Cleaners From Venus - Essex Princess

We think that life always is better with new Cleaners From Venus.  We think many of our readers agree, and I suspect that the Martin Newell and the other boys from the band would hit the "like" button if we had one, which we don't.  And all of that (except for the button nonsense) is relevant today because the band has gifted all of us with a 'name your price' release titled Essex Princess.  Consisting of three songs, including the incredibly catchy title track, we think it will give everyone a nice 11-minute break from their work day.



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"1985" by Cafolla

Our nearly-the-end-of-the-work-week-and-holiday-weekend-ahead-but-two-projects-to-complete shot of energy needs to come from somewhere, and we've already exceeded our daily recommended dose of caffeine (and here in Seattle, the recommended dose isn't for the faint of heart).  So we turned to the new song from Scottish artist Cafolla. The man has spent the last decade heading the Federation of the Disco Pimp through a few albums and earned awards in the process.  He now is making his mark solo -- well, solo with some guest vocalists.  The first song shared from the upcoming album, and our end of the work-week fuel, is "1985" with guest vocalist Brian Collazo.  Time to move those feet, ladies and gents, we have some Prince-like music below.

"1985" is the first single from Cafolla's debut solo album, Cowboys & Africans, which is due in November via Dusty Reel Records.





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Soundcloud link for "1985"
Spotify link for "1985"
Various links for "1985"

Sunny Sunday Smile: A Sunday Records Compilation

If you are inclined to trust our recommendations, very few words are needed for this post. If you aren't so inclined, ignoring us on this one is your loss if you are an indie fan.  Chicago's Sunday Records is one of the finer indie pop labels in our universe, releasing vital music by treasured artists, many of whom would be in our hall of heroes if we had one.  Today, the label is releasing Sunny Sunday Smile: A Sunday Records Compilation featuring 28 songs from two compilations they released in the early to mid '90s. The artists include The Proctors, Bulldozer Crash, Kosmonaut, The Pristines, Dolores Haze, Mosaic Eyes and many others.  The music ranges from the solidly twee to guitar pop with fuzz and muscle, but it is all characterized by good songwriting and the emotional touch that makes indie pop such and addictive genre.  That the compilation is available for 12 dollars in digital and two-CD formats is shocking enough to have prompted us to wonder whether it was a misprint.

Get busy people, this is a deal.














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Secret Treehouse - The Big Rewind

Yesterday we featured an album by Frog; today we begin with an album that opens with "Fear of Frogs".  Just a coincidence ... we think.  The song is the initial jewel of soaring, brightly textured sonic bliss by Norwegian band Secret Treehouse.  The following "Hero" displays a different side of the band, a pensive, slow-tempo song performed beautifully by vocalist Anja Bere.  And the various facets of the band continue to play off each other throughout the album, with upbeat pop/rock standouts such as "Fear of Frogs" and the title track balanced by power ballads such as the touching "Really Nervous" and "Sinking".  However, with five accomplished members, every song -- regardless of tempo -- is richly detailed, shimmering and sparkling as the arrangements build to a powerful finish.  Indisputably, the vocals star in these songs, but there is so much more to enjoy.

Secret Treehouse are Anja Bere, Trond Espen Teigen Bjoland, Sveinung Fossan Bukve, Tormod Smith Svanevik, and Marius Mathisen.  The Big Rewind is out now, check your preferred digital source.






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"Believer" by Dyson Stringer Cloher

Today's email missives brought us the good news that occasional Australian indie super group Dyson Stringer Cloher has put pen to paper and fingers to strings to create a new album.  The self-titled release will arrive the first week of October via Milk! Records and Remote Control.  Our first listen is via the inspirational "Believer", centered around the dedication of Cloher's neighbor Lulu to play Australian Football.  Excellent song, and all of us at WYMA HQ are cheering for Lulu to make it to the big league.

The band members are Mia Dyson, Liz Stringer and Jen Cloher.  They will be touring in Australia in November.




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Various links for album

Frog - Count Bateman

Mid-week listening rarely sounds this good. Please give a warm welcome to Count Bateman, the latest album by Queens musician Frog. Previously a duo, for this album the band is singer songwriter Danny Bateman.  And here he offers ten tracks with his observations of his current circumstances and memories of the past.  The songwriting is sharp without being flashy, and the album has the ambiance of a intimate storytelling session with a newly-discovered favorite author. Stylistically, the songs embrace pop, folk, Americana and soft rock, but it melts together like your favorite grilled cheese sandwich.  For that matter, think of this record as aural comfort food -- if you need a warm cuddly feeling today, this is your recommended source.  I don't know whether I am hugging this album, or it is hugging me, but someone is being hugged and it sure feels good.

Count Bateman is out now via Audio Antihero and Bateman's own imprint, Tape Wormies.







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Hearts and Rockets - Power

We could just apologize for ignoring the blog for several days while enjoying the sunny weather of our last full month of summer, but the more rock and roll approach would be to dish some attitude at our readers.  This presents us with a dilemma, because we really are quite nice people.  However, rock and roll wants what rock and roll wants, so we have arrived at the solution of having Hearts and Rockets bring the attitude for us.  Accordingly, we welcome ourselves back with Power by Hearts and Rockets.  The band is a Melbourne-based duo consisting of Kalindy Williams and Kurt Eckardt, and their music is a punkish indie rock with noise and attitude.  The band apparently calls it 'brat-wave', and that description works fine for us.  And what really works as well is just what the title promises - the power.    Of course, if it were just power and attitude, it wouldn't be enough.  But Power has hooks and a consistently infectious groove underpinning every song.  Hearts and Rockets wades into your brain with an uncompromising swagger, and lives there for 14 tracks that will leave you breathless.  Check it out.

Power is out now via Psychic Hysteria Recordings.







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"Not A Dream" by Spinning Coin

About a month ago we shared "Visions At The Stars" (link), the title track for the upcoming two-song single by one of our favorite Scottish bands, Spinning Coin.  With the August 30 release date for the single on the near horizon, the Glasgow band is sharing "Not A Dream", the B-side.  A shaggy ode to trying to escape modern information overload, it further cements our love for Spinning Coin's brand of guitar pop.

Spinning Coin are Sean Armstrong (vocals/guitar), Jack Mellin (vocals/guitar), Rachel Taylor (bass/vocals), and Chris White (drums).  Visions At The Stars will be released in digital and vinyl formats via the Geographic Music imprint of Domino Record Company.



And for those of you with short memory or for some odd reason, unlike us, do not have an obsession with Spinning Coin, here is a reminder of the superb A-side:




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The Umbrella Puzzles - The Umbrella Puzzles EP

We noticed in the past 24 hours that several people who have what we consider to be very good taste in music have been chatting about The Umbrella Puzzles.  So naturally we decided to check them out for ourselves.  What we have discovered is (1) "them", is actually a "he", that is Ryan Marquez, (2) Ryan's other projects include Apple Orchards and Golden Teardrops, (3) Ryan has a knack for a knockout melody, a gentle hook and a plaintive vocal to ride the tune, and (4) his self-titled six-song EP is available for 'name your price'.  Obvious references (to our ears) include The Go-Betweens, Galaxie 500, and Peter Astor.  This is a great EP for sitting on the deck on a gentle summer night with the automatic replay button engaged and a chilled bottle within reach.

The Umbrella Puzzles EP is a digital release via Boring Spaghetti Records; see the Bandcamp link below.






Bandcamp for EP

"Melting Face" by Pink Chameleons

In January we featured new Finnish band Pink Chameleons via their single "Religion" (link).  We are happy to report that the band's debut EP will be released this fall via Soliti Music, and we have our first hint at the content with EP track "Melting Face".  An urgent psych/garage rocker of a tune, it reminds us of The Jesus and Mary Chain, as well as frontman Paltsa-Kai Salama's former outfit Black Lizard.  And that means we like it a lot.

In addition to Salama, Pink Chameleons are Antti Sauli and Ville Hopponen.  Backing vocals for "Melting Face" were provided by Tytti Roto of Plastic Tones.  By the way, the video features flowers from Salama's garden.






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The Irony Board - Unfinished Business

Like many who are obsessed with indie music, we can be a bit elitist about knowing of bands that most people haven't heard of. So we can walk down the street with our ear buds firmly in place, smugly listening to the demos by Big Nose Betty and Her Blonde Zulu Surf Dudes. But we have to remind ourselves that this blog exists to actually share that information with you (well, not about BNB&HBZSD, they are still looking for a permanent drummer). And we don't have to look hard for the subject of this post, because we have listened to Unfinished Business four times today, four times yesterday, and numerous other times over the past two weeks.  The band is The Irony Board, an unsigned British group that should have, and deserved to, make a splash in the '90s. Sadly, that didn't happen for them, and their music would have been lost if not for Wally at Canadian label The Beautiful Music. 

The ten songs on the album are an absolute treat, with a simple and melodic DIY guitar pop style, affecting themes, sincere lyrics and a performance style that spans Television Personalities, The Razorcuts, and even The Beat Happening. We don't even know the names of the players other than Johny Nocash.  And you probably won't be surprised to learn that even if the man has no cash, that isn't his real name.  But if John Hartley wants to be known as Johny Nocash that is ok with us and his secret is safe in our hands.

Take the three tracks below for a test drive. If you are like us, you will decide that you need this album. Remember, it had to be rescued once, you can't count on that happening again.

Unfinished Business is out now in CD format via The Beautiful Music. We understand that the label will have a digital version available soon.










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Fashion Brigade - Fvck The Heartache

We have been told that self-care is important to mental health.  While we aren't experts on the subject, we have been called crazy often enough that taking a few precautions seems appropriate.  So today we are treating our ears very, very well. Of course, we always give our ears good music, but the current selection is especially melodic.  And being of kind disposition, we are going to share our medicine with you. Accordingly, please welcome Fvck The Heartache by Fashion Brigade.

Fashion Brigade is the project of Elia Einhorn, the driving force behind the late, lamented Scotland Yard Gospel Choir. For Fvck The Heartache Elia has fashioned 11 lush, melodic and exceptionally clever pop gems.  The magic, in addition to ace songwriting, is that each track has one or more stellar collaborators.  And what a roster - Frankie Cosmos, Exene Cervenka (of X), Thor Harris, and members of LCD Soundsystem, Dirty Projectors, Icy Demons, Prince Rama, Phosphorescent, and others.  When you file this album away, you probably will file it near Magnetic Fields, Belle and Sebastian and, of course, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir.  But you'll have time to think about it because we suspect that you won't want to file it anywhere any time soon

Fvck The Heartache is out now in vinyl and digital formats via Gentle Reminder Records.







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Life Strike - Primitive Future

A couple weeks ago, we had never heard of Life Strike, but now their debut album Primitive Future is a staple of our daily listening.  Frankly, it is things like that that keep us going at WYMA.  Formed by Nick Pratt, ex-Deaf Wish bassist and songwriter, and Guitarist Patrick McCabe of Brisbane's Dollar Bar, Life Strike launches from the rich guitar pop history of Nick's native New Zealand with songs that variously bring to mind The Verlaines, The Bats, and The Clean, among others.  The songs reflect a knack for melody and simple but effective song structures, but manage to convey a sharp, dark edge as well.  Of the more pop oriented songs, "Pages" is a standout, but "Econo" and "Megabytes Are Dying" are strong contenders.  In the garage rock vein, the three opening tracks are excellent, with "Black Curtain" drawing favorable comparisons to The Black Lips.  "Contact, No Contact" reminds us of post-Genesis Peter Gabriel and The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience.  But there really isn't a weak song in the set.  Primitive Future is another triumph in the seemingly inexhaustible river of good music coming out of Melbourne

The band has been through several drummers.  Ollie Mackay served for the recording of Primitive Future, but the role now filled by Scotty Birque.  We don't want to start unfounded rumors, but when we read that Nick and Patrick both have suffered serious accidents requiring insertion of titanium in their bodies, and that the band is on their third drummer, one wonders if drummer auditions inadvisably involved trial by combat.

Primitive Future is out now in vinyl and digital formats.  See the Bandcamp link below.








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Introducing Tibetan Miracle Seeds

No, this is not an infomercial aimed at home gardeners. This is about a newly discovered band called Tibetan Miracle Seeds.  They are from Scotland, and the members are Kieran Smith (drums), Lefty (tanpura/flute), and Jack McAfee (vocals/guitar/bass/didge), we don't know anything about them.  You can grab "Ideas" from Bandcamp, but it also is rewarding to wander on their Soundcloud page, which is where we found "Alone".  We also include a stream of "Mirage" from early 2018.  We certainly can't say these guys are rushing too fast in delivering an album, can we?








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"My Girl" by ST.MARTiiNS

Katie Lynch and Mark Johnston, the Dundee, Scotland duo that calls themselves ST.MARTiiNS, is back with a breezy pop song about friends.  We think "My Girl" has just the right vibe to launch the final workday of the week.  Give it a spin below.



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LAB Records

"O'n ni'n Ffrindia" and "When He's Gone" by Papur Wal

As long as our ears are tuned to Wales, we think you should know about the two songs by slacker pop aces Papur Wal.  Their two latest releases via the fine Welsh label Libertino Records are "O'n ni'n Ffrindia" and "When He's Gone".  Other factoids of possible interest are that the name of the band means wallpaper in Welsh, and the band is led by vocalist and guitarist Ianto Gruffydd.





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Various links for "O'n ni'n Ffrindia"
Various links for "When He's Gone"

"Throw It Up" by Seazoo

When our inbox recently displayed a message about a fresh new song by Seazoo, we thought the name of the band sounded familiar.  A search through our archives (a scary place, indeed) revealed a feature of previous track "Dig" (link). So we have concluded that (1) our memory banks still function, and (2) after playing "Throw It Up", we remain impressed by this band from Wales (or "Whales", as some reality TV characters would have it).  Seazoo's sweet spot is a noisy brand of guitar pop that falls between Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Pavement, and we think you will like it.  And if you do like it, check out their 2018 album Trunks at the final link in this post.



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Bandcamp. for "Throw It Up"
Various links for "Throw It Up"
Bandcamp for Trunks

"Polar Onion" by Allah Las

We still are a couple of months from the release of LAHS, the new album from Los Angeles band Allah Las.  But we have heard it, and it is one of our favorite albums of the year.  However, we aren't writing this post just to tease you, as we now can share album track "Polar Onion" with you.

Allah Las are Matt Correia, Spencer Dunham, Miles Michaud, and Pedrum Siadatian. LAHS will be available October 11 via Mexican Summer.  The band will be touring from now until mid-December in support of the album.  See the dates and venues at the bottom of the post.



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August 14th - The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI
August 16th - Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
August 17th - Half Acre Beer Company, Chicago, IL
September 14th - Huichica Music Festival, Walla Walla, WA
November 4th - Valley Bar, Phoenix, AZ 
November 5th - Meow Wolf, Sante Fe, NM
November 7th - White Oak Music Hall, Houston, TX
November 8th - Trees, Dallas, TX
November 9th - Empire Control Room, Austin, TX
November 10th - One Eyed Jacks, New Orleans, LA
November 12th - The Basement East, Nashville, TN
November 13th - Terminal West, Atlanta, GA
November 14th - Grey Eagle Tavern, Asheville, NC
November 15th - Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
November 16th - The Black Cat, Washington, DC
November 18th - Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
November 19th - Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
November 20th - Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY
November 22nd - Corona Theatre, Montreal, CA
November 24th - Lee's Palace, Toronto, CA
November 25th - Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
November 26th - Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH
November 27th - Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL
November 29th - Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis, MN
November 30th - Blueberry Hill, St. Louis, MO
December 2nd - Slowdown, Omaha, NE
December 3rd - Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CA
December 4th - Metro Music Hall, Salt Lake City, UT 
December 6th - Neumos, Seattle, WA
December 7th - Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
December 8th - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
December 10th - The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
December 11th - The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA
December 12th - The Mayan, Los Angeles, CA
December 13th - The Observatory North Park, San Diego, CA
December 14th - Pappy & Harriets, Pioneertown, CA

Sweet Whirl - Love Songs & Poetry

Sweet Whirl is the musical platform for Melbourne musician Esther Edquist.  After a couple of releases on the Bedroom Suck with her former band Superstar (which we featured in 2015: link), Esther has marked her signing with Chapter Music by releasing a six-song EP titled Love Songs & Poetry.  The songs are introspective and incisive, written with intelligence and played with confidence.  The arrangements are pleasingly melodic and leave ample space for Esther's vocals and bass to star.  Love Songs & Poetry is a perfect play for the evening of a summer day.  And it is just what we are playing every night this week.

In addition to Esther, Sweet Whirl includes James Vinciguerra and Liam Barton.  Love Songs & Poetry is out now in digital and cassette formats via Melbourne's Chapter Music.






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Purple Pilgrims - Perfumed Earth

As Purple Pilgrims, Valentine and Clementine Nixon have crafted Perfumed Earth -- a lush, enthralling dreamscape of electronic folk and dream pop adorned with their crystalline soprano vocals.  Recorded in a shed in the New Zealand woods, the tracks conjure thoughts of Gothic spells and twisted tales with a nearly spiritual tone, all while pleasuring your ears with melodies and vocals that are as addictive as they are sweet.  The magic here is in the instrumental and vocal textures layered through the arrangements.  This album may be different than any other music to which you ordinarily listen, but we don't think you will be able to stop listening to it.  We certainly can't.  The standout tracks are plentiful, and we have provided a few below.  That said, we must admit a nostalgic fondness for the sisters' achingly sweet cover of "I'm Not Saying", one of our favorite Gordon Lightfoot songs.

Perfumed Earth was recorded with contributions by Gary War, Jimmy Mac, Joshua Kennedy, Jeff Henderson, Roy Montgomery, and perhaps others. It is out now via Flying Nun Records.








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