Casting Spells Over The River Of Souls

Spirited alchemists Magic Trick are conjuring up another album in the form of River of Souls, due out in December on Empty Cellar Records. Tim Cohen and his cronies appear to be falling further down the rabbit hole of pastoral psych folk pop (insert genre here...), yet Cohen's vocals are stridently front and centre, the laconic instrumentation is meticulously placed - there is a effortless confidence here. Below are the first two tracks given from the album. It's a nice way to see out the weekend. Pre-order River of Souls here.

I'll Only Get Fresh On This Long Slow Dance

I've mentioned in the past that it took me seeing San Franciscans The Fresh & Onlys live (supporting Deerhunter no less) for me to truly appreciate what they did, as on record I couldn't get past the poppiness of their tracks - it all felt staid to me. I've since become a convert. This year could see me become a zealot though. What with great solo records from Tim Cohen and Wymond Miles, and now their impending LP Long Slow Dance (out September 4 through Mexican Summer), the quartet are doing all they can to "rectify" their past undoings (this last comment is aimed squarely at me, folks, before I get the backlash and death threats - although is any F&O fan straight enough to get that wound up? I know that I'm not...) The album physically looks beautiful, and if the two singles that have been released (which you can get as 7"s) the album will be the aural equivalent.


See what I mean about the beauty of the package? Get in fast and grab any/all of these releases here, here and here.

Secret Segall Puts Me On A Cloud

You can never get enough Ty Segall - FACT. How about combining other such SF luminaries as Fresh & Onlys' Wymond Miles and Tim Cohen? Holy shit, right? Then introduce Hannah Lew (of Grass Widow), Sonny & The Sunsets, Vetiver, Kelley Stoltz and a host of others, and you have In A Cloud II: New Sounds From San Francisco, a vinyl compilation coming out through cool label Secret Seven Records (who have put out releases by The Sandwitches as well as Sonny & The Sunsets in the past). All tracks are previously unreleased, so this is a must have. As for the Ty Segall track? 'Swag' is one of his best throwaway tracks in a long time - seriously.



Here is the link to stream the album on Soundcloud. Also below are four tracks to take away with you - 'Swag' of course (I wouldn't leave you hanging!), alongside the two Fresh & Onlys boys' efforts and Chuck Prophet's 'Gotta Get Back'. In A Cloud II comes out in July - pre-order it here if you know what's good for ya!

Ty Segall - Swag
Chuck Prophet - Gotta Get Back
Wymond Miles - Don't Ask This Of Me
Tim Cohen - People Like Us

Not So Quiet Cohen Gets Fresh With Some Magic Tricks

And so we end our Sunday triptych with a more tenuous, yet valid, connective. It is not everyday that new release day falls on your birthday, and you also happen to be releasing an album. It is, however, more likely to happen if you are the ever-prolific Tim Cohen (of Fresh & Onlys fame). On Tuesday July 19th 2011, Tim Cohen released 100 limited edition copies of his new 4th album The Glad Birth of Love on Empty Cellar Records. Featuring some ace guest appearances by the likes of John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees), Grace Cooper (The Sandwitches), Diego Gonzalez (The Dry Spells, Citay), and several other San Francisco musicians, The Glad Birth of Love is the first Tim Cohen album to not directly bear his name, but the name of his band, Magic Trick. Its a 45 minute album composed of four epic long-form compositions saturated with Tim’s uncanny pop sensibilities and vivid lyrical imagery. Transitioning seamlessly from sparse acoustic blues, to dense bass, to layered of lush vocal harmonies - this album is a culmination of Tim’s work to date.


You can get the limited edition of The Glad Birth of Love HERE, which comes in an elegant old-style tip-on jacket with a 11x22 poster - saweet! Don't fret, if you're not quick enough on the draw, the record will see a full worldwide release (LP/CD/digital) August 23rd.

Magic Trick - Daylight Moon

And the connection? The Quiet Americans are friends and have played with Fresh & Onlys! Ok, maybe its more than tenuous, but its a great way to round out our Sunday.

Shining Wrays On Some Quiet Yet Medicinal Americans

The second of our web of musical mystery comes from a seemingly unrelated email form Luke Giffen, who has been seen in Sleepover Disaster. He has recently formed a new band called The Quiet Americans, also from central California like Fay Wrays...then I noticed that the drummer was one Eli Reyes! Apparently Luke had no idea Eli had contacted me about Fay Wrays, yet they bounced my way within 24 hours of each other. Yet the guys have more than a supernatural bond to Sonic Masala - the recording of Medicine was a family affair, as Eli is married to Luke's sister, and Luke's little brother Ross contributed moog synth to the record (aww, right?). Family brings the best out of many creative groups. Its a different sound that this crew is crafting - combining predominantly short and fast songs with bright melodies and fuzzed out guitar squall. They really love the fuzz! The six song EP Medicine is their first release and is out on local label Coattrack Records (also responsible for putting out Fay Wrays' Strange Confessor). They have also been punching above their weight on the music scene, opening for the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, The Fresh and Onlys, Royal Baths, and Light Pollution.

Check out Medicine below - and head to their Bandcamp to get it for free!

Strange Confessions With Fay Wrays

This is the first of three posts today, in lieu of our normal Hits From The Box (trust me, it will be back very soon!), and they are inextricably linked! I was contacted by Eli Reyes, who plays in Fresno band Fay Wrays. He confessed to liking my review of another band, So Many Wizards, which is always nice, before discussing Fay Wrays' new album Strange Confessor. So I had a listen, and this stuff feeds into discordant noise pop with enough fresh angst to give it some legs. Its been on regular rotation here this week, so give it a shot below.

A fresh golden triangle

On Thursday the already much mentioned Deerhunter gig at Heaven was kicked off by The Fresh and Onlys in support and I thought that if I was to post the pics then its only fair that I gave them a bit of a mention first.

Now The Fresh and Onlys have always foxed me a little. Everything of theirs that I had previously heard always seemed a touch lightweight to me, like they needed to invest in a proper bass amp or something (not that I know anything about bass amps). So on Thursday I felt it only fair that I approached their set with a clean slate, and it was a good job too. Live The Fresh and Onlys pack a major grizzly punch all wrapped up in their garage pop rhythms. Well worthy of a reassessment.

The band have also just dropped a split 7" with Golden Triangle, the Brooklyn band that Brendan posted about last week which I have also become just as fond of. Both well worth checking out.

The Fresh and Onlys - Head of Steam
Golden Triangle - Jungle Jim

Oh and more pics of The Fresh and Onlys below...