Orca Team is Seattle’s answer to twee-ish post-punk beach pop, and they prove it with their new HHBTM Records 7-inch single. Title track “Take My Hand” is packed with a 60s-pop bass, a jangly guitar, reverb-soaked vocals, and hefty stomping drums with plenty of cymbal rides.

This limited press single (of only 500) features three surf-worthy pop songs that hint of 60s era garage pop bands. “Me & My Lonesome” and “Fight Song” round out the trio of tracks, both offering up just as many vocal hooks and catchy riffs as the title track.

If you enjoyed previous Orca Team releases, including the recent Vancouver B.C. 7-inch (“Take My Hand” had an appearance on that EP as well), this is an easy favorite to add to the mix. In fact, these three may be among Orca Team’s top tracks yet.

Listen: “Take My Hand” by Orca Team

HHBTM Records [7-inch Single, 2011]

1. Take My Hand
2. Me & My Lonesome
3. Fight Song

Oh Fishboy, you never fail to amuse. We interviewed Fishboy’s Eric Michener a few months back about his new LP, Classic Creeps, which finally came out this week. Yeah, we’ve been rocking to it since January and can contest to its total awesomeness. Well, in celebration of the release, Michener, aka Fishboy, put together a video for the album’s fifth song, “Alyson Revere”, and it goes a little something like this…

Eric, dancing awkwardly like the dork he (err… we) is (are), while cute animals fake sing along. Awesome, right? He even drops in a fake singing Celene Dion. Even more awesome.

So Classic Creeps follows a similar path to that Michener created with Albatross (his last LP) in that it’s a bit of a concept album. It follows a story from beginning to end, and he’s got the comics to prove it. Always one to find sarcasm and wit in practically every situation, Fishboy knows how to craft a pretty fun album.

Classic Creeps is OUT NOW!!! You can pick it up digitally or on superior vinyl (via HHBTM Records).

Download: “Aaron the Afterthought Astronaut” by Fishboy

Alyson Revere from Eric Edward Fishboy on Vimeo.

The HHBTM team has sent me two lovely little packages in the past few months, the second of which arrived just last week. I figured it was high time to give them coverage… in list form! HHBTM, if you’re not familiar with the label, is short from Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, and they’ve released several favorites over the years; bands like Patience Please, Fishboy, The Superions, Bunnygrunt, Casper And The Cookies, Velcro Stars and Eux Autres. Their singles club even includes the likes of Apples in Stereo and Of Montreal. Not to mention, the crew plays a major part in Athens Popfest.

In visiting the release page for Orca Team’s Vancouver B.C., I couldn’t help but smile at the words on the page: 500 copies pressed with download code with a one color silkscreen sleeve printed on strathmore cotton rag paper. Not only are these releases limited print, great thought has gone into packaging to the extent of paper selection. Now that’s quality!

Before we get on with it, a quick FYI. Other than the great singles listed below, HHBTM also has two new full-lengths ready to enjoy: Classic Creeps by Fishboy and Seniors And Juniors Strikes Back by Marshmallow Coast.

So, now on to the new singles, in no particular order…

* * * * *

Vancouver B.C. by Orca Team

Portland’s Orca Team takes Interpol-like vocals down the lo-fi road and backs it with twee pop melodies. “Vancouver B.C.” sets up the single nicely with catchy vocals that leads straight into my favorite on the seven-inch, “No Fun”. It and the final track, “Take My Hand”, are from the band’s Fever Session. The guitars jangle and ring with the fervor of 60s pop while the bass-lines often carry just as much melody with the feel of the surf. This is the same sound you’d expect from a K release; yes, Orca Team is a band you simply must check out!

Download: “Vancouver B.C.” by Orca Team

* * * * *

Modern Times by Eureka California

I love the title “Baby, I’m Your Garbage Man”. It’s the first song on the Eureka California single’s B-side. The heavy guitar strums span the EP, from the acoustic (sounds like it might be a 12-string) on “Modern Times” to the louder, more distorted favorite noted above.

Download: “Baby, I’m Your Garbage Man” by Eureka California

* * * * *

Summer Gang by Afternoon Naps

Seeing Afternoon Naps in the most recent package got me really excited. I absolutely fell in love with this band when they released the Parade LP back in (I believe) 2009. So how do these new songs stack up? Quite nicely, I’m happy to report. The keyboards stand out a bit more here, or at least the unique sound of them does. Vocals and lyrics follow the path set by Parade; they’re super poppy and have a hint of moodiness to them. But it doesn’t get too emotive, just contemplative. After a few listens to “Summer Gang” (A-side) and “Shortsleeves” (B-side), I’m really struggling to pick a favorite — I like them both. A lot!

Download: “Summer Gang” by Afternoon Naps

* * * * *

Pretty When You Smile by Sweater Girls

This single by Sweater Girls made my Valentines Day list. “Pretty When You Smile” is such a great song, just as perfect for that summer fling as it is for the love of your life. It’s playful, bouncy, and insanely lovable. This is the second single we’ve seen from Sweater Girls, and it’s all a tease. Can’t wait ’til they give us an LP!!!

Download: “Pretty When You Smile” by Sweater Girls

* * * * *

Mira Mija EP by Sourpatch

Four songs in just under seven and a half minutes, I’m finding this Sourpatch single a bit more memorable than their previous LP, Crushin’. That’s not because the LP wasn’t good — it most certainly was — I’m just absolutely loving the vocal hooks in “Deli Dream”, the rapid Boyracer-esque percussion in “Funny Inside”, and the opening guitar riff in “Sky Is Falling”.

Download: “Deli Dream” by Sourpatch

* * * * *

Lead Balloon by Flash To Bang Time

Flash To Bang Time was the surprise in the first batch. I was expecting something a bit harder, a bit harsher. But no, these songs are wild fun and totally enjoyable. The harmonies in title track “Lead Balloon” are stellar and with that backing bass and jangly guitar, it’s just superb! Then it launches into the slow “Lemon Meringue” which, for some reason, reminds me a bit of the husband-wife duo The Seaworthies (who I’ve been dying to hear more from). “Shapeshifter” picks it up again and drops in just a hint of synth; the song increases in volume and power toward the end for a brilliant finish.

Download: “Lead Balloon” by Flash To Bang Time

Let’s not sugar coat the story here. The Superions‘ single and respected video, “Who Threw That Ham At Me” is nothing more than a strange story about getting caught shoplifiting meat products and all while enjoying a nice disco and inventing a new dance to twirl about and “flip your lid”. Seems kind of strange, right? But, once you realize that the ring leader of this estranged disco circus is none other than Fred Schneider, it might make more sense. This is indeed the man who successfully lodged the idea into our heads that there is such a thing as a “Rock Lobster”. Few folks could pull off these antics with such grace. Schneider seems to have no problem though.

“Who Threw That Ham At Me?” is a video that could have been a very well-played-out musical number in every John Waters film. There’s no real deep subtext, or even a single matter of seriousness throughout the entire song. But who really cares? Just have fun and enjoy the experience as you learn how to do the “Disco Garbage Can”. It doesn’t seem very hard.

Gingerbread Dog is the debut release on HHBTM for this Florida trio. Baby Calendar has released before, but it was all DIY. And while I have yet to crack the past album, Fifteen Year Old Sneakers, I must say that what I’ve heard on Gingerbread Dog is on the verge of brilliance.

To quote their biography, Baby Calendar is “not completely pop or twee, not completely punk or rock.” Instead, they contain all four elements.

At the most elementary level, Baby Calendar is a cute trio that creates a classic male/female fronted indie-pop sound. There are blatant similarities to the married couple that makes up Mates of State, primarily found in the vocal and lyrical styling of Tom Gorrio and Jackie Biver. While it is less apparent in the instrumentation of Gingerbread Dog, the vocal similarities are sometimes overwhelming.

“Symbiosis” is an acoustic track that highlights the dual vocals as Gorrio and Biver switch back and forth on lead before joining in harmony. The cuteness factor is also found in track titles like “Lemon Drops”, “Skibbledeebee”, and “Lunchbox”, and many of Baby Calendar’s songs surround youthful topics as well, such as all those times we pretended to be ninjas as kids in “The Way of the Samurai”. (I know I sure did! Didn’t you?)

A further look will uncover a power pop and pop-punk sound that has infiltrated the rudimentary indie-pop Baby Calendar has created, a sound captured by groups like Racetrack, but broadened by the dual male/female vocals. Baby Calendar grasps the pop-punk influences in 90s groups like Braid and early Cursive. This sound is captured especially well in the guitar work on their hit “Traffic In The Tropics”.

Again, the primary difference between Baby Calender and the influences of Braid and Cursive is the cuteness factor—how the hand claps and YAY shouts match the clever guitar riffs and triplet vocals—when the duo sings in-ter-vals at the end of each chorus in “Traffic In The Tropics”. “Lemon Snaps” defies the cuteness factor, however, to become one of the hardest-hitting songs on Gingerbread Dog. Here the group enters sounding more like Racetrack than the other groups listed above, expertly combining indie-pop and power-pop.

One unique vocal aspect is not only how nasally Gorrio’s vocals come out, but how well he pulls them off. There’s a trace of early Acid House Kings here, meshing well with Biver’s edgy but romantic voice. This is apparent from the earliest moments—one listen to “Zipped Up” and you can hear how well Gorrio and Biver’s voices blend together, and also how there are hints of Mates of States in their vocal styling. The group even alters time to heighten this effect. A similar style is used in the intro of “Labratories”, though the chorus adds keyboards not heard in the song’s two predecessors, a sound that hints of an old favorite of mine: The Anniversary.

You know an album is good when it makes you want to write a novel—I could continue writing about this group and this album, but I have neither the time nor the… well, time. While I’m not sure this would be the album I’d choose for my addition to the classic 33 and 1/3 book series (one of these days I’d love to contribute), it’s definitely one to consider in greater depth. And that means go buy the album!

This review was originally published December 20, 2006 on the old version of FensePost.

Download: “Traffic In The Tropics” by Baby Calendar

Download: “Lemon Snaps” by Baby Calendar

Happy Happy Birthday To Me [CD, 2006]