Flying Face-First into a Shit Storm

Like staring into a stratosphere filled with space junk and disposed amputee limbs, Dead Gaze has a sound that encircles the recent shitgaze phenomena that people refer to with Times New Viking and the Pink Noise. But really the songs are gentler, with some that seem to be about love and friendship, at least ‘I’m a Mess When You’re Gone’ and ‘Remember What Brought Us Here’. Cole Furlow is the main brains behind Dead Gaze, but plays live with Alexander Warren on drums and Jimmy Cajoleas on lead guitar. His songs are all blasted synths and washed out reverb, accumulating sounds like dirt on the soles of your shoes or unexplainable junk that piles up in your bedroom. ‘Remember What Brought Us Here’ sounds like a memorable teen anthem, complete with singalong “wah” vocals and four chords. It sounds like it was recorded and rerecorded onto tape through a ghetto blaster 20 times and then played backwards. The heavy psychedelic delivery of the simple-at-heart pop songs echoes Jay Reatard, while ‘I’m A Mess’ is a scary, squelchy ballad with mutilated vocals. Dead Gaze has a show coming up with drone kings Indian Jewelry as well as a gig at Shea Stadium in NYC with Pure Ecstacy and Salem DJing on October 20. There’s a Dead Gaze/Gray Things split tape out on Clandestine Records, and Dead Gaze’s End of Days, Why Not You? tape is out via Mirror Universe Tapes.

Dead Gaze- Remember What Brought Us Here: MP3

Dead Gaze- Myspace

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Mississippi, U.S.A
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Do The Rain Dance

If you just wanna rock out in the most unashamed way possible – screaming guitar riffs, pulsing drums and howling ambiguous vocals that turn to shrieks of joy – then Baltimore noise rock duo Weekends is for you. Brendan Sullivan and Adam Lempel formed the band in 2008 while both students (studying sculpture and philosophy respectively), and each take turns playing guitar and drums. Adam also helps out in Winks and Brendan makes solo noise folk music, but they make an absurdly big noise in Weekends. ‘Rain Girls’ is an epic riff-out that revolves around menacing drums and heavily effected guitar, playing a simple but raucous jam designed to inspire victory dances. The vocals take a more droney approach that eventually drags the song into a watery slumber, but it’s not without chaos. They inspire dance grooves with their staccato guitars and almost !!! intensity in ‘Roommate’; it would be a challenging listen if it wasn’t so fun. Their noisy drone wash over everything casts spells and wreaks havoc. The band made their first album available for free download, and they released a split cassette with Total Slacker on Breakfast of Champs. Pre-order their second album, Strange Cultures, which was mixed and mastered by Rob Girardi (Beach House, Double Dagger, Celebration) from Friends Records.

Weekends- Rain Girls: MP3

Weekends- Psychedelic Mice: MP3

Weekends- Myspace

Photo by RaRah

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A
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Diminished Pitch

Raindeer’s self-titled, debut EP could well be the best pop record of the year, and it’s made by a little known band based in Baltimore, USA.  Their synth explosions hit all the right notes and their drugged out guitar lines bubble just below the surface waiting to be transported to a world of weed-loving geeks and daisy hugging cyborgs. MGMT’s pop influence is all over it, but its infusion is met with resistance, far removed from psychedelic hippy wasters to roam among foraging technophiles. Mixing cheesiness with loads of catchy hooks in this case releases a rather enticing melody. The vocals are wrapped in 1960’s hypnosis, recalling the sound of Manfred Mann, Nirvana and The Zombies while the instrumental arrangements are dead modern, dripping with references to MGMT (’Dark Place’), Irish psychedelic folk band Hal (’Juanita’) and Neon Indian (’Green Light’). It’s a reminder that pop music is designed to be carefree, unaware of its surroundings and blinded by reality.

If you want to hear more you can download Raindeer’s entire EP for free.

 Raindeer- Dark Place: MP3

 Raindeer- Social Networking: MP3

 Raindeer- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Baltimore, U.S.A
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Kaleidoscopic Dreamer

Here’s a cute wee song from Glasser’s debut album Ring, out September 28 on True Panther. Where her previous work amalgamated icy, tribal rhythms and slightly crooked, warped synths, this new track, titled ‘Home’, is scattered with hand claps and clunky teardrops. Gone are comparisons to Kate Bush and Bjork and in come comparisons to Feist and White Hinterland. ‘Home’ sounds like a winter pop song set high in the Himalayan mountains, with previously aligned avant-garde instrumentation having been replaced by orchestral strings, woodwind and bass. Cameron Mesirow’s voice again casts a long shadow; beautifully primitive and striking, it’s perfectly coated in reverb. Having shot to fame via her first two releases, Glasser’s debut album is set to sparkle in the hearts of those awaiting more of her minimalist dream-pop.

Glasser- Home: MP3

Glasser- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Los Angeles, U.S.A
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Indigestible Melody

We already know Florida native Mike Diaz from his hypnotically awesome remix of Memoryhouse’s ‘To The Lighthouse’, and it was exactly that transformative ability showcased there that made me want to check out his own stuff. The guy clearly has a talent for pristine pop, syncopated rhythms, breathy synth melodies and banging beats. His songs have been compared to Toro Y Moi, Washed Out and Small Black, but have a distinct feeling of isolation and contemplation that sets him apart. His electronic creations are not all blissful sun-drenched babes moonlighting as death drone; ‘Day We Met’ has an unnerving quality that will have your stomach tied in knots and your breathing quickened. Its jarring, stuttering vocal clips shatter the wall of dreary noise in the latter half’s bugged out, epileptic rave. But ‘Mien’ is the opposite; a cool, crisp Knight Rider theme striding with confidence through misty streets with an unblinking stare. ‘Weak Ends’ features a springy melody-driven rhythm with strong, cavernous vocals. Download his Sunndreamm EP for free from his myspace and follow his blog for more covers and remixes.

Millionyoung- Weak Ends: MP3

Millionyoung- Mien: MP3

Millionyoung- Chlorophyll: MP3

Millionyoung- Myspace

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Florida, U.S.A
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Blood Brothers and Sisters

As well as being a talented songwriter and indestructible DIY force, Paul A Rosales has been recording and producing bands in his local Southern California for the past seven years. Now he has decided to release a compilation of these recordings via his blog to showcase all his friends’ bands. Featuring two tracks from each by Tan Dollar, Pearl Harbor/Puro Instinct, Cosmonauts, Muddy Flowers, Dash Jacket, Stellarphone, Moon Pearl and Paul’s own band Wonder Wheel, the mix is like a metaphorical and mutual pat on the back to all these great players in the flourishing scene. All of the bands have the distinctly casual, creative West Coast vibe that we know and love, and some of the songs are previously unreleased, including the Pearl Harbor (now Puro Instinct) mp3 below. Paul says, “Some of these names you have heard before, some not at all; either way you will enjoy the lush collection of California dudes and dudettes.” Stellarphone’s two rowdy garage blasts are a highlight, as are Moon Pearl and Wonder Wheel. Click the link below to download the whole mix and tell us your faves!

Pearl Harbor- Hubbsian Lament: MP3

Click to download free Wonder Wheel Presents compilation

Wonder Wheel- Blog

Posted by Sarah Gooding under California, U.S.A
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Digging Up Your Candles

When I first heard Totally Nebular from Florida after seeing them on Emily Reo’s radio show playlist I was surprised and excited. Totally Nebular makes the kind of fun, unhinged pop music that sounds bigger than its three band members, like a beach blow out with The Unicorns, Man Man, Animal Collective and Ponytail in attendance. Eddie Roqueta, Weston Mansfeld and Gabriel Berrios have been playing together since 2007, and became Totally Nebular in 2008. In their songs, playful synths have noisy parties with bouncy guitars, clattering drums and the occasional little whistle or blood curdling scream. Songs like ‘Green Tops’ have flurries of energy made up of many different parts to form a self-conscious party pop opus. Rising and falling tides create an unpredictable mass riot of guitar and drums, in ‘I Saw Four Deer’ there’s a chaotic cacophony of shouts and squiggly guitars all elbowing for room, it’s a crazy, fun, happy mess. I think ‘White Lincoln’ may be my pick of the bunch though, swirling samples melt into sparkly guitars and chorus yells, with badass crappy boombox beats and twee interludes! Florida’s looking increasingly like a fun musical haven that deserves to be explored more. You can start by downloading Totally Nebular’s debut album Boat Boat for free from their myspace.

Totally Nebular- White Lincoln: MP3

Totally Nebular- I Saw Four Deer: MP3

Totally Nebular- Myspace

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Florida, U.S.A
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Sea Spray Visions

Notoriously shy bedroom producer Dayve Hawk’s multi-layered, spacey electronic jams swing between the jovial and the downcast, but remain dancey despite their varied outlooks. Memory Tapes was born out of Hawk’s other projects, Cassette Tapes and Weird Tapes. Beautiful, meandering vocals coalescing with snappy drum machine rhythms and guitar painted in reverb eventually escalate into dancey electronic pop in songs like ‘Bicycle’ and ‘Plain Material’. The latter starts off slow, but eventually ends up sounding more like Javelin’s jamming collage celebrations, with plenty of fun, whimsical riffs to lift your mood, and has caused critics to praise Hawk’s ability to convey sadness and happiness all at once. ‘Green Knight’ is similar in its slight schizophrenia, with its bouncy bass disco dance and subdued sounding lyrics. Hawk gets into indulgent drone territory in ‘Pink Stones’, a cute bedroom pop song with a dance bent that sounds like it was recorded in an overturned boat being swallowed slowly by an octopus. He’s done some pretty transformative remixes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Crystal Castles, Phoenix and Taken By Trees amongst others that have also earned him accolades. Seek Magic, Memory Tapes’ first album, has been repressed and is available to buy here. Memory Tapes is currently on tour in Europe, with slots at Parklife Festival in Australia on the horizon.

Memory Tapes- Bicycle: MP3

Memory Tapes- Plain Material: MP3

Memory Tapes- Myspace

Memory Tapes- Blog

Posted by Sarah Gooding under New Jersey, U.S.A
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Young Grizzly

It’s easy to accuse James Nee of ripping off Grizzly Bear, but he’s probably going to be the next big thing in indie music because of it. His debut EP, titled Boyfriend, is full of the same joyous harmonies that found Grizzly Bear fame with Veckatimest, and his voice shares similar characteristics to Daniel Rossen. Like Grizzly Bear or Rossen’s other band Department Of Eagles, We Are Trees’ music similarly builds through cascading strings (violin and cello), docile guitar picking and heavy tom drums to form a bed for Nee’s perfectly delivered, husky vocals. Whether Nee consciously wanted to sound like Grizzly Bear or DOE is difficult to maintain,  but he has certainly created a near replica, if only differentiating slightly on Boyfriend’s forth (and last) track ‘Final Round’. The song shares similar elements with Scandinavian pop bands like The Raveonettes and The Radio Dept; in the up/down chords that form the main guitar melody and the use of a simple plodding drum beat. While sounding like two well-established bands dogs listening to We Are Trees, it’s still very clear that they’re a band to take seriously, especially if they can overcome the constant comparison currently bestowed upon them.

We Are Trees’ debut EP, Boyfriend, is available via Bandcamp as a free digital download.

Visit the band’s Myspace page to hear their cover of Best Coast’s ‘When I’m With You’.

 We Are Trees- Dear Chan Marshall: MP3

We Are Trees- Final Round: MP3

We Are Trees- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under U.S.A, Virginia
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Twins On Wire

Ryan Olson’s Gayngs is a project that’ll make most musicians jealous. What began as a table project with Zack Coulter and Adam Hurlburt ended up being much more, eventually involving more than 25 musicians from various musical backgrounds and various cities throughout North America. Of most notoriety is Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, who adds smooth RnB vocals to a number of tracks, along with contributions from saxophonist Michael Lewis (Andrew Bird), Ivan Howard (The Rosebuds) and rappers P.O.S and Dessa.

Signed to Jagjaguwar soon after recording their debut album, Gayngs’ Relayted has become one of the most highly regarded albums of 2010. Coulter’s beautifully enchanted vocals provide Gayngs with a smooth vicarious platform, helping to piece together a collection of soulful backing vocals, antique electronics and amorous guitar tunes. The whole album has a soft, friendly luminance, coming from a slightly damaged sound that resurrects and builds upon itself. Its heavenly, angel-like melodies breathe life through a smattering of gentle percussion and 80’s style guitar lines, making lovers see red and leaving the unloved pining for an outstretched hand. Relayted is nostalgic but has a modern twist, bound together by an elegance and understanding of romantic positioning.

Released in May, you can purchase Gayngs’ debut album Relayted from Jagjaguwar’s mail order catalogue.

 Gayngs- Spanish Platinum: MP3

Gayngs- The Gaudy Side Of Town: MP3

Gayngs- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Minneapolis, U.S.A
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