Denver, Colorado’s Weed Diamond have been making their way on to my computer for many months now.  One of the most unique, and unexpectedly awesome ways was from Get Off the Coast’s DENVER’s Show and Tell: TV Themes post where Weed Diamond covered the theme to Pepper Ann (there are two other covers on that post by other Denver bands, and believe me all worth checking out).

While I’ve been enjoying their tunes for some time nothing had hit me as hard as their new tracks from their new 7″ on Transparent (pictured above).

“Oklahoma” is a song that just rings out from the first note.  The lead up is a little bit of feedback into the crystal clear upbeat guitar riff sets the tone for the entire track.  As the drums and the tambourine kick in you can anticipating the vocals about come. The slightly hollow blown out are the perfect acompanyment to the the sing song chorus.  The chorus almost reminds me of an oldies tune revamped by these very talented men from Denver.  This track has been stuck in my head for days(humming the chorus while I ride my bike is something I commonly find myself going), and I’m starting to wish I knew the lyrics.

[mp3] Weed Diamond- “Oklahoma”

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The a-side of this 7″ is the slightly more fuzzy “Snowmelt” and Jheri from Get Off the Coast recently did an amazing video for this track…I won’t say any more….just watch:

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• Buy this 7″ from Leftest Nautical Antiques in the USA here.
  • or Pure Groove in Europe here.

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Go see Weed Diamond on tour with TAN DOLLAR!  Tour dates can be found here.

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This is part of my Speed Dating series.  You can read more about singles I have featured in this series here.

What is Speed Dating?  Well on the Great Pumpkin that is where a bunch of singles get together, and hang out, but this time it’s mp3s, 7″s, and EPs rather than people.  Speed Dating is where I highlight some tracks that I have been listening to lately.  Whether I like them, hate them, am intrigued by them… no matter what I think they are note worthy for one reason or another. Each post will feature one to five songs by different bands, and aim to get my thoughts out on music that I have been trying to write about, but might not have formed a strong enough opinion to write a full post on. Hence I think that Speed Dating is an appropriate heading for these posts….brief thoughts on singles from my record player and the web.

CO. is from Charleston South Carolina, and first caught my attention earlier this year when I heard “Waiting for Saints to Arrive” on Somebody Come and Play.  That song again showed up on the Charleston 2009 Compilation Zine (which if you are wondering what is going on artistically in Charleston, SC right now email Kim (at) maltedmilk.org for availability of the zine…lots of good stuff on there…and some more of it will be showing up here on the Great Pumpkin).  “Waiting for Saints to Arrive” is a fuzzy stoner jam that brings me back to college in a very good way.  As bored college kids in the south this song feels very true to life, but then again I feel that it is an anthem for bored youth everywhere.  It really captures something important about life, and the first time I heard it remember rewinding the Somebody Come podcast to listen to it five times in a row.  Starting off with just an electric guitar and vocals for almost the first thirty seconds I almost didn’t expect the rest of the band to kick in, but when it does it goes from a minimalist to full blown 90′s influenced indie guitar rock.  It’s a song I find myself returning to now, even months after I initially heard it.

[mp3] CO.- “Waiting for Saints to Arrive”

CO. seems to be moving away from the fuzzy guitar pop in favor of more complex, almost classic rock driven, jams.  They have posted five tracks from their upcoming full length, The Shepherd’s Ocean, on their myspace (and a lot more) for your listening pleasure.

Sole is one of those artists that I can credit with turning me on to hip hop, but I unfortunately haven’t been following him that closely in recent years.  Bottles of Humans, Sole’s debut, is possibly my favorite hip hop album ever, but in recent years he picked up a backing band…the Skyrider Band.  As expected this new track has what I remember best about Sole…his lyrics.  This particular track was remixed by Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow, and adds a touch that I didn’t expect to hear in a hip hop track, even with a live band…Tobacco successfully gives Sole a synthy psychedelic touch…not overwhelming, but enough to make the track unique and still let Sole shine.  Either way it was enough to make me seek out the EP, and check out the new full length.

[mp3] Sole & The Skyrider Band- “Battlefields (remixed by Tobacco)”

[full album download] Sole- Battlefields EP

buy releases by Sole here.

track via No Conclusion.

Big Troubles? The initial information about this group only pointed to good things…from Ridgewood, NJ…associated with Underwater Peoples…and now I read that they have a 7″ and an LP coming out on Olde English Spelling Bee, another 7″ on Blackburn, a split with Fluffy Lumbers scheduled for Transparent, and will also be on the Underwater Peeps Winter compilation.  Musically Big Troubles has a bit of the fuzzy beachy surfiness you would expect hailing from this New Jersey crew, but unlike the rest portrays an almost authentic 80′s vibe on the track “Freudian Slips.”  This track got me hooked, and so far Underwater Peeps and OESB can do no wrong…can’t wait to hear the LP…only good things can come from these guys.  Keep an eye on the record labels listed above for ordering info (and from the looks of it…I’ll be writing about some of these releases in the future).

[mp3] Big Troubles- “Freudian Slips”

Video: Big Troubles- “Freudian Slips” by Ray Concepcioñ

This is it for Speed Dating Vol. One, but I hope to have another edition up next week.  I’m really looking forward to this new segment on the Great Pumpkin, and I feel like I will be able to cover some bands that I have been meaning to talk about for a long time.  Cheers, Tom.