White Fence – White Fence

White Fence is the one-man bedroom pop outfit led by the one and only Tim Presley. Presley plays in a few other bands aside from White Fence, so you could consider White Fence more of a side-project before anything. Presley currently plays guitar and sings in the band Darker My Love, and he is listed as a band member on the Strange Boys Myspace page, being credited for “vocals and laughs”. Presley’s first full length album by himself came out just this year in 2010, and it was released on CD and digitally by Woodsist Records, while Make a Mess Records took care of the vinyl format. Woodsist rules and everything, but I’m going to have to suggest you buy the vinyl format for this one.

From beginning to end, this record is jam-packed with short, hazy lo-fi garage gems that are bound to crawl under your skin one way or another. Given that there are 16 tracks on the record, there’s a pretty good chance that at least one of these songs will catch you and keep you coming back for more. Whether it’s a gritty sounding psychedelic track (“Destroy Everything”) or a laid back bluesy guitar jam (“Hard Finish on Mirror Mile”), this album has the goods to reel you in and keep you hooked. The album starts off on the track “Mr. Adams”, and it’s sure to give you a taste of what the rest of the record is going to sound like. That lo-fi haze is immediately noticeable, and then Presley’s eerie, bone chilling vocals come into play. “Mr. Adams” plays directly into the next track “Who Feels Right”, which continues on in this lo-fi, haunting vocals fashion. The drumming keeps going steadily as Presley howls over everything to bring the track to an end.

“Slaughter on the Sunset Strip” definitely falls onto the blues side of the White Fence before anything else. About halfway through this track there is a nasally sounding lick, and then the twangy lead guitar finds it’s way back into the mix to lead you out. Next up would be the totally blissed out “I’ll Follow You”, which just so happens to be the longest song on the record. Bells, maracas and an incredibly fuzzy guitar solo dominate this tune, and it all gets put on hold for the final minute of the track while Presley takes us out on some acoustic guitar. Next track “The Love Between” can either be a hit or miss. The repeating keyboards could easily be enough to drive any listener mad, but then Presley’s spaced out and broken up guitar solo at the end change the vibe completely. Skipping ahead to “Destory Everything”, this could be one of the highlights from the record. The distorted guitar riff in the beginning is enough to give any listener a headache, but the heavy distortion goes a long way in giving this song an increasingly fuzzy and static-like feeling. Right around the one and a half minute mark Presley graces us with a hell of a fuzzed-guitar solo, and that brings us to the end of the song. That’s the end for this review, but it doesn’t have to be over just yet. Listen to the few songs I have for you below, and as always, be sure to come back again tomorrow!

I’ll Follow You –

Destroy Everything –

Hard Finish on Mirror Mile –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Garage Rock, Psychedelic
White Fence: Tracklist
1.) Mr. Adams
2.) Who Feels Right
3.) Slaughter on Sunset Strip
4.) I’ll Follow You
5.) The Love Between
6.) Sara Snow
7.) Baxter Corner
8.) The Gallery
9.) Tildas
10.) Destroy Everything
11.) Ring Around a Square
12.) Box Disease, Today Bond
13.) Hard Finish on Mirror Mile
14.) I Need You
15.) Sick Doctor Blues
16.) Be Right Too

White Fence on Myspace
BUY the White Fence s/t directly from Make a Mess Records!
White Fence Art Collective Blog

Light Pollution – Apparitions

Light Pollution is a four-piece band that hails from Chicago, IL, and they’re currently in the process of releasing their first full length album, “Apparitions”. “Apparitions” is due out on Carpark Records on June 15th, which means we still have a good bit of time to wait until this one is physically released. The band had one previous release before this, and it was a self-titled, self-released 12″ EP that I can’t seem to find any significant information on anywhere on the web. The best information I found came directly from Light Pollutions Myspace where they show a picture of the EP’s cover art. This band plays a familiar form of indie rock, but they add another element to the music that changes things up. Instead of keeping it simple with the usual instruments, they throw in crazy sound effects and sonic textures that are enough to make your head spin. At times it feels like this band is playing with an entire orchestra behind them.

The album kicks off with the appropriately named “Good Feelings”, and the sound effects that come in go a long way in producing actual good feelings. This can already give you an idea of what the rest of the music might be like, but you don’t want to make any assumptions just yet. This album goes deep with the sound effects in many spots, but on this opening track they do a nice job of keeping the balance between sound effects and the traditional instruments – Neither one of the two overcome each other in the song. Right in the middle there is a nice but quick guitar solo, and the ending of the song is brought by huge drum attacks that are sure to leave you floored. The effects continue on until the very end when the song fades out, and then you’re in the next track, “Oh, Ivory!”.

“Oh, Ivory!” may just be the most accessible song on this album. Alongside of that, this song is also the shortest on the album. It starts off quite unlike any of the other tracks, immediately sounding quite poppy and bubbly. For most of this song they leave behind the heavy sound effects and keep it minimal for the song, never getting too involved with the textures and effects on this one. This is also one of the songs that sounds like they have an entire orchestra backing them up. They build the song up into a hell of an exit, sounding as if they just overcame a monstrous task, and now this is their triumphant exit. Heavenly ending right here. I would love to live in the mood that’s at the end of this song. Next up would be the song “Drunk Kids”, which doesn’t entirely live up to the song we just heard before. Definitely a less ambitious sound on this track. They slow it down significantly with a grooving bass line and a lazy drum beat that hold the song together, while the drowsy vocals work wonders for giving the song more of that lazy feel. There is definitely no sense of urgency in this song like there have been in the previous two. But moving on.

“Fever Dreams” is up next, and they get into the heavy sound effects on this track. The drumming throughout the song is relentless, with little rolls and fills taking any spot they possibly can. After a lengthy outro of effects and splashing cymbals, the next track “Deyci, Right On” begins. This song is quite drawn out and slow in the beginning, but soon the drums come in to start things off. Even after the drums kick things off, it’s still a slow song. The next track “Bad Vibes” starts off like it’s coming up from being underwater, and it continues to build up into some tribal sounding tom-tom action. The song continues to build up into something more, as they progressively get louder and more involved with the instruments and sound effects. There is a fuzzy, hazy-like texture used over this song, which makes it sound like they’re playing from inside a bubble or something, but this is quite an epic ending to the song. They continue on this way until the song suddenly comes to an end.

The next song “All Night Outside” brings us back to familiar territory, as the friendly guitar comes back to start this one off (but not immediately, you gotta get through about 15 seconds of sounds first). They go for more instrumentation in this one and keep the effects at a minimum for now, but that doesn’t mean the effects are absent entirely. A short bit after the halfway mark the song takes an unexpected turn, and then comes a huge guitar solo that’s drowned out by immense cymbal smashing and hazy, wind-like sound effects. Now it seems like these guys are rocking out in the midst of a thunderstorm. Skipping ahead to the last song on the album, “Ssslowdreamsss”. Slowdreams is the longest song on the album, and it’s woozily evocative right from the get go. The swirling, spinning sound effects above your head could easily make you dizzy, and it sounds like you can reach out and grasp the song if you wanted to. As opposed to a traditional song, this moody track is more of a sound scape than anything. Pretend you’re floating through space on this one.

Good Feelings –

Oh, Ivory! –

All Night Outside –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Indie, Pop, Experimental
Apparitions: Tracklist
1.) Good Feelings
2.) Oh, Ivory!
3.) Drunk Kids
4.) Fever Dreams
5.) Deyci, Right On
6.) Bad Vibes
7.) All Night Outside
8.) Witchcraft
9.) Ssslowdreamsss

Light Pollution on Myspace
Carpark Records Website
Preorder “Apparitions” over at Insound for June 8th!

Titus Andronicus – “Feats of Strength”

Earlier this year, Titus Andronicus released their sophomore effort “The Monitor”. Since then, the band has been touring the country pretty much non-stop, and they’re about to continue the touring-madness again on May 15th when they head out to Utrecht in the Netherlands. They’ll be making stops all throughout Europe on this short leg of their tour, and they’ll be touring straight on through until May 27th, only taking one day out (on the 26th) to take a break from it all. This definitely can’t be an easy thing to do.

What I have here for you guys today is a brand new, unofficial fan-made collection of demos, b-sides, and live tracks from Titus Andronicus – all pre-2010 stuff. So unless it’s the original version of “To Old Friends and New”, you’re not going to find anything to do with their most recent release “The Monitor”. This is all “Airing of Grievances” era material, and it’s a significant amount of tracks, ranging from the version of “Albert Camus” from the “Library of Congress” days, all the way up until 2009. Some of the track names on the list they have are titled incorrectly, for example “Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ” did not come from the Camus 7″. It came on a 7″ that originally came from Shake Appeal Records. That song should instead be titled “Upon Viewing Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”. Except for this tiny flaw, this compilation is quite a good one. Well worth it for any Titus Andronicus fan out there, especially if you’re a fan of their earlier recordings, meaning that this is mostly the ‘lo-fi’ stuff. Included on the comp is an acoustic version of frontman Patrick Stickles playing “No Future Part 1”, which was a very pleasant surprise. You can listen to that one down below, along with a few other tracks.

Whoever came up with the name of this comp did an excellent job by the way, because “Feats of Strength” is almost too perfect. This is a comp of all of the earlier material Titus Andronicus had to offer, and it just goes to show you that these guys having been doing it right since day one. It’s almost like saying these “feats of strength” were only foreshadowing what Titus Andronicus will do for us shortly down the road. With that being said, it’s no question these guys are out touring non-stop right now.

Be sure to head on over to the fansite Titusandronic.us to download the entire compilation yourself!

Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ (EP/ 7″ Version) –

Albert Camus (Library of Congress/ Seizing Elian version) –

No Future: Part 1 (Acoustic) –

Genre/ Tags: Punk, Lo-Fi, Shoegaze
“Feats of Strength” Tracklist:
1.) Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ (Titus Andronicus EP)
2.) Titus Andronicus (Titus Andronicus EP)
3.) Talking Oral Fixation Blues (Titus Andronicus EP)
4.) Arms Against Atrophy (Titus Andronicus EP)
5.) To Old Friends and New (Titus Andronicus EP)
6.) Albert Camus (Camus 7-inch)
7.) Upon Viewing Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (Camus 7-inch)
8.) Albert Camus (Seizing Elian)
9.) Every Time I See The Light Part One (Titus Andronicus b-side)
10.) Every Time I See The Light Part Two (Titus Andronicus b-side)
11.) Landscape with the Fall of Icarus – (2006-06-28)
12.) Christmas Calculator (VCR cover, 2007-01-31)
13.) Say it Ain’t So (Weezer cover, 2007-10-20)
14.) Titus Andronicus Forever (2008-06-21)
15.) Roadrunner (Modern Lovers cover, 2009-02-23)
16.) No Future (Patrick solo, 2009-05)

DOWNLOAD Titus Andronicus – “Feats of Strength”

Check it out more in-depth right here at Titusandronic.us
The Library of Congress previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone
Titus Andronicus live w/ the Babies previously on the Drone
Titus Andronicus live at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ
Titus Andronicus – The Innocents Abroad: First post on the Styrofoam Drone

Male Bonding – Nothing Hurts

Hey. Today is May 11th, 2010, the official release day for the newest album “Nothing Hurts” by Male Bonding. So I figured covering “Nothing Hurts” today was extremely appropriate.

The album is being released by Sub Pop Records today, and it’s their first full length album to date. Male Bonding hail from a place called Dalston in London, which Sub Pop refers to as a “gentrification-proof London neighborhood with ample ‘lo-fi’ bands and Turkish restaurants.” Interesting. We don’t exactly know if the town of Dalston has an influence on their playing style, but either way I’m sure Male Bonding would continue to serve up these quick, high-intensity noise pop songs that are almost always played a breakneck speeds. With that being said, there’s not a song on the album that’s longer than 3 minutes, and the album as a whole is barely a half hour long, clocking in at 29 minutes.

On “Nothing Hurts”, just about every last song can find it’s way into your brain and embed itself there for days. Every song on the record has it’s hook, making every one of these songs dangerously catchy and bound to keep your finger on the ‘repeat’ button. Whether it’s a screeching guitar solo (like on “Your Contact”, “Crooked Scene”, “Nothing Remains” or “Pumpkin”), or it’s a pulsing, groovy bass line (like on “All Things This Way”, or “Nothing Used to Hurt”), chances are you’re going to like this band. Aside from these things, they also make liberal use of the cowbell in a few of their songs, like on “Crooked Scene” or “Pirate Key”, which at first might catch the listener off guard. The ending of “Pirate Key” is especially interesting, as the cowbell brings the song to a close.

The song “Weird Feelings” starts off with a swollen, fuzzy bass line, and then almost immediately another squealing guitar hook comes into play, bringing these two elements of their music together in an almost perfect fashion. Get about three-quarters through the song and you’ll hear another quick but fulfilling guitar solo, thus proving that these guys really know how to hit that mark. Until that solo comes up, the song was good, but as soon as it plays, chances are you’re going to be wide-eyed and thinking “Where did that come from!?” Not to mention the quick use of the cowbell again at the end of the solo. All that being said, I think this would qualify as one of the highlights from this album. Not too long after “Weird Feelings” comes the song “T.U.F.F.”. “T.U.F.F.” is a culmination of just about everything last aspect of their music that I mentioned before this sentence. Specifically placed cowbells, head-spinning guitar hooks, breakneck speeds, crashing cymbals, and a bass line that just rips through the song without ever looking back to see the damage it has done.

While most of their songs do follow this pattern, there are a small handful that don’t. The oddly named “Franklin” and then the closing track “Worse to Come”. You may notice that these two songs don’t necessarily fit in as well as the others upon first listening to “Nothing Hurts”, but these two go a long way for showing the diversity that Male Bonding could have in their seemingly endless bag of sprawling, head spinning noise rock. “Franklin” creates quite an obscure feeling and could most easily be described as indistinct or ambiguous. With that being said, I’m not entirely sure what they were shooting for with this song, but it still certainly fits into the record, strangely enough. If that’s got you curious, then do yourself a huge favor and listen to these songs below.

Weird Feelings –

T.U.F.F. –

Franklin –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Grunge, Lo-Fi
Nothing Hurts: Tracklist
1.) Year’s Not Long
2.) All Things This Way
3.) Your Contact
4.) Weird Feelings
5.) Franklin
6.) Crooked Scene
7.) T.U.F.F.
8.) Nothing Remains
9.) Nothing Used to Hurt
10.) Pirate Key
11.) Paradise Vendors
12.) Pumpkin
13.) Worse to Come

Male Bonding on Myspace
Buy “Nothing Hurts” directly from Sub Pop

Wild Nothing – Gemini

By now I feel like a significant amount of people are familiar with Wild Nothing. This would probably be because of that first 7″ the one-man-band put out on the Captured Tracks label in 2009. Since then, Jack Tatum, the man behind the music, has put out one other 7″ called “Cloudbursting” that was also put out by Captured Tracks. Now the release of the first Wild Nothing full length is upon us, and it’s due out on May 25th going by the Captured Tracks “coming soon” section. How perfect. The album is coming out just in time for summer. Although you’ll have to wait to hear the entire album, why not hold yourself over by checking out a few of the tracks below? You’ll be happy you did!

The album starts off on a good note, beginning with the song “Live in Dreams”. It welcomes you at the door and beckons you to come in for more, and chances are you’re going to find it hard to resist. Jack Tatum tells us right away that “Our lips won’t last forever,” and that’s exactly why he wants to live in dreams. This way, if you’re living in dreams, you can’t die. This song is bursting at the seams with hovering, gorgeous sound effects. As you listen to the album you’ll pick up on all the subtle effects and sounds that are thrown into the mix, but you have to listen carefully! The following track “Summer Holiday” is one that many of us have probably already heard, but in no way is that a bad thing. The only reason that is true is because of that 7″ we already mentioned. Up next on the album would be the totally blissed out track “Drifter”, with it’s heavenly sound effects and the ability to bring you to that special paradise you could only reach in your dreams. This is the type of song where you lose all train of thought while you become completely immersed in the sounds – Like I said earlier, once you’re stuck in it, it’s difficult to get back out.

Skipping ahead to the halfway point of the album brings us to the song “Bored Games”. Lots of quick and little intricate sounds dominate this song, all over top of a muffled bass line that’s sure to keep your head bobbing along to the beat. For about the last minute of the track, Tatum delivers a laid-back guitar solo as the song comes to an end and slowly fades out. Next up would be the other somewhat familiar track on the album, “Confirmation”. Just like the songs on the 7″ records, this track has been floating around on the web for awhile now, but it did not come on either of the 7 inches. Moving right along to another highlight from the album, “Chinatown”. “Chinatown” is drenched in more heavenly, spaced out sound effects that are present throughout the entire song, while Tatum’s voice continues to saturate everything even more, giving this track (and most of these other tracks) a real sense of longing. Second to last on the album comes the song “Our Composition Book”, which is a glamorous, picture-perfect pop song complete with shimmering sound effects and some excellent guitar playing by none other than Mr. Tatum himself.

In looking back on this album, I’d have to say it was quite a refreshing listen. Just about every last track sounds like it’s been dunked in a pool of spaced out, glamorous and almost ambient sound effects, which goes a long way for giving this album an otherworldly quality. If you’re still not sure what to think, then the best suggestion I’d have for you is to listen to these few songs below. After listening, it shouldn’t take long for you to decide whether or not you’re a fan of the one-man pop sensation that is Wild Nothing. Thanks for reading once again, and stay tuned as always!

Drifter –

Chinatown –

Our Composition Book –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Glam
Gemini: Tracklist
1.) Live in Dreams
2.) Summer Holiday
3.) Drifter
4.) Pessimist
5.) O, Lilac
6.) Bored Games
7.) Confirmation
8.) My Angel Lonely
9.) The Witching Hour
10.) Chinatown
11.) Our Composition Book
12.) Gemini

Wild Nothing on Myspace
Summer Holiday 7″ previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone
Buy Wild Nothing releases directly from Captured Tracks

Cults – Go Outside 7″

It’s never too early to fall in love with a band. When the brand new band Cults put out their first release ever – a 7″ record on Forest Family Records – that’s exactly what happened. Ever since their mentioning on websites like Gorilla vs. Bear and Pitchfork, this band has been making some serious waves all throughout the blogosphere. In the beginning, background information on the band was severely inadequate and practically impossible to find anywhere on the web, but that’s not a problem anymore (Now the biggest problem would be when their next release is due out). Cults is a two-piece band fronted by the couple Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin, and they’re both 21. Currently they both study film in New York, and they both originally came from San Diego…which of course in German means a whale’s vagina. Right? Am I right?

The 7″ starts off beautifully, with the already-much-talked-about opening song “Go Outside”, which is simply about going outside and not being a lazy, bedridden scum bag all day. Singer Madeline Follin tells us she knows “What’s good”, because she’s been there before, and I’d have to take her word for it on this one. Whatever it is, it’s got to be better than spending the entire day in bed. Similar to laying in bed, “Go Outside” never quite takes any unexpected turns, and that’s part of the plan. They take a sort of minimalistic approach to the music; never over complicating anything or letting anything get too unorganized – it’s all there all the time. If you haven’t heard these totally blissed-out songs yet, be sure to check them out below. If you’re still interested, follow the link below over to their Bandcamp page, where you can download the entire 7″ completely for FREE! And Happy Mothers Day to the moms of the world!

Go Outside –

Most Wanted –

The Curse –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Lo-Fi
Go Outside 7″: Tracklist
1.) Go Outside
2.) Most Wanted
3.) The Curse

Download the entire 7″ FOR FREE on Cults Bandcamp page
~~BUY~~ SOLD OUT – the Cults 7″ directly from Forest Family Records

Pure Ecstasy – Easy 7″

Hailing from the ever-populated Austin, Texas comes the band Pure Ecstasy, led by 27-year-old singer-songwriter Nate Grace. His band makes warm and fuzzy pop songs drowned in seemingly endless layers of reverb, and they’re all instantly catchy and bound to crawl into your head and be stuck there for days. The songs evoke a sense that you’re stuck on a endless beach somewhere, and there is nothing around but you and the hot, hazy, blistering sun. Although you may think the same thing, chances are you’ll come up with you’re own explanation for the music, but either way, get your repeat buttons ready for this band.

Just like every 7″ out there, we know there’s not going to be a whole lot of material to listen to. Most of the time after listening to a 7″, you’re going to want to spin it again because it was so short. That’s exactly what happens with this record, and even after spinning it countless times, it still doesn’t loosen it’s grasp. The record starts off with the poppy song “Easy”, and right at the beginning singer Nate Grace is there to welcome you. It doesn’t take long for you to realize how hazy and drowned out these songs actually are either. The distant hum of the bass guitar seems like it’s buried somewhere miles away, and you’ll notice that the music has an increasingly longing feeling to it. The track “Easy” ends somewhere around the 2 and a half minute mark, and then comes another “mini track”. The last minute of the song is another hazy-buzz jam with some calming guitar licks, and shortly after the song fades out and it’s time for the B-side. Flip that shit.

Now we’re on the B-side. Pretty intuitive right? Yeah, you guys are smart! Just kidding though. The B-side, in my opinion, is the highlight on this 7″. The song is called “Baby”, and it’s 3 and a half minutes of straight up mellowed out dream pop. Undeniably tranquillizing, this song is bound to bring thoughts to your mind like “Relaaaaax” and “Take it easyyyyy”. With that being said, it’s probably a good point to say this is a fantastic song to put on while trying to fall asleep at night. The song is held together by the constant shake of the maracas, all while Nate Grace’s spaced out guitar solos are sure to hypnotize any listener into spinning this gem of a 7″ again and again. Please do yourself a HUGE favor and listen to this band, and then do the band a HUGE favor and buy their records! Thanks for reading, and be sure to listen to the song “Baby” below! If you want to hear the A-side song “Easy”, just go to their Myspace.

Baby –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Lo-Fi, Psychedelic
Easy 7″: Tracklist
1.) Easy
2.) Baby

Pure Ecstasy on Tumblr
Pure Ecstasy on Myspace
Buy the “Easy” 7″ directly from LIGHT LODGE before it sells out!
Buy their latest 7″ directly from Acéphale Records before that sells out too!

Twin Sister – Color Your Life

Not too long ago it was announced on the interweb that the band Twin Sister would be touring with Bear in Heaven this summer. It’s really too bad that they’re not going to make it to Philadelphia, because that would kick ass. Unfortunately the closest they’ll be to Philadelphia is when they play in Ohio, and that’s just a bit too far. Oh well. Instead why not just listen to their mesmerizing most recent effort “Color Your Life”, which is due out on May 25th by Infinite Best Recordings?

“Color Your Life” certainly does just as it says. It doesn’t take long for you to realize that either. Right off the bat they’re going for the gold, and if that means we get to listen to more “dream sequence” music like this, then keep it coming! The album starts off on the track “The Other Side of Your Face”, which sort of leaves you on a dreamy, mysterious path right at the beginning of the album. Not long into listening you will notice that the music is drowned in an increasingly atmospheric environment, almost as if you can reach out and grasp the sounds themselves (hence the “dream sequence” comment above). The last minute and a half brings out some entrancing sound effects, and suddenly the song takes a random turn into a land of ridiculously spaced out guitar and an unexpected, almost dancey drum beat. Then it all stops and you’re listening to the next song, “Lady Daydream”, which is probably the most accessible on the album. The twangy guitars that dominate the song do a great job of holding everything together, while the bass guitar does a great job of guiding us through the song. Not only does it act as a guide, but it’s guaranteed to keep your feet tapping along to the beat. Make sure you listen to this one below, you’ll be happy you did.

Next up on the album is “Milk & Honey”. This track starts off slow with the organ until that twangy, metallic sounding lead guitar comes back in to kick off the song. Shortly after the one minute mark the song suddenly takes an unexpected turn in a direction that you probably didn’t see coming at first. The repeating bass line takes charge and pulsates through the rest of the song until it’s suddenly cut short by the intro to the next track, “All Around and Away We Go”. Definitely one of the more accessible songs on the album again right here. Once again, the bass line in this one is sure to keep you moving. Right before the three minute mark everything stops except for some heavenly sound effects, and shortly after the bass line and drums start up again. Now you probably have this unexpected urge to dance, and you’re not really even too sure how it happened. This song sounds like it could have been straight out of the 1980’s.

Next up is the instrumental track “Galaxy Plateau”, but it doesn’t quite serve as an instrumental track – it’s more of a soundscape, or a “dreamscape” if you will. This song sort of came out of nowhere; I wasn’t expecting anything like this, but it’s a hell of an experience. The first minute or so is incredibly creepy, as you can hear a bell ringing far away in the distance. It sounds pretty gruesome, almost as if this were the foreshadowing music to somebody’s death in a movie. This first part really leaves you wondering what direction this song is going to take, but suddenly, right before the two minute mark, it changes directions significantly. You’re greeted by an organ and shimmering, icy sound effects, which almost gives you the feeling that you’re somehow in a wintry atmosphere now. The shimmering sounds you hear remind me of those days when you would trek through the Ice Cavern as adult Link in the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Just listen to the song in this video, you’ll catch my drift. Along with the shimmers you can hear harsh winds, and footsteps trudging through what sounds like snow, with the crunching sound of the snow being mashed up under your feet. It’s almost like you’re in an abandoned snow-town in the dead of winter with nobody else around but the menacing sound of a distant bell calling your name, slowly but surely driving you mad. The way they paint the picture here is bound to leave you speechless, and possibly even begging for more. The last 30 seconds of the song reveals a transition which leads you into the final track of the album, “Phenomenons”. Unlike the previous track, the good vibes really come through on this one. Everything sounds like it’s going to be okay now, almost as if you made it out of that wintry wasteland you were just trapped in. They way the end the album here should leave any listener with high hopes for the next release from Twin Sister. Thanks for reading and check out the mp3’s below.

Lady Daydream –

All Around and Away We Go –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Experimental, Pop
Color Your Life: Tracklist
1.) The Other Side of Your Face
2.) Lady Daydream
3.) Milk & Honey
4.) All Around and Away We Go
5.) Galaxy Plateau
6.) Phenomenons

Twin Sisters Official Website
Twin Sister on Myspace
Pre-Order “Color Your Life” directly from Infinite Best Recordings

The Babies – Meet Me in the City 7″

The Babies are a band from Brooklyn, New York. It’s probably not a surprise that their from Brooklyn either, because what band isn’t these days? The Babies formed somewhat recently, and thus far into their short existence they have released two equally awesome 7″ singles. The first one, “All Things Come to Pass”, was put out on Wild World Records, but it is currently sold out at Wild World. If you’re looking to buy that 7″, you can still get it at Midheaven Mailorder, just follow that link. Probably better to do that sooner than later. Their second 7″, “Meet Me in the City”, came out not long after the first, and you can still grab it for a very fair price from Make a Mess Records. Kevin Morby takes care of the singing on “Meet Me in the City” while Cassie Ramone adopts the backup vocals. For the earlier single they switched positions and Ramone dominated the singing on “All Things Come to Pass”. With that being said, it’s almost like two entirely different bands when switching from one single to the other.

If you’ve read about the Babies elsewhere on the web, then you probably already know the story. Kevin Morby, bassist of the band Woods, plays guitar in the Babies. Cassie Ramone of the Vivian Girls also plays guitar in the band, along with drummer Justin Sullivan who once played in the NYC band Bossy. Last but not least is bassist Nate Stark, who also plays in the band Stupid Party. In other words, you could say these guys are a bunch of hometown hero’s coming together and breeding the latest Brooklyn pop sensation. Hear for yourself and check out the mp3 below. This post is also a great excuse to re-post videos from the Babies/ Titus Andronicus show that recently went down in Philly. Enjoy.

PS – Oh yeah, and Happy Cinqo de Mayo to all! Except that Mike Hunt asshole guy…

Somebody Else –

All Things Come to Pass

Caroline

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Lo-Fi
Meet Me in the City 7″: Tracklist
1.) Meet Me in the City
2.) Somebody Else

The Babies on Myspace
Buy the two 7″ records directly from Midheaven Mailorder
Buy “Meet Me in the City” directly from Make a Mess Records

Long Legged Woman – Nobody Knows This is Nowhere

Some of you may already be familiar with Long Legged Woman. If so, then you already know the deal. If not, then it may come as a surprise to you that they’re no longer a band anymore.

After three years of playing together, the band finally decided to call it quits. The lifespan of Long Legged Woman yielded many releases, one being this LP I have here today, along with multiple CD-R’s, endless touring, tapes, and some 7″ records. Now although the band called it quits, that doesn’t mean the members involved have given up on music entirely. Instead, they just moved on to other projects. As said on their Myspace by band member Justin, “We’ve decided to not go separate ways but do some different shit. Get my drift? We’re not quitting music, in fact, we’re making more shit now than ever.” He’s not lying either. You can check out his latest band right here on Myspace, and their called CCR Headcleaner. Hooray for extensive touring!

As for the Long Legged Woman outfit, it’s too bad their not going to be playing shows anymore. The heavy guitars that produce a wall of sound and practically dominate every song on the LP can’t quite be experienced the same way now. CCR Headcleaner may be capable of pulling it off, but they just don’t quite hit that mark that Long Legged Woman did. Granted there are only two songs on the CCR Myspace, so there is always room to be proven wrong, but right now I’m still leaning towards LLW.

Listening to songs on their “Nobody Knows This is Nowhere” LP could potentially send you straight to the floor. Tracks like “Vinegar”, “You Found Out”, “Something is Pressing Against it From the Inside”, “When I Was Asleep”, and “Yours is Mine” are sure to leave you speechless, and quite possibly without much of an opinion at all, but by any chance begging for more of the face pounding action. Their relentless approach to the music may scare off a good amount of listeners, but it’s the ones that stick around to hear what’s next that really matter. One highlight from the album that is certainly worth all 7 minutes and 30 seconds of your time is the track “Psych Jam”. I say this now because it’s definitely a song with a “relentless approach”. It’s just nonstop, constantly in-yr-face howling guitars, crashing cymbals, and squealing guitar solos. It’s enough to completely disorient any listener, and just enough to make your head spin in all possible directions. As I read somewhere on the web, “it’s enough to make your brain explode”. Although this does not sound safe, I highly recommend you give it a shot. Listen to Long Legged Woman. I have mp3’s for you below!

Something is Pressing Against it from the Inside –

Vinegar –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Psychedelic, Punk
Nobody Knows This is Nowhere: Tracklist
1.) Vinegar
2.) You Found Out
3.) Something is Pressing Against it From the Inside
4.) Bath House
5.) Psych Jam
6.) When I Was Asleep
7.) Racoon in a Coon Skin Cap
8.) The Horse Holds it’s Own Reins
9.) Yours is Mine
10.) He Was a Narc but We Loved Him Anyway
11.) I Have a Scheme…
12.) But There’s Something Going On