Today's Hotness: Frankie Cosmos, The New Mendicants, Beach Volleyball

>> The hype surrounding NYC-based combo Frankie Cosmos belies the cloistered, personal vibe of their music -- proof positive, we suppose, that great songwriting finds its audience. The quartet, which is fronted by Greta Kline and includes among its number Aaron Maine of Porches., trades in the kind of plainly stated, lo-fi pop that lives and dies on personality. It's music that emphasizes unadorned, in-your-ear moments -- such as those that characterized Velvet Underground's third album -- as opposed to the blunt grandiosity and electronic immersion found more widely in today's underground. Frankie Cosmos' "Birthday Song" is a sweet, minute-and-a-half pop confection that recalls a certain stripe of indie pop that has not pinged the mainstream for years. The tune's biggest moments arrive at the end of each of the verses, when the drums shift into a half-time beat -- a trick borrowed from the metal and hardcore bands of our youth, perhaps, but it's very effective here, where Ms. Kline's vocals seem to get dragged down with a sadness that matches her year-closing observations and angst toward a changing world. Kline's wistfulness here is perfect and fresh for a band that hails from the Big Apple in 2014. With the success of Hospitality and now Frankie Cosmos, we're holding out hope for a full-blown indie pop renaissance emanating from New York City. "Birthday Song" is the second preview tune from the forthcoming collection Zentropy, a set of songs that is the first featuring a full-band iteration of Frankie Cosmos. Zentropy will be released as an LP by the Exploding In Sound-affiliated label Double Double Whammy March 4. The first 250 copies of the collection carried a screen-printed B-side and appear to have already sold out; another 200 pieces are pressed to white vinyl, and you can pre-order it right here. And although we do not know details and haven't yet cracked it open ourselves, fans would do well to note that Frankie Cosmos has issued what seems to be an even newer collection of recordings called Donutes, that can be snatched via Pukekos for free right here. Stream "Birthday Song" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> If this -- along with last year's Black Hearted Brother album -- is any indication of the way things are rolling, yesterday's indie pop and shoegaze pioneers are finding plenty of fresh inspiration in new trios that embrace collective legacies, adaptability and excitement. Here we are referring, of course, to Into The Lime, the tremendous new collection from The New Mendicants, a threesome comprising Joe Pernice (The Pernice Brothers), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), and Mike Belisky (The Sadies). The set finds all three principles fluidly rotating duties while creating vibrant, cohesive work. With each successive track, it seems the band challenges itself again and again to create classic, harmony-laden pop in the vein of British Invasion bands such as The Hollies, Peter and Gordon, The Beatles pre-Revolver, and (more recently) XTC. Songs such as "Cruel Annette," "If You Only Knew Her," "High On The Skyline," and "A Very Sorry Christmas" all balance rich vocals that the light acoustic strumming, organ, and other period touches feel like the only extra weight the compositions could handle. The balance of the record emphasizes electric guitar, echoing at times Mr. Blake's Teenage Fanclub (with "Shouting Match") while coming as close to that classic band's power-pop euphoria as any combo in recent memory. Into The Lime, like BHB's Stars Are Our Home, so impressively balances the individual strengths of each band member that one can nearly cherry-pick them from any three-second clip form any song. Even so, the enthusiasm, songcraft and performances are so tight and fluid that it is hard to overstate the pop smarts at work. Perhaps the most telling gauge of success is this one: The New Mendicants on Into The Lime work free of whatever the confines of Teenage Fanclub, The Sadies or The Pernice Brothers might be, yet the disc feels like a welcome addition to any of their discographies. Buy the set from Ashmont Records right here, and stream the now seasonally inappropriate "A Very Sorry Christmas" via the Soundcloud embed below, and watch a beautiful and spare live iteration of "Follow You Down" right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> When we last tracked the arc of London shoegaze luminaries Beach Volleyball here last fall, we made sure to remark on the irony of their name, given the windswept, downcast vibe of the act's music. Now we are confronted with a second realization -- namely, that Beach Volleyball does classic, American-style shoegaze better than most American acts in the game. We're not the only ones taking a second look at the combo, as Oakland, Calif. and Berlin-based label Spiralchords announced late last month that it will reissue Beach Volleyball's full-length debut Broadcast later in February. The first teaser track from the collection this time around is "Contack," and it is a stunner. The short piece (short in shoegaze terms, anyway) is knotted and tense, and confidently arrays a driving group of chords. These bristle with texture, between the deep bass and droning, bending high notes, and the rhythm guitar's serrated tone applies an element of knife-fighting menace to the proceedings. Alex Smith's saddened drawl slips amid the textures, adding just the right pathos, contrasting against the noise rock danger and rolling drum beats. Closing with an ambient outro, the tune turns more contemplative as it slowly fades into greyscale. "Power Cuts," another pre-released tune (although, technically, all of them were "pre-released" last August), is similarly strong, and showcases again the driving snare and undulating bass of the rhythm section. These songs suggest a darker take on the early '90s, Isn't Anything-inspired rock of Americans all Lilys, She, Sir, Lorelei and The Swirlies -- bands unafraid to revel in mystery while staying true to their indie roots. Broadcast will be re-released digitally Feb. 28. Stream "Contack" below; it's not presently clear whether there will be a pre-order for the set, but keep watch at the Spiralchords Facebook page for additional release information. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Winter Wedding Party, Beach Volleyball

>> It's hard always being a noisy rocker. Even the most prickly believer must sometimes admit that, in place of a big sound bristling with feedback, autumnal acoustic introspection just does the trick in certain instances. In the best cases, one can even split the difference. Take for example the tremendous album cut "Lying In The Grass" from the international duo of Hallie Pritts and Jules Etienne, who operate an indie rock enterprise under the moniker Winter Wedding Party. The act is a sort-of side project whose two principals are based on opposing sides of the Atlantic -- Ms. Pritts in Pittsburgh, Mr. Etienne in Berlin. The pair's pending collection hardly seems to suffer from the great distance separating them; remarkably, Pritts and Etienne fleshed out the songs and recorded them in 10 days after a blur of a rendezvous in Berlin. Curiously (criminally?) tucked away at the end of the set is "Lying In The Grass," a ballad blessed with one of those endlessly sing-along-able, profoundly bittersweet, slow-burning choruses. Padded out with some sub-bass organ work in the intro, the song blossoms with acoustic chords in brief verses that spotlight Pritts' charming vocal -- always delicate and feminine without being coy or showing off. The first chorus hits, and then the band kind of keeps giving it to you for the rest of the song. The cascading melody and crestfallen sentiment will put a lump right in the back of your throat, every time. And Pitts sticks the knife in at the end, as well, softly intoning "...but I was wrong." The duo throw in some cool, KAOS Pad-evoking delay effects as a sort of solo -- tastefully applying a bit of noisy improvisation to gently skew the reverie. If Winter Wedding Party can get something this strong together in a mere 10 days, it makes one very interested to know what additional travel opportunities might yield in the pair's future. Winter Wedding Party's entire self-titled full-length is worth a listen, and it appears it will be officially released in some capacity by the label Chedda Yo! later this week. But you needn't wait to hear the record, which is already streaming at Soundcloud, or its key closing track, which we've embedded below. -- Edward Charlton



>> Beach Volleyball seems an odd choice of band name for a group of stormy, London-based shoegazers. Its songs are generally of the more downcast persuasion, but closer inspection establishes that the quartet's sunny moniker might make sense, even beyond any possible irony. In the wake of two fuzzy demo EPs a year ago, Beach Volleyball issued at the end of the summer a debut studio full-length called Broadcast. The set is available via Bandcamp for a meager two pounds and it's really, really good. What's most surprising is just how clear and purposeful the production of the songs is on the new recordings, in comparison to the demos. Older tunes like "Witches" and "(sharp stick)" are remarkably more realized -- transformed, really. The guitar tones sound surprisingly fresh and evocative in contrast to the muffled fuzz (not a bad thing!) of the demos. While the collection runs the gamut from droning, expansive dream-pop to breathless whammy-blasters, this reviewer prefers -- at least for now -- the more slowly-paced tunes. The best of these is "Swim/Drift," a beautifully bending number that neatly digests the essence of the band into three-and-a-half shimmering minutes. The twin guitars of Alex Smith and Adam O’Sullivan stage a clean, icy glide that is bathed in warm tape delay for an effect that echoes My Bloody Valentine's terrific "Blown A Wish." Here, however, the melodies and chords are a little less alien and more readily relateable. Smith's deep, cast-aside vocals hover just below the surface of the mix, and, taken in tandem with the tasteful two-chord drift, yield a resigned yet captivating pop song. Along with fervent dedication to craft, a final bliss-out section at the end really seals the deal. A closing melodic guitar line blurs the sense of sadness into one of pensive hope -– perhaps a bright and playful day at the beach doesn't sound so bad after all? Beach Volleyball perhaps benefits most from a confidence that eludes many of its contemporaries. And ace influences don't hurt, either. The cold, crystalline drones on display during the more mellow songs call to mind post-rock acts like Epic45, Belong, and the short-lived Sarah Records band Eternal -– all of which are certainly deserving of disciples. While Broadcast is presently only available digitally, some poking around on Facebook makes plain that perhaps some sort of physical release is in the works; there is also a promise of even newer new music perhaps by year's end, an exciting prospect give the crest Beach Volleyball seems to be riding right now. Anyway, stay tuned, as Broadcast begs to be heard on vinyl. For now, get your immediate fix via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton