If you ever, like me, get in the mood for some absolutely soul-crushing drone the search can sometimes be long and arduous. For me, drone is either something that sucks me in or it doesn’t. Fortunately, the folks at Sweat Lodge Guru made the search a little easier by releasing Wroom’s Fungal Overlord. The label not only claims it as one of their best, but also likens it to an “intense, stunning walk through a spidery metallic drone mansion.” There you are, poetry.
It seems a bit criminal to listen to this beast any other way than straight through on a pair of solid headphones or speakers. But to give you just a taste check out the album opener “Cylindrical Cubezoid” a buzzing, creeping monster of viscous gothic noise with doom-like undertones. Fungal Overlord is a dark journey, to be sure, but one that must be taken. You can download it for free on bandcamp or own it on cassette from Sweat Lodge Guru.
Dan Abary just shot me this new Four Visions track off of his upcoming EP called You and Me that will be dropping sometime in March. Very much a headphone-minded track, Dan told me that he very painstakingly stitched together the tones and the reverb in order to attain this very rich atmosphere. Listening to this track I can confirm that it is just pregnant with lush texture.
I’ve been tracking this side project of Dan’s since he sent me a few very personal tracks earlier this summer. It’s been cool to see the project mutate from those very skeletal and hushed early days to this bigger, fuller, much more realized sound. It’s also a nice contrast to his other project Sight Seeing (formerly Youth Castles). So if you’ve got a moment to spare then consider spinning “Quit” in a manner that most suits it. Strap a pair of quality headphones on and get lost in the thickness.
I have so much love for this band. Listening to their two previous singles, “Ohnowoe” and “Shark Week” it was obvious how much thought and care went into creating those two songs. Layers of instrumentation and vocal work were meticulously laid until a towering work of genius had been erected. On the heels of those two singles comes the band first proper release, Life Coach. You can download it for free on their bandcamp right now, but on February 16th the band will be releasing it on vinyl (you can pre-order it on their site).
Following the great songwriting of their singles, the tracks on Life Coach are not only aesthetically pleasing, but the craftsmanship is truly admirable. I’m listening to it as I write this and I’m marveling at how densely constructed these five tracks are (plus everything sounds so clean!). They maintain that math rock leaning that they touted before, but they also bring ramp up the vocal work with harmonies any Brian Wilson lover can admire. And as if that wasn’t enough to grasp onto, the band throws hook after catchy hook at you until your arms are so full of great music that you can scarcely carry any more. If you’re looking for just a really classy set of songs for future private (or public) singalongs, then look no further than Life Coach.
Title: Stay In Your Own BackyardArtist: Sneak Peek183 plays
*PREMIERE*
Sneak Peek // “Stay In Your Own Backyard”
Are you guys ready for a sneak peek at this new Sneak Peek track? You got it, right? Right? I had to do it… ok. Anyways, this Echo Park band was one that I threw on the radar earlier this summer as one to watch. Featuring members of The Willowz, the band cruised along on the strength of some really great demo tracks straight into my good graces. At that time they told me that they were working towards an EP, but their prolonged dormancy translated not into an EP, but rather a full-length album. After being graciously given a chance to listen to the whole thing, I can safely say that it. Is. Gnarly.
On this song, one of the albums darker tracks, titled “Stay In Your Own Backyard”, singer Dora Hiller’s surprising, reverbed snarl perfectly matches the sludge-drenched guitars. Buzzing feedback vibrates through the atmosphere ripping a tear in the fabric just big enough for us to catch a glimpse of this grungy underworld. Hopefully you guys dig on this track as much as I am and you can join me in being pumped for this album. It’s being mastered as we speak, so it shouldn’t be too much longer! Oh, and if you absolutely can’t wait then make sure you hit up their bandcamp page for those demos I was talking about.
If you’ve got your headphones handy you are gonna want to grab them for this one. Molly Long and Jimmy Spice are back with another enchanting dreamscape as Poppy Red. Jimmy has been steadily sharing with me the stuff that these two have been coming up with over the last few months and all of that work has culminated in the beauty of “Keep Your Heart”. In keeping with the signature hushed tones, Molly has conjured up this atmosphere that would act as a perfect soundtrack to a foggy morning as the sun breaks in beams through the mist.
If there was some sort of meeting ground between Grouper and Enya, then let it be know that Poppy Red has staked claim to the land. Good news is that the pair are close to finishing a debut album that will be released on cassette by Nick Burk’s (of Acid Glasses fame) label Sunday Fir, so you can be sure I’ll raise the alarm when that thing makes it into the earth’s atmosphere.
And also speaking of cassettes, Liquid Skulls(Jimmy Spice’s other project) album In Lungs is out on yellow cassette right now on Thick Syrup Records. He told me that there aren’t too many left so snatch ‘em up! Ok, now I’m done.
Sorry for the double dose of music this weekend, but I have a ton of good stuff that I really want to share with you guys. Actually no, I’m not sorry because Spectral Park is way too good not to share no matter what day it is. I actually found my way to his bandcamp via Twitter. With no previous knowledge I began to listen to his five-song EP Factory Peeled and I was quite instantly hooked.
It’s important to note that this is all the work of one dude named Luke Donovan because of the sheer weight of his music. There is an immediacy here that acts as a sort of instant gratification that you can sink your teeth into, but it’s not until you sit down and really listen to these songs that you realize how tight and densely constructed they actually are. He writes these really classic pop hooks but he buries them in a treasure trove of ambiguously familiar noise. I know there is some heavy sampling going on here, but he weaves it so seamlessly into the rest of the music that it really gels together into one satisfying whole. I could keep rambling on about just how great this EP is, but I’m just going to insist that you download it for free and listen to it instead.
I do my best to keep a mental queue of the music I am planning to post for future reference. Threatening to budge up in that line, bursting forward from my mind is this brilliant new EP by Indiana band KAM KAMA. I had to wrangle them down a few times, but the amount of energy that these guys bring made that almost impossible. Well now here it’s their turn and where their momentum carries them is no longer my responsibility.
Playing to a style of music that has seen a resurgence as of late, the dudes in KAM KAMA bring a frenetic style and a somewhat atypical vocal style that helps them really stick out. Sure they channel Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure, and Joy Division, but they do it with infinitely more joy. I can always tell when I am really digging on the jams when my leg starts to jiggle. From the very first notes of “Halfway Motel” my leg was pretty much rattling off the charts.
Oh, and on February 7th, The Tiled house will be getting physical via Sister Cylinder (10” vinyl to be exact!). So make sure to hit that up for all your future leg-jiggling needs.
Bands will change their name for a myriad of reasons. In the case of the Japanese surf rocking band Friends, their name change was done with you the listener in mind. I don’t know if you have ever tried to google the band or not. I have and it’s darn near impossible. So in order to make things less confusing, they will now and forevermore be known as Teen Runnings. I can dig it. In honor of the metamorphosis, there is a brand new bandcamp site with a handful of new demos for you to indulge in. (Seeing as their debut album was #15 on my year-end list, you can imagine how stoked I was to hear this.)
For proof of their good time vibes check out this video for the new jammer “Wonder Mountaineering.” Much less fuzzy, much less surfy, but still so very awesome. Painting over rough edges with a shoegazing sheen, Teen Runnings maintain the one thing that always brings me back to them: a totally infectious pop sensibility. When Shota Kaneko sings those hooks, man I’m sold. He’s known for dropping pearls every once in a while (like this Maroon 5 cover) so keep ‘em on the radar, folks.
Chaz Bell never makes things too easy for listeners with H | p s. He honestly writes some of the catchiest hooks I’ve ever heard, but he very decisively obscures those pop songs underneath layers of heavy fuzz and distortion. And contrary to the trajectory of many other similarly lo-fi artists, Chaz’s music has only gotten noisier and more chaotic with time. Now I know that his music isn’t necessarily accessible (even for people who dig on scuzz) and that the harsh nature of some of his chosen imagery can keep listener’s at arm’s length, but I really think that there is more to this guy than first glance (or listen) would suggest.
In a few weeks, Chill Mega Chill (shameless plug) will be releasing Chaz’s debut album H \ P S for the world to hear. The first single off of that album “Sup Babe” perfectly encapsulates the quirky charm that his music has to offer. There is this brash amalgam of the metallic and cacophonous noise, but in the middle (if you’re willing to dig there) is a vibrant beating heart. The familiarly bouncing surf rock melody sung with a snarl is hard to dismiss and it only gets sweeter with repeated listens.
Gathered Ghosts is back with a new EP which saw its release just today. If you took the opportunity to check out his self-titled debut album last year, then this should be welcome news. If you didn’t then consider this your chance to get acquainted with Javier Suarez’s music. Being the guitarist of Craft Spells, it comes as no surprise that this EP is very much so a guitar-based release. While he certainly takes advantage of whatever other instruments he has at his disposal, his guitar work definitely plays center stage and it truly shines here.
Perfectly matching its glowing, candlelit cover, the EP radiates warmth and basks in the comfort of honest nostalgia. Incorporating the delicate vocals of Andreanna Wilson, her presence adds another dimension to the music that makes it resonate all the more. Pleasant from front to back, Fluttering So Sweetly is an EP that is easily worth its $3.99 asking price.
I am going to ask you to ignore any and all preconceived notions you might have about the subgenre of post-rock. Although its inception is certainly debatable it seemed to have its heyday around the mid-2000’s thanks in no small part to Explosions In the Sky. In the few years following their massive popularity there were inumerable bands that shamelessly ripped off their style (which, in my opinion, was not that great to begin with). I say all of this because all of those thoughts came rushing to my mind when this band Pan first introduced themselves to me. With an album title that might be a tad bit too literal for my taste I admit that I was a bit blasé when I first clicked play, but that changed rather quickly once the music sunk its claws into me.
Sure many of those typical post-rock staples are here, but the band also cites the exuberant Fang Island as a major influence and I can definitely hear where that came into play. According to the band they have made it their goal to “uplift you and fill you with positive energy and happiness” and I gotta say that it totally worked on me.. This really isn’t earth-shattering or even innovative music, but it is really well-executed and there is no denying the joy and the fun that went into creating it. That emotion is placed proudly on display and can be totally infectious if you just let it be what it is.
Hailing from Austin, Texas the girls known as Troller have crafted an album that had I given it a more thorough listen when it came out last month it would have landed on my year-end list. And yes, it is that good. Now I usually try to avoid likening one band to another, but in this case I can’t really help but draw comparisons… well a comparison. When I’m listening to Troller I feel myself being pulled downward into the same smokey dreamworld that fellow Austin resident Sleep ∞ Over tapped into with Forever.
Where I see the difference here is that Troller is a bit more calculated in their approach. Instead of letting the music wander around following its own beats, things feel harnessed and controlled just enough here. The guitars create this slow-churning buzz that in conjunction with with the percussion set the foundation for the more ethereal elements represented by the synths and the otherworldly vocals. Everything together is utterly mesmerizing and feels distant yet somehow close enough to lightly run your fingers along.
I’m not sure if this album saw any sort of physical release, but I’d really like to know because I’d love to own a piece of this world. For now you’ll have to settle for streaming it on either their bandcamp or soundcloud.
Let me just say that I’m really stoked to be a part of this. It has the potential of being something really special and I couldn’t have picked a better group of people to associate myself with. From the site:
“PORTALS is the intersection of sixteen contemporary music blogs writing from various locales in more than one continent; brought together by a common love for music. PORTALS is recognition that no single human creative pursuit can be monolithic. The DIY movement taught musicians and artists to validate themselves and to cultivate their own mechanisms for release by controlling all aspects of their creative process, but we now live in an era where individuals have found empowerment and incentive in collaboration. We are all part of a new Do-It-Together movement, that networks in order to raise a cacophony of art and media - enriched by diversity and sustained by opportunities available to liberate ourselves from a passive cultural journey. This is fundamental: discovery is the clarion call to independence, and finding music that we love can become a holy artifact in ones experience of time, place, person, or of one’s own sacred self. PORTALS is a shared refuge for the sights and sounds which shape our times. We hope that you join us in making PORTALS your own.
HELLO 2012! As you can tell I took sort of an unplanned, unannounced respite the last few weeks. Sorry for that. Life sorta got busy there around the holidays (not to mention year-end lists). Anyways, I’m here to make your new year brighter by hopefully introducing you to Adam Lipman’s fantastic release The Western Bounce.
Adam found his way to me via the mighty Dwight Pavlovic a few weeks ago and I’ve been waiting for a moment of clarity amidst a busy season to share him with you. I’ve been listening to The Western Bounce a lot over the past few weeks and I gotta say I’m really taken with it. Adam plays some very charming stripped-down folk music. Lyrics play a big role (maybe even a bigger role than the vocals) as he weaves these quirky stories befitting the quirky music that forgoes many of the superfluous elements that usually accompany this sort of music.
Adam does not have an official website (that I can find), but there is this facebook page that houses a few links for you to check out. If you like what you hear and wanna grab it on cassette (which I highly recommend) you can do that at Life’s Blood.
