Harlem’s Hippies from 2010 was ultimately one of my favorite albums of the year. It’s garage rock/pop was all you want from the genre: gritty, grungy, crude, and entirely raw. Almost too a fault. It’s what made it so good. Well Lace Curtains is the new band of Michael Coomer, vocalist of Harlem. Read More »Lace Curtains: Feature
You may have noticed the blog has been silent for the last few days. That’s because I took a little bike ride over the weekend: the annual Seattle to Portland ride. My dad and I rode last year and we did it again this year. Yeah, this is a music blog, but every once in a while, I throw on something personal. This is one of those times. Read More »Seattle to Portland on Two Wheels (Again)
White Blood Cells is a new band out of Vancouver, BC featuring members of Wintermitts, The Ruffled Feathers, occasionally Hot Panda, and many more. The band just released their first single, a song called “Ai! Ai! Ai! Ai!” and it is filled with modern, cheery indie pop. Read More »White Blood Cells: Ai! Ai! Ai! Ai! MP3
Iceland’s Múm has returned with a new album called Early Birds, out July 17 on Morr Music. In anticipation of the release, they’ve given us a video for “Hvernig Á Að Særa Vini Sína” (directed by Máni M. Sigfússon). The song, translated to English, reads “How to Hurt Your Friends.” It’s highly imaginative, a bit distractive, and somewhat disturbing. Within you’ll find two individuals, one man and one woman. He destroys things. They both randomly lose teeth. It’s weird.
Read More »Múm: Hvernig Á Að Særa Vini Sína (Video) 
Echo Lake was originally formed by Thom Hill and Linda Jarvis, then expanded to include a full, five-piece band. The group just released their debut LP, Wild Peace, via Slumberland Records on June 26. On it, classic dreamy indie pop clashes with reverb-filled, synth-based shoegaze. Read More »Echo Lake: Feature
Young Moon is San Francisco’s Trevor Montgomery, and his new LP, Navigated Like The Swan is out later this month on Western Vinyl. The press release notes that Swan is “an exceptional record that is a grower.” I can’t argue with that; it certainly is. Read More »Young Moon: Feature
There’s fuel here, power and angst. Unnatural Helpers is back with a new track called “Hate Your Teachers” and they… Read More »Unnatural Helpers: Hate Your Teachers MP3
And like that, half the year is gone. For the doomsdayists, that means less than half a year until it all comes crashing to an end. In light of being prepared, I picked up a new little toy this last week: a beastly, black on black 1979 El Camino. The thing has a 350 V8, gets terrible gas milage but is in great condition. It growls and twists its body when you hit the accelerator. It makes you tingle. Read More »Fense’s Radio Show: June 29, 2012
Dos is a luscious pop-rock album with highly infectious hooks and a surprising volume given the often laid-back style of vocals and guitar riffs. In five songs, Adios Amigo keeps things diversified, with the subtle “Chicken” and the monumental “Pretty Pretty Princess”, yet it’s all very cohesive with the band’s signature vocal style. Read More »Adios Amigo: Dos (Album Review)
I quite enjoyed Easter Island‘s previous release, Better Things, but it didn’t stun me. What I mean by that is that while it was by all means very good, it wasn’t as gripping as one would hope. Well the band is back with Frightened, a new LP, and it doesn’t suffer the same fate. Both are solid works, but Frightened has staying power. And it’s tracks like “Hash” that give it that. Read More »Easter Island: Hash
