Today's Hotness: Flying Saucer Attack, Happy Diving, Mourn

>> A particularly cultish corner of the experimental rock music world was driven to hysteria month ago when it was finally announced that Flying Saucer Attack, one of the finest shoegaze/drone concerns of the 1990s, would release Instrumentals 2015 on Drag City Records this month. The new collection, due July 17, will be the band's first in 15 years! The apparently aptly titled, 15-song set features pieces recorded by fronter David Pearce (partner and vocalist Rachel Brook presumably sits this one out) to analog tape and CD-R at his home, a medium which served the band well on landmark static-und-drone releases Further and Distance. With hopes of appealing to both die-hard fans and those unfamiliar with the its catalog, Flying Saucer Attack's two preview tracks gently lull the listener while providing windows into Pearce's thoughtful and powerful sound world. "Instrumental 7" opens with smooth, mid-range guitar feedback that dramatically shuts off briefly at various intervals. As each drop-out occurs, swells of supporting notes join the feedback tone to establish additional new harmonies. Second single "Instrumental 4" takes a different approach, instead employing ear-splitting cascades of feedback and slowly plucked single-note guitar leads to slow time and space to a hypnotic background whir. With each track, the subtle mastery of the dynamics is first-class. Like another dreamy '90s shoegaze group, Auburn Lull, did last year with its magnificent Hiber cassette, the inimitable FSA have reappeared to show the seemingly burgeoning legions of bedroom drone instrumentalists how things are done. Pre-order Instrumentals 2015 on 12" vinyl, CD or cassette from Drag City Records right here. Both "Instrumental 7" and "Instrumental 4" can be streamed via our curiously but purposefully narrow YouTube embeds below. -- Edward Charlton





>> This publication was properly bowled over by Happy Diving's Father/Daughter-released debut long-player Big World last fall, and last month's news that the group are already set to return with a fresh 7" on the mighty (and getting mightier) Topshelf Records is certainly cause for celebration. Out July 17 on a variety of colored wax, the East Bay, Calif. band's preview single offers up two great, humid, chugging sludge-pop jams. A-side "So Bunted" recalls the Big World standout "Space Ooze" with its atypical structure, dense chordings and bummed-out vocals, while further pressing those signifiers as some of the band's greatest strengths. After a brief opening comprised of post-Blue Album guitar wailing, the group scales back to a single verse where guitarist/singer Matt Berry's plaintive, bruised vocal details a relationship gone as sour as the minor-to-major power chord changes that keep the song both murky and anthemic. Recorded in just four hours at The Atomic Garden with go-to California heavy-rock producer Jack Shirley (Deafhaven, Whirr, Joyce Manor), the two-minute piece is perfectly rendered in all of its live-sounding, signal-clipping glory. Happy Diving stay true to their monolithic approach to twenty-something, house show angst, and it promises even more fuzz-fest payouts on their next album, which at this rate of productivity just might be here by 2016. Pre-order "So Bunted" from Topshelf right here, and catch the band on its upcoming tour, the dates of which are listed out below. Stream "So Bunted" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton



07/15 -- Oakland, CA -- One Fam
07/17 -- Portland, OR -- TBA
07/18 -- Olympia, WA -- Old School Pizzeria
07/19 -- Seattle, WA -- Office Space
07/20 -- Vancouver, BC -- Alf House
07/21 -- Victoria, BC -- The Mirancave
07/23 -- Santa Rosa, CA -- The Funk Den
07/24 -- San Francisco, CA -- Thee Parkside
07/25 -- Santa Cruz, CA -- Cafe Pergolesi
07/26 -- Los Angeles, CA -- The Echo
07/27 -- Corona, CA -- Sinbad's Hookah Lounge
07/28 -- San Diego, CA -- Che Cafe
07/29 -- Merced, CA -- Tigers & Daggers Records
09/04-09/06 -- Berkeley, CA -- Resurrect Cali Fest @ 924 Gilman

>> This reviewer admittedly missed Mourn's Captured Tracks-released self-titled debut album, which was issued in February, but the quartet's wickedly quick follow up Gertrudis 7" was enough to send us back to listen to it. The much-hyped Catalonian co-ed punk group apparently represent a rising wave of young Spanish punk which has greatly excited tastemakers including Captured Tracks' Mike Sniper, and A-side "Gertrudis, Get Through This!" certainly bears out that heightened interest. Opening with a kinetic, prickly guitar riff, the song highlights the cool vocals of Carla Perez Vas, which echo those of the band's idols including PJ Harvey and Sonic Youth. Building in tension as the instruments remain sturdy and straight, Ms. Vas breaks from a clear and upfront coo to a desperate chorus that brings to mind other European positive feminist punk outfits such as Welsh powerhouse Joanna Gruesome. While straightforward in its construction, the song shifts so dynamically into the "get through this!" chorus that the youthful angst of Mourn arrives in ear canals completely, precisely. Album number two will certainly not be slept on after a wake up call like this, and a release date has been tentatively scheduled for this very month. In the meantime, grab the single digitally via Steve Jobs MegaCo. right here. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Noveller, Thisquietarmy, Ultimate Painting

>> Just as we were in danger of wearing out our Auburn Lull Hiber cassette with an umpteenth zoned-out play, we were pleased to discover the similarly zone-worthy Reveries. The four-song set is the latest release from the international and experimentally inclined duo comprised by experimental guitar musicians Noveller (a/k/a Brooklyn's Sarah Lipstate) and Thisquietarmy (a Montrealer whose given name is Eric Quach). The pair's collaborative effort presents masterful exercises in guitar pedal drone, as evidenced by two sublime preview tracks. "Reverie 1" commences with a sustained sullenness before incrementally building steam via the application of layer upon layer of guitar signal treatments. Like some moments on the aforementioned Hiber, which we wrote about here in June, Reveries captures textures and sounds that simply do not sound like guitars, and in very compelling ways. Subtle and long-form melodies fill the first three minutes of "Reverie 1," and then -- at 3:22 -- something quite special transpires. Here a snappy, chiming melody manifests and dances atop the piece. Whatever the source instrument is, its tone is rich and soothing, leading one to wonder just how Noveller and Thisquietarmy -- whose press materials claim that they are a guitar duo -- are able to conjure such a sound. We may never know, but the effect is entrancing and psychedelic and comforts this reviewer with the knowledge that there are still artists out there driving the traditional six-string to new heights and into exciting sonic terrain. And like Hiber again, Reveries comes in a gorgeous package -- all stark white architecture against a PVC sleeve which houses a thick slab of 160g white vinyl. Shelter Press released Reveries July 1. Buy the vinyl, which is pressed in a limited edition of 500 pieces, right here, or snatch the digital download from Noveller's Bandcamp page right here. Then turn the lights out, will ya? -- Edward Charlton





>> Chicago label Trouble In Mind made news last month that we didn't want to let slip by, namely that it will issue in August a single from Ultimate Painting. The relatively new act, if you don't know, features James Hoare of the stellar London indie pop outfit Veronica Falls alongside Jack Cooper of Mazes. An eponymous preview track is as good a mission statement as the pair could hope for, and evidences that Ultimate Painting is in part a vehicle for Mssrs. Hoare and Cooper's classic rock leanings. Indeed, "Ultimate Painting" grooves in a rare and tasteful way, capturing the spirit of New York circa 1969. The tune touts a chin-out strut that evokes the Velvet Underground around the time of its self-titled third record, when clean electric guitars and a Mo Tucker beat were all that was required to spark youthful transcendence. A simple bass line chugs along to a steady snare cadence, keeping the pace but making room for dual guitars that trade in spare, bent licks. Plaintive, unadorned vocals enter, all quick lines and wordless repeats. A brief chorus separates the verses, but otherwise the vocals get over with the typical pop structure quickly, knowing full well that the real hero of "Ultimate Painting" is the warm, natural production and feel-good chord progression. The seeming ease with which Ultimate Painting evokes a breezy, classic spirit calls to mind New Zealand greats The Clean or even Stereolab. We can't wait to hear the b-side, and for that matter the duo's inevitable full-length, which is said to contain five songs each from Hoare and Cooper and is slated for release by Trouble In Mind this fall. Keep an eye out for pre-order information regarding the single and album right here, and in the meantime you can stream "Ultimate Painting" via the embed below. Bostonians and psych-pop aficionadoes will recall Trouble In Mind previously released Doug Tuttle's solo set. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Auburn Lull, Jawbreaker Reunion, Gingerlys, Hard Left

>> We have not yet familiarized ourselves with the ample back catalog (it stretches back to 1999) of the perfectly monikered, Lansing, Mich.-based ambient drone outfit Auburn Lull. But if the magnificence of the quintet's latest cassette is any indication, such an exploration will be well worth the time. New release Hiber is the act's first in six years and it is out now on the immaculately conceived Geographic Northern label -- whose products are as gorgeous and special on the outside as the sounds contained therein. And praise be to Eno, what sounds they are! Hiber contains five mostly instrumental tracks (a Will-o'-the-wisp female vocal occasionally appears), two of which are shorter pieces that bridge between three protracted drone suites. Opener "Moterm" melds guitars and synths into the round, sustained tones of a woodblock, mapping the general approach of Hiber as impressively calibrated guitar pedals create masterful texture, depth and space in refreshing ways with each new song. The opener leads into "CA1," wherein a gentle, alien motif iterates across a bed of icy, echoed guitar leads and warm hums. The track evokes the delicate silence of a winter's first snow, gentle reflections of a crisp, sunny day, or caverns of warmth in a freshly made bed. Later, the title track introduces a screwy piano to the mix, unfolding a complicated pattern of single left-hand notes that arguably resemble some section of a solo rendition of a Debussy number -- if ole' Claude had been a shoegazer. Auburn Lull save the best for last, as "Static Partition" makes for fascinating, stereo-panned ear candy. Bizarre, tremolo effects pitch over backwards while a bright, siren-like lead dances between the strange rhythms. White noises and found sounds creep in through the gaps and valleys of the arrangement -- specks of detail that come and go as each song awakens, breathes, and dies. You can hear the entire new collection via the Soundcloud embed below. Buy the tape, limited to 100 copies encased in blueberry-colored plastic, from Geographic North right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> From the same Bard College house show circuit that likely birthed the terrifically original lo-fi rock of the repeatedly Clicky'd Palberta come cohorts Jawbreaker Reunion, whose latest release recently found its way to our inbox. The awesomely titled Lutheran Sisterhood Gun Club materialized in late May as a pay-what-you-like download at Bandcamp, and it is filled with warm, surfy, girl-group-referencing rock. It brims with memorable melodies, especially in the vocals of co-fronting Jawbreaker, Lily. Her lyrics regularly focus on humorous and awkward moments of collegiate life, as in party stompers like "Jeggings," "Bear and Loathing," "Straightedge Revenge" and "Friends Theme Song." Every member of the band contributes to songwriting, and each of the aforementioned tunes perfectly pairs carefree instrumentation with snarky lines that must work wonders during a dimly lit house show. It's when the band looks beyond goofball antics, though, that a certain bruised emotional core reveals itself. Album highlight "E.M.O." in particular is terrifically affecting, with innocent, verses transitioning to a great, high-hat filled chorus. The spiraling lead guitars and haunting lyric "I don't want to wait anymore" elevates the band from a fun, party-rocking concern to an act whose melodies melt hearts. As with aforementioned peers Palberta, there is just the right amount of recklessness to Jawbreaker Reunion's tunes to lend a bit of crackling chaos to their characteristically straightforward pop structures. It's the sum of all of that -- the chaos, the accessible emotional payload, the sheer youthful fun of it all -- that ultimately distinguishes Lutheran Sisterhood Gun Club and makes it something you will press play on over and over again. Listen to the entire set via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> Shelflife Records will release July 8 Valley Stream, New York indie-pop outfit Gingerlys' debut EP, Jumprope, which features four perfectly realized, fizzy strummers. The opening title track lays the foundation for the entire short programme, but the EP really takes flight during its second song, the beautiful, uptempo "Summer Cramps," which echoes wonderfully the detached dreaminess of Chapterhouse's legendary 1991 album opener "Breather." Gingerlys' high-pitched, simple synth lines run over top electric and acoustic guitars while dynamic drumming steadily pushes the buoyant jangle to the edge of panic. Maria Garnica's lead vocals provide a catchy, sultry counterpoint to the relatively clean-cut, conventional instrumentation. Often, her wordless oohs and ahs are the best hooks on the disc, and they are the source of so much of what lends the quintet's tunes a sensual dimension. Her ever-present pillowy synth lines anchor the songs, and remind this reviewer of The Wake's epic 1985 album Here Comes Everybody. Closer "Set You Off" increases the guitar interplay with colorful, chorused leads, and emphasize the dual vocals of Garnica and songwriter Matt Richards, as well, imbuing the proceedings with even more of a C86-revival feel. Fans of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart or Minks take note! Consider grabbing for this great introduction to Gingerlys instead; Jumprope is available in a limited edition of 300 vinyl singles and as a digital download. Pre-order the EP from Shelflife right here and stream it via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> "What's that sound? Boredom!" So goes the refrain of "What's That Sound?," the electrifying debut single from Hard Left, a Slumberland Records supergroup featuring members of Boyracer, Manatee and #1 Smash Hits. The recording sounds as fun as it must have been for this group to conceive. The single, released through the label's Soundcloud account and embedded for your consideration below, is a wonderful throwback to primo early punk, with growled backing vocals a la Gang Of Four, and three chords wrapped in just the right amount of vintage fuzz tone. The band inhabits the retro sound, and leverages its bombast to carry youthful and vibrant political messages to an indie rock community that (in our opinion) collectively could use a lesson in the importance -- nay, necessity -- of protest and politics in music. That said, it's a touch funny to hear these folks in a band like this, as in their youth certain of them were busy providing an alternative to this type of music within the Washington, D.C. -area. But desperate times call for desperate measures, right? Let's hope there is more like this coming, both from Hard Left and others, because -- as the band reminds us -- "Suck-cess is not far away!" Listen via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton