I feel like I’ve been here before, getting excited about a Euro-centric, discotheque pop artist only to be sorely disappointed when a killer mp3 turns into a mediocre album (see: Cibelle). Hopefully UK’s Charli XCX can stem the stream of sore disappointment…
With a title like “Nuclear Seasons,” I guess it was a gimme that I would be interested in the track (see: current occupation). Opening with industrial clanks and drone-y synths — a more pop-y version of what the Cosmetics do — Charli XCX brings the underground into the foreground. By the time you hit the chorus, the pitch-shifted hook does exactly what it intends to do, making you belt out the “oohhh-ah-oh-oh-ah-oh” at the top of your voice. Euro-pop at it’s finest!
The second Charli XCX track I could dig up is from a couple of months back and entered the fray with not much fanfare. “Stay Away” certainly plays second fiddle in comparison to “Nuclear Seasons,” however, the rumbling bass line and slowed down vocals make this a perfect dance complement (you know, when you need to take a break from the dance floor to hit the bar for round two). Check out the original track as well as a blown-out remix by Salem below:
As those who live on the East Coast or the Rocky Mountains can attest to, winter is here (above was taken from my front door this past weekend in Salt Lake City). Since it’s been a while since I put together a mix, I thought what better way to celebrate these sub-freezing temps than a playlist that’s CD-R burn-ready (playtime = 1 hr 6 min). Check out the tracklist below:
Carnivores is a four-piece garage rock band from Atlanta. On first listen, the spidery guitar intro and the sparse, drum-heavy arrangement of “Prom Night” reminded me of the former glory of Portland’s Explode Into Colors — a comparison that, in itself, is enough to excite. However, the resemblance fades at the bridge where the song breaks completely open courtesy of singer/keyboardist Caitlin Lang’s sprawling vocals of “Sheeeeee // she really loved the way you swore (?)…” before reverting back to the the Halloween-ish melody. Also, the jam-session at the concluding sixty seconds left a nice after taste in my mouth, urging me on to press reply at the end of each listen.
It’s been a while since I posted something from Mikey Maramag (aka Blackbird Blackbird) partly because I imposed a self-enforced moratorium on tracks by him: the dude just churns out mp3s right-and-left. After giving “Tear” a listen though, I knew I had to throw together a few words and pass along the track for others to hear.
One thing about Mikey is you can never peg a label on him: for one track he’s chillwaving it up with synths out the wazoo, the next he’s sounding like the next iteration of El Guincho tropicalia (not to mention the endless amount of remixes scattered across the interwebs). With “Tear” you get to view yet another face: electro indie-rock (instrumental). The opening harmonies sound like a slowed down, marimba version of Sunset Rubdown’s “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)” — seriously, listen to the original on youtube — before evolving into a swirl of sound Blackbird Blackbird is best known for.
Maybe I was so caught up on the Sunset Rubdown thing, but I couldn’t help to think about how interesting a “traditional” rock cover of the song would sound. Mikey provided a pretty good baseline to build off of (for example, he seems always at the cusp of belching out the opening words to the first verse, but restrains himself) and I just think it would be great to hear what some good ol’ fashioned guitars, bass, and drums could do with it. Idk, maybe I’m crazy…
Anyways, check out the track below and look out for it in vinyl form in early 2012:
Hands down, Real Estate is my favorite band of the past five years (and I seem to not be the only one). Ever since their first EP, Atlantic City Expressway, graced my ears I’ve become an insta-fan. Their new record, entitled Days, which has garnered quite the attention as of late, features the track “It’s Real” which is probably my favorite Real Estate track they have ever recorded. The band first performed this song live in Japan about a year ago, and since then I’ve compiled quite the collection of mp3s/videos of this track performed live. You can check out my favorites below:
I have deliberately not bought the LP yet because I knew the band was going to swing by Salt Lake City in early November (today, in fact) and I wanted to make sure that they got the maximum percentage from my buying the album. Also, I haven’t listened to any other songs that have been released from Days because, frankly, I don’t want to be disappointed. When you record something as great as “It’s Real,” I can only see it going down hill from there — but who knows, hopefully I’m wrong!
No doubt, the list will grow to about a bazillion before the festival kicks of. So even if you don’t see you favorite bands on the list, odds are they’ll still make it to Austin the second week of March.
First heard these killer tunes from New Zealand’s Ghost Wave via Sally Fork via Rose Quartz (looking like a re:re: chain e-mail, I know). It’s been a while since I covered a group from the Southern Hemisphere on the blog, so I’ll forgo a bunch of “down under” puns for both your sake and mine
Call me a sucker for fuzzy guitars, monotonic vocals, and instagram visuals, so it comes as no surprise that the track + video for Ghost Wave’s “Hippy” hits all the right spots for me. With all the summer shots/sounds, it almost makes me forget that I’m freezing my ass off in Salt Lake right now. Almost…
Check out the video and download the track below. Head over to the band’s bandcamp for a couple of more tunes.
It seems that when I moved from Portland, I completely dropped out of following up-and-coming PDX bands. It’s a shame because groups like the retro-pop Orca Team deserve better…
The trio’s latest release is a fun-filled eight track cassette whose title, Kissing Cousins, can only be described as Arrested Development-esque. Got to say, there are few bands out there that I like AND would feel comfortable letting my grandfather listen to. I’m sure he would tell me that the 50s-inspired sound of Orca Team reminds him of the spontaneous dance numbers that always seemed to crop up at the local soda fountain station. You can download my favorite track “You’ve Got Everything Made” below as well as stream the whole album via the label’s bandcamp page:
Seriously, this is getting fucking ridiculous how good every single release from Whoa Whoa Records is. Their latest (and possibly greatest) comes from the NYC “soul band” The Immaculates in the form of a co-release with Death Class Records.
All you need for convincing is one listen to “Hey Joe Kelly” (below). If you don’t like this then you don’t have a soul. Cop the tape from Whoa Whoa’s store here.
