Mexican Summer is the type of label that when it puts out an album, you give it your full attention. Unfortunately, I’ve been vacant of late. This is tragic, though the good news is that Mike Wexler has brought me back into the Mexican Summer light. A dreamy psychedelic pop sound, filled with chill ambient sounds, borderline haunting with Wexler’s vocal rasp. It makes songs like “Pariah” very cool. Read More »Mike Wexler: Pariah
Bears are a delectable pop band out of Cleveland, Ohio that blend indie pop sounds with psychedelic instrumentation and the… Read More »Bears: Greater Lakes
Brutal honesty: I’m stuck on Helvetia‘s 2011 album The Lam right now. In particular the first track (“Saucer of Dread”) and track 3 (“On the Lam”). Helvetia has returned with a new track called “A Mirror” and it embodies precisely why I dig this band: epic soundscapes, driving shoegaze riffs, hazy melodies, downtrodden vocals.
Read More »Helvetia: A Mirror [Song Review] 
In a way, I kind of miss the days when Of Montreal gave us songs like “Disconnect the Dots” and “The Party’s Crashing Us” and even “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal”. Paralytic Stalks seems a different beast entirely, filled with further psychedelic pop experimentation than we’re used to from Kevin Barnes and company. The more I listen to it, the more I get it. This album is not supposed to be an easy listen. Read More »Of Montreal: Dour Percentage MP3
Originated in Boise by Eric Ingersoll, Night Genes channels the likes of Tom Waits and Nick Cave with deep baritone folk. Accompanied by a trusty acoustic guitar, the songs Night Genes creates are light and playful – a contrast to the meditative and contemplative vocals and lyrics of Ingersoll.
Read More »Night Genes: Like The Blood [Album Review] 
In the layers between folk music and pop music lays a fantastical world where I often enjoy spending time. It is here I discover some of my favorite songs, bands and albums. Today’s band is a new find, and it comes from this mystical land of upbeat storytelling, catchy riffs and subtle hints of a country sound. Whistle Peak joins together experimental folk with electronic pop. Read More »Whistle Peak [Feature]
It’s been a while since we covered Bourgeois Heroes, a little indie pop duo out of Northampton, MA (Jason) and Austin, TX (Elise). Who communicate over that long distance to create the music contained within their releases. At the time, I likened the duo to melodramatic 80s bands like Echo & The Bunnymen. On their latest single, Olé/Hola, the band slips away from those earlier sounds and holds its ground steady in indie pop. In fact, here they side more with modern underground indie pop artists like Afternoon Naps. Read More »Bourgeois Heroes: Olé/Hola [Single Review]
Something dark and immense haunts the pop that Ben Heywood (Summer Darling) masters on his new release Skills for the Long Emergency under the name Heywood. From the depths of a post rock, shoegaze haze, Heywood will just as readily produce mind-melting noise as it will dive into an obscure, dream-like melody. Read More »Heywood: Spectacular Violence MP3
With The Shins stripped down to James Mercer, Dave Hernandez has been free to pursue other projects. And pursue he did; the new band is called Little Cuts and it’s a bit louder than his previous band. A little garage rock, a little punk, and definitely up a notch in terms of volume. It’s a bit of a return for Hernandez to the noisier side of music; that which can also be found in former band Scared of Chaka. Read More »Little Cuts: Plastic Disaster [Single Review]
Brooklyn based Lightouts are Greg Nelson and Gavin Rhodes. The duo creates thick and fully developed rock music pulsing with electric guitar solos and clean, rolling harmonies. Progressive and balanced, the band’s sound is reminiscent of 90’s alt rock and 70’s glam rock dance halls; their music just makes you feel good. These guys have a true gift for musicianship, structure, and layering; they know what they’re doing and they do it well. Frivolous, motivated, tightly focused and refreshingly energetic, Lightouts are a welcomed cure for winter blues. Read More »Lightouts [Feature]
