(The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope – All This Heaven

Believe it or not, (The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope may have been around for longer than you once thought. The band originally formed in Washington D.C. back in the winter of 2000, when they put out some of their earlier releases, like their first few EPs. The band remained in Washington D.C. until the summer of 2007 when they decided to move to Philadelphia, which from here on out they considered Philadelphia to be their home. As of currently the band still resides in Philadelphia, and they’re most recent release was put out in 2008 on Turnstile Records, and it’s called “All This Heaven”. As far as I know, this is the most recent release from the band.

The album starts off with quite a racket. The first track “Which Witch is Which” begins on a terrifying note, with the song being nothing more than some screeching and scratching. This is bound to leave any listener questioning what they are about to get themselves into. Things don’t stay this way for very long though, and that’s probably a good thing. The following track “Get the Joke” kicks off with a much more inviting sound, and shortly into it you’re probably thinking “Why the hell wasn’t this the opening track?” Right around the 2 and a half minute mark, the song begins to build up into much more, with the lead guitar bringing us along for the ride and moving the song forward.

The next track “Lines” is certainly a highlight from the album. The song starts off with just some guitar, but slowly picks up one instrument at a time. First the fuzzy bass guitar slides on in, which is then followed by the splash of a few cymbals. Then the drummer gives us a steady beat, and this is when the song begins to take form. Right after the 2 minute mark the lead guitar and vocals come in, and that’s when the song continues to grow. A lot of the music on this record builds up in the same fashion, almost producing a soundscape in which you can immerse yourself in. The next track is “The Complete Lights”, and this one kicks off much differently than the prior tracks. They don’t waste any time starting this one, and about halfway through you’re met with a huge, thunderous guitar solo that sounds as if the god’s up in the sky have become angered. The tom-toms and the rhythm guitar help give the solo that destructive feeling before the track closes out with some familiar drum rolls. Moving onto the next track “The Story About the Knives”, this one starts off a bit slower and laid back. The guitars that introduce almost hint at something bigger and better to come, all over top of that groovy bass line. Sure enough, right around the 4 minute mark, the song changes pace and you’re once again immersed in the middle of another “Kaleidoscope” soundscape. Be sure to listen to this song below.

Skipping ahead to the track “Dead Room”, this just happens to be the longest track on the album, clocking in at over 7 minutes. Perhaps they call this one dead room because of the 3 and half minute intro. For 3 minutes it just sounds like all the members were told to screw around with their instruments, and this intro was the result. Complete with screeching door sound effects, this is definitely what it would sound like to be in a “Dead Room”, but remember, this is just the intro. Right at the 3 and half minute mark the song kicks off, and almost immediately the bass line comes in. This is when the song becomes dangerously catchy, and the bass line is sure to keep your foot tapping. The ghastly lead guitars do a nice job of guiding you through the track yet again, right into the vocals of lead singer Damien C. Taylor. Along with “Lines”, “The Complete Lights”, “The Story About the Knives”, and “This is False Telegraph”, this song fits right into the highlight category for this album. Be sure to listen to the mp3’s below.

Dead Room –

The Story About the Knives –

This is False Telegraph –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Post-Rock, Psychedelic, Shoegaze
All This Heaven: Tracklist
1.) Which Witch is Which
2.) Get the Joke
3.) Lines
4.) The Complete Lights
5.) The Story About the Knives
6.) 13 Days
7.) Cicada Song
8.) Dead Room
9.) Learn To Forget
10.) Asa Nisi Masa
11.) This Is False Telegraph
12.) You Know Who

(The Sounds of) Kaleidoscope on Myspace
Listen to the album in its entirety right here > Apollo Audio

All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors – All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Experimental, Shoegaze

If there was ever a good time to be a shoegaze band, the 90’s were it. Band’s like My Bloody Valentine, Galaxie 500 and Ride were prominent in those days, along side many other acts. More towards the middle of the decade, a band that never quite reached any sort of mainstream success started to emerge out of the shadows of New Jersey, and they were known as “All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors”. That name is quite a mouthful, too. The band formed originally back in 1993, when member’s Josh Booth and Steve Doherty left their first band “Senepede” to pursue other ideas. This led them to form “All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors”, who remained active until the year 2000.

Their debut LP, the self-titled “All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors” record, was originally released in 1996. This album would mark the beginning of the band, who are sometimes referred to as “L&L” just to keep things simple. The album, originally released with only 8 tracks, was later reissued to include four more songs, which is the copy I am listening to today. The album kicks off with the short but very sweet “Muffin 57”. The song begins with the squeal of the guitar, and shortly after the rest of the band joins in. Around the 20 second mark the lead guitar joins, and it’s pretty much a done-deal after that. That catchy lead guitar hook sticks around for the duration of the song, guiding us through the final moments. Then it turns into that jangly, chicken-scratch of a guitar solo that brings us to the end of the song. Moving on to the longest track from the album, “Saturn Jig” kicks off with that “wahh-wahh” sound that is reminiscent to the parents when they speak in Charlie Brown. Immediately after you’re thrown into a mess of heavy, swirling guitar that’s enough to make your head spin. Then they take a step back and you’re in the middle of that mysterious verse, complete with those “wahh-wahh” sound effects and the intimidating tap of the hi-hat.

During the album you’ll find many mysterious sounds and crazy voices, and it all works wonders for their hazy yet clear sound. Looking back on it, they all tend to have that crisp, refreshing sound. That being the case, it’s no question how they landed on their band name – just think Sprite, with it’s refreshing, crispness. All Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors showcases a fantastically refreshing sound that balances on a fine line between mysterious space rock and in-your-face experimental rock and roll. If you’re still not convinced, do yourself a favor and listen to these couple songs below.

Muffin 57 –

Saturn Jig –

ANL&LF: Tracklist
1.) Muffin 57
2.) Saturn Jig
3.) Salad Forest
4.) All the Time
5.) Jayne Baby
6.) String of Stars
7.) How Come?
8.) Tea with Honey
9.) Nice Soup
10.) Yellow
11.) Blue Balloons
12.) Wondered Why

All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors on Myspace!
A post where you can listen to more songs: Built On a Weak Spot

Pains of Being Pure at Heart/ The Parallelograms 7″

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Pop, Shoegaze

Considering that 67% of the nation was covered with snow at some point this week (more info. here), I’m going to assume you also had tons and tons of snow to deal with. Along with the massive amounts of snow, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were also plagued with power outages, being snowed in, and having to dig your car out, not to mention crappy cable companies claiming that the internet and cable for “your area” have been “totally knocked out” for days (When we talked to our neighbors from “our area”, their cable and internet worked fine). The first day was excusable, because it’s totally possible that the snow could knock the cable and power out, but as the days go by and nothing changes, that is when people start to get a little fed up. The internet and cable have now been down since Wednesday of last week, and this would be the main reason I have not made any new posts here on the blog. You could thank the wonderful folks over at COMCAST for that. But the funniest part is, my house still doesn’t have access to cable and internet. I’m doing this post elsewhere, but apparently COMCAST is sending out someone to fix the problem “right away”, and by “right away” they meant next Tuesday.

Alright, let’s forget those bastards over at COMCAST for a few minutes and remember the real reason why we all come to this part of the internet: MUSIC!!! Okay, so, today I have a 7″ single for you guys with two different bands. One you may already be familiar with, and they’re known as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and they split their 7″ with another band known as The Parallelograms. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart hail from (yet again) New York City, while The Parallelograms come from across the Atlantic from a place known as Sheffield in the United Kingdom. This split 7″ came out back in March of 2008 on the Atomic Beat Records label which is based in the UK. The 7″ features three songs; two from The Parallelograms, and one from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The two tracks from The Parallelograms are short, almost perfect pop songs in their own right. They’re fast, catchy, they have a female singing, and I’d be lying if I said they didn’t put a smile on my face. Especially the undeniably catchy track “Pop the Bubbles”, which I can’t help but bob my head along with the rhythm. It’s seriously too catchy. The third track is by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and compared to The Parallelograms songs, The Pains change the flow by adding a male singer and slowing things down a bit, but not too much. If you’re feeling a bit down on the dumps for whatever reason, this little 7″ might be able to change your mood for the better. So please enjoy it. Hopefully I’ll be posting again shortly. In the meantime while I figure out a way to not pay for the cable/internet bill, I think I speak for all of us when I say, “COMCAST, go fuck yourself.”

Split 7″: Tracklist
1.) The Parallelograms – 1, 2, 3, Go!
2.) The Parallelograms – Pop the Bubbles
3.) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Myspace
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Official Website
The Parallelograms on Myspace
The Parallelograms Official Website

My Bloody Valentine – Loom (Live in Vancouver)

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Live, Shoegaze, Alternative

The other day on the discussion board in our Last.fm group, a user who goes by the name of “perturbantecoi” suggested that some material from the catalog of My Bloody Valentine be put up on the blog. With much consideration, I came across quite a tremendous live recording of My Bloody Valentine from back in their days after releasing the LP we all know and cherish, “Loveless”. This recording took place on July 4th, 1992 in the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. I think I speak for us all when I say “Damn, I wish I was there.” This recording is phenomenal, and it’s loaded with tracks from various releases by the band, but most notably their already mentioned album “Loveless”. Three tracks from their first LP “Isn’t Anything” are included in the show, as well as a few tracks from their extensive collection of EP’s. Whether you’re the most avid My Bloody Valentine fan (which probably means you already have this), or you’re just looking for some new MBV material, look no further. The final track of the show, “You Made Me Realise”, would be worth downloading all on it’s own. It’s over 17 minutes long, and it starts as you would expect, but about two minutes in they stop everything and let the instruments feedback for over 10 minutes, before suddenly coming back to life to finish off the remaining two minutes of the song. Oh. So. Super.

It’s a long download, but you’ll be glad you waited. You should head on over to the Last.fm group and join up in the meantime, and maybe do some chatting! You could even put up another suggestion for posting here on the blog, because that’s what today’s entry was. A suggestion! So please, suggest away! Thanks!

Loom (Live in Vancouver) Tracklist:
1.) When You Sleep
2.) I Only Said
3.) Only Shallow
4.) Slow
5.) Nothing Much to Lose
6.) [noise]
7.) You Never Should
8.) Feed Me With Your Kiss
9.) Soon
10.) To Here Knows When
11.) Honey Power
12.) You Made Me Realise

Loom (Live in Vancouver): TRY
MBV on Myspace
MBV Official Website (Who the hell is pretending to be Bilinda Butcher?)

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!

Summer Holiday 7″: Tracklist
1.) Summer Holiday.
2.) Vultures Like Lovers

Wild Nothing on Myspace
Summer Holiday: BUY

Spacemen 3 – The Perfect Prescription

Good morning! I hope you’re having a good day so far. For those of you who are not, hopefully the album I have for you today will help you! That’s right! It’s that good! That album would be “The Perfect Prescription” by the band Spacemen 3. Spacemen 3 formed back in 1982 in Warwickshire, England, and they continued to be active until 1991, with the two consistent members being Jason Pierce and Peter Kember. During their existence, the band released a total of four studio albums, a compilation CD of their singles, and a bunch of other unofficial CD’s, live recordings, and demos.
Their album, “The Perfect Prescription” was the second studio album they had, and it was originally released in 1987 on Glass Records. This is one of those albums that you need to start from the beginning, and not interfere with it for the entire length. All of the songs flow together perfectly, and it all starts off with the crashing of “Take Me to the Other Side“. This was a great song to put for the first track. It has a steady beat throughout, and the lyrics and guitar go hand-in-hand as Jason Pierce yells, “Take me for a ride/take me to the other side”. For the last minute and a half of the song, the band continues to crash and smash on their instruments while Pierce goes on about taking him to the other side…hmmm, I wonder what he’s gonna do? Isn’t it obvious? The next track follows up beautifully, and it’s part of a conversation between Pierce and Jesus. Jesus is telling Pierce “you ain’t coming to me no way/you’ve found heaven on Earth/gonna burn for your sin”. Oh man, looks like someone isn’t getting into heaven. Pierce asks Jesus for forgiveness and claims that “I could have done me worse.”, which is probably very true. The third track is almost like Pierce’s review of his time with Jesus, as they talk about the things that are hard to see in life, and giving into temptation. If you continue to listen past that track, you will figure out that every song is solid gold and very original (except for the “Transparent Radiation” cover of the band Red Krayola). It’s a surprisingly difficult decision to pick just ONE personal favorite from this album, but I think I would have to go with the track “Come Down Easy“. But why keep reading my thoughts? Check out the links below and find out what you think for yourself! Please enjoy and check back for more tomorrow!

The Perfect Prescription – Tracklist
1.) Take Me to the Other Side
2.) Walking with Jesus
3.) Ode to Street Hassle
4.) Ecstasy Symphony
5.) Transparent Radiation (Flashback) (Red Krayola cover)
6.) Feel So Good
7.) Things’ll Never Be the Same
8.) Come Down Easy
9.) Call the Doctor
10.) Soul 1 (Bonus track)
11.) That’s Just Fine (Bonus track)

Spacemen 3 on Myspace
The Perfect Prescription: BUY

Titus Andronicus – The Innocents Abroad

Hello! To start things off here at the Styrofoam Drone, I’m going to pick an album that I feel is extremely appropriate right now. The boys from Glen Rock, New Jersey who make up Titus Andronicus, have just revealed some of the details about their new album. What better way to celebrate this amazing news than to talk about their past efforts?

The Airing of Grievances came out back in April of 2008 on it’s original label, Troubleman Unlimited. After the initial release, the album began to pick up all sorts of positive reviews, from places like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, amongst many others. A few months went by while the album continued to gain popularity, and before Titus Andronicus knew it, they were signing to heavy-weight label XL Recordings. This was certainly a major change for Titus Andronicus, and it’s looking like a change for the best. Since they joined the roster at XL, there has not been much talk about a new album, until now…

The announcement for their new album was posted on their blog just a few days ago, on Sunday, December 13th to be exact. Some of the most interesting details about the album would be the fact that it has a Civil War theme. Even more intriguing is that it has even been said to be “more or less” of a concept album about the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865. The cover art and the track list have so far been revealed, as well as one of the tracks! The track is called “Four Score and Seven” and it clocks in at over 8 minutes, and you can find it right on their myspace. If you’re looking for even more details, you probably want to check out their blogspot (link above) or this Pitchfork article, which gives even more wonderful insight to the album. According to that Pitchfork article, the Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn makes an appearance for a spoken word interlude that’s on the album, as well as Vivian Girls Cassie Ramone, and Double Daggers Nolen Strals. Things just keep getting better. Now, all we have to do is wait, because this certainly won’t come soon enough.

In the meantime, we can continue to play the wonderful masterpiece known as “The Airing of Grievances”, and also a few other gems that the band has managed to give us over time. There are a plethora of 7 inch singles that the band has released throughout their existence, and there is also a fantastic live album (on vinyl only) titled “The Innocents Abroad: Live in London”. You can check out that vinyl only album through the link below. You may even want to snatch your own actual copy, because they’re only pressing 300! Thanks for reading and check back real soon!

The Innocents Abroad – Tracklist
1.) Joset of Nazareth’s Blues
2.) Every Time I See the Light, Part 2
3.) Titus Andronicus Forever
4.) Wipeout (Surfaris cover)
5.) Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ
6.) No Future Part One
7.) No Future Part Two
8.) Roadrunner (Jonathan Richman cover)

The Innocents Abroad: BUY
The Airing of Grievances: BUY
Titus Andronicus 7inch Singles & More: Here