Today's Hotness: Nuno Canavarro, Ringo Deathstarr, Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam

>> We've got a surprising number of items for you today that point back to the year 2007, which is odd, but there you have it (and, well, we dropped one from the lineup for tonight, but still...). We were very excited by Drag City's relatively low-key announcement via email 11 days ago of its pending reissue of Nuno Canavarro's mysterious and transcendent 1988 collection Plux Quba, which we last wrote about here eight years ago. The record was originally pressed on a small Portuguese label and reverently passed around among cognoscenti for years, which is how it was brought to the attention of experimental musician/producer Jim O'Rourke in the early '90s, who eventually reissued the dazzling, inscrutable collection on his own ("now limbo-ized") Moikai imprint in 1998. This, in turn, was how we first made the record's acquaintance, and every listen to the otherworldly collection has been a revelation. The Moikai pressing went out of print in 2005, according to Drag City (although Forced Exposure's web site indicates there was at least one re-press... in 2007), and so the label will reissue the set on vinyl and as a digital download on Nov. 20. Plux Quba is the sort of record where if we told you what it was like, it would make no sense, or you wouldn't believe that it was in the least appealing. In 2007, The Sea And Cake's Sam Prekop told Pitchfork he considers Mr. Canavarro's record "the high-water mark, in my opinion, of electronic music...It's a really delicate, beautiful, and really weird record." What's amazing is that this high-water mark in electronic music was largely created in a pre-digital world. It's really quite something. Set aside 27 minutes and click on the YouTube playlist below, as some hero has uploaded the record for everyone's enjoyment. Highly, highly recommended listening. And buying.



>> When we first became a fan of Texas shoegaze behemoths Ringo Deathstarr more than eight years ago, the wait for any new music seemed interminable. In retrospect, things weren't really that slow, but in recent years The Deathstarr has reliably turned out rock albums at regular intervals, with no drop-off in quality. We were jazzed to learn over the summer that the Austin-based trio led by Elliot Frazer is preparing the release of its fifth LP, a 12-song collection titled Pure Mood that is due next month. The album is being heralded by the dynamite preview track "Guilt," a three-minute tour de force that showcases the band's bludgeoning psych power and appreciation for rich ambient backdrops. The lead vocal is handled by bassist Alex Gehring, whose voice is deftly layered over itself, making it nearly as formidable a sonic force as Mr. Frazer's saturated guitars. While there is presently no domestic label announced, the venerable, London-based Club AC30 will release Pure Mood Nov. 20 as a 12" pressed to minty green- or lemonade yellow-speckled vinyl media or CD, and the set is available for pre-order right here. However, a trip over to the Club AC30 digital storefront just now indicates that the entire run of 500 LPs -- 250 in each color variety -- may already be sold out; they are listed as "out of stock," which we suppose leaves open the possibility that the threesome has some LPs on its collective person to sell at upcoming live dates. Ringo Deathstarr plays the Middle East Upstairs Oct. 18 on a terrific bill with Magic Shoppe and English luminaries The Membranes. Stream the aforementioned "Guilt" via the embed below. Club AC30 previously released Ringo Deathstarr's Mauve, Colour Trip and Sparkler LPs as well as certain EPs and singles; check out their entire offering right here.



>> Birmingham, England-based noise-pop titans Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam and its associated acts are startlingly prolific, so we suppose it was only a matter of time before the band got around to release what it is calling an "acoustic record." But willowy, folksy balladry this is not. Instead, the quartet's recently issued Video Dreams, Vol. 1 rocks about as hard as fans would expect, if a little more weirdly. The nine-song set opens with the swinging "Cool Like A Haircut," which hews most closely to the classic SFL sound of any of the songs here. The tune's choppy guitar playing, treated with a crisp slap-back reverb, provides a jaunty counterpoint to the straight-forward drum beat. In its final minute, "Cool Like A Haircut" morphs, rising up off its tight groove and entering into an engaging ambient swirl that hints at the weird music that follows. Check out a video for the aforementioned "Cool Like A Haircut" right here. Additional highlights includes the title track, whose deconstructed, lo-fi reverie hangs its toes over the edge of a persistent haze of abused ride cymbal, murmured vocals and guitar drone, and the wacky instrumental "Ralph Visits A French Bakery," which sounds like the soundtrack to a hot interlude during an episode of "Ren & Stimpy." Video Dreams. Vol. 1 was self-released by the band Sept. 13; stream the entire set via the embed below, and click through to download the entire thing for any price. Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam's prior full length was a self-titled collecton issued in 2013; in the interim it released a number of digital singles and EPs, all of which are available via Bandcamp right here. One band principal stated on his personal Facebook page in August that the act has a number of releases slated to come out, and it appears there may be something coming for Halloween, so fans should remain vigilant.

Show Us Yours #28: Mutes

It's been some time since we've checked in on 'gazey indie punks Mutes. Time was the Birmingham, England-based act was a project propelled by just one dude, erstwhile and surnameless Johnny Foreigner guitar tech James, and its music was the stuff of gauzy dreams. That approach yielded captivating results and resulted in a couple EPs and digital singles over the last two years, many if not all of which were scrutinized in these electronic pages. Mutes' first EP as a quartet and on a proper label dropped earlier this summer, bearing a familiar name -- Starvation Age -- but a notably expanded sound. The short set presents five tracks, including new iterations of two of Mutes' more placid earlier guitar reveries, and builds to a roaring finish via an agitated, propulsive title track. With such dynamic growth on display, we thought it high time that we check in with James to learn about where the present, enlarged iteration of Mutes makes its magic, and what the rising band has in store for the future.

And an over-large tangent: our truest readers will note that this episode of Show Us Yours is not the first to feature a spacemate of Clicky Clicky faves Johnny Foreigner: way back in January 2009 in Show Us Yours 10 we featured hitmakers Calories, who at the time shared a different space with Johnny Foreigner. We suppose this is an example of high-quality acts tending to gravitate toward one another; we're told that Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam -- perhaps the most visible heir to Calories -- still practices near Johnny Foreigner (and Mutes) even now. We're grateful to James for taking the time to show us around the spot and for giving us an update on all things Mutes. Read our full exchange below.

Clicky Clicky: So why do you use this practice space? What is it about the space that makes it the best place for Mutes right now? Did you have to change spaces once Mutes became a full-band project, or are you still in the same spot?

James: We use it because we share it with Johnny Foreigner (who [drummer] Jr [also drums for]) so it's convenient and more spacious (having two kits in one room is not preferable). And it's run by a couple of really cool guys, Matt and Nigel, who rent out the rooms at an incredibly good price. There's always cold beers in the fridge, it's 24hr access and, most importantly for Josh and I, we can leave our gear there and use our own amps. If I ever have to so much look at a Laney valvestate head perched upon a generic Marshall 4x12 again I will shoot myself. I never had a space when I was doing it solo -- I'd rent the hourly room there for £5 an hour, which is super cheap.

CC: Is there an idiosyncrasy or quirk to the space that has affected the sound of one of your songs, or even the overall Mutes sound?

J: Mmm, I'm not sure. I think the general energy of the place -- the ease of access and the laid-back atmosphere -- allows you to chill the fuck out when rehearsing, which lends itself to creativity more than "we have two hours here and we still need to find some breakables." We're gonna record more with our 8-track in there hopefully -- then we'll see!

CC: You walk into your rehearsal space. What's the first thing that you smell?

J: Stale smoke and sweat.

CC: Was there some question in your mind that led you to fill out the band with additional members? And if so, what was that question?

J: I never intended to 'go solo,' it just sort of happened as a by-product of that first EP. I figured it would be a waste to put it out and sit around, so I got the sampler, watched a lot of Grimes live videos, and went for it. It just so happens that the next batch of songs I wrote needed real drums, although when I recorded Starvation Age I was still the only member of Mutes. But I always wanted to be in a band with other people. Playing solo can be a depressing and expensive experience, especially when you aren't exactly cranking out hits.

CC: Do you think that whatever we can agree to call the indie rock scene has progressed to the point where there is less bias against one-man bedroom pop bands? Do you find that folks like radio programmers and club promoters take Mutes more seriously now that it is more of the standard many-dudes-with-guitars formation?

J: I think promoters are more reluctant to book solo acts because simply put you have 1/4 the pulling potential of a full band. I played a few more solo shows when we were going through a lineup change and it reaffirmed why I stopped them in the first place -- it's a pain keeping an eye on your gear, you can't split any costs, and you rarely get paid because you don't have the manpower (i.e. Jr) of a full band. So yeah, being a full band has absolutely aided us in terms of getting shows and stuff.

CC: We spoke off-line about this, but we thought we'd raise it here as well. One thing that confused us about your terrific recent EP Starvation Age was that you recycled the title from a two-song digital release you did in 2013. Which we suppose is no worse than Weezer putting out multiple self-titled albums. But what about the title speaks to you so much that you wanted to use it twice?

J: I think I used it back in 2013 because it sounded nice, and those two songs ended up going on this full EP. But the title definitely has relevance to the release and its lyrical content. I think I came up with the title when I was going through a bit of a horrible phase of food-avoidance and just generally feeling like I was lacking as a human being. Plus I took down that 2-song thing before this was announced and I didn't really think anyone would notice (you were the only online site who covered that first release, ha).

[At this point the interview had gone somewhere unexpected. We were concerned by James' frank statement regarding his troubled relationship with food, concerned for him personally, but didn't want to delve more deeply into his private life than this interview, supposedly about his band's practice space and music, warranted. We talked this over with James, who was comfortable expanding on his remarks for publication. -- Ed.]

J: This was around 2 years ago, and it's better now. I think anxiety and a persistent uneasiness in my stomach, on top of issues I had with my own body image, all contributed towards it. I have a somewhat stressful relationship with eating, but not to the extent that I'm worried about it. I've certainly been in close quarters with people who do have more serious issues, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I love food and I hate food, too. I've put myself in positions where my appetite has been dictated by guilt rather than nutritional need and that can be particularly stressful on people you're close to. It's important to recognise these problems, I feel fortunate to be in a position mentally where I've never succumbed to it fully, but I would urge anyone who needs help, or even just advice, to speak openly about it as soon and as much as possible. Disordered eating is complex and can be hard to admit to yourself. It requires support and understanding, no matter how trivial it might seem if you're not going through it.

[Before continuing on, we wanted to amplify James' sentiment that those struggling with their relationship with food should seek help. These are real issues; food avoidance was classified as a medical condition under the latest revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the DSM-5, in 2013. If you or someone you know needs help, we urge you to contact a health professional. Now. And now, back to our regularly scheduled interview... -- Ed.]

CC: One of my all-time favorite bands did a non-comeback comeback record, and the last song leads with this awesome line "I have to finish this song, or the world will remember me wrong." You made a crack on the Mutes Facebook about releasing the new tune "Knotting Off The Vein" because "Death could be around the corner," and it made us wonder whether you actually, you know, consider things like mortality and a legacy and all that. Maybe you were just taking the piss (is that still a phrase people use?...)

J: I was half-taking the piss! I think when you're a band as small as we are, and unable to play as much as we'd like due to real adult life, the only thing you can do is write and release as much as possible to fill that activity-void. I also have become recently acutely aware of my own mortality, it keeps me up, so that's definitely on my mind a lot recently. I do think music, and art in general, is the closest you can come to ensuring your own immortality, provided what you're doing doesn't get forgotten with you. But it's an over-saturated space, and we're all baying for attention, so I don't know how successful anyone but the most influential of us will be in actually 'living forever through art' or something. But at least we're all immortalised on the Internet!

CC: What does the rest of the year look like for Mutes?

J: Hopefully more shows here and there, and lots more writing. We've got about 13 songs that ned finishing up, and more will be rearing their heads in the interim, so hopefully we'll be able to record again sometime soon! And sign that mega 360 deal we've all been holding out for.

Mutes plays a killer show Oct. 9 in Oxford, England with Sauna Youth (responsible for this rager earlier this summer), Poledo and Telegrapher, and the Birmingham act is also on a bill *TOMORROW* supporting Jimmy Whispers that locals should certainly turn out for. The Starvation Age EP is available now as a digital download and limited edition cassette; stream the release via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to purchase. Also streaming below is the aforementioned, newer track "Knotting Off The Vein," taken from a very good comp recently issued by London club promoter Fools Paradise.

Mutes: Bandcamp | Facebook





Previous Mutes Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Mutes
Today's Hotness: Mutes
Today's Hotness: Mutes

Previous Show Us Yours episodes:
Shapes And Sizes | Dirty On Purpose | Relay | Mobius Band | Frightened Rabbit | Assembly Now | Meneguar | Okay Paddy | Charmparticles | Calories | Sun Airway | It Hugs Back | Lubec | A Giant Dog | Bent Shapes | Krill | Golden Gurls | Earthquake Party! | Hallelujah The Hills | Seeds Of Doubt | The Cherry Wave | Coaches | Night Mechanic | Kindling | Julius Earthling | Hideous Towns | Mittenfields

Today's Hotness: Today Junior, Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, Under Electric Light

>> We're starting to wonder if there will be music coming out of Norwood, Massachusett's Hanging Horse Studios that we DON'T like. The latest set birthed there to traverse our proverbial desk is a very rewarding debut long-player from Allston indie-pop upstarts Today Junior. The trio is comprised of brothers Mike and Harry O'Toole, who execute drumming and guitaring duties for the outfit respectively, along with bassist Anthony Ambrose, who may or may not be someone's brother. Today Junior's new LP Ride The Surf touts uptempo tunes that work bright, recognizable motifs in ways that don't sound tired or trite, gliding all the while through a steady, sock-deep reverb. What sets Today Junior's music apart from that of other acts chasing a sun 'n 'surf-inspired sound is the passionate singing and mindful breakdowns and grooves that the Allstonians work into their concise pop nuggets. The band's music is less noir and melancholy than that of presumably defunct Chicagoans Distractions, who put out one of our favorite records of 2010, but the bands are similar in that they twist the familiar into something memorable. And there are many, many memorable numbers on Ride The Surf, including its cracking, well-calculated title track, which, incidentally, plays host to a really hot guitar solo. One song that memorably checks both the "breakdowns" and "grooves" boxes is the deeper album cut "Daydrifter." The waning moments of the terrific strummer "What I Said" show the act minds the p's and q's of songcraft; there perfect, classically California-sounding vocal harmonies manifest as cool "oooh la la las" and point to Harry O'Toole's final, passionately delivered vocal, which rolls off punctuating guitar chords and onto a fading trickle of stick clicks. Ride The Surf was recorded between May 2014 and May 2015 at the aforementioned studio, which has also generated recordings we like a lot by hitmakers Julius Earthling and Soft Fangs. Today Junior fêted the release of Ride The Surf Monday night at Cambridge, Mass.'s Middle East Rock club, and we presume additional live engagements are forthcoming. For now, get your ears around the record while its summery sounds can properly contextualize this golden summer. Stream the entire set via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through the purchase it as a digital download.



>> Indie rock luminaries Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam returned this past weekend with a new EP and a tantalizing promise of yet more new music to come before the year is out. The Birmingham, England trio's Neighbours EP boasts three rockers spanning fewer than nine minutes, boisterous bar anthems all that bash and pop from within folds of reverb and slapback. The title track initiates the proceedings by cycling two towering chords, and the guitars buzz and feedback into the corners of the mix during a dynamic pre-chorus. When the massive, shout-along chorus of "Neighbors" -- which gets a dazzling video treatment here -- hits, it is characteristically huge and grand, and recalls a revved up take on precursor band Calories' stein-swinging "Let's Pretend That We're Older." What's that? You don't recall Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam's impressive lineage? The act sprang from the desperately great Calories, which itself was begat by the dissolution of Birmingham legends Distophia, something we've recounted in these electronic pages regularly. Neighbours' two additional numbers are similarly stirring: the belter "New Womb" throbs under the weight of its own crumbling distortion, driven by a straight-ahead beat and a staccato, descending guitar melody, while "Part Time Butcher" ratchets up the syncopation and conjures yet larger clouds of crash cymbal to buffet its ragged, but bold, vocal. The EP comes relatively hot on the heels of a digital single released in June featuring the tunes "Paradise Telephone" b/w/ "Real Romantix," and based on this Facebook post, it would seem we are entering a period of renewed activity for the wildly under-rated trio. Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam's next gig is Aug. 15 at The Wagon And Horses in Digbeth, Birmingham, and the band has also snagged a choice slot opening for highly regarded noisemakers Metz in Birmingham Oct. 30. We don't have any inside information, but we'd lay strong money that there is more new music from SFL around that time of that Metz show (as that would pretty much epitomize striking while the iron is hot). In the meantime, stream all of Neighbours via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through the acquire the set as a paywhutchyalike digital download. More bulletins as events warrant.



>> Veteran Montreal 'gaze project Under Electric Light first hit our radar with its stirring 2011 rocker "Waiting For The Rain To Fall," whose big melodic sound band founder Danny Provencher ascribed to his love of the Beach Boys and classic shoegaze records. None of us, Mr. Provencher included, could have known then that four years on we'd be living in an age where My Bloody Valentine, RIDE, Slowdive and Swervedriver are once again active. Which we suppose is neither here nor there, but it is amazing to consider how far we've come, and in some ways how much the future looks and sounds like our cherished past. For his part, Provencher (along with vocalist/lyricist Marie-Eve Bouchard) seems no less enamored of the aforementioned classic shoegaze sounds and big melodies in 2015, based on much time spent with Under Electric Light's recently self-released EP Never Lose Another Day. To be sure, the beat-driven and guitar-drenched opener "Pieces Of Me" is the collection's most immediate (if a bit by-the-numbers) song. However, it is the EP's solemn closer "Runaway Sun" that is the real stunner. Gentle and subdued, the track builds up from a bed of synth and acoustic and e-bowed guitars into an ethereal fog, recalling at times the more melancholy tunes of The Ocean Blue (whose first three records, incidentally, will be released by Shelflife on vinyl for the first time ever in November). Stream all of Never Lose Another Day via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to purchase the set. Under Electric Light recently contributed a cover of the RIDE rarity "King Bullshit" to the digital compilation Leave Them All Behind, which was issued by The Blog That Celebrates Itself in March; check it out here. It is worth noting that Liverpool's Hail Hail Records has since taken on Never Lose Another Day, and is offering it for sale via its own digital storefront right here.

Today's Hotness: Robert Robinson, Fridge Poetry

>> We've been listening again and again to a full-length issued earlier this month from a fellow named Robert Robinson called Connecticut River. It's a ridiculously engaging melange of bedroom pop, free-k folk and ambient exploration that somehow becomes more mysterious even as it reveals more and more of itself over the course of repeat listens. Clicky Clicky gets particularly jazzed about acts that create, furnish and inhabit singular sonic worlds, and Mr. Robinson and his Connecticut River Band (we are assuming the band exists, but would also not be surprised were it mirage) beautifully express a certain insularity or reverie with their loose, expansive compositions. Sometimes, as on the meandering instrumental album highlight "Chill Buds" or opener "Hocus Pocus," the songs stretch toward a distant horizon. While "Song for Popop" is a folksy and minimal bit of slow-core that recalls contemporary work by New Dog, the bulk of the proceedings has a free and psychedelic bent that makes the set as unpredictable as it is enjoyable. Indeed, the dazzling "Slice Raga" faintly echoes the finer moments of the Deerhunter oeuvre, and "Birds Majesty" sounds like an outtake from Pink Floyd's The Man + The Journey. Some light Googling tells us the prolific Mr. Robinson is the primary songwriter from long-running Western Mass. psych folk foursome Sore Eros, which is perhaps best known for its 2013 split 9" -- yeah, you read that right -- with notable Philadelphian Kurt Vile. But Connecticut River is so very impressive, it doesn't seem like it is simply tunes that are Sore Eros seconds or cast-offs. The set was released by Northampton, Mass.'s Feeding Tube records as a digital download Nov. 6, and we highly recommend it to your attention. Stream all of Connecticut River via the embed below and click through to purchase.



>> One can never be sure with the Johnny Foreigner folks -- especially as it wouldn't be terribly unusual for the legendary and Birmingham, England-based fight-pop survivors to issue a song for Christmas -- but at least presently it appears that the final release of 2014 from a member of its cohort is Fridge Poetry's slightly delayed but altogether excellent recent EP, Omstart Sessions. Fridge Poetry, as devoted readers know, is helmed by Johnny Foreigner drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, and is a vehicle for Mr. Laidley's visceral and moving electropop compositions, which rely on guest vocalists to write and sing vocal parts. This latest, five-song set is actually a bit more rock- and guitar-oriented on the front end, but settles into a more blissed and electronic vibe on the final two numbers. The EP is highlighted by the bracing and twinkly emo anthem "Like Poetry," which features dynamite vocals from The Weaks' Evan Bernard, and the burbling closer "Waste Time (CrashDown Redux)." An entrancing video for that latter cut was premiered at Punktastic yesterday, and we humbly suggest that after you've wrapped up your business with Clicky Clicky this day you click this hyperlink and take a gander at said video. Other featured vocalists on the Omstart Sessions EP include Clicky Clicky fave Pete Dixon of Calories and Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, Saam Watkins of London emo giants Playlounge, Emmalee Lovelace of Lint, Rob Slater from The Spills and Elos Arma. The EP is available as a standalone digital download, and also in a bundle with a t-shirt or three posters; the shirt art and posters were all designed by South African artist Anja Venter. You can peruse all of your purchase options by clicking through the Bandcamp embed below after you've streamed the EP, which is awesome, and what are you waiting for, and et cetera. Omstart Sessions was self-released Nov. 6. Johnny Foreigner released its titanic fourth LP You Can Do Better in March [review].

Review: Burning Alms | In Sequence

From drifting pastoral reveries to dense, open-tuned experimentalism, from patient expositive ambient passages to thundering verses, the dazzling feat of In Sequence is that it succeeds at being all indie rock things to all indie rock people. Even with a spirited experimental bent shot through the entire collection, Burning Alms' melodies, textures and dynamics on its debut long-player are fiercely engaging. This is no great surprise: Burning Alms principals John Biggs and Thomas Whitfield have made compelling music together for more than a decade, and few bands releasing debuts build from such a formidable foundation. Which is another reason why In Sequence is a terrific whole-album experience, one that is cinematic, mysterious and thrilling (and often all three in one song, such as the Branca-styled tour de force "Night Climates").

Long-time fans of the pair's music will find the collection wholly satisfying, and new fans -- whose sentiments are uncolored by the estimable back catalogs underpinning the new set -- will likely wonder where the hell these guys came from all of a sudden. And we suppose that is the optimist's edge of the double-edged sword of being massively underrated: the more one toils away from the sucking white-hot static of the hype-cycle, the more likely one is able to blow away listeners when one comes around with the goods. It has been a long road for Mssrs. Biggs and Whitfield, from early days in legendary Birmingham post-punk act Distophia to, more recently, the ludicrously slept-on Calories. That In Sequence is the duo's best shot at breaking through (at least since Northern Ireland/London-based Smalltown America released Calories' titanic debut Adventuring) is perhaps bittersweet, because as captivating and strong as this new record is, it is not so foreign from the recent work of Calories, not unrecognizably descended from Distophia.

It has been a bit of a parlour game here at Clicky Clicky HQ, figuring out what is going on with all of the various Distophia-descended bands, and what distinguishes them, particularly given the fact that certain of the bands have, at least at times, contained the very same members while performing under different names. Of that cohort, Burning Alms' music is dustier, more meditative, addresses more abstract lyrical themes, and only occasionally shimmers in the way of certain Calories songs (such as the epic closer to Calories III, "Tropics"). We suppose Burning Alms must be defined by the absence of the songwriting contributions of Calories bassist Pete Dixon, who keeps busy with Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam and recently played his first solo show in seven years, but how that absence manifests itself sonically is unclear. Perhaps one characteristic attribute is Burning Alms' aforementioned meditative dimension, apparently inspired by Mr. Biggs' interest in American literature and existential thinkers, although such conjecture is almost immediately dispelled by the crushing 5/4 opening of the blistering "The Aperture Colonised," the high-octane whirl of the single "Matadors," or the shuddering rage of "Forest Clearing." Perhaps in the music of Burning Alms there is a more restless pursuit of experimentation, as in the free-form title track to In Sequence, a minimalist pastiche of ambient (amp?) noise, taped voice interaction and skeletal guitar noodling. Whatsoever its determinant je ne sais quoi, no listener will come away from listening to In Sequence feeling like something is missing. Indeed, what ultimately makes Burning Alms' debut such a resounding success is its ability to balance myriad sounds and styles in such a way as to evoke a singularly rich musical identity.

Smalltown America released In Sequence Monday. The set is available as a vinyl LP, compact disc and digital download, all of which can be purchased through the label right here. Stream the entire record via the Spotify embed below.

Burning Alms: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds | Soundcloud



Related Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, Goodbye Childhood
Today's Hotness: Burning Alms
Today's Hotness: Burning Alms
All This Stuff Happening With Calories And Its Offshoots Makes Our Head Hurt 'Cause It's A Lot Of Things All At Once, Like This Awesome New Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam Record
Today's Hotness: Burning Alms

Today's Hotness: Parakeet, The Shalfonts

>> Yuck's 2013 sophomore album Glow And Behold signaled the '90s revivalists would be fine, thank you very much, in the wake of the shock departure of founding fronter Daniel Blumberg. But well before that release Yuck bassist Mariko Doi was busy staking out her own place in the proverbial indie rock sun with her sparkling dream-pop project Parakeet, which we first wrote about here in April 2012. The band, a collaboration with The History Of Apple Pie drummer James Llewellyn Thomas, debuted with a single that month, and then issued the very enjoyable Shonen Hearts EP at the end of 2012, which we wrote about right here. After apparently devoting her time to Glow And Behold during 2013, Ms. Doi has returned in a big way with Parakeet's best slate of songs to date on a new EP titled Pink Noise. The short set, which was released June 26 via Marshall Teller Records, never lets up, offering quick, lush and snappy dreamers that accentuate Doi's clear pipes and guitarist Jon Jackson's compelling, delay-heavy moves. The expansive, colorful opener "Paper Town" echoes the reverberated heartache of the first Best Coast album, while also carrying in its chording and composition elements of Best Coast's second, more country-inflected set. Doi's singing is strong throughout, such that one might be tempted to argue that her voice has been sorely under-used in Yuck; she typically enters a verse more subtly and then goes for a full-throated falsetto in the chorus. This is best employed on "Running and Running," which contrasts brightly strummed acoustic guitars with thick drumming. The highlight of the four-song collection is "Pink Noise," a commanding title track offering fluorescent, neon flourishes and power-pop guitar leads, along with even more great acoustic strum. Buy the Pink Noise EP here. A full-length Parakeet release is contemplated for release in 2015, and we are expecting great things given the increasingly compelling music coming from the band. -- Edward Charlton



>> We were surprised to learn earlier this month that the dizzying constellation of Distophia-associated bands is slightly larger than we had previously thought. As it happens, Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam drummer Ralph Morton is also party to a long-running but heretofore-unknown-to-us act called The Shalfonts (you'll recall from our overlong explanation here that Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam includes former Distophia guy Pete Dixon). The Shalfonts are primarily a virtual band/recording project centered around the songwriting duo of Mr. Morton and Bryn Bowen, with as many as seven contributors based in either Birmingham, England or Bergen, Norway collaborating on tracks shared through the Internet. The group has crafted a steady stream of digital releases, including a couple full-lengths and various EPs and singles, and its most recent set Grant Mansions was released to the wilds of the Internerds earlier this month. The shambling new collection touts a number of solid, acoustic-led rockers that echo a particular early '90s, Sebadoh-adjacent freak-folk sound. Indeed, there is a strange vintage Western Mass. flavor across the entire set, despite the decades and thousands of miles betwixt. The highlight of Grant Mansions may well be the relatively up-tempo strummer "A Long Straight Cue," which materializes at the tail-end of the set. The song rises up over a clattering rhythm with a light, ascending melody sprung from layered acoustic guitars, and a burbling stream of lyrics bouys the song to its odd, but not-quite-jarring final exclamation: "my curls all fall out." Other notable tunes include the relatively tense and swirling preview single "Netman + Bird" and the patient, pastoral rumination "MudHeart." Grant Mansions was released as a compact disc or digital download by the awesomely monikered label Giant Manilow July 7; the CD is available in a limited edition of 100 with packaging designed by The Shalfonts' own Lloyd Bowen. Listen to the entire set via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to purchase the CD or download.

Today's Hotness: Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, Goodbye Childhood, R.M. Hendrix

>> For those of you who didn't see us trumpet its existence over on the Fakebooks yesterday, the video above is for the lead track from a tremendous new EP from Birmingham, England-based noise-pop luminaries Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam. We introduced you to the then-trio last fall, when it self-released a cracking self-titled full-length debut. Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam is comprised by former Calories and Distophia guy Peter Dixon, and chaps named Andrew Bullock, Ralph Morton and, more recently, David Bentall. The new EP, which as far as we can tell carries no title and no hard release date, touts five characteristically concise, desperate and tuneful rockers and picks up right where Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam left off. That's not the most insightful analysis, but when a band -- or really, a cohort of men that configures itself in ever-increasing combinations (more on that below) -- does so many things right so consistently, the work needn't always be labored over. "Auto," the song featured in the video above, is briskly paced, urgent and repetitive ("auto" is short for "automation," after all), bludgeoning the refrain "in auto" repeatedly at the end of the second minute just prior to a tearing lead guitar line. The tune presents an electrifying amalgamation of punk bombast confronting Teutonic minimalism and efficiency, and there is perhaps a larger point to be made about its mechanistic rhythm, the themes of alienation and boredom in the video, and how that relates to Marx's ideas about how industrial machinery alienates the worker (see, for example, something like "As a result of machinery, displaced workers are not so quickly compensated by employment in other industries but are forced into an expanding labor-market at a disadvantage and available for greater capitalist exploitation without the ability to procure the means of subsistence for survival.") But it also just rocks, as does the blazing, 106-second follow-up "Castles And Kings." Indeed, there is nary a loose thread or dropped stitch in any of the EP's five songs. The EP is available for pre-order here in two bundles. The first is limited to 50 orders, and includes 7" vinyl, CD, A3 poster, t-shirt and instant download for £10; the second offers only the 7" and CD for £6. We suspect the former iteration is already sold out, but try your luck, what the hell, right? Like sound but hate pictures? You can stream "Auto" via the Soundcloud embed below.



>> If you clicked the second hyperlink above and revisited our initial coverage of Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, you are familiar with our being overwhelmed by the many projects that have descended from the late, great Distophia and its most successful offspring, Calories. Fortunately, and not surprisingly, all of these related acts make excellent music. Yet one more new project was revealed last month, when Burning Alms/Calories doods Andrew Bullock and Thomas Mark Whitfield unveiled Goodbye Childhood. The duo bowed the project with a self-titled, downloadable EP in late April. The music is reserved and spare, lacing together canned beats, acoustic guitars, murmured vocals and atmospheric synths,into a curious yet enticing product that at least superficially calls to mind Elliot Smith and The Notwist. The delicate and waltz-timed meditation "Lock Up Your Son" may be the most affecting of the short set, with gentle lyrics and pretty acoustic guitar meandering first into a stiffening drone, then a crackling rhythm track. A new band and EP were not what we had been expecting from Mssrs. Bullock and Whitfield. The pair's Burning Alms has had a full-length titled In Sequence waiting in the wings to be unveiled for about six months, we reported here and here in February and December respectively. Is that LP still in the offing, or has it been subsumed within the catalogue/repertoire of Goodbye Childhood? We really have no idea. But confusion is certainly nothing new when it comes to the supernumerous spawn of Distophia. We can only wait and see, and while you do so, take a listen to the entire Goodbye Childhood EP via the embed below.



>> Wade in deep with us, indie rock fans, deep into the new collection from Boston-based graphic designer and music DIY-er R.M. Hendrix. Mr. Hendrix's new full-length Urban Turks Country Jerks carries 11 tunes and captures in its broad embrace classic shoegaze and Britpop sounds. Heretofore, the cuts "Wasted Summer" and "In This Daydream" from the collection have been designated as singles from same, and there are very nice video clips for them here and here respectively. But it is at the far end of the collection where we find two tunes that, in our humble opinion, cry out for single treatment; hear us out. Were we to don our A&R cap -- which we do enjoy doing now and again -- we'd advise releasing a vinyl 7" with the terrific, buoyant strummer "Those Were Dark Days" on the A-side, and the instrospective coldwave dreamer "Frost Heaves" on the flip. The former song is a very pleasant reminder of the late-career classic "Stormy Weather" from Echo And The Bunnymen, and succeeds on the strength of Hendrix's even vocal, big guitars in the chorus and a bouncing beat. The latter tune is a perfect foil, desolate and icy, the cool side of our proposed aural McDLT. Fortunately all of Urban Turks Country Jerks is available to stream on Soundcloud, and so you can weigh the merits of our imaginary single via the embeds below, or click this link to hear the whole shooting match. Urban Turks Country Jerks was released April 28 by Dallas-based Moon Sounds Records on CD or as a digital download. We previously wrote about Hendrix's Pink Skin EP here in 2012. Hendrix, formerly of indie rockers Flannery, has been producing music for almost two decades at this point -- at least one song at his web site dates back to 1996. Peruse his entire catalog right here.

Today's Hotness: Screaming Maldini, Burning Alms, Palehound

>> The curious hints that popped up this past week did little to prepare us for the massive return of Sheffield, England-based ultrapop savants Screaming Maldini, whose new, Afropop-tinged tune "Soweto" is as strong a single as the sextet has ever released. The chorus is so uplifting and potent that it completely absconds with the second half of "Soweto," elevating without pause on the strength of the thumping 7/4 tempo and the jaw-dropping vocal arrangements and harmonies. Singer Gina Walters is at her most formidable and enchanting in the song's final moments, playing off the singing of Maldini mastermind Nick Cox to turn in a performance that tops even her singing on the last great Maldini single, 2012's "Summer Somewhere." The visual promotion of the single, we should note, is rather enticing, suggesting some sort of espionage or archeological theme. While no full-length has been announced, the single art labels "Soweto" as "3/12," which we'd venture means three of 12 of something, yeah? A photo on the Screaming Maldini Facebook appears to be a bill of lading of some sort from "The Maldini Institute," with the subhead "Miscellaneum Of Wonders." Could the latter be the title of a forthcoming collection? We shall keep our fingers crossed. Screaming Maldini is set to embark on a small strand of UK house shows in February. Its self-titled debut LP was issued a year ago by HipHipHip in France and we reviewed it right here. Stream "Soweto," and then stream it again and again, via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> Birmingham, England noise-pop luminaries Burning Alms Friday released to the wilds of the Interzizzles a second taster from its long-awaited debut full-length, In Sequence. The bracing brace of songs, "So Unreal" b/w "The Pastoral," highlight the opposing forces that pull at Burning Alms' songwriting, as "So Unreal" bashes and pops through 150 or so thrilling seconds of Swervedriver-styled guitars and punching percusion, while the acoustic ballad "The Pastoral" embraces its titular adjective, establishing a gentle, waltz-timed reverie with more subdued vocals and quiet dynamics during an even more brief 100 seconds. The tunes -- which the band describes as being part of a two-track EP, despite the fact that there is nothing "extended play" here -- are available as a paid digital download or stream via Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Within and without the context of the band and its related projects (Calories and Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam), "So Unreal" and "The Pastoral" are compelling listening, and make us all the more eager to hear In Sequence. In December we wrote here about "Matadors," the blunt and aggressive first single from the pending collection. No specific release date or other information about In Sequence has been proferred by the band (which, as we've previously reported, consists of John Robert Biggs and Thomas Whitfield with former Sunset Cinema Club guy and recording-engineer-to-the-stars Dom James), although the trio maintains it will be issued in 2014. This Facebook status indicates a release is moving one step closer, as the set is presently being mastered. Watch a video for "So Unreal" right here, and stream or download both tunes via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> We're as surprised as you to find that we haven't yet turned our attention to young indie rock concern Palehound. The act began as the vehicle for the music of one Ellen Kempner, a sorta protégé of Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis (Kempner = Eminem, Sadie = Dre). For her initial release, Palehound's entirely charming Bent Nail EP issued by Exploding In Sound in October, Ms. Kempner was abetted by the label's de facto in-house production due of Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez. Palehound's whole deal snowballed all fall, with the addition of three new players (say hello to Mssrs. Lombardi, Kupperberg and Scherer on bass, drums and guitar, respectively) and the blogosphere spheorizing about what made this wonderful little band and songs like "Pet Carrot" and "I Get Clean" tick. Come now this four-piece iteration of the presently Yonkers-based Palehound, who issue via EIS Feb. 25 the Kitchen 7", the band's first recordings as, well, a band. The top side of the platter touts the tune "Holiest," with "Pay No Mind" on the flip. "Holiest," as we blurbed on Facebook, is a swaying gem with a terrific cascading hook that showcases well the new four-piece configuration of the hotly tipped band. Palehound plays a smattering of dates in New York and Philadelphia this month before embarking on their first U.S. tour, during which the 'hound makes the obligatory pilgrimage to Mecca. Sorry, not Mecca, Austin, they'll go to Austin for the annual SXSW music confabulation. We can expect another 7" after the release of Kitchen, at least according to this CMJ interview from November. But let us live not in the future, but in the now, a point in your life in which if you have enough time to read these words, you certainly have the time to click the button on the embed below and stream "Holiest." It's a fine rock song that we believe you will like.

Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Top Albums Of 2013: Jay Edition

More so than in any of the 13 years in which we've devoted too much time to writing about music, it feels silly to pick the best of it for 2013. So much of what we heard this year was wonderful, and the year certainly exceeded our expectations. This despite our fervently held belief that there is *always*, every year, an abundance of excellent music waiting to be discovered; the trick is finding it. Which is kind of why this blog is here. And while we struggled with tough decisions that excluded deserving acts including Fat History Month, Heyward Howkins, It Hugs Back and Bent Shapes from the final top 10, well, dammit, rules are rules. We're going to have one more year-end list coming by the end of the week, top albums selections from our indefatigable Staff Writer Dillon Riley. Before we let you get to Executive Editor Jay's picks below, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading Clicky Clicky Music Blog. We try to do things a bit differently here, by offering more insight and analysis, more background and context. We hope the quality of the product makes reading about music here something you value. And another quick thanks for everyone, both bands and fans, who supported the Lilys comp And I Forgot A Long Time Ago How You Feel, as well as the Community Servings benefit show we presented last month. Music is important; we believe that with every fiber of our being. It matters. Below is a list of the albums that, in Jay's estimation, mattered the most in 2013.

1. Speedy Ortiz -- Major Arcana -- Carpark Records

While success outside the four corners of the record sleeve isn't something our year-end lists take into consideration, it's hard to draw any conclusions other than 2013 was owned by Speedy Ortiz, one of the hardest-working rock bands in the rock music-making business. Within the four corners of the record, it is easy to hear why: Speedy Ortiz makes the sophisticated sort of guitar music we want to listen to a lot. Indeed, Major Arcana, with its full-frontal guitars, churning rhythm section and engaging articulations of frustration and decathection, is immediate and gratifying. To paraphrase a singer from a different band discussed below, there ain't a stinker on it. We reviewed Major Arcana for Vanyaland right here in July; buy it from Carpark Records here.





2. Krill -- Lucky Leaves -- Self-Released

"Just go ahead, climb into my head," is what Lucky Leaves seems to say, leaning down and tipping its comically over-sized cranium toward you, snapping the clamps behind the ears upwards and open, and lifting off the top. "It's kinda weird in here," it goes on, although it is kind of hard to tell whether the record is talking to you or itself when it says that. "Never mind the other dude in there, he's harmless. He's actually got a pretty good band, you should check them out... though he said something about them breaking up? Half the time I don't know what he's on about." We reviewed Lucky Leaves here in June; buy it here (and tick-tock: we're given to understand there are fewer than 40 copies of the first vinyl pressing left for sale).



3. Veronica Falls -- Waiting For Something To Happen -- Slumberland

This was our go-to record for the first half of 2013, and we continue to put it on often. Eminently listenable British guitar pop. The songwriting on the album is so strong that the album feels like a singles compilation. What's more, Waiting For Something To Happen features one of the very best songs of the year, the wistful ode to young love "Teenager." The nagging question of seeing this record at number three on the list is whether that placement, ultimately, can be traced to the enjoyment we got seeing or otherwise interacting with the members of the bands mentioned above. Whatever the reason, the aggregate play counts across ITunes, etc., don't lie. This record is so good even Clicky Clicky Mom liked it when it was played during her visits to HQ; a fairly rare feat, this liking (it was accomplished previously by two admittedly amazing records, Okay Paddy's The Cactus Has A Point -- link -- and Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga). Buy Waiting For Something To Happen from Slumberland right here.





4. My Bloody Valentine -- mbv -- Self-Released

We recently discussed mbv with a friend, specifically its surprise release -- and everyone's mad dash to the My Bloody Valentine web site to purchase and listen to this tremendous new collection -- and how that release has been one of the very few communally shared experiences in modern indie rock. That pulse-pounding excitement was totally appropriate, especially given how great mbv is, and the dissonance of that excitement butting up against such a serene-sounding album opener, "She Found Now," perhaps only heightened the experience. My Bloody Valentine's follow-up to its legendary Loveless is terrific, offering not only familiarity (with its cooed vocals and bending guitars), but also an explanation of sorts ("In Another Way" manifests Kevin Shields' purported fixation with jungle, albeit years and years and years after that fixation was a topic of conversation). As gratifying as mbv is, perhaps most gratifying of all is Mr. Shields' uncompromising approach to the business of music; we'd say "outspokenness" if perhaps he spoke more often, although the interviews he's given over the past year are all amazing. Shields' is a singular sonic vision, and hopefully one that will be as inspiring to bands as Loveless has been. This 2013 collection extends and burnishes the deep MBV legacy; buy it here.



5. Los Campesinos! -- No Blues -- Wichita/Turnstyle

Big, bold and beautiful is what this is. While we are still unsettled by the revelation that No Blues was almost not made (the band had apparently considered hanging up its boots), that doesn't in any way diminish how enjoyable it is. Indeed, it's as accomplished a collection as Cardiff-based Los Campesinos! has made. The singles still punch hard, the album cuts are just as rich and soundly conceived. Fronter Gareth Campesinos' lyrics remain sharp and affecting, a feat all the more impressive given his stated practice of writing them as late as possible into the recording process. Let us not overlook just how neat a trick it is that so many of the lyrics center around football, yet still communicate as strongly as when he addresses affairs of the heart (perhaps it is no trick: football -- that's soccer to you, Yank -- is an affair of the heart to Gareth). The single "Avocado, Baby," with is ridiculously catchy chant, just missed our year-end songs list, and other album highlights include "Cemetery Gaits" and "What Death Leaves Behind." We reviewed No Blues here last month; buy it from the band right here. Los Camp play a rare Boston date next month.





6. Radiator Hospital -- Something Wild -- Salinas

Now that we have published our year-end songs list, wherein we disclosed that we favored this collection over even the dynamite releases by scenemates Swearin' and Waxahatchee, it's probably little surprise to find Radiator Hospital sitting here. Call it pop-punk, call it emo, it doesn't matter: Something Wild is fun and emotional and engaging (not that those aforementioned collections from the respective bands of the sisters Crutchfield aren't these things; we just listened to Something Wild more, and math counts). Our own Dillon Riley reviewed the set right here in July; buy it from Salinas records here.



7. Calories -- III -- Self-Released

Here is the third of three self-released records on our year-end list, which, of course, says something about the Music Industry of Today. However, this is not the place for a dissection of the challenges faced by bands trying to sell music. Even so, when something as objectively super and as wildly ambitious as Calories' III isn't the subject of a label bidding war, we start to wonder what the hell is wrong with the world. III is the foursome's most confident and rewarding to date, building up from the stoney foundations of the monolithic post-punk of its early years to embrace looser structures and more varied aural topographies. Somewhere along the way Calories started to sound haunted; at the same time the band started to engage a yen to fluidly jam across larger and larger stretches of time. Now vocals are subdued, guitars are just as likely to be acoustic as electric, but the potency of Calories music is not diluted. The greatest cut from III, the amazing, 10-minute closer "Tropics," is almost an album unto itself. The tune commences with broad distorted chords, crashing symbols and forefronted oohs, shifts into a steady four-four rocker for a minute, and then transforms into a spiraling, poignant final movement that stretches across almost eight minutes. That tune in and of itself is worth about 10 bucks, but you can download III from Bandcamp here in exchange for as much money as you care to pay for it.



8. Ovlov -- am -- Exploding In Sound

The conventional wisdom among the indiescienti is that -- from a label standpoint -- 2013 belonged to Exploding In Sound Records, who issued not only Ovlov's am, but also Fat History Month's blindingly brilliant Bad History Month, and Kal Mark's Life Is Murder, among other fine sound recordings. Ovlov's noisy hooks on am are undenible, despite the aural sludge in which the Connecticut trio encases them on belters like "Nu Punk" and the cataclysmic opener "Grapes." Vintage Dinosaur Jr. is a popularly applied reference, but Ovlov's vibe is less backwoods goth and more conventional (the opener's melody, reinforced by backing vocals from Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis, echoes great tunes by more pop-leaning Clicky Clicky faves The Wannadies and Projekt A-ko). The music on am shakes and shudders with desperate energy, fuzz flies off the guitars and cymbals, and the whole waxy ball of wax is anchored to punishing snare hits and fronter Steve Hartlett's Mascis-esque yowl. All of which makes the record endlessly listenable. Buy am from Exploding In Sound right here.



9. Guillermo Sexo -- Dark Spring -- Midriff Records

Diving deeper within to explore sounds and textures in the studio, Boston psych-rock unit Guillermo Sexo yet maintain an admirable level of focus, which is brought to bear on the urgent and dreamy material on its fifth long player Dark Spring. The remarkably varied album touts two seven-minute-plus opuses (inluding "Meow Metal," which was recognized in our year-end, best songs list) that speak to the band's confidence and willingness to stretch out and chase ambitious ideas. The set's first third, however, features a slate of immediate and more concise rockers. The collection has a classic '70s feel, adventurous and with an almost narrative quality, making it perhaps the most "albumy" album on this year-end list. We reviewed Dark Spring right here in September; buy it from Midriff right here.



10. Joey Sweeney -- Long Hair -- La Société Expéditionnaire

Long Hair is like an old friend, almost literally: Joey Sweeney's only other solo set, the excellent Heartache Baseball, was released in 1995. That's basically a lifetime ago, during a figurative pause between his most well-known bands Barnabys and The Trouble With Sweeney, the latter of which released its final recording almost a decade ago. This new and fresh solo collection has shed the youthful confusion, dyspeptic romances and coffee nerves that concerned Mr. Sweeney as a younger songwriter. Long Hair, instead, is confident and amused by life, and only a little world-weary. The well-measured, nicely orchestrated set distills decades of Philadelphia's rock and pop into nine songs that feel like a memoir: here is the park where the toughs trashed Sweeney for having new wave hair; there is the bar where the sweetest romantic conquest lifted a heavy heart. The record is highlighted by what might be the most direct piece of songwriting on the set, "Records And Coffee," Sweeney's ode to reliable comforts -- which is what Long Hair turns out to be. Stream selections from the record below, or the entire shebang gratis via this link to Emusic.com. Buy Long Hair here.

Today's Hotness: Burning Alms, Markus Guentner

>> It feels like a conspiracy. Whenever any one of the three bands that make up the Birmingham, England cohort of Calories, Burning Alms and Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam does something, it increasingly has become the case that one or both of the other bands follows suit, and in doing so overwhelm hapless music bloggers the world over. Or at least us. And so it was last month we were minding our business one morning when Burning Alms floated a new track, the bludgeoning anthem "Matadors," out into the digital ether. The very next morning Calories dropped a bomb, announcing that it had released for free to the Internerds its hotly anticipated third long-player, III. We've finally caught our breath three weeks later, enough anyway to tell you about "Matadors" (we'll leave a discussion of III for next week). The song charges out of the gate with a bright, open chord that drones into the greedy embrace of a galloping rhythm section. A second chord is momentarily applied at the end of each verse, and then the sprint is on again. In lieu of a chorus, Burning Alms -- which is apparently presently composed of 3/4 of Calories, namely Thomas Mark Whitfield, John Robert Biggs, and uber-producer/former Sunset Cinema Club guy Dom James -- offers only scraping, discordant guitars. It's an exciting exercise despite its minimal approach to melody; instead pace, energy and tension take center stage. If there is an irony here, it's that of the three interrelated rock acts mentioned supra, Burning Alms has heretofore provided the most quiet music (although all of the older tracks have been scrubbed from the Internet), and the most reserved Internet presence (which is an achievement in itself, given that Calories and Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam do very little to promote themselves). With Calories' III and Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam's self-titled full-length now out, it would seem the next to drop has to be from Burning Alms. Given how exciting "Matadors" is, we have very high expectations for the full-length, which has apparently was a year in the making and is called In Sequence. Mixing of the album was to have been completed Nov. 30, and we're told the album is done and the band intends to tour to support it in 2014, so now we just wait. Stream "Matadors" via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to download the track for free. As an aside, we're dying to know why Burning Alms tagged "Matadors" with the word Pennsylvania on Bandcamp... as that is our home state... and they are from England. Always intriguing, these guys.


>> We’re becoming increasingly familiar with the Brooklyn- and Ann Arbor-based electronic label Moodgadget, as their well-curated roster and releases continue to match our tastes well. The label's latest digital release features German ambient artist Markus Guentner, who we have somehow managed to not write about in more than five years. Mr. Guentner's new collection is titled Shadows Of The City, and it is a stirring and introspective set populated by endless, synth-toned skies. While most of the compositions follow a similar route, layering harmony after harmony over several simple chords, each one stimulates a different mood. A highlight of the set, "Ashes," adheres to the drone formula with a steady, unwavering series of icy harmonies that slowly churn and cascade over one another in a peaceful meditation. The full and resonant production leverages well Guentner's facility with blending tones and frequencies, so that circular melodies and rhythms emerge from the gaping expanses that initially confront the listener. As on the title track, Guentner adds a steady drum pulse that tethers the tune to some Euro-house roots -- further abetting the sound of train tracks and swooping flange-synth that glide through the song. Shadows Of The City is best experienced in a single sitting; its 48 minutes are the perfect length for a morning jog, reading break, or headphone experience, with just the right amount of digital, electronic precision and intelligent ambient composing. Purchase the album on iTunes, here. -- Edward Charlton

All This Stuff Happening With Calories And Its Offshoots Makes Our Head Hurt 'Cause It's A Lot Of Things All At Once, Like This Awesome New Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam Record

The men behind Calories seem to have decided that, like the protagonists at the climax of "Ghostbusters," now may be the appropriate time to cross the streams. There was a time when the criminally unsung Birmingham, England-based noise-pop foursome appeared content to have a go at taking projects in turn. But at the moment four related entities are issuing new music, prepping new releases or, in the case of the completely mega but long defunct rock band Distophia, ramping up for a reunion show. All the moving parts and machinations have tempted us to create diagram of all the various band members and where they fit, but, you know, then we didn't, so we're hoping this round-up will suffice to go beyond these earlier blog posts (1, 2) to clarify who is doing what (frankly, it makes our head ache, and we wish we had a UK correspondent to deal with this, *makes "call me" hand motion*).

Here is where we stand today. There was a band called Distophia, they made all of these awesome songs (1, 2, 3, 4 and so on),and then suddenly about six years ago there was not a band called Distophia. Thereafter Pete Dixon, John Biggs and Tom Whitfield from that band formed Calories, which thankfully still exists. Sometime in the past year the then-still-a-trio decided they did not rule hard enough, so they added producer extraordinaire Dominique James on bass and Mr. Dixon moved to guitar. Along parallel tracks, there has been other action in recent years, namely the establishment of two side projects. First, Mr. Dixon has created a bass-free, noisy wonder called Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam with gentlemen who are called Andrew Bullock and Ralph Morton. Meanwhile, Mssrs. Biggs, Whitfield and James launched a new project of their own, the more moody Burning Alms.

OK, that's the who, here's the what. Calories announced late last month its third long-player is on the way. While no release date or label has been disclosed, the quartet has released to the wilds of the Interpants the strikingly ethereal preview track "Mausoleum." Calories has for some time been drifting from blunt, brief and anthemic post-punk toward a more billowing, spaced-out sound, as evidenced by the looser proceedings of its tremendous sophomore set released in 2010, Basic Nature [review]. But the dream-like "Mausoleum" -- which is pushed along by a high guitar riff we swear appears somewhere in the Modest Mouse oeuvre -- is an exciting step further into more spectral and indefinite spaces; a video for the new song is posted atop this item. "Mausoleum" is not the first new music we've heard from Calories this year: attentive readers will recall the band issued the EP DMT in January.

But wait! There's more. Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam at long last today issued its tremendous, self-titled, debut long-player. The collection -- recorded live to tape at Birmingham's Highbury Studio -- is filled with 11 bracing and noisy guitar pop songs that make a very strong argument against tagging the three-piece as a side project to anything. The sparkling preview track "Ibiza Rocks" -- which moves at a brisk pace, fist-banging through verses to gently pulsing choruses -- made its way online over the summer, and is not too far afield from the big, anthemic guitar music of Calories. Indeed, to a certain extent we feel that Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, of all of the aforementioned projects including Calories itself, is the one that most resembles the band that made the forthright belters of the first Calories full-length, Adventuring [review]. Just take a listen to the cracking opening triptych of "Sea Chanty," "Orange Grove" and "Sooooooo." Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam is crammed with very strong tracks, from which we have a hard time identifying favorites, although the echoing ballad "Teeth" distinguishes itself, perhaps because it is the first major downshift the collection executes. A very small number of physical copies of Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam will be available at the band's next show, in a bundle that includes one of two shirt concepts, but the majority of us will just have to live with the fact that we're not going to get our mitts on one of those. Fortunately, the record is available as a pay-what-you-like download which you can access via the embed below.



Not to be outdone, a brief note atop the Burning Alms Facebook page promises the band's debut LP will be released this year. Your move, Burning Alms! As if all this activity was not enough activity from which to infer an extreme state of activeness, it was announced last month that Distophia will perform a one-off reunion show Nov. 16 in Birmingham. Could this lead to an official release of the legendary "lost" Distophia record Beat Dysxlexia? Cross all those fingers. Then download the SFL record and take the rest of the day off, that was a lot for you to read on a Monday.

Today's Hotness: Chandeliers, Universal Disappointment Sponge, Best Practices

>> Boston's dark and stormy noise pop concern Chandeliers -- who also will not be playing the newly announced Boston Calling festival Memorial Day Weekend -- returned a couple weeks ago with new music under the deceptively mundane title Monday EP. The actually quite electrifying five-song set picks up where the trio left off with last year's brilliant Big-Shot Weekend cassette. Meaning the band's frenetic intensity, characteristically murky vocals and fiery guitar work remain intact and propel these five new compositions to such great heights. Opener "Swim Gym" sets a brisk pace (indeed, none of the songs here runs more than 152 seconds), thrashing through a waltz-timed bridge underpinned by crushing drumming. "Temperance" lightens the mood substantially, showcasing the band at perhaps its most straightforward and melodic. EP closer "Not Smart (Just Well Educated)" commences with bright, lean lead guitar, but plunges quickly into a pool of reverb and jangle interrupted only by the recurrence of the bright opening theme. It's worth emphasizing how fiercely independent Chandeliers are, as this is yet another dynamite collection that the band self-recorded, self-mixed and self-mastered. Monday is available to stream now at Bandcamp, and the band aims to have it released on 7" vinyl, which we hope means there is a label out there smart enough to recognize these guys are the realest of real deals. Stream Monday via the embed below.



>> Fans of Fashoda Crisis earlier this month were gifted a cracking collection of songs from band fronter Sim Ralph's slightly less vitriolic but entirely more mad side project Universal Disappointment Sponge. The new Essex, England-based concern wasn't exactly a secret, as there had been scattered mentions among the more recent social media missives from Fashoda Crisis, but we certainly didn't expect the five-song set Time To Surrender Puny Earthlings to drop into our digital laps last week. The short collection was recorded in January and is presently available as a pay-what-you-like download that comes packaged with guitar tabs and lyrics, a nice embellishment that we'd certainly like to see more of from bands. Along with Mr. Ralph, who's commanding vocals are plainly evident here, the new quartet includes vocalist Chrissy, bassist Dave and drummer J. The first number on the EP, "The Lost Art Of Steeplejacking," begins with some sort of ranting about tapes, an a capella chant backed by screaming, which ushers in a start-and-stop stone groove and layered guy-girl vocals that approximate some form of dementia. Things get weirder and more rocking from there. The subdued verses of "Lemon The Pole" are feints that set off heavy, wiry choruses, which of course leads to a breaking of the fourth wall, and some dialogue ("look, the pole's not going to lemon itself"), before the song leaps back into a grinding, heads-down boogie. Universal Disappointment Sponge have lined up a handful of gigs beginning in late March, and should you be lucky enough to be based in the UK we exhort you to get out and see what they've got up their musical sleeves. In the meantime, treat yourself to the stream of Time To Surrender Puny Earthlings that we've embedded below for just such a purpose. Fashoda Crisis' most recent output is the Jowls Of Justice EP, which was released digitally to the Bandcamps of the world in mid-January; check it out here.



>> A third tremendous new release from mid-February was given unto us by Best Practices, the Providence-based melodic hardcore titans responsible for last year's exhilarating and almost-hilariously brief The EP LP (which we wrote about here a year ago). The quartet released Feb. 19 a soaring new EP titled Sore Subjects; somewhat ridiculously, the new EP is actually about a minute shorter than last year's single-sided, 12-minute opus (which makes us think we haven't heard a band get so much done in so little time since the first couple of Calories releases). The music on Best Practices' new collection, which is available as a pay-what-you-like download at Bandcamp now, fizzes with the same volatile energy and imagination that drives the music of legends like Drive Like Jehu and Fucked Up. But it also echoes '90s indie rockers such as Garden Variety... there's that indie rock peanut butter sneaking into their hardcore punk chocolate (mental note: hardcore punk chocolate would be an awesome album title). Sore Subjects' second tune, "Home For Halloween," pitches the curve via the soft acoustic guitar opening, but the song is quickly overtaken by desperate and almost unhinged vocals and Superchunk-at-doubletime guitars. The EP comes to a thrilling climax in the final minute of closer "Brita'd," when a weirdly scrambled lead guitar line convulses across the top of the mix. The EP was largely recorded at Amherst's Dead Air Studios last June with engineer Will Killingsworth, who we find ourselves talking about more and more here at Clicky Clicky. Vocals were recorded in October and earlier this month at Providence DIY space Squid Amps. The EP LP is still available on 12" vinyl from Tiny Engines right here, although as of this writing there are apparently only 16 copies left, so neither dilly nor dally lest you miss out on this gem. Will someone step up and release Sore Subjects on vinyl? We certainly hope so. Stream the EP below.