Vermillion Sands – Mary 7″

It’s always a great feeling when a band catches you off guard and you’re thinking, “Wow, I didn’t think these guys were going to sound like this.”. That’s exactly what I was thinking when I first heard these songs here. The band I have for you today is called Vermillion Sands, and they’re quite good. The band is currently made up of 4 members, and they all come from Treviso, Italy. Up to this point, there are only a few 7″ records and a 12″ EP that the band has put out. You can check out their latest 12″ EP over at Insound. If you’re interested in the 7″ records, you can probably find more information about those here, here, and here. As far as the music goes, these guys make an infectious blend of garage rock and folk rock that’s just great. The opening track “Mary” has more of the garage rock feel and also some crazy sound effects, while songs like “Wake Me When I Die” and “Would You Kindly Direct Me to Hell” are a bit more on the folk side of the fence. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention they have a female singer. Her name is Anna.

Mary: Tracklist
1.) Mary – 3:33
2.) Wake Me When I Die – 2:16
3.) Would You Kindly Direct Me to Hell – 2:47

Vermillion Sands on Myspace/Facebook
Mary 7″: BUY! from InterPunk

Syd Barrett – Barrett

Perhaps one of the most interesting and reclusive figures in musical history, Syd Barrett (January 6th, 1946 – July 7th, 2006) was the original driving force behind the band we all already know as PINK FLOYD. Syd Barrett was present in Pink Floyd from their very beginnings, but he only lasted in the band for a short time. The band began to form back in England in 1964, which is when Syd Barrett would be considered the leader of the band. After a few line-up changes and a few band name adjustments (Syd gets credit for coming up with the name “Pink Floyd”), the band was ready to release their first album, which was titled “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”. This album came out back in 1967, and it was the only Pink Floyd album to be made fully under the leadership of Syd Barrett. In the midst of all the commotion surrounding Pink Floyd after their first release, Syd Barrett had been continually experimenting with drugs like LSD. This led to a very unpredictable and frightening Syd Barrett, who would eventually be replaced in the band by the guitarist David Gilmour. Before finally “leaving” the band, Syd also helped out on their second release in 1968, entitled “A Saucerful of Secrets”.

After leaving Pink Floyd, Syd was certainly not finished with his musical career, and he had much more up his sleeve for us. His solo career began in 1968, with his first solo album release being in 1970. This first album was called “The Madcap Laughs”, featuring many wonderful tracks like “Terrapin”, “Octopus”, “Golden Hair”, and “Dark Globe”. The second and final solo studio album we would get from Syd Barrett is the one I have for you today. This album came out originally back in 1970, and sadly was the last studio album we would get. The album starts off with a bluesy guitar intro on the track “Baby Lemonade”, which soon escalates into a delightful song, with Syd begging for some lemonade. Skipping ahead to the extremely drone-y and almost-haunting track titled “Dominoes”, this is certainly one of the tracks worth hearing from the album. The track ends with an all too appropriate keyboard solo from Pink Floyd member Richard Wright (July 28th, 1943 – September 15th, 2008), which is probably why it sounds so familiar. A few other highlights from the album include “Gigolo Aunt” with its funky basslines, “Effervescing Elephant” which is great to sing along with, the somewhat creepy sounding “Maisie”, “Waving My Arms in the Air”, “Rats”, and “Wined and Dined”. Happy belated birthday Syd, and also: Rest in Peace Syd Barrett and Richard Wright!

Barrett: Tracklist
1. “Baby Lemonade” – 4:10
2. “Love Song” – 3:03
3. “Dominoes” – 4:08
4. “It Is Obvious” – 2:59
5. “Rats” – 3:00
6. “Maisie” – 2:51
7. “Gigolo Aunt” – 5:46
8. “Waving My Arms In The Air” – 2:09
9. “I Never Lied To You” – 1:50
10. “Wined And Dined” – 2:58
11. “Wolfpack” – 3:41
12. “Effervescing Elephant” – 1:52

Syd Barrett: Official Website
Barrett: BUY

The Strange Boys – And Girls Club

Hello, hello. Today I have an album for you that I wish I had known about much, much sooner. This album surely would have been included in my “Best of 2009” lists, but it’s a bit too late for that now, huh? This album is called “The Strange Boys and Girls Club”, and it was released by In The Red Records on March 3rd, 2009. Before initially listening to the record, I didn’t think it was going to be anything special, but I was sadly mistaken.

The Strange Boys, like many bands these days, come from Austin, Texas. Their roots can be traced back to 2001, when lead singer/guitarist Ryan Sambol and the now former drummer Matt Hammer used to be a punk rock duo back in 8th grade. More on that here. Since the 8th grade, the members have continued to concentrate on finding their very own sound, and this was most prominent on their 2007 EP, which is called “Nothing”. The EP contained just 4 short songs, and it was released on Dusty Medical Records. Unfortunately, this EP is no longer available, but hopefully they’ll press it again someday. The Strange Boys continued to work, self-releasing another EP in 2008 that they called “The Strange Boys Will Now Forever Be Known As the Martin Luther Kings EP”. It was a bit more difficult to find any information on this release, considering it was self-released by the band. Moving on to 2009, this would end up being the best year for the Strange Boys yet. Most importantly, they released their first full length album, which brought in some positive reviews from places like NME, Pitchfork, and the Austin Chronicle, amongst many others. While playing the album, many different genres might run through your head that you could tag The Strange Boys with, but once you pin one down, The Strange Boys are already making you change your mind. You might be thinking country music one second, and then all of a sudden you’ll be listening to striped down garage rock song with a bluesy guitar twist. One such song would be “This Girl Taught Me a Dance”, which appears on their full length album. Like this song here, every song has it’s twists and turns, and every song is just as good as the next. Some other album highlights would be “Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up”, with it’s insanely catchy first line “I’m in trouble with another man/I did something I shouldn’t”. I found myself singing this line all day yesterday. Singer Ryan Sambol continues in the song with “I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t”, which is 100% true. Listen to the song…you’ll know what he’s talking about! I could sit here and type all day, because each track is good in its own way. Seriously. Just download the album and find out for yourself. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!!!

The Strange Boys and Girls Club: Tracklist
1. “Woe is You and Me” – 2:13
2. “They’re Building the Death Camps” – 2:51
3. “Should Have Shot Paul” – 1:55
4. “MLKs” – 1:49
5. “This Girl Taught Me a Dance” – 3:06
6. “For Lack of a Better Face” – 3:15
7. “Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up” – 2:09
8. “No Way for a Slave to Behave” – 3:11
9. “Poem Party” – 1:53
10. “To Turn a Tune or Two” – 2:25
11. “Most Things” – 1:36
12. “A Man You’ve Never Known” – 2:00
13. “Then” – 2:11
14. “Who Needs Who More” – 2:18
15. “Probation Blues” – 2:14
16. “Death and All the Rest” – 2:39

The Strange Boys on Myspace.
And Girls Club: BUY

Double Dagger – More

Double Dagger is a post-punk band from Baltimore, Maryland. Currently they are a 3-piece band, consisting of Nolen Strals on vocals, Bruce Willen on bass guitar, and Denny Bowen on drums. You might be wondering who plays guitar in this band, and believe it or not, there is no guitarist. Instead, the bass player plays exceptionally loud all the time, making up for the absence of the guitar. Before hearing the music, the fact that the band doesn’t have a guitarist may turn you off, but I assure you, these are some tracks certainly worth hearing.

Double Dagger have been active since late 2002, and since their beginnings, they have had several releases on various labels. There first “full length” (it’s only about 23 minutes long) album is simply titled “Double Dagger”, and it was released back in 2003 on Hit-Dat Records. There sophomore effort came out 4 years later in 2007, and this time they called the album “Ragged Rubble”, releasing it on Stationary (Heart) Records. You can still buy Ragged Rubble in LP format, which is in a limited edition of 300 on clear vinyl, which I know I am going to buy before today is over. If that’s not your cup of tea, you can still buy it in CD format…but really? Who wants that? Just buy the LP for $12 and be happy. Double Daggers next and most recent release is entitled “More”, which could easily be named after their hometown of BaltiMORE. This release was put out by Thrill Jockey Records, and it brought in a bunch of positive reviews for Double Dagger. The city of Baltimore named it there favorite album of 2009, which is certainly an accomplishment for Double Dagger. This album was also one of my personal favorites from 2009.

More: Tracklist
1.) No Allies
2.) Vivre Sans Temps Mort
3.) We Are The Ones
4.) Camouflage
5.) The Lie_The Truth
6.) Surrealist Composition With Your Face
7.) Helicopter Lullaby
8.) Neon Gray
9.) Half-Life
10.) Two-Way Mirror

Double Daggers Official Website
Double Dagger on Myspace
MORE: BUY – the LP format is limited to 1,000 – get it while you still can.

Hilltop Hoods – The Calling

The Hilltop Hoods are a 3 piece hip hop group, hailing from Adelaide, South Australia. That’s right, Aussie hip hop. The group is comprised of two MC’s, Suffa and Pressure, and their sole DJ, DJ Debris. Hilltop Hoods might not be a name you’re familiar with, but over in Australia, Hilltop Hoods have surely made their name known. Their album titled “The Calling” was released in 2003 and it has achieved platinum status in Australia, and two of the tracks from the album were included in the years best 100 tracks. Those two tracks were “The Nosebleed Section” and “Dumb Enough”, coming in placed at 9th and 44th. This was certainly a huge turning point for the group, and it was also a big change for the underground Australian hip hop scene. With the success of “The Calling”, people began to support the underground hip hop genre, and thus, the name Hilltop Hoods became much more prominent. Most of this success came from the track mentioned above, entitled “The Nosebleed Section”. The group themselves claim that this track was definitely the turning point for their career, and it landed them countless festival gigs and show offerings, amongst other things. See what else they had to say about the track right here. If you’re not convinced and don’t really care to check out the album just yet, you need to check this track out here, which you already know is titled “The Nosebleed Section”. If that’s got you curious, make an effort to listen to this track titled “The Sentinel”, this one titled “Testimonial Year”, or this last one titled “Dumb Enough”. If you’re STILL not interested after hearing those tracks, then I suggest you check back for more tomorrow.

The Calling: Tracklist
1. Incoming (Interlude 1)
2. Testimonial Year
3. The Calling
4. Dumb Enough?
5. Illusionary Lines
6. Tomorrow Will Do
7. Laying Blame
8. Shimmy and the Gravysplitter (Interlude 2)
9. The Nosebleed Section
10. Down for the Cause
11. Mic Felon
12. Walk On
13. The Certificate
14. Hilltop Hoods (Interlude 3)
15. Working the Mic
16. Outgoing (Interlude 4)
17. The Sentinel

Hilltop Hoods on Myspace
The Calling: BUY

Shlohmo – Hot Boxing the Cockpit

Hello! I don’t have much time to post today, so I only have a song for you. This song comes from a 19-year old producer named Henry Laufer, who many of you may know better as Shlohmo. Hailing from Los Angeles/San Francisco, California, this young producer mixes a wide range of sounds, creating a lo-fi, abstract type of instrumental hip hop that’s a tinge on the psychedelic side. When listening, it brought names like Madlib and Flying Lotus to mind. The name of the song I have here today is entitled “Hot Boxing the Cockpit”. The very beginning starts off with birds chirping, which kind of leaves your wondering what this is going to sound like. You should check it out for yourself though, because if anything is true, it’s the fact that I would totally hot box any cockpit to this track. Check back for more tomorrow and more Shlohmo in the near future. Enjoy!

Shlohmo – Hot Boxing the Cockpit

Sundowner – Four One Five Two

2010! Sundowner is an acoustic project of the singer-songwriter Chris McCaughan, who is from a wide range of bands, one of them being The Lawrence Arms. Chris McCaughan is the lead singer and guitarist for Sundowner, and he is assisted by Jenny Choi on the cello, keyboards, and vocals, and Lawrence Arms bandmate Neil Hennessey who plays acoustic bass. Since the bands beginning back in 2006, they have released just one album up to this point. It was released on March 12th, 2007 on Red Scare Records, and it is titled “Four One Five Two”. Apparently that is the number of Chris McCaughan’s childhood address, which is probably located somewhere in Chicago, but this information has yet to be confirmed.

If you’re already a fan of the Lawrence Arms, then you’ve been missing out if you haven’t heard Sundowner yet. Included on their first album are 12 tracks in total, and 2 of them are remakes of some of the best Lawrence Arms songs, being “My Boatless Booze Cruise” and “One Hundred Resolutions“. Chris has been know to cover other Lawrence Arms songs at live shows, and with a total of five Lawrence Arms albums, there is surely always another song you could request. Also, if you’re lucky, try and find Chris after a show. Chris played an opening set for Chuck Ragan on December 2nd, 2007 in Philadelphia, PA at the First Unitarian Church. After the show we approached him and asked him to come “hang out” outside with us. He happily accepted and chatted with us outside for a few minutes. Some topics that came up were about the differences between Chicago and Philadelphia, touring, and about the dude Chuck Ragan he was opening for. Chris was beyond nice to us, and was extremely grateful for us coming out to see him and even approaching him to talk. Hopefully he comes back again real soon. Thanks for reading, happy new year, and check back tomorrow.

Four One Five Two: Tracklist
1. “Steal Your Words” – 2:16
2. “This War is Noise” – 2:49 – A music video for the song directed by Lawrence Arms bandmate, Brendan Kelly
3. “The Sea of Lights” – 2:37
4. “Traffic Haze” – 2:50
5. “Midsummer Classic” – 3:46
6. “My Boatless Booze Cruise” – 3:10
7. “Your Self Portrait” – 2:07
8. “Jackson Underground” – 3:20
9. “Endless Miles” – 4:21
10. “Cold White North” – 2:35
11. “One Hundred Resolutions” – 4:29
12. “Audio Geography” – 3:11

Sundowner on Myspace
Four One Five Two: BUY

Top Drawer – Solid Oak

Top Drawer is without a doubt one of those bands that has been long forgotten about. If it wasn’t for this wonderful compilation record, I don’t know if I ever would have stumbled upon these guys. This obscure band hailed from the rural center of the United States, coming right out of Kentucky. There aren’t many facts to be said about the band, considering they were around back in 1969-1970 and they only have one album that I am aware of. Their one and only album, titled “Solid Oak”, was recorded back in 1969 at Fultz Recording Studio over in Kentucky, and if you have one of these original records in mint condition, it could sell for well over a hundred dollars. The album is constantly being sought out due to it’s rarity. According to the record sleeve of the compilation I mentioned above, the album was only repressed one time back in 1980 on Akarma Records from Italy, and has never been pressed since. On top of that, none of the band’s original members have ever surfaced to talk about the music, and it’s not looking like they’re about to show up anytime soon. This song was included on the compilation in hopes that the band members would take notice of the praise that their almost-perfect record “Solid Oak” has continually received over the years. Then perhaps the band members can give us their side of the story on what it was like to be twenty-something years old in the middle of America and release a psychedelic masterpiece, and then vanish back into normal life without a trace. Listen to the first track of their forgotten masterpiece right here on YouTube. This track is the main reason the album is so sought out, with its monumental guitar soloing and the constant loop of the keyboard, this song undeniably flirts with perfection. That’s enough from me, now it’s time to find out for yourself. Check out the amazing “Solid Oak” with the link below…and…oh yeah…

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! I hope it’s the best one yet!

Solid Oak: Tracklist
1. Song of a Sinner
2. What Happened Before They Took the People Away
3. Middle Class America
4. Time Passes Much Too Quickly
5. Messed Up
6. Baker’s Boogie
7. What’s in Store
8. Sweet Memories
9. Lies

Solid Oak: BUY, good luck finding anything else. Try checking eBay.

Clutchy Hopkins – The Life of Clutchy Hopkins

“Clutchy Hopkins” is the name of a multi-instrumentalist musician who supposedly hails from California. Not much is known about Clutchy Hopkins, and his existence has yet to be verified. The name is widely believed to be a pseudonym for one of many popular DJs, although no true identity of the person behind the music has been publicly announced. There could be just one person behind the music, or it could be multiple people, but either way, it’s still worth hearing even though some songs sound like they’re from the inside of an elevators music playlist. Basically what that means is that some songs sound like elevator music. The name of the album I have for you today is simply titled “The Life of Clutchy Hopkins” and it has 12 unnamed tracks, thus making the moniker “Clutchy Hopkins” that much more mysterious. Check out the first track from the album right here on Youtube.

Clutchy Hopkins on Myspace
The Life of Clutchy Hopkins: BUY

Wild Nothing – Summer Holiday 7″

This one-man band is led by the 21 year old Virginian, Jack Tatum. This is his first release, and you can pick it up over at Captured Tracks. This 7″ has two songs, “Summer Holiday” on the A side, and “Vultures Like Lovers” on the flip side. These hazy bedroom pop songs are instantly catchy, and at times reminded me of The Cure. You can check out some other songs that aren’t on the record over at the Wild Nothing Myspace. Later next year he will have his debut LP released by Captured Tracks., and hopefully they won’t keep us waiting too long, because it look’s like a promising future. Short post today, check back for more tomorrow. Thanks!