Last night I saw Big Troubles video for “Bite Yr Tongue” for the first time, and all I could do was smile. These boys are adorable, and the video represents everything that is Big Troubles and New Jersey…car rides, food (PIZZA and HOT DOGs), soda, great pop music, and more. One of my favorite music videos of 2010.
If you haven’t see this yet, watch it and have a great weekend.
Big Troubles also released the video for “Modern Intimacy” today! This one is all about skydiving…I’m not into adventure sports, but the LP version of this song is super rad.
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Big Troubles WFMU set has been rocking my world (since May!)…if you don’t already have it check it out the live mp3s of the songs above, and then snag the whole thing:
Was Dead…an appropriate name for an album for an artist who has risen, and risen quickly. King Tuff is Kyle Thomas of Brattleborrow, Vermont. While there is lots of news about Kyle Thomas, the release of Happy Birthday’s wonderful debut album on Sub Pop among other things, I want to focus this effort on King Tuff.
On Christmas day last year Burger Records sent out an email saying if you contacted them before midnight with you name, address, and the tape you wanted they would send it to you as a gift. I was one of the lucky ones to take advantage of this amazing opportunity, and on New Years Eve there was a shiney King Tuff tape flying through my mail slot.
Honestly Burger set me on a tape rampage, and mainly because of how awesome King Tuff’s Was Dead is.
Was Dead draws on musically influence from classic rock, psychedelica, garage pop, and ever so slightly, but undeniably there, punk rock (for those of you familiar with it I totally get a slight Nobunny vibe). ”Sun Medallion” is the obvious single, and with good reason. I don’t think there is a person out there that could listen to this song and by the end of it not be singing or humming along. The light strumming on the guitar leads into psychedelica with a rock n’ roll sensibility, solos that aren’t jammy but let the guitars ring out and stay in your ears, and just a overall groove that seems perfect for that breezy sunny summer afternoon. This track recently made it on a couple mixes that I sent out to friends, and fit in perfectly. If this was released in 2010 it would be in the running for best songs of the year, but I found out about the record two years late.
“Freak When I’m Dead” comes toward the end of the album, and is an anthem of individuality. And while musically it’s right in tune with the rest of the album the harmonica solo really brings it to another level for me.
If you enjoy these tracks pick up the whole album…I mean, I agree with Burger Records on this…every track is a hit, and it will get you ready for the amazing summer that is ahead of us. What more can you want than rock n’ roll about girls, cars, pinball, and partying? For me…not much.
Buy King Tuff Was Dead on Vinyl from Colonial Records here.
Buy King Tuff Was Dead on Tape from Burger Records here.
Plus King Tuff is into eating pizza all night and playing pinball…sounds like someone I would like to be friends with…Kyle if you are ever in New York, and want to play pinball hit me up.
Dirty Beaches is Alex Zhang Hungtai of Montreal, QC (via California via Hawaii via China) and I picked up the self titled Dirty Beaches cassette this past weekend at theCoOp 87 (if ya’ll haven’t been you really should check it out. A great addition for music lovers to Brooklyn, specifically Greenpoint, and Tommy who runs it is a super nice dude). Going into the tape I had no prior knowledge of the band other than he had played a show or two with the one and only Julian Lynch.
Dirty Beaches rides the line between ambient rhythmic noise and avant-garde pop and do it so well. Using beats and and subtle melodies to create a hypnotic composition, and then he works in his unique vocals. While Dirty Beaches vocals are very unique I can’t help but think of a totally warped and fucked Ian Curtis. Dirty Beaches’ Dirty Beaches is an EP that I was unsure of what I thought on first listen, but by the end of it I was sad that it was over and all I could do was flip the tape and start again. With each listen of the EP different melodies, or psychedelic guitar lines start to emerge, and the pulsing hypnotic rhythms start to take on orchestral and surf like qualities. A release that has much more depth than one can hear on a single listen, and I have been giving it my attention all week.
“Like Dreamers Do” is the second to last track on the release and I feel that it exemplifies what this cassette is about. Beats that encompass the mind, guitar to break your concentration, and the somber vocals to pull it all together. Ambience and pop all in one track. Engaging the mind on many levels, and all you have to do is accept Alex Zhang Hungtai’s unique mindset and way of making music. A release that I am extremely glad that I stumbled across.
Shawn from Night People was nice enough to send over a new track from Dirty Beaches upcoming cassette titled Night City. Night City is diverging from the self titled because there are no vocals on this release at all. This next tape will be mostly instrumental synth/organ/drum machine tracks, and will be out on Night People this April.
“Paris” is an uplifting instrumental. Much lighter in the sense that it seems like the type of song you would like to hear as the sun is coming up, at the end of a clear night after the stars had been shining down upon you (I guess ideally you would be in France). Keeping with the hypnotic tone of the first tape, but changing it up to give this track a very different vibe, and if this song is any indication it seems like a very natural progression from the last release.
from the forthcoming Night City cassette on Night People.
“Paris” is just a teaser to the Night City cassette, and in addition to this instrumental cassette there is also an upcoming Dirty Beaches LP which will be a bit more rock n roll oriented that is also coming out on Night People. Keep your eye on the Night Peoples site for more info about these. I know I am.
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Dirty Beaches are touring. Check out their myspace for upcoming dates.
Just two months ago Cloud Nothings were just a name with their first cassette//cd-r coming out on Bridgetown Records…no shows played, but a few big ones lined up…the first of which was with Real Estate and Woods here in Brooklyn (and I finally caught them in January with Alex Bleeker and the Freaks). Dylan Baldi’s Cloud Nothings were suddenly getting written up all over the internet (including several times by me), and their fuzzy upbeat punk pop was blasting out of stereos…I even had friends across the country ask me to send the digital files of Turning On because their tapes weren’t portable enough (yo dudes…get a walkman).
Now here we are at the end of February, and Cloud Nothings have two more releases out, and a reissue of that first tape but this time it’s on LP.
First up is their split tape with Campfires out on Bathetic Records. I know at this point more and more people are realizing that bands are doing tapes, and while the format might seem to be out of date even Pitchfork just reached out to the format in a big way (see Marc Hogan‘s wonderful feature on cassette culture titled “This is Not A Mixtape“…as well as tape releases often making it on to the 4kst).
This tape features four new songs by Cloud Nothings, and as I expected it is full of the same fuzzy pop as the first full length. Campfires are very much of the same mind set, and offer five songs…making the split well worth the $6 post paid. A great introduction to Campfires…I can’t wait to her more.
The Fader posted one track from the split, and I’m happy to repost it here for you. ”Little Raygun” sets the tone for the tape, and is the third song on side A:
Buy the Cloud Nothings//Campfires split from Bathetic Records here.
pick it up fast…this tape is limited to 100 copies.
In addition to this split Group Tightener Records has released a extremely limited 7″ single by Cloud Nothings which includes “Morgan” a single from the upcoming 12″ on Group Tightener, and an exclusive b-side: “Another Man.” This is the second release by Group Tightener, and it is limited to 250 copies, and is hand stamped and numbered.
While these are both unreleased tracks You might be familiar with “Morgan” if you saw my videos from Cloud Nothings show at Monster Island back in January. Can’t wait to hear this record, and the recorded version of this tracks…here is a re-post of that video:
Buy the Cloud Nothings’ Morgan/Another Man 7″ from Group Tightener Records here.
Last but certainly not least is that SpeakerTree Records has just started mailing out the LP repress of Cloud Nothings fabulous debut full length Turning On.
Turning On was originally released back in December by Bridgetown Records. I featured this release on my column This Week In Mail Order, and you can read the full write up here. The LP version of Turning On will feature one additional track, “Strummin” as the closer to the album. This LP press is limited to 500 copies, and to remind you how good this release is check out “Can’t Stay Awake”:
If you don’t have a record player….Bridgetown Records has repressed Turning On on CD…buy that here.
and for a limited time you can order the LP release from Bridgetown as well…I highly recommend contacting Kevin at Bridgetown because he is offering some cool combo packages.
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More on Cloud Nothings (photos, video, mp3s, and reviews) can be found here.
Just when I thought I had all the So Cow news posted yesterday, Josh from Ireland’s own Pop Goes the Radio commented on my post.
Pop Goes the Radio posted three tracks from upcoming album on Meaningless Friendly due out very soon on Tic Tac Totally. Here is what Tic Tac Totally has to say about the new album:
So Cow “Meaningless Friendly” LP/CD is just 2 weeks away folks! The album will be released mid-tour (see below for dates!) just in time for SXSW. The new record expands brilliantly on the promise/premise of the “S/T” LP from last year, which featured 18 of his best collected tracks. Here offering 13 fresh ones of the great off-kilter TVP’s-meets-Home Blitz-pop wandering So Cow delivers. In the meantime we have a digital album release set up for 2/16/10 on iTunes, so no worries if you’re fiending either!
“Extra Friendly” LP+7″ edition
Check back REAL soon for this! This package gets you the new LP, plus a limited edition 7″ EP with 3 bonus tracks.Exclusively through TTT and ltd. to 300 copies. Look out!
Keep your eyes on Tic Tac Totally’s Website…I know I will. I need to get a copy of that limited edition 7″. This is the most exciting music news, at least for me, in 2010 so far!
In the mean time check out these tracks.
“Girl Racer” reminds us that So Cow at it’s core is one man, Brian Kelly. Using not much more than minimal electronics, and electric guitar Kelly crafts a near perfect pop track . This track really resonates in the part of my brain that loved “Shackleton.” Even though this track has perfect pop sensibility that doesn’t prevent Kelly from adding some psychedelic guitar to the background. Apparently if you are from Tuam, or Ireland in general, there are references in this song that us Americans just don’t get, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is an awesome introduction to So Cow’s new album. A version of this track originally appeared on a compilation CD about Tuam which Pop Goes the Radio might be posting in the future.
“Random Girls” is a track that I’m sure many of us boys can relate to…so many ladies in this world, and so many crushes (I’m lucky to already have my special lady). This track shows a little more of what North America is in store for on So Cow’s tour. This track features a full band, and an intense guitar solo toward the end. Kelly’s musicianship is what made me fall in love with So Cow in the first place, and this track is a perfect example of that. There are sure to be plenty of ladies crushing on these Irish boys as they make their way through the states and Canada.
If “Girl Racer” and “Random Girls” are any indication of the rest of the album we are sure in for a treat. I’ll let you head over to Pop Goes the Radio for the third track called “Dunno.” This final track is one I remember from So Cow’s last American tour. Check it out here.
Meaningless Friendly is now on sale from Tic Tac Totally. Buy it here .
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New Yorkers, So Cow will be in the City on:
Feb 13 Monster Island Basement Brooklyn, New York
Feb 14 Cake Shop New York, New York
The tour starts tonight, February 11th, at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park.
For a full list of tour dates click here (or if you are on the main page of my blog…scroll down…they were posted yesterday).
Grass Widow have released two 12″s with in a matter of months. Their self titled record on Make A Messwas one of those albums that I looked for for ever, but had no luck. The first pressing of the LP went out of print very quickly, and even though I tried calling record stores in other parts of the country trying to mail order it I had no luck. From what I understand the remaining copies of this LP floating around at your local shop are from the second pressing…that appears to be going out of print as fast as the first. It was a nice surprise walking into Permanent Records, and seeing this one up on the wall long after I had given up on it.
Girl pop seems to be king, or queen in this case, and these days there is no shortage of all girl bands…but there are three that I feel are a step above the rest, and Grass Widow is one of those.
Their debut full length on Make A Mess channels a more powerful force, at least for me. In the depths of their music I can feel the faintest hints of Beat Happening. One might think that this would be a hard thing to pull out of their music being that they are an all girl band, and that one of the corner stones of Beat Happening is Calvin Johnson’s baritone voice, but it is more the subtleties in the music more than a direct comparison that brings this to mind….a vocal cadence or part of a drum beat. It’s not necessary to see this, but it’s something I pick up on…and in the end anything that reminds me of Beat Happening tends to be a winner with me.
I feel that Grass Widow emphasis this on “Celebrate the Mundane” the second track off the Make A Mess full length. Even at first listen Grass Widow are clearly different than their contemporaries in the way that they utilize every member of the band. All three of the women in Grass Widow contribute to the vocals, and it is not just on choruses but at times all three of them are simultaneously singing different lyrics….creating harmonies that at first don’t seem possible. This combination of lyrics, vocals, cadence, and harmony are where I truly see the connections I alluded to above, but occasionally in the beat as well.
Grass Widow bring in the the horns later on in the LP, and overall have created a truly beautiful post-twee record. Extremely impressive as a debut LP, and one that has been spinning on the turntable and headphones for weeks. It’s looking like this is another one in my year end list as well.
A couple Sundays ago Grass Widow jumped on the bill for the Tom Tom Magazine launch party at Bruar Falls. Grass Widow had been playing shows all weekend, but I didn’t quite make it to any of them, and when I heard this show was at Bruar Falls I couldn’t not go. If you the Great Pumpkin you already know this, but Bruar Falls just happens to be my favorite venue right now…so the location was perfect.
I got to Bruar Falls about 20 minutes before Grass Widow went on, and the place was totally packed. It seemed like more people were there for the magazine than the music (this was made clear by how many people just talked through the bands sets), but I guess that could be expected. I was a little surprised by the music that was being played between sets…after all Tom Tom Magazine is a magazine about female drummers, but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t an actual drum set used in any of the dance/hip hop music that was being played (I guess a party atmosphere was the desired effect)….just thought this was odd and worth mentioning.
By time Grass Widow took the stage I was really ready to hear the music that I came for, and these ladies brought it. With songs like “Celebrate the Mundane” and “To Where” it can be hard for a band to pull it off live, but Grass Widow were well practiced and sounded great even on what I assume, due to the distance they traveled without a full tour, was borrowed equipment. It’s really impressive that all three of their vocals can be so tight in a live setting. I was able to capture some of this on video, and I am now happy to share it with you.
While reviewing my recordings I realized that I didn’t know three of the tracks I taped. I emailed Grass Widow, and Hannah was kind enough to help me identify them.
Hannah informed me that the three tracks are from their yet to be recorded album for Slumberland Records! Grass Widow will be hitting the studio in January, and these three tracks, and many others, will be put to tape. Enjoy:
Grass Widow- “Give Me Shapes”
Grass Widow- “Landscape”
Grass Widow- “Uncertain Memory”
Thanks to Hannah, and the rest of Grass Widow, for identifying these songs for me. I’m really looking forward to the new record, and to your return to New York!
Who knew that a walk to Permanent Records on Saturday would produce such lush soundscapes? I sure didn’t…all I knew was that my copy of Karl Blau’s Zebra had come in…but sitting there on the wall was one of the newest things to come out of the Olde English Spelling Bee…Julian Lynch‘s Orange you Glad.
I had heard two tracks off the eight song LP, and knew that was enough to peak my interest enough to grab the LP. And as always with OESB the record probably had less than a thousand copies pressed. This record was released back in August, but this was the first I have seen it in the shops.
Julian Lynch is an interesting character…he has worked for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and is strongly influenced by world music siting Indian and South Asian music specifically. Lynch also employs a wide array of instruments including harmonium, tabla, and is known for his use of circular breathing techniques on the clarinet.
While Lynch’s influences and musical talents lends itself easily to pop music these days Lynch has successfully created a beautiful album that focuses more on lush tones, and and harmonies rather than traditional pop structure. A great way to look at Orange You Glad is in relation to Lynch’s friend and musical cohort Matt Mondanile of Ducktails. Where Ducktails, at least for me, makes music for warm weather…Lynch has created it’s counter part…a mostly instrumental album that is perfect for cooler weather and the winter to come. When there are vocals they tend to lend themselves to the song structure almost more so than to the words themselves. Lynch toys with this realm of noise music that is experimental and at the same extremely engaging to the listener…even those who might typically be averse to something that even dabbles in the realm of noise. The Eastern influences are felt throughout the album, and when they are the main focus (like on “Mercury” and the epic ten minute “The Flood”) provide a warming feeling that I haven’t felt yet this year…maybe bringing to mind places with climates of much kinder weather. It is also hard to deny that Lynch is an excellent guitarist giving the album a bit of a psychedic twist, and this is obvious in “Venom.”
Purchase Orange You Glad from Julian Lynch here, or if you have other musical needs at insound here.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up…it is already making this cold fall a little bit better for me.
Julian Lynch will be preforming tonight via live broadcast at Chocolate Bobka’s Showcase at Monkey Town. The line up for the show is nothing less than stellar:
Please note Ducktails will not be playing this show, but Mountain Man will.
Julian Lynch also has a show at the Project Lodge in Madison, WI with the Dirty Beaches (Projectors oops…sorry about that one) on November 25th.
I wrote about Love Comes Close earlier this week, and how much I’m loving Cold Cave these days. Love Comes Close is pretty much a perfect dance album at least for people who don’t typically dig dance music…some people might think it nods to New Order a little bit hard, but that doesn’t bother me one bit.
Cremations has finally been released on LP (the CD came out earlier this year), and it compiles many of the out of print more experimental musings of Cold Cave into one album (Como Potions LP, Electric Dreams Cassette, and the Painted Nails EP..among other things). My special order has arrived at Permanent Records, and I plan on picking it up tonight. From what I have heard of the album it really lets the heavier back grounds of Wesley Eisold and Dominick Fernow come out. While it still has touches of the lighter uptempo music that I love from Love Comes Close it definitely brings the bands dark, almost industrial, side into perspective.
Cremations was released on Fernow’s very own Hospital Productions. Here is what the label has to say about the release:
Vinyl LP edition. Cremations is a collection of early demo/live/and unreleased tracks from Cold Cave. From the projects isolated beginnings to the recent full band line-up the development of this singular musical entity is documented here in its icy electronic glory. From Cold Cave’s infancy sexual identity and oblique existentialism have been expressed through biting lyrics and electronic minimalism. Rarely has the human condition been exposed so brazenly as in “Sex Ads”. Melodies, noise and rhythms clash as stories from below the surface are retold. From the demo LP Coma Potion, which featured a rugged stripped down distortion, to the suggestive Electronic Dreams tour cassette (featuring the voice of Max Morton on the track “Heavenly Metals”). Cold Cave has developed its own brand of genre defying electronic music, without ever betraying its dark roots. Love and pornography, Industrial music and traditionalism, poetry and profanity all mix together in a hedonistic, cocktail of nihilistic nights and mournful mornings. Cremations collects all this work for the first and last time.
You might notice that the last line of this description says “Cremations collects all this work for the first and last time” and I don’t think this is an understatement. Hospital Productions is know for their high quality limited releases. If you have been loving Love Comes Close you might want to pick this one up when you see it.
the white lodge is a photography collaboration between klk and myself. We specialize in analog photography using both 35mm and medium format film. Please check out our flickr.
i occasionally post mp3s and videos on this blog for the sole purpose of promoting artists that I believe deserve attention. all songs are for sampling purposes only, if you like it there will be a link to buy music from the artist (or tour dates...go see them!). if by chance I post an mp3 or video with audio that you own, and you would like me to take it down please let me know. you can reach me at:
(tom at gprecs.com)
in this instance i am very sorry.
it's a slippery slope. RT: @mattlemay: This whole "hit the 'like' button to access this content" thing on Facebook is incredibly obnoxious.about 14 hours agofrom Echofon
