Tag: mope city

Friday Album Streams: Lightheaded, Blue Ocean, Mope City and More

Leave a comment

There’s only a few more sleeps until all the music folks decided to hibernate for the year, so better be sure to listen to as much new music as possible, right? Well, on this Friday, we’ve got a couple of really delicious records for you to devour, if that’s your thing. No need to wax poetic here, just links so you can fall in love and spend some quality time with your new favorite LP.

Lightheaded – Good Good Great (Slumberland Records)

Mope City – Population 4 – (Tenth Court)

Blue Ocean – Fertile State (Slumberland Records)

A Beacon School – yoyo (Grind Select)

Half Dream – Will I Still Bloom (Self-Released)

Upchuck – Bite the Hand That Feeds (Famous Class)

Last Week’s Jams (9.25 – 9.29)

Leave a comment

While it seemed like a slow week, in my brain at least, there was lots of really great stuff to cover over on the site. We were happy to host the new video from Seablite, so be sure you drop in and give it a couple of looks. Plus, our Rock n’ Recipes features returned with Spain’s Melenas, who dropped their new Ahora LP on Friday. Plus, Austin was alive and kicking with new stuff from Molly Burch, Semihelix and Sun June. Seeing our old friends in Pop Filter return to the fold was just a little cherry on top of a great week of music. There’s lots more for you to find in this playlist!

Mope City Share Laminating the Classics

Leave a comment

Between the work of Flooding and Mope City, I’m definitely living in a dreamland where acts are brandishing heavy-handed riffs to go with their slowcore stylings. On Mope City‘s latest single, they start off in this sludgy pool, only to rise out of those ashes to work their way into some super cool alternative vibes. Feels to me like a lot of flirtation with Sonic Youth’s catalog, working from within the confines of a punk ethos to kind of dive into this underworld of explorative pop. They’ll likely get some Low comparisons too, as they mention in the bio for Population: 4, so you know the best thing for you is to grab a copy from Tenth Court Records; it drops on October 13th.

Mope City Share Eat Yr Promises Single

Leave a comment

Mope City has long been one of those little secrets, but as they look forward to Population: 4, its time everyone else gives the group a listen. They would likely be filed under slowcore nowadays, mostly due to pace. This new single, however, continues the ominous push they’ve made shared with us this year, toiling in that sort of experimental hardcore territory, tied to the shores of melody. Discordant notes and heavy riffs intermingle here, though the vocals feel like a young Kim Gordon beckoning you to come into the band’s recording space where they pummel you with those riffs all over again. And, just as you thought you couldn’t take it, they tease you with one more melodic tickle of the ear bones…and we’re done. If this is something you’d dig, Population: 4 is out via Tenth Court on October 13th.

Last Week’s Jams (5.8 – 5.12)

Leave a comment

Last week kicked off with a bang; we covered a whole bunch of tunes right off the bat, only to kind of fade towards the end of the week. Still, we managed to get up 20 tunes you should listen to, though the Mope City single isn’t out there yet on streaming services. Some Austin love came our way with Tearjerk and Balmorhea getting solid mentions, while we couldn’t help but to continue our fawning over Night Beats and their latest barrage of bangers. Threw in some new Shelflife releases from Lost Tapes and Youth Valley, and in the end, the new stuff from Shrapnel and Special Friend definitely won awards for my faves of the week. You’ve got an hour of legendary streams below!

Shrapnel Share Catch You Out; Ready New LP

Leave a comment

Having already covered Mope City this week, it only makes sense that I include another project featuring members: the much loved, Shrapnel. The last time we heard from them was when they dropped Alasitas back in 2021, but it sounds like they’ve got another LP ready to go later this year. “Catch You Out” drops in with this heavy rock riff, working in some of that glam-psychedelia stomping; it soon fades away to allow this steadied cool, something that sounds like it would have come from a post-Elephant 6 act. Sure, there’s an assertive bravado to the way the riffs ring out, but even as they’re reverberating around my room, I can’t help but harp on the natural charm, calling to mind heavy guitar poppers like TFC and the like. I’ll keep you posted as I hear more about their new LP!

Mope City Ready Population 4

Leave a comment

I remember when I first stumbled upon Mope City back in 2019 when they were prepping New From Home; I was really taken aback, feeling like there wasn’t anyone creating this sort of slow-core dramatic rock n’ roll. Obviously, I’ve been a bit more in tune with that the last few years, but Mope City is still one of my favorite acts blending these darkened musical narratives. Before they release Population 4, the band have tossed out a little teaser, which feels ominous in its opening moments; the first bit of playful vocal interplay also adds a hint of danger. Still, despite the gloomy nature, the band somehow manage to favor these brief little moments of pop structure that give you just enough of a taste to keep you thirsty for more. The album will be out via Tenth Court later this year!

Top Albums of 2021

Leave a comment

Honestly, I’m pretty over lists at this point. They’re arbitrary and don’t really reflect anything but someone’s tastes, except here where they reflect the tastes of three individuals…because that’s how we roll. So, take this list with a grain of salt. These are the records we thought were the best, which mostly just means these are the ones we listened to on repeat throughout the year! Feel free to leave a comment on what you think we missed, or why we’re dumb; we love good comment trolls.

Also, because this list is really about crediting the art that made us happy, we wanted it to make you happy too, so we included purchasing links where we could. Read more

The Week in Music April 26-30

Leave a comment

Yo. We forgot last week. Sorry. Please forgive us. Here’s a great way to start off your Monday with a playlist of last week’s hits. We added a few from some of the records we were jamming like Mope City and Phantom Handshakes…not to mention a hit from the great album ATH Records just dropped from Space Tan! Just a nice easy hour of listening to get you in through the morning Monday blues. So yeah, no need for more…just jam to some hits.

Stream Albums from Space Tan, Phantom Handshake, Rosie Tucker and Mope City

Leave a comment

There’s always tons of stuff to stream and check out on a Friday, and I’m sure there will be lots of buzz around the new Crumb album, and its a solid jam for sure…but here’s a few of the records I’m stoked on today, so maybe you’ll get a chance to jam something else on the outside.

Space Tan – Inti Raymi (ATH Records)

Okay, so we’re putting this out on our ATH Records label, doing a fresh to death cassette designed by the band. Musically, its a blend of modern indie pop with dashes of psychedelia thrown in to expand your mind.

 

Phantom Handshake – Be Estranged (Z Tapes)

We’ve covered all the singles from this record, so that should suffice to say that this New York duo have crafted a wonderful collection of dream pop tunes that we can solidly support day in and day out.

 

Rosie Tucker – Sucker Supreme (Epitaph)

Rosie Tucker has been one of my favorite songwriters since the drop of Never Not x 3, and they don’t miss a beat with the new LP. You’re not likely to find a lyricist as clever, at least not today, so save yourself the trouble, if that’s what you’re looking for in your jams!

 

Mope City – Within the Walls (Tenth Court)

Imagine being in a band and loving Lift to Experience, Low and Bedhead, then throwing all that in a bowl and stirring it up with an inclination to fit into the Aussie pop scene, and that’s what you get here. This is one of those bands I wish more folks in the US got into, but you can’t save ’em all.

1 2