Where Are They Now? - Little Dreamers #3

It's time to get reacquainted with some bands that I "unearthed" over the past couple years and see what they're up to (wow, I'm feeling all Rumpus Room right now...)


We all loved a bit of scuzziness due to Toronto's The Bats Pajamas' garage shtick. Well here they are again, with their EP Totally, and like its moniker suggests this record totally kicks arse! OK, the EP doesn't suggest kicking arse, just that its totally... But seriously, 'Red Scared' is one hell of a rocking tune, and the rest of the album follows suit accordingly. You can get the EP for free here.

The Bats Pajamas - Sarai
The Bats Pajamas - Red Scared



Neil Weir loves his shoegaze, most evident in current band The Chambermaids. Their track 'China Blue' from last year really struck a chord with me, and the follow-up 'Whirlpool' mines this rich vein further. It's a slick, sexy number, released through Guilt Ridden Pop, and marries a windswept coastal vibe with a downward spiral of caterwauling guitars. They have been hard at work recording for a new album, and when the fruits of their labour surfaces Ill be the first person to latch on to it!

The Chambermaids - Whirlpool


Reading quartet Tripwires are cranking up for a big 2012 if 'Emerald' is any indication. These kids have been quiet since the ripples they cleaved with their last single 'Cinnamon', but 'Emerald' ensures and mollifies - the wait has not been in vain. The album will be burning its way across the sky very soon...

Tripwires - Emerald


Finally (and no offence to the other acts here, they are all amazing, but I feel I've left the best to last on this occasion), NY/DC's Drop Electric dropped an electric bomb on us all with Finding Color In The Ashes back in March last year. Er, sorry...tequila hangover induces lacklustre puns... But this is kinda fitting, seeing as the band's new track is called 'Santo Domingo' after the capital of the Dominican Republic (that isn't racist is it? To assume they drink tequila or some similar hard liquor in that country? I don't mean to cause international distress, seriously!) It's been a while since a new instrumental band really knocked me for six, but the brooding menace underpinning the Eastern inflections in this track paints an artful, epic soundscape that is nigh on impossible to escape. This is a good un, people. Stay alert on this one.

Drop Electric - Santo Domingo

Batty Sleepwear

Toronto trio The Bats Pajamas offer a brand of irreverent discordant noise that shows no allegiance to anything resembling rock etiquette, flinging faeces in the face on some tracks, shameless aping on others. Their self-titled debut came out this time last year, recorded by Steve Albini, and they are prepping their second full-length. I received this in the 'mail, so assume this is a "touching base" kind of PR stunt before the next, new album hits us in the face. It will be very interesting to see how the three-piece has grown in the twelve months since these tracks were laid down - its is decidedly sloppy and (that word again...) irreverent, and Im hoping they have tightened the screws on that appeal without learning to play their instruments any better - it is the shmbolic nature of the band that has them at their height of their diabolical powers.

You can buy The Bats Pajamas in vinyl, or download digitally for free, on their Bandcamp site.

The Bats Pajamas - Downtown Nitty Gritty
The Bats Pajamas - Go Bowie Go