"Memory" from The Mantles

San Franciso's The Mantles will be touring in Europe near the end of October and the beginning of November.  But even better news (at least to those of us with no access to the tour venues) is the announcement of the Memory 7", to be released in early December by Slumberland records in North America and French labels Les Disques Steak and SDZ Records in Europe.  You can sample the guitar-driven garage rock on the A-side below.  Relaxed and jangling, it shows us that The Mantles haven't lose their capacity to deliver thrills.




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"Alena" from Yumi Zouma

New Zealand's electro-poppers Yumi Zouma have graced us with another shimmering slice of pop magic.  Stream "Alena" below, and enjoy the warmth as summer slides into autumn.  The single is out now via Casine, and is available from the usual digital sources.


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The Debutantes - The Debutantes EP

If Bek and Graeme at Soft Power Records ever go prospecting for gold, I suggest that you follow them and set up a nearby camp, because they have a knack for discovering nuggets.  With a budget a fraction of that enjoyed by even mid-size labels, these sharp-eared folks have attained an admirable and enviable string of discoveries.  No, Soft Power won't be putting out the third LP of a band that has already become well known.  But you can count on them to find a band that has a great sound, good writing, and only a small and regional following.  Bek and Graeme will release a few songs on cassette, vinyl and/or digital, giving the band some needed exposure, astute collectors a piece of aural gold, and me a chance to gush a bit.  Past releases have included recordings from September Girls, Blood of the Bull, Rosy Crucifixion, The Wharves, Obedient Wives Club, and Aggie Doom.

And unsurprisingly, little label from Livingston, Scotland has done it again.  The next release is the self-titled debut EP from Galway, Ireland's The Debutantes.  The band members are Leon Butler (guitar and vocals), Sarah Grimes of September Girls and Cruising on drums, and Paula Cullen of September Girls on bass and vocals.  In five tracks the trio delivers a thrilling mix of garage, shoegaze, dream pop, reverb and fuzz, with male/female vocals and an occasional bit of scuzz rock.  Opening track "Burn The Merchandise" kicks off with swaggering, chiming garage rock.   Shoegaze is on offer for following track "Gentleman's Wash".  The third song is the dreamy "Kids", which has a hazy vocals over a shimmering arrangement and some Spectorish production.  "X&Y" is a reverb heavy garage rocker with pounding percussion and male/female vocals.  The EP closes with  the scuzzy adrenaline rush of  "Adam's Apple".




Gentlemans Wash from Leon Butler on Vimeo.




The Debutantes EP is out on October 11, but pre-orders are available now.

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Introducing: Ultimate Painting

Ultimate Painting is a side project, but it is a side project with a lot of promise.  Consisting of James Hoare from Veronica Falls (in the second side project of his to feature on our pages this year) and Jack Cooper from Mazes.  With their debut LP set for release on October 28 via the Trouble In Mind label, James and Jack are giving fans a preview via the album tracks "Winter In Your Heart" and "Ten Street".  We suggest you keep your ears out for Ultimate Painting.  They are playing several dates in the eastern United Sates and in London in the latter half of October.




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REVIEW: The Popguns - Lovejunky 7"

The return of Brighton's beloved The Popguns in 2012 was warmly welcomed by indie pop fans.  But not content with adding a new drummer, a background singer and playing their old material, the band's return takes a big step forward this year with the release of new music.  If Pop Fiction, the LP to be released near the end of the year is the main course, then this month's Lovejunky 7" is the perfect appetizer.  The title track is the sort of up tempo guitar pop on which The Popguns earned their fame: Note perfect and sincerely affecting vocals over loud guitars and muscular power chords.  I don't know about you, but if The Popguns and I were standing in a downpour and Wendy started singing about what a sunny day we were enjoying, I might start applying sunscreen.  One of the dual B-sides, "Long Way to Fall", is a top track in its own right.  "Home Late", the second B-side, The Popguns change pace for a gentle and sweet closer, featuring female vocals over an acoustic guitar.  Few bands have enough writing prowess to create tracks such as "Long Way to Fall" and "Home Late" as B-sides.  However, note that the B-sides won't be on Pop Fiction, so you can only have them by acquiring the Lovejunky 7".

The Lovejunky 7" is officially released on October 12 by Matinee Recordings.  But pre-orders are now available, and releases like this tend to be snapped up all too quickly.  If you wait, the vinyl will be gone.  Fortunately, it also is a digital release.



The band's current line up is Wendy Pickles, Simon Pickles, Greg Dixon, Pat Walkington, Tony Bryant, and Kate Mander.

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Rolling Stones Friday: Torn and Frayed

I've been holding this one for awhile, but why wait any longer?

"Torn and Frayed" from Exile on Main Street (1972) is one of the Stones most successful forays into country music. But it's not standard honky tonk, owing as much to Memphis soul, and even gospel, as it does Bakersfield.

Many speculate that Gram Parsons who was present at the French chateau where Exile was recorded, had a hand in this one, and it certainly recalls some of his best work. But the song was written by Jagger-Richards and the only credited guest musicians are Al Perkins on pedal steel guitar, Nicky Hopkins on piano and Jim Price playing organ. But many things were in the air during the recording of Exile and Gram's country-rock was among them.

The Stones haven't performed this one a lot live, but here's a great one from 2002:
 

REVIEW: Flowers - Do What You Want To, It's What You Should Do

As a practice, I try to avoid hyperbole.  I write posts about music quite frequently, and I'd have no credibility if I proclaimed every guitarist or vocalist to be the best I've heard, or every album to be at the top of my list for the year.  So it is with studied care that I write that if I were to hear an angel's voice, I would expect it to sound like Rachel Kenedy of  London trio Flowers.  I've had the feeling before  -- no, not delusions of speaking with angels, but rather of angelic voices -- via Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins.  But unlike the venerable Scot, Kenedy's songs on their debut album,  Do What You Want To, It's What You Should Do, are teamed with the indie pop sounds of her bandmates Sam Ayers and Jordan (sorry, I don't have Jordan's surname).  While the sound isn't inventive, it is a well executed brand of guitar pop that many indie fans, including me, seek out.  And the pairing of Kenedy's vocals and the, to be a bit lazy, C86 style of music is the pairing which makes this album special enough to recommend.  The instruments and melody support the vocals without overwhelming them, and provide a familiarity which is both comforting and avoids distracting you from the vocals.

The streams for "Joanna", "Drag Me Down" and "Stuck" are provided below, but based on my evaluation there are a number of other songs of the 14 on the album which are at least as worthy to showcase the quality of the band's efforts, including "Forget the Fall", "Lonely", and "Anna".
September 8.  The growth of this band, from demos circulating on the Internet just last year to this debut album, is remarkable and encouraging.  Perhaps it is time to decorate your ears with some Flowers?

Do What You Want To, It's What You Should Do is out now via Fortuna POP! in Europe and Kanine Records in the US.









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Jack + Eliza - No Wonders EP

In general, American college kids are pretty predictable -- sleep, classes, parties, hook-ups, beer, football games.  They can live their lives that way because that's what college kids do, and no one can criticize them because, well, that's what college kids do.  However, every now and then someone comes along to raise the curve.  And today's someone-raising-the-curve actually is two someones, namely Jack Staffen and Eliza Callahan.  Jack is a sophomore double major in history and political science at New York University, and Eliza is a sophomore double major in visual arts and English literature at Columbia University.  But that isn't enough for this duo.  They also write and perform music as Jack + Eliza, have signed to Yebo Music (which also released the latest album by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart), and have just released No Wonders EP, their debut record.  And while some may be tempted to resent these over-achieving New Yorkers, I'm not.   You see, the No Wonders EP is melodic, nostalgic, sunny and almost indescribably cute.  The vocal harmonies recall The Mamas and Papas and the Beatles.  The jangling guitars underscore the '60s vibe.  And the delivery is cool and unaffected.  As I said, it is cute; and cute is good in this case.

The first of the EP's five tracks is the standout "Secrets" (video below).  With gorgeous harmonies and twanging and jangling guitar accompaniment, it should be irresistible for any pop fan.  The dreamy "Hold the Line" (stream below) cements the duo's jangle pop credentials, and features a delightful call and response vocal.  "So Open" is a heart-on-the-sleeve '60s nugget.  The penultimate track, "Floodlights", initially competes with "Secrets" as the track which most recalls The Mamas and Papas, but shows a more modern face as it unspools.  In the closing track, "Heading West", Jack and Eliza recall the best work of She & Him, or the first album from Seattle's The Young Evils.

It is over fast, but you'll be all two happy to replay it multiple times.  Jack + Eliza focus on songwriting (Eliza won the John Lennon songwriting contest at age 15) and vocal interplay.  There isn't much of that around these days, and I suggest we all treasure it.






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REVIEW: Martyr Privates - Martyr Privates

Martyr Privates' new self-titled debut album is not the shy, retiring type.  Make no mistake, it isn't a friendly puppy dog, either.  But this records growls, stomps and swaggers through your cranium like it owns the place.  And fortunately, the invasion is likely to leave you happy and satisfied.  It is the kind of psychedelic rock that dwells in noise, chunky drone and expertly curated grime -- more The 13th Floor Elevators filtered through '80s-'90s alt rock than the acoustic side of Jefferson Airplane.  You know, hammers instead of scalpels and all that.  But from the opening chug of album opener "Someone's Head", I was impressed with this band's clear-eyed and unfussy vision of rock and roll.  The sound is full, but there is nothing extraneous.  There also is nothing to tie you to current trends in music. No synths, samples, or guests, and certainly nothing you'll hear on mainstream radio or by a contestant in a blind audition for the voice.  And that is one more thing to treasure about Martyr Privates -- it is our album and we don't have to share it with pre-teens and Madison Avenue ad agencies.

Martyr Privates is a Brisbane trio consisting of Ashleigh Shipton (bass), ex-Slug Guts member Cameron Hawes (vocals and guitar), and Sam Dixon (drums).  Martyr Privates is available now in digital and vinyl formats from Bedroom Suck in Australia and New Zealand, and Fire Records elsewhere.  And as an aside, I'll observe that the partnership between Bedroom Suck and Fire Records is an incredible boon to indie music fans.  Bedroom Suck is one of the finer little labels around, with their finger on the pulse of vital underground Australian music.  Fire Records comes to the table with a distribution and support reach that labels the size of Bedroom Suck cannot generate, couples with Fire's proven excellent taste in music.







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"And It Grows" from Cool Ghouls

It is always a happy event to learn that San Francisco's Cool Ghouls is about to release new music.  As we announced a few weeks ago when we previewed album track "The Mile" (link), the band will release A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Rye on November 11 via Empty Cellar Records.  A second song, "And It Grows" has just been made available.  It proves that Pat Thomas, Ryan Wong, Pat McDonald, and Alex Fleshman make some of the best psychedelic garage rock on today's scene.



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Introducing: American Wrestlers

I'd love to tell you more about American Wrestlers, but other than they are from St. Louis, they have this excellent track named "I Can Do No Wrong" floating around the web and available on Bandcamp for 'name your price', and they recorded a cassette which presumably is available, I don't know anything.  But if you enjoy the song, download it and send them a dollar so they can make more music.






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REVIEW: Sister Flo - Tragician's Hat

You may never have heard of Sister Flo.  While they sang in English, they never earned a significant following outside the borders of Finland.  However, the beauty of their 2004 debut LP,  Tragician's Hat, endures.  It contains some of the most beautiful songs I've heard -- all dreamy acoustic and electric guitars and synths, horns, gentle vocals with hints of yearning and melancholy, and inventive pop.  One listen and you can endorse the comparisons to Belle and Sebastian and Stereolab, although the music is sufficiently unique that one couldn't easily fit Sister Flo into any other group's box.  And the reason we are writing about it now is that Helsinki label Soliti has released Tragician's Hat, remastered and with additional outtakes, rare and unreleased tracks, songs from an EP, a radio spot and two live performances.  The album is available on vinyl (only 300 copies), double CD (500 copies) and digital download, containing 22 tracks and the original artwork.  Note that the bonus tracks are only available on the CD version.

The music varies from the straightforward to the inscrutable, but always pleases.  The songs have a sense of strength, not by virtue of volume but rather sincerity and immaculate construction.  You can find music everywhere these days, but you can rarely find music like this.  Here is your second chance -- don't blow it.

And here is a track that was left off of the compilation in error, so Soliti is offering it as a free download:



Sister Flo was Janne Lastumäki, Antti Kaistinen, Samae Koskinen, Mikko Salonen, and Jarno Alho.

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Rolling Stones Friday: When the Whip Comes Down

In looking for a song for this week, I had to find one that truly rocked. And few Stones songs rock harder than "When the Whip Comes Down" from Some Girls. Recorded in 1977 in Paris, the song tells the story of a young gay man who leaves LA for New York City and ends up walking the streets, and some have interpreted the lyrics as suggesting him also possibly holding a day job as a garbage man (though I tend to interpret the garbage language as oblique references to life as a gay hustler).

Yeah I go to 53rd Street and they spit in my face
But I'm learning the ropes, yeah, I'm learning a trade
The East River truckers is churning with trash
I've got so much money but I spend it so fast.

Yeah, some call me garbage when I'm sweeping up the street
But I never roll and I never cheat
And I'm filling a need, yeah, I'm plugging a hole
My mama's so glad I ain't on the dole.

Pretty edgy stuff for 1978 even by the Stones standards. Though for me the glory of the song is the full on punk-inspired rock and Charlie Watts' relentless beat.

They have preformed this one live regularly through the years with many great versions out there including some recent ones. Here's a particularly blistering vintage version from 1978, three guitars blazing, demonstrating why they earned the title "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band":

"So We Know" from DMA's

Johnny Took, Matt Mason, and Tommy O'Dell -- three friends from Newtown, Australia -- comprise DMA's.  Their residence may be in the southern hemisphere, but their sound seems to be an Australian version of '90s Britpop.  The band previously released a self-titled EP (which is available on iTunes).  Tracks "Laced" and "So We Know" will be released in physical form in November, but "So We Know" has been released digitally this week via Mermaid Avenue and Mom+Pop in the US, and Partisan in Europe.  The band also will be touring Europe and the US in October and November, and making an appearance at CMJ in New Your.  Lend your ears, this may be the Next Big Thing.  But even if they don't hit that level, this is a very nice song.




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"Heaven Ain't High" from Little Shoes Big Voice

In late August we introduced London duo Little Shoes Big Voice via their tracks "Blue Veins" and "Nightfall" (link).  And while we haven't done any due diligence on the size of anyone's shoes, we can endorse Jack Durtnall's production skills and the size of Emily Harvey's voice. Their latest track is the dramatic slow-burner "Heaven Ain't High".  I particularly like how they infuse the song with emotion without relying on excess production touches.  Enjoy --



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"Copper Girl" 7" from The Grand Rapids

Pssst, here's a deal: Two tracks of psychedelic rock for $1 (Australian) from Melbourne's Grand Rapids on their Copper Girl 7".  Grand Rapids are Sasha L. Smith (vocals/guitar), Daniel Hallpike (guitar), Deon Slaviero (bass), and Keith Ratnan (drums).  The 7" is released by Psyche Ward, which also released the bands October 2013 full length album.  The music tends toward the thicker, heavier, droning end of the psychedelic spectrum, and if that is your thing, this is a group to investigate.





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"Shalala" from Moses Gunn Collective

A relatively new psychedelic rock and to keep your eye on is Moses Gun Collective, from Brisbane.  They can be dreamy, and they can hit the big riffs.  Try them out on new single "Shalala" and watch for their EP later this year.

Moses Gun Collective is Aidan Moore (vocals/guitar), Samuel Sargent (drums), Alex Mitchell (bass),  and Lewis Stephenson (guitar).






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REVIEW: Lunchbox - Lunchbox Loves You

Listening to Lunchbox Loves You can be compared to opening an actual lunchbox packed by your mother without consulting you beforehand.  You know that your mother loves you, because she is your mother.  You know that Oakland, California's Lunchbox loves you, because they told you so in the title to the album.Lunchbox Loves You .  But the core question is whether the contents bear witness to the love.  I certainly can't speak to the contents of your school lunches, and my lunches weren't always ready for Master Chef.  However, I think you'll like the ten course lunch that Tim Brown and Donna McKean have packed for you.  The ingredients include jangle, fuzz, hooks and a good dose of bubblegum for your finishing pleasure.  It is a rush of sounds constructed around Tim's acoustic and electric guitars and Donna's bass, with other embellishing touches, and the male/female vocals.  There appears to be a punk foundation to these songs, but the execution is pop with the emphasis on fun.  And to show you how good it is, I didn't cherry pick songs, I just embedded the first three.  Enjoy!

Lunchbox Loves You is released on vinyl and CD, and as a digital download, by Jigsaw Records

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REVIEW: Terry Malts - Insides EP

We confidently predicted that the new four-track EP from the San Francisco's Terry Malts would be good, and of course we were right.  This trio has a knack for combining melody, distortion, chainsaw guitar, feedback, roof-raising beats and positive energy into performances that remind you exactly why you like rock and roll.  You might regard them as sitting in the middle of the intersection of garage, power pop and punk, and it could well become your favorite musical address.  Their journey since forming in 2009 has produced two excellent LPs, and now continues with Insides EP, which is out September 23 via Slumberland Records.  The record starts out with "Let Me In", a thrilling version of the powerpop that this band does so well.  Go ahead and pump your fist in the air, you won't be alone.  "Grumpiest Old Men" can make all of us curmudgeons feel a bit better about ourselves -- maybe.  "Don't" is a dark foot-tapper.  The EP closes with Terry Malts' cover of The Chills' Hidden Bay; Dunedin guitar pop reimagined as West Coast garage fuzz.

Somewhere between the dark, we-can't-be-bothered anger and disenchantment of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the in-your-face outsider buzzsaw pop of The Ramones, is Terry Malts.  And that gives them a lot of room to work their magic.  This could be your best legal source of energy as you slide into fall.







Terry Malts is Phil Benson (bass/vocals), Corey Cunningham (guitar/vocals) and Nathan Sweet (drums/vocals).

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Teardrop Factory - Trash In The Heart

Trash In The Heart from Teardrop Factory offers sweet shoegaze dressed up in gloriously grungy slabs of guitar and pounding drums.  There is nothing slick here -- this Brighton duo of Tina and Andy is so-committed to lo-fi and DIY that they record in their bathroom.  And while the energy and big riffs and dirty bass underscore the truth of the album's title, the little secret is that these songs are good enough that they'd work as an acoustic set as well.

With a bit of scuzzy menace, solid melodies and an intelligent spin on '90s alt rock, this is a gem of a debut album, a celebration of rock swagger, blasting guitar noise and with shouted lyrics climbing over the riffs.  While pop stars sing team-manufactured, corporate-hyped hits, rock and roll lives on with Teardrop Factory.  Trash In The Heart is available via Faux Discx.






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