Deerhunter – Revival 7″

Yo, happy LABOR Day! So over the past few days I’ve gone to the record store, gotten stuff in the mail (and I’m waiting for even more), and even had a really awesome friend send me some records that I otherwise never would have gotten. What does this mean to you? Well, simply that I have enough new music put aside to share with you guys for at least a whole week. I don’t know about you, but that makes me pretty psyched for the upcoming week. Not only that, but I may or may not have a VERY exciting announcement coming in the next few days, but we’ll see – nothing has been decided just yet. When the time comes you can be sure I’ll fill you in. In the meantime you can check everything we’ve got in store for the week. First up – the brand new 7″ single from the upcoming DEERHUNTER album “Halcyon Digest”.

In case you weren’t already aware, the album comes out on September 28th (which isn’t too far off), and it’s being released on the 4AD label. The closest we’ve got to hearing the album so far would come from two different sources – the first one is this music video for the song “Helicopter”, and then this 7″ I have here today. The 7″ comes with a song from the new album called “Revival”, and then an exclusive B-side track called “Primitive 3D” which won’t be on “Halcyon Digest”. This little slab of 7″ wax comes pressed on gorgeous white vinyl in a limited edition pressing of 350, so you’ll probably want to snag that one pretty quickly if you’re interested in having this 7″. I was lucky enough to find it in my local record stores this weekend, so be sure to check yours too. So if you haven’t heard either of these songs yet, be sure to check them out right below. The uplifting guitars in “Primitive 3D” are enough to make you wish that this song was going to be included on the album when it comes out. Enjoy.

Revival –

Primitive 3D –

My Rating: 7.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Indie Rock, Psychedelic, Experimental
Revival 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Revival
2.) Primitive 3D

BUY this 7″ directly from Insound – White vinyl and limited to 350 !
Deerhunter on Myspace
Deerhunter (and more) on Blogspot

No Age – Glitter 12″

So as most of you may already know, noise-rocking heavyweights NO AGE are in the process of putting the finishing touches on their next full-length album (which is due to be released on September 28th by none other than Sub Pop records). To get everyone ready for the LP, Sub Pop did us the favor of putting out two brand new releases by No Age (one is a 7″ – the other is a 12″), each featuring the album song “Glitter”, and then each containing their own unique non-album B-sides. The 12″ has the B-sides “In Rebound” and “Vision II”, while the 7″ includes one B-side called “Inflorescence”. Pretty cool, right?

By now, I’m sure you already know the deal here. No Age is a duo consisting of Dean Spunt and Randy Randall, and they tend to play these noisy, rambunctious, punk rock songs – sometimes with a bit of added ambiance or possibly with a pinch of infectious pop (and usually played best at loud volumes). You could honestly use any single one of those words to describe the music from the new 12″, because they really do cover every last sound mentioned – they just do it all with that familiar No Age sound. Which would most likely mean lots of unintelligible noises and clamorous textures.

“In Rebound” sort of falls a bit more towards the poppy side of things with the shredded guitars, while “Glitter” takes on a much more noisy, metallic sound dominated by wrenching guitar sounds that may or may not give the listener a slight headache if they listened for too long. Then last but not least we’ve got “Vision II”, which would more or less fall into the ambient side of things. Singer/ drummer Dean Spunt’s vocals get lost in the murky, intoxicating textures, and before long you hear some effects that actually reminded me of bubble wrap being popped relentlessly, or a bunch of fireworks going off nearby. I’ll let you decide. Check out the songs below.

PS – You can download the song “Glitter”, courtesy of Sub Pop (just right click, and hit ‘save link as’)

Glitter –

In Rebound –

Vision II –

My Rating: 7.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Experimental, Punk, Ambient
Glitter 12″: Tracklist:
1.) Glitter
2.) In Rebound
3.) Vision II

BUY the 12″ directly from Insound
No Age on Myspace
No Age on Blogspot
More info. on their upcoming LP right here @ Sub Pop

This Heart Electric – Polar 7″

Well, it’s that time again. Work finally ends for the summer, but the fun isn’t over yet! Today is that fateful, inescapable day (for me anyway) where classes resume. It’s that day that every student ranging from the middle/high school age group up til college absolutely dreads. If you can remember, before about middle school, who wasn’t excited about going back to school? Honestly? Because it seems the older you get, the more you tend to hate it. At least for me anyway. That’s why I’m here working this blog, trying to keep up with the things I actually enjoy doing, which brings me to my next point…

Today’s music of interest comes from a DIY South Florida synth-pop outfit called THIS HEART ELECTRIC, which I’ve come to understand is just one person, although I could be wrong. This is his debut release of any sort, and it comes from the die Stasi imprint out of Ohio. Included on the 7″ is two brand new tracks, combining for a total of nearly 6 minutes of oddball, dance-worthy synth jams. A-side “Polar” kicks off with some glamorously familiar sounds, possibly reminding you of your favorite Nintendo or Sega games that you used to play and love with all yr heart. The synth sounds may or may not also remind you of a Wintry, snowy atmosphere, which could by why this song is called “Polar”. Flip on over to the B-side for another poppy synth jam, only this time it’s riddled with all sorts of sound effects, ranging from siren-like shrieks and the singers eerie, uneasy voice. If you don’t believe me, you should check out both of these songs below from the 7″. Now wish me luck. It’s time to go to class…

Polar –

Nowhere to Run –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Electronic, Experimental, Pop
Polar 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Polar
2.) Nowhere to Run

BUY this 7″ directly from Insound !
This Heart Electric on Myspace, yo

Psychic Ills – Catoptric

Yo yo. Got something a bit different for you guys today. I was in search of something new, and this is what I came up with. It’s the latest release from the PSYCHIC ILLS, and it comes from the Social Registry in a numbered edition of 550 on random colored vinyl. The songs on this record were recorded at nearly the same time as their full-length “Mirror Eye”, which was released back in the beginning of 2009. This was the stuff from that era of the band that was never quite finished and mastered, so instead of letting it waste away they put it on this nice new LP for us.

Now I don’t know which of you guys have already come across the Psychic Ills, but if you have, you already know one thing: these guys create some otherworldly tunes. Hence why I said it was different at the beginning of the post. I don’t really think this stuff is for everybody, but that doesn’t exactly mean you won’t like it. Drony, zoned out, trance-like songs fill this record from beginning to end, and for some reason it reminds me of the pyramids and ancient Egypt and all that jazz whenever I’m listening. I don’t really know what that means, but hopefully it will help give you an idea of your own. You should definitely check out the song “Secret Flower” though, which is probably the most accessible song from the LP. It’s a buzzy, swirling and moody song all at once, and the feeling it evokes is definitely strange, or eerie. I’ve never really been at a loss for words before on here, but this is definitely the closest I’ve been. Just check out the song below and see what you think, because that’s what really matters.

Secret Flower –

My Rating: 6.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Experimental, Drone, Trance
Catoptric: Tracklist:
1.) Transmute
2.) Secret Flower
3.) Indus Echo
4.) Outvocation

Psychic Ills on Myspace
BUY the limited edition record directly from Insound – Limited to 550!
Read the album description from the Social Registry to get an even better idea of the music

tooth ache. – Skin 7″

Making her way around the blogosphere these past few weeks would be the sole member of Vermont’s own TOOTH ACHE. Her name: Miss Alexandria Hall. This looks to be her first official release, and it comes from the brand new Father/Daughter Records label (who have been doing a hell-of-a-job getting their name out there since the release of their Family Trees 7″ last June). So this is the second official release from Father/Daughter records, but if you were expecting something in the same vein as Family Tree’s, then I think you have another thing coming…

Tooth ache. is definitely way far off from where they left off with Family Tree’s (especially when tooth ache. self-describes her music as “downer pop”). But don’t let that crush all your hopes and dreams just yet. “Downer pop” frankly doesn’t make this stuff sound all that inviting, but once you get into it you’ll discover that these songs are actually quite addicting (and depending on the listener, far from the ‘downer’ side of things, too). At times sounding increasingly gospel-like, Miss Hall acts as our guide through the 7″ as she blissfully takes us through the buzzy, acetic, synth-laden jams that this suddenly awesome single has to offer.

After checking out her Myspace, I couldn’t help but wonder if the sounds we are hearing are directly influenced from a human condition known as bruxism (and judging by this obsession with bruxism and the name of this project, I don’t think it’s as far-fetched as it seems). She’s even got a set of links labeled as “breakfast. lunch. dinner.” that all send you to pages with descriptions about bruxism, further proving the fact that either this girl deals with this shit on a daily basis (hence breakfast, lunch, and dinner), or just likes/thinks about the idea of bruxism on a daily basis…or the idea of music influenced by bruxism…hell I dunno, figure it out for yourself. For all I know this could just be entirely up for interpretation. Leave a comment if you have some other ridiculous idea…and be sure to check out “Skin” (and “Lazarus”) right below. ~~If you can find a place to listen to the B-side “Lazarus”, you really should. It’s a head-bobbing ‘downer’ jam that is bound to get stuck under yr skin.~~

Skin –

Lazarus –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Electronic, Experimental, Pop
Skin 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Skin
2.) Lazarus

PREORDER the 7″ – Ships on or before Aug. 17th! – Limited to 400!
tooth ache. on Bandcamp
tooth ache. on Myspace

Christmas – Metal 7″

Yo, I’m posting from my brand new place today that currently has a spotty internet connection, so this post is probably going to be a bit short. In the meantime you can be sure I’ll work something out so I can get a better internet connection going here, but for now this will have to do. Remember Christmas from the other day? Of course you do!! Well I have their other 7″ called “Metal” here for you today. It’s just as uneasy and unsettling as the other 7″, complete with all those freak outs and spastic elements that made the other 7″ such an awesomely surprising listen. Emily Beanblossom howls away in both tracks, going from one extreme to the other with her voice in the matter of seconds, hereby proving that this girl (and this band) lay it all on the line when it comes to their music. And it certainly works out in their favor, just listen to the song “El Colorado” below. Head on over to their Bandcamp page to hear the rest of the 7″.

El Colorado –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Experimental
Metal 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Pies
2.) El Colorado

BUY this 7″ from their Bandcamp page
BUY their other 7″ directly from Insound
Christmas on Myspace
Christmas on Bandcamp

Christmas – Scenic Beauty 7″

Going by Last.fm, there seems to be a lot of bands using the name CHRISTMAS. The topic of our interest today would be the Christmas straight outta Olympia, Washington. Before today I had only heard of these guys, so when I had an e-mail in my inbox today from their label Highfives and Handshakes, I didn’t waste any time getting familiar with Olympia’s own Christmas. “Scenic Beauty” is their first 7″ from H&H that came out this past June, and then they put out a second 7″ just this month (also from H&H). Before both of these they put out another 7″ that came from the Endless Latino label, and you can buy it right now over @ Insound (it’s only $4.40!).

So for starters, this 7″ is quite the limited release. Apparently there’s only 57 copies pressed out there, and they come on clear, hand cut, flexi 7″ records. It doesn’t really get more limited than that either, folks. Starting off this 7″ is a song called “The Whips of Love”, and if it’s your first time listening to these guys, you might want to hold on to your seat. You’re immediately launched into a sea of spiny guitars and sprawling, quirky freak-outs led by lead singer Emily Beanblossom – who is almost always heard screaming and carrying on over the tense, jangly mess. Flip over to the B-side and your met with a springy bass line complemented by spaced out, squawking guitars that suddenly turns into a frantic freak-out with Emily yelping all up in our grill. This is the perfect example of a “freak-out” if there ever was one. They’re coming at us with full power from beginning to end on this 7″, and that’s pretty clear considering they just plow through both of these songs with almost no breaks at all and without any remote acknowledgment of the destruction that just took place whatsoever. Please listen to “Punch In” right below for some added excitement to your day, and please stay tuned in the near future as I’m definitely going to have that other 7″ up here in due time.

Punch In –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Experimental
Scenic Beauty 7″: Tracklist:
1.) The Whips of Love
2.) Punch In

BUY the 7″ from their Bandcamp page
BUY their other 7″ (Endless Latino) directly from Insound!
Christmas on Myspace
Christmas on Bandcamp

Sleep ∞ Over – Outer Limits 7″

What’s up guys. I mentioned yesterday that I had a ton of fantastic new stuff pouring in these past few days, and this is just the beginning of the fun. I also mentioned that Titus Andronicus would be destroying our faces on live national television, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. You can check out the madness from the show right here – they played the first half of “A More Perfect Union”, and it was every bit of “glorious” as Mr. Stickles promised it would be.

Today we have a 7″ from the girls of SLEEP ∞ OVER, and boy did they whip up something delicious for us. Their brand new 7″ comes from the white-hot Forest Family Records label, (which means it’s probably going to sell out like all of their other releases) and it’s pressed in an edition of 500 on crystal-clear vinyl that’s bound to turn heads (just look at that cover art). The girls have some other material out there for our listening pleasure, but this one is already proving to be their most solid and accessible effort to date. Trust me when I say you guys DO NOT want to miss out on this stuff.

Imagine being thrown right in the middle of a spaced-out dream world where nothing around you is as real as it seems, but anything and everything is possible as long as you believe in it. In other words, if you can dream it, you can make it a reality. That is “La Rose”, and it’s so immensely dazed-out that it seems to put everything around you in slow motion, which makes me go on to say that it’s completely normal to lose yourself in the blissful, intoxicating, dreamy textures that this near-perfect song has to offer. I don’t know if people are going to agree, but I definitely feel like there are some elements of the chillwave sounds we’ve been talking about so much lately hidden in the music. Listen to the bass line of this song and tell me it doesn’t vaguely remind you of “Feel It All Around” by Washed Out, just slowed down a bit more. Huh? Maybe?!

Flip on over to the other side and you’ll find yourself in a similar position from where we left off. This side is called “Outer Limits”, and by the time you’re on this track you’ve probably already decided that this is a perfect 7″ record. Both songs have gospel like qualities, sounding exceptionally spiritual or heavenly, and they’re dripping with attitude. Now the only problem is deciding which of these two songs you like better, because let’s be honest people, this stuff is fantastic. Definitely be sure to snag a copy of this 7″, because I don’t think it’s going to be around for awhile before it’s gone for good. Not only is it on clear vinyl, but check out that cover art.

La Rose –

Outer Limits –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Experimental, Witch House
Outer Limits 7″: Tracklist
1.) La Rose
2.) Outer Limits

PREORDER the 7″ directly from Forest Family Records
Sleep ∞ Over/Pure Ecstasy Split 7″ previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone
Sleep ∞ Over on Myspace
Sleep ∞ Over on tumblr

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

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