Leave it to Delicious Scopitone to scoop me on even content that my friends put together! Here is a sweet psychedelic, archival footage-heavy video posted by NervousRoomService (which is either partly or entirely composed of Old Bowl singer/guitarist Eric Braden) for the Cloud Nothings track “You Are Opening”:
The team also has another Cloud Nothings fan-generated vid, this time for “Water Turns Back”, which is definitely worth checking out:
I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I got an e-mail with “Peruvian/French/Argentinean lo fi pop artist in London” in the subject line — there were enough slashes in there to make Kordell Stewart envious. However, considering I’m a Texas/Danish/German blogger in Utah I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about how globe-trotting isn’t all that shocking in the 21st century world.
Anyways, when I actually took a listen to the tunes that Francois Peglau makes in his free time, I was astonished at how polished these tracks are for being a lo-fi artist. To be honest, I think the moniker is used just to indicate how little money was available for production, however, the sound (as well as the video quality for “One Minute…”) is incredibly first-rate. Composing some delectably sweet bedroom pop tracks, Mr. Peglau creates an intimate environment with his soft-spoken, slightly-distorted vocals, making you feel that your attending a private concert at all times.
Peglau has an album worth of material available for download from his bandcamp page, but if you’d like an abridged introduction, check out my favorite track, the xx-esque “Spring Lovers Song”, as well as his video for “One Minute to Midnight Dream (So Sad)” below:
If I had to write down some of my favorite bands from the last five years, all-girl trios would probably dominate the list. I don’t know what it is, but the energy these women possess when they are slaying on their guitar/bass/drums is something that’s unparalleled. Certainly near the top of the over-talented trios is the Swedish group Liechtenstein.
Originally starting out as the brainchild of Naemi Pebaqué (bass), Teresa Jaksetic (guitar), and Renée Gustafsson (guitar, vocals), the project has had it’s fair share of restructuring — leaving the latter as the only original member in the current arrangement. What better way to usher in a new Liechtenstein era than to release a brand spanking new 7”, entitled “Passion for Water”, out now on Slumberland. Unsurprisingly, the music is just as catchy as some of the band’s earlier releases, however, it does seem to be a bit more mellowed out than say something like “Roses in the Park” (although the B-side “On the Tram” is pretty damn raucous). You can certainly tell that a new direction is forthcoming with this group, and I can’t wait to hear the result!
You can check out the A-side title track below as well as watch a video the band put together for the B-side “On the Tram”:
As any music blogger can probably attest to, it sometimes takes days — even weeks — to get through all the music submissions that show up in our inboxes. That’s why sometimes when I get bogged down with reading e-mails, I rely on label newsletters to give me a shortcut straight to good music. Case in point, this recent Hozac Records July update where I stumbled across the Aussie garage-pop duo of Super Wild Horses.
Striking a perfect balance between harsh and harmonic, Amy and Haley (no last names given on the myspace) are about as good of a catchy, fuzzed out group as you can get, which, being in an era of catchy, fuzzed out groups, is important if you want to make a name for yourself. If you sign up for Hozac Records Hookup Klub, you’ll get a copy of the group’s 7”. Also, there is an LP in the works (cover art shown above), entitled Fifteen, which you’ll be able to cop in the near future from the label. Until then, enjoy the hazy, sun-soaked video the group recorded for their track “Golden Town” as well as an mp3 of the track:
A lot has been said about New Jersey natives Real Estate (and arguably the best was written by Lou over at Salad Fork), and if the quartet of Martin Courtney, Matthew Mondanile, Alex Bleeker, and Etienne Pierre Duguay keeps doing what they’ve been doing the past year-and-a-half, a lot more will be said. I have to say that I’ve never shelled out twenty-five bucks for a vinyl EP consisting of six crudely recorded tracks, but when I stumbled across a first pressing of their Mexican Summer release at my local record store, I was more giddy than apprehensive about the purchase. That’s how good this band is.
Before continuing, I must confess something: I hate the beach. I hate everything about it. I easily get sunburned, so I don’t particular enjoy sprawling out on the coarse sand and feeling three different types of UV radiation do a blitzkrieg on my skin. I also loathe swimming, so much so that it was the last required merit badge I got before getting my Eagle Scout (I was the lone 16 year-old in a class of early middle schoolers). For me, the entrance to the 7th circle of hell would be Satan handing me a beach towel and saying, with a smirk on his face, “enjoy.” So when people — mind you, most of which sit at the computer 16 hours of the day — talk about how Real Estate produces quintessential beach jams, I don’t particularly view it as a positive.
Somehow though, Real Estate’s music rises above my disdain for the shore so much that I can’t help but call them my favorite band of the moment. Although evidently clear that this was one of their first releases together (background hiss on the recording, a little bit of inconsistency on the tempo, etc…), there is something endearing about listening in at such an early stage. With a solid S/T LP to come later, Reality seems more like a bedroom practice session, giving the listener an intimate look at the inspiration and song writing process of the group. Take for instance the opener “Motorbikes”: a two-minute instrumental jam featuring enough guitar tinkerings that it seems more improv than polished piece. Bleaker gives the group a solid foundation on the bass while Mondanile and Courtney shimmer in and out with whatever rip they feel like playing. Musical discovery at its inception.
Much of the album continues in the same fashion, with half of the tracks on Reality never appearing on any of the groups later releases — and none making the cut for their critically acclaimed S/T LP. For newcomers to the group, Reality is probably not the best starting point, however, die hard fans should really get hold of a copy. Thankfully, Mexican Summer has made it easier by repressed the album, so you can cop one right now at the discounted price of $19.98. To whet your appetite, check out my two favorite tracks from the vinyl as well as a video of the group from one of their performances at SXSW ‘09:
“Relatively new” video for Girls guitarist Ryan Lynch’s side-project Dominant Legs. It’s been a while since I heard a peep from the group, however, from the looks of things, they are slated to have a pretty busy August. The absence of “Just Silly Ones” from their upcoming Young at Love and Life EP tells me that this Lefse-released record is going to be really, really good.
Got wind of the mind-melting electronic tracks of one, Andy Petr, from a recent blog post by PT-Music favorite RxRy, and I haven’t turned away from listening since. When googling the name, I came across only a trio of blog posts about him: one of a Yeasayer remix he did a couple of months ago, an extensive post by the always interesting ladies at Widows/Watch, and a quick blurb by my new favorite (possibly Czech?) site All, Everyone, United. Mr. Petr’s subterranean habitation in the blog-world is probably due to the fact he started making music four months ago (or at least posting them on his soundcloud), however even in such a short time he’s been able to crank out jams right and left — making the process look pretty damn effortless.
Below, you can check out a video RxRy put together for “Float Up” using archive.org footage as well as mp3s of my three favorite tracks of Petr’s: the dizzying 80s-inspired “Fractal Bump”, the hip-hop-ready (and Clipse-esque) beats of “Telescopium” and the universal favorite “Float Up”. You can also download a pair of collections which contain pretty much everything he has created thus far at his myspace page.
(via: Wears the Trousers / State.ie)
There’s been a lot of Mountain Man live recordings in scenic places floating around the internet for quite sometime, but this video showcasing Alexandra, Amelia, and Molly’s vocal talent at Iveagh Gardens in Dublin, Ireland — in the rain, nonetheless — might be the best I’ve seen since Yours Truly captured the trio “from a tunnel on a hill.” Featured in the video are the delectably sweet songs “Mouthwings”, “Arabella”, and “Animal Tracks” as well as a beautiful new track loosely titled “Whale Song”, so prepare yourself for not doing anything for the next ten minutes while watching/listening to this vid.
Unfortunately, I haven’t copped their Underwater Peoples 10” or their Bella Union 12” yet, but after watching these videos I’ve certainly bumped them further up the queue, so that should be remedied in the near future. For the uninitiated, check out a lengthy post of mine about the spiritual experience of witnessing their live show as well as a couple of mp3s (courtesy their bandcamp page) below:
I haven’t been excited about a Latin American group since I feel in love with Jóvenes y Sexys a full six months ago, but Las Robertas changed that in a flash yesterday when I watched the above video for their track “V For You”. Hailing from San José, Costa Rica — one of the happiest places on earth — Las Robertas make some of the best fuzzed out pop gems, or ‘fuzzy buzzy’ as Carles would say, I’ve heard all year (and trust me, I’ve heard a lot).
The group garnered a lot of attention this past May when they exploded onto the scene courtesy of GvB, prompting me to download their LP, entitled Cry Out Loud, from their bandcamp page where, unfortunately, it remained unlistened in my iTunes library until earlier this morning. You can still download three tracks from their site here, as well as listen in to my favorite song of the album below:
Don’t know how I missed this video back in April, but better late than never. Thanks to this NY Times piece, I discovered this meta-site Pitchfork Reviews Reviews, which led me to this amazing video to an amazing song. Hyperlinking, ftw!
Here’s the description of the video from the band: “This guy who does a blog called Pitchfork Reviews Reviews randomly emailed us this video that he made for a girl named Anna. We like it, so now it’s our official video!”
