October 23, 2009
London trio the Golden Silvers made their first trek to the States this week for CMJ. They're buzzing overseas (did Jools Holland, won Glastonbury's New Talent competition in '08, playing the festival in '09, features in NME, etc.), but so far things are quieter Stateside. In fact, it took a tip from a friend to point our ears in the proper direction. Thankfully they did: We were able to catch them at the IAMSOUND showcase a couple of days ago and if you've been following along on Twitter, you already know that set made it so we have no choice but start listening to them all the time now. Their excellent debut True Romance came out earlier this year in the UK and finally got its US release earlier this month. The group, fronted by vocalist/keyboardist Gwilym Gold, has a sound perfectly matched to its name. At MySpace they list Electric Ladyland, Blonde On Blonde, The Magical Mystery Tour, Around The World In A Day, Live Evil, OK Computer and J Dilla, among others, as influences. Blend them with a little bit of Blur, Liquid Liquid, and Micachu & the Shapes. (Mica Levi included them on her Filthy Friends mixtape, which you'll find over here.) Take a listen to "True No. 9 Blues (True Romance)" from their debut along with a version of Clash-y album track "Arrows Of Eros" they did with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at Damon Albarn's Studio 13 this summer. It fleshes out the original into something else entirely.
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latest by Optimusprime16
October 22, 2009
After this week, it'll seem like Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss have come out of nowhere to form the outfit on everyone's CMJ breakout list. But there are roots, dug deep and spread far: Past members of Sleigh Bells went on to form buzz-band Surfer Blood. Derek's old hardcore band Poison The Well toured with Give Up The Ghost, the defunct hardcore outfit of past BTW Cold Cave's Wes Eisold. Alexis Krauss is a school teacher with a pop-singer past. All of which gives certain strength to their reinvention in this excellent new outfit.
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latest by chris
October 14, 2009
San Francisco native Ryan William Lynch, aka Dominant Legs, has a strange, immediately appealing sound that's part funky Belle & Sebastian/part late-night Arthur Russell/part something uniquely his own. At MySpace, a series of photos titled "favorite clothes" include him sporting his Giants '87 sweatshirt and Dimebag Darrell and Anne Sexton tees. Somehow these details feel relevant when trying to get to the bottom of Dominant Legs' pop. It's understated but grand. Grounded but idiosyncratic. Poetic and everyday. Jittery and sedated. Kelley Polar via SF DIY? He looks pretty happy in a bunch of those MySpace pics, but there's something somber and melancholic about his work. Fittingly he's opening for Girls, clear aesthetic allies, on their upcoming California dates. Take a listen to a couple tracks, which he's labeled "demos."
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latest by Felt
September 30, 2009
With the nature of tips we've received on Freelance Whales -- both from the wide array of tipster-types (industry kids, concert goers, streetwalkers catching them playing on a corner) and the neighborhood they all inhabit (Williamsburg) -- we sorta figured this band would fall squarely into the prevailing washed out/hypnagogic fuzzbucket hazed-pop thing before having heard a note. After seeing 'em at a loft party and spending some time with their self-released debut, it's really nice to hear that they don't fall there at all. Turns out FW are way out of step with the dominant trend of '09, and more in line with what the non-Gang Of Four appropriating wing of indie music was fixated on a few years ago: sounds that are acoustic and precious, boldly baring bespectacled sensitivity and couching touching melodies in delicate instrumentation: everything from guitars, banjos, tambourines, harmonium, and glockenspiels to yes the occasional keyboard and laptop assist.
It's not to say Freelance Whales are a bygone-trend retread, or that they're a cold fish in a chillwave: in fact there's palpable warmth and tactful touch that crackles throughout their strongest tunes' group chants, harmonies, occasional computer beats and baroque-pop arrangements that should prove irresistible to people with soft spots for the likes of Sufjan, Ra Ra Riot, Postal Service, and on. Freelance Whales don't sound like any of those artists outright, but they're linked in their strength at expressing fragility, and at working out a sentimental but memorable melody. See if this pair from their debut Weathervanes gets under your skin after a few spins. (That's a photo from the loft party, one that got a little notice in other corners of the internet.)
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latest by WeMustBeStopped
September 18, 2009
It's fitting the Jersey-born New York-to-Los Angeles multi-instrumentalist John Carpenter shares a name with the man behind the Halloween franchise: There's something autumnal and spooky about his soulful, romantic rock 'n' roll. See, for instance, "Seasons," the A-Side of his new Mexican Summer 7": It sounds like vintage Scott Walker fronting the Zombies. (To get more contemporary, you might think, too, of a hazier sounding Fresh & Onlys.) By the time you get to the jangling B-Side "Haunt My Home," you'll understand why he mentions Roy Orbison, Echo & The Bunnymen, John Cale, and "early" Roxy Music as influences for his gothic-tinged garage. Both of those songs were initially included on his self-released Demos And Live Fiascos, but are now "no longer part of the release," ostensibly to draw focus to the single. When you add those to his recent 4-song Possibilities EP, you're getting closer to accumulating a proper full length's worth of material, something we'd really appreciated. Take a listen.
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latest by carmela
July 15, 2009
Pictureplane, aka 24-year old Denver-via-Santa Fe multi-media maker Travis Egedy, popped up on some radars this past April via his remix of HEALTH's "Die Slow." Before that, he remixed Crystal Castles, collaborated with hometown New Mexico bud Zach Condon, and self-released his debut full-length Turquoise Trail, which Lovepump reissued digitally in March. Now the same label's tackling his excellent sophomore collection Dark Rift. If may very well be the dance record of the summer for people who aren't used to dancing: Egedy's expansive mix of '90s house, dreamy '80s synth-pop, poppy darkwave, tripped and colorful Black Dice-style noise, bottomed-out hiss, weirdo Sublime Frequencies drum circles, and a surprisingly ready-for-the-club semi-sheen creates endlessly interesting soundscapes. He has art-school style, yes, but the guy also writes well-crated hooks with actual emotional pull. Or, in his words:
Once every 26,000 years our planet crosses through the elliptical plane at the center of our galaxy known as the dark rift. The songs on dark rift lyrically deal with humanity entering a new age or next phase of our existence...
We're offering "Transparent Now (Thin Veil)" and"Goth Star" as illustrations.
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latest by Caviar
June 30, 2009
Not to be confused with Dan Bejar's labor of love, Blue Roses is the performing name of Yorkshire singer-songwriter Laura Groves. Back home, she's landed at the fertile NME/BBC/Guardian intersect of critical kudos, but things States side are set to launch with the XL release of her self-titled, self-produced debut next month. Blue Roses cites an alliterative gaggle of influences on her introspective, heart-worn folk -- "Bartók to Bush, Tiersen to Tears For Fears, Debussy to Du Maurier" -- to which you could safely add your favorite coffee shop chanteuse (Leslie, Joni, Joanna) and probably find a moment to back it up. Ultimately Laura's writing never approaches the most innovative and extreme aesthetics of her RIYL list, but she's clearly listened well, and in command of a pristine, flexible, endearing voice. Her best look comes on the sublime marimba-waltz of "Doubtful Comforts," which recalls Feist's spin with Grizzly Bear on "Service Bell" before it spreads into a line of classical, ascending intervals, and then a crackling reprise. Pair that MP3 with the open-road finger-picked folk of "I Am Leaving" for another side to her stylings.
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latest by rtfa
February 25, 2009
When we gathered up our favorite artists' year-end lists No Age included Crocodiles' "Neon Jesus" as one of their top 10 "shredders" of '08: "[Crocodiles are] a great new band from San Diego. This song is a real good kinda early eighties electro punk pop jam. It is super catchy." All true, but something No Age didn't mention is that it also sounds -- in a great way -- like Velvet Underground-swinging Jesus & Mary Chain. And if you take a look at one of the sunglasses-with-attitude photos of ex-Prayers/The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower's Charles Rowland (guitar, synth) and Brandon Welchez (vocals, programming), there's more to it than just the sound. The below picture's pretty colorful, but songs like "I Wanna Kill" and "Summer Of Hate" are more shades of gray, despite the hooks (in the same way the brothers Reid can make rain, psycho candy, and darklands sounds so inviting). It also shouldn't be surprising that they've posted Crystal Stilts on their Skull Kontrol blog. Sound comparisons aside, the two recently followed fellow Southern California distortion lover Wavves, signing a two album deal with Fat Possum. The first one, Summer Of Hate, is out in May. We have No Age's beloved "Neon Jesus" along with "I Wanna Kill" and "Summer Of Hate." Dig into the feedback:
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latest by JohnnyVolume
