As their name implies there is nothing boring about Portland-based Wild Ones. And although things are decidedly much less hectic than way back in the days when respective band members were suffering collapsed lungs and blown out eardrums. Now, fit of body and mind (mostly), the five-member Rock/Folk/Pop makers of the good stuff are out touring and singing and playing the living daylights out of the songs from their July 2013 release Keep It Safe. Continue reading “wild ones // keep it safe”
tancred // the ring
Current Minneapolis resident Jess Abbott and Now, Now alum is gearing up for the release of new self-titled Tancred album on Topshelf Records. The first single The Ring is a bouncy personal affair and I lean in to catch the intimate lyrics. The full-length drops October 15th. You can get the album and merch HERE. Peace. Continue reading “tancred // the ring”
heaven // telepathic love
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Matt Sumrow and Mikey Jones formed the Brooklyn-based dream pop & new wave-ish indie band Heaven. They’ve recently released their single Telepathic Love, and as you can hear for yourself its quite yummy. The track is taken from the bands forthcoming and self-titled debut album Telepathic Love via Goodnight Records out now. Peace. Continue reading “heaven // telepathic love”
hysterical injury | dead wolf situation | vision of trees
hysterical injury // dead wolf situation + vision of trees
Hysterical Injury are pleased as punch to announce that Visions of Trees, the final single from their debut album Dead Wolf Situation, will drop September 30th. The b-sides are going to go up online over the next few weeks as follows:
Cycle One (Palimpsest mix): September 2nd, streaming only
Visions of Trees (Visions of Trees remix): September 16th , streaming only
Visions of Trees (Visions of Trees remix): September 16th , streaming only
Full package for download: September 30th
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wildlife control // ages places + different
wildlife control // ages places + different
Wildlife Control is a transcontinental collaboration between brothers Neil and Sumul Shah. Drawing on the creative energies of their respective cities, New York and San Francisco, the brothers blur the lines between visual art, music, and technology. Their aesthetic combines sampled and synthesized sounds plus visuals in an alchemical mixture works well, but you don’t have to take my word for it, let the music play. Peace.
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torres // honey
torres // honey
Mackenzie Scott aka Torres is the consummate indie DIY-er. Yes, she’s the artist who writes the music and performs the songs, but she is also familiar with personally hand packaging individual vinyls and shipping them out to buyers. And, she’s overly familiar with stuffing download codes into the records. Such mundanus (pulling out the late Latin, watch out) tasks are par for the course when you own what you do as an independent artist. You’re the boss, the employee, and everything else in-between. Continue reading “torres // honey”
selebrities /// lovely things lp
selebrities /// lovely things lp
Brooklyn’s Selebrities return with their anticipated second album, Lovely Things. Known for their ability to capture the sound of an optimistic and neon splashed New York, the band shows a softer, subtler side to their songwriting with the new material. Tracks like Found and Fell to Earth are pensive musings on the impact of relationships, whereas Temporary Touch and I Could Change are bouncier-style jams that Selebs’ fans adore.
The Lovely Things LP is a mature and finely-tuned affair from an act that travels confidently in their own lane. Peace.
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rose windows | the sun dogs lp
rose windows // the sun dogs
Rose Windows is the kind of band which comes along and carves a wide swath through you brain like a tattooed-meat cleaver. Chris Cheveyo began gathering members for the band back in 2010, and now with the composition of the band complete the result is staggeringly affective.
The band’s label Sub Pop had this to say in regards to the bands latest album:
“The Sun Dogs is an album based on the idea of sifting through the past, extracting bits and pieces, and re-imagining these into new forms. It’s about observing and building upon musical traditions. Thematically, Cheveyo describes The Sun Dogs as being about “the everyday blues that capitalism and its hit man, religion, bring on all of us.” More specifically, he sees The Sun Dogs as an acknowledgment of the circular nature of the rat race, learning to accept the evil in the world, taking joy wherever we can, and ultimately disavowing traditions of exploitation and violence.
That search for finding light in the dark is perfectly captured in the album opener “The Sun Dogs I: Spirit Modules,” as the ominous verses uncoil into beautifully lush string arrangements and vocal harmonies. “Native Dreams” displays the band’s affinity for both exotic melodies and bold distorted guitar riffs, all while Qazi describes the encroachment of one culture upon another by singing of “spirit warriors” surrounding a sleeping camp. “Walkin’ With a Woman” conjures the old blues tale of encountering the devil at the crossroads while culling motifs from classic psych and prog records. Songs like “Heavenly Days” and “Season of Serpents” offer a counterpoint to the foreboding moments on The Sun Dogs, with folk-steeped guitars, gentle pedal steel, and graceful choruses painting a picture of those moments of joy and grace in the midst of the world’s evil.
These moments of respite make the foreign melodies, menacing mysticism, and blown-out riffs on songs like “This Shroud” all the more disquieting. But ultimately “The Sun Dogs II: Coda” ends the album with a ray of light, with the alternating major and minor chords on acoustic guitar, lilting piano lines, “Kashmir”-esque strings, and full-band vocal harmonies burning off the gloom.”
This is an LP of pure rock gospel, of such quality and proportion is shatters the soul with it’s honesty, raw intensity and daring. Peace.
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bad suns | cardiac arrest
bad suns // cardiac arrest
Bad Suns mayn’t be your usual cup of tea but you should know a sensational lip-smacking indie rock scorcher when you hear one. Alt radio, meet Bad Suns. Bad Suns, meet alt radio. You’re about to be best friends. The track Cardiac Arrest is the first single from what appears (or sounds like) a very promising young band. Word is their busy in the the studio and playing shows here and there. I’ll keep you posted on any new developments. Peace. Continue reading “bad suns | cardiac arrest”
menomena // co-headlining fall tour with the helio sequence
menomena // co-headlining fall tour with the helio sequence
Barsuk Records is excited to announce that Menomena is touring this fall in support of their latest album Moms. The co-headlining tour with fellow Portland duo The Helio Sequence starts on September 28th 2013 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and ends on October 25th at Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City. Full tour dates are below.
Moms is the Portland-based band’s fifth album, and their first as a duo. The album has been receiving wide praise, with Pitchfork proclaiming “Moms is without doubt the most aggressive record Menomena have ever made” and calling the lead single “Heavy Is As Heavy Does” “gloriously morose.” Rolling Stone likewise hailed the track as “an emotive outburst of a song that expertly sidesteps melodrama – confessional rock thrills without the cheesy aftertaste.” Paste remarked that the record is “the most candid and personal Menomena release to date,” while Under the Radar called Menomena “one of the most well thought-out bands working today, never sacrificing structure or composition in the name of delivering a series of power chords.” Alarm declared that Moms “is arguably Menomena’s best effort to date.” Peace.
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