Silver Jews – American Water

Hey hey. So I think many of you guys are already going to be familiar with today’s album, but I think it’s more than worthy of having a spot here on the Styrofoam Drone. It’s the pivotal third album from David Berman and company, and it’s quite a milestone in the indie rock world. I probably wouldn’t be making this post if I didn’t find this gem chilling in the ‘used’ record bin the other day either. It was only $6.99! How am I supposed to walk away from that? Do I even need to mention that Stephen Malkmus is on this record? Should I just ask you guys questions from now until the end of the post? Nah seriously though, if you haven’t heard anything from this record, you should stop what you’re doing right now and check this stuff out.

Berman and Malkmus deliver these folky, twangin’ country tunes, and they do it all with a lazy, laid back approach that’s definitely noticeable on many of the songs from the record. My favorite example of “lazy” from this record would probably be the song “Federal Dust”. Just listen and you’ll know what I’m talking about a minute and a half through when the guitar solo starts. It’s actually funny sometimes. It seems like they didn’t care when recording this stuff, but I’m sure that’s far from being true.

I also want to take a quick second and mention the track “Night Society”.Talk about the biggest tease ever when it comes to music. What happens before and after this song!? They just fade out on both ends! Every time I listen it kills me – I just want it to keep playing (which reminds me of “J vs. S” at the end of Shady Lane by Pavement on “Brighten the Corners”). It’s like “What did this spawn from? Was it really just a short jam like that or was there a whole song that you’re not telling us about! Come on! Spill the beans!”. If you haven’t figured it out, yes, this really does bother me, and the worst part is we’ll probably never know. It’s also the only song on the album that doesn’t feature Berman’s unique mixture of a mundane singing voice and genius lyrics. “All my favorite singers couldn’t sing,” says Berman during “We Are Real”. I guess that’s his rebuttal. Another good track for lyrics would be “Blue Arrangements”, and I’ve got it for ya below. Unfortunately that’s all for today, it’s time to go to work, but check this stuff out.

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Country, Alternative, Folk
American Water: Tracklist:
1.) Random Rules
2.) Smith & Jones Forever
3.) Night Society
4.) Federal Dust
5.) People
6.) Blue Arrangements
7.) We Are Real
8.) Send in the Clouds
9.) Like Like the the the Death
10.) Buckingham Rabbit
11.) Honk If You’re Lonely
12.) The Wild Kindness

Buy the LP @ Insound!
Silver Jews – Official Website!
Silver Jews on Myspace

Son Drop – Deep in the Underbark

Yo guys. I’m really stoked on this album we have today – it’s called “Deep in the Underbark” by SON DROP. Son Drop is the moniker of James Duke, the mastermind behind the music, but he employs a band to play with him for live shows. This appears to be the first Son Drop release out there, and its packed to the brim with folky-pop jams with a sound that’s bound to remind you of a breezy, sunny Spring season without a cloud in the sky and a worry in the world. There’s also a bit of a psychedelic tinge worked in to the sound, but no matter what these songs would go great while driving to the beach with your windows down and the wind blowing all around you. Sometimes they remind me of Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, but that’s basically their sound in a nutshell. Breezy, sunny and Spring time – I think you get the idea.

One song that falls more into the psychedelic boat would probably be “The Sails Will Fill Out”. About halfway through the song just pops off into a sudden guitar solo, and Duke tears it up and melts our faces with a hell of a lick that continues on until the end of the song. Powerful stuff right there. Later into the album comes another one that leans a bit more towards the psychedelic side, and it’s called “Crystal Ball”. Duke again wows us with some magnificent lead guitar work that’s sure to force you to play this song at least one more time, and there’s even some brass worked in at the end of the song which adds a nice touch. But these aren’t the only kinds of songs you’re going to come across.

For example, “Fields of Corn” sounds nothing like the ones I just mentioned, and if there’s any song that’s going to feel the Spring season, it’s probably this one. I’m not sure if that’s a flute or what you can hear in there, but it really helps get that feeling across. If you like that one you’ll probably like the song “Molasses” too, but seriously, all of this stuff is great and just highly enjoyable (Way Up, Romulus is An Owl). Anything that can bring you back to Spring time get’s an thumbs up in my book. Do yourself a favor and listen below! You can even download the whole album!

Molasses –

Crystal Ball –

Way Up –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Pop, Folk Rock
Deep in the Underbark: Tracklist:
1.) Fields of Corn
2.) Salt Trucks
3.) Sunshine
4.) Go Leafs Go!
5.) Molasses
6.) The Sails Will Fill Out
7.) Shotgun Shell
8.) Way Up
9.) Rimulus Is an Owl
10.) Crystall Ball
11.) A Lamp in the Window

DOWNLOAD the album right here completely for free!!
Son Drop on Myspace
Son Drop on Last.fm

Whitesand/Badlands – Seeding the Clouds

YO. I have something special for you guys here today. I’m hoping that these sound waves are entering your ears for the very first time, mainly because it’s brand new music and it seems to be the bands first official release (but I’m not 100% sure on that).

That band would be known as WHITESAND/BADLANDS, and their 52-minute double LP was just released to the masses recently, and they would be more than happy to share it with YOU. They recorded their new LP at Sacred Heart Recording Studio, which just so happens to be a 19th century cathedral converted into a recording studio, and after learning that it almost seems too perfect that the record came out the way it did. They released the music in vinyl and mp3 format only, so to get these tunes you either gotta cough up the money for some brand new wax, or just buy some new mp3’s. But seriously, we all know which option is giving you more for your money. Just do yourself a huge favor and buy the vinyl.

Whitesand/Badlands have been around since at least 2008, and they’re currently made up of seven different members at most – but it’s usually just a combination/variation of those seven members. Andy Larson appears to be the constant frontman, although I’m not entirely sure about that – bear with me people, there’s not that much information out there to be found about these guys. While I can’t necessarily answer every question about the band, we can leave their music to do the rest of that for us.

Most of the songs from the LP are quite long, so it usually takes awhile for them to hit their mark, but each one does in due-time, and you’ll definitely notice the difference once they change things up. And it’s not a sudden burst of madness you should be looking for either, they do it all with much more subtlety. Some good examples of this would be on the longer tracks like “Magician’s Hat”, “Syntax Trees”, and “Sunburn”. Along with this, most of the songs have an underlying dark mood in them, at times sounding extremely eerie, tribal, or primitive. Primitive would probably work best with the song “Witch Hunting” or “Magician’s Hat”, while eerie would work best with “Brandspeakeasy”. Then you get much more welcoming jams like “Statue Park” and “Thought Leader”, but they still manage to change the direction of the song midway so you never get too comfortable with any sound.

“Thought Leader” takes about a minute to build up, and once it does you’ll find yourself in a mess of crunchy guitars and buzzy bass lines. It all ultimately leads up into a triumphant ending with some great little guitar licks during the final minute, making me go on to say that this might be one of the most accessible songs on the record. In a few of the other songs (“Sunburn”, “Brandspeakeasy”, “Syntax Trees”, etc) they bring out what sounds like a legitimate grand piano, and it really goes a long way in bringing the songs to life and giving them their own, unique (and much more serious) sound. But that’s enough from me – listen for yourself with the songs I left below. I had a tough time figuring out which ones to leave you all with too, so be sure to listen to them all. If you want more go to their SoundCloud page.

Witch Hunting –

Syntax Trees –

Thought Leader –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Experimental, Post-Rock
Seeding the Clouds: Tracklist:
1.) Angels on a Pinhead
2.) Witch Hunting
3.) Brandspeakeasy
4.) Statue Park
5.) Magician’s Hat
6.) Syntax Trees
7.) Sunburn
8.) Thought Leader
9.) False Prophets
10.) Whale Song

Buy the Double LP – Just send $25 to whitesandbadlands@gmail.com
Whitesand/Badlands – Official Website
Whitesand/Badlands blogspot
Listen to more from the LP on SoundCloud

Son of Rams – Untitled LP

A little over a month ago a brand new band began making waves and hitting everybody’s inbox with words about their debut 7″. You might remember them as Family Trees.

There’s a dude who makes up 1/3 of Family Trees, and his name is Joseph Pruitt. Believe it or not, Mr. Pruitt has a solo-project when he’s not concentrating on Family Trees, and the name of the band is SON OF RAMS. He’s pretty much the only member of the band, taking the position on just about every instrument you can hear in the music. And if you’re expecting this to be somewhere in the same vein as Family Trees, then you’re sadly mistaken! He ditches that lazy, summery sound you hear in Family Trees and goes with his own blend of intoxicating guitar-driven weirdo-psych-rock that’s just fantastic. Each song features Pruitt shrieking and carrying on at excessive volumes, along side of some nasty lead-guitar work. No exaggeration either – just about every last song has a bad ass lead guitar hook (In Kind, This Wisdom, No Concept/No Logic, Spanish Mansions, The Veteran: James Page, Flying Tigers) or some crazy ass chicken-scratch solo (A Second Season, Ancients), and that’s about all it takes to get you to play the songs over and over again.

Since you guys have the ability to stream each song from the album (you can even download it all at once), I’m not going to go too in depth with any descriptions. Instead I’ll just say that the sooner you guys get into this stuff, the quicker you’ll be becoming addicted to all the unpredictable guitar madness that’s waiting for you around every corner of the album. If you don’t want to waste time downloading anything, just check out the few songs I’ve uploaded below. I’d recommend starting with “In Kind”. It’s a welcoming start to the album, as it almost comes off as a type of anthem when the lead guitar comes in during the second half.

In Kind –

No Concept/ No Logic –

Ancients –

Flying Tigers –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Psychedelic, Rock, Experimental
Untitled LP: Tracklist:
1.) In Kind
2.) This Wisdom
3.) No Concept/ No Logic
4.) A Second Season
5.) Ancients
6.) Spanish Mansions
7.) 7th Wonder
8.) The Veteran: James Page
9.) Flying Tigers
10.) Masters
11.) Claude Monet

DOWNLOAD the Untitled LP for FREE!!!
Stream/Download each song from the LP right here!
Son of Rams on Last.fm

Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Back in May I was browsing around the internet to snag up some new vinyl, and in the process I came across this fantastic website based out of California. It’s called Aural Exploits, and they’ve got a TON of music you can buy, and they’ll ship it all directly to your front door. Well it just so happened that when I was surfing their store back in May, they were accepting pre-orders for the reissue of the timeless epic “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” by Spiritualized on vinyl – on beautiful, 180 gram vinyl to be exact. So obviously I wasn’t about to pass this opportunity up – a chance to own such a fantastic album on two pieces of gorgeous vinyl is basically why I wake up in the morning. So almost two months went by (because the label had to delay the records) before it received it in the mail, but it just came in this past Tuesday and I couldn’t have been more psyched. I realize that there isn’t much left to say about an album of this caliber, or about an album that came out over 10 years ago, but I certainly think this record deserves a spot here on the Styrofoam Drone, let alone all your record shelves and CD players. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get floating…in space.

There’s a sticker that came on the front of the vinyl, and it reads “A psychedelic gospel album full of confessional songs about heartbreak and drug abuse; a flat out masterpiece” – I don’t think I could have described the record any better myself, but I’m still going to give it a shot. Here we go: It all begins with the self-titled song, and it’s basically like an introduction for the entire album. Of course this marks the start of the record, but if you’re asking me, things don’t really kick off until track two, “Come Together”. With the quick roll of the tom-tom and a quivering sound effect, “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” takes off, and there’s really no looking back after that. And it really does sound like a “take off” type of start, ya know? Suddenly you’re thrown into the world of Jason Pierce, and it doesn’t let up for 70 minutes until the jazzy/crazy epic final track “Cop Shot Cop…”.

While listening, you’ll come across endless highlights and just about every traditional instrument music has to offer. Some tracks that definitely stand out would be “I Think I’m in Love” with Pierces question and answer vocals, and “Electricity” with it’s ability to pulse through your veins and make you drive crazy-fast if you’re listening in a car. The song turns into this huge wall of sound by the time you reach the end, and chances are you’re going to want to play it over and over again. Then there’s other tracks that are noisy, instrumentals that are sure to make your head spin – like “The Individual” which is totally dominated by brass instruments, or “No God Only Religion”, which is just a sprawling mess. You even get tracks that could bring a small tear to your eye, like the moving “Broken Heart”. But no matter what you’re into or what you like to hear, chances are Jason Pierce did it somewhere on this record, which is why this slab of wax has been praised for so many years since it’s initial release back in 1997. I’m going to leave you guys with two songs from the record, and if you’ve never heard anything from Spiritualized yet, I suggest you make that your goal for today.

Come Together –

Electricity –

My Rating: 10/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Space Rock, Shoegaze
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space: Tracklist:
1.) Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
2.) Come Together
3.) I Think I’m in Love
4.) All of My Thoughts
5.) Stay With Me
6.) Electricity
7.) Home of the Brave
8.) The Individual
9.) Broken Heart
10.) No God Only Religion
11.) Cool Waves
12.) Cop Shoot Cop…

Spiritualized – Official Website!
Spiritualized on Myspace!
BUY the album from Aural Exploits – It’s on back order now…

Dead Luke – American Haircut

Hey guys. So as some of you may know, last week was definitely a Jacuzzi Boys kind of week. When it was all said and done, I went over to Florida’s Dying to pick up their wonderful “No Seasons” LP. In doing so, I came across something else that they have that I thought I’d like to give a listen. The name of the band is DEAD LUKE, and the release I’m speaking of is called “American Haircut”. They have the LP for a ridiculously cheap price of $10 over at Florida’s Dying, and I think what sealed the deal for me was the awesome little description of the record – “No sun in these parts, just dead vegetation and an iced over ground where a ghostly voice repeats over and over ‘You know you’re bringing me down.'” After reading a description like that, I was beyond curious what Dead Luke was all about, so here I am today.

“American Haircut” definitely isn’t your normal batch of songs, but that’s probably why you went out of your way to check this dude out, right? Most of the time on the record, you’ll find yourself immersed in these dark, ambient tracks with endless layers of reverb, and at times it almost feels like you’re listening to the music from an underwater point-of-view (or in this case, point-of-listening), and at times it can be quite haunting – for example, the song “Sunrise”. But don’t get me wrong, not every song is creepy or haunting like that. There’s a bunch of other songs from the record with a much more inviting sound, such as “God Bless the Midwest, God Roast the East”, or “Lil’ Red Riding Hood”, which could probably be the most accessible song from the album. Except for “Trapped in Lust”, “Lil’ Red Riding Hood” might be the only track with a noticeable acoustic guitar right from the get-go. And it’s also got a broken keyboard solo throughout the song that’s pretty sweet.

One highlight from “American Haircut” would have to be track two, titled “Dreaming Pt. 3”. The song starts out with these dizzying sound effects, and then moments later everything else joins in. The simple, buzzy bass line guides you through the song and keeps everything running smoothly while all sorts of crazy shit takes place – howling vocals, heavy guitars, pretty much anything you think you hear. As you listen you’ll notice the song gets extremely intense as it builds up into more and more with every passing second – just hang in there. Up next would be track three, “Luke is Not Dead”, and it’s immediately different from the last song. This one gets its point across much quicker as the song starts up right away, and then all the sudden things change up during the second minute, and you’re left with just a woozy sounding acoustic guitar. Definitely didn’t see that coming. Another track from the record that’s certainly worth your time is the final track, “The Best Drug I’ve Ever Done.” And what a perfect name for a song that sounds like it does! This is yet another ridiculously drowned out tune, but it’s got a somewhat inviting sound once you get into it. Little bursts of reverb come out throughout the song, and it’s just a deliciously awesome mess of darkness and noise that’s bound to make your head spin. I think that’s all for today guys, but please check out these few songs below – you won’t be sorry!

Dreaming Pt. 3 –

Lil’ Red Riding Hood –

The Best Drug I’ve Ever Done –

My Rating: 7.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Slowcore, Psychedelic, Noise Rock
American Haircut: Tracklist:
1.) Trapped in Lust
2.) Dreaming Pt. 3
3.) Luke is Not Dead
4.) Sunrise
5.) You’re Bringing Me Down
6.) God Bless the Midwest, God Roast the East
7.) Acid Forest
8.) Lil’ Red Riding Hood
9.) The Best Drug I’ve Ever Done

Dead Luke on Myspace – Not much to see…
BUY “American Haircut” directly from Florida’s Dying
BUY all available Dead Luke releases here at Insound
Dead Luke discography list from Discogs.com

Fungi Girls – Seafaring Pyramids

Hey guys. I hope you all weren’t too worried about me yesterday considering there wasn’t a new post. If you were, it’s okay now, because I’m back with something that I wish I had known about much, much sooner. Kind of like those Jacuzzi Boys we’ve been seeing here recently on the SD.

If it wasn’t for their most recent 7″, I don’t know if I ever would have came across these guys. After hearing what they had to offer from “Turquoise Hotel”, I couldn’t just sit around and wonder what else these guys had up their sleeve. I tracked down their full-length, and I am EXTREMELY glad I did. Upon first listen, I got an immediate feeling that this stuff was going to put me on my ass, and sure enough, it did. Which makes me go on to say that nothing can compare to the first listen of any song, but that’s a different story. Unfortunately for me, I have to go to work this morning, so I can’t get too in-depth with the music description this time around, but I’ll leave you guys with a few mp3’s so you can see what they’re all about. But before you listen, I’ll have you know that the crunchy, lo-fi qualities are definitely part of the Fungi Girls sound, and they do it all with their own unique, swingin’ blend of heavy garage rock, which includes psychedelic freak outs of all sorts. Just please listen for yourself, and hopefully the result will be your face looking like the one from their album cover – wide eyes, jaw dropped.

Pacifica Nostalgia –

Colour the Floor –

Crystal Roads –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Garage Rock, Noise Rock, Psychedelic
Seafaring Pyramids: Tracklist:
1.) Pacifica Nostalgia
2.) Into the Cosmos
3.) Dystopic Vision
4.) Dream of Oz
5.) Colour the Floor
6.) Kowloon Walled City
7.) Clouds
8.) Crystal Roads

Fungi Girls – Official Website!
Fungi Girls on Myspace!
BUY the Fungi Girls full-length from Play Pinball! Records
Check out the Fungi Girls “Turquoise Hotel” 7″ that was recently posted.

Jacuzzi Boys – No Seasons

Hey guys. So I know the last Jacuzzi Boys post wasn’t that long ago, but you gotta blame the Jacuzzi Boys. There music is just so damn addicting. Before this week I had never really listened to them; I had only seen their name in various spots across the interweb. Now I’m going out of my way to find all of their 7″ records, and I just purchased their full-length “No Seasons” last night from Florida’s Dying. My efforts in finding all of their records probably won’t pay off, because I’m pretty sure a few of them have been out of print for awhile now, but hey, it never hurts to try. The full-length came out sometime during 2009 after the success of all of their earliest 7″ singles. For that, you gotta commend them, because not every band gets that far.

The LP starts off on a great note with the hectic song “Blow Out Your Lights”, as it sets the tone for the rest of the party-time madness that’s about to unfold. Next up comes the oddly titled “Smells Dead”, and I don’t think somebody would make a song about something smelling unless it really bothered them. I think that’s the case for this song too; lead singer Gabriel tried everything to make the smell go away too – he lit candles, he opened windows, but it still smells. Coming up next would be the third track called “Fruits”. Like most of their songs, this one is dominated by a crafty guitar hook that is sure to sink in and keep you coming back for third and fourth listens. Drummer Deigo goes a step further in the song by adding in his cowbell and it works great for the song.

Up next comes “Island Ave.”, which I’m sure you’ve already heard if you know the Jacuzzi Boys. This was the featured song on one of their 7″ that came from HoZac Records back in 2008. They re-recorded the song for the full-length, and it sounds fantastic. The second half of the song is when the fun really starts, as guitarist Gabriel makes his guitar squeal over the buzzy, ground shaking bass of bandmate Danny. Quickly following up “Island Ave.” comes the album-titled song “No Seasons”, and surprisingly enough it’s the shortest song on the LP. The bass lazily guides you through the song as lead singer Gabriel let’s us know that he “Ain’t got no seasons at all”, and suddenly the song is over. But it plays seamlessly into the next song “Komi Caricoles”, which was a B-side song from their earliest 7″ record “Ghost Ghost”. This one kind of sounds like a lazy island jam, and about 3/4 of the way through the song suddenly picks up speed out of nowhere and forces you to tap along to the beat.

“Komi Caricoles” marks the midway point of the album, which means there’s about six more tracks to listen to. This entire half of the album is certainly worth your time, but some tracks stand out more before the rest. For example, the fun lyrics of “Planet of the Dreamers” when Gabriel repeats “Cosmo grass, pig made out of glass” (??). Although I’m not entirely sure that’s what he’s saying, it makes for a fun sing-along. Another one worth hearing from this side would be the guitar-driven “Dock”, which is another garage rock great with an addicting guitar hook, or the final track “The Park (Dig It), which gives you the feeling you’re on a spinning, never-ending merry-go-round. I think that’s all for today guys, but you should really check out these songs below if you’ve never listened to the Jacuzzi Boys before. Thanks for coming by, and enjoy your day.

Island Ave. –

Komi Caricoles –

Planet of the Dreamers –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Lo-Fi
No Seasons: Tracklist:
1.) Blow Out Your Lights
2.) Smells Dead
3.) Fruits
4.) Island Ave.
5.) No Seasons
6.) Komi Caricoles
7.) Throwing Stones
8.) Planet of the Dreamers
9.) Dock
10.) I Saw It All
11.) Burn It Down
12.) The Park (Dig It)

Jacuzzi Boys on Myspace
BUY their LP directly from Florida’s Dying Records
Check out their most recent 7″ “Bricks or Coconuts” right here.

Sleepies – Sleepies LP

Yo yo. The name of today’s band is SLEEPIES, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the word ‘the’ is not part of their name. Unsurprisingly, this three-piece band hails from the ever-populated Brooklyn, New York, and the band is made up of singer/guitarist Thomas Seely, Josh Intrator on the bass guitar, and Max Tremblay behind the drum set. Unlike most things that have been coming through here on the Styrofoam Drone (with the exception of a few posts), these guys take on a heavy, pop/punk style that definitely leans much further to the punk side before anything else. This self-titled LP (with the intriguing “naked people waving” cover art) just came out recently, but they have been playing shows together since May of 2008, and above all else, SLEEPIES would be delighted to play a show in your basement!

So when I received an e-mail from these guys, I had no idea what to expect – and that’s usually how it goes in a situation like that. When things go down this way, that usually sets you up to totally be caught off guard, which is probably my favorite thing when it comes to listening to brand new music. Sure enough, these guys did just that. Their LP hits all sorts of lows and highs – whether it’s from a relentless, fast-paced punk rock song or from a grimy, electrified guitar solo – these guys really know how to do the punk thing, and they know how to do it good. The first track “Get Fucked” sort of sets the tone for the rest of the LP, as it starts things off with heavy guitar distortion, crashing cymbals, and frantic, yelling vocals. After listening to this song, you should have a rough idea of where the rest of the album will be going, but in no way will it reveal everything they have in store for you.

The next song “Monolith” is only the beginning of the punk fueled madness you’re about to endure, but that’s certainly not meant in a bad way. It’s an electrified punk song with shards of scuzzy guitars, and about halfway through they slow everything down and then suddenly pick it all back up again with a frantic drum roll before they bring you to the end of the song. The following song “Backbone” is another fast-paced, head-spinning punk song with grungy bass lines, and it’s followed up by a second one called “Dome”. Towards the end of “Dome” there’s some nice lead guitar work, and it all comes to an end with a spastic breakdown before the following track “Good Hunting” starts. I’m going to leave you guys with a good chunk of songs from the LP to listen to, including the sprawling final track from the LP called “Housewife”. If these tracks don’t do the trick, you should check out their Myspace because they have much more to offer over there.

Monolith –

Dome –

Housewife –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Pop
Sleepies LP: Tracklist:
1.) Get Fucked
2.) Monolith
3.) Backbone
4.) Dome
5.) Good Hunting
6.) Unfortunate Faces
7.) Hypochondriac Blues
8.) Carpultunia
9.) Squirrel Guns
10.) Polylith
11.) Summer Bummer
12.) Huh
13.) Housewife

Sleepies on Myspace!
Sleepies on Last.fm!
BUY the Sleepies LP directly from their store!

Naked on the Vague – Heaps of Nothing

Back in April, Siltbreeze Records released a brand new LP from Australian goth-rockers NAKED ON THE VAGUE. It’s their second full-length LP to date, and I happened to pick this one up the other day while I was at the record store as well. It’s quite an interesting and mysterious listen, as most of the songs sound about as creepy and haunting as music can get. Pretty much all of the songs are dominated by thick, grimy guitars, and then sometimes we get these headache-inducing sound effects that may or may not at times be a bit too unbearable. But either way, the music can still be thoroughly enjoyed by any listener as some tracks tend to get a bit more intense than others.

The LP kicks off on the hauntingly titled “Mysterious Oven”, and right off the bat you’ll see what these guys are going for and where I’m coming from as the listener. The thick, heavy guitars don’t take long to introduce themselves in the music, along with lead singer Lucy Cliche, while her moody, drony vocals come up pretty often. The second track on the album is called “Wrong Room”, and it’s a bit different than the first. They relax a bit in this song, and that becomes noticeable pretty quickly considering that this song sounds much more lazy and strung out than the previous. It might be a bit of a stretch, but one good word to describe the music might be ‘miserable’. I’m not referring to the band members themselves as being miserable – just referring to the way everything sounds. Towards the end of the song there is a sliding guitar solo that gets totally drowned out by everything else in the mix. Heavy stuff right here.

Moving on to maybe the most accessible song on the LP, this one is called “Treading Water”. You can check this one out below as I’ve uploaded it for your listening pleasure! This one definitely starts off with a slightly more welcoming sound than we’ve heard up until this point. Lucy Cliche frighteningly howls over the mix in this one, complete with some sweet keyboard/piano melodies that go a long way for holding the song together. Next up comes the longest song from the album, and it’s called “Sacred Youth”. It’s chock-full of all the noisy effects you’ve grown to love at this point, and it’s got a primitive, tribal sound to it that sticks around for more-or-less of the entire song. That endless dirge is probably due to the use of the tom-toms and the slow, strung-out nature of the song. Before the song comes to an end there’s a fantastic guitar solo that kind of sums everything up. These guys have such a staggering sound that it’s probably going to take a good listen or two before it really sinks in, but you should definitely give it a chance. The rest of the album follows a similar path – there’s obnoxiously screeching and crunchy guitars. Lazy, moody sounding vocals, and there is even an instrumental track (Black Lettuce). Don’t shy away, give these guys a chance. Listen to the two tracks below!

These Days –

Treading Water –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Psychedelic, Gothic
Heaps of Nothing: Tracklist:
1.) Mysterious Oven
2.) Wrong Room
3.) Treading Water
4.) Sacred Youth
5.) These Days
6.) The Joke
7.) Black Lettuce
8.) Blank Minds

Naked on the Vague on Myspace
Naked on the Vague – Official Website!
BUY the album directly from Midheaven Mailorder or Siltbreeze Records