This Half Japanese Song Is Pretty Good

halfsiesNo! This song is not half-English, half-Japanse. It’s the name of the band, Half Japanese. The legendary outfit is returning with their first record in 13 years, which is probably about the first time I ever heard of the group.  Listening to these songs sort of shows me how influential the group has been, though it’d be hard to trace the exact influential lineage.  Still, if you listen to a lot of the lo-fi or oddball pop being crafted, it seems like there had to be an origin somewhere; I like to think it was with this band.  They’ll be releasing this new album, Overjoyed, via Joyful Noise Recordings in just two weeks!

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Listen to the Brand New Ought Song

oughtIf you haven’t listened to More Than Any Other Day by Ought, then I’m feeling sort of bad for you now.  That record has won me over time and time again, not to mention their live show was pretty stellar, if not better than expected.  Fortunately (and unfortunately sort of) they’ve got a new song from a new EP. But, in order to listen to it, you have to stream the two songs before it (or just skip right to the 10 minute mark) from other bands on the Constellation Records roster; you CR folks are tricky! Still, you’ll do well to make sure you’re well acquainted with this act because I’ll probably be raving about them for some time to come.

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New Track From Tennis System

tsLos Angeles based group Tennis System are returning in 2014 with some new material and below you can find their latest single “Memories & Broken Dreams”.  It’s a little bit of taistey, atmospheric pop music that’s sure to be a treat for your ears.  Enjoy and let us know your thoughts.

You can pick up their latest LP entitled Technicolor Blind on October 21st via PaperCup Music.

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Dark Blue Offer New Tune

ceremonyWhen I first heard this track from Dark Blue, I had to go back and re-read the information I had on the group.  I knew it was a super-group of sorts, so I immediately thought of Calvin Johnson; it’s not Calvin though.  It’s actually just a bunch of rad dudes from rad bands like Ceremony, Paint It Black, Strand of Oaks and some others.  The lyrical delivery sort of sounds like David Gedge wrote the lyrics and gave the band instructions on how to sing, although the music has it’s own power altogether.  There’s distorting guitars shooting off and simple rhythmic pounding.  If you like any of the nonsense I name checked here, then pick up the group’s album, Pure Reality, via Jade Tree on October 7th.

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Another Tune from Mega Bog

megaJust a short bit ago I posted the early single from Mega Bog, enjoying the albums pop direction flooded by sporadic horn usage.  This latest single comes in much the same direction, althoughI feel as if it works differently.  Various parts follow great bits of musical space, though there’s a building tension sitting beneath it all.  I don’t know; I’m stuck on how much I’m really enjoying the horns here…not to mention the song’s ability of fade in and out of beautiful obscurity. You can grab this album, Gone Banana, on Spetember 23rd via Couple Skate.

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Please Enjoy This Tune from White Sands

whitesandsEarlier in the week I tossed up one new tune from Art Is Hard Records, but I also neglected to give you the proper warning about White Sands.  The group is made up of 1 parts Mazes, 1 parts Male Bonding and 1 parts Novella, so surely someone out there is going to be getting amped for this release.  Initially, I was grabbed by the distorted guitars, but then I went back and found myself hooked on the interplay between male and female vocal parts.  It’s going to be a special release too, as the label’s doing it on a flexi-disc 7″ with a 20 page magazine and 3 song digi-pack; you don’t get these sort of releases everyday.  Pretty sure you’re going to have to order this today; it’s a limited release!

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Lightning Pop from Joanna Gruesome

comicYeah yeah, this song was everywhere. But hey, I’m not going to jump off the Joanna Gruesome train anytime soon. I love that there’s two sides to this tune, which seems to represent my own personal tastes.  The first offering you get is this fast paced riot-girl rock, but they pull back quite a bit to offer a glimpse at the pop sensibility they maintain with ease.  This song is 1 of the 4 off a new 7″ that’s being released as a split with popular Perfect Pussy.  It’ll be accompanied by a nice comic book too, which is the work of Phil McAndrew (his sister rocks in PP).  You’ll want to get your hands on this when it’s released by Captured Tracks, Slumberland Records and Fortuna Pop…a pretty solid triumvirate of rad labels.

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Slow Trip with Hungry Cloud Darkening

hungryHungry Cloud Darkening has probably gotten the most notice as the backing band for Mount Eerie, but the more that I gig myself over to their latest single, the more I feel that there’s something far more important in their own solo work. There’s not a lot of movement within this track, but it’s clear that the sonic exploration holds the key to finding meaning in this tune.  Vocals come at you from a far off world, moving in and out of the soft percussive elements and the other lite tinkering.  I hope this is the sort of music we get when the group releases their record, Glossy Recall, on October 7th via Off Tempo.

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Sinkane Gives Us Another Hit

DSC02918_zpsbb8fd4feExperimental pop artist Sinkane has long been a personal favorite of mine ever since he split out on his own after working for countless indie acts in the studio.  Though he was a bit quiet for awhile, new music has been dropping left and right this summer.  I’ve yet to share any of that material with you for whatever reason, but today let’s take a second to jam to this new track “New Name”.  As with many songs by Sinkane, you’re going to get some experimental pop music with a heavy focus on the almost tribal rhythm section.  His prior work with Yeasayer clearly comes through a little bit here too and I have no issue with that.

Pick up new album, Mean Love, on September 2nd via DFA Records.

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The Sea Pinks Return

seaMan. This track just made my day.  I absolutely adore the Sea Pinks, though it’s always hard to get their wares over here in the States.  But, they just announced that they’ll be releasing a new album, Dreaming Tracks, which is sure to make my arbitrary end of year list.  I love the jangling guitar, though I’ll admit those chords have a slightly darker tone on this listen.  It’s like meeting your favorite jangle pop band playing in a pub with their best friends, so maybe let’s call it jangle pub.  Regardless, look for that new album on September 29th via CF Records…you’ll be grateful.

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