“Do What You Want To”, the New Single from Olympia’s VEXX, Puts the Strut in Punk

Posted on 2016/08/18 | 1 comment

VEXX, “Do What You Want To” (M’Lady’s Records (US): Upset! The Rhythm (EUR/UK))

https://soundcloud.com/mladys-records/vexx-do-what-you-want-to-mladys-28-utr068

Olympia’s VEXX made an immediate impact on ears/minds/souls in 2014 with their debut, self-titled EP.  Then followed last year’s equally fantastic, if more nuanced, “Give and Take” 7”, which saw the band stretch their scorched earth punk/hc with touches of the serious blues and r&b riffage hinted at on debut tracks like “Strength” and “Ocean Shores”.

Now, VEXX returns with “Do What You Want To” – the first taste of new EP/mini-LP “The Wild Hunt”.   It’s a groovy amalgam of punk/blues crunch and 70s power-pop strut, with a seriously killer Chuck Berry riff and a rhythmic shimmy evoking visions of spandex jumpsuits and the sounds of The Sex Pistols to Sweet to the Runaways.

If your issue with power-pop is its tendency towards a more mawkish (and male-driven) take on romance/‘getting some’, fear not gentle reader.  For while singer Maryjane Dunphe is enticed by the person who’s caught her eye, they receive the titular line to do as they wish – no falsetto plea to ‘go all the way’, here, as the track begins to unravel before ending abruptly with a shriek.  All killer; no filler.

“The Wild Hunt” is due in October as a joint release of two excellent labels: M’Lady’s Records out of Portland, OR and the UK’s Upset! the Rhythm – and is available for pre-order now via either/or.  Do what you wanna, &etc.  While you’re doing that, you can check out more about VEXX here.

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Something Borrowed, Something New: Anywhere, from Chicago’s Cassettes on Tape

Posted on 2016/07/29 | Leave a comment

Cassettes on Tape, Anywhere (self-released, 7/14/16)

We love a band that wears their influences proudly.  Cassettes on Tape is a four-piece hailing from Chicago, with a declared fondness for “shoegazy guitars and new wavey hooks”.  On their new long-player, Anywhere, the band stays true to their school(s).

Anywhere finds the band taking a musical journey through mid-80s to mid-90s indie music, recalling everything from 80s ‘college radio’, new wave, shoegaze, early 90s indie pop and even britpop.  It’s a wide range of (admittedly intertwined) sounds, and the band pulls it off by writing hook-filled tunes played with a super-charged emotion.  Jangling, resonant guitars courtesy of lead guitarist Shyam Telikicherla build epic sound scapes to match the dramatic vocals of singer Joe Kozak, who comes off like a cross between Suede’s Brett Anderson (minus the falsetto) and a less raspy Richard Butler of the Psych Furs.  Songs like album highlight “Shattered” manage to marry 80s indie restraint to Britpop rafter rattling, while “Modern Love” carries an “I Am the Resurrection” shuffle.  While the hi nrg tracks are great, the lovely slow burn of “Diamonds” and “Liquid Television” (above) are equally satisfying.  Great stuff.

Anywhere is out now, and available through the Cassettes on Tape Bandcamp page.  You can also check them out on the fbook, the twit and Instagram (don’t have a ‘witty’ shortcut reference for that one…yet).  The band also have a show coming up on August 5 at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago – check it out if you’re local.

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Listen to “Held”, the latest from Melbourne’s Lowtide, and Bliss Out

Posted on 2016/07/14 | Leave a comment

Lowtide, “Held” (Opposite Number)

We loved “Wedding Ring”, the first taster of the forthcoming debut album from Melbourne’s Lowtide.  Now, we’re hearing “Held” for the first time (the band shared the track back in 2014), and we’ve fallen in love all over again.  [Our thanks to the always great The Line of Best Fit blog for the initial introduction.]

Since we never got off our duff long enough to write about “Wedding Ring” when we first heard it a few months ago, let’s rectify that first. The track is truly massive, channeling the epic end of the shoegaze/dreampop spectrum – think later period Cocteau Twins (the phased guitars are charmingly Guthrie-esque) and bands like Pale Saints and Slowdive – with an uptempo groove and a bridge at the 1:40 mark that, if it doesn’t make you smile and/or tear up, you should seek immediate medical attention.

“Held” is no less grand, even while seemingly a bit less epic.  Wtf?, you may say.  Our explanation lies in the layers underneath the skyscraping boy/girl vocal tradeoffs. Where “Wedding Ring” started from a lush, shogazed underpinning, “Held” feels like the kind of anthemic, later period post-punk that wasn’t afraid to pin its heart to its denim jacketed sleeve – we’re thinking here of past greats like the brilliant Chameleons, Pink Turns Blue, and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns-era Killing Joke, on through to new bands like another thegrindinghalt fave, Communions.   The upper register is no less blissful, but the slow burning guitar and absolutely churning rhythms here provide a bit of cloud cover to an otherwise purely sun-dappled experience.

Opposite Number Records will release the band’s debut full length on August 5.  In the meantime, you can check out the band’s fbook, Bandcamp and SoundCloud pages for news and other music.

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Check Out Boston Band Earth Heart’s Rollicking New Single, “Homesick”

Posted on 2016/07/13 | Leave a comment

Earth Heart, “Homesick” (self-released, 6/1/2016)

“Homesick” is a new release from Boston, MA’s Earth Heart.  A little bit surf, kinda post-punk, a wee bit C86, some part 90s indie – and it’s all good.  Opening with a chiming guitar and a great, rooted bass line that would make Interpol proud, the drums crash in and work up the lather into a full-on pogo party.  Guitarist/Vocalist Katie Coriander’s vocals are both assured and exuberant – in a way that (in true punk fashion) belies the underlying grit of lyrics like “I was so low/I was underground…right where I belong” – and recall (to these ears), folks like Poly Styrene, Clare Grogan (look them up, kids) on up to Karen O and even Maryjane from Vexx.

“Homesick” is the title track from the group’s forthcoming LP, due August 5 and self-released in cooperation with Planetary Group (per the band’s fbook page).  The track is available for purchase now on bandcamp, as is Earth Heart’s entire discography.

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“Voices”, from Seattle’s Posse, Is Lush, Kaleidoscopic Psych/Dream pop – and Should Be in Your Ears

Posted on 2016/07/07 | Leave a comment

Posse, “Voices/Perfect H” 7” (Wharf Cat Records)

Been sitting with this single for a while now, trying to come up with something profound to say.  Dreamy, lush. hypnotic, narcotic – all fit, yet somehow disappoint, in describing the two tracks on this new 7” from Seattle three-piece, Posse.

“Perfect H” – with its hushed call and response between Paul Wittman-Todd and Sacha Maxim, lightly reverbed guitar and hushed rhythm – is a great reminder of what made the group’s fusion of dream pop and psych with Sonic Youth downtown cool and Flying Nun down under jangle so compelling on their last outing, 2014’s Soft Opening.

It’s on “Voices”, though, that the band starts to toy with new sounds and textures.  Where “Perfect H” sounds like a conversation in a closed room, “Voices” cracks the window and lets a hazy atmosphere swirl through, giving the track a weightlessness where other tracks feel more Earthbound.  Wittman-Todd sing/talks, in an urban drawl reminiscent of Lou Reed via Thurston Moore, enigmatic lines (“who are these voices/I hear…from a century ago”), and snippets of remembered conversations with an ex (“and if i gave up my hobbies/and you gave yours up, too/would we/be ok/doin’ nothin’?”).  The subtlety of the band’s approach fails to blunt the song’s overall impact as it unwinds around the 5:30 mark into an absolutely lovely guitar solo and slow fade out.

The single is available now, on Wharf Cat Records – a limited edition 7” or digital copy can be purchased on the label’s bandcamp site.  Posse can be found fbook, and tmblr.

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New Music: The Parrots, No Me Gustas, Te Quiero

Posted on 2016/07/06 | Leave a comment

The Parrots, “No Me Gustas, Te Quiero” (Heavenly Recordings)

Shout along to this shambling psych/garage track from The Parrots, an excellent Madrid-based three piece.

The Parrots bring a similar energy to that of other modern purveyors of slightly inebriated, shamalamadingdong stompers like King Khan or The Black Lips, as well as compatriots like sisters-in-tuneage, Hinds, and thegrindinghalt fave, Wau y los Arrrghs.

The title literally translates as “I don’t like you, I love you” (fun fact, these lines are similar  to the opening lines of The Miracles’ “You Really Got a Hold On Me”:  “I don’t like you/but I love you”).  The detuned guitar strumming and ringing lead melody line, combined with hoarsely cried lines like “I don’t remember too much/if I did something and you didn’t like/sorry, darling” call to mind the image of a late night, drunken plea to a darkened upstairs window.

The track has us all aquiver with anticipation for The Parrots’ upcoming debut release for the mighty Heavenly Recordings, “Los Niños Sin Miedo”, due August 26.  It also had the added bonus of prompting us to go back through the band’s earlier releases, which you can also find and enjoy on their bandcamp page.

“No Me Gustas” comes out physically, as a limited edition 7”, on August 5, together with b-side “Let’s Do It Again” (no slouch of a tune, in it’s own right) – you can preorder it here.  Check out The Parrots on the fbook, the tumblr and the twitter.

The band also have a slew of dates coming over the next few months in Europe and the UK (effing Brexit) – listed below.  Here’s hoping for some US dates soon.

July 09 — Quintanilha Rock, Portugal
July 16 — Super Bock Super Rock, Lisbon
July 22 — Siren Festival, Vasto, Italy
Aug. 25 — Rough Trade East In-store, LDN
Aug. 26 — Sea Change Festival, Totnes Sea Change, Totnes, UK
Aug. 27 — The Magnet, Album Launch Party, Liverpool
Aug. 28 — Hare & Hounds, King’s Heath, Birmingham
Sept. 04 — Broadcast, Glasgow
Sept. 05 — Headrow House, Leeds
Sept. 06 — Concorde 2, Brighton
Sept. 07 — The Victoria, London
Sept. 09 — Strange Waves 2016, Manchester
Sept. 10 — Start the Bus, Bristol (free entry!)
Sept. 11 — OnBlackheath, London
Sept. 12 — Le Point Éphémère, Paris
Sept. 14 — Péniche Cancale, Dijon

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Review: The Oscillation, Monographic

Posted on 2016/07/01 | Leave a comment

The Oscillation, Monographic (All Time Low/Hands In the Dark, 3/11/16)

The Oscillation is a project of UK-based multi-instrumentalist Demian Castellanos, who we first encountered on the excellent Kyvu Tapes, courtesy of our friends at the Cardinal Fuzz label.  Monographic, released in March, is a psych tour de force that packs a lot in while never losing its focus or continuity as a complete album.

From the off, the phaser set to stun effects introducing the opener/title track’s Clinic/Brechtian oompah drone grabs you by the scruff and leads you thro’ fields of stars on a sci-fi psych trip to the next whiskey bar at the edge of the universe.  As mentioned, there’s lots going on here, with the album’s seven tracks (the CD also contains two, bonus mixes) embracing elements of psych, epic Spacemen 3 drone haze (“Lonely People”), Hawkwind-style space rock (“Another Attack”), Scary Monsters style guitar wailing (“Take Us to the Moon”), early industrial, dub, dream pop (“Let It Be the End”), and chugging glam pomp (“Truth In Reverse”).

It takes work to bring all of these musical pieces together, and here they are brilliantly curated by Castellanos, whose sneering, breathy vocals recall Mark E. Smith, Robert del Naja, even Ian Brown in parts.  He plays all instruments on the record, save the drums, which are provided by live band member Valentina Magalietti.  Take the trip – it’s all about the journey.

Highlights include: “Truth In Reverse”, “Let It be the End”, “Monographic”, “Lonely People”.

Monographic is out now as a joint release of UK-based All Time Low and French label, Hands In the Dark.  The album, and much else both Oscillation and Castellanos-related, is also available on The Oscillation’s bandcamp site.  You can find out more on fbook and the band’s site, where you can also find their summer touring schedule.

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Review: Juniore, Marabout

Posted on 2016/06/30 | Leave a comment

Juniore, “Marabout” ep (Le Phonographe)

Juniore is an all-female trio based in Paris, and “Marabout” their latest fantastic collection of psych-pop.  It’s got a really great beat, and we’re totally freaking out to it.

“Marabout” finds the band mining fluid, in the pocket rhythms and bass lines that cast a more modern light on a worthy addition to the imperious French, 60s yé-yé and beat pop lineage, of a mind with artists such as Melody’s Echo Chamber and Julien Gasc.  Like the best psych-pop, there’s a hint of malice just underneath the surface – opening track, “Mon autre” starts with a screech worthy of Psycho, while the title track features a malevolent, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins-ish cackle – and there’s more than a glimmer of M. Gainsbourg’s discomfiting atmospherics on show.  There’s also elements of more American sounding 50s-60s pop and surf (perhaps not surprisingly) on closer and personal fave, “A la plage”, as well as the leftfield garage and pop of that era that would later inspire groups like The Cramps and The B-52s.

My french isn’t good enough to decipher much of the lyrics, so I was left to be swept away by the effortless charm and skill in the arrangements and the playing.  Anna Jean’s vocals are beguilingly insouciant throughout, a calm amidst the groovy Shindig! party around her, which might inspire you to act like l’homme sur la gauche in this video.  Effortless cool; hide your gauloises.

After releasing a few 7” singles and eps in Europe on Le Phonographe – all of which are available to purchase via their Bandcamp page – Juniore’s collected works are, happily, being given a U.S. release thanks to the formidable Burger Records.  Be sure to also check out Juniore on fbook and twitter.

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Track Review: Nite-Funk, Let Me Be Me

Posted on 2016/06/29 | Leave a comment

Nite-Funk, “Let Me Be Me” (Glydezone)

G-funk maestro DâM-FunK (Damon Riddink) and new romantic Nite Jewel (Ramona Gonzalez) collaborate as Nite-Funk [see what they did there?].  Last year, the duo let loose “Can U Read Me” into the world, then fell silent.  Now, they’ve announced plans to release a self-titled ep on July 1.  “Let Me Be Me” is a taster track from that release, and it’s great.

Where “Can U” veritably oozed 80s electro quiet storm romance – think Loose Ends, SOS Band and the Gap Band in full mack mode – “Let Me Be Me” bumps.  It’s a perfect twining of early 80s, electro-disco and g-funk hooks – new wave ch-chang guitars and glassy synth chords, a doggedly atomic bassline and funky keyboard solos that would make Roger drool.  Like Control-era Janet riding a D-Train groove.  The bright neon lights, big mauve city vibes given off by the ep’s cover (below) perfectly suit the track’s mood.

NITE-FUNK

Nite-Funk’s self-titled ep will be released on Riddink’s Glydezone Recordings label.  Get down on it – the soul train line forms here.

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Review: Pheeyownah, zero9zero9 EP

Posted on 2016/06/28 | Leave a comment

Pheeyownah, zero9zero9 EP (Labrador, 6/10/16)

Great new soul/r&b/pop from Pheeyownah, a Stockholm, Sweden-based singer and multi-instrumentalist.

She’s also an artist and dancer, and movement, atmosphere and expression is everywhere in evidence on her new ep, zero9zero9.  Synthesized melodies swirl and sway betwixt and between multi-tracked vocals and churning rhythms in a manner similar, in style and tone, to Fade to Mind crew standout Kelela and other modern soul artists like Sza.  Where those artists have a foot in both psychotropic “modern r&b” stylings and 80s/90s throwback rhythms (Janet Jackson, vocally, often seems a particular influence), Pheeyownah also folds in trip hop’s hypnotic, liquid soul and rhythmic ominousness – early Bjork (highlight “Mountain Peak, Sea Deep”, in particular, seems unearthed from a Nellie Hooper vault), bands like Massive Attack, GusGus and Lamb cast long shadows.

Be not afeared – this is a good thing.  Senses are worked overtime across the ep’s four tracks, while there’s even a hint of a dancefloor banger unfurling in the insistent closer, “Cold Black Deserts”.  Three of these tracks look to have been self-released previously on the Under the Dock ep, but have now been repackaged by fantastic Swedish label Labrador; hopefully, they’ll reach a wider audience.

zero9zero9 is out now.  Check out more about Pheeyownah on fbook and her site.  You can also find her prior, self-relead eps, on iTunes (“Pretty Lights”, from 2012’s City ep, is well worth a listen for a glimpse of a lighter side to her musical persona).

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