VIDEO VACUUM - FIDLAR, The Eversons, Kids On A Crime Spree, Fist City

Two coffees in, I feel like someone has injected my shoulders with concrete. Bad sleep, bad living. I would go to the gym, but that is, like, 400 metres away. Urgh. I could do with a massage right now. But not the sleazy kind. Is there a sleazy kind? I'm not sure. A "sexual" massage is pretty much as it says on the tin, so whilst deemed unsavoury, it's not necessarily sleazy. However getting a sweaty middle management type with his (or her - no gender bias here) hands on you sounds kinda gross - and that's all I've got at my disposal right now. Ah well - maybe some music complete with moving images might do the trick...


With a name like Fist City, these Toronto abrasive brooders aren't taking things lightly. Maybe that's what I need - a swift punch in the face to forget about my first world aches and pains. 'Boring Kids' harks back to the VHS style that the kids love these days -so retro! - but add some V/H/S satanic revelry in for good measure (you can't beat a little Manos - The Hands Of Fate...). Voodoo lady is doing it to me with her hoodoo, indeed.


I saw LA psych punk reactionary-tards FIDLAR at Splendour In The Grass the other weekend, and they were close to my pick of the festival. This only rises when the video for their latest single 'Cocaine' features absolute legend Nick Offerman. In his real-life woodcarving studio. Wearing his real-life woolly beard. Then proceeding to piss on EVERYTHING. Now, I'm not R. Kelly, but this clip sure is helping me to relax. Puerile yet comic genius - and a killer song to boot.


The Eversons supported the excellent The Wedding Present back in February. Now I've been a fan of the NZ band for a while - they somehow manage to walk the fine line between geek, cool and twee with just a whiff of garage simplicity and aggression to elevate them well above the potential pitfalls. This track, 'Creepy', is a prime example. The video makes me laugh too, and fits in with the middle management quip I said earlier, only to the nth degree. Ah - stalker love...



Kids On A Crime Spree - Creep The Creeps from Slumberland Records on Vimeo.

And whilst we're getting our creep on, Oakland's Kids On A Crime Spree are hitting back with single 'Creep The Creeps'. Not a bad idea really. Power-pop madness, it makes your teeth tingle and your back arch - so much sweetener in here! Except that the woman has killed that dude, then sits down to listen in to a faux-BBC rendition before walking out. On second thought, that massage can wait, hey...

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Video Vacuum - A PlaceTo Bury Strangers, Trailer Trash Tracys, The Eversons, Milk Maid

Another miserable day to bring in the bullshit Winter season. I don't feel like doing work, and I KNOW you are playing Solitaire instead of whatever it is you are actually employed to do, so make your wasteful minutes count with some new music videos.

Noisy juggernauts A Place To Bury Strangers are on the cusp of unleashing their new hotly-anticipated LP Worship via Dead Oceans, and here is the clip for single 'You Are The One'. It includes typical NSFW fare such as dark hallways, hot ladies and sudden bursts of violence. All APTBS staples then...



UK act Trailer Trash Tracys have been riding waves of hipster adulation since the release of their debut album Ester, and although I enjoyed some of the tracks I felt the whole thing a bit inauthentic - much like any band that hipsters heap praise on. However, I didn't mind the song 'Los Angered' and it now has a cool video that evokes Battles' Gloss Drop conception art. Despite the TERRIBLE name, Trailer Trash Tracys could be onto something if they shirked the glossier elements of their persona and embraced their music more...



I found that the efforts of NZ goofy guitar pop kids The Eversons nailed their self-titled EP last year, and I'm glad to say they are releasing a full length called Summer Feeling on Lil Chief Records (a review of the album will be forthcoming). The following track 'Could It Ever Get Better' is off that, and the stop-motion felt cut out clip is the perfect complement to the band's aesthetic. Dumb, silly fun, done well.



Finally we have 'Summertime', the latest single from UK grungy 90s throwbacks Milk Maid. They will be releasing their debut LP Mostly No shortly, which promises to be a strong record. Sure, they are good - they ain't no Milk Music though (but Milk in the name is helping - does it really strengthen the bones???)



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!

Hits From The Box #25 - Highs and Lows

Its quite fitting that Hits From The Box hits a quarter century today. Its been a momentous week - the Queensland Reds are into the Super Rugby final, my best mate turned 30, started the home stretch as far as my Masters is concerned, another mate had his bucks' night, and I had my first cover story. There have been some hairy times in the past 25 weeks of course - the fact that I am now based in Brisbane, Australia as opposed London, England is the epitome of this. But like everything else, you turn the lows into highs. And to mark the occasion I think we have one of the strongest sets of Hits From The Box yet - so let's have at it!


I'm kicking off with Cheerleader today, even though I know next to nothing about them. A duo, they have jut released their first two tracks, which are acid washed hazy summer jams. it may be stuff you've heard before, but goddamn if it doesn't feel more heartfelt and warm than others of their ilk. I'm interested to know more, and see where this is all leading. Colour me intrigued.

Cheerleader - New Daze



Weston of Denver band The Transformations got in touch over a mutual love of Tjutjana. The Transformations also mine the psych side of the musical spectrum, although their journey is a more intricate affair, delving into woozy folk jams that meander to the point of abject failure, lost in a Kelly Reichardt-like existential malaise. Curse All Summers isn't so much an anti-beach folk pop album as just its opposite number - intrinsically linked to the forest and the earth, the dirt clinging to the skin, taking root in the rich soil. There are textures here that be seen in the works of Zach Condon or Devendra Banhart, but The Transformations is the perfect moniker for what could very well be the house band inside a chrysalis. Curse All Summers is out now through Unreal City (which, by the buy, is Weston himself - this a definite DIY affair...)

The Transformations - Pretend To Sleep
The Transformations - Curse The Summer


It is now time for some dorky indie pop, courtesy of Wellington, New Zealand's The Eversons. Their five track self-titled EP is infused with insidiously addictive hooks, marrying the inherent Flying Nun "influences" with the irreverence of Brit bands like Art Brut - hell, 'Hyacinth Girl' has a smidge of The Smiths staining its edges! A heady cocktail of The Beach Boys, The Clean and Pavement with New Zealand accents and lots of four part harmonies, The Eversons' conversational lyrics link arm in arm with the jangly guitar lines to create a shimmery pop structure that is suitably catchy without the possibility of a venereal disease - everyone's idea of a good time, then! Grab The Eversons here.

The Eversons - I'm Conservative
The Eversons - Boyfriend


A perfectly estranged, bewitching listen,Kyle Bobby Dunn's Ways Of Meaning has appealed to me in a way that Tim Hecker's Ravedeath 1972 did - yet where that composition was fully entrenched in its icy surroundings, Dunn's album is ethereal without an origin point, thus transferring you effortlessly to any number of natural environments, whereby it slows down time to a millionth of a second, allowing you to see the path of a deer or a droplet of water form and fall. Its languid nature is incredibly well considered, transfixing the body as it frees the mind. A stellar release, Ways Of Meaning is out through Desire Path Recordings and can be found here - a worthy release.

Kyle Bobby Dunn - Canyon Meadows


The Oakland-based analog synth duo James & Evander have been churning out "future pop" since 2005. Comprised of college friends, Adam Myatt and Glenn Jackson, their discography showcases an exploration of ambient Dntel influenced techno and woozy weed-wave. They have released the Constellating EP + 2, which is a departure for the duo, as it marks their first foray into the land of vocals. As such it has permanently coloured their sound, tempering their electro roots with emotive vocals layered over their signature subdued, lush synth pop that’s equal parts dreamy and alluring. The title track ain't half bad - have a listen...

James & Evander - Constellating


To finish off we have Irish band We Are Losers, who are just about to release their debut double single 'Sunset Song' and 'Cheerleader' (and the first act here was called Cheerleader - oh the serendipity!) through Leeds-based label Dance To The Radio in a fortnight. In the meantime the band have released this freebie, which is very Male Bonding - dissonant, distorted guitars, incessant drums, and echoed pop yelps that create a beautiful cut and paste pop mess. And seeing as I love this style of music, and I love Male Bonding, I love We Are Losers!

We Are Losers - Moany

Happy Fourth of July!!!