July 1, 2009
Next week, Jesy Fortino, aka Seattle's Tiny Vipers, is releasing her second Sub Pop full length, Life On Earth. Building up and clarifying what we loved about her debut Hands Across The Void, it's one of the year's best. We already posted Life's "Dreamer," now take a listen to the stunning, heartbreaking "Development." To add resonance to the track, read her thoughtful responses to our queries about loss and growth, both spiritual and spatial, via the ghosts of small towns and loved ones. We didn't have room for all of her words in the Drop, but you can see them here in their entirety.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop XCV: Hear New Tiny Vipers, Win Wilco Goods...
Posted at 11:02 AM in ,
Tags: Tiny Vipers | Wilco
latest by George Bucio
June 24, 2009
Last year Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, the Microphones) put out Lost Wisdom, a collaboration with Eric's Trip's Julie Doiron and Fred Squire, but the dark, multi-textured, black metal and folk-inflected Wind's Poem (out 8/18 on P.W. Elverum & Sun) feels like the true heir to The Glow Pt. 2 and No Flashlight. As Elverum put it, the collection investigates the "theme of wind and also destruction and impermanence." We asked him about closing track "Stone's Ode." He told us about its position on the collection and its meaning, but there wasn't room for his full response in this morning's Drop, so you can read it all here, after you take a listen.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop XCIV: Hear New Mount Eerie, Win MOSCOT Sunglasses...
Posted at 11:48 AM in ,
Tags: Mount Eerie | Phil Elverum | The Microphones
latest by oh.
June 17, 2009
Los Angeles quartet Foreign Born release sophomore LP Person To Person 6/23 via Secretly Canadian. The shuffling "Wander Aimlessly" doesn't appear on it, but it did debut in this week's Drop. We asked vocalist Matt Popieluch about it and found out "The main idea came tumbling out of me as I was driving to a shitty temp job," among other things. The main idea?
[T]he song is about self analysis -- comparing one's current self to one's former self. It chronicles a longing for the naivety and purity of the past, almost with an element of voyeurism.
Read the rest of Matt's thoughts, including whether or not it's possible to wander without an aim, while you take a listen.
This week we also offered the chance to win the Deluxe Edition of Pixies' massive Minotaur box set. Yes, that box set.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop XCIII: Hear New Foreign Born, Win Pixies' Minotaur Box Set...
Posted at 11:11 AM in ,
Tags: Foreign Born | Pixies
latest by K Telle
June 10, 2009
Seattle BTW Helvetia, aka Swiss transplant Jason Albertini, releases Helvetia's Junk Shop on 9/15 via Static Cult. The lineup for the album included Scott Plouf (Built To Spill, Spinanes) on drums and Clay Parton on bass. Albertini did the rest, including listening to Meat Puppets II, Sleep's Holy Mountain, and Bedhead's Beheaded. In this week's 'Drop, we premiered the set's opener, "Leading Towards An End." Have a listen and read our interview with Jason here.
This week we're also giving away a boatload of Beach Boys music. One winner gets the Beach Boys' US Singles Collection Box, featuring recreations of the first 16 singles of the band's catalog, covering the early years of 1962 through 1965. The discs are housed in accurate reproductions of the original sleeves and labels and packaged in, to quote, a "board-wrapped, telescoping box featuring a retro chrome appliance sticker, and a variety of textures including gloss and rubber coatings, inlaid wood veneer and a foil stamp." While you listen, you'll be able to page through the 48-page photo book (complete with eight vellum pages). Here:
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop XCII: Hear New Helvetia, Win A Beach Boys Box Set...
Posted at 11:57 AM in ,
Tags: Helvetia | The Beach Boys
latest by Max Senesac
June 3, 2009
On April Fools' Day 1994, Patterson Hood moved to Athens, where he wrote an album's worth of songs called Murdering Oscar (and other love songs). He recorded them on a boombox in a friend's bedroom and gave out the results via self-dubbed cassettes, but if you weren't lucky enough to run into the Drive-By Trucker back then, no worries: 15 years later the collection's due 6/23 via his Ruth St. Records. In this week's 'Drop we debuted standout "Heavy And Hanging" and asked Hood a couple questions about it. He responded honestly and about swinging parties and Kurt Cobain's suicide. Because we had (and are having) some technical issues, you can read his thoughts and download the track, even if you aren't a Drop subscriber:
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop XCI: Hear New Patterson Hood, Win A Korg Kaossilator Dynamic Phrase Synthesizer...
Posted at 2:13 PM in ,
Tags: Drive-By Truckers | Patterson Hood
latest by jamie
May 27, 2009
The syrupy, psychedelic Kanye and Ed Droste-approved pop duo Blind Man's Colour is the project of 19-year-old Floridians Kyle Wyss and Orhan Chettri. Their proper debut Season Dreaming is out 8/18 via Kanine, but we debuted the smeary, tropical second track "Heavy Cloud Hustle" in this week's Drop. Take a listen and read our Q&A here.
This week's giveaway is three Soundscreen Design t-shirts (crew or v-neck). Soundscreen Design was founded upon the idea that a band's merchandise can also be art. To that end, they've been working with various designers to make eco-friendly high-quality garments. The first collection (Summer 2009) features the designs of Brian Roettinger/Hand Held Heart, Seripop and Jay Ryan/The Bird Machine. The bands represented in this particular line are No Age, Deerhoof, Handsome Furs, Gang Gang Dance, Liars, Battles, the National, Fucked Up, and Pelican.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop XC: Hear New Blind Man's Colour, Win Cool Band T-Shirts...
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Tags: Blind Man's Colour
May 20, 2009
Psychedelic Raleigh quintet Birds Of Avalon release their expansive sophomore album Uncanny Valley 6/23 (7/21 on vinyl) via Volcom. In this week's Drop we spoke with guitarist Cheetie Kumar and bassist David Mueller about the hazy, disorienting standout "Your Downtime Is Up" and found out, among other things, that the doppleganger narrative involves "a playful scenario gone horribly awry." Learn more about the band's thoughts on sound and words while you take a listen.
We also offered a chance to win a set of 12 "From The Capitol Vaults" 180-gram vinyl Radiohead EPs.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop LXXXIX: Hear New Birds Of Avalon, Win A Dozen Radiohead 12"s...
Posted at 1:25 PM in ,
Tags: Birds Of Avalon | Radiohead
latest by James
May 13, 2009
Almost a year ago, Juliana Hatfield stopped by the 'Gum Drop with the then unreleased "So Alone." Currently working on a followup to How To Walk Away, the perennial Stereogum favorite returns with a demo of a new song with an intriguing name. We asked Hatfield about "There's Always Another Girl (For Lindsay Lohan)." She responded at length, telling us, among other things:
I rented I Know Who Killed Me and was impressed at how watchable and interesting Lindsay Lohan was in it, which was a surprise because the film was universally panned. That got me thinking, and Tweeting, about what a sort of bum rap Lindsay has gotten these past few years and how she is actually, if you sit down and watch her with an open mind, a good actor and how all she needs is one great, serious role in a good movie -- maybe a small indie movie -- to make people take her seriously (like Mickey Rourke and The Wrestler). It's so gross and nasty for people to be watching and waiting and almost cheerleading for Lindsay to relapse, or get in a car crash or whatever. Horrible.
Read the rest of Hatfield's response while you take a listen to her song.
In this week's Drop, we also offered the chance to win an iPod Touch and retro rock tees from Wolfgang's Vault.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop LXXXVII: Hear Juliana Hatfield's Song For Lindsay Lohan, Win An iPod Touch & Tees From Wolfgang's Vault...
Posted at 11:31 AM in ,
Tags: Juliana Hatfield | Lindsay Lohan
latest by Dale Rodberg
