Tammar – I Live Here Now

Hey, remember TAMMAR from a post back in early July? Well if not you can click that link and go check it out – it’s their self-titled EP that came out back during 2008. To be honest with you, I didn’t know what these guys were up to when I made that post, but since then all of our “Where is Tammar?” questions have been answered. They’re now back on the scene with a brand new live EP called “I Live Here Now”, and it was literally just released by none other than the St. Ives imprint – which I am growing more fond of with each release I pick up. This brand new set of live tracks were all captured during the Summer of 2009 at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Indiana – which also happens to be Tammar’s hometown – and they couldn’t be more ready to share the music with you.

If you read the post from last time, you might already know what to expect. And if not, I’d be glad to fill you in with the details. So for starters, the biggest difference from their two releases is that this one was recorded live. The other one wasn’t. Only one song from their other EP made it onto this new live EP, and that would be “Weddle On II”. While the actual songs might be different, the fashion that they play them in certainly didn’t change much at all. And they still use those woozy, dazed-out keyboards in the background that gives each song a wobbly, confused feeling.

Just about every Tammar song I’ve heard starts out relatively simple and easy going, but sure enough each song begins to grow as time passes on, whether it’s a small subtle change or a huge wailing guitar lick, they get their point across, and they stay focused from beginning to end. Before you even realize, a song will turn into a huge wall of sound with dream-like textures as it evokes a fantastic feeling that you can take on the entire world. With that being said, I definitely think Tammar is a band that is meant to be experienced live before any other possible way. So it’s a good thing that all this stuff was recorded live in case you never get the chance to see them. This way you capture that live energy that may or may not be there when things are recorded in a studio. Speaking of live energy, the first song that really put me on the floor from this record was “Yung Jun”, and it’s quite a joyous number. I could seriously listen to it all day – hell, I pretty much did just that while driving pizza’s around town all day yesterday. I was ecstatic when I first heard it, and I hope you guys feel the same way. Definitely don’t miss out on this one, because it’s limited to 300 copies, and once people realize what they’re missing out on, these things won’t be around to buy anymore.

Yung Jun –

My Rating: 8.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Experimental, Pop, Indie Rock
I Live Here Now: Tracklist:
1.) Arrows Underwater
2.) Weddle On II
3.) Yung Jun
4.) Frost Meter

BUY the brand new album @ Insound! – Limited to 300 copies!
Tammar EP previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone
Tammar on Myspace
Tammar on Last.fm

Banned Books – Man Maker EP

Just two days ago I had an e-mail in my inbox from the wonderful spaz-rock trio BANNED BOOKS. They’re making the rounds on the internet and sending out their brand new EP “Man Maker” to the masses, and it’s already proving to pay off for these guys. If you can remember back to last time, the album of interest was the fantastic “Mission Creep” mini-LP, and now they’re back once again with another batch of ridiculously strained and rigid songs, which includes even less time to breathe than we had on “Mission Creep”! Seriously! These guys are relentless, and it fucking rules!

So this time around the Banned Books sound is slightly different from the last, but you would still know it’s Banned Books. One of the biggest contrasts I noticed from “Mission Creep” is that they take a step back on the quiet parts on this EP – instead of changing things up from madness to silence like they did on “Mission Creep”, this time they just ditch the quiet and give you the full-throttle surprise, all the time (well, most of the time).

The EP features five brand new, unheard songs from the band, and they’re about as tense and frantic as they come. Each track is a well organized mess of guitars, drums, and bass, and you can tell that the band puts a shit-ton of time and effort into their music, and it definitely shows. The guitars are staggeringly heavy and screeching at just about every possible chance, while lead singer Zane Kanevsky acts as our tour guide through the EP. His soft, delicate vocals can go from one extreme to the other in a matter of seconds, and they go hand-in-hand with their relentless style of music. One of the quietest moments on the EP comes during the title-track “Man Maker”, but it doesn’t stay this way for long before it all goes to shit during the final minute. Screeching, spiny guitars then take over the mix, and the poor listeners (us!) are left wondering what the hell just happened! You’ll probably need to rewind the song a bit just to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Perhaps one of the most jaw-dropping moments comes towards the end of the EP, and it’s called “The Meat that Eats Itself” (Kind of a horrifying name, don’t you think? Just picture that in your head). Right from the get-go this song is already sprawling in all directions, and it doesn’t loosen it’s grasp for all two minutes and eighteen seconds. Kanevsky howls over the mix while it sounds like everybody else in the band just beats the piss out of their instruments – and the face-destroying madness is good enough to force you to put the track on for another spin. I’ve uploaded this track for you guys below, so please don’t miss this one. You guys really need to hear this and see what you think, because I’m sure you’ll all have different opinions. One thing I am sure about though is this: Banned Books love to surprise us, and that’s just what they did here with this EP. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to their next release…

PS – You can download their new EP entirely for FREE!!!

Man Maker –

The Meat that Eats Itself –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Experimental, Noise Rock, Post Punk
Man Maker EP: Tracklist:
1.) Intergalactic Singalong
2.) Man Maker
3.) Human Head
4.) The Meat that Eats Itself
5.) The Dress

Banned Books on Myspace!
DOWNLOAD their entire EP completely for free – courtesy of Banned Books!
Check out “Mission Creep” by Banned Books that was previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone

Tammar – Tammar EP

Hello y’all. Today’s post comes from a record I just picked up from the record store over this past weekend, and I feel like this stuff is going to be new for you since it was for me. The name of the band is TAMMAR, and they’re from the unexpected Bloomington, Indiana. Their self-titled EP came out sometime back in 2008, which probably means this poor record was sitting in the record store for over a year! Poor thing. It’s all good though, because it has a home now, and it just so happens to be loved very much! I didn’t know what I was getting into when I bought this EP, but the main reason I picked it up that day was because it’s from the St. Ives imprint. As of lately, these St. Ives records have really hit the spot (See Radical Sons or Friendo), so I can’t help myself but pick up another one when I see it. You can mark my words that there will be another one up here sooner or later, I just have to find it first 😉

So who are these Tammar folk you ask? Well, for starters, I’m pretty sure this is their only official release, so the chances of finding this band any other way seems pretty slim. The EP is just under a half an hour long, and it’s filled with Tammar’s head spinning blend of wobbly indie pop – going from the headline on their Myspace page that reads “Wobble-Pop”. The first track “Summer Fun” fits this description best in my opinion, as the song’s sounds brings words like “confusing” and “amnesia” to mind. Amongst the pulsating bass lines and hazy sound effects, there’s plenty of things going on in these songs. The guitar comes in heavily about halfway through this track until the dizzy fade-out at the end of the song. This leaves us at the beginning of the next track “Weddle On”, which starts off with a fun intro that is sure to leave the listener guessing what direction this song is going to take. The song starts off somewhat slow and very quiet, but as time goes on the song picks up some speed, definitely gets louder, and it actually gets more and more complex over time. Come to think of it, a few of these songs take a similar form where they’ll start out slow and quiet, but as time goes on they get bigger, louder, and more intricate.

The following track goes almost hand-in-hand with what I just said, and it’s called “Dig A Hole”. This just so happens to be the longest song from the EP, as it clocks in at over seven minutes. The song starts out on a slow bass line with some eerie sound effects, and you’ll see as time passes that the song starts to form into it’s own. The steady drumming and the buzzing bass lines are always present as more and more begins to come out in the song, but they never break the song off into a different direction – they stay focused throughout and keep it moving forward without ever looking over their shoulder to see what could have been.

Skipping ahead to the final track of the EP called “Hot Juice” (just a quick thought – hot juice definitely doesn’t sound refreshing). But moving on. “Hot Juice” is definitely a highlight from this EP, and it starts out on some groovy keyboards. The drums and guitar slowly join in on the fun, and before you realize it they’re building up their song again as you listen to it. During the second minute the song turns into a fast-paced acid jam filled with lots of cowbell and more bouncy sounds. In other words, it’s just a long, intense jam out with enough sound effects and cowbell to keep you happy for days.

That’s the end of their EP, and unfortunately I don’t think these guys ever put out anything else. It doesn’t seem like Tammar ever gained the popularity they could have achieved, which is probably why there isn’t anything else to listen to, but I’ve been wrong many, many times in my life. Trust me. Listen to the songs below, and thanks for coming by again!

Summer Fun (3:57) –

Weddle On (5:13) –

Hot Juice (6:53) –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Experimental, Pop, Indie Rock
Tammar EP: Tracklist:
1.) Summer Fun
2.) Weddle On
3.) Dig A Hole
4.) Emily’s Army
5.) Hot Juice

Tammar on Myspace
Tammar on Last.fm
Download the EP digitally from OtherMusic.com

Wild Nothing – Evertide EP

So the post for today wasn’t originally supposed to be this EP. Last night Twin Sister played in Philadelphia, but after a series of unfortunate events, I was unable to make it to the show and capture any footage of the band. You can probably guess that I was a bit upset, but that’s okay, because I’m sure Twin Sister will be back in Philadelphia in no time. As of now I don’t see any dates, so we’ll just have to wait for them to come back around. But moving on. Instead of show footage today, I give you the brand new EP from the one-man, bedroom-pop-band WILD NOTHING. The EP was put out by the UK label Warmest Chord, and they just released it about a week ago.

The EP features three brand new, unheard songs from Tatum and his Wild Nothing outfit, and they’re sort of a continuation of the songs we heard from his debut LP “Gemini” that came out earlier this year. The EP is just shy of 12 minutes long, and it’s equally parts poppy and dancey, but Tatum still does it all with his undying love for nostalgia and the buzzy sound of classic 80’s pop music. All three of the songs have their moments, but the real prize from this EP comes on the last track “Take Me In”. It’s a straight up jam-out with a shape shifting bass line and a glitchy guitar riff all over top of the glistening sound effects you would expect from a Wild Nothing song. I’ve uploaded the track below for you to listen to, so please check it out!

Take Me In –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Pop
Evertide EP: Tracklist:
1.) Your Rabbit Feet
2.) Golden Haze
3.) Take Me In

Wild Nothing on Myspace
BUY these tracks directly from Warmest Chord
Wild Nothing – Gemini previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone
Wild Nothing – Summer Holiday 7″ previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone

Endless Wave – City Walls EP

To start things off today, I would like to apologize for not posting anything the past few days. I was visiting the beach for the weekend and didn’t really have the time to post anything (except for Monday), and finding a free internet signal proved to be quite difficult, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to let a few days pass without a post. But don’t worry, I have something new for you guys today, and hopefully you’ll enjoy it. The name of the band is ENDLESS WAVE, and they’re a three-piece band coming from Boston, and they just released their debut EP called “City Walls” from a record label called Fort Point Recordings. Endless Wave take on that familiar atmospheric shoegaze sound, but they do it in their own special way in which the music gives you a feeling that you’re soaring through the sky. Hence the descriptive word “skygaze” I’ve been seeing when looking up some information on this band.

As I already said, these guys play a familiar sound, and I’m sure you can name bands from the past that these guys sound like. There music is full of heavenly, crystal clear guitars (Ocean Drive), fuzzy distorted bass lines (Last Phase), and sudden bursts of energy from start to finish that are bound to catch you off guard. Songs like “Triangular” and the epic seven-minute “Premeditated” include many of the things I just mentioned, but do you really want to hear it from me? Listen to the songs below yourself and see what you think!

Ocean Drive –

Triangular –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Alternative, Pop, Shoegaze
City Walls EP: Tracklist:
1.) City Walls
2.) Last Phase
3.) Ocean Drive
4.) Triangular
5.) Premeditated

Endless Wave on Myspace
Endless Wave on Last.fm

Monster Rally – Monster Rally EP

Here is something a bit out of the ordinary. The name of the band is Monster Rally, and they certainly have their own sound going for them. Instead of playing songs like everybody is used to hearing, Monster Rally create these abstract, hazy environments that could most easily be described as being background music for scenarios of all sorts. Whether it’s a busy, hot flea market mobbed with people from shoulder to shoulder, a lazy beach side Jamaican jam out, or just a breezy jazzy tune you can tap your foot along to, Monster Rally play a different form of music.

Probably the easiest way to describe their sound would be the “Soundtrack to your summer”, because that’s exactly what it is. Pretend you’re listening to the spaced-out, intergalactic journey of Flying Lotus’ “Los Angeles”, only this time you’re doing it on a tropical island somewhere, and it’s hot, sunny, and there’s not a chance in hell that summer is ever going to end. At least, as long as this EP is around. You shouldn’t wait any longer – head on over to their Bandcamp page to download this mysteriously awesome EP (for FREE!), so you too can be a part of the hazy, endlessly looping madness that is bound to play a role in your summer.

Shangri La –

Honey Moon –

Suns Hula –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Abstract, Psychedelic
Monster Rally EP: Tracklist:
1.) The Wolf
2.) Maori Mai
3.) Shangri La
4.) Honey Moon
5.) Pearly
6.) Suns Hula

Download the Monster Rally EP from their Bandcamp page
Monster Rally on Last.fm

Ghost Mall – Goons EP

Just yesterday I got an e-mail in my inbox from a band called GHOST MALL. They kept it very short, straight, and to the point. Here’s what they said: “We are Ghost Mall, a garage-y ramshackle pop/ethereal punk band from New Paltz, NY. This is our debut EP entitled ‘Goons’. It was produced by DJ Teenwolf of Ninjasonik.” Also included was a link to Mediafire where you could download the EP in it’s entirety. So I listened to the EP today for the first time, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only was it awesome, but they definitely used an accurate description to describe their sound in the e-mail, and I think that’s what originally grabbed my attention. Bravo Ghost Mall!

They definitely have the ramshackle-y gunky rock/punk thing down, but I think they also add a bit of an electronic element to their music that takes it to a whole different level, with the best example from their EP being the song “Senile Felines”. They also forgot to mention in their description that they seamlessly, (and quite unexpectedly) add a reference to the Biz Markie song “Just a Friend” in their song “Balloon Ideas”. I think I speak for everybody when I say that I didn’t see that coming when I first listened. But going back to “Senile Felines”. This was the first song on the EP that definitely caught my attention. It’s a long one, and it continues to grow and get more and more complex as time moves on. Hopefully you can agree with my statement about the electronic elements in their sound after listening to this song. About halfway through they start to chanting short yelps of “woo!” which definitely makes for a fun listen. For about the last minute and a half of the song, they break things down as they all chant “Patience is a virtue baby,” and then we’re at the end.

Next comes the fast paced, keyboard dominated song “Balloon Ideas”, which features that reference to Biz Markie that I mentioned up above. This also happens to be the shortest song on the EP. Following up that song comes the track “Young Lairs”, which I thought stood out the most on the EP. It starts off with some careful, intricate drumming, and then the rest of the band joins in to take part in the approaching destruction. This one definitely fits their description of the music, as it’s equally part pop and punk, and it doesn’t shy away from the word “ramshackle” one bit. Finishing up the EP is the track “Johnny Appleseed”, which starts off a bit slower than the last few songs we heard. The lead singer is sort of talking to us in the beginning, and he is definitely unhappy with somebody as he calls them out and says “You fucked up.” The song goes on from here, and it stays at the same pace for the remainder, never quite hitting those break-neck speeds we heard earlier, but you always gotta have time to catch up.

Senile Felines –

Balloon Ideas –

Young Liars –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Pop, Lo-Fi
Goons EP: Tracklist
1.) 40 Nugs
2.) Senile Felines
3.) Balloon Ideas
4.) Young Liars
5.) Johnny Appleseed

Ghost Mall on Myspace!
Download their EP for FREE! You really should.
Friendly Neighborhood Records
Rally the Robots?

Whirl – Distressor EP

WHIRL is literally a brand new band. They’ve been a member on Myspace since January, and they made their first post on their Tumblr account about three months ago. Since opening all of these accounts, Whirl has been hard at work releasing their earliest material to share with us. Up until this point they’ve released a demo tape (which you can snag for a dirt-cheap $2.00!), and then their first full-length EP, entitled “Distressor”. They posted a link to download “Distressor” on their Tumblr page about two weeks ago, so you should definitely look into that. It’s 25 minutes of heavy, spaced out shoegaze music that’s meant to be played no other way but at excessively high volumes. You’ll figure that out pretty quickly too, as the guitars are almost always coming at your full force, like in the song “Child”, or in the melodic goodness of the track “Meaningless”.

When it comes to listening to their new EP, it doesn’t really take that long for it to sink in before you’re listening to songs over and over again. Like everything else out there, once it sinks in, it’s not an easy task to escape it. Songs like “Leave”, “Blue”, and “Meaningless” will keep you coming back for second and third listens, not to mention the entire EP itself. The songs are arranged very carefully, some playing into each other as seamlessly as possible, making this all hang together almost too perfectly. I don’t necessarily like to tell you guys when you’re going to like music, but I think I have to this time. It’s just so deliciously awesome and fresh that it’s kind of hard to ignore. Although this is pretty much getting their foot into the door of the music universe, I think it’s a safe bet to say that these guys are going to be moving on to bigger and better things very soon. Very ambitious, and certainly promising. Enjoy the songs, because I know I did!

Leave –

Blue –

Meaningless –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Shoegaze, Alternative, Punk
Distressor EP: Tracklist:
1.) Preface
2.) Leave
3.) Blue
4.) Ghost
5.) Meaningless
6.) Child
7.) Sandy

Whirl on Myspace
Whirl on Tumblr
Download the EP for free right here
Download the Demo Tape right here (you should buy it for $2.00, come on)

The Ills – Lost Trams EP

When I was surfing around the web trying to find some information about this band, I didn’t get very far. Most of the descriptions across the web are just copy-and-paste descriptions that seem to be used in every necessary place you could think of. The description I am talking about can be found on their Myspace page, and even on their Last.fm page. Unfortunately for me, this is all I know about the band, so just regurgitating the material certainly isn’t fun or entertaining to read.

So this is the Ills in a nutshell: Their name came about as a joke after they made their first song in September 2008, and since then they’ve gained momentum, found their own sound, and began playing shows in their hometown of Bratislava, Slovakia. Fun. Now here they are today putting out their most recent EP after putting out their first one back in September of 2009. I haven’t listened to the first EP, but the latest one is a beautiful, thought-evoking album in which they force you to paint a picture in your head to go along with the music. Along with that, their music also creates an environment, (known as a soundscape/dreamscape to some), and it’s as dreamy and lethargic as you could hope for and the second track “Vulnerable” is a prime example of this. The following track “To Go Through the Silence” also fits into this category as well, until about halfway through they suddenly kick things up and the cymbals crash until we’re at the end of the song. The opening track “Immense” is a bit different from these other two, and you can hear it for yourself right below. The final 7-minute track “Broken Wheel on the Ambulance Car” is more electronically dominated than the rest of the songs, resulting in an electrified atmosphere present throughout the entire song. You shouldn’t waste any more time listening to what I have though – download the EP through the link below and find out for yourself! Happy listening!

Immense –

Vulnerable –

My Rating: 6/10
Genre/ Tags: Instrumental, Post-Rock, Shoegaze
Lost Trams EP: Tracklist
1.) Immense
2.) Vulnerable
3.) To Go Through the Silence
4.) Broken Wheel on the Ambulance Car

The Ills on Myspace
Download the “Lost Trams” EP right HERE directly from the EXITlabel
Download their first EP right HERE

Kurt Vile – Square Shells EP

Hey! So I’ve had this one sitting around for a few days, and I just kind of forgot to listen to it. For whatever reason I remembered I had it just yesterday and decided to give it a spin for the first time. Not too long ago the good people over at Matador Records were nice enough to set the brand new EP free and give everybody a chance to download it “for the next 24 hours, or so.” Sadly, it’s way past that “24 hours or so” limit, but I’m going to share a few of the brand new, hazy Kurt Vile tunes with you here today, so you shouldn’t get too upset. If you’ve been looking to buy the EP, you can head on over to their store and buy it at this very moment! And I know this comes up here a lot on the blog, and it even says it on the Matador page, but these 7 new tracks are perfect summery jams and they came out just in time for summer.

Opening track “Ocean City” starts off with just Kurt and his lovely sounding acoustic guitar, as he sings about not being too sure about a new “best friend”, suggesting that “If it stinks it makes you think, maybe baby, I love you more.” The song continues on while Vile strums away on his guitar, and during the final minute some shape-shifting sound effects come into play, and then the songs fades out. Next up is the track that had been floating around on the web before the EP came out, and it’s called “Invisibility: Nonexistent”. It’s a psyched-out 7 minute jam as Kurt plays his trusty acoustic guitar over top of some grimy sound effects. You can easily get lost in a long, drawn out song such as this one, and at some point you may ask yourself when it’s going to end, but the song fades out and next comes “Losing Momentum”.

Unlike the others we’ve heard so far, this one is a bit more on the soundscape side of things, as it kind of forces you to paint a picture in your head to go along with the music, similar to the track “The Finder” found later on the EP. Following up would be the track “I Wanted Everything”. This is a perfect example of a breezy summer jam if there ever was one from this EP. Kurt continues to “strum away” for us on the EP as he says in the track “I Know I Got Religion”, and it all comes to a close on the lazy sounding final track “Hey, Now I’m Moving”. Kurt whips out the harmonica at the end of this one, and it works great for the song. A fantastic way to bring the EP to an end. Check out the songs below to hear for yourself! Thanks for coming by, and LET’S GO FLYERS. We’re just two wins away from becoming NHL Champions. Too much excitement!

Invisibility: Nonexistent –

I Wanted Everything –

I Know I Got Religion –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Acoustic, Psychedelic, Lo-Fi
Square Shells EP: Tracklist:
1.) Ocean City
2.) Invisibility: Nonexistent
3.) Losing Momentum (for Jim Jarmusch)
4.) I Wanted Everything
5.) I Know I Got Religion
6.) The Finder
7.) Hey, Now I’m Moving

Kurt Vile on Myspace
Kurt Vile – Official Website (Coming soon)
BUY the EP directly from Matador Records