Awhile back somebody from our Last.fm group suggested to check out this website BEKO-dsl.com. It’s an awesome website where they release a brand new digital single every Monday, and they keep churning out the jams like it’s their only purpose here on Earth.
About two weeks ago they put this one up from a band called HOORAY! (exclamation included), and it’s an equally mysterious and interesting single that I found to be quite pleasing to the ears. It’s 8 solid minutes of sad, eerie noise pop from a guy named Ben Wagner, and as of lately it looks like there’s a lot going on in his world. His Myspace has two new releases posted up saying that they’re both “coming soon”, and then there is also a list of direct links to Mediafire where you can download all of his past efforts, including an EP called “Winter Break”, along with three others entitled “Snow Daze”, “Stuffed Animals”, and “Sleep(c)Overs”. I haven’t gotten around to checking any of these other releases out, but if they’re anything like the BEKO digital single, they’ll surely be worth your time. If this still isn’t enough for you today, you should check out the entire catalog over at BEKO, because they have an ever-growing list that is only going to get bigger and bigger.
Kyle’s Having People Over –
My Rating: 6/10 Genre/ Tags: Shoegaze, Pop, Ambient Beko 51: Tracklist:
1.) I Guess…
2.) Jimmy, Grow Up
3.) Kyle’s Having People Over
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)
Hey guys, I have kind of another short post for you today. That’s because a new pair of Nike’s are being released this morning and I’m trying to snag a pair before it’s too late. They’re limited edition Nike SB Dunk Highs designed by skater Eric Koston, and they’re supposed to represent the temples in Thailand. Check them out right here. If it’s still early and there’s a decent skateshop in your town, it might not be too late to get them yourself! All this Nike talk makes me wonder why this isn’t a Nike SB/Music blog. Hmmmmmmmm…………
Well, for our music entry today, I have something that has been making some waves across the blogosphere lately. At least in the places I’ve been looking anyway. This time it’s a band called Deep Sht, and it sounds like we have another one-man bedroom pop band on our hands again. Deep Sht is the moniker of a man named Tom Watson, and his Myspace says he’s from London in the United Kingdom. He plays sluggish, drowned out pop music that sounds like it could lean a bit towards the “shitgaze” sound, and it’s quite awesome. Other words like “slowgaze” and “slowcore” could be used to describe the minimally awesome blissed-out sound that is Deep Sht. Every song from this 7″ EP could qualify as a highlight, but some of the hazy, euphoric goodness still stands out before the rest. Tracks like “Hector” and the spacey, far-out ones like “Weird You” and the final track “No No Mr. Greenspan” are all certainly worth hearing. Watson sings in them all, and his voice sounds like a buzzing wasp in the mix that is at some points very hard to understand. Sometimes he whispers, and things get a bit eerie. Find out for yourself by listening to the songs below! Farewell, and good luck if you’re hoping to grab a pair of these beauties today!
Hector –
Weird You –
No No Mr. Greenspan –
My Rating: 8/10 Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Shoegaze, Slowcore Weird You: Tracklist:
1.) Hector
2.) Other Peoples Lives
3.) Loose Lips Sink Deep Shit
4.) Weird You
5.) No No Mr. Greenspan
Not too long ago I initially came across the band Pure Ecstasy. In discovering Pure Ecstasy, I came across another band from the same record label as Pure Ecstasy, and their name would be SILVER PINES. They both have released something on the Light Lodge imprint, and if it wasn’t for Pure Ecstasy, I don’t think I would have come across this gem of a band.
Silver Pines come from the same place as Pure Ecstasy, (which would be somewhere in Texas), and they actually share some band members. Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood from Pure Ecstasy also play in the Silver Pines, and if you’re asking me, Silver Pines is like the next step up from Pure Ecstasy with a few elements added to change things up a bit. They play deliciously hazy and atmospheric slow summer jams, all being drowned out, layered and as frothy as can be. Stefanie Franciotti takes vocals duties in Silver Pines, and that’s probably the most noticeable difference between them and Pure Ecstasy.
Their debut LP “Forces” is a dazed out journey across an endless beach, and it all begins on the first track “Timefather”. Franciotti voice hangs perfectly over the mix, being as moody as possible, but at the same time completely laid back and relaxed. It’s almost like she’s trying to sing you to sleep as all the little subtleties in the music come and go. Towards the end with about a minute left in the song, the guitar beings to squeal and swirl away, becoming a textured wall of sound that you probably didn’t see coming at first listen. Next up comes the darker ambient song “Polar Bear Music”, and while I’m not entirely sure this goes along with things a polar bear does, I can tell you that this one becomes another textured and layered mess of a song, with crashing cymbals and scorching guitars – except this one is instrumental.
Following up this song is the moody “Maypearl”, which is about as slow as it gets on “Forces”. The bass line shakes the ground below your feet as Franciotti’s vocals float above the song, and they even bring in the keyboards for this one. During the final minute of the track a crunchy guitar solo comes through to melt our faces, and before you know it it’s time for the next song, “Payasito”. This one is probably the most welcoming and accessible song on the album, as the joyous guitars that introduce the song continue on as it builds up more and more and gets louder and louder. The numbing guitars swirl around towards the end as they evoke a heavenly landscape that beckons you to jump in and just float away. Great stuff right here. Following that song would be the slow, strung out track “Travelin’ Bones”, filled with a bunch of subtle sound effects, tambourine hits, and Franciotti’s beautiful, comforting voice. Next up comes another instrumental track, and it’s strangely called “Fortress of Daughters”. The drums are ridiculously drowned out, giving you the sense that they’re being played from miles away. They echo like crazy in the beginning, and then everything else comes in midway and we’re in the midst of another textured Silver Pines wall of sound that they’re so good at doing. I’m not exactly sure why, but I don’t have the next song that should be the final track, “Old Sky”, so I guess this is where I’ll end for today.
One last thing: The Philadelphia Flyers MUST win tonight, or else they’re fantastic run in the post-season will finally come to an end. We’ll see what happens. Either way, thanks for a great season, and possibly the most exciting post-season I have ever seen in my 18-or-so years of watching ice hockey. See ya tomorrow!
Timefather –
Maypearl –
Payasito –
My Rating: 8/10 Genre/ Tags: Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Ambient Forces: Tracklist:
1.) Timefather
2.) Polar Bear Music
3.) Maypearl
4.) Payasito
5.) Travelin’ Bones
6.) Fortress of Daughters
7.) Old Sky
Silver Pines on Myspace BUY the LP directly from LIGHT LODGE
Pure Ecstasy previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone: Easy 7″ – Voices 7″
Silver Pines on Discogs – They have a cassette tape that I’d like to get my hands on!
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
The Band is Heaven is a two piece band hailing from the beautiful West Palm Beach, Florida. On their Myspace they already have two incredibly accurate descriptions of their music, making this very difficult for me to do myself. I feel like any way I go about this is going to look like a cookie-cutter description of the band, and to be honest, I’m at a loss for words today. All I can think about is the Flyers game tonight. But when I downloaded the Demo file from the Band in Heavens Bandcamp page the other day, I immediately opened it up, and for whatever reason the first song I chose to play was “High Low”. This was a wonderful unintentional decision on my part.
“High Low” is a beautiful, murky mess of a dream pop song, dominated by fuzzy bass lines and gorgeous background organs. They put the extra icing on the cake right before the two minute mark as the guitar solo works it’s way into the mix. By that point you’ve probably already made the decision that you’re going to play this song again, because if you were ever desperately searching for a specific sound when it comes to gritty dream pop/shoegaze music, this is it right here. The moody, spaced out vocals drip through the song, and they’re enough to sing you to sleep while the guitars, drums, and bass twang, buzz, and crash their way right on through in this picture-perfect pop song. Ladies and gentlemen, this is textbook shoegaze right here. You can download it entirely for free at their Bandcamp page, too! Included in the file is a fantastic cover of the Cranberries song “Dreams”, along with a few other “rough” demos that when polished up should be just as buzzworthy as the song “High Low”. The demo track “A Tunnel into Your Dreams” has that extra layer of haze, along with more wonderful background organ that’s bound to bring you back for a second and third helping of The Band in Heaven. People, this is your chance to know about this band before everybody else does, because it’s bound to happen sooner or later. So please enjoy it!
High Low –
A Tunnel into Your Dreams –
My Rating: 8/10 Genre/Tags: Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Pop Demos: Tracklist
1.) Dreams (Cranberries cover)
2.) A Tunnel into Your Dreams (demo)
3.) Summer Bummer (rough)
4.) High Low
5.) Coal
the Band in Heaven on Myspace
the Band in Heaven on Bandcamp – You can download all the demos here.
Hey. Last night I came across this album, although I wish I had a lot sooner. The name of the band is Girls in the Eighties, and they hail from Nashville, Tennessee. Their first official release, “Teenage Royalty”, was put out in Feburary, 2010, and it was recorded in late 2008 in Nashville at a place called the Red Room. It features Chase on guitar, bass, vocals and other stuff, Matt plays the keyboards, and Josh plays the drums. While I don’t know a damn thing about Nashville or the Red Room, I can tell you about Girls in the Eighties.
The first thing I learned is that they have a lot of technical difficulties when trying to release new stuff, but that’s besides the point. Girls in the Eighties play noisy punk rock gems infused with a tinge of electronic elements/sounds that’s balanced almost too perfectly. It’s neither entirely electronic, and neither is it entirely noisy punk rock – it falls somewhere right in the middle. At times when listening to Chase’s vocals, I can’t help but think of the Smith Westerns, but that doesn’t go for every aspect of the music, just the vocals really. While you may not agree with that statement, one thing that is certainly true is that yesterdays really don’t mean shit. Woo! Such a triumphant listen! Nothing else matters when you listen to this song! You can listen to the first four tracks from the album below, so why not give it a shot? “Teenage Royalty” is an enjoyable listen from end to start, and it won’t hurt one bit, I promise!
Vacation –
Yesterdays Don’t Mean Shit –
Teenage Royalty –
Too Cool for This Crowd –
My Rating: 8/10 Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Pop, Punk, Shoegaze Teenage Royalty: Tracklist
1.) Vacation
2.) Yesterdays Don’t Mean Shit
3.) Teenage Royalty
4.) Too Cool for This Crowd
5.) Burn Your Riches
6.) Slow Motion
7.) Glory Fades
8.) The Duke Boys Anthem
9.) The Seconds After an Explosion
10.) No More Last Goodbyes
11.) Youth Experiment
12.) Future Years
13.) Strange Lights
Girls in the Eighties on Myspace!
BUY a copy of the “Teenage Royalty” CD right here!
Download “Teenage Royalty” right here! (This link was on their Myspace blog)
Going by the Moonbeams Myspace page, the main member of this band would be Ryan Lescure, considering he is the only band member listed as “always”. Of course these songs can’t be played live by Lescure alone, so he has some friends to come in a fill the open spots. Moonbeams play music drowned in an increasingly atmospheric environment, with guitars swirling above your head and buzzing basslines that hum through the music, almost as if it’s got to puncture a thick layer of haze before it actually reaches your ears. At this point in time, Moonbeams have put out two EPs, and we’re covering the later of the two. The In Transit EP was released on CD by Hop Skip Jump Records, and it’s a 5 track EP clocking in at just over 18 minutes long. These 5 songs were recorded in the Spring of 2010, and it didn’t take long for them to see a proper release.
The Hop Jump Skip Records description of the album reads like this: “Inspired more by C86 indie pop and jangly, chorus-laden guitars, In Transit is meant to be viewed as a bridge between the Moonbeams debut and their first LP, the Daisy Chain, to be released in the future on Hop Skip Jump Records.” With that being said, I guess “In Transit” was an absolutely perfect name for this EP. Everything they say here is true, although one song doesn’t quite fit into that description. The second track “I Am Forgotten” is certainly heavier than anything else on this EP, and they addressed that on the HSJ page as well. The song starts off with a thunderously distorted guitar, and it’s quite a haunting track. The constant hit of the ride cymbal holds everything together while Lescures vocals are enough to “sing” you to sleep. At times he sounds very bland, and not much like he’s singing at all, maybe more like talking. If you want a different flavor of Moonbeams song, then check out the blissful “Adorable” below. Still not enough? Head on over to the Moonbeams Myspace to check out a few more.
I Am Forgotten –
Adorable –
My Rating: 6/10 Genre/ Tags: Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Pop In Transit EP: Tracklist
1.) Elise
2.) I Am Forgotten
3.) Adorable
4.) Portland
5.) Tulip
Earlier this year, Titus Andronicus released their sophomore effort “The Monitor”. Since then, the band has been touring the country pretty much non-stop, and they’re about to continue the touring-madness again on May 15th when they head out to Utrecht in the Netherlands. They’ll be making stops all throughout Europe on this short leg of their tour, and they’ll be touring straight on through until May 27th, only taking one day out (on the 26th) to take a break from it all. This definitely can’t be an easy thing to do.
What I have here for you guys today is a brand new, unofficial fan-made collection of demos, b-sides, and live tracks from Titus Andronicus – all pre-2010 stuff. So unless it’s the original version of “To Old Friends and New”, you’re not going to find anything to do with their most recent release “The Monitor”. This is all “Airing of Grievances” era material, and it’s a significant amount of tracks, ranging from the version of “Albert Camus” from the “Library of Congress” days, all the way up until 2009. Some of the track names on the list they have are titled incorrectly, for example “Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ” did not come from the Camus 7″. It came on a 7″ that originally came from Shake Appeal Records. That song should instead be titled “Upon Viewing Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”. Except for this tiny flaw, this compilation is quite a good one. Well worth it for any Titus Andronicus fan out there, especially if you’re a fan of their earlier recordings, meaning that this is mostly the ‘lo-fi’ stuff. Included on the comp is an acoustic version of frontman Patrick Stickles playing “No Future Part 1”, which was a very pleasant surprise. You can listen to that one down below, along with a few other tracks.
Whoever came up with the name of this comp did an excellent job by the way, because “Feats of Strength” is almost too perfect. This is a comp of all of the earlier material Titus Andronicus had to offer, and it just goes to show you that these guys having been doing it right since day one. It’s almost like saying these “feats of strength” were only foreshadowing what Titus Andronicus will do for us shortly down the road. With that being said, it’s no question these guys are out touring non-stop right now.
Be sure to head on over to the fansite Titusandronic.us to download the entire compilation yourself!
Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ (EP/ 7″ Version) –
Albert Camus (Library of Congress/ Seizing Elian version) –
No Future: Part 1 (Acoustic) –
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Lo-Fi, Shoegaze “Feats of Strength” Tracklist:
1.) Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ (Titus Andronicus EP)
2.) Titus Andronicus (Titus Andronicus EP)
3.) Talking Oral Fixation Blues (Titus Andronicus EP)
4.) Arms Against Atrophy (Titus Andronicus EP)
5.) To Old Friends and New (Titus Andronicus EP)
6.) Albert Camus (Camus 7-inch)
7.) Upon Viewing Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (Camus 7-inch)
8.) Albert Camus (Seizing Elian)
9.) Every Time I See The Light Part One (Titus Andronicus b-side)
10.) Every Time I See The Light Part Two (Titus Andronicus b-side)
11.) Landscape with the Fall of Icarus – (2006-06-28)
12.) Christmas Calculator (VCR cover, 2007-01-31)
13.) Say it Ain’t So (Weezer cover, 2007-10-20)
14.) Titus Andronicus Forever (2008-06-21)
15.) Roadrunner (Modern Lovers cover, 2009-02-23)
16.) No Future (Patrick solo, 2009-05)
By now I feel like a significant amount of people are familiar with Wild Nothing. This would probably be because of that first 7″ the one-man-band put out on the Captured Tracks label in 2009. Since then, Jack Tatum, the man behind the music, has put out one other 7″ called “Cloudbursting” that was also put out by Captured Tracks. Now the release of the first Wild Nothing full length is upon us, and it’s due out on May 25th going by the Captured Tracks “coming soon” section. How perfect. The album is coming out just in time for summer. Although you’ll have to wait to hear the entire album, why not hold yourself over by checking out a few of the tracks below? You’ll be happy you did!
The album starts off on a good note, beginning with the song “Live in Dreams”. It welcomes you at the door and beckons you to come in for more, and chances are you’re going to find it hard to resist. Jack Tatum tells us right away that “Our lips won’t last forever,” and that’s exactly why he wants to live in dreams. This way, if you’re living in dreams, you can’t die. This song is bursting at the seams with hovering, gorgeous sound effects. As you listen to the album you’ll pick up on all the subtle effects and sounds that are thrown into the mix, but you have to listen carefully! The following track “Summer Holiday” is one that many of us have probably already heard, but in no way is that a bad thing. The only reason that is true is because of that 7″ we already mentioned. Up next on the album would be the totally blissed out track “Drifter”, with it’s heavenly sound effects and the ability to bring you to that special paradise you could only reach in your dreams. This is the type of song where you lose all train of thought while you become completely immersed in the sounds – Like I said earlier, once you’re stuck in it, it’s difficult to get back out.
Skipping ahead to the halfway point of the album brings us to the song “Bored Games”. Lots of quick and little intricate sounds dominate this song, all over top of a muffled bass line that’s sure to keep your head bobbing along to the beat. For about the last minute of the track, Tatum delivers a laid-back guitar solo as the song comes to an end and slowly fades out. Next up would be the other somewhat familiar track on the album, “Confirmation”. Just like the songs on the 7″ records, this track has been floating around on the web for awhile now, but it did not come on either of the 7 inches. Moving right along to another highlight from the album, “Chinatown”. “Chinatown” is drenched in more heavenly, spaced out sound effects that are present throughout the entire song, while Tatum’s voice continues to saturate everything even more, giving this track (and most of these other tracks) a real sense of longing. Second to last on the album comes the song “Our Composition Book”, which is a glamorous, picture-perfect pop song complete with shimmering sound effects and some excellent guitar playing by none other than Mr. Tatum himself.
In looking back on this album, I’d have to say it was quite a refreshing listen. Just about every last track sounds like it’s been dunked in a pool of spaced out, glamorous and almost ambient sound effects, which goes a long way for giving this album an otherworldly quality. If you’re still not sure what to think, then the best suggestion I’d have for you is to listen to these few songs below. After listening, it shouldn’t take long for you to decide whether or not you’re a fan of the one-man pop sensation that is Wild Nothing. Thanks for reading once again, and stay tuned as always!
Drifter –
Chinatown –
Our Composition Book –
My Rating: 7/10 Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Glam Gemini: Tracklist
1.) Live in Dreams
2.) Summer Holiday
3.) Drifter
4.) Pessimist
5.) O, Lilac
6.) Bored Games
7.) Confirmation
8.) My Angel Lonely
9.) The Witching Hour
10.) Chinatown
11.) Our Composition Book
12.) Gemini
Styrofoam Drone 