Friday, July 6, 2012

Introducing: Driving Mrs. Satan



Driving Mrs. Satan is an band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, with a novel idea: Take heavy metal songs and present them as indie pop.  The members of the band are Claudia Sorvillo (vocals), Ernesto Nobili (guitar), and Giacomo Pedicini (double bass).  In my opinion, it is a fun concept, but more important, it is good music.  Try out their cover of Black Sabbath's "Never Say Die" --



And they haven't forgotten the importance of AC/DC to the heavy metal genre, so here is "Hells Bells":




I'll close with the band's cover of Helloween's "I Want Out". I'm especially fond of this one.



The music of Driving Mrs. Satan can be found at the band page at several of the links below, so I encourage you to explore, and to keep these metalheads in mind.

Facebook
Soundcloud
Twitter ( @DrivingMrsSatan )
Reverbnation




REVIEW: The Semis - High On Pop EP


The Semis are a rock band from Tampa/St. Pete consisting of Billy Summer (who writes, sings, plays guitar and bass) and Kyle Lovell (drums). I don't qualify "rock" in any way, because to do so would be to minimize what they're doing. As I've observed in a previous review, they tend to veer from Stones raunch to clean, pretty, summery power pop (sometimes in the same song), and the common denominator is frontman Billy Summer's absolutely devastating way with a hook.

Whether it's any of the truly tasty guitar licks on songs like "Burn Your Eyes Like The Sun" and "The Smart One", or the rapturous vocals on the title track (currently my favorite song of 2012, by the way), The Semis define catchy... but without ever losing the edge that leads you to believe these guys could keep an Ybor City dive, or a bar full of SEC frat boys, rocking, dancing and hair-throwing along through a night of rock. That's a rare quality. To me, it puts Summer in a pretty small group with artists like Will Johnson, Jim James and Robert Pollard -- able to make a ridiculously catchy, poppy song, almost on demand... but also able to deliver razor-sharp rock with a pounding rhythm section and old-school guitar solos to keep things from getting too sweet.

As far as musical labels, you could call some of this psychedelic and you're never far from a power-pop breakout, but there are shoegaze elements in some of the guitar work - the way it's layered, mostly. And there are times this stuff, especially some of the solos that take flight, really reminds me of Crazy Horse.

Much like the Henry Clay People (read Scott's recent review), and personal favorite Centro-matic, I believe the Semis deserve a lot more exposure. Bands like this make wading through all the "other stuff" worthwhile. I've had the five songs on High On Pop on almost constant repeat for the last two weeks, and haven't tired of them yet.

Here's a link to download the EP. It's "name your price". Although I understand the reasoning behind offering to let you have it potentially free -- as a foretaste of a forthcoming album -- you really should pay for music this good. But hey, you're on the honor system. Me, I just want them to keep making music.



And today's your lucky day... Billy has also made the previous album Decapitator Blues available on Bandcamp. You can read my review if you would like, or you can just go ahead and download and listen for yourself.



Keep The Semis on your radar...

The Soul Corner - Some Kind of Wonderful

Here's a rocking jam from 1967 by a band out of Rochester NY, the Soul Brothers Six.


Of course you probably know the Grand Funk Railroad cover from 1975, which isn't too shabby at all, especially as these rock band covers of great soul songs go. They stay very true to the original and more than pull it off.


The Fantastic Johnny C also recorded it in 1968. Another winner.


Can I get a witness?

Thursday, July 5, 2012

New EP from Saint Max and the Fanatics



Saint Max and the Fanatics is Max Syed-Tollan, a young man from the Galloway region of Scotland.  Max describes his music as offbeat pop, but while that description is undeniably accurate, it doesn't begin to convey the scope of his work.  It seems to me that the songs offered on this self-titled EP range from exuberant indie pop to a style I would call contemporary Celtic cabaret, which may bring to mind Morrissey.  But whatever you want to call it, it is captivating and entertaining.  Understand, for a young man, Max has a lot to say, and he says much of it to music.

The EP includes five tracks, which can be streamed in full below, but we will take an individual look at three of the songs that I think demonstrate his musical range, compositional skills, sense of humor and deft touch in telling a story.  Our spotlight first shines on track three, the beautiful ballad "Wonderful Life" --


The energetic pop side of Max is ably represented by the following two tracks.  "A Life Worth Living", which is the lead track of the EP, is a rollicking pop tune that careens on the edge of going out of control and smashing the glassware; it is a fun ride.


Fun, did I mention fun?  Good timing that is, because the third track I'll bring to your attention is the excellent indie pop track with a wicked sense of humor: "Die Annie Die" --



Max has the musical talent and a great voice, and he appears to have the necessary dose of ambition.  I think he's one of the ones to watch.

Max's EP released on July 16.  If you are one of our UK readers, you can hear the Saint live on Saturday, July 14, at The Captain's Rest in Glasgow.  The album was recorded at Glasgow's venerable Green Door Studio.  The Fanatics are, for the most part, Max himself on vocals, guitar, bass and keys.  But the album also credits Muir Steele (guitars and bass), Elliot Waterhouse (brass), Fraser Gibson (brass), Ewan McCall (brass), Scott Murphy (brass), and Scott Duff (drums).

You can stream the entire EP here on Bandcamp.  If you prefer Soundcloud, here is the link.




Facebook
Multiple songs on Soundcloud
Twitter ( @saintmaxmusic )

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

RIP Andy Griffith: A Short Appreciation of His Contributions to the World of Music

I realize this is a music blog, but for some reason the news of Griffith's passing inspired me to want to share a few things with you...

Griffith was inspired to a career in the arts by his early love of music, and his first role was as folk singer/demagogue Lonesome Rhodes in 1957's A Face In The Crowd:



But of course, he was born and raised in North Carolina, and his best-known work was based there... and music was always a big part of the show. I was always partial to the version of the theme song with words:



And, heck, remember the Darlin's? (The Dillards) One of the best intersections of comedy and music ever - great, great stuff:



REVIEW: The Henry Clay People - Twenty-Five For The Rest Of Our Lives



A new album from Southern California's The Henry Clay People puts a bit of the old spotlight on the relationship, don't you know.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't mean our relationship with the band, which is a mutual twitter following and us telling everyone to buy their albums while they become rock and roll millionaires and fly in private jets to their tax haven mansions.  No, I mean the relationship of the WYMA crew about the band.  You see, if Bob Pollard's many artistic platforms comprise the spiritual inspiration for this blog, The Henry Clay People are the noisy, energetic heart where all of our tastes overlap.


It began a number of years ago when I was driving to work listening to Seattle's KEXP, and I heard the song "Something In The Water".  In my typical, debonair lawyer fashion I said out loud "that's a great f**king song".  KEXP taunted me over the next few months by playing that song, as well as "This Ain't A Scene" and "You Can Be Timeless", while I unsuccessfully tried to source the album, For Cheap or For Free, from a curiously unresponsive label.  I also began singing the band's praises on an alumni website that includes all of the eventual contributors to WYMA, and they enthusiastically embraced (in a figurative, mostly platonic fashion) the band.  Meanwhile, I eventually procured three of their albums, and John was moved to start this blog by a vision of Bob Pollard in his mirror while shaving one morning.  So now we are in a happy place to celebrate another album from The Henry Clay People.


Twenty-Five For The Rest Of Our Lives finds the band fine-tuning their signature rock sound while exploring the margins of rock and roll's impossible promise of eternal youth.  I say "fine-tuning" rather than polishing, because this music is, at its core, garage rock with reminders of The Replacements and Pavement (in sound, more the former than the latter for my ears); the smart band doesn't over polish that sound, and this is a smart band.  This album also continues the band's characteristic vocal approach, consisting of sing/speak lead vocals and call and response participation from the rest of the band.  The results are anthems that invite the audience to join in the chorus.  There can be no better first taste to the sound and spirit of the album than its  title track --



So, there we are.  In a day and age when much of the energy and thrust in pop music is based on synths and drum machines, and embracing and reinventing every musical form from the past 60 years except, it seems, rock, we have The Henry Clay People carrying the rock standard.  The album is tight and fast--11 songs in about a half hour.  And the boys deftly sidestep the deadly indie rock mid-tempo jungle, with most of the tracks lending themselves to fist pumping and jumping around.  Even when discussing the mid-20s pain of having to move home in "Hide", the perspective seems to be that of a young man looking around, rather than a full adult looking back.  Life may not be all skateboards and girls, but no one is admitting defeat.



That isn't to say that the band doesn't record fine slower songs, as evidenced by "Friends Are Forgiving" --


But the key to this all may be in a comment that Joey made about the album.  He said that they wanted to make an album that would have excited them as teenagers, but the route to doing so was to stumble a bit recently and direct their teenage angst at their allegedly unimpressive 20s.  That is the sort of concept that could have gone roadkill on a hot summer highway.  Fortunately for us, and the band, they stuck the landing.  In gratitude, I can only hope that they have as much fun making and playing this album as I do listening to it.

And for a fun closer, here is a live version of "Anymore / Any Less".  This recording seems to represent an advance in touring procedure wherein the band doesn't bother to leave the tour bus.


The Henry Clay People are Andy, Harris, Eric and Joey.  Andy and Joey are brothers, and have been with the band from its inception. Twenty-Five For The Rest Of Our Lives is out now on TBD Records.  You should be buying a copy.  Now.

Website
Facebook
Twitter ( @henryclaypeople )

Soul Corner - Special 4th of July edition

The United States of America has contributed many great things to the world, and here in the US, we celebrate many of them today - democracy, freedom, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. And it's a a fun holiday in no small part because in many households there are 2 other elements to the day - American music and barbeque.

And so today we give you some of America's finest, live versions of a few quintessential soul songs, festive and celebratory.


And speaking of dancing, we can't forget the Motor City:


Maybe this one can help you beat the heat that is bearing down on much of the country right now:

 
Now let that guitar fall in:


The man himself, America's great musical ambassador, Ray Charles:


We'll close this dance party and hopefully inspire the music for your own celebration with one of America's true legends, James Brown, just absolutely killing it here from 1965:


Happy 4th of July from all of us here at WYMA.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Update: Lisa Hannigan and Joe Henry

WYMA loves and supports both these artists. And a few lucky cities, including mine, got to see Mr. Joe Henry and the lovely Ms. Hannigan perform together recently. Along they way they did some impromptu recordings. This very recent recording from Portland:







The Railway Club



The Railway Club is a British chamber pop group that makes music that makes you feel good.  It is a public service, and it is very welcome.  Their debut single "Broken Strings", with B-side "Angel in the House", is available on July 9 as a digital download and a limited run of cassettes via Tiny Lights Recordings.  The band is preparing an album for a hoped-for August release.

Here is the A-side for the single:



The band is from the coastal town of South Shields, and its members are Martin Francis Trollope, David Garrick, Richard Milburn, Carmen Green, Glenn Coyne and Grant Lagan.  It appear that one or more of them have a sense of humor, because their Facebook page contains the following description: "Music played by a collection of people who wouldn't look out of place sleeping on the floor of a train station."

Here is the B-side:



Digital copies of the single will be available from Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, emusic and Amazon.

Website
Facebook
Twitter ( @railwaymusic )

Sunday, July 1, 2012

REVIEW: A Place To Bury Strangers - Worship


A Place to Bury Strangers, the noise pop foursome from Brooklyn, has this week released Worship, a dense and darkly hypnotic album that will bring back fond memories of Joy Division, Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine... but this band is not simply following influences.

They take it in several different directions - "And I'm Up" is a really accessible guitar rock song, whereas lead track "Alone" features some pretty primal industrial drumming and "Mind Control" calls to mind something like a more aggressive Bauhaus. In fact, lead singer Oliver Ackermann definitely calls to mind Peter Murphy, an old favorite.

The variety in guitar sounds, and Ackermann's vocals, make this more than just another industrial noise rock record, and well worth checking out. It even veers into psychedelic territory on "And I'm Up"... We posted the advance track and the video for album track "You Are The One" on WYMA previously here.

And courtesy of their label, Dead Oceans, you can download "You Are The One" here.

And here's the video for "So Far Away":



And a live video (of an older song, "Burning Plastic") from a European appearance:



They'll be back out on tour the rest of the summer:

07/16/12 - Columbus, OH - The Basement
07/17/12 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
07/18/12 - Indianapolis, IN - White Rabbit
07/19/12 - St. Louis, MO - Firebird
07/20/12 - Lincoln, NE - Bourbon Theatre
07/21/12 - Denver, CO - Underground Music Showcase
07/23/12 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
07/24/12 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
07/25/12 - Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall
07/26/12 - Washington DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
07/27/12 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (Record Release)
07/28/12 - Philadelphia, PA - TBD
07/29/12 - Boston, MA - Middle East Downstairs
07/30/12 - New Haven, CT - The Space

A Place To Bury Strangers Website

New Dinosaur Jr. Song: "Watch The Corners" from I Bet On Sky, due out in September


Pretty exciting news - Dinosaur Jr. is touring later this summer and into the fall, and has a new album, I Bet On Sky, due out in September.

You can stream the advance single now at Rolling Stone. And you should - it sounds great.

Pretty excited about this album and seeing them on tour this fall. Farm was a terrific record -



- no reason to expect less this time.


Here are the tour dates:

Tour Dates:
07/06/12 Des Moines, IA: 80/35 Music Festival
08/25/12 St. Louis, MO: LouFest 2012
09/24/12 Toronto, ON: Lee's Palace
09/25/12 Toronto, ON: Lee's Palace
09/26/12 Toronto, ON: Lee's Palace
09/27/12 Detroit, MI: St. Andrew's Hall
09/28/12 Cincinnati, OH: MidPoint Music Festival
09/29/12 Champaign, IL: Pygmalion Festival
10/01/12 Nashville, TN: Mercy Lounge*
10/02/12 Atlanta, GA: Variety Playhouse*
10/03/12 New Orleans, LA: Tipitina's*
10/04/12 Austin, TX: Mohawk*
10/05/12 Houston, TX: Fitzgerald's*
10/06/12 Dallas, TX: The Prophet Bar*
10/08/12 Flagstaff, AZ: Orpheum Theater*
10/09/12 Santa Ana, CA: The Observatory*
10/10/12 San Francisco, CA: The Fillmore*
10/11/12 Eugene, OR, WOW Hall*
10/12/12 Seattle, WA: Neptune Theatre*
10/14/12 Salt Lake City, UT: Urban Lounge*
10/15/12 Denver, CO: Bluebird Theater*
10/17/12 Omaha, NE: The Waiting Room*
10/18/12 Minneapolis, MN: Cabooze*
10/19/12 Madison, WI: Majestic Theatre*
10/20/12 Grand Rapids, MI: The Orbit Room*
10/22/12 Bloomington, IN: The Bluebird*
10/23/12 Cleveland, OH: Beachland Ballroom*
10/24/12 Millvale, PA: Mr. Smalls Theatre*
10/25/12 Washington, DC: Black Cat*
10/26/12 Charlottesville, VA: Jefferson Theater*
10/27/12 Philadelphia, PA: Union Transfer*

Friday, June 29, 2012

REVIEW: The Menzingers -- On the Impossible Past



I think On the Impossible Past is a really important album that everyone should know about. That's how I answer myself when I ask myself why I feel the need to do this review, when the album came out 4 months ago on a big-time label (Epitaph), and, for a period of weeks if not months, had the highest new release metascore on Metacritic. Hell, I've owned this album for months, listened to it dozens of times. My wife is obsessed with it, and it would get her vote for AOY if there were universal suffrage in this principality. Yet no one else I know knows about this record. Maybe that means I hang out with a bunch of stiff honkies, and despite my generally malevolent disposition toward white people, the observation is not entirely off-base. But do this -- go to Pitchfork (who are, self-styled at least, unstiff honkies) and type Menzingers into their search field. You get "sorry, no results match your query." Wha?

The Menzingers formed in Scranton, Pennsylvania a few years ago, and are now based out of Philadelphia. They are a true American punk band, with songs about girls, drinking, and dreaming about getting to some place different, and maybe better, than here (wherever here is). They take their punk music and cram it into perfect popsong structures. The playing is beautiful and very loud. The singing is powerful and emotive (but not emo), careening between straight-played rock vocals and surprising harmonies and well-spaced yelling. I'm not overselling the very broad appeal of what this band does. Indeed, verily let it be said, negatively I crappeth thee. Here's the video of their song "Nice Things":



The group is a traditional four piece (two lead singers is traditional now, no?), with Tom May and Greg Barnett singing and playing guitar, Joe Godino on drums, and Eric Keen on bass. Once I was drawn in by the great songs and great playing, I started hearing other things -- mainly lyrics that are intelligent and measured and authentic all at once. This is one of those rare bands that seems effortlessly to be able to distill the sublime from the prosaic. They draw believable characters, and put them in familiar bad places. Sometimes it gets to the point of making you wonder whether you used to know these people. Consider this, from the terrific song "Mexican Guitars":

You were an old friend
The kind I could confide in
And drink with on random neighbors' porch steps
Our glossy eyes painted portraits of the streets
You were an old friend
That covered up your innocence
With five tattoos of all the bands you loved in high school
The ones you said that I had to listen to all the time

Hell, consider the song itself:



There are 13 songs on this record, and not a weak half-note to be heard. Not only do I have trouble listing a favorite, but, maybe more illustrative of my irrational infatuation, there's no way in hell I could name a least favorite. Sure, some songs speak to me more than others. For example, the (nsfw) chorus of "Obituaries" would serve well as the epitaph on my gravestone:



I'm all for the idea behind this blog's mission to write only about music we like. There's so much great stuff being released every day that it doesn't make any sense to me (or to my friends who write here) to spend time writing about music that we consider crappy for one reason or another. What's the point? To try to influence you not to buy it? We ain't Consumer Reports. The flip-side of that, though, is that I worry I run the risk of sounding like a teenage cheerleader when I get to fawning over this or that album -- to the point of abandoning any critical credibility. I mention this here because I really do think this Menzingers album is important in a way that other albums I've reviewed may not be. We need to try to keep them around and writing and playing for a long time.

Menzingers on Facebook

Menzingers Epitaph page (you can buy the album here)

The Soul Corner: David Ruffin "My Whole World Ended"

We took the kids to a big concert this week and the opening act was an up and coming young neo-soul singer who shall remain nameless due to the philosophy of our friendly little blog here.
But I did start thinking about the genuine article - the vocals, persona and even fashion sense of a great Motown artist that this no doubt well intentioned young fellow was trying so hard to imitate.

Which brings me to this video, poorly lip synched as it may be. We've praised the great David Ruffin here before and probably will again. Larger than life, the very definition of the real deal. After leaving the Temptations for a solo career, David Ruffin had a few more great songs, like this one here:

Thursday, June 28, 2012

New tunes from Preteen


As long time readers of WYMA know, I'm quite fond of the music of San Francisco's PreTeen.  The band is on these pages again to share some songs that have popped up since the February release (our review here).  The stuff has a great, relaxed, lo-fi vibe that the band calls "slop pop".  It is good summer listening.

"Kisses from Sixth Street" --


"House of Shivers" --


"White Elephant" --


"Keep It Simple" --


Facebook
Bandcamp

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

New Release: Future of What - Moonstruck EP


Future of What plays electronic-based rock with all kinds of keyboard sounds and delightful female lead vocals. It's reminiscent of some of the early MTV-era electronic pop you may recall from artists like Berlin, and some of the instrumental work is definitely in the vein of European dance rock. Their 4-song EP, Moonstruck, is presented as the precursor for an album later this year and it's pretty catchy stuff.

Here's the video for "Back To The City":



The first single, "I Wait For You" was previously posted on WYMA here. That and two other songs are pretty sprightly, but they stretch out on track 4, "Party in Heaven" and hint at some of the, maybe darker, Euro-influenced synth-pop possibilities here.

But, in the end, Blair's vocals are the centerpiece and these are well-structured songs. Check it out via their free download at Soundcloud:




I'm fairly impressed, considering this band was just formed in January of this year and recorded these songs in March... looking forward to hearing more.

I Am Harlequin - new EP Craze out next week


We've featured I Am Harlequin, which is German artist Anne Freier, on WYMA previously and really enjoy her singing style and presence.

She's got an EP, Craze, out next week and here is a video for the song "Wild One", recorded with a full choir:



And here is a link to the original version of that track on Soundcloud. On that page, you can see how to buy the music on iTunes.

As I observed when I first heard her last year, one of her best features is the variety in song structure... but the vocals are impeccable throughout.



REVIEW: Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse




Ty Segall is a stalwart of the Bay Area garage rock resurgence.  He also is one of the hardest working and prolific musicians on the scene today.  Nevertheless, Slaughterhouse is a milestone of sorts as it is the first recording using his touring band.  The result is not only a garage rock gold nugget, but a contender for the noisy rock album of the year so far.  Fans of Segall and his live band know what to expect (only more so).  For those less familiar, you should know that what you get will be fuzzy, distorted guitars, howling vocals, and big garage riffs.  They are psych-pop songs at their core, but while the pop elements are very close to the surface of some songs, in other songs the pop is fully enveloped by the band's maelstrom.  It occurs to me that Slaughterhouse is the best possible advertisement for those considering attending a live performance of this outfit.

The album begins with full bore blast via "Death", "I Bought My Eyes" and "Slaughterhouse".  Here is "I Bought My Eyes" --




"Tell Me What's Inside Your Heart" mines the psychedelic side of garage rock with confidence and swagger--

  

The pop hooks come up a bit higher for air in portions of the second half of the album.  My favorite is the infectious '60s garage rock of "Muscle Man" --


And by the way, if you like "Muscle Man", you will want to hear the two following album tracks, "That's the Bag I'm In" and "Diddy Wah Diddy".

To recap, we have heavy sounds, feedback, distortion, vocals at the breaking point and hooks surfing the whole thing like locals on big wave day on Oahu's  North Shore.  I haven't had this much fun with a rock album in a very long time.

Ty Segall Band is Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, Charlie Moothart, and Emily Rose Epstein.  Slaughterhouse was released this week by In The Red Records.



Ty Segall's Facebook
In The Red Records
Label page for the band/album

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

REVIEW: Charlie Big Time - Dishevelled Revellers



I've learned several things in blogging about music this year, and one of them is to pay attention when Matinee Recordings advises me of a new release.  In this case, the album is Dishevelled Revellers -- four tracks of superb guitar pop from Bolton, UK's Charlie Big Time.  This is the kind of early Creation Records style pop that, for some of us, never goes out of fashion; particularly when it is this well done.   But when an EP leads off with my new favorite song, I know I'll give the entire EP a chance.  Listen for the vocal hook in the chorus just past the 1 minute mark -- I think you'll agree that it is high quality, and the sort of thing that is responsible for the early demise of many innocent "replay" buttons.






Chris Tiplady and Matt Pendlebury  released the band's first EP on Cloudberry Records in 2007.  In the intervening years they released an LP and placed songs on some indie compilations.  For Dishevelled Revellers, Chris and Matt invited Beth Arzy of Aberdeen and Trembling Blue Stars fame to add her vocal abilities to the group.  The wonderful result is top-flight songwriting and polished performances, with Beth providing a bit of sunshine to the lightly melancholic arrangements.


Enjoy the second track, "The Liberation of Love" --


 Dishevelled Revellers is released today, and because I can only assume that this post has convinced you that the EP is worth your time and money, I've provided the Matinee and Amazon links below.

Track three, "Real Estate" --


Facebook
Dishevelled Revellers link at Matinee Recordings
Matinee Recordings
Amazon link for the EP

Monday, June 25, 2012

REVIEW: Echo Lake - Wild Peace


I regret to begin this review on a sad note, but we send our condolences to the family and girlfriend of Echo Lake's drummer, Pete Hayes, and to Pete's bandmates.  Peter died last Thursday and we learned of it on Sunday.  So the release of this album, which should be a time of great joy for the band, undoubtedly is colored by sadness.


Imagine My Bloody Valentine infused with affecting female vocals and extra attention to melody.  A nice idea, right?  Well, London's Echo Lake think so as well, and have executed it to great effect on Wild Peace, a dream pop album with a distinctive aggressive edge.  The result is an impressive debut, brimming with confidence and purpose and showcasing an excellent set of songs.

"Last Song of the Year" is one of the more pop-oriented songs, with an infectious Stone Roses-style guitar riff and a Spectoresque wall of sound --



The title track, "Wild Peace" is one of several beautiful slower songs that highlight Linda's vocal powers.  Other songs, such as "Another Day", are chameleons, shifting between girl-group sweetness and a shoegazey sonic tapestry.




"Young Silence" displays the raw sonic overdrive reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine --



If this is your introduction to the band, don't feel behind the times.  At this point, their fan base is largely in the UK.  However, I expect that to change with Echo Lake.  I expect that more than a few tracks here will compete for spots on your summer soundtrack.  Then you can relax and watch this band get big over the next few years.

The members of the band are Thom, Linda, Pete (R.I.P.), Kier, and Steve.


Echo Lake is out in the UK on 6/25 on No Pain In Pop and in the US on Slumberland on 6/26.

Website
Facebook
Twitter ( @echolakeband )
Slumberland Records
No Pain In Pop

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Saturday morning concert with the Allah-Las




The Allah-Las have emerged as one of my favorite bands this year (my review of their recent EP is here).  There is a temptation to throw labels on bands, but I'll pass on playing this game for now, and just state that the way their music makes me feel is one of the principal reasons I listen to music.  So I've chosen to make your summer Saturday morning better by giving you a little internet concert.  Consider supporting the group and owning their music.

Here is the title track to their EP --



"Don't You Forget It" --
 


"Long Journey" --


"No Voodoo" --



"Busman's Holiday" --


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