I like this. The press release describes Bass Drum Of Death, a wildly noisy garage rock duo out of Mississippi, as the resulting sound if the Stooges ate a bunch of ecstasy and tried to write girl-group songs. It’s fitting; Bass Drum Of Death’s songs are highly contagious. They’re insanely good, wickedly fun, and 100 percent bad ass. Read More »Bass Drum Of Death [Feature]
Distractions plays an intense style of pop that’s dark and brooding. Amidst ringing guitars and synths is front-man Tom Owens’ deep tenor vocals. They would seem to dominate Dark Green Sea, but they do not; instead they complement and occasionally contrast with the instrumentation that accompany them. If anything, Distractions’ sound is a nod to Scott Walker’s weirdness, with the epic greatness of Phil Spectre’s early work, all while enclosing it in an 80s post-punk sound. Read More »Distractions: Dark Green Sea [Album Review]
A while back, someone sent me a little four-song EP by Father Murphy called No Room For The Weak. Father Murphy’s style of post-rock is hypnotic and orchestral, and it borders on folk much like that of Thee Silver Mt. Zion. But it’s more abrasive with hints of outlandishness; it’s eerie and near psychotic at times. That’s why it’s been sitting dormant for a month or two — I needed to get in the right frame of mind to play it. Read More »Father Murphy: No Room For The Weak [Album Review]
The Twees, whose name sparks memories of Sarah Records and a bad ass song by Tullycraft, are back with a new EP called These Girls. With this new offering The Twees are sounding, well, less twee. This is probably a good thing as they tend to be described as post-punk and their home is Brooklyn (not that the latter means anything in terms of being twee or not being twee). Read More »The Twees: On The Spot [Video]
This is what we’ve been waiting for! After Papercuts announced last year that they would be joining the Sub Pop roster, we could barely contain our excitement. Jason Quever’s dreamy psychedelic pop sound borders on shoegaze at times, and their new song, “Do What You Will”, off the forthcoming LP Fading Parade builds upon Papercuts’ existing library of great tunes. Read More »Papercuts: Do What You Will [mp3]
After Daytrotter surfaced in 2006, it seemed everyone wanted to get a piece of the session action. What was once common practice decades past has now come to be again; the session has returned in full force. The latest to catch my eye is One Night Music, which takes cue from Daytrotter by incorporating original artist renderings of many of the musicians which grace the session’s presence. The session in question is that of Lady Lazarus. Read More »Lady Lazarus: One Night Music Session
Drummers is a band that initially reminded me of a favorite from a few years back, a band that dominated noise in every way possible. Vocals, drums and guitar were no match for the volume the three made when combined. That band was and is Japandroids. Drummers is based in Boston; they’re a band that has shared the stage with The Thermals and Built To Spill, and they share members (past and present) with Hardly Art’s Pretty & Nice. So from the get-go, you know things will get loud. Read More »Drummers: Planes [Video]
Death And Vanilla came to my attention early last year after they put out a digital single on Beko Records. What was once a free EP now has a solid release under the newly formed Hands In The Dark Records. Dreamy and psychedelic at its core, Death And Vanilla’s pop also borders on electronic. Read More »Death And Vanilla: Death And Vanilla [Album Review]
The latest video from Portland folk-pop duo The Woodlands is a wispy look into how the two probably spend many… Read More »The Woodlands: In The Dark On Monday [Video]
No one can, or should even try to, deny that Thomas Pridgen is to drums what Mick Portnoy believes he is to drums. His track record speaks for itself. But, who would have thought that, after leaving The Mars Volta, this prestigious man would go beyond his self and develop his own project that would go on a hunt for that long lost thing we used to call rock n roll. His year-old project, The Memorials might just be a strange bit of Alice Cooper meets Jimi Hendrix, with a Blondie-esque lead songstress. Now, that’s pretty damn rock n’ roll.
Read More »The Memorials: The Memorials [Album Review]
