disappear into and never look back.

Links:

The Ceiling Stares' Website
The Super Vacations' Tumblr
Fat History Month's Bandcamp
Soccer Mom's Website
Buy all this wonderful vinyl here, from Sweaters & Pearls Records

Decoder Magazine & Crash Symbols

2012-01-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

Along with the new year came a radical change to one of my favorite blogs, Get Off The Coast. Due to it no longer being just the work of Jheri, Get Off The Coast morphed into Secret Decoder to better represent the sprawling music obsessed collective it had become. Along with the name/site change came the even better news that Secret Decoder would also exist as a physical, magazine supplement filled with deeper, richer articles about all the bands and record labels that Secret Decoder/Get Off The Coast had been digging up and rapid blogging about for years. Secret Decoder is currently producing its first issue, and has set up a Kickstarter page to help with the funding. I need not say how worth while and deserving this project is, and every dollar helps. Speaking of, any dollar donated to the project gets one a digital copy of Decoders' first mixtape (streamable below), which also serves as the perfect sampler for what's to the come/be covered within the first issue.
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Speaking of Secret Decoder related works, the blog's label Crash Symbols is still in full force, cranking out cassette and digital releases at a rate that rivals their blog updates. That rate in fact makes it very easy for fellow bloggers to occasionally miss a release or two from the label. Thankfully though I caught hold of the label's release of Noah Wall's debut cassette Hèloïse. Hèloïse is an incredibly warm record, filled with sprawling synths that submerge the listener in a mental, crystal clear sea with the sun always over head. Noah Wall could have easily created a simple chillwave record, but his music is smarter than that, taking light dashes from tropica and darkwave (in sound and structure accordingly), it's more reminiscent of Broken Social Scene's more ambient and free form pop than normal electronica. Lightly stunning, beautiful music.

Links:

Support Decoder Magazine here, on their Kickstarter page
Noah Wall's Website/Bandcamp
Buy the Hèloïse cassette here, from Crash Symbols

Nima: Demon+Wet Dream Cassette

2011-12-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

While desperately looking for some music to accompany my sleepless night last night, I stumbled upon an old cassette I had received from Kevin from Bridgetown Records. It was by an artist called Nima and was a compilation of sorts of some of her previous releases, properly dubbed Demon + Wet Dream. The music is utterly simple: various synths, a busted and lo-fi drum machine that booms and pounds throughout, and Nima’s frail voice to accompany all of it. It’s also incredibly haunting and beautiful music. Nima bends her various synths to near Microphone’s levels of build up, making them sounds almost like celestial organs. Not to mention Nima’s voice is so wispy and lovely, at times it seems she’s not sure if she’s even speaking the right language the voice seems so lost. A little akin to Youth Lagoon, but suplimente the gloriouse build up of each song with lo-fi. This is music to soundtrack the background of the snowy winter scene of an indie flick.

Links:

Nima on Bandcamp
The tape is sold out, but can be aquired through Rok Lok Distribution

Plastic Flowers-Strange Neighbors

2011-11-29T20:21:00.001-08:00

As my favorite time of year, winter, is upon us, that also means large cascades of dark and gloomy music start to fill my computer and inbox. Nothing in recent memory exemplifies this better than the A-side to Plastic Flower's newest single "Strange Neighbors". It's a sneaky little song, starting with a simple beat as Sean Earl Bread's monotone and distant lyrics slowly guide the song, accompanied by guitar lines so reverbed and effected that you can picture them curling into oblivion. By the time the song come to the climax, it almost seems like it hasn't changed at all, but it has. The drum beats come in ever so quicker and harder as Beard just repeats over and over "We won't be friends". A perfectly heartbreaking song for these cold December days.

(mp3) Plastic Flowers-Strange Neighbors

Links:

Plastic Flowers' Website
Buy the Strange Neighbors 7" here, from Weird Records

Earthquake Party-vs. Pizza Cassingle

2011-11-28T09:23:00.001-08:00

There was an instant reflex in me to call Earthquake Party the best Times New Viking rip off ever and leave it at that. Scuzzy sounding instruments, boy/girl vocal trade offs, and songs about drugs and nonsense. But past all that, Earthquake Party are just as drawn to snotty pop punk as indie rock. How else would a less than a minute long mini spaz like "Nails & Hammers" exist next to a slow burner like "Brians"? It's the A-side "Pretty Little Hand" that steals the show though. I have not heard a songs so wonderfully additive in ages. It has just the perfect fuzz sound to buzz in a ear for years to come. Plus are there better lyrics than "All I want is a pretty little hand filled with drugs and candy!"? No there isn't. This is a proper cassingle (1 A-side, 2 B-sides) tailor made for that shitty boombox that you started using to play cassettes.

(mp3) Earthquake Party-Pretty Little Hand

Links:

Earthquake Party on Facebook
Buy the vs. Pizza cassingle here, from the band's Bandcamp

Album Review: Youth Lagoon-The Year of Hibernation

2011-11-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

I was beyond excited about The Year of Hibernation. After being exposed to the tear jerking beauty of "Montana" (more on that song in a second), I jumped on my computer as quickly as possible to pre-order it. When The Year of Hibernation finally arrived, I tour into the packaging as quickly as possible and threw it on my turntable. As the album began to engulf me I noticed something old. For some reason there were no lyrics to be found anywhere within the packaging, surprising due to Youth Lagoon's Trevor Powers' singing style leads to an obscured sense to what is being sung. Normally this isn't a problem for me; as the large connoisseur of lo-fi pop it's just another wonderful quality and characteristic. But I did something out of character. I jumped on my computer, found all the lyrics, and compiled my own personal lyric book to accompany my listening of the album.

That I feel speaks volumes about the music we are dealing with here. In a time when it takes monumental effort to just listen to 4 song EP all the way through, to be willing (me at least) to want to engage with every aspect of the music is saying something. In this case, how utterly emotionally beautiful this album is. I know that is probably the biggest thing whenever Youth Lagoon is brought up, but that's because of how good they are at it. I think that's mostly to their ability to sidestep nostalgia in the traditional sense, and the way a lot of modern bands trigger it. This is an album completely built around keys and synth, possibly the most used instrument in modern indie music, yet manages to be so much more original with it than others. This is especially true in the way all the songs build to big, cinematic endings. From the moment "Posters" evolves from simple piano tinkering toward beat blasts and perfectly placed guitar work, it's obvious The Year of Hibernation is bigger than just the eight songs contained would have you think. By the time the album reaches it's climax with "Montana", a song so powerful and beyond words that morphs from haunting piano lines toward thunderous piano lines that sound like Powers' might wind up destroying his instrument, the entire magic of the album has sunk in.

Equal parts beautiful and dark, The Year of Hibernation is one the best records, never mind debuts, of the the year. It's subtly majestic in all the right ways, quite when it needs to be, and loud and bombastic when it needs to be as well. It engulf your body for 35 minutes once it starts, and lasts for days after. And you will appreciate every moment of it.

(mp3) Youth Lagoon-Cannons
(mp3) Youth Lagoon-July
(mp3) Youth Lagoon-Montana

Links:

Youth Lagoon's Blog
Buy The Year of Hibernation here, from Fat Possum Records

COLOURS-Lost at Sea

2011-11-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

COLOURS has finally released some new music thanks to the folks at digital label BEKO, though it’s a bit hard to believe it’s the same band. While on their debut EP was a nice mixture of modern and past shoegaze, these songs have lost lots of the noise and squeal of the guitar work, instead replaced with glisten and a slightly sunnier disposition to them. However this is not at all a slam against the band, for the quality of the shoegaze they produce comes out clearer as well. This is most evident on “Lost at Sea” with COLOURS’ vocals never being clearer, shaping around a pulsing synth line that severs the back bone to a perfect, never was Deerhunter demo that the band has reclaimed for themselves. The band's other digital release is even more representative of their new sound with "Sundown" evoking even more beach-esque vibes than "Lost at Sea". Shimmer riffs bounce of wonderfully reverbed drum machine beats, balancing sunny and hints of melancholy precisely in tune with one another. "See, Hear, Touch, Feel", is the band at the most low key yet, a simple sad song with an equally weeping guitar line to acconpany it.

Links:

COLOURS' on Bandcamp
Download both singles here, from BEKO DSL

Superchunk-Where Eagles Dare (Misfits Cover)

2011-10-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

There is nothing that needs to be said. Superchunk have covered The Misfits, the best Halloween band ever, on Halloween, and their best song as well, "Where Eagles Dare". As if this Halloween could not get any better. Danzig has nothing Mac McCaughan. Enjoy.

(mp3) Superchunk-Where Eagles Dare (Misfits Cover)

Links:

Superchunk's Website

Parenthetical Girls-A Note to Self

2011-10-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Parenthetical Girls get better with each Privilege EP they release. This is not just a blogger's opinion, just an indisputable fact. Case in point with “A Note to Self” from Privilege IV: Sympathy for Spastics. Jaunty would never be a word to consider when describing a Parenthetical Girls song, but from the Neutral Milk Hotel style of the intro mandolin chords, “A Note to Self” has a strangely upbeat vibe to it, though coupled with a macabre undertones thanks to the synth whirls as well as the dancy yet pounding drum line that play throughout the song. But that is what makes some of the best Parenthetical Girls songs; their ability to juxtapose elements of their songs to unimaginalbe degrees of greatness.

(mp3) Parenthetical Girls-A Note to Self

Links:

Parenthetical Girls' Website
Pre-order Privilege Pt. IV: Sympathy for Spastics here, from Parenthetical Girls

Guided By Voices-The Unsinkable Fats Domino

2011-10-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

The "classic" Guided by Voices reunited for a full year; a tour that everyone said was awesome and I unfortunately missed. However, the best news of said tour was saved until the end, when it was announced that the line-up had recorded a brand new LP and was going to release it (dubbed Let's Go Eat the Factory) in January. Now the band has released the first tastes of the album with "The Unsinkable Fats Domino".

It's initially hard to say what separates "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" from every other musical project that Robert Pollard has been a part of since Guided by Voices broke up in 2004. There's no lo-fi sound to it, no direct attention to making it stylistically a Guided by Voices song (if Guided by Voices even had specific style to begin with). What makes the song good is just that it's a great song: catchy, wonderfully nonsensical, and short and sweet like any classic GBV song. "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" will be on a 7" with double AA-side "We Won't Apologize for the Human Race", and both songs will be on Let's Go Eat Factory.

(mp3) Guided by Voices-The Unsinkable Fats Domino

Links:

Guided by Voices'/Robert Pollard's Website
Pre-order the 7" here, from Matador Records

Los Campesinos!-Hello Sadness

2011-10-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

Don't quite understand why it takes me so long to break down why a Los Campesinos! song is so good. They are quite possibly my favorite band of right now, yet despite that fact I am always stuck on what to write about for the track. Case in point when "Hello Sadness" hit the web a few days ago. It's such a magnificant track that I wanted to just type "FUCKING LISTEN TO IT ALREADY!" and be done. But I can't do that, not to mention with the cynisim that abounds on internet, I doubt few would believe me.

"Hello Sadness" reaches that zenith of greatness from the lyrics. While the same amount of metaphors and inside jokes are as ever present, there is a utter clarity. "Hello Sadness" mimics another song by the band in terms of structure and sound "Straight in 101", a song about getting laid among other things. "Hello Sadness" plays as the near exact opposite. It's over, it's done, the happiness is gone so bring on the sadness. And as this realization hits the guitars build along with it, finally exploding in beauty and discord at the end to match the emotion of the moment. It's heart breaking and stupendous, and the reason Los Campesinos! are the best indie-pop band of today.

Links:

Los Campesinos!'s Website
Pre-order Hello Sadness here, from Arts & Crafts

Video: Parenthetical Girls-A Doughnut in My Hand

2011-10-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

I will freely admit that I will post nearly anything concerning the Parenthetical Girls, whether to fanfare or complete general apathy of my viewers. However, even if I was not the massive fan of the band I already was, I would have still posted this video for how outstanding it is. Using the band's song "Doughnut" (from their 2009 10" of Ivor Cutler reinterpretations), the video is on the surface just a standard lyric video. Deeper though, it is one of the greatest tributes to vinyl fans/music lovers the world over who happily spend hours digging through crates of music to find that one hidden gem. As an added bonus, see how many different covers you can recognize/name.

(mp3) Parenthetical Girls-A Doughnut In My Hand

Links:

Parenthetical Girls' Website

Album Review: Total Control-Hedge Beat

2011-10-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Total Control has built a nice reputation for itself over the past 3 years; releasing four equally acclaimed 7" of post-punk greatness. However, if it weren't for the band name being printed on the sleeve, one would think each single was by a different band. The first was manic herky-jerky guitar play, the second traced out synth post-punk, the third descended into pure minimal wave bleakness, withe the fourth concluding the saga on two tracks of synthy ambiance. The different styles actually worked though, spread out over the singles (and if one had an open mind to what was next to come). However, there comes the problem with creating their debut album Hedge Beat. Which of the sounds created over the many singles is the one they choose to represent them on the LP? And the band came up with the perfect strategy: shove all their styles onto the grooves, and balance it by making all the songs great.

First, it needs to be said that Hedge Beat is a very cohesive record. Everyone of the eleven songs works in the context album, working very hard to avoid a large amount of juxtaposition (more on that in a second). It just doesn't achieve this through a singular sound. What the album does is present the songs, and bathes them in the same atmosphere and tone; that being one of paranoia, darkness, and claustrophobia. The harrowing and sparse "Meds" encapsulates this perfectly, a total sense of ;despair and nothingness. This in turn allows something like the synth built tension of "See More Glass" to exploded into the post-punk berserkness of "Retiree" despite how much the different styles would usual poorly contrast the album. Pretty much every of the band's past styles is represented in some form on Hedge Beat from the quiet, instrumental of "Shame Thugs" to the spaced out synth of "The Hammer". The only time the band's various sounds collide is with Hedge Beat's centerpiece "Carpet Rash", a sprawling 7+ minute track that shouldn't work within its context, but like a lot of moments on the album, does. It has the same angular and trebled guitar work of the post-punk tunes, but also the distant and robatic feel of the more synth based ones; mending both styles perfectly in combination to everything Total Control is.

One of the strongest debuts of the year, wildly different than everything that is usually being promoted (but would you expect anything different from an Australian band?). Wild and cathartic, yet controlled and precise: a mixture of contrasts that results in perfect post-everything style music.

(mp3) Total Control-See More Glass
(mp3) Total Control-The Hammer

Links:

Total Control on Bandcamp
Get Hedge Beat here, from Iron Lung Records

iceage-IIIIIIII

2011-10-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

(Picture via ...it disappears...)

Back when everyone and their mother (me included) was going crazy over iceage's New Brigade, nearly everyone included a comparison to Pink Flag-era Wire in some fashion. This is brought up because I think this is the track that is the root of all those comparisons, even if it didn't appear on the album. "IIIIIIII" just hit the internet, being a part of a Japanese release of the album. It's actually a cut from the band's debut single, but that's unimportant. It's a manic and knotty tune at the same time, with mini-tension built around and up like any of iceage's great blitzkrieg of a song, releasing into mild melody with the chorus, then starting all of that again in less than a minute. It's an excellent track that fits perfectly within New Brigade's structure, and I'm glad that the rest of the world is able to hear another near-perfect iceage track.

Links:

iceage on myspace

Pineapple Head-Never Let Go

2011-10-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

This was the greatest little gift to receive in my inbox. The email was unassuming, just the band name with a song link. However, despite the simple and minimalist set up, the magnitude of greatness contained within the song was mindblowing.Pineapple Head’s "Never Let Go" is probably the front runner for best guitar song of the year. That is in no way hyperbole. A perfect fusion of Young Governor’s intense-but-not-too-intense new punk and the brattiness that made up Cloud Nothings debut in the beginning of the year, “Never Let Go” is manic, yet not annoying. Simplistic, yet not cliché. While the majority of the song is the same riff and lyrics in both the verses and chorus, not to mention an uber simple drum beat (drum machine?) that pounds into one’s skull, it all mashes together so perfectly it side-steps any sense of being repetitive and morphs into a perfect indie-punk song for ages to come. The band is expecting to release a 7” soon, so expect to buy more than one copy; you will wear out the grooves faster than you think.

Links:

Pineapple Head's Facebook

EP Review: Harpoon Forever-Life-Size Cut-Out

2011-09-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

It’s been close to a year since Harpoon Forever has released new material, and that’s a lot of time in the musical world for a reason. The band really solidified, got to play some gigs, and above all else mature their sound. The last part is especially true with this, their debut EP Life-Size Cut-Out. That’s not to say Harpoon Forever was a particularly bratty band in the past. More that the band truly fine-tuned their sound to make all their influences balance out into the perfect collage that is Life-Size Cut Out.

Everything on Life-Size Cut-Out comes off as a little more compact than their previous works. The songs are all about two minutes long, the vocals a little less manic, and the fuzz is turned down ever so slightly to give the EP a cool power-pop sheik to the whole thing; all this from the EP’s first song “Blue Jay”. From there is the low key, small beauty of “Divine”, and the mild country tints that shade “You+Me”, complete with acoustic guitar and the electric guitar played like a slide guitar. Then Life-Size Cut-Out reaches it’s mini climax, “Cruel Story of Youth” an almost accumulation of Harpoon Forever’s sound mushed into one slightly less than three minute song. ‘90s style epic guitar riffs over sweet lyrics of growing up. “Cruel Story of Youth”, along the entire Life-Size Cut-Out EP might be Harpoon Forever’s best material to date.

Links:
Harpoon Forever's Tumblr
Download Life-Size Cut-Out here, from Bandcamp

Guilty Ghosts-Everlasting Evening (Featuring Sea Oleena)

2011-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while, but Guilty Ghost has finally let free another song into the world from his soon to be released debut album VEILS. "Everlasting Evening" opens and builds with a steam boat like guitar riff, before dropping only to reemerge with a thick drum beat to accompany it. The song is already incredible like that, a wonderful concoction of noisy ambiance, guitar drone, and a little trip-hop; then Sea Oleena's vocals kick in. My god, those vocals are just the icing on the cake, working perfectly with the track, just the perfect mix of airiness and wisp to propel the track further than one thought it could. It's seven minutes of music that just washes over you in what feels like seconds. Just heavenly.

Links:

Guilty Ghost's Website

Gauntlet Hair-Keep Time

2011-09-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

As the date edges closer to Gauntlet Hair's debut album, so to does the anticipation build for how great it will be. While we wait for that moment, Gauntlet Hair keep upping the excitement with tracks like "Keep Time". "Keep Time" is more in the classic sound that people feel in love, with tidal waves of reverb guitar crashing down along with mountains of cymbals. Ironically I want to make a WU LYF comparison here, despite them coming after Gauntlet Hair. It is wonderful "heavy pop", sprawling and exploding in parts, yet never coming unhinged or noodle-y.

(mp3) Gauntlet Hair-Keep Time (via Stereogum)

Links:

Gauntlet Hair's Website
Pre-order Gauntlet Hair's debut here, from Dead Oceans

Whirr-June

2011-09-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Bridgetown Records, I got acquainted with the next great shoegaze hope that was Whirl and their debut 7 song EP. Since then a lot has happened for the band: they changed their name to Whirr, got signed to Tee Pee Records, and are planning to release their debut LP. In the mean time, they have released a nice little 7" to tide folks (me) over. "June" is a nice small step for the band (as every new release seems to be true for any band). The sound is a little less in the red and lo-fi, though no less pure, unequivocal shoegaze goodness. the band seems to have indulged in the Slumberland discography while making this song because there is a real Rocketship backbone to "June", though considering how wonderful and under appreciated Rocketship were for their time, I mean that in the best way possible.

Links:

Whirr on Tumblr
Buy the 7" here, from Tee Pee Records

Video: Youth Lagoon-Montana

2011-09-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Permit me to descend into honest hyperbole for a second. This is Youth Lagoon. For the past few months they (or he, it's the project of one Trevor Power) have been getting a lot of attention for creating songs that morph from simple, quiet gems into huge, larger than life reflections, distilled in just a few minutes. And for a while, I wasn't on board. That's not to say I didn't like Youth Lagoon, but more that I thought the hype wasn't living up to the sound.

Then I saw and heard "Montana". In less absolute words, holy fuck! This video, as well as the song, are absolutely incredible in every way, and made everything about Youth Lagoon click for me. The song has the quiet to loud element that seems to bases of every Youth Lagoon song, but the way the piano melts so effortlessly into the drum beat, and then into the hidden then gorgeous guitar lines just explodes the mind. And the video; the painful, powerful, beautiful, heart touching video is something to behold. If you do not like any of this I question whether you truly have a soul.

The Year of Hibernation, Youth Lagoon's debut is coming out in a few weeks, on September 27 thanks to Fat Possum. I can't wait for it to come out and cause everyone to go even more crazy over Youth Lagoon then they already are.

Links:

Youth Lagoon on Facebook
Pre-order The Year of Hibernation here, from Fat Possum

Single Review: Rat Columns-S/T 7"

2011-09-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm going to stop mentioning whether bands are from Australia. It's just too much of an early give away of how great the music is. Everything seems to be pure gold from that continent, and when it may seem like the bands might start to deform all into the same sound, something comes along removes any sense of encroaching overwrote similarity. Case in point with Rat Columns.

Rat Columns is the solo work of David West. If that name sound unfamiliar, it's to be expected due to West being a member of the equally under appreciated Rank/Xerox. That post-punk connection sort of sets the stage for what comes out these grooves. From the simple yet stark cover art, the solitude and loneliness of the music is instantly presented. Which is helped by the single itself, which manages to smoothly showcase the various forms that West's music takes.

It opens with the simple "I Wonder", as a few sparse drum beats over equally sparse guitar lines. I've heard a few comparisons to The Clean's take on post-punk as a good jump off point for what's happening in Rat Column's ;music and parts of that can be picked up on and really bond well with the music. More so though, it sounds like a darker, yet sonically reduced Fresh and Onlys. case in point when the next two songs come on. "Keep Waiting" is a nice 90 degree turn, a noisy synth tune with vocals so low you have to strain your ears to pick them up. It's quite lovely, evoking little touches of New Order. Then the complete 180 occurs with "Glass Coffin", clearly bringing to mind the menace of Blue Water White Death's "Song for the Greater Jihad", a single deformed instrument becoming more unhinged with the vocals as the song progresses. Then the return an ironic turn back to the original form with "Darkness", a high point of ringing guitar notes coming together to one of the catchiest moments on the single. The entire 7" is very effortless, simple and not something I was expecting in my inbox. Another superbe night time single.

Stream: Rat Columns-I Wonder

Links:
Rat Columns on Myspace
Buy the 7" here, from Smartguy Records

Los Campesinos!-By Your Hand

2011-09-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

YES! After much too long (i.e. any point of time longer than a week), Los Campesinos! are back with a new album. The perfectly titled Hello Sadness will enter the world on November 14 , and I am beyond excited. To tide me and my fellow Campesinos! fanatics, we are given "By Your Hands". The opening cut, it's probably the most mature the band has ever sounded, with a more subdued sound compared to the usual manic tendencies that manifest in either the vocals or guitar work of the band. No utter moment of catharses, no moment of pure anguish forming the chorus. Instead what is delivered is purest pop in their indie pop discography, despite dealing with the darker elements of an impending, doomed relationship. Anyone who thinks this is just another "typical" Los Campesinos! tune truly is not listening correctly. Dig deeper, to discover the creativity lying beneath.

(mp3) Los Campesinos!-By Your Hand

Links:

Los Campesinos!'s Website
Pre-order Hello Sadness here, from the band themselves

Pink Playground-Dark Bloom

2011-09-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Speaking of Free Loving Anarchists, the label's founders also happen to be the creative force between Pink Playground, the dark yet shimmering synth infused shoegaze from un-shoegazy Dallas. After a few a few cassettes and singles, Mexican Summer (boo!) will be dropping their debut LP Destination Ecstasy in late September (hooray!). "Dark Bloom" is them heading into more atmospheric and moody work, sort of if Puro Instincto tried to be a shoegaze band and actually pulled it off.

Pink Playground-Dark Bloom

Links:

Pink Playground's Blog
Pre-order Destination Ecstasy here, from Mexican Summer

Colours-S/T EP

2011-08-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

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

Mikal Cronin-Apathy/Get Along

2011-07-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ty Segall decided to to mellow out this year with Goodbye Bread, which can be viewed as both a good and bad thing. While I'm still adjusting to Segall's new sound, I can turn to his buddy Mikal Cronin for my fuzzed out garage fix. If you heard that name before, it's because Cronin is a staple of the California garage scene, being member of the Moonhearts and teaming up with Segall himself to release Reverse Shark Attack back in 2009. This should all but spell out the type of garage credentials that Cronin has, which are all fully exposed with "Apathy". A quick off-key acoustic guitar strumming morphs into a glorious mess of the most trebled guitars and haphazard drumming ever. Why "Apathy is so great is how it uses so many different parts perfectly. The rather intense verse turns into a suddenly, yet wonderfully catchy chorus. Then at the end a Beefheart worthy sax attack kicks in which adds even more chaos to the tune, but folds into the song with such ease you can't imagine the song without it.

(mp3) Mikal Cronin-Apathy

"Get Along" is definitely a much mellower tune, and will start to draw those Ty Segall comparisons. Not to say those comparisons would be too far off, but would be summing it up too easily. A simple guitar tone held steady by a galloping guitar and simple percussion. It has a Black Lips feel to it, when the Black Lips have ingested a large amount of drugs and slowed down. More importantly it emphasises something that was made apparent by "Apathy"; Cronin has the uncanny ability to go from angular to catchy instantly in his songs giving them unbelievable style and depth in a genre where that is so hard to pull off.

(mp3) Mikal Cronin-Get Along

Links:

Mikal Cronin's Myspace
Pre-order Mikal Cronin's debut here, from Trouble in Mind Records

Comet Gain-An Arcade from the Warm Rain That Falls

2011-07-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

Comet Gain's new album unfortunately won't reach American ears (legally anyway) until What's Your Rupture? releases it October 4. However, with that utterly terrible news comes coupled the only thing that could make it bearable, i.e. a brand new Comet Gain song! With bands like Comet Gain, it's not so much expecting something new or drastically different sonically from them, but how accomplished and lustrous the songs manage to be in contrast with the band's discography. "An Arcade from the Warm Rain That Falls" personifies this perfectly with a screech of violin lines give way into another slice of Brit/indie-pop, with an added layer of influence coming from the work David Christian did making the Cinema Red and Blue record last year. It's the type of song that manages to have a summer feel to it, but just enough of a melancholy undertone to move it from being cliché toward something more elegant and pure than just that.

(mp3) Comet Gain-An Arcade from the Warm Rain That Falls

Links:

Comet Gain's Facebook
Get Howl of the Lonely Crowd here,from What's Your Rupture?

Gauntlet Hair-Top Bunk

2011-07-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

It may have taken forever, but new Gauntlet Hair music has arrived. "Top Bunk" is the first song coming off of the band's self titled release, which has confirmed the long running rumor that Dead Ocean had signed and will be released October 18. More importantly though is what "Top Bunk" means for the band. Despite this being only the sixth song that the band has ever release it is obvious the band has already matured their sound, honing in on the precise ratio of mild bombast and beats to formulate. The result is "Top Bunk" sounding like Gauntlet Hair's version of a slow jam, with the echoed guitar sound coming off as more haunted than harsh and the percussion blasts simply used to propel the song forward. That's not to take away from "Top Bunk" at all, it's simply new complements to descibe an ever changing band.

(mp3) Gauntlet Hair-Top Bunk (via Gorilla vs Bear)

Links:

Gauntlet Hair's Facebook
Pre-order Gauntlet Hair's self titled here, from Dead Oceans

Video: The Flaming Lips Feat. Lightning Bolt-I Wanna Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage

2011-07-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

A simple, unequivocal FUCK! This is the exact thing my ears needed after being so deprived of any new music for nearly two weeks. So few things speak for themselves, but just look at the title of this video and you get a near perfect image of what to expect from the music. It is disturbing and weird, but also insanely fun and possibly The Flaming Lips' best collaboration song to date. Keeping up with all their super weird releases these days is near impossible, but I want this LP with Lightning Bolt bad now.

Links:

The Flaming Lips' Website
Lightning Bolt's Website

Cymbals Eat Guitars-Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)

2011-07-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

One of the best musical experiences I have is seeing Cymbals Eat Guitars open for Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and in what could have not been more than 40 minutes completely blew every single indie mind there with their insane indie rock that just magnified itself live. That entire show condensed into one song is the best explanation of what "Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)" sounds like. At it's core it's the best Built to Spill song Built to Spill never created (until now), but not only taking adding the nuances of the recent "'90s-indie-rock-sound-in-current-indie-music" sound (which in a way you could credit to Cymbals Eat Guitar for starting), not to mention several filters of everything from grunge to post-rock. The song is still shaped around Cymbals Eat Guitars' own version of "quiet-loud-quiet", but the band as managed to refine that sound so that the dramatics are no less powerful, but at that much more natural. Cymbals Eat Guitars' new album Lenses Aliens is out on August 30, and it is slightly mind blowing that this is only the opening track.

Links:

Cymbals Eat Guitar's Website
Pre-order Lenses Aliens here, at Barsuk Records

Big Troubles-Misery

2011-07-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

The small, little piece of Big Troubles upcoming new album are coming together. It has been dubbed Romantic Comedy and will be out in September 27 on the ever great Slumberland Records. More so, however is the new sound coming with the new record. As touched on when the live version of "Phantom" started floating around the web, the lo-fi distortion is gone from Big Troubles sound. What is left is a leaner, cleaner band producing still the epically wonderful tunes like "Misery". It sounds kind of like a less intense version of No Age's "Teen Creeps" with a jangling chord intro into cymbal crashing into airy indie-pop filled with mountains of loud and wonderful guitar hooks. A song made to be blasted out of car speakers in some alternate dimension where this is the music played on radio during the summer.

(mp3) Big Troubles-Misery

Links:

Big Troubles' Bandcamp
Pre-order Romantic Comedy here, from Slumberland Records

Cassette Review: Scallion/Br'er split

2011-07-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

Which element of this small, wondrous cassette to tackle first is a bit tricky. The physical cassette itself is a good place to start. When the cassette finally arrives in the ail, you instantly get the sense of how his won't be the typical fare in any single way. The cassette is contained in a handmade sleeve: hand drawn, painted, and numbered. Even the J-card is personal, a cut of cloth with all the cassette's information hand written in pen. The packaging itself is a mini presentation to what is inside.

Scallion is what the microphones sound like covered by the Music Tapes if they listened to more chamber-pop. Over six tracks (each side is basically a mini album), band mastermind Darian Scatton's mild falsetto guides these prose filled tracks over their darker/sadder undertones. A cool and distant sense of nature (see the cover art)is invoked a lot in the songs to set the stage for the tales of pain and loss. Also uses of singing saws, chiming piano, and varied percussion styles also add to the tones for the songs. No one song really personifies Scallion as they can jump from old timey-esque Parenthetical Girls ("Our Breadth was Wide") to hollow, utterly lost to the void ("The Bird is Missing"), sometimes in the same song ("Tungsten Burner"). Taken as a whole though, a better, more accurate picture of the nuanced music Scallion makes becomes clear.

Br'er comes from a much more obtuse world, however. As a wave of synth feedback pours out of the speaker at the very first moment of "Cold", the same feelings and tones that were touched on by Scallion are here, but channelled very differently. While taking heavy cues from Xiu Xiu and a bit of something else that can't be placed, Br'er and their music is more a melting pot where no element or sound is really rejected, but instead utilized in someway. "Emphatic Glee" showcases this wonderfully; simple, crooked guitar lines are placed next to the vocals, while what can only be pots and pans serve as percussion in the background. Then the guitar morphs into a driving synth line as the drums come in as well, all the while the earlier parts of the song come in and out at will. Elsewhere there is the askew, slightly evil pop of "Heavenly" existing with something like the pour vocal track "Riverside Romance". It's strange, tense, and yet a stellar example of music being used as a form of art.

(mp3) Scallion-Our Breadth was Wide
(mp3) Br'er-Heavenly

Links:

Scallion's Webpage
Br'er's Website
Buy the cassette here, from Edible Onion

Echo Lake-Another Day

2011-06-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Echo Lake have released another stunning pop gem into the world, which will probably be just as over looked as their debut EP was as well. "Another Day" is a stunner, with lead singer Linda Jarvis channeling her best Lætitia Sadier over reverbed instrumentation and chiming guitar lines, which thankfully don't lead to any overbearing '80s sounds but something actually from this century. This especially is true in the songs mini finale, where all the guitar lines begin to pile on top of and collide with one another, the reverb and newly introduced distortion fight for prominences, and the final vocal "ahhs" are uttered and left lingering as the song fades. "Another Day" is off their upcoming new single from blog/label No Pain in Pop, which will be out shortly on July 18.

Links:

Echo Lake's Website
Pre-order "Another Day" b/w "Breath Deep" here, from No Pain in Pop

I'm Still Fond of You: An Interview with Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls (Part II)

2011-06-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

The second and final part of my interview with Zac Pennington of the ever awesome Parenthetical Girls. Here we dive into his upcoming new musical ventures, how he was convinced to appear and act on Portlandia, and the deeper purpose of both "The Pornographer" video and the band's discography.
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The Creative Intersection: Has the process of creating Privilege differed or evolved from the way you originally planned for it to turn out? Like, you said you wanted the entire project to be completed in fifteen months, right?

Zac Pennington: Yeah, we did want that (laughs). We sort up these sort of arbitrary confines, like “it’s going to be five records” for no reason what so ever just other than it’s going to be five records and “it’s going to be done in fifteen months” which is really impractical and not really thought out in terms of time line. Mostly because the process we work with is pretty much myself and Jherek (Bischoff) working on these recordings, and Jherek is busy with a million other projects, so ultimately it all depends on our schedules lining up. However, every time we work on it I feel it comes very quickly, it’s just he more than me is kind of unable to devote as much time to it as it would be necessary to make it come out as quickly as possible. The process has been weirdly organic in a way that nothing we’ve ever made has been, and I feel the working relationship Jherek and I have now is better than it’s ever been. I know that sounds really trite, but it’s actually true, things are working pretty well.

It’s a weird experiment, and in some ways it’s failed and in some ways it’s succeeded. Initially the idea was to be able to keep releasing things in a way that could the whole Parenthetical Girls project sustainable because of the practical matters of not being able to tour and...not that we’re challenging the idea of the album, but I feel like the way most media works. It still works around the notion of album as the definitive statement, so it’s been interesting to hear how people have responded to this project more than anything I think.

TCI: Have your non-Parenthetical Girls projects played a role in the way the music? For instance, you did a very extravagant play in Austria with an experimental theater trope?

ZP: Yeah, we did a theater piece with this group called Implied Silence that I think went relatively well. It was apparently big, and we made a bunch of music for it that I don’t know will actually come out. One of the songs we recorded from the piece in a different form for a seven inch that we released on Tomlab this year. Other than that though I don’t know if it will ever come out in anyway. In some ways that project, and some other things I’ve been working on, have allowed me to focus on what I want Parenthetical Girls to be. Because essentially Parenthetical Girls has always been a pretty open environment. We don’t really have a specific sound that we are aiming for, or we don’t feel people have that expectations about how we’re going to sound. It’s ultimately up to us, and where our whim are. But doing that Austrian show, which was really grand, ambitious, more orchestral than anything else, I was sort of really able to stream line and get down to a really different kind of Parenthetical Girls then we’ve had before.

TCI: When you say other projects, you mean Crying with Freddy Ruppert and Gareth from Los Campesinos! right?

ZP: Yeah, that’s one project I’ve been working on...

TCI: How’s that coming along?

ZP: Slowly. Gareth has been very busy with Los Campesinos! stuff, and we kind of lost touch after a while, but he finally got back in touch and finally announced his attention to be a part of this project. I’ve got a bunch of songs for it, but nothing that’s been finished, but we’ve committed to finishing a record by the end of the year, to ourselves. I’m very, very excited about it. I really love both those guys a lot, and I think the project been really fun. I’ve also been working on this project with my very good friend Claudia Meza who use to be in group called Explode into Color, who are no long but were a Kill Rock Stars band for a bit and we’ve been working on a new project for a bit that will hopefully get out sooner rather than later.

TCI: I adore Explode into Color, and would love to hear whatever come out of that collaboration.

ZP: Yeah, I’m excited about. Presently, we’re debating what we’re going to call the thing, but we’ve been working on it for some months now. Actually, it’s Claudia and I, and a man named Joe Kelly, who was the drummer for another Kill Rock Stars band Panther and was in another band called 31 Knot, years and years ago. I hope that we’ll be able to start playing some show really soon.

TCI: Wonderful. I’m debating which of these I should ask first...You were in Portlandia were you not?

ZP: Yes I was.

TCI: How did that happen, and how did they convince you to piss yourself on TV?

ZP: Well, that’s a good question. (Laughing) Portlandia happened...strangely it was a totally random circumstance. I ran into a guy who was doing casting for the show, who was neighbor of a friend of mine and he asked if I wanted to do it. I know Carrie Brownstiene, so I went in and did a day’s work. I kind of expected nothing to come of it, and so I’m under a subtle pressure to do this gag, and...I don’t know how I was convinced to do it. It was incredibly humiliating to wet yourself multiple times in front of a large group of people, and ultimately the nation. I’m going to say I regret doing it, if only because the only major thing that is really embarrassing about it was that I’ve had more people talk to me about doing that show and pissing myself for two seconds than I’ve had anything, collectively, in my entire life.

TCI: (Laughing), I’m so sorry.

ZP: No, it’s funny. It’s really funny. (Both of us laughing) It was really an honor for me.

TCI: OK, final question. What was the inspiration, besides the song name, for “The Pornographer” video? That seems incredibly, I don’t know how to frame it, ballsy move to fuck or pretend to fuck on camera for a song. I mean, it’s part of your band to always go to whatever extremes to convey the art and pop in your music. But...did you come up with the idea or the director?

ZP: Well actually I directed it, so I did both. I had this idea...(laughs). This video is another thing that’s been a weird point of embarrassment, and pride, and contention in my life of late. I was kind exploring some of Andy Warhol’s movies because they kind of surfaced on the internet. Stuff I had read about and never actually seen. I was looking at a couple movies he made: Blowjob 1 and 2. It was a joke, like most of the things we do, but I don’t feel it reads as a joke to most people (laughs). Also, I’ve been kind of curious of this recent wave in the last year or two of “not safe for work” music videos. These music videos that...I wouldn’t say it’s a fad, but there’s been this tremendous push to this concept of sexually explicit music videos, or nude music videos, and they’ve been generally very attention getting. I thought it was really funny of independent musician as a contemporary pornographer, so I decided that the idea of taking that to the logical conclusion. For the most part there hasn’t been videos were in the actual performers are engaging in this “not safe for work” behavior, and I thought that was kind of a challenge.

TCI: You honestly view your music as an inside joke, because I think anyone looking in would view you as one of the most...not serious but conscious and detailed mind with your music. It seems like you view it not as jokes, but as art if you understand what I’m trying to say.

ZP: No, I know what you mean. I wouldn’t go so far as to say...I certainly don’t think we’re doing anything disingenuously. I feel that it’s very important for me to do things that are serious, but not so serious to the point of...I don’t know. I feel there is this sort of difference between authenticity and integrity, and that in order to be a real artist/musician you have to be this certain kind of way. Generally, that kind of way is humorless, self-serious and smug. And I think there are a lot of people who maybe see what we do as being those things, but I feel like it’s the same thing as Leonard Cohen or Morrissey. I think there is this notion in both of those cases that there are these incredibly dower, smug, sad, and melancholy creators, but when you actually pay attention to the work they do there is a lot humor in what they do. And it kind of escapes a lot of people because it is presented in such a way that you have to dig for it. And I feel in terms of our visual ascetic, and the things we do with videos especially, most of those things have been fun and intended to be kind of humorous.

Also, a lot of the imagery for our records...to call them jokes is maybe going to far, but there is a winking, self-awareness to the absurdity to what we do. Like, (laughs) we know that putting my face on every record we put out pretty much is hilariously vein, and so we’ll make a record like Safe as Houses were that vanity is taken to the ridiculous extreme of like having sex with your self on the cover of your record. I feel like it’s essentially, we do things because we care about them and because they are important, but we also feel we have a sense of humor about things in a way that might not be immediately apparent to people.

Deerhunter-Cool (Pylon Cover)

2011-06-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

This is just awesome. The ever great Deerhunter will be releasing a sort of split 7" as a tribute to fellow Georgia artist Pylon. They cover the classic "Cool", and manage to keep the same tension that defined that song, while still making it darker and giving it a Deerhunter style sheen. The flip side is two remixes of "Yo-Yo" by Calvinist, with help from Sleigh Bell singer Alexis Krauss. It will be released on June 28 by DFA, the same label that handled the reissues of Pylon's albums. Hopefully the whole release will bring a little extra attention to to the long under appreciated Pylon.

The original version, in all it's post-punk glory:

Links:

Deerhunter's Blog/Website
DFA Records' Website

I'm Still Fond of You: An Interview with Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls (Part I)

2011-06-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Zac Pennington is a talker. This is meant in the best way possible. It means that in this interview I did with him, my longest and possibly most enjoyed, he manged to give context and shape to even the simplest questions that demanded even simpler answers. Here, split into two parts is the interview, where Pennington discusses band mates moving on, the concept and formation of the Privilege project, and why the album as a delivery system is not needed.
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The Creative Intersection: The first question that springs to mind is what is it like now that Rachel (Jensen) is leaving the band?

Zac Pennington: It’s sort of been in the works for a while and only been officially been stated, but we’ve been dealing with it for a while. Presently we’re getting to play the first shows with this new group, and it’s seeming to be working out pretty well. Rachel’s way was very essential to the way the live band work for a long time, but for the most part she wasn’t that...essential to recording process, and the writing process, so we’ve been working on things this way for sometime without Rachel being...extremely...umm...

TCI: Crucial in studio presents?

ZP: Yeah, yeah. In terms of how the band operates, the only major difference is how the live band is going to work. That’s always changed pretty dramatically in short bursts of time. We’ve had a pretty heavy turnover so we’re pretty use to people coming and going.

TCI: I’m sure it must be a little bit different with how long Rachel has been with the band. I mean just a little.

ZP: Sure. No, it’s quite a bit different. I mean, practically speaking it’s not exceptionally different, but for the sake of the dynamic of the band it’s a lot different, and it feels like we’re starting the live band over again. Which is a exciting thing because I feel like it’s been a while since we’ve been super confident as a live band. We haven’t been playing a lot of live shows because it’s become more and more difficult schedule wise to do it with Rachel and other members of the band. At this point I feel like we are in a position were we can actually take playing live a little bit more seriously, and be more consistent with it then we have in the last year or so.

TCI: So you’ve been wanting to tour, it wasn’t the studio recording? I always assumed it was a concentration on recording Privilege that was holding you back from touring massively.

ZP: Well, it’s a number of factors. It’s mostly been personnel and getting to a place where we felt we had a consistent and reliable band, which we just haven’t had in a while. Essentially since Matt (Carlson) left some time ago we haven’t had a real consistent line up, so an opportunity to go on a tour, we would always have to scramble to figure something out. Because I don’t really play anything in the live band any more it ends up being a lot of focus and pressure on the people whom we get, and often time as such opportunities rise in such short order that we haven’t been able to capitalize on going on tour.

Ultimately, we haven’t...it’s hard because the way the Privilege project works, because it’s not a full length album. Essentially the sort of cycle you have when you’re in a band, you put out a record, then you go on a few tours, and then put out another record. But because we don’t actually have a full-length coming out for a while, instead we are doing these sort of incremental things, there hasn’t been a real logical time to make it work.

TCI: But there was a consciences to do Privilege. In contrast with Entanglements, which was a sort of pinnacle work for you with you going leaps and bounds, working with all those classical musicians...

ZP: Mmmhhh...

TCI: Privilege is...not a step back, but a different path from that. You would think you would continue on, because the previous albums had been building to Entanglements, and now it is a step toward how those other albums sounded. I mean this obviously a concept that you’ve been considering and focusing. It’s very detailed: five EPs, four songs each, blood, the art work. It was very thought out wasn’t?

ZP: Yeah, these certain projects are...we always concentrate on making these cohesive statements in the way we make albums. We never sort of just write songs, we sit down and make a record. It’s not as if these songs organically arose and we put them on an album. So Privilege was in some ways a challenge to in some ways to try to do it a slightly different way, and try to focus more on songs than on the album. The whole kind of concept of the project is kind of based on object fetishism in some ways because I like making records and I like the process of making tangible work and so it’s exciting to be able to be in full control of that and make really ridiculous and narcissistic decisions about how were going to make these things (starts laughing).

Ultimately, the differences between Privilege and Entanglement I feel like Entanglements was more of a challenge to us and was a kind of logical conclusion that we came to, with every record sort of building in this weird grandeur. I feel like with Entanglements it reached it’s logical conclusion and there not anywhere to go from there. We can’t go any bigger than that, so we have to go slightly different and I feel like I’ve been more satisfied working on the Privilege project than I was with Entanglements, and feel a lot better with the way it is coming along. Entanglements is strange because it written over the course of a long time, but it was actually made in a fairly concise period, and so there was not a lot of room for playing around and because of way the recordings were arranged there wasn’t a lot of experimentation that could be incorporated....

TCI: Yeah, like the small ideas that pop into your head while your crafting a song in the studio.

ZP: Yeah, and were able to do some of that with Entanglements, but I usually find the things that are the surprising things the most awarding and there weren’t near enough of those with Entanglements because it’s just impractical to just play around with things the same way it is with something a little bit smaller.

TCI: You said part of enjoyment of Privilege was, as you said, that narcissistic joy of creating personal, your own thing. Is that why you decided to release the LPs through your own label Slender Means Society, your own personal label, as opposed to working with Tomlab again?

ZP: The reason we decided to do that was ultimately just to be practical because Tomlab had sort of slowed down when we started working with us. It was such an indulgent and expensive project to do Privilege that I didn’t really want...I wanted it to be this very specific way and that’s the way it is. I couldn’t really expect a label, Tomlab or any other, to be able to feel confident and comfortable putting out this very meticulous and kind of arcane project. We’re not making any money off of these records, and because they’re so limited there’s not any real chance for any real profit. The idea had occurred to me to have different labels put out each individual one. I just felt that I had done it before myself, and it seemed it would be easier to control the aesthetic and the specifics of the production. That’s not to say it would stop me from working with Tomlab again. Hopefully these records are going to be compiled in someway and released. We’re not really sure where it’s going to go yet, but we’re hopefully going to work with another label again.

TCI: Yeah, I was reading about that. Obviously, that was part of the original idea: we’ll create these five EPs and at the end we’ll compile the best or all of them. Was the idea of creating the LP series part of idea to be grand, so the simple fan can just purchase the compilation?

ZP: Right, there is some absurdity to this. (Laughing) It is especially absurd this idea of creating this box set of records and paying for it all yourself, as well as putting it out. Like I said before, there is this ridicules narcissism to that idea which I find kind of hilarious. Also, we took a long time to make Entanglements, from inception to completion. We are kind of slow at making things, and I really didn’t want to spend another year just putting together songs to make an album and it takes two years to come out. It’s kind of this hack thing, how strangely slowly these indie labels work in these really long term projects. It was more of a practical consideration of wanting to release stuff more readily and quickly.

I also feel with Entanglements a lot of the things people said about the record...they either said it out right or suggested that they didn’t have time with the thing, because it is a pretty dense record with it being so short. So the idea of kind of undermining the notion of the grand statement. The idea being that we would put out these smaller things that would be a little more digestible and also would allow use to release things more readily and also would make it so we would be able to work a little bit more on the fly than we have been in the past. I feel like part of the deal was the album seeming less and less relevant as also part of our consideration. I’m not as enthralled with a new record as often as I use to. I don’t feel like it is a real tragedy that the album format is kind of going away.

TCI: So you don’t, per say, support Record Store Day?

ZP: Oh no, no. Like I said the whole project of Privilege is making tangible things. It’s not so much the matter of the album as a tangible item as I mean as a unifying concept. I also like physical objects and so things like Record Store Day I’m glad people are still doing that, and there is support for the physical store. I don’t know, I guess the idea of putting out a forty-five minute thing, that is twelve to fifteen songs long just arbitrarily seems kind of like a dated idea. Music comes out in different ways now, and people relate to it in different ways now than that.

The Music Tapes release Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World) EP!

2011-06-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

I love The Music Tapes. Period. Seeing them live and interviewing them was pretty much how this blog came to be. Their records spin endlessly in my room, and their performance as part of the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour was one of my musical high points of the year. They are wonderful, and the only thing I wished from the band was that they would release more music, seeing as they have only released two albums in eleven years.

Thankfully, all my wishing has payed off in the form of Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World). A digital EP, it is a collection of songs that have been floating around along with new ones to tide people over until the brand new Music Tapes records start pouring in later this year. However (and this is a big "however"), don't even think about writing this EP as a something to download and listen to haphazardly.

"So Long the Day" opens the release, possibly The Music Tapes catchiest song to date, which is such a paradox to describe a Music Tapes song. Julian Koster's falsetto rises and falls over acoustic guitar sounding banjo lines before cumulating with joyous horn blaring and subtle bells ringing as the song fades. The trapped-in-the-past sounding lo-fi sounds that make up part of the essence of The Music Tapes' sound is reinstated in songs like "A Lighting's Cheeks (Everything Gets Born Here" and "Night and Day", with sad organ keys and weeping singing songs persisting throughout. It ends with "Nantasket", a slightly epic (at least for the band) 6 minute song that captures the same sublime feelings that were created in "Song for Oceans Falling", the center piece of their album Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes.

It's a short, but sweet release that I'm happy actually happened with the band's track record for actually releasing material. Best of all, as part of The Music Tapes standard procedure of including some type of goodie with their releases, the "physical" release of this EP comes with a Music Tapes kazoo! Yes, I know that sounds very dorky, but it is equally awesome and I can't wait to play it whenever I'm listening to the band.

Links:

The Music Tapes' Website
Stream/buy/download Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours The World) here, from Merge

WU LYF-Dirt

2011-06-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

It's strange. You think being a blogger, reading all the other great blogs you aspire to be, and getting mountains of emails to check out this or that artist, I would always be on top of any sort of buzz band or band everyone was blabbing about. Yet days arise when I discover an artist that you find simply stunning, then in turn I am stunned to find out they've been producing music like this for awhile now, and I wonder where have I been for so long?

That in a nutshell is how I felt when I first discovered WU LFY and their song/video "Dirt". It makes complete sense why everyone is drooling over this band. "Dirt" is such an utterly creative song, layering so many different elements into itself, forming the perfect novella of a song. The song comes off as tribal at first glance, with thundering drums coupled with vocals that spit disconcerting, rage-filled phrases punctuated with a style that sounds like the singer is gasping for air. However, the inner elements of the song emerge once the video is scene. Yes, the same chaotic feeling are personify by the video, but at the same time some strange warped sense of glee comes out as well, as if to say "the anger of now will lead to better things later". I might be over thinking it, but the song is entrancing the moment it starts and I can't wait for their debut album. Possibly my new favorite band.

(mp3) WU LYF-Dirt

Links:

WU LYF's website

Brilliant Colors-How Much Younger

2011-05-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

I think Brilliant Colors are in a really bad position. They either got lumped as a "noise-pop" band, or as some bad out growth of the post-Vivian Girls world. As such, a large swath of their releases of been ignored or not given their dues by the music population. Which is an utter, utter shame because Brilliant Colors make some of the best, effort-less C86 pop around. Proof right here with "How Much Younger", the first tune off their brand new LP Again and Again. "How Much Younger" are what would happen if Grass Widows listened more to The Pastels than to The Urinals. Yes, it is as awesome as that comparison made it out to be.

Links:

Brilliant Colors' Blog
Pre-order Again and Again here, from Insound

Album Review: iceage-New Brigade

2011-05-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

The sudden blog heavy love for iceage will probably go down as one of the most surprising pushes for a band this year. Not that it is unwarranted; far from it. As anyone who has managed to a copy of New Brigade in the US (not an easy feat, by the way) can attest to how good the album/band are (more on that in a second). But the fact is this is a band has been around for almost two years, and released a seven inch that served as a precursor to most of what's on New Brigade to not so much as a squeak from the blogosphere (though it did do great in the punk circle that iceage original come from). The sudden yelp of blogs, who rarely care for punk bands unless they are covered in lo-fi (not that there is anything wrong with that genre either), seems to have come out of nowhere, along with the equal strange desire to lump iceage with with the emerging "darkwave" scene.

So the best to approach New Brigade is to strip all that precedent that presides it and simply view it as an album that serves as the first impression for a band truly not known in the US. That means New Brigade is possibly one the best first impressions to ever be made. In a sense, its the same feeling I got when I listened to Cloud Nothings the first time, even if it triggered completely different emotions. The same immediate, yet strange catchy-ness that is attached to it that caught me off guard because it was their first release. "How is it possible for a band that just started to be this good already?"

Iceage are cynical, nihilistic kids from Denmark, making equally dark, nihilistic punk as an out growth of their life and surroundings. There is a clear cut hardcore back bone to it, but stops itself from being that. Nor is it post-hardcore; lacking any of the guitar work or direct sounds that make up the genre. Instead it's as if Pink Flag era Wire had decided to try to make a hardcore album, and succeeded. Much like Pink Flag, New Brigade jumps from one style to another with grace, from direct catchy punk tunes ("Broken Bones, Remember", "You're Blessed"), more experimental numbers ("White Rune", "Collapse"), to the most frenzied of songs ("Total Drench", "Count Me In"). All the while, the same trebled-to-the-max guitar lines, near blurred drum beats, and apathetic vocals make up the core of every song, yet always come out new or different on each song as well. It's potent without being overwhelming. Loud and cathartic, but excellent melodies buried within as well. New Brigade is as excellent a punk record as any blog piece has said it is. When both Altered Zones and Maximum Rocknroll are agreeing on the merits of an album, it is for good reason.

(mp3) iceage-White Rune
(mp3) iceage-Broken Bone
(mp3) iceage-Collapse

Links:

iceage on myspace
Pre-order New Brigade here, from What's Your Rupture? out June 21

You Gotta Make Your Feelings Known

2011-05-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

Comet Gain might possibly be one of the greatest, and equally under appreciated, indie pop band to ever be. Don't believe me? This is a band that has been playing for 15+ years, and helped inform the sound of Love is All, Los Campesinos!, and even Belle and Sebastien. Now quick, name a single one of their songs, or even one of their albums. Couldn't? That's what I thought.

Thankfully, ever since they released their absolutely stunning singles/odds-and-ends compilation Broken Record Prayers back in 2008, they have gotten a slight boost in people caring about them. Now after nearly six years (depending on how you view Cinema Red and Blue), Comet Gain is back and finally releasing a brand new album Howl of the Lonely Crowd. It is already out in the UK, but we will have to wait in the US 'till June 21 before What's Your Rupture? puts it out here. Until then, go to Fortuna POP! to here the already classic sounding indie pop gem "Weekend Dream".

Classic Comet Gain to catch you up:

Links:

Fortuna POP!'s Website
What's Your Rupture's Website

BOBBY CHIZ-Vibe Tech

2011-05-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Cats Purring Collective, is a group of diverse musicians (Dead Gaze, Dent May, Flight, ) centered Oxford, Mississippi who work together, help make music, and set up and promote shows in their scene. This means that not only the cool main acts, but their friends and fellow bandmates side projects get attention as well. Case in point BOBBY CHIZ, an apparent member of Dead Gaze's and Dent May's live band, and his song "Vibe Tech". An awesome swirling pop song, it's what a more country version of Ty Segall would sound like filtered through both Elephant 6 and Guided By Voices. The song has so many bits and pieces, it's like Girl Talk made a indie-psych song, with all the different influences you can count within it. It's stunning the magnitude of directions the song goes in, yet still comes together in this kaleidoscope of a song.

Links:

BOBBY CHIZ on Tumblr

Hi Shadow Records

2011-05-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

It has come to my attention that Brent Mitzner, mastermind behind the the highly under appreciated Trudgers, has been running a small tape label himself and releasing small pressings of some of his and his friend's bands. Anyone familiar with Bridgetown Records discography will have a good idea of what's being brought to you by Hi Shadow, but that does not remove the fact that another wonderful cassette label as been brought into the world, and great bands are getting their music released.

One of the latest cassettes is in fact a cassingle from the ever prolific, ever great, and head of Bridgetown Records himself, Kevin Greenspon. To call this release just a "cassingle" though is just a bit wrong, especially when the opening track "Coincide" is a 9 minute sprawler. Stepping away slightly from concise, slightly noisy songs that were heard on his split cassingle for Bathetic, here a more clear singular sound comes out, with a sharper drone influence in the guitar work. Though the way Greenspun makes music, by the next release, the sound will have completely shifted to some other great, genre-less style.

Kevin Greenspon - Coincide by Hi Shadow Records

The other release is a split cassette between Vehicle Blues and Trudgers. Vehicle Blues sound their most focused here, fully fleshing out their post-shoegaze pop, especially on "Your Pile", with a limping static-fuzz serving as the the bone for this beautifully lonesome song. It's what Tempertwig would have sounded like it if they had slowed down their songs and replaced melancholy for their angst. The degree by which Trudgers is growing as a band is even more impressive. Look no further than their stunning "Softly, Gracefully", a eight minute plus epic of post-punk, with shift from complete Joy Division/Smashing Pumpkins worship to some that is all their own. One of the best tracks and cassettes I have heard all year.

Vehicle Blues - Your Pile by Hi Shadow Records

Trudgers - Softly, Gracefully by Hi Shadow Records

Links:

Hi Shadow Records' Website
Kevin Greenspon's Website
Vehicle Blues on Myspace
Trudgers on Myspace

Big Troubles-Phantom

2011-05-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Big Troubles said in a interview once that their follow to Worry would sound very different, with a desire to record the album in an actual studio ,and step away from the lo-fi sound that made Worry so personal and wonderful. And as such, as both a fan of lo-fi music and seeing so many bands step away from their initial lo-fi sound to loss some of their initial greatness as well, I was skeptical they could pull it off.

That of course was before I heard "Phantom". The first time hearing the band in an actual studio with engineers, with the result being just as good as anything on Worry. The same shoegaze-esque backbone that punctuated all their previous work is still ever present, but a new power-pop sheen has been added to the music, or at the very least been brought closer to forefront. Yes, this makes the band sound have a sort of '90s sound to them, much like several over rising indie bands these days, but that does not remove the fact that Bi Troubles have produced another gem to add to their treasure trove of music.

The song was recorded for Weathervane Music series Shaking Through, a cool music site out of Philadelphia that records audio and visual of bands in a Daytrotter-esque way. For more info and music on Weathervane, check it out here.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://wvmusic.bandcamp.com/track/phantom"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Phantom by Weathervane Music&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

(mp3) Big Troubles-Phantom

Links:

Big Troubles on Myspace

Bon Iver-Calgary

2011-05-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Bon Iver makes incredible music. I do not care if you think he is all hype, he's over blown, that there is no quality to his music, that everything he has been before, that he is too wimpy. Those are all blanket excuses used to not appreciate an artist who made something as beautiful and heart aching as For Emma, Forever Ago. That is an album, like for so many other people, helped get them threw some black nights to say the least.

So after too long (and several side projects), Bon Iver is finally releasing new music under the moniker that meant so much to so many. "Calgary" doesn't seem like it changes much to the Bon Iver formula, at least initially with Justin Vernon's falsetto layered over simply, airy/elegant instrumentation. Then it starts to shift ever so slightly, with the electronic beeps and whirls coming in, the drum beats building, the guitar lines creeping in. What is here is a less dynamic Antlers song, but is not all meant as an insult. It is every expectation any had for the new Bon Iver album, and it meets them all.

Links:

Bon Iver's Website
Pre-order Bon Iver, Bon Iver here, from Jagjaguwuar

Martin Newell-Sun Comes to the Wood

2011-05-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the second mp3 from Martin Newell's Songs for a Fallow Land, his recently just re-released solo LP that I have raved about previously. "Sun Comes to the Wood" has the same reverb drenched, '80s style production of "Gamma Ray Blue", with the song itself built around a strong mix of vibrating, reverb infused guitar chords and pulsating synth, blending the two together into a vortex of inseprable sound, with detached, Devo-esque vocals layered on top. The end result is a dark and detached song, a crystalization of the decade that shaped it, both from a musical stand point and the culture of the time.

(mp3) Martin Newell-Sun Comes to the Wood

Links:

Martin Newell's Website
Buy Songs for a Fallow Land here, from Fixed Identity

The Bottomless Black Hole of Zond

2011-05-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

This is Zond. They are a band. They are from Australia. They have been playing for a little while now. They released an album. It was released on RIP Society. They did it last year. Now they released the album in the US. They did it last month. It was released on Kemado. Zond make music. Very good music. Very loud music. Some people call it shoegaze. It is, but isn't. Some people call it noise rock. It is, but isn't. It is both at the same time. Layered on one another, over and over again. Dense, thick, heavy. It hurts the brain, it scares the soul. It stands on the brink of sludge, of metal, of evil. It is, but isn't. Zond is gloriously dark, mind melting music. Dive into the dark.

(mp3) Zond-Chrome
(mp3) Zond-Stupid Gods

Links:

Zond on Myspace
R.I.P Society's Website

Cold Showers-I Don't Mind

2011-05-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Great news everybody, Gun Outfit have released a brand new song! OK, very few people will understand that reference, but it is completely apt. The same Meat Puppets style influence, tense and tart guitar play, and excellent monotonic trade off singing between Cold Showers' male and female band members that make Gun Outfit such a wonderful (and equally underapperciated) band. Not to mention the way Cold Showers uses of sound to apply to a song that deals with apathy. This is Cold Showers first mp3, off a soon to be released 7" from Mexican Summer. I suspect good things to come from them.

(mp3) Cold Showers-I Don't Mind

Links:

Cold Showers on Facebook
Pre-order the 7" here, from Mexican Summer

Zeadron del Gomez-Hold My Hand? No

2011-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hold My Hand? No is the debut cassette and release from Zeadron del Gomez, the alias of a 17 year old whiz kid from Orange County named Jack Hefferon. It's strange because despite the fact that Zeadron has been releasing music on his bandcamp page since early 2009, much the blog fair for him hadn't picked up until online magazine Rebel decide to release Hold My Hand? No digitally to the world back in January. Now both Rebel and the excellent Get Off The Coast run Crash Symbols have partnered together to release Hold My Hand? No on cassette as well.

That's all back story though, what is the music of Zeadron del Gomez actually like? Um...I want to say "nothing you've ever heard", but chances are that thought only comes from lack of knowledge of most non-guitar based music. The music is very beat heavy, with various beeps and thumps of being the core of nearly every song, yet while there is a clear electronica influence (or electropop dance, whatever the correct genre name is), Hold My Hand? No is not that. It draws from the dark edges of witch house, and styling of chillwave. Hold My Hand? No is sort of what would happen if James Blake decided to listen to more witch house, and threw in more traces of Dream Cop, UK style producers (Zomby, Gold Panda), and dash Moby for spice. While something like Zeadron del Gomez is completely out of my normal musical range, and there is high chance that every descriptor I used for him is wrong, at least let it be conveyed that this album is stunningly excellent album that should be heard by all in some form or another. This is headphone music that will swell and rinse through your mind for weeks to come.

(mp3) Zeadron del Gomez-Down Face/Face Down
(mp3) Zeadron del Gomez-Trainer.SAW93 MB

Hold My Hand? No by Crash Symbols

Links:

Zeadron del Gomez on Bandcamp
Stream/download/buy Hold My Hand? No here, from Crash Symbols

Fucked Up: Queen of Hearts

2011-05-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

Fucked Up has just released the final mp3 in the lead up to their upcoming epic sounding (both literally and figuratively) new album David Comes to Life. "Queen of Hearts" is the frantic, thick, heavy, epic (have I used that word already?), and bombastic opening tune for the album. I don't want to use the phrase "classic sounding Fucked Up" for the two reasons that they have existed for far too short period of time to qualify for that phrase, and because their is no "classic sounding Fucked Up" sound. They are a band, whether it is liked or not, seem to jump from a different sound. However, it should be be said that "Queen of Hearts" has very similar qualities as "The Other Shoe", being Pink Eye's vocals serving as a contrast to the intense yet highly melodic instrumentation surrounding it. Oh, and you can really tell that it's a love song, something I never thought would wind up being written or associated with Fucked Up.

(mp3) Fucked Up-Queen of Hearts

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Do to no good reason, The Creative Intersection glazed over Fucked Up's other two mp3 releases, something that should be corrected. Download below "A Little Death", a song that I feel is perfect antithesis of what Fucked Up wanted David Comes to Life to sound like, as well as Ship of Fools", where the song's dark lyricism is matched pound for pound with the equally volatile soaring guitar riffs.

(mp3) Fucked Up-A Little Death
(mp3) Fucked Up-Ship of Fools

Links:

David Comes to Life Website
Pre-order David Comes to Life (including the deluxe edition) here, from Matador

Single Review: Boomgates- "Layman's Terms" b/w "Nothing"

2011-05-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

A constant problem with analyzing or even discussing any band's side project is the degree by which the main band's shadow is cast on the new band. Even if the sound of either band manages to escape focus, preconceived factors of quality come into play. This is what falls on Boomgates, where there is a small but unfortunate chance of them being remembered as nothing more than "the singer of Eddy Current Suppression Ring's indie rock band". Which is a pity because they really should go as "that fucking awesome Australian supergroup that formed that indie rock band!"

Due to how exceptional Boomgates debut single was, it's nice to know, though I guess not very surprising how easily they struck lightning twice. Two songs both dealing with communication problem's (on), both highly influenced from the entire spectrum of UK indie rock, and of course the Australian punk scene and sounds of each band member's respective band. "Layman's terms" is such a glorious song from the moment the song's duel guitar lines starts bouncing off on another in such a sublime fashion. The way Brendan Suppression's and Steph Hughes play off an intertwine with each other has to win some sort of award. "Nothing", the single's equally incredible counter part dives into the garage-punk spectrum, building tension with its verses before the explosion of noisy guitar riffs starts spewing out suddenly and violently. What could be the current front runner for this year's best 7 inch, Boomgates cause the same effect that I had ( and still do) when I put on a ECSR record; an endued giddy smile due to realizing how great the music I'm listen to actually is.

Boomgates - Nothing

Links:

Boomgates' Myspace
Buy the single here, from Smart Guy Records

Twins-My Body EP

2011-04-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Twins was the project of the guy behind Featureless Ghosts, before he started listening to Ariel Pink and James Ferraro, or more likely before that became the specific sound he started to make. Apparently Twins had only a few releases, a self released CD and a collaboration tape with Luke Perry seems to be the limit to it. However, Matt Weiner recently released My Body, an apparently aborted four song EP, each one a different perspective on the body in contrast to some other idea. It's a bit hard to know, due to the vocals (if there actually are any in the music) being incredibly buried in the mix. Twins crafts a strange mixture of warped synth and guitar, utilizing feedback from both and heavy use of drum beats. It's sounds like the end of a really long Sonic Youth song, played on synth, trying to to be pretty and artistic instead of noise and artistic.

Links:

Twins on Bandcamp

Album Review: Panda Bear-Tomboy

2011-04-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

Some pretext: I was not looking forward to Tomboy the way the rest of the world was. I had only heard snippets of the beloved album of yore that was Person Pitch, and no aspect of what I heard from it compelled me to seek out the rest of it. So the build up to Tomboy (the various mp3s, the singles found in record stores) was like hearing a new artist for the first time. Coupled that with the fact that Person Pitch does not serve as a frame of reference, and my view of Tomboy obviously lacks the prose and/or mindset that others will.

That all being said, virgin Panda Bear ears or not, Tomboy is a minimalist yet gorgeous album. Where my love of this album comes from is hard to fathom though. Everything that makes up this album, from the sprawling electronics to the use of vocals almost completely as an instrument is the obvious precursor (or now with this album, antithesis) of a genre I don't really like (chillwave). The album is also built on slow, stark, and simply beauty, something I rarely enjoy or appreciate in music I listen to. When I do, it's from the painful, quiet, organic side of music, i.e.Bon Iver or the Microphones circa The Glow Pt.2, not in the synth washed land of Tomboy. Yet, Panda Bear works these pieces into the glory of Tomboy, making everything I would normally run away from into something engaging and lovely with each passing listen.

In a general sense, every song on Tomboy has the same skeletal sound to it. A simply, yet intuitive piece of electronica looped over and over again while bombastic (but not intense) vocals come in win a mix between a one man gospel and one man Beach Boys. It's how each song is approached differently that creates the separation and in turn the expansion of the album. From the slow sprawl of "You Can Count on Me", it's like being transported the inside of a bleak dreamscape. Hollow and barren, punctuated only by the bursts of sound created by Panda Bear. "Slow Motion" a shimmer marvel of deconstructed pop song, electronic dream pop at it's finest.

The album can viewed almost like a wave, building with songs like "Surfer's Hymn" and "Last Night at the Jetty", before crashing into the drone of well..."Drone". The album peaks with "Alsatian Darn", the album's obvious center piece, as well as its catchiest and brightest moment. Despite being the point were Panda Bear sounds quite a lot like Animal Collective, "Alsatian Darn" is still completely a Panda Bear song, with drum beats that sound like claps and twinkling synth lines layered over beautiful vocals and cascade like a waterfall one on top of another. The album concludes with a trifecta of quiet, bleak ambient influenced tunes, ending in with the albums longest song "Afterburner", who's ending creates a spiral of music that keeps going and going and going...until the needle pops off suddenly and Tomboy is over in the blink of an eye.

(mp3) Panda Bear-Last Night at the Jetty

Links:

Panda Bear's Facebook
Buy Tomboy here, from Paw Tracks

SXSW 2011: Thursday

2011-04-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

No words. Just South By Southwest.

Owen Pallet @ The Mohawk

I haven't seen Owen Pallet perform in about two and half years, in 2008 when I saw him at my very first Fun Fun Fun Fest when he was still calling himself Final Fantasy. Since 2008, I have not listened to any of Final Fantasy/Own Pallet's music (outside of his "Game of Pricks" cover) for absolutely any good reason, so many that was what drew me to catching his set at the Mohawk. It still blows my mind how one man with only a violin, keyboard, laptop and loop petal can produce the plethora of sounds Pallet manages on stage. It was...entrancing, the only thing that shattered it being the many tiny technical problems that begun to sprout up as the set continued. The entire thing was the definition of what a typical South by Southwest showcase is, but it was a really good South by Southwest showcase.

Telekinesis @ The Mohawk

Telekinesis can write a catchy pop song. Scratch that. Telekinesis do write sugar coated, grin inducing, power-pop, and on the cramped stage of the Mohawk, the band managed to send that music out through the speakers to the equally cramped mass of people who came to see them. What makes them stand out in the mind is a bit hard to say, though for a band that probably would be playing six more shows through out South By Southwest, and had probably played quite a few before this one, you would have thought this was their first show. The guitarist was hopping all around in one place, and the bombast that came from front man's Michael Benjamin Lerner drum kit spread a warm glow through out the body. Hearing "Coast of Carolina" at that point, in the middle of day with a few (but just enough) people singing along was perfect, one of those small SXSW moments.

Matt and Kim @ MTV Garage

Say whatever you want about Matt and Kim's music, for those who want to call it just pop music. Or talk about the venue which was the top of a parking garage that MTV had rented out, and in turn caused a massive line to build up, which in turn caused people to begin scaling the walls. Say whatever you want because I was there, and it was fun! For the 35 minutes they were onstage, the various levels of hipsterism that encodes so many South by Southwest events eroded. People danced and pogoed so hard the cement floor began to rock up and down. A man in a green suit crowd surfed, and balloons were released into the air by the audience in a cliche, but a joyous cliche at that. No one should give shit to a band this fun, and I pity anyone who does not love them.

Tog @ Red 7

Tog was my "see whatever band is playing next at the venue your at" band of the day, and I wished I had liked them more. The seven piece flew in from Norway just to perform to the small mass of people at Red 7, yet their typical Swedish (yes I know where they're from) style dance pop just didn't grab. The hooks weren't there, it didn't make the body move like it should, something was not working. I will not blame the band, for they were one of the few where the front man braved from the stage to the ground (several times at that) to dance with the few drunks who were dancing along. It should have been a lot better, but to their credit, the spark of better music was there without a doubt.

Grass Widow @ Red 7

First and foremost, Grass Widow's set was too short. Period. And there was no good reason for this. Unless they set up late (which I don't think they did), the band only got to play about seven to eight songs in less than thirty minutes. For someone who had been waiting all the festival to finally see them, it was a true crime. However, those less than thirty minutes were stellar. As one would expect, with a band who's every music element from the call and response vocals to the instrumentation is so intertwined, the band was the tightest band I have ever seen. Nothing was out of step, every guitar line meeting the delayed vocal delivery hitting the rubber base lines. The band started, were ungodly incredible, and in the blink of an eye packing up to leave.

Guilty Ghosts-Tinted Windows

2011-04-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, I discovered the music of Guilty Ghosts. It was this wonderfully expanding and flowing music, obviously based upon ambient music of yore, it also nicely balanced new elements as well. With mechanized drum beats, and fine tuned guitar riffs, the music was perfectly built around the lines of atmosphere, ambiene, and instrumental. It was wonderful, yet for whatever reason, I never got around to digging the rest of Guilty Ghost's discography. Fast foward to now, and sitting in my inbox is an email from Tristan, the man behind Guilty Ghosts with both news of an upcoming new album called VEILS and a song off it called "Tinted Windows". Expanding his sound in the only logical way, "Tinted Windows" brings in vocals to the mix, and along with it a lot heavier emphesis of the R&B influence that lingered on his other songs (though that just might be due to guest work by Guerre). Strangly comparing "Tinted Windows" to the work of other R&B-esque bands doesn't exactly work because while that dreamy, soul element is there, it sounds nothing like jj or How to Dress Well. The echos of tension and guitar lines are what seperate it.

Links:

Guilty Ghosts' Website

Times New Viking-Ever Falling In Love

2011-04-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

The talk of the town for a very long time has been that Times New Viking are going to be releasing their new album Dancer Equired later this month on no less than Merge Records. Normally, this would get me in a euphoric glee due to how much I adore this band, despite the blogosphere's removal of love for shit-fi. However the news of the album came with an mp3 titled "No Room to Live", a song that not only completely stripped the band of any of their lo-fi productions (gasp!), but transformed the band into a mellow, jangly indie-pop band. Gone was the cathartsis of pure noise and understated melody that made Times New Viking's music so captivating in the first place, and in their place was another low key indie band. Needless to say I was devastated, and almost lost hope in the album and the band. Thankfully, when "Ever Falling in Love" came out I decided to give the band another chance, and lull and behold, the band demonstrates how their new found production values can actually work for them, and produce something that is both an advancement of their sound while still sounding close to what I fell in love with in the first place.

Note that the song "Fuck Her Tears" can also be heard in the Soundcloud widget above. Please listen to because not only is it possibly my favorite titled song ever, it is also the top contender for my favorite song off the new album as well. Truly, that song is two minutes of pure speaker damaging/rattling bliss.

Links:

Time New Viking's Website
Pre-Order Dance Equired here, from Merge Records

Reading Rainbow-Cover The Sky

2011-04-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Reading Rainbow's released one of my favorite records of last year, Prism Eyes, and while I never got around to talking about it, I can say that I spun that record many, many times and "Wasting Time" should have been on everyone's year end top songs. Anyway, the band is back with a new single, a one-side seven inch for the Italian label Hell Yes!, who increasingly seems to grab hold of some great artists (Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles). The more dreamy "Cover The Sky" would have fit perfectly on Prism Eyes, a mixture of airy, dream-pop build up to a perfect post Galaxie 500 style guitar breakdown, of course filtered through Reading Rainbow's Moe Tucker style playing on guitar. It makes sense when you hear it.

Links:

Reading Rainbow's blog
Pre-order Reading Rainbow's seven inch here, from Hell Yes!

Fucked Up: The Other Shoe

2011-04-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

The ever prolific Fucked Up have finally released the details of their upcoming third album David Comes to Life. The long time in the works rock opera is finally set to come out on June 7, and the band is doing a spree of releases to go along with it. The first is "The Other Shoe" an incredibly contrasting song, layering lead singer Pink Eye's evil growl of a vocal delivery coupled with incredibly apathetic lyrics, against soaring guitar lines and angelic female vocals. Yes, there have been about zero incidents where having "punk" and "rock opera" in the same description of anything turns out to be good, and that "The Other Shoe" probably forever removes Fucked Up from the hardcore roots they came from. However, if their is any band that can possibly pull of a project as ambitious as this one, it's Fucked Up. Please remember that this is the same band that is putting out 12" that corresponds with every year of the Zodiac, and all their members are in some form of a side project. Oh and the band plans to release three more songs in the lead up the albums release as well.

(mp3) Fucked Up-The Other Shoe

Speaking of ambitious Fucked Up projects, the band is releasing a special 12" compilation for Record Store Day. The compilation is actually a collection of the bands that band believes would exist within the story on David Comes to Life, so the band, along with a bunch of guest artists, record a bunch of different songs within a bunch of different musical genres. As insane as this sounds, they actually manage to pull it off, case in point with the '77 era style song "Do You Feed" by the "band" Animal Man, which wouldn't have been out of place on the Sex Pistol's album. As stated before, the David's Bands comp. will only be available on Record Store Day, so start getting in line.

(mp3) Animal Man-Do You Feed?

Links:

David Comes to Life Website
Fucked Up's Blog

Animal Collective-Keep Cassette Songs

2011-04-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

These days it can be easier to view Animal Collective as well, a collective than a full band. With solo albums by Avey Tare and Panda Bear having emerged within the past year, and another by Deacon to come out soon too, every individual in the band want their moment (and style) to shine, as opposed to appearing only in the homoginized greatness of Animal Collective. Now, as if to expand even further on that concept, comes this cassette of four separate, almost demo songs from each of Animal Collective band members. The most incredible part of the whole release (though probably not surprising to many)is that despite what seems to be minimal effort into the everything, every single song is just fucking great. The two songs by the two members that haven't heard from are quite excellent with Geologists "Jailhouse " being a nice sprawling ambient soundscape, while Deakin's "Country Report" might just be the greatest one of the bunch, a drony, Merriweather Post Pavilion style piece of music that was infinitely better than anything he did back at Fun Fun Fun Fest. Panda Bear's "The Preakness" is a simple, yet elegant and classic Panda Bear song very much in the vein of what has been heard on Tomboy and sounding a lot like "You Can Count on Me". Avey Tare's "Call Home (Buy Grapes)" is probably the only odd one out, a strange, subdued, slightly pulsating song with even more bizarre vocals layered on top of it. However, viewed as a experiment in style, the song actually works quite well.

(mp3) Geologist-Jailhouse (via ANDTHATSHOWITSDONE)
(mp3) Avey Tare-Call Home (Buy Grapes) (via ANDTHATSHOWITSDONE)
(mp3) Deakin-Country Report (via ANDTHATSHOWITSDONE)
(mp3) Panda Bear-The Preakness (via ANDTHATSHOWITSDONE)

While the cassette itself is long gone, the shoes and charity it was part of are still on sale. Check here for more details.

The Twitchy No-fi of Sealings

2011-03-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Sealings are what would happen if The Secret Society of Giraffes decided to produce a little no-fi pop and rock. Over messed up drum beats and thick montone, they produce dark, beat mixed tunes that are close to what I imagine early Cold Cave would have sounded like if they ever tried to cover Times New Viking. The British duo is also nicely prolfic, having put out split tapes on Clan Destine and FLA, as well a tape on Tye Die Tapes as well, not to mention various one offs on their tumbler. The band is also quite prolific, poping out various songs to throw on their tumbler for download, or put up on their soundcloud page for the world to listen too. The contrast is easy to see when comparing "2 Cups" to "Jack Nicholson, In A Sea Of Faces". "2 Cups" though filled with drum beeps and harsh synth lines, mainly composed of heavly in the red guitar riffs stacked on almost completely symbol composed drumming. The singing style serves as a nice contrast to the choas surrounding it.

(mp3) Sealings-2 Cups

"Jack Nicholson, In A Sea Of Faces", on the other hand, sounds like one of the many upon many hazy synth songs produced today, but almost as a satire of the sytle, recorded in the worst way, making almost every elment of the song that should have that should have beauty with it now contain stark grit and anguish. Like Washed Out if he decided to use a two-track and dump large amounts of feed back into the mixing process.

(mp3) Sealings-Jack Nicholson, In A Sea of Faces

Links:

Sealings on Myspace
Sealings Tumbler, Awesome Ghost

SXSW 2011: Wedensday

2011-03-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

South By Southwest this year was the most insane musical experience I have ever had in quite some time. I was beaten, battered, and bruised, never got enough sleep, was completely exhausted at the end of every single day, and probably developed some form of illness from the event. I can also say I saw some the greatest bands ever, meet some incredibly awesome people, and had one of the best experiences of my life. What is featured in the next few days is a small sliver of what I got to see and hear of the best four day music festival in the world, both the best and the worst in the pantheon of music.

Weekend @ Emo's Annex

Technically, Weekend where not the first band I saw at SXSW. That honor goes to Beach Fossils, who I managed to catch at their Pitchfork set on Tuesday after arriving in Austin from Mexico City the same day. However, due to forgetting my camera on Tuesday, Weekend gets the honor of first photographically pictured band of my SXSW '011. And what away to kick off the day. A thirty minute set of pure ear ruining noise-pop, from a band I should have payed a lot more attention to last year. While the setting was not perfectly suited for the band (a large tent with a lot of light), the band still gave a hell of a loud performance.

The Vaccines @ Emo's

The Vaccines are what is known as a "hype band". For those who don't know the difference between a "hype band" and a "buzz band", a "hype band" is built up by their label through lots of advertisements and magazine articles, while a "buzz band" are usually built up by their fans and blogs and gain traction a lot more authentically. So I was a bit iffy on whether I would like The Vaccines set at the Brooklyn Vegan show, despite kind of liking their two mp3s that made waves a short while back. However, the band was surprising good. Coming off as something like the British equivalent of The Soft Pack, the band jumped on stage, started jamming, and didn't stop. Blasting through seven song in twenty minutes, the band was nothing if not tight, and pulled off quite an energetic set.

Mister Heavenly @ Emo's

Let us ignore for five seconds that Michael Cera is playing bass in the band right now, and that is why a large chunk of the audience was there, particularly teenage hipster girls. Pulling back the band is made up also of three hardened veterans of the '00s indie rock scene, put together into one band which comes off as an awesome bi-polar indie rock band. The Nick Diamond songs sounded like more manic Island songs, while the Horus Horus songs sounded like more melodic Man Man tunes. The styles mixed in a way that served as a juxtaposition, but also meshed surprising well. Also being in bands for so long the set was great, filled with multiple guitar flailing and piano hopping that spun out of control in just the right ways. And for all the haters out there, Michael Cera is a pretty good bassist.

Dead Gaze @ Cheer Up Charile's

There was no set on Tuesday I was more excited for than Dead Gaze's. Cole Furlow and co. (which now adds up to a five piece) despite dealing with some initial sound problems, performed one loud and roaring all too short thirty minute set on the tiny Cheer Up Charile's stage. I mean the band's music was re-crafted perfectly live with one lo-fi gem after another from the band's catalog was blasted through the venue's perfectly terrible speakers. Furlow was also in top form, belting out the songs and pounding on his guitar, with a small little smile breaking across his face during when guitar dueling with one of his other band mates.

Gayngs @ Red 7

Gayngs is a super group getting large amounts of acclaim due to being made up a plethora of indie rock band members, none less famous than Bon Iver adding guitar to along with the other three guitarists, piano player, bassist, two vocalists, laptop operator, clarinetist, among more. However, all this spectacle does not make up for the fact that the band is incredibly boring, not only with their music, which is just slightly airy yacht rock, but also in their performance as well. Of course this is partially due to the subdued nature of the music itself, but still with all those excellent musicians on stage it should have added to something a lot more. I left after the third song, and doubt I missed anything.

Secret Machine @ Red 7

At about this time I did something, that any respectful SXSW attendee should do: see bands you have never heard of. So I swung by the Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans/Secretly Canadian showcase catching two bands, the first one being Secret Machine. For a six piece band, that were dressed in some pretty interesting outfits, and were playing their hearts out, there wasn't really much that struck out for attention music wise. Yes there were moments that the band sprung to life, and those moments were great. However, for the most part felt like a "label band", one that fits perfectly the label they are, but don't produce any music you remember very well.

Sun Airway @ Red 7

Sun Airway know how to play a show. The lights dimmed, and suddenly a massive light show was being projected on the band, a mixture of movie clips and multi-color lighting that must of really bothered the band, but added the perfect atmosphere to the entire show. The band were great, clear veterans of various other bands, playing ever wonderful electronic influenced dream-pop, that built and swelled to points of falling apart, only to come back together again in some texture of blissed out pop tunes. The band was playing right before Small Black, so connections and similarities could easily be put together, but honestly Sun Airway seem to be everything Small Black try to be, but actually pull it off.

Audio Antihero: Broken Shoulder and Bob Hope Would

2011-03-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

Audio Antihero is at it again. Continuing their wave of supporting whatever underappreciated band they come in contact with, AAH is supporting the digital release and physical release of brand new British artist Broken Shoulder. Broken Shoulder first ever release is the seven song Broken Shoulderrr EP, is completely different from anything Audio Anti-Hero have release in that it is the label’s first foray into ambient music. However, to describe this EP and this band as just another “ambient” artist is selling him short on way to many levels. One listen to “Morning Is Broken” takes you to the desolate twilight that is crafted here in the mind, with waves of singular static and warped to infinity guitar tones used as the perfect foils to this sound. I’m a still a newbie to this entire genre of music, but even I can feel the simple, rhythmic beauty made here. Every part of the songs falls and cascades on each other, each time bringing a new tone or element with it, so when they finish it is something every so subtly different than how the songs originally started. From the weeping guitar lines that encompass “Uff/Magow” to the singular piano tone that manages to stretch “Chocolate One Room Disco” into a 10 minute note of beauty, Broken Shoulder should be put up there with every other “experimental/ (noisy) ambient artist out here in the US, though labels are becoming increasingly irrelevant to this genre of music. One listen to “Sato Costume” and “Ultimate Donko” back to back speaks volumes as to every angle Broken Shoulder is trying and can accomplish. Listen at night with your headphones on and your eyes closed.

(mp3) Broken Shoulder-Uff/Magow

Links:

Stream and buy Broken Shoulderrr here, from Audio Antihero
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As you’ve heard, Japan got hit by just about every single natural disaster known to man with the past few weeks, and is now dealing with a nuclear and radiation situation, not to mention limited supplies and housing for all the people they had to evacuate. Not surprisingly, several bands and labels have set up various projects to raise funds to the situation in Japan, and Audio Antihero is playing their part as well. Bob Hope Would is a massive 34 track digital compilation of almost completely exclusive, alternate, or demo songs not only from Nosferatu D2, Benjamin Shaw, Jack Hayter, and Broken Shoulder, but Fighting Kites, Paul Hawkins and The Awkward Silences and a mountain of more. It’s only ₤3.99, has tons on great music, and it's all for a good cause.

Links:

Stream and download Bob Hope Would here, from Audio Antihero

The Flaming Lips w/ Neon Indian-Is David Bowie Dying?

2011-03-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

I love the Flaming Lips. They were one of the very first "indie" bands I got into (though being on a major label for so long makes you wonder how they qualify for that. I guess the same way Sonic Youth did). The first time I heard "She Don't Use Jelly" I ran to buy Transmissions from the Satellite Heart and blasted that song over and over again, and at the same time discovering how incredible the whole album was. Nothing tops though experience of seeing the band finally for the first time last year at their all too short set at ACL last year. Now free from a major label after being tied to one for so long, the band is diving head first into every creative odd end they can think of. First came "Two Blobs Fucking" the twelve-part Youtube song meant to be heard on a bunch of peoples mobile devices, a la their famous one album over four CDs Zaireeka. It is very demented track and truly should be heard in it's original intent. However for those without twelve friend, listen for yourself.

But what is even more impressive is their latest project, a four song 12" collaboration EP with none other than chillwave god Neon Indian. The result, at least on the awesomely titled "Is David Bowie Dying?" is a slightly more beat infused and proper extension on what the band did on Embryonic, with odes to what they did on The Soft Bulletin as well, no doubt do to them performing said album in its entirety recently. I ask how is it possible for a band to keep changing their sound, become increasingly more experimental as they grow older, and for songs like "Is David Bowie Dying?" to be this great? Said 12" was only on a pressing of 1000 and is completely sold out now, so here's praying the band does decide to reissue it very soon.

Links:

The Flaming Lips' Website
Neon Indian on Myspace

Video: tUnE-yArDs-Bizness

2011-03-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with tUnE-yArDs when I saw her and her band perform at the intimate yet spacious French Legation Museum at this year's South By Southwest (coverage to come). I was absolutely blown away, and every time "Bizness" comes out of the my satellite radio and pumped through my car's speakers, I go into a small world, completely memorized by the multiple layers of the song. Everything from askew drum beats, to the tribal style singing, or saxophones that feel perfectly in place when the come out of nowhere in the middle of the song. Everything within the song meshes perfectly with one another, it might just be my favorite song of 2011. Now the song has crazy video to accompany it. Watch as kids and adults alike do crazy dances to the song with band master mind Merrill Garbus, all matching in her signature face paint as well. w h o k i l l, her upcoming sophomore album is coming out April 19, and I am beyond excited for it.

(mp3) tUnE-yArDs-Bizness

Links:

tUnE-yArDs' website
Pre-order w h o k i l l here, from 4AD records

Dead Gaze-Fishing with Robert

2011-03-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you attend SXSW. You are going crazy trying to keep track of every other show that is happening, running around Austin like a mad man, all the while the music world keeps turning. For instance, my favorites Dead Gaze released a brand new mp3 off of their upcoming new seven inch for Atelier Ciseaux, the french label that put out that the split Best Coast/Jeans Wilder single. "Fishing with Robert" kind of sounds like its title, bringing a bit of a Campfires styling or Surfer Blood riff to usual dreamy and distorted as fuck lo-fi rock that Cole is producing. Truly, Dead Gaze keeps doing no wrong and keeps getting better and better.

(mp3) Dead Gaze-Fishing with Robert (via Weekly Tape Deck)

Links:

Dead Gaze on Myspace
Buy the single now here, from Atelier Ciseaux

Lost Gems: Television Personalities-I Was a Mod Before You Was a Mod

2011-03-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

In the musical world, so much is released only to disappear without a trace. Creative, experimental, boundary pushing, great music is lost without a notice or second glance. In order to fix this I shall go, one by one, to bring to light all that I can... if I find them.

1995 was not a good year for the Television Personalities. The band had tolled in obscurity for years and band mastermind Dan Treacy's drug problem was just getting worse. Within a few years Treacy would find himself in jail before starting anew and getting everything back on track. However, before all that wound up happening, the band would produce one of their best and underrated albums I Was a Mod Before You Was a Mod (though I'm pretty sure you can say that about any album from the Television Personalities discography).

The album easily represents all the tribulations the band was going through at the time. For one, it's a bit hard to even consider it a "band" effort. The entire record was crafted by Treacy, writing and playing everything on it. Also gone are childhood musings and mindsets of previous albums. True, the Television Personalities where always darker than people gave them credit for (one reading of the actual lyrics for "This Angry Silence" is proof of this), but when you open with something as stark as the piano lines of "As John Belushi Said" it sets a tone that the album never shakes off.

Not to say the entire album is devoid of anything that made the Television Personalities, the Television Personalities. The title track is an excellent snotty guitar pop, and the band descends into utter nonsense with repetition of "Little Woody Allen". But still the rest of the album is marred by despair and lost, from the tales of fucking up that make up "A Long Time Gone" and what appears to be its counter part the equally sad "Evan Don't Ring Me Anymore". And that is only side A, which tries at least to keep the twee image up the ungodly excellent guitar pop coming from everywhere. Slightly less falling apart than usual, but fitting in the album's context. However, side B comes out battered and bruised, five increasingly dark tales from Treacy's mind, the psychedelia influence becomes more apparent with each passing song, almost as an emphasis. Demon's swirl around in "Haunted", paranoia and delusion become apparent with "Something Just Flew Over My Head", with the entire world falling apart on "I Can See My Whole World Crashing Down". The album ends with the most Pink Floyd influenced track "Everything She Touches Turns to Gold", a bleak retelling of Treacy's past coupled with bare bones instrumentation, crafting of image of Treacy singing it in a mental hospital. While the album is without a doubt dark that is in no way a commentary on the quality of the album itself. The album was originally released on CD by Overground in the States, but went out of print long ago. Thankfully, the always awesome Burger Records recently reissued the album on cassette for the rest of the world to try to obtain.

(mp3) Television Personalities-I Was a Mod Before You Was a Mod
(mp3) Television Personalities-A Long Time Gone
(mp3) Television Personalities-Everything She Touches Turns to Gold

Links:

Television Personalities' website
Buy I Was a Mod Before You Was a Mod here, from Burger Records

Single Review: Pink Playground-Sunny Skies 7"

2011-03-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Pink Playground is a band from Houston, Texas that has been putting out hand-made CDRs and cassettes of their shoegaze for a little while now. Now the wonderful folks at Zoo Music have released the band's debut 7"; a simple two song affair to showcase what will soon to be the next showgaze obssetion. The title track is creamy smooth neo-shoegaze track that doesn't burn so much as melt into a pile of My Bloody Valintine musical goo. It's remininesient of the Whirl cassette I was adoring a few months ago, if the band had wanted to concentrated a little more on adding a level of atmosphere to their barage of melodic shoegaze. The flip side "Here Comes the Rain" ventures even further into the band's own take on the genre (or style of music, take your pick), creating a sort of "synthgaze" track if you will, a mix of dream pop and Cloudland Canyon, or at the very least this is what the world's slowest shoegaze song sounds like. This is pour headphone music, just something to get lost in for hours at a time, only getting up to flip over the single, over and over again.

(mp3) Pink Playground-Sunny Skies

Links:

Pink Playground on Bandcamp
Buy the single here, from Zoo Music

Parenthetical Girls-The Pornographer

2011-03-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

Nothing brighten ups a day quite like one of your new favorite bands releases a brand new song even if it's one like the Parenthetical Girls' new dark "The Pornographer". "The Pornographer" is probably what would have happened in some alternate dimension if the Parenthetical Girls had tried to be a blues band or The White Stripes. Thick slow guitar lines are layered over a steady thumping drum beat, with backing vocals even thrown in for good measure. It's haunting and so utterly different from everything the band has ever done, and should not work in any sense, yet Zac Pennington and company manage to pull it off ...again. The song is from their upcoming third 12" in their Privilege series, Privilege pt 3: Mend and Make Do, which is up for pre-order now.

(mp3) Parnethetical Girls-The Pornographer

Links:

Parenthetical Girls' Website
Pre-order Prvilage pt. 3: Mend and Make Do here, from Slender Means Society

Family Portrait-Other Side

2011-03-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

The latest music from the Ridgewood, New Jersey collective (we can start referring to them like that, right?) is from slightly more unknowns Family Portrait. After releasing a split single with Andrew Cedermark a long time ago (which I loved), and a cassette for The Curatorial Club, the band will be releasing their debut album on April 5 for who else but Underwater Peoples. And of course news of a new album means mp3s too. "Other Side" is sprawling, warping, psych tinged of a song, possibly what would happen if Real Estate decided to cover Campfires. Without a doubt, a soon to be hidden gem of this year.

(mp3) Family Portrait-Other Side

Links:

Family Portrait's Website
Pre-order the debut album here, from Underwater Peoples.

Ponytail-Easy Peasy

2011-03-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

I have been a Ponytail since I discovered them in 2009 for SXSW and both their show there as well as their follow up show in May were some the most insane, most fun shows I have ever been too. So I was a bit heartbroken when I heard that the band had split up last year. Thankfully, this turned out to be false and a simple hiatus, and as if to prove this, the band announced that they would be releasing their third album Do Whatever You Want All The Time on April 12 for We Are Fee. Now the band has released the first single to that album "Easy Peasy". It is a very different Ponytail, one that has taken a breather, listened to the Fall a bit for lyrical delivery, but manages to retain the art-spastic sound that is the core of the band. Lead singer Molly Siegal even seems to be singing actually English on this track as well. It's a brand new direction, but one I still love, and nothing else should have been expected from this incredible band.

(mp3) Ponytail-Easy Peasy

Update: Watch the video for the song, of a frantic recording of the band a while back performing at Coney Island.

Links:

Ponytail on Myspace
Get Do Whatever You Want All the Time soon here, from We Are Free

Live Concert Review: The Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise @ Emo's 2/28/11

2011-03-04T06:56:00.000-08:00

In my mind, at the very least there is no adequate way to put into words how wonderful and joyous the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise was when they performed at Emo's this past Monday. I will try, but I know I will probably fail epically. Because when you are talking about this show, your not talking about just one person or just one band. This is a group of close friends, getting together, to preform the music that means so much to them it spreads warm, broad smiles into across all of their faces just a few minutes into their performance. Music that is still as timeless as the day you first heard it, and still holds up ten plus years later. The show was an event, whether it was discovering the magic of B.P Helium, seeing the band perform the Mintuemen's "Party with Me Punker" that blew a few minds, Julian Koster hoisting a man named Andy who had come all the way from San Francisco to see the show then help melt a snowman, seeing The Gerbils silence the audience then propel them to euphoria when they performed "Glue", and then the entire collective storming the crowd with whatever instruments they could carry as they lead crowd in a chant of Sun Ra's "Enlightenment". This total was only the the tip of the ice berg of their marathon three hour performance. The was something simply magical about the show, something I'm glad all of these people decided to do again and take across the country.I know for a fact that this concert, this show, this night will go down as one of my favorite and as one of the best nights of my life.

The Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise:

Cassette Review : Bathetic split cassingle

2011-03-03T07:06:00.000-08:00

While there has been a steady revival of the cassette, there hasn't been much love for its sister format the cassingle. True, the cassingle wasn't very popular even when it came out originally, but it's a new era, and a quality cassingle is possible now. Look no further than Bathetic Records, who have started a series of split cassingles to showcase two artists, mostly in the electronic based ambiance/soundscape genre.
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Sparkling Wide Pressure/Lee Noble

Up until this point I had always wondered why this wild, gooey, ambient music like this were always described with either a story or prose, but now after listening to this cassingle I can understand the practice a bit better. Saying that the songs done by both these artists amounts to various loops, beeps, and manipulations of their synths doesn't do justice to what they are actually producing.What both these songs actually do is produce mini movies in your mind. Sparkling Wild Pressure's "Caught in the Creek" is like some art school take on the swamp thing. Not evil, but the image (in part to the incredible art that comes with this cassette) of a black and white swamp covered in fog while a monster comes slowly out of the black pond can't help but be imagined. Lee Noble's "Real Object in Real Light" in turn is nice contrast to this, transporting the listener to some party with everything happening in slow motion, and it's one of those good parities where there is quality music coming out of the speakers, and everyone actually seems to be having fun.

Sparkling Wide Pressure & Lee Noble - CASSINGLE EXCERPT

Links:

Sparkling Wide Pressure on Bandcamp
Lee Noble on bandcamp
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Kevin Greenspon/Trudgers

Two label mates on Bridgetown records have paired together to release this excellent split. Kevin Greenspon's side is supposedly split into tracks, but they blend so seamlessly into one another that it's a bit hard to believe. Whatever it is, Greenspon's side is sublime, his always unique take on "ambient" if you want to classify it as that. It moves and evolves from sparse notes to static noise over the process of it dripping out of your speakers and it still blows my mind that his music is composed of nothing but a guitar and tape manipulation. Trudgers add two new songs to this tape, some of their best recorded as well for the tape hiss and lo-fi sound of their earlier releases has now been stripped away. In turn this places Trudgers in a whole new light. Now the band's post-rock sound is much pronounced, and parts of the band's dark sound are gone due to the new clarity. However, the band still manages to balance their new evolution with their old style to produce two still equally dissonant and distant post-punk tunes. This was cassingle made to be the background music to long walks at night in the big city.

Kevin Greenspon and Trudgers-Cassingle Excerpt

Links:

Kevin Greenspon's Website
Trudgers on Myspace
Buy both cassingles here, from Bathetic Records

Boris to Release Two Albums

2011-02-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

Boris, the ever changing, shape shifting advent metal gods, have done the only logical thing in their desire to do something different with their music, which is release two albums on the same day (April 16) on the same label (Sargent House). Heavy Rocks, which is strikingly similar to their 2002 album of the same name and near same cover art, though the band claims it to be a completely different and separate album. However, Attention Please is the album the band seems to be concentrating to most on, an album that first time has the band's female guitar Wata singing on the songs, and her voice gives the album a very majestic feel to their heavy sound. For instance, the just released song "Hope" has a very Dinosaur Jr feel to it (something that was previewed in their single releases from last year), with the soft vocals and strings contrast the song's heavy riffs.

(mp3) Boris-Hope

The band, if nothing but prolific, has plans to release another album, the currently Japan only release called New Album. The album's core appears to be various different takes on songs that will be appearing on their upcoming new albums. Like "Party Boy", which will also appear on Attention Please, and which here sounds like the band decided to become a dance band. Seriously, if you ever wanted to know what Boris would be like if they tried to make a mainstream pop song, this is probably the most likely result.

(Sound Cloud)-Listen to "Party Boy" here.

Links:

Boris' Website
Sargent House's Website

Single Review: Trent Fox and The Tenants-Mess Around EP

2011-02-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

Ignore the goofy looking art work. Ignore the unnecessarily long band name. The only thing that needs attention is Trent Fox and The Tenants, and the fact that they have release a bloody excellent debut 7 inch. Brought to us by the relatively new Kind Turkey Records, the single, if it were to be generalized, is another five song sweet of garage-punk, leaning more the garage side of the genre.

That, however, is selling it short. Flourishes of Noubnny and Hunx and His Punx can be heard through out, especially in the heave use of vocal melodies; there just aren't enough "yeah, yeah" chants in garage these days. There is also a snottiness to the band as well which can be heard on every song particularly in the killer title track. the best point of reference is fellow scenesters Jaill. Both bands use garage-punk as the templete for their sound, but useit to create songs that demand a repeate listen. Also the band isn't afraid to put a touch of demeneted country or power-pop to add dimention to their music. This might not be completely new ground Tent Fox adn the tenants are covering, but it's one they trent spot on.

(mp3) Trent Fox and the Tenants-Mess Around

Links:

Trent Fox and The Tenants on myspace
Buy the Mess Around 7" here, from Kind Turkey Records

The Secret Society of Giraffes-A Perfect Reason to Fall

2011-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much Get Off The Coast for pointing out this wonderful discovery to me. The Secret Society of Giraffes, not only having one of the best band names ever, have (or I should say has because it is a one man project)released their second five song EP titled Perfect Reason to Fall It is a very strange slice of electronic style pop kind of giving me a bit of a Gobble Gobble vibe, but just in the wackiness, not in musical style. The Secret Society of Giraffes' songs are based around samples in this case various video game noises which the band then warps into a multitude of directions from the loopy intro of synth and+ ocals that makes up " Tut Budmarc" or the electro guitar beats of "Like A Heart on My Sleeve", A Perfect Reason to Fall is a mildly demented sound collage of just about everything, yet everything about it works so perfectly.

(mp3) The Secret Society of Giraffes-Tut Budmarc
(mp3) The Secret Society of Giraffes-Like A Heart on My Sleeve

Links:

The Secret Society of Girafffes on Bandcamp

Martin Newell-Gamma Ray Blue

2011-02-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

It's stories like this that warm my cold, blogger heart. Martin Newell, who if you don't know, was the genius behind the underground guitar pop band Cleaners from Venus (who's discography Burger Records has been releasing steadily over the past few years to great fanfare, at least by me). However, Newell was one prolific man who constantly worked with other people and release different works. One of those projects was a solo outing in 1985 titled Songs for a Fallow Land, releasing it in a super limited batch of 100 cassettes. Well, after a 25 year period Fixed Identity, a imprint started by members of Gary War and Infinity Window, will be releasing Songs for a Fallow Land again on LP. Here "Gamma Ray Blue" for an understanding of the excellence contained within, a warped psych induced pop song, which songs like the precursor for everything Ariel Pink and James Ferraro would wind up producing. It honestly sounds like something that would appear in a demented form of the '80s, mostly because it actually was made in the '80s.

(mp3) Martin Newell-Gamma Ray Blue (via Visitation Rites)

Links:

Pre-order Songs for a Fallow Land here, from Fixed Identity

School Knights Say "Fuck The Beach"!

2011-02-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

It has come to my attention that my new favorite lo-fi indie punk rockers School Knights, despite having just released their debut EP a little while ago, are already dropping mp3s of their upcoming debut LP Fuck The Beach. The title track is possibly one of the most ironic songs ever, a decry of the "beach scene" while having the same style and sound of the band(s) they are mocking (*coughWavvescough*), the product of course being another excellent scuzzy sounding guitar song. "Lunch Money"is a slightly slower and but still now less great song, continuing on their theme of writing about childhood issues and their past as twenty-somethings. Also, apparently "Lunch Money" is going to be part of a cassingle release that the band is planning to do, once again working with the ever awesome Bridgetown Records. Fuck the Beach is expected, when else, but later this summer, on a yet to be announced label.

(mp3) School Knights-Fuck The Beach
(mp3) School Kngihts-Lunch Money

Links:

School Knights on Myspace

Album Review: Cloud Nothings-Cloud Nothings

2011-02-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

After one self-titled EP, one split cassette, one split CD, and three seven inches, we finally arrive at what has been building and anticipated for way too long; Cloud Nothings' debut album. Something the band obviously could have released much earlier, they instead took the path of tour and honing onto the sound they wanted to make for this album. The outcome of that winds up being Cloud Nothings, a 11 tracks in less than 30 minute album that sounds like the entire band decided to eat an entire package of those novelty sized Pixie Sticks and recorded the entire album in one take.

I bring this all up because the honest truth is Cloud Nothings is more of a pop-punk or power-pop album than it is indie rock one. Or maybe a pop-punk record with indie undertones. One listen to "Not Important" and you will be second guessing whether or not your listening to a long lost Blink 182 demo. However, Cloud Nothings has been building to this sound for a while, so it might be a simply adjustment to the band without the wonderful lo-fi fuzz that made everyone fall in love with them in the first place. Adjusting to the whine that is the actual voice of front man Dylan Baldi takes some time, but works like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah work (this is a completement).

It's not as suddenly turned into Cloud Nothings turned into a bad band. Extremely far from it. Cloud Nothings have produced an album filled to brim with overtly addicitve pop songs, bratty and snotty filled with teenage spirit, but still the stuff that buzzes in your ears' days later. The riff ricochete like they are playing a squash game in the inside of your brain. It's one of those albums where every single song can be imagined to be spinning on a 7 inch of some sort, everything from the actual single of "Should Have" to the almost completely chouse songs that are "Heartbeat" or "Rock". Although not a compete sonic blast (see slow burner "Forget You All the Time") the album is incredibly constant, manic strumming over manic symbol bashes. While a breather is needed every now and then due to the album eventually giving you a headache and blurring together, Cloud Nothings have managed to do what every super prolific artist should do: write songs you want to listen to over and over again.

(mp3) Cloud Nothings-Understand at All
Cloud Nothings "Should Have" by carparkrecords

Links:

Cloud Nothings on Myspace
Buy Cloud Nothings here, from Carpark

Echo Lake-Sunday Evening

2011-02-15T06:47:00.000-08:00

Don't know how I missed this one, but last Friday Echo Lake released another track from their Young Silence EP. "Sunday Evening" is a hazy, etherial sounding pop song, much in the vein of almost anything that is "pop" these days, if the band didn't decided to go the C86 route. However, Echo Lake can still kick a gem, and they never get lost in their songs, producing something akin to The Stone Roses, if they had had decieded to take even more acid and and let all their records become warpped. Young Silence just dropped yesterday on the UK label No Pain in Pop, and is without a doubt high recommended.

(mp3) Echo Lake-Sunday Evening

Links:

Echo Lake's website
Buy Young Silence EP here, from No Pain in Pop

All That's Been Left Behind

2011-02-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

The more you blog, the more you realize that you can't blog about everything you want to, unless you devote every ounce of your life to it, and are working with three other people as well on it. However, there are some great songs that can get missed, and not matter how much time has passed, deserve to be talked about.
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Cold Cave released the first song to their upcoming second album Cherish the Light Years (yea!) called "The Great Pan is Dead". A track is a bit of a throwback to their ealier days, using very loud noise to escalade the pain of the lyrics of certain songs. However, instead of a sonic attack, the powerful beats of the song propell it forward and it becomes just as great as any Cold Cave song before it.

(mp3) Cold Cave-The Great Pan is Dead

Links:

Cold Cave's Website
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Thanks to the great Andres at The Photon God for bringing my attention to my new favorite band, The Luyas. The band will be releasing their second album on Dead Oceans in a week's time, the aptly titled Too Beautiful to Work, and the released the utterly specacular title track as well. It is a bit hard to put into words why this song is so great. A looping piano line is layered of the most lucid vocals sounding like they are being sung in another language, complemenary drums and strings come in from out of nowhere. Just simply sublime.

(mp3) The Luyas-Too Beautiful to Work

Links:

The Luyas' website
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Nodzzz ,the sparse, twee and garage altogether and thrown in a blender pop band that every has been adoring for ages have signed to Woodist for their second album. In the mean time they have released "Time (What's It Going To Do?)" for the musical public. Short,snappy and oddly built around a psych sounding guitar line, it kind of sounds like The Brian Jonestown Massacure at their most melodic, if they had decided to eat a bunch of sugar instead of doing speed.

(mp3) Nodzzz-Time (What's It Going To Do?)

Links:

Nodzzz on Facebook

Panda Bear-Last Night at the Jitty

2011-02-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

I am actually extremely excited for the upcoming Panda Bear's upcoming Tomboy, so it brought me great joy to see he finally released the first "official" mp3 from the album, a re-recorded version of "Last Night at the Jetty". As one of the few who managed to get a copy of the single version of it that was released a little while ago very little has actually changed with the song, except for a slight clean up in the production value. However, that doesn't matter much because the song is simply fucking excellent, a swirling vortex of a pop song, with touches of drone and ambiance adding to the melted electronic sound that makes up "Lat Night at the Jetty". Tomboy is increasingly becoming one of my most anticipated of 2011.

(mp3) Panda Bear-Last Night at the Jetty

Compare to the original:

Links:

Panda Bear on Myspace
Get Tomboy April 12 here, from Paw Tracks

Flower Orgy Blossoms into Greatness

2011-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Flower Orgy, despite having a mildly idiotic if apt name, are an actually quite excellent band that produce uber lo-fi acoustic/folk pop that matches their surroundings, the isolated and decrepit area in the United States know as the Northeast. They just put out their first release, a five track cassette on the Chocolate Bobka run The Curatorial Club. It reminds me a lot of the Taterbug tapes that Night People was putting out a while back, if Taterbug had concentrated on creating more cohesive songs instead of nature like soundscapes. Anyway, the band has put up the first side of the tape on their bandcamp page, showcasing the bare bones and raw nature of their sound, along with possibly one of the greatest covers of Exuma's "22nd Century" which they morph into 9 minute plus sprawl.

Links:

Flower Orgy's Bandcamp
Buy the cassette here, from The Curatorial Club