k records

Built to Spill | Car b/w Girl | 7-Inch Single Review

Andy Fenstermaker
May 8, 2023May 12, 2023

For fans of Built to Spill, their 7-inch single for “Car” and “Girl” really is an essential pairing of two great early tracks by the band. Originally released in 1994, the two-track single showcases two great early tracks from the band, highlighting the unique sound and songwriting style they’ve embodied over the course of three decades now. As always, they blend elements of indie rock, punk, and more for a truly distinctive and memorable sound. With their early sound, you also get lo-fi rock.

Mirah You Think It's Like This 20th Anniversary

Mirah: You Think It’s Like This But It’s Really Like This (20th Anniversary Pressing on Silver Vinyl)

Andy Fenstermaker
October 22, 2022October 22, 2022

Mirah’s debut LP, You Think It’s Like This But It’s Really Like This was originally released in the year 2000 by K records. Since then, Mirah has put together quite the catalog of releases including some where she’s joined by other artists like Thao Nguyen. In this post we’ll be taking a deeper look at her debut and unboxing the 20th Anniversary reissue from Double Double Whammy Records.

Andy Fenstermaker
May 1, 2011May 1, 2011

Fred Thomas and Ryan Howard, the duo behind City Center, are set to give us their debut full-length, Redeemer. Their slightly reverb-laden dream pop is sometimes electro-infused, sometimes as lo-fi as the band’s K Records brethren. The album is a reflection on youth from one in the throws of growing up, an attempt to understand where they have been and project they are going (but mostly the former). Read More »City Center: Redeemer [Album Review]

Lake: Within/Without [Video]

Andy Fenstermaker
April 22, 2011April 22, 2011

lake

Olympia band Lake returns this year with a new album called Giving And Receiving. If you like what you heard from their past few releases, including the phenomenal Let’s Build A Roof from 2009, you’ll dig this one. It has a pleasant mix of upbeat pop songs and chill mellow ones. “Within/Without” finds somewhat of a middle ground, with a slightly funky beat and their nice signature male/female harmony vocals. Read More »Lake: Within/Without [Video]

Jeremy Jay: Dream Diary [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
April 12, 2011April 11, 2011

Jeremy Jay debuted on the scene in 2007 with singles for Airwalker and We Were There. I snagged both of those at the time, and I really enjoyed them. His debut LP, A Place Where We Could Go, too, was impressive. He then released a few more LPs and a few more singles, and that leads us to his fourth album, Dream Diary. Born and raised in California, Dream Diary has that state’s sound — it’s sunny, but it irks to get away from the cookie cutter nature rampant in suburbia. Read More »Jeremy Jay: Dream Diary [Album Review]

Lake: You Are Alone b/w Higher Than Merry [Single Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
February 16, 2011February 14, 2011

lake

I instantly fell in love with Lake upon first hearing them open for Microphones and Karl Blau at the final show of Anacortes’s cherished Department Of Safety. That I hadn’t heard them before was the shocking item, being they share a hometown with K Records and also release their albums on the label. Lake’s dreamy psychedelic pop flirts with subtle breezes and forested hills. The harmonies put on display by Eli Moore and Ashley Eriksson mold perfection beyond its previous benchmark. Read More »Lake: You Are Alone b/w Higher Than Merry [Single Review]

The Hive Dwellers: Get In [mp3]

Andy Fenstermaker
February 10, 2011August 12, 2023

Throw Calvin Johnson into the mix, and, no matter what situation presents itself, it’ll always be a little awkward. That might come out wrong, but it shouldn’t. He is, in all aspects of the word, cool. When I saw him front The Hive Dwellers at the Anacortes What The Heck? Fest (the above photo was taken there by yours truly), I was again thoroughly impressed with just how cool Johnson could be. So seemingly uncool that it’s gone full circle; there’s no one cooler.

Andy Fenstermaker
February 5, 2010February 5, 2010

You’re nuts if you pass up a chance to see Microphones perform live. After all, they’re typically billed as Mount Eerie these days. Essentially, they’re the same band and the music they make is, for lack of a better term, eerily similar. For the final performance Department of Safety would ever have, Microphones were the obvious choice of performer to conclude it all. Read More »Microphones: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]

LAKE: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]

Andy Fenstermaker
February 1, 2010February 1, 2010

lake

LAKE may only have played about 5 or 6 songs, but over that brief period of time they entranced the audience. Blending a lo-fi garage sound with psychedelic pop, the Olympia band was the first to perform at Department of Safety’s farewell show. With various synths and the clash of male/female vocals, LAKE demonstrated versatility in performance with members frequently exchanging instruments. Read More »LAKE: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]

Jeremy Jay: Breaking The Ice [7″ Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 16, 2009October 19, 2009

Jeremy Jay is an old soul. His young demeanor, as pictured on the cover of this lovely single, is much more mature than his age. Similarly, the music he makes spans an age much greater than his. The songs, while not necessarily theatrical, have a vivid visual element to them that assists in creating a quite expansive library of aesthetic features. Were Jim Morrison to have instead spent his time with the creatives in the Chelsea Hotel, he may have sounded like this. Read More »Jeremy Jay: Breaking The Ice [7″ Review]