A Retrospective Look at Animal of One by The Fresh & Onlys
I’ve been crushing on The Fresh & Onlys since their widely heralded 2009 LP Grey-Eyed Girls. (Hard to believe that… Read More »A Retrospective Look at Animal of One by The Fresh & Onlys
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The Fresh & Onlys: Soothsayer EP (Album Review)
The Fresh & Onlys are back with a new EP called Soothsayer, due September 24 on Mexican Summer and it finds The Fresh & Onlys in an odd place. Transitioning from a once hard-hitting rock band into one with some depth, the band presents three louder songs, and three softer ones. This is a band far removed from the days of Play it Strange — even further from Grey-Eyed Girls — and somewhat a progression of what the band built off last year’s Long Slow Dance.
Read More »The Fresh & Onlys: Soothsayer EP (Album Review)Campfires: Fortune Teller
Jeff Walls’ Campfires is prepared to drop its debut LP Tomorrow, Tomorrow on February 19 via Fire Talk Records. I knew I recognized the name; in my collection is his 7″ for “Stormy Late Fall” on Mexican Summer. Read More »Campfires: Fortune Teller
Long Slow Dance is The Fresh & Onlys’ Best Album
Long Slow Dance is, for the most part, a departure from the rough and the grit of Play It Strange… Read More »Long Slow Dance is The Fresh & Onlys’ Best Album
Mike Wexler: Pariah
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
Best Coast: Crazy For You [Album Review]
Get ready for your summer 2010 album. Best Coast returns after a successful 7″ release for “She Was High (So Was I)” and last year’s Something In The Way with Crazy For You. Coming to us via the always astounding Mexican Summer label, Best Coast dishes out the lo-fi garage pop sound everyone’s been raving about two years now. Fitting well with bands like Real Estate and Woods, and meshing even better with Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and The Splinters, Crazy For You finds Best Coast continuing down the path of a light Riot Grrrl revival, a beach-worthy one.
Read More »Best Coast: Crazy For You [Album Review]Campfires [Feature]
Campfires creates what I would dub as melodic noise pop. Harmony is created through peaceful chords and the chaotic, fuzzy percussion is organized nicely with synchronous guitar strums. Campfires will warm your soul on a mildly chilly evening. The woody smell of smoke permeates these songs, wafting circular with the wind and occasionally burning the eyes. The instrumental “Pancake City” blends almost too perfectly into “Burning Rivers, TV Flickers, Drifting Off to Bed”, the title track from the band’s cassette on Leftist Nautical Antiques. It’s not what you’d expect from a so-called jam session, but the seemingly erratic nature of Campfires’ music fits the description. And their moniker fits their music; a controlled mayhem, an audible version of the dancing flames that are so hypnotic and mesmerizing. Read More »Campfires [Feature]
Washed Out [Feature]
Washed Out channels an 80s-style synth pop and hones the influence into a soft, electro-atmospheric calm. There’s this airy quality about the songs, from the more electronic “You’ll See It” and “Hold Out” to the softer, laid-back “Feel It All Around”. Washed Out is on par with The Radio Dept. circa “Against The Tide”. It has that chill downbeat sound, what some dub as chillwave and others as bedroom synth-pop. Both are adequate, though I’d say it’s more fit for the living room. Read More »Washed Out [Feature]
Golden Triangle: Golden Triangle [Album Review]
Insanity comes in many forms, most undesirable. However, there is one that is much more intriguing and inspirational than the others: audible insanity. Golden Triangle (MySpace) is the perfect example of outstanding audible insanity. It can be heard in their music, and seen in the photographs of their live performances. They don’t call it garage punk for nothing. Read More »Golden Triangle: Golden Triangle [Album Review]
