ok, I know that I focus pretty heavily on hard rock of the "alt" variety. I suppose that does make up a goodly percentage of my listening habits. But, I hope I've been clear that I do listen to other stuff, as well. Specifically, in this case- Disco, or if you prefer- Dance music. I'm fine with calling it disco, though, because that's what I think of it. Heck, there was a time (specifically 1992) when I did some gigs as a DJ at raves. I was more into House, Acid House and a little Techno than anything else as a DJ- but I did fit in some grind right in the middle of a disco track. (Ask anyone who saw/heard my non-legendary "Walls of Jericho" mix- it was based around a sample from Ministry, but featured everything from small blips of Gary Numan- My Centurion, to some extended bits of Sly & the Family Stone- a sped up sample of the main bass riff for "if you want me to stay") Further, I'd argue that Disco has advanced pop music more than most rock music in the past 25 years.
But, I'll save that argument for another time. I'm here to revise a few things.
See, in the last post I mentioned Oh Land as somewhat Bjorkish- and I was wrong. It's more caberet-styled traditional music meets disco, than the wild avante gardisms of Bjork. However, Bjork has been known to do that same experiment- a mix of show tunes and hard electronica, so I wasn't entirely wrong- just mostly wrong. Still, I prefer it to most of the "indie girl Trad pop" stylings you hear like Sara Bareilles. I find most of that stuff to be cloying and annoying, and Oh land is more Kitsch than Cloying, and more obnoxious than annoying. Still not great, just good.
Much better disco is coming from the same old sources. With all the other old 80's bands releasing new records, did you know that Shriekback had a new-ish one out? Yes, they put out "Life in the Loading Bay" back in December. I think it's worth your time, and here's my reasoning: Remember Michael Mann? Did that iconic TV series "Miami Vice"? Well, outside of that he's responsible for some ultra-gritty modern Noire movies like Thief, Manhunter and Heat. Well, he was a major league Shriekback fan, and used their music several times in his movies. That means the downbeat, burbling kinda greasy dance jazz that people use as a cliche for Crime scenes in movies? Yes, Shriekback invented and perfected that. No less a figure than Leonard Cohen has bitten off chunks of the Shriekback sound ( If you tell me that the Whole "Future" album owes nothing to Shriekback's "Oil and Gold" I will call you a liar). It's still a very relevant sound, as 99% of what gets called "Trip Hop" is just a slightly more linear version of the Shriekback sound. So, I think it's a big miss to skip them. Here's what I suggest: put on a sophisticated outfit. Mess it up, a bit. Go to a formerly glorious bar at three in the afternoon, order some kind of hard alcohol. Drink it quick, but stay in the bar at least an hour, watching people. Then, listen to Shriekback on your way back home. If you're not in your own personal Noire by the time you get there, you did something wrong. Whether you listen to Rock, Jazz or disco, don't you listen to music to feel something? That's why Shriekback. ( oh, and do check the link for Shriekback. they have some excellent blog posts, one of which is the whole reason for this post)
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
On the other hand
Much as I love the new Pandoras.box, and I do- I had to drive to the motor vehicle administration yesterday, and Monomeet was the ideal soundtrack for driving a country road in Maryland on a grey early spring day, I listen to a lot of music, and so I have listened to other music in the past week or so, but much of it will unjustifiably get the short end of my attention span because there's been so much good music in the past three or four weeks. So, if these come across as negative, it's only in comparison to stuff as great as Pandoras.Box....
Young Widows-In and out of Youth and lightness. It's decent post-metal. It's not as great as Pelican, or Isis, but still for stuff that's more sophisticated than Sludge, but not exactly "Metal"- yet still holds the Doomy-ambience of pound and crawl, it's decent. Strangely, it reminds me of Cop Shoot Cop, a bit...
Royal Bangs- We Breed Champions. Pop Math? A hybrid of Radiohead and Blink 182? I'm not quite certain. It's noisy indie rock with some odd bloops on keyboards. Yeah, I'm behind on them, but what do you want? I'm not hip.
Amateur Party-Truncheons in the Manor. My first impression? A very Garage rock version of the Kaiser Chiefs. Which isn't a bad thing. The Kaiser Chiefs are a good band to see live- the records are disposable. Likewise, this band, if they can bring the energy to the show seems like it'd be a fun show. I wonder if they'd tour with Capsula? That seems like it'd be exhausting, but worth it.
Lotus Feed- A Savage Breath within our Lives. Wow, these guys really LOVE the 80's. I mean REALLY. It's like Shriekback meets the Call to play a gig with Wire Train. Decent in a black eyeliner and costumes of ambiguous gender kind of way. I also get the feeling like English is a second language for these guys. A kind of Eastern European vibe, makes me think they play gigs in Poland and Austria....
The Lazy Cowgirls- Somewhere down the Line. And now for something completely different... I've been a fan of the Lazy Cowgirls since the late 1980's. They played a garagey form of Cowpunk, like a mix of the Ramones, early 1970's Rolling Stones and Waylon Jennings. By the early 1990's there was a pretty awesome "party Rock" scene going in Los Angeles; These guys and the Cadillac Tramps and Social Distortion, and the Hangmen, and a bunch of others. So, it's still nice every once in awhile to blast one of their records, and drive fast down a sunny Highway.
The Wails- EP. What's going on in Texas? Another great Shoegazer kind of band. A bit more Lush than Ride, a bit more Chapterhouse than My Bloody Valentine- but still really nice, pretty stuff.
Warm Widow- Widower. Sorry. I've already heard Chrome/Six Finger Satellite/Brainiac styled trebley Art damage punk. This just doesn't do much for me.
The Boxer Rebellion- The Cold Still. Ummm, it's better than Coldplay and Keane? Not really my deal.
Oh Land- Oh Land. Really Bjork-ish at times, as absurd as that might sound. What I mean is that it's pretty, sophisticated and avante Garde Dance pop. I might get into it sometime later, so I'll hang on to it.
White Lies- Ritual. Hmmm. It's very indebted to both the "coldwave" set, and Interpol, and Joy Division. It's good, but very... Naive? Raw? I'm not sure what the word is- the production is well done, and the musicianship is good, but there's something a bit juvenile about the songwriting, and the execution- not in a playful sense, far from it, but in a sophomoric, way too self-serious way. I think that given two more records they should be really excellent....
Young Widows-In and out of Youth and lightness. It's decent post-metal. It's not as great as Pelican, or Isis, but still for stuff that's more sophisticated than Sludge, but not exactly "Metal"- yet still holds the Doomy-ambience of pound and crawl, it's decent. Strangely, it reminds me of Cop Shoot Cop, a bit...
Royal Bangs- We Breed Champions. Pop Math? A hybrid of Radiohead and Blink 182? I'm not quite certain. It's noisy indie rock with some odd bloops on keyboards. Yeah, I'm behind on them, but what do you want? I'm not hip.
Amateur Party-Truncheons in the Manor. My first impression? A very Garage rock version of the Kaiser Chiefs. Which isn't a bad thing. The Kaiser Chiefs are a good band to see live- the records are disposable. Likewise, this band, if they can bring the energy to the show seems like it'd be a fun show. I wonder if they'd tour with Capsula? That seems like it'd be exhausting, but worth it.
Lotus Feed- A Savage Breath within our Lives. Wow, these guys really LOVE the 80's. I mean REALLY. It's like Shriekback meets the Call to play a gig with Wire Train. Decent in a black eyeliner and costumes of ambiguous gender kind of way. I also get the feeling like English is a second language for these guys. A kind of Eastern European vibe, makes me think they play gigs in Poland and Austria....
The Lazy Cowgirls- Somewhere down the Line. And now for something completely different... I've been a fan of the Lazy Cowgirls since the late 1980's. They played a garagey form of Cowpunk, like a mix of the Ramones, early 1970's Rolling Stones and Waylon Jennings. By the early 1990's there was a pretty awesome "party Rock" scene going in Los Angeles; These guys and the Cadillac Tramps and Social Distortion, and the Hangmen, and a bunch of others. So, it's still nice every once in awhile to blast one of their records, and drive fast down a sunny Highway.
The Wails- EP. What's going on in Texas? Another great Shoegazer kind of band. A bit more Lush than Ride, a bit more Chapterhouse than My Bloody Valentine- but still really nice, pretty stuff.
Warm Widow- Widower. Sorry. I've already heard Chrome/Six Finger Satellite/Brainiac styled trebley Art damage punk. This just doesn't do much for me.
The Boxer Rebellion- The Cold Still. Ummm, it's better than Coldplay and Keane? Not really my deal.
Oh Land- Oh Land. Really Bjork-ish at times, as absurd as that might sound. What I mean is that it's pretty, sophisticated and avante Garde Dance pop. I might get into it sometime later, so I'll hang on to it.
White Lies- Ritual. Hmmm. It's very indebted to both the "coldwave" set, and Interpol, and Joy Division. It's good, but very... Naive? Raw? I'm not sure what the word is- the production is well done, and the musicianship is good, but there's something a bit juvenile about the songwriting, and the execution- not in a playful sense, far from it, but in a sophomoric, way too self-serious way. I think that given two more records they should be really excellent....
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Pandoras.Box- Monomeet
If you've been reading my blog posts for over a year, you might recall my love for Pandoras.box. If not, ok here's a quick breakdown on what they do: amazing,atmospheric, adventurous experimental rock- sometimes they get called "post rock" but I wouldn't quite lump them in with the brilliant Scots ( Mogwai, Aerogramme, etc). Instead, I'd put them in with modern European progressive bands, like Radiohead, Kashmir, Silence is Sexy, Mew, Kasabian, dEUS, and Ghinzu ( and if you don't know those- start researching, immediately- you're only cheating yourself)
However, moreso than even Radiohead or Silence is Sexy, Pandoras.box play it very close to the vest what they're doing, or even who they are. So, the music must just be experienced to get a handle on it. You'll hear everything from nearly Stoner rock guitar freakouts to techno beats, to pure atmospheric washes of synthesized sounds. I know a lot of people want to compare such modern music to Pink Floyd, but if you must compare it to stuff from the 1970's, this is more germanic, more krautrock, more sharp than hazy drug references- the closest I could get to mainstream would be Steely Dan.
So, I must have lost track on them a bit because the second release is available as a digital download, now. Really stellar stuff, here. I highly suggest you follow the links and listen to some for yourself. As soon as I put on the new downloads I just got, they're once again one of my favorite bands. Best new tracks? I think "State of Rust" and "A nervous Smile" are the most immediate, but any of the songs are sweet and salty and light and dark- you can't really judge by just one movement what the dance is like, you know?
I think it's such a shame that this new album won't take the charts by storm. You'll note I've not done a review of the new Radiohead, nor the new Elbow, but as soon as I'd listened to Monomeet, I started posting- as that would suggest- I think this blows them away. You might disagree, and fair enough, but still give them a try, and see if it doesn't sink in deep and hook you.
However, moreso than even Radiohead or Silence is Sexy, Pandoras.box play it very close to the vest what they're doing, or even who they are. So, the music must just be experienced to get a handle on it. You'll hear everything from nearly Stoner rock guitar freakouts to techno beats, to pure atmospheric washes of synthesized sounds. I know a lot of people want to compare such modern music to Pink Floyd, but if you must compare it to stuff from the 1970's, this is more germanic, more krautrock, more sharp than hazy drug references- the closest I could get to mainstream would be Steely Dan.
So, I must have lost track on them a bit because the second release is available as a digital download, now. Really stellar stuff, here. I highly suggest you follow the links and listen to some for yourself. As soon as I put on the new downloads I just got, they're once again one of my favorite bands. Best new tracks? I think "State of Rust" and "A nervous Smile" are the most immediate, but any of the songs are sweet and salty and light and dark- you can't really judge by just one movement what the dance is like, you know?
I think it's such a shame that this new album won't take the charts by storm. You'll note I've not done a review of the new Radiohead, nor the new Elbow, but as soon as I'd listened to Monomeet, I started posting- as that would suggest- I think this blows them away. You might disagree, and fair enough, but still give them a try, and see if it doesn't sink in deep and hook you.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Another New band with a name that is a sentence because just don't you love awkward, over-long titles
Because I'd heard the first record, and thought that it was a bit too tonally "challenging" (Read the guitar tone was so shrill it was like slowly poking your eardrums with screwdriver) I never gave another thought to "Brooklyn's Loudest band"- A Place to Bury Strangers. However, when they came up because I was professing my taste for the new Ringo Deathstarr long player, I grudgingly watched a youtube clip or two, and found the songs from the newer release much better. So, please understand I really would suggest avoiding the first record, but the second may be worth a few minutes of your time. The sound is a mostly loud shoegazer variation- along the lines of Ride or Jesus and Mary Chain, but with a martial metronomic drums sound, a la Interpol, or Joy Division. The end result seems like a prime example of what might be called second generation American Coldwave- akin to what Blacklist, Workers or Veil Veil Vanish are doing. They're not as good as Workers, but better than Blacklist. Picture a noisier variation on what Interpol is doing, and you're not far off. Just, whatever you do- avoid watching interviews with the band, as a more annoying bunch of Williamsburg hipsters would be hard to imagine. Download Exploding head to your itunes, eliminate 3 or 4 of the more meandering numbers, and you've got a decent EP...
Ringo DeathStarr
OK, now that I've had a chance to listen to the new Ringo Deathstarr a couple of times, let me talk about why I'm excited over it:
Have you ever noticed how people at a certain age calcify a bit? For example, the basketball fan, who still lionizes the team and players he liked when he was 20? A much closer example- Classic rock radio for baby boomers. Listening to nothing made past 1980, for 20 years, because "today's music ain't got the same soul" is exactly the kind of calcification I mean. Of course I suffer from that a bit. For me, it's the alternative Rock just barely pre-grunge. In some ways, my aesthetics stopped in 1990. Fortunately, it's not total for me, and I have enjoyed music that would not even be possible in 1991. Some of that even has aesthetics that run counter to the music I liked in 1988. For example, I don't think you'll find much ground between Sleigh Bells-styled noise pop and Killing Joke. However, I have just enough sediment hardening in the old taste buds that I do think that we're seeing the waning years of rock aesthetics. I just don't see a whole lot radically new and different coming down from that particular pike.
So, enough mixing metaphors- the situation is that Ringo Deathstarr have a reputation for sounding exactly like My Bloody Valentine, circa Loveless. If they did, I would still like them- I can think of few things that I would like to do more than mastering such a sublime sound. However, the truth seems a little bit off from that. Yes, there is a very lot of MBV in their sound- but it's tempered with the punk rush of Jesus and Mary chain. There's some buzzsaw underneath the woozy oceans of processed guitars. There are others who get just as close to the "Loveless' sound- Asobi Seksu, and Blonde Redhead spring to mind. But all of the others seem to concentrate more on the shimmery wallow of the feedback, and less on that incredible right hand tremolo of Kevin Shields. The real similarity between Ringo Deathstarr and say, Asobi Seksu, lies in the breathy little girl vocals buried under echoes that owe a lot to Bilinda Butcher. However, if we look past that, Ringo Deathstarr is a very different band, indeed.
So, yes, there is a lot of My Bloody Valentine on this record. Again, I'm good with that. However, there's a fair amount of Jesus and Mary Chain, some New Order, and even a little bit of Boris in there as well. They play faster, and with more aggression than most of those influences, though. So, is it nostalgic? More than a bit. However, given the prevalence of at least a Shoegazer influence in bands from Silversun Pickups to Best Coast to Isis, I'd say that the nostalgia quotient is arguable. It would appear to be quite contemporary, as well- Ringo Deathstarr are thus much more "purists' than 'revivalists". Yes, that sounds somewhat perverse, given the band's careless attitude- but here's what I mean- rather than being a shoegaze influenced band, or a "nugaze' band, they are trying to be as purely about the shoegaze sound as were the original bands. When I think of a 'revival" - it's about trying to bring something back- about carrying something forward into the present tense. When i think of a "purist" is about trying to isolate and preserve something- about keeping it out of the present tense. In either sense, it's a kind of time travel wish- the revivalist wants to bring the past back around, while the purist wants to stop time.
All that is probably getting far too esoteric- here's the hard and fast Aristotelian reality- Ringo Deathstarr play loud, lush, uptempo heavily distorted post punk with digital effects. I rather like that sound whether we're talking 1987, 1997, 2007 or probably 2017. So, despite the fact that this may reflect something about my age and character, I'm just as excited as I was in 1991....
Have you ever noticed how people at a certain age calcify a bit? For example, the basketball fan, who still lionizes the team and players he liked when he was 20? A much closer example- Classic rock radio for baby boomers. Listening to nothing made past 1980, for 20 years, because "today's music ain't got the same soul" is exactly the kind of calcification I mean. Of course I suffer from that a bit. For me, it's the alternative Rock just barely pre-grunge. In some ways, my aesthetics stopped in 1990. Fortunately, it's not total for me, and I have enjoyed music that would not even be possible in 1991. Some of that even has aesthetics that run counter to the music I liked in 1988. For example, I don't think you'll find much ground between Sleigh Bells-styled noise pop and Killing Joke. However, I have just enough sediment hardening in the old taste buds that I do think that we're seeing the waning years of rock aesthetics. I just don't see a whole lot radically new and different coming down from that particular pike.
So, enough mixing metaphors- the situation is that Ringo Deathstarr have a reputation for sounding exactly like My Bloody Valentine, circa Loveless. If they did, I would still like them- I can think of few things that I would like to do more than mastering such a sublime sound. However, the truth seems a little bit off from that. Yes, there is a very lot of MBV in their sound- but it's tempered with the punk rush of Jesus and Mary chain. There's some buzzsaw underneath the woozy oceans of processed guitars. There are others who get just as close to the "Loveless' sound- Asobi Seksu, and Blonde Redhead spring to mind. But all of the others seem to concentrate more on the shimmery wallow of the feedback, and less on that incredible right hand tremolo of Kevin Shields. The real similarity between Ringo Deathstarr and say, Asobi Seksu, lies in the breathy little girl vocals buried under echoes that owe a lot to Bilinda Butcher. However, if we look past that, Ringo Deathstarr is a very different band, indeed.
So, yes, there is a lot of My Bloody Valentine on this record. Again, I'm good with that. However, there's a fair amount of Jesus and Mary Chain, some New Order, and even a little bit of Boris in there as well. They play faster, and with more aggression than most of those influences, though. So, is it nostalgic? More than a bit. However, given the prevalence of at least a Shoegazer influence in bands from Silversun Pickups to Best Coast to Isis, I'd say that the nostalgia quotient is arguable. It would appear to be quite contemporary, as well- Ringo Deathstarr are thus much more "purists' than 'revivalists". Yes, that sounds somewhat perverse, given the band's careless attitude- but here's what I mean- rather than being a shoegaze influenced band, or a "nugaze' band, they are trying to be as purely about the shoegaze sound as were the original bands. When I think of a 'revival" - it's about trying to bring something back- about carrying something forward into the present tense. When i think of a "purist" is about trying to isolate and preserve something- about keeping it out of the present tense. In either sense, it's a kind of time travel wish- the revivalist wants to bring the past back around, while the purist wants to stop time.
All that is probably getting far too esoteric- here's the hard and fast Aristotelian reality- Ringo Deathstarr play loud, lush, uptempo heavily distorted post punk with digital effects. I rather like that sound whether we're talking 1987, 1997, 2007 or probably 2017. So, despite the fact that this may reflect something about my age and character, I'm just as excited as I was in 1991....
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
New Ringo Deathstarr
Ok, so if this isn't a sign of being a fan, I don't know what is- I'm posting this before I even have downloaded it- I'm currently refreshing my Itunes, but will download the new Ringo Deathstarr "Colour trip" as soon as I can. Ringo Deathstarr are some loud, and somewhat Punky shoegazers from Texas. I really enjoyed everything from them so far, so I'm expecting good things from what's being called their "debut record"- I'd consider their rather long EP from 2007 to be at least a mini LP. But, yes, I'm excited.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
This is hilarious
The good people of Chunklet magazine posted this Video, and offered that the best joke wins. I think that's entirely redundant. The video is the joke.
Thrashcapades
I started out being into Hardcore thrash, and I still like that stuff. Very athletic, adrenalized music. So, I just made a mix CD for my car, made up of some relatively new thrash. In the spirit of thrash, here's a rundown of the bands on that mix. Obviously, none of this stuff is stellar, and none is terrible.
First up- the AC4. Dennis from the Refused clearly missed out that he wasn't in 7 seconds. Straight up hero worship. Then, Fresh Coats- A Train Wreck named Desire. More punk than thrash. Think of a more pop-punk version of Leatherface, mixed with some non-ska Rancid, and you're not far off. After that Shards. The most straightforward thrash on here. They could easily be a "middle of the bill" band at Fender's ballroom, circa 1984. Straight Los Angeles mid 80's thrash. Finally, Wolves & Thieves-11. Much more modern Thrash. Like the Bronx or Gallows, it's a mix of various Rocknroll influences, a hint of metal here, some Rockabilly there, some hardcore under it all. The end effect is like what you misremember after one of those 5 band hardcore matinees, where you can't remember who played what, you just remember that dude who took it hard when he got dropped in the pit, and how bad your nose hurts from connecting with this other guy's boot...
First up- the AC4. Dennis from the Refused clearly missed out that he wasn't in 7 seconds. Straight up hero worship. Then, Fresh Coats- A Train Wreck named Desire. More punk than thrash. Think of a more pop-punk version of Leatherface, mixed with some non-ska Rancid, and you're not far off. After that Shards. The most straightforward thrash on here. They could easily be a "middle of the bill" band at Fender's ballroom, circa 1984. Straight Los Angeles mid 80's thrash. Finally, Wolves & Thieves-11. Much more modern Thrash. Like the Bronx or Gallows, it's a mix of various Rocknroll influences, a hint of metal here, some Rockabilly there, some hardcore under it all. The end effect is like what you misremember after one of those 5 band hardcore matinees, where you can't remember who played what, you just remember that dude who took it hard when he got dropped in the pit, and how bad your nose hurts from connecting with this other guy's boot...
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Geronimo!
I just downloaded it, and haven't had a chance to fully appreciate it, but Geronimo has a a free release over at Bandcamp, that will only be free for a day or so more, so you might want to move on it. Geronimo! play a kind of Indie rock/Stoner - like Built to Spill meets Dinosaur Jr, with some mogwai-ish tendancies. Worth a few moments of your life.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
More Tunes
So, just some quick reviews, for stuff that I like, but aren’t quite as nice as stuff I’ve done bigger reviews on, in no particular order:
Autolux- Transit, Transit: Umm, have you heard Autolux? The last record was a kinda electro shoegazer type of record. Replace the gauzey distort-noise with more Sonic Youth-ish guitars in alternative tunings, and there you go, the new Autolux record. I like it, but only in a background Noise type way.
Colony-Colony: I’ll admit I don’t know much about the band, but I really like how it’s obvious that they’ll go wherever their muse goes. Parts sound neo-psychedelic, parts sound like experimental noise, parts sound like new Americana, like Wilco, and parts sound like Stoner/Sludge. Nothing is fully fleshed out, though, so it’s kinda like a jam/demo tape, but one you’ll enjoy.
Earwig- Gibson under Mountain: Damn fine power pop. Does it need to be more? Really, this is just that. You might hear some Americana here, some Punk there, but really, it’s power pop.
Nikoo-Friends and Family: I really, really like the Dutch music scene out of Utrecht. We’ve got former members of one of that scene’s better bands, The Very Sexuals, in this Noise-Pop band. So, of course I like it. How to describe it? Wow, tougher than I thought… Ummm… Uhhhh… it’s got some, uhhhh…. How’s this? It’s pop structure, with Exotica, Harmonium, shoegazer electronics, indie rock vocals, and Arcade Fire styled anthemic styled vocals. Like the Ruby Suns meet the Very Sexuals, meet the Comas, and they tweak the hell out of Arcade Fire, in the Raveonette’s studio…
Wye Oak- Civilian: A local pleasure. Hey, I like my friends, but I don’t know this couple, directly. I know their friends, though. Wye Oak, by now should be a known quality. In case they’re not, they play twisted atmospheric noise-folk, in the vein of Mazzy Star and Cowboy Junkies, but altogether modern.
There you go. Check them out.
Autolux- Transit, Transit: Umm, have you heard Autolux? The last record was a kinda electro shoegazer type of record. Replace the gauzey distort-noise with more Sonic Youth-ish guitars in alternative tunings, and there you go, the new Autolux record. I like it, but only in a background Noise type way.
Colony-Colony: I’ll admit I don’t know much about the band, but I really like how it’s obvious that they’ll go wherever their muse goes. Parts sound neo-psychedelic, parts sound like experimental noise, parts sound like new Americana, like Wilco, and parts sound like Stoner/Sludge. Nothing is fully fleshed out, though, so it’s kinda like a jam/demo tape, but one you’ll enjoy.
Earwig- Gibson under Mountain: Damn fine power pop. Does it need to be more? Really, this is just that. You might hear some Americana here, some Punk there, but really, it’s power pop.
Nikoo-Friends and Family: I really, really like the Dutch music scene out of Utrecht. We’ve got former members of one of that scene’s better bands, The Very Sexuals, in this Noise-Pop band. So, of course I like it. How to describe it? Wow, tougher than I thought… Ummm… Uhhhh… it’s got some, uhhhh…. How’s this? It’s pop structure, with Exotica, Harmonium, shoegazer electronics, indie rock vocals, and Arcade Fire styled anthemic styled vocals. Like the Ruby Suns meet the Very Sexuals, meet the Comas, and they tweak the hell out of Arcade Fire, in the Raveonette’s studio…
Wye Oak- Civilian: A local pleasure. Hey, I like my friends, but I don’t know this couple, directly. I know their friends, though. Wye Oak, by now should be a known quality. In case they’re not, they play twisted atmospheric noise-folk, in the vein of Mazzy Star and Cowboy Junkies, but altogether modern.
There you go. Check them out.
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