>> If you've been reading along with any regularity, you are surely aware that one of our favorite acts is Varsity Drag, the indie punk concern fronted by Lemonheads co-founder Ben Deily. You may even know that the currently Cambridge, Mass.-based quartet got its start on the West Coast with a different line-up. We gave no thought at all to the chaps who abetted the early incarnation of Varsity Drag until quite recently, when former 'Drag guitarist and singer Greg Randall of the fizzing pop-punk act Propeller contacted us about his new band's recently released collection The Fear Of Rock And Roll. Unsurprisingly, the music of Propeller -- a duo comprised of Mr. Randall and former 'Drag bassist Will Anderson -- sounds a whole lot like the music found on Varsity Drag's debut EP For Crying Out Loud. San Francisco-based Propeller is perhaps not as nervy or manic, instead Mssrs. Randall and Anderson murmur, ooh and ahh through a dozen somewhat more bubble-gummy (yet also more laid back) tracks that suggest, to our ears, things like Big Star and Teenage Fanclub (the cut "Not You," which features Mr. Deily on guitar, sounds particularly Chilton-ish, and in fact The Fear Of Rock And Roll is dedicated to the late, great songwriter). Propeller's facility with melody should not be underestimated, and we've found ourselves listening to The Fear Of Rock And Roll quite a bit. The whole thing, which was released May 18, is for sale at Propellor's Bandcamp yert right here. To further compel you to consume, we're posting below the freebie cut "Broken Ones." It's hot stuff.
Propeller's "Broken Ones"
>> We were very pleased by yesterday's news that Philadelphia-based electropop concern Sun Airway has been signed. The act's full-length debut Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier will be released by Dead Oceans Oct. 26. We've been writing about Sun Airway for almost two years at this point, and in fact we followed closely the careers of band principals Jon Barthmus and Patrick Marsceill as far back as the debut of Sun Airways' predecessor act The A-Sides in 2005. Sun Airways also graced us with one of the more recent Show Us Yours features of ours, here in February 2009. One of the earliest Sun Airway tracks we heard was the sparkling dreamer "Waiting On You." Have a listen. And check out the album art for Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier right here.
Waiting on You by Sun Airway
>> Thanks to Jane of Scenesters And Mirror Kissers for directing our attention to the fact that rising London-based phenoms Yuck will support certain The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart tour dates in the U.S. this fall. Importantly, one of the three dates -- which we believe will be Yuck's U.S. debut -- is at Boston's Paradise Rock Club. Be a smaht kid and get your tickets now. Yuck, of course, recently issued a four-song, cassette EP on Charleston, South Carolina-based Mirror Universe featuring the stirring ballad "Weakend," which we wrote about here in June. The EP sold out almost immediately, but we're hopeful Yuck will have more copies for the October live dates, or at least the Boston one. Here are all three Yuck dates with TPOBPAH.
10.20 -- Paradise Rock Club -- Boston, MA
10.21 -- Music Hall of Williamsburg -- Brooklyn, NY
10.22 -- Pi Lam -- Philadelphia, PA
>> There's finally some new music to hear from Philly emo goliaths Everyone Everywhere. According to this item at Pun Canoes, the quartet is on the brink of releasing a split with Into It. Over It. wherein the two bands do the ol' Archers Of Loaf/Treepeople routine: both Everyone Everywhere and Into It. Over It. provide one of their own songs as well as a cover of one of the other band's songs. It's a classic indie rock gambit. Anyway, a new Everyone Everywhere song "Fakin' It" is currently streaming at the band's MySpace casa right here. The production on the track is a little more dense than some of the other Everyone Everywhere stuff, and the chorus on one of the guitar leads is a nice little touch; all in all it's a hot number. Order the (very attractive) split single from Topshelf Records right here.
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