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We are in full on SXSW preparation mode at this point ladies and gentlemen! This is officially your last weekend before things really start to go down next week with great tech, education and film things going on around town. Then we go full force into music week right after that. GET READY. Continuing our SXSW interview series today is another one from the lads in Beatenberg. Hit the jump for all the deets.
At the very tail end of last year, Rocky Lorelei released the beautiful collection titled A Sculpture in My Hands. The project is the work of Rachel Taylor, who you might know from Spinning Coin or Hairband or Slipper, and boy are you in for a treat if you’ll lend me your ears. These 11 tunes are a mixture of introspective ballads and droning pieces of art poetry, all of which share this mixture of pastoral and naturalism, accompanied by the fragility of Taylor’s voice on the recordings. For me, there are certain standout tracks like “Tomorrow is a Star” or “It’s All on My Mind,” but there’s not a single song you’d want to skip over, each offering little intimate recordings that resonate deep within your soul. Personally, I recommend carrying these tunes with you on a nice walk through the park with the sun on your back; it’s available now via a limited cassette on Rehberge Records.
Berlin’s Matching Outifts will be releasing their debut LP this September, and the more I listen to this single, the more I’m just completely enthralled by their sound. There’s just something distinctively magical about singer Linnea’s voice; it often reminds me of Nadja from What We Do in the Shadows. There’s just so many different ways the vocals are spoken, or sung, or stopped then started. Just listen to the chorus, as the styles seem to all swirl and mix up with one another inside that brief moment. And, just as you’re sucked into the quiet joy of this song, it begins to climb just after the 2 minute mark, offering a brief, yet noisy, glimpse at what could be in store when they drop Band Made Out of Sand on September 21st via Kitchen Leg Records.
Berlin by way of Mexico based upstarts Sei Still released a stunning debut LP last year but have no plans to slow down in 2021 with more new music on the way. The first taste of new music from the group comes in the form of this driving new single “Exilio” which is the crazy melding of German style electronic music with a new wave meets gothic influence. Sort of like Cold Cave if they leaned a bit heavier into a Joy Division vibe. I do hope you dig it.
This track will appear on new album El Refugio due out on November 26th via Fuzz Club Records.
Feel like we’ve been playing it a little safe and mellow this morning…with the Lewsberg and Rachel Love tunes. So lets flip it and toss out this track from Berlin’s Clear History. From the moment you hit go, the song just screeches and screams at you; it’s almost as if the only musical vibe you get comes from the rhythm section, as everything else is just abrasive. But, in that, you get this anxious tension, this budding explosiveness that is sure to have you stamping about angrily. When you hit the track’s midsection, you get a little post-punk guitar solo, staking its claim to the song while those drums just keep thumping away in the mix, leaving for this incredible closing treat you get at the end. Definitely an act to keep an eye out for; their new mini album Bad Advice Good People, out November 5th Upset the Rhythm.
Looking for something way left of the dial, then you’re going to want to put your headphones on and turn up this track from Berlin’s Clear History. They’ve crafted this buoyant bit of post-punk, fueled by wonky rhythms and these angular guitar chords that seem to sprawl all over the tune. You get the stationary vocal delivery here, as is the recent fashion, but you get it with a little call-and-response, adding an extra bit of hook-laden flare. I love the song’s end, as the band get frantic and fun, almost like they’re channeling the B-52s at their most spastic. If you dig it, the band are releasing Bad Advice Good People on November 5th via Upset the Rhythm.
German outfit will Hanemoon drop their debut LP this Friday via Jigsaw Records, and I promise you that you’re going to want to spend a lot of time with it. It’s pretty classic power-pop, though its spun in that sort of left of the dial feel you might associate with GBV or Galaxie 500. It’s energetic and bouncy, with hints of fuzz that leave the song dreamy to a degree. Haze bop is how I’m branding it today, and it goes perfectly in line with the wash of the video at hand here too, so turn your speakers up and play this as many times as you damn well please! The Last Thing I Heard should be in steady rotation for the next few months!
On a gloomy Wednesday morning, I hope you will help me in welcoming new Berlin based artist Sigmund Fraust and his bright brand of indie rock music. Recorded at his home in Germany, one can’t help but be impressed with the production quality and overall full sound of a song like “A Verdant Fancy”. It brings to mind elements of surfy, hazy rock music similar to a band like Surf City with some shinier and brighter elements of more modern indie rock. If you’re enjoying this one, I suggest you check out more from Sigmund on his bandcamp page.
BUNNI is a lo-fi rock/pop band brought to you by the Berlin based musician Bunyamin Eroglu. He has been working hard recently to put together a 10 song album full of quirky bits of pop music infused with equal parts MGMT style synth beats and the intimate songwriting approach of Girls. A sampling of his style can be found below in the form of new single “Taste for Life”. It’s a fun and breezy song which blends those lo-fi elements beautifully with a catchy as hell beat. You’re sure to love it.
BUNNI will release new album Transit on April 23rd.
Having already introduced you to one of the catchy tracks from Jettes debut EP, it only seems fitting that I would back that up with another of the duo’s infectious tunes. This one has Melody Connor taking on the vocal duties while the pace is furious and fun; it’s in the vein of the garage lore we all know love. Laura Lee’s backing vocals jumping from time to time only solidify the band’s hook factor; this is especially true when they come in offering a more anthemic note to support Connor, likely the perfect moment in the live setting. There’s a lot of fun here, so go ahead and blast this one through your speakers!
