Teen Dream, Beach House‘s last LP, came in as my number 2 album of 2010. Within its cover are 10 songs, not a single one weak. Beach House is back with Myth off their forthcoming album Bloom and if this song is telltale for what we can expect, the new album could be a solid contender for 2012. (more…)

Of all Fleet Foxes‘ collective works to date, none have impressed me as much and as thoroughly as “The Shrine / An Argument”. Off their latest LP, Helplessness Blues, the song is a medley of sorts, an elongated story with various movements. It’s downright exciting to see the song played out in an eight-minute video, created by front-man Robin Pecknold’s brother Sean. The song is epic in the truest of senses. (more…)

First hearing “Endless Summer” a few months back, it may have been slightly difficult to understand what Sub Pop saw in their new signee, Still Corners. Granted, the song is very good, but it alone fails to demonstrate the sheer power this band holds. That power is conveyed throughout Still Corners’ debut Sub Pop LP, Creatures of an Hour. (more…)

There are very few certainties in life. With the economy in a downfall, natural disasters coming from all angles, and the earth slowly warming, it is very easy to become weary about any sort of regularity in this world. But, there is are two certainties you can always count on: 1) you are going to get older and 2) Blitzen Trapper is going to release an album that just gets better and better. Both of these have inevitably happened this year. And however you feel about Number 1, you should be very excited about Number 2. Eric Earley and Company have brought us their 4th album, American Goldwing, just in time for us to remember what is actually cool about living in America. (more…)

Blitzen Trapper are arguably one of the hardest working (and most estranged in character) bands out today. With a relentless tour schedule that makes you wonder if Eric Earley and crew actually have homes to go back to, and what seems to be an “album a year” strategy going for them, they have definitely earned this title. But, the best is yet to come. Everyone’s favorite indie-folk group is due to release their fourth album, third from Sub Pop Records, very soon! And if “Love The Way You Walk Away” and it’s corresponding video are as impeccably brilliant and personable as the rest of the album, we are shaping up to hear what will be the definitive Blitzen Trapper album. These suave folk-smith warriors always seem to outshine themselves year in and year out. (more…)

An airy whisper cuts the chilly late summer night. A synth plays an eerie but soothing organ-like melody. A set of beats backs it all, borderline drum box. “Cuckoo” by Still Corners, one of Sub Pop’s latest artists, is a song that screams the uncanny. Rightfully so, the video follows suit, layering colors atop the band for a ghastly, oddly hologram-like appeal. (more…)

Clarity is an odd thing. Subjective and open to interpretation. There is clarity behind the vocals of Denise Nouvion, contrasting the dream-like nature of Evan Abeele’s compositions. Together they make up Memoryhouse, and next month they will release The Years EP courtesy Sub Pop Records.

The Years EP is a collection of five beautifully produced song, lucid yet evasive of reality. From opening track “Sleep Patterns”, the listener is treated to a hypnotic set of songs that filter life through a translucent haze.

The EP builds from these early moments into “Lately”, a song that samples the mystical melody so beloved in Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and on into a early, subtle beats of “Modern, Normal”. “To The Lighthouse” continues with a chill, laid-back beat courtesy Abeele, while Nouvion adds a melody to match the power in that of “Lately”. Here it climaxes, leaving “Quiet America” for the cool down.

The music of Memoryhouse is soothing; it’s that fresh, perfectly-brewed cup of coffee Agent Cooper enjoys at The Great Northern each morning in Twin Peaks. It’s the moment you awake after a long night’s sleep, perfectly rested on a lazy Sunday morning. It simply makes you feel good.

Download: “Modern, Normal” by Memoryhouse

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Sub Pop [CDEP, 2011]

1. Sleep Patterns
2. Lately
3. Modern, Normal
4. To The Lighthouse
5. Quiet America

Look back over the past few Fruit Bats releases and you’ll find a solid handful of greats. “Born In The 70s” and “Earthquake of ’73″ off Spelled In Bones. “Seaweed” off Mouthfuls. These were truly great tracks. “Tangie And Ray” off Fruit Bats’ latest LP, Tripper, fits right in. It’s catchy, filled with a folk-pop bounce, and wonderfully crafted. Yet there’s something else… (more…)

Avi Buffalo‘s self-titled debut earned the title of being my favorite album of 2010. So it’s with great delight that I announce to you the release of new material from the band, that being a single called “How Come”, due out on Sub Pop on June 28. (more…)

Woah. Did Male Bonding tame a bit since Nothing Hurts? That was only a year ago, yet this sound doesn’t seem nearly as ferocious and feral as the noise-based rock from their 2010 Sub Pop debut. Listen to “Bones”, off the band’s new LP Endless Now out this coming August, next to last year’s Year’s Not Long and you’d think five years of maturity separated the two. (more…)