Hello Summer Flake

2016 sees another great Aussie release to anticipate in Hello Friends, Summer Flake's follow up to the excellent You Can Have It All. 'Shoot And Score' is more brooding than what we saw on her Time Rolls By interim EP last year - it reminds me of the darker yet no less melodious moments of True Widow (without the calamitous down-tuned explosions) or early Lower Dens. Stephanie Crase's hypnotic hushed vocals coax and cajole, contemplative, knowledgeable, possibly menacing, with the guitar and relentless plod of the drums precipitating the electrical storm on the horizon. It's the kind of lurking track that is insidious, climbs inside you and haunts for days. Hello again Summer Flake, it's great to have you back. Hello Friends is out soon through Rice Is Nice.

Parting Thunder On The Air Waves

As you may well know, I am a massive Lower Dens fan. Just about anything that Jana Hunter puts her name too, I'm there. So of course I jumped all over Parting Glances, the new album from New York's Air Waves AKA Nicole Schneit. The album is Schneit, her band and a bunch of friends, including members of Hospitality, Crystal Stilts, Woods and more - but it was Hunter's collaborations that were the drawcard for me. 'Thunder' in particular is a real killer - Hunter's burbling metronomic guitar lines evoking the best of Lower Dens' insidious psych meanderings, while Schneit croons about about the danger of addictive personalities (I think?) - it's the darkest song on the album, and for me by far the best. 'Horse Race' is more upbeat, albeit by a smudge, what with the piano and the warm hum as the hunt for a man in a fast Cadillac rolls on. But listen to Parting Glances and these additional musicians become less and less noticeable, blending effortlessly into Schneit's dusky guitar pop world. That long-car, fleeting-light mentality that permeates 'Horse Race' is held aloft throughout - I felt like I was listening to Heart or The Cars in a 21st century self-aware bathysphere, taking on lyricism and melody that is both rustic and heartfelt, gleefully sonorous and yet filled with chagrin. Other favourites include the wistful 'Fantasy', the slow burn 'Milky Way' and the charged, countrified squall of 'Sweet Talk'. Above all, Parting Glances is a great record. Grab it here.

Hits From The Box #69 - Drinking The Day's Pain Away

Wow, what is going on with this week? It just seems to be...dragging...on...so...loooooooooooonga! I've called one colleague a dick (as in "Come on, you aren't a dick, are you?" when replying to what turned out to be an earnest plea for assistance) and accidentally given a 14 year old a bleeding lip (seriously, if you are going to ask me to play basketball, expect to be playing with the big boys...) At least I have the second Sonic Masala solo show on tomorrow to look forward to. That, and this bunch of inbox hits. Still, some booze might help speed things up - or wash things away - either would be nice...

I received Swim, the 7" EP by Minneapolis' Diver Dress a month ago, yet have been majorly slack about throwing it on. My mistake, for the five tracks here are capsules of garage cyanide, angular anarchy, popsicle pop and sand in between the toes of the Flying Nuns. Special merit goes to the steely foundations at the core of 'Untitled 1', breaking into a blues-doom disintegration by song's end.  The four-piece have already graced stages alongside The Intelligence and K-Holes - expect these rock contusions to grow and fester.

Over to Canada, Toronto to be accurate, to be beguiled by Petra Glynt. This avant-garde popstress has something pretty special going on here. Her EP is equal parts hammering, beguiling and frustrating, with Glynt frequently hiding her clearly strong vocals underneath distorted tribal manipulations, unforgiving clatter and noise. Its the kind of basement DIY electronic strangeness that we see spring up out of the dirt in many vibrant scenes around the world (we've mentioned Healing Power Records and Weird Canada on Sonic Masala in the past, and Australia has New Weird Australia whilst Brisbane has its fair share of unheralded gems in this realm), and Petra Glynt could be on the verge of breaking through to actual recognition beyond the pale of her hometown comparisons into a wider feeding pool. I hope she eats them all alive. You can get her Of This Land EP here.

Petra Glynt - War Cry
Petra Glynt - Fantasy Field Trip

Crypts are an art rock aberration out of Shoreditch in London. They are a rambling, synapse-frying free-for-all that take on the lysergic, hallucinogenic, carcinogenic shoes that Liars slip on when they feel like getting down, dirty and decidedly weird. The track 'I Fell To Nothing At All' is emblematic of the band's MO, hence its elongated time and aimless yet apocryphal approach - an extended play in one take, highlighting what to expect when the band release their debut release proper later in the month. I'm still a little confused as to what these guys are about, but I for one will take the journey to find out.

I tend to be a big fan of most bands that come out of Louisville, Kentucky - and White Reaper hasn't proven this theory wrong. Their White Aura album is pretty great (well, I liked it the one time I listened to it yesterday) and their latest release is even more arresting. Their Conspirator/The Cut 7" is one of slightly nihilistic, yet mainly flippant, rampant garage punk rock. It's the kind of thing I love, and I'm not alone, as they find themselves on the Cropped Out bill for this year (others visiting this year's festival - Endless Boogie and Wolf Eyes. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck). It isn't anything you haven't heard, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't kill. You can buy the 7" through Earthbound Records here.

White Reaper - Conspirator

LA project Artifacts is a one-man deal, started off the cuff after partaking in the blog-world and realising that there is so much good music out there - why not do your bit? The first taste of this currently stay-at-home act is 'Heal Me', which has a decidedly laidback 90s take on the dream pop mold (think Galaxie 500 as done by a close to comatose Nathan Williams). I really like this first stab; let's hope we hear more Artifacts soon.

And we're back in Minneapolis for some computer-age soul-training with Food Pyramid. The groove is in the machine, my friends. The band's new album is Ecstasy & Refreshment (out on Intercoastal Records), and it plays like Can in a time capsule of the future, the earth's axis in reverse, with the future the past and the past yet to occur. It's weirdly accessible even when fronting as impenetrable - whilst we aren't on new terrain (Trans Am in the literal sense, motorik post-punk in the DNA), Food Pyramid are giving us tasty morsels we can feast on over and again. The best cut is the first one (as is the way with culinary delights), 'Dexedream', inducing saliva and arousal in aural form. Adding to this delicacy is the presence of Jana Hunter of Lower Dens nestling her vocals amongst the lushness.You want to be at the top of this chain.

Food Pyramid - Dexedream
Food Pyramid - Maya Control

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

VHS Monsters!!!

 

Just a quick post about Chicago band Videotape who brought out the very tidy LP This Is Disconnect last year (see what I thought here). They are currently writing for a new release, but in the interim have put out a “new” release. I say “new” as it’s essentially a re-release of This Is Disconnect alongside a new four-track EP. Thus, This Is Disconnect +4EP (out through Notes & Bolts next month). Simple, right?

Tomorrow is the launch date of ‘Monsters’, the single off the EP. It’s a great track, reminds me of some of the best slowburner tracks that have come out recently by the likes of Lower Dens and Widowspeak. Many bands try to tread the fine line between shoegaze guitar noise and indie pop compositions, and invariably fail. ‘Monsters’ is an example of how to make it work – using the crescendo as a natural progression rather than an effect to mask weak writing. Videotape are still growing, but if this track (their best one yet) is any indication, they have some killer ideas bubbling away, just under the surface.

   

You can pre-order This Is Disconnect + 4EP here. The release show is at the Burlington Bar on March 7 as part of Chicago’s newest monthly even that features local ambient, drone and shoegaze acts. (NB - there is a special edition 7" lathe-cut of the opening track 'Static' from This Is Disconnect being put out by Notes & Bolts especially for this (re)launch. Grab it here).

  Videotape - Monsters

VIDEO VACUUM - Lower Dens, JEFF The Brotherhood, OFF!, Slug Guts

It's been a while since we had some visual spirituals, but now I have a plethora of tracks that blow the casbah sky high, so let's give work the forks and watch them together like old times, yeah?

First up is another recording from those amazing cats over at They Shoot Music, Don't They? This time the aural offender is Lower Dens, chilling out in Barcelona after some down time from the Primavera Sound Festival back in May, playing some semi-acoustic toons in a square...with a friend in support(I TOLD you there was a Deerhunter connection today!) The two tracks here are 'Candy' and 'Nova Anthem', and it is, as is to be expected, pretty darn amazing.





It's great to hear that garage-trippers Jeff the Brotherhood are winging their way down to Australia in January (even if it is for the Big Day Out - sigh...), and they will be raring to rip into their new material off Hypnotic Nights. I heard someone at Splendour In The Grass on the weekend say that the album sounded like Weezer "or something like that where I'd enjoy it as a teenager but not give a shit when I grew up." Hmmm... Not sure what kind of a comment that is. Anyway, 'Sixpack' is slick and a lot of raucous fun. And yes, this track sounds a LOT like Weezer - even more than usual.



OFF! kicked off a triptych of video clips with the board spinning meltdown of 'Cracked', and now here are the final two-thirds of this "opus". Both starring Dave Foley (Kids In The Hall), the songs are 'Borrow & Bomb' and 'I Got News For You', and the clips encapsulate dodgy community television so well that I cannot believe that Teen Talk isn't the real deal (the look on Foley's face at 2:00 is priceless).



Finally we have the claustrophobic band clip for 'Scum', Brissie degenerates Slug Guts' single from their new Sacred Bones-endorsed LP, Playin' In Time With The Deadbeat. It's a typically Slug Guts song really, which means it is pretty damn fine. They may not reach the heights of the Aussie reprobates that they idolise, namely Venom P Stinger and Feedtime, but they give it a red hot shake, their feverish dirge never sounding more genuine.



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Rustic Women

It's time to get in touch with my feminine side today, so Ive made a mini-playlist of four ladies that, either on their own or out front of a band, are belting out some amazing tunes leading up to special releases in 2012.


First up is a band that I haven't mentioned before, which is strange because their band tee is my fave t-shirt of all time. Erika Wennerstrom fronts Heartless Bastards, a brooding garage country band (having been compared to Crazy Horse, Neil Young, The Black Keys and more) who brought out a pretty amazing album in 2009 called The Mountain. Check it out - especially the title track - and get it here. Anyway, they have a new LP about to drop called Arrow, and this is the first cut off it. Its been floating on the blogosphere ether for a while - that's what happens when you hibernate for two months - but it's a good track for what promises to be another great album. Plus, Wennerstrom shreds, seriously. Arrow is out on Partisan Records, and you can get it here (there is a $US65 deluxe package that includes 2xLP, shirt, ltd edition lithograph, CD, and digital download with bonus tracks - well worth it methinks!)

Heartless Bastards - Parted Ways


I've somehow passed Sharon Van Etten by, but 'Serpents' brought me whiplashing back to have another listen. Her new LP Tramp is also out soon (out on Jagjaguwar - pre-order it here). She has a bit of a "topper" of a career - encouraged by TV On The Radio's Kyp Malone to pursue a music career, she has done backing vocals with and become good buds with The National, and Tramp feature the Dessner Bros, Matt Barrick (The Walkmen), Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, whose Civilian was pretty ace and I forgot all bout it for last year's lists, oops!) and one Zach Condon (AKA Beirut). I can't see the songs from the stars! But seriously, listen to 'Serpents'. This is Neil Young (again!) and Stevie Nicks procreating, and that is an inimitably awesome thing.

Sharon Van Etten - Serpents


Lower Dens are also a bit of alright - each single they produce has me salivating, they are really coming into their own - and new track 'Brains' is all kinds of ace. I'm a bit in love with Jana Hunter (actually I'm in love with every woman in this list, their music is truly amazing), and on this latest brooding bubbler of a track I think she nails the spectral vocals perfectly. They have a new album coming out in May called Nootropics, which after the strength of this single is too fucking long! Get ready to become addicted...

Lower Dens - Brains


And finally we have an album that I actually talked about last year as part of Hits From The Box but has just recently gotten a vinyl release, Cheyenne Marie Mize's We Don't Need. You can get it here. It's a nice way to end of this excellent post, by revisiting an oft-missed little release. Enjoy!

Lowering The (Deer) Knives

Im not sure what this is saying about me - but Ive up until the past fortnight never really fully embraced Lower Dens. Maybe its the insistence of the fraternity that loves this Baltimore quartet to call them "pretty". Blurgh. I do like "pretty" things, but I dont call them "pretty". Fuck that (and so on and so forth, as I assert my fleeting masculinity...)

Released on Record Store Day through Sub Pop is their latest single, Deer Knives. i have been frantically snavvling up a lot of Record Store Day stuff, as quite a few RSD posts this past month can attest, so I had to delve into this to see what the haze rockers had thrown at us. First of all, the fact that neither of these songs have been released before this vinyl is beautiful - I hate getting releases on RSD if the tracks can be garnered elsewhere, something The Strange Boys did and pissed me right off. And whilst these tracks aren't "pretty", they sure are damned wonderful. The title track is an offering of beautiful, feel-good distorted shimmers, with Jana Hunter's unhurried, gently soaring vocals swirling around the track in an unhurried fashion that inadvertently draws a smile from me. Then the sunshine is magnified to an unsettling, intense finish that bores into the soul - but in a way that makes you want to bear the brunt of the sound over and again. But for me the B-side, 'Tangiers', is what makes this release and has me hankering for a full length from these guys. It jangles along at an even more sedate than its predecessor, burbling along with Hunter's distinct vocals resting on top of the aural surface, buoyed by the hushed guitar and subtle basslines. It never ebbs or flows, there are no peaks or troughs - this is one constant hazy number, one that not many bands can pull off with such aplomb. At under ten minutes it shouldnt hold you attention as well as it does - but it more than exceeds expectations. Lower Dens, Im putting away the knives before they are even suitably sharpened... (NB - it must be said that since this release guitarist Will Adams has left the band due to exhaustion, and Lower Dens have canceled some shows. Rest assured though, they will endeavour to continue in some format!)


Lower Dens - Deer Knives
Lower Dens - Tangiers

Civilian Oak

Baltimore's indie folkies Wye Oak are bringing Civilian to life via Merge Records/City Slang in early March. Its going to be intriguing, as they have employed John Congleton to twiddle the knobs in the studio - he who beefed up the likes of Modest Mouse, Shearwater and The Thermals, adding lushness to boot. And if the title track is anything to go by, we will get a lot of Jenn Wasner's plaintive vocals and lyrics about aloneness, and a lot of Andy Stack's heavy emotive instrumentation - both of which Im more than fine with! 'Civilian' is a great song - one of my favourites for the year.

Wye Oak arent sitting idly by for the album to come out either, currently touring Europe with Cold War Kids (whose new album Mine Is Yours is actually OK - go figure...) before playing two shows in London. They support Cold War Kids at Koko on the 23rd February, but if you wanna just get a taste of the Oak then head to Monto Water Rats the day before (22nd February) - this is also their first ever headlining show in London, so if I were you, this would be the gig to be heading along to. Then they swing back to the US to play tunes with Lower Dens (who swing by London in April with Deerhunter - yay!) and Callers - plus one rad show in Iowa in early April with Titus Andronicus! 2011 - the Wye of the Oak...

Wye Oak - Civilian