Joyful Noise Recordings is set to release yet another great album this year, this time by fellow Indiana band Marmoset. Contrary to what you’d expect from a label titled Joyful Noise, the collective of artists rarely warrants the “noise” label. And Marmoset follows suit; their music instead clashes modern garage rock sensibilities with the hazy garage rock of the 60s and 70s.
Read More »Marmoset: Tea Tornado [Album Review] 
Small town Ohio isn’t your typical breeding ground for great tunes; the term small town Ohio reverberates imagery of American flags and generic beer and church steeples. Coltrane Motion may have been birthed from these lands, but Chicago has since welcomed them with open arms. The group’s latest is a 7-inch single for their electro-noise-pop track “The Year Without A Summer” and its b-side is “Maya Blue”. Read More »Coltrane Motion: The Year Without A Summer [7″ Review]
Ben Kamen’s music is filled with the mystery and subtle longing of artists much fuller in sound. One thinks of classically-based folk-rockers like Thee Silver Mt. Zion, for one. And while Kamen’s music may feature a plethora of instruments matching the quantitative levels of such groups, his music is beautifully quiet. Dreams may have come out last year, but its relevance is still new — it seems few outside the Pacific Northwest are aware of the bolstering happenings in Olympia, WA, and it’s a right tragedy. Read More »Ben Kamen: Dreams [Album Review]
So this discovery is slightly delayed, as Musette’s Datum has been out a few months now, but I’m getting caught up on a few things (namely, my inbox) and this is a band of which you are likely unaware. Musette is from Sweden and Datum is a recounting of Joel Danell’s piano tunes, all distinctly titled with a date, and prepared, originally, on piano. But, the recounting finds Danell recrafting the songs using violin, whistling, guitar, accordion and Dobro. The result, at least in what little I’ve heard, i.e. “23 Oktober”, is phenomenal. Read More »Musette: 23 Oktober [Track Review]
Electronic acts rarely have a horn or woodwind instruments, so The Deer Tracks are unique in that regard. Furthermore, the title of their recent single “127SexFrya” off their recent LP Aurora also finds the group standing out among the crowd. However, this Swedish band remains true to electronic pop by dishing out an intriguing video to accompany “127SexFrya”. Read More »The Deer Tracks: 127SexFrya [Video]
Bel Air‘s debut album Pole To Pole is the soundtrack to the smokey barroom. The harmonica speaks its own language on a disc such as this one. And with ground breaking lyrics (by a surprisingly effective trio of writers) and a great mixture of blues, rock, blues-rock, and rockin’ blues, this team of Brooklyn a go-go musicians have easily created a solid collection of roots inspired songs. Read More »Bel Air: Pole To Pole [Album Review]
Everyone is crushing on the distorted pop these days, and I guess I’m a part of the crowd. The latest discovery is that of UK trio Pens, and they just dropped an excellent DIY green-screen-ish video on us for the awesomely fuzzed out track “High In The Cinema”. True to the lo-fi, this band is less like The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, who are undoubtedly pop, and more like the lo-fi female version of punksters Japandroids. The video is simple, fun and extremely colorful. The song, as you can probably guess, is the same, and I’m sure I’m not the only one to dub it brilliant. Read More »Pens: High In The Cinema [Video]
The music video can be a very expressive medium to convey a message, just as the audio itself can formulate an impressionable amount of emotion: happy, sad, hopeless, joyous. The best videos, of course, complement the song in such a way, and, in fact, embark on their own journey into the mind of the creator. “Coffee” by Motel Motel finds director Matthew Murphy doing just that, and the viewer is simply drawn into an attempt to discover meaning behind the imagery. Read More »Motel Motel: Coffee [Video]
“The Fraudulent Singer” opens the recent Colossal Yes LP Charlemagne’s Big Thaw and it begins with a monumental scream. Folk-y piano and a pop-filled fuzzy guitar enter, all fronted by folk-pop vocals. The song is ripe with hooks: be them the catchy piano tinkering, the wild guitar riffs, or the old-time country-ish vocals. Read More »Colossal Yes: The Fraudulent Singer [Track Review]
It’s been a few years since we’ve heard from Sugarplum Fairies, and the extensive time has allowed me to forget how fun this band can be. “First Rate Show” is off their upcoming release, Chinese Leftovers, out July 28. The song features hushed and melancholy female vocals, a lovely brass section, and folk-based indie pop. In “First Rate Show”, Sugarplum Fairies conjure thoughts of artists like Concretes and early Camera Obscura. Read More »Sugarplum Fairies: First Rate Show [Track Review]
