Month: February 2021

The Lodger Return with Cul-de-Sac of Love

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Not going to lie, but I haven’t really thought about The Lodger since their 2010 album Flashbacks, other than the handful of times I toss “The Good Old Days” into a DJ rotation. But, don’t ever let that think that I don’t swoon almost immediately thinking back to all the joy the group brought me…and so many others. Out of nowhere, the band have seemingly popped up with Cul-de-Sac of Love, a brand new record spread across various great labels for the world. The sharp guitar riffs break off somewhere between Orange Juice and New Order, fleshing the song out towards the chorus to add in a more melodic feel to that angular brand of post-punk. My adoration continues, as they continue to impress with their ability to kind of dance that fine line between dance-floor joyousness and swoon indiepop. Just jam, please. This new LP drops on March 12th via We Were Never Boring (in the States).

Marcus Pina Releases You Are the Only One Here EP

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Marcus Pina has lived a blessed life of sorts, touring the world playing music in various acts, from Roky Erikson to John Vanderslice (and more!), but he’s just now offering up his first solo outing, You Are the Only One Here EP. Bits of this collection have been mapped out in Pina’s brain for years, but the quarantine gave him the time to bring all the pieces together. One of my favorite tunes of the collection is the below track, “Great Divide.” It’s got this throbbing bass working, with little elemental atmospherics bubbling up from beneath the song’s surface. I dig how the guitar takes on a heavier focus in the second verse, giving this sort of melodic metal distortion to contrast Marcus’ melodic vocal delivery.

Freedom Fry Share Corde Sensible Single

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LA duo Freedom Fry are preparing the release of their newest record, their first entirely done in French. With that chance definitely comes a shift in focus, with the band drawing on some classic pop sounds from the French scene. The craft of the beats and the bounce of the piano lines has some early Air vibes; they get a big boost from the driving beat too, which guarantees a dose of energy to spin your around. In the vocals you get that dreamy touch that never seems to grow old. I’ll keep you posted with more on the album, but for now, just enjoy a nice kick in the rear to start your day.

Marriage at Nevers Shares When I Hear You Video

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You’ve likely heard me rave about the Lovely Sparrows, the songwriting project of Shawn Jones. But, like many an artists he’s turned his attention to a new project during COVID titled Marriage at Nevers; it’s a collaborative effort with his friend Derek Van Gieson, who has some renown of is own with Fantagraphics. The video alone is worth your 3+ minutes, I assure you; it’s all the work of Van Gieson. Musically, its this rolling blend of soft psychedelia, featuring cascading guitars and a steady rhythmic stomp that inches the song along. There’s a particular guitar sequence that really makes you feel like its dancing demonically around your ear drums, but perhaps I got lost in the visuals! Plus, the entire album features vocals from other sources like Austin artist Dana Falconberry. They’ll release their self-titled album on March 19th!

Stream This: Cool Sounds + Toledo + Kelly Duplex

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It’s Friday…and I just wanted to point you in the direction of some jams that have been on rotation around these parts, just in case you don’t have the time to really browse through the web and find that magic. So here’s a couple of suggestions on my end.

Cool Sounds are an Aussie outfit we’ve supported for some time, and today they release Bystander around the world. For me, I’ve been drawn to “Back to Me” since I first heard it, so I’m sticking with that as my favorite slow burn on the LP, but, there’s this subtle sunlight from “South of France.”

And, earlier this week we tossed out a tune from Toledo, and the band drop their Jockeys of Love EP today. It’s a collection of well written ballads with just a faint hint of that subtle emo sound; it reminds me a lot of Good Morning, offering just good clean guitar tunes to bounce around in your head.

Kelly Duplex‘s debut LP is something I’ve been raving about the last few months, sharing every little single I could. Well, today’s the day you get to hear it in its entirety, courtesy of Strange Daisy. Plus, if you’re a collector of vinyl, you’ve got to see all the limited edition colors they’re offering…on top of these rad songs!

Nightshift Share Piece Together

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As the year goes on, I’m finding that I’m really stuck on bands pushing the boundaries of my boring ass expectations. Glasgow’s Nightshift continue to impress, as they kind of manipulate sounds that resonate with my tastes, yet still sound incredibly refreshing. On their latest single, there’s this rolling drum, akin to any number of like-minded acts, but when placed as the backbone of the vocal chant, it becomes meditative, almost primal in nature. You could easily find some spirituality just using the vocals and the drums…if you were looking for that. But, because they don’t seem ready to just rest with a decent time, they have this incredible guitar bit that seemingly matches the beating of the drum, though with some tonal changes. Mostly, I’m taken by the fact that this is the band’s 3rd single from their forthcoming Zoe LP, and not a one of them sound similar. Does this mean we can have an actual full album listening experience on our hands? Find out on February 26th when its drops via Trouble in Mind Records.

Borito Share Song for Dawn Video

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We first caught wind of Borito due to the band’s connection to Bones Garage (who we’ve happily helped get records out into the world for), and this tune should warrant some adoration on your behalf. The video is filled with candid photos of the band traipsing about, capturing this innate playfulness that shines through in this song. I mean, if you’re not tapping your toes in step with those guitar cuts, then perhaps you need to turn this song up a bit louder! Yael’s voice also has this sort of hip dreaminess, like she’s cooler than all of us and she knows it! Congratulations are in order too, as the band drop What We Have Now today too, along with the fun video!

Clubwater Prepare Self-Titled LP

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Feel like we’ve been rather light on good old school indiepop as of late, which is great that these fresh sounds from Clubwater came across my desk this morning. The group immediately jumps up with those shimmering sharp guitars over a kick-your-heels up beat in the background. Vocals enter with this smooth wistfulness, wrapping the syllables in melodic warmth ever so gently. Then the shoes get the kicked up in the chorus as the guitars churn faster, jangling through your speakers…and all the while Muhammad’s vocals seem cool and indifferent. Need some classic indiepop in your life? Well, Clubwater drop their self-titled LP this Valentines Day courtesy of Shiny Happy Records.

PACKS Share Hangman

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One of the hottest labels last year, at least in consistency was Fire Talk Records, and they’re back this year with a new LP from PACKS on the horizon. The first single from the Toronto outfit is a fairly stripped down affair, at least in the front of the mix. Songwriter Madeline Link spent much of last year holed up and penning tracks, many about the loss of freedoms so many of us face during this on-going pandemic; that informs the attitude with this quieted intimacy, though the arrangements behind her add buoyancy to the song, filling out the space behind her voice with these distorted textures. We’ll have more on the new LP when the time comes!

Check Out Career Day’s Pride Was Somewhere Else EP

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All our musical journeys began somewhere, and I’m not shy about my super-emo past of the late 90s; I wore the outfit and everything. And while it might not always be in my current listening rotation, when a band comes and offers up the old school style like Career Day, I definitely get nostalgic. For me, its that sucker punch of offering some soft ballad followed up by flare and distorted riffs, like the band pull off on every tune from their Pride Was Somewhere Else EP. Listening through these tracks, “Deathbed Regrets” is probably the one I’ve been pressing repeat on the most; I love that huge explosiveness of hooks that jumps through. Honestly, I like an emo band that likes to rock…so I’m on board with these jams. Check it out below!

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