I must admit, I was quite sad to hear that What The Heck Fest, an über indie music festival in Anacortes, WA, was coming to an end after ten years. While I had only attended a few, I caught a many great acts at the event, including The Hive Dwellers and Stephen Steinbrink. Good news: The Anacortes Unknown Music Series is gearing up to take its place. (more…)

Australia’s Lost Animal is a conundrum. It’s a conundrum because I find it very difficult to describe. Preface: I’ve been enjoying the sounds of Ex Tropical since November. Far enough back that I attempted to put the album on my Top 50 LPs of 2012 list, despite noting its release date in my coverage of their superb video for “Say No To Thugs”. (more…)

There have been a lot of videos about death and murder this year. In “A Dark God Heart” by Sleep Party People, a little girl finds a body beneath the water in a bathtub. “A Game” by Ski Lodge has an American Psycho edge to it. A serial killer takes out Liars in “No. 1 Against The Rush”. There are more (these are the ones that are top of mind) and now there’s “Say No To Thugs” by Australia’s Lost Animal. (more…)

There’s fuel here, power and angst. Unnatural Helpers is back with a new track called “Hate Your Teachers” and they have given high schoolers the perfect summer anthem. School’s out, no worries, f*** the world. Seriously.

“Hate Your Teachers” is among Unnatural Helpers louder tunes, and that’s a feat given the inherent nature of the band; they come to us with a history of creating volume-packed, rambunctious songs.

The band’s forthcoming LP is called Land Grab and it, like their prior work, can be found on Hardly Art. Keep an eye out for Land Grab and any pre-release 7-inch singles. The LP drops in late September.

Download: “Hate Your Teachers” by Unnatural Helpers

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“Fuck Off” is a somewhat departure from “Nightmare”, the first publicly available track off Grave Babies‘ debut Hardly Art EP, Gothdammit. Amidst a softly pleasant backdrop are slightly creepy, pseudo-surreal gothic images put forth by director Jordan Utley. The opening notes of the song are initially reminiscent of Bunkbed’s cover of Xiu Xiu’s “Fallen Angel II”, acting as the perfect opening tune for the new EP. After nearly two minutes, a beat kicks in, then guitars and finally vocals. This completes the cold wave circle. (more…)

Somewhere under a mountain of music, somewhere behind boxes of stuff from the living room, tucked away on my CD shelf in the back corner of my music room — my personal “man cave” — is a TacocaT album. It’s been a while since I listened to it. So I have no basis of comparison as I discuss the band’s new track “Spring Break-Up” off their EP Take Me To Your Dealer.

It’s fun, it’s poppy, it’s punky, it’s loud. It’s damn catchy, a lady fronts it, it’s reminiscent of the ’90s. And It was released yesterday on Hardly Art. It’s precisely what you should expect from a brand new Hardly Art EP. Better yet, it comes in cherished 7″ wax format.

Check out “Spring Break-Up” below and hit up that Hardly Art link in the paragraph before to order the EP.

Download: “Spring Break-Up” by TacocaT

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“Nightmare” mixes post-punk and fuzz for a highly infectious coldwave sound. It’s a bit odd, coming from Seattle. The fuzz seeps into everything, the harmony vocals, the percussion, all stemming from the guitar. Grave Babies maintain the nonchalant-ness of their chosen genre, yet there’s something oddly upbeat and positive about “Nightmare”. (more…)

Black Marble is Ty Kube and Chris Stewart, who produce somewhat minimalist synth music. With a synth drum beat, a synth melody, and deep, dark vocals, “Pretender” is a song that is one part Joy Division, one part Craft Spells, and one part its own thing.

The song can be found on the band’s new EP via Hardly Art. It’s called Weight Against The Door and it’s out digitally now and on vinyl Valentine’s Day.

Download: “Pretender” by Black Marble.

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Gem Club has now released their debut LP, Breakers. On it is the song “Twins” and the band has given it video treatment. Featuring Eva Perrotta and Michael Pope, this music video is just as haunting as the minimalist music Gem Club creates. (more…)

I am a huge Carissa’s Wierd fan. If you are too, you know exactly what I’m talking about — the die-hard fan gets a little extra out of the music, hears a little bit more, and has a deeper, seemingly one-on-one experience with it. New music, for a band that parted ways several years past, is enough to bring tears to your eyes. “Tucson” b/w “Meredith & Iris” is such material and Hardly Art has made the latter from the single available for stream. (more…)