Today's Hotness: You're Jovian, My Psychoanalyst

>> It's been quite some time since we've heard new things from Virginia Beach-based dream-pop savant Elliot Malvas, who creates sublime music under the moniker You're Jovian. And so we were quite excited to receive an email last week with information about the new tune "Whalehead," which we are premiering here tonight and which you can stream via the Soundcloud embed below. The song is layered with guitars that shimmer and bend around Mr. Malvas' gentle vocals. Once "Whalehead" finds its rhythmic footing, after about a minute of atmospheric build-up, its measured strumming and understated singing call to mind the finest moments in the Swirlies catalog, or -- given its insistent rhythm -- perhaps even a heavily psychedelic take on the music of Versus. "Whalehead" turns on the tension between Malvas' opaque, tight strums and his spectral voocals; it's certainly a very listenable number and hopefully it is also a harbinger of increased activity from You're Jovian. Malvas tells us he will be out performing solo gigs this summer, but this will not be a guy-with-guitar thing. Instead, Malvas has recorded the bass and guitar parts of the songs in his set in single takes, and he plays those back on stage through bass and guitar amps respectively while playing the drums live and singing. Which sounds pretty damn compelling. If you can't get enough of that You're Jovian stuff, Fun/Not Fun records released this past spring a cassette and digital download imaginatively titled Demos. It appears the cassette was issued in an edition of 25 pieces, but there is nothing at the Fun/Not Fun page indicating the cassette is sold out, so perhaps you can still snag one right here (where you can also stream the fine tune "Share Yer Moon" via an embed). There is some talk of an east coast tour this fall for You're Jovian, so if you are good little girls and boys Malvas may come right to your town (especially if you book him, hint, hint). We previously wrote about the band in mid-2012 right here.



>> There's a span of years in one's life during which summer feels infinite. That feeling, of course, ceases, and that's among the bummers of real life (trust us, kids, one day you'll be old like your trusty executive editor...). But a new full-length from Derby, England's cinematic dream-gazers My Psychoanalyst practically bursts with that feeling. Which is somewhat amazing, as the sort of fertile optimism its presence here implies is something one would associate with a greener band. But My Psych, as fans are wont to call them, are a seasoned quartet a decade old. Its sparkling new and self-released collection Choreomania has been in the can for at least a year, and previously went by the decidedly un-optimistic name Don't Try (and, since you didn't ask, an equally appropriate yet Pavement-referencing title would be Watery, Majestic). Choreomania, seemingly so named for literal dance crazes that transpired in the middle ages, can be gentle ("So Much Stuff," which touts heavenly "ahhhhhhhs" and is like the second coming... of Chapterhouse), majestic ("Lobadibin," which faintly echoes The Fixx's classic "Stand Or Fall") and even aggressive ("Fist Of Herring IV"). Often it is all of these things at once, as is "Clump Soul," which was issued as a digital single a year ago. My Psychoanalyst's Choreomania takes a marked turn toward harder-edged sounds in its final third. This doesn't make the set disjointed, however; instead, it gives the proceedings a narrative feel, like it is heading toward something. Listeners, however, are never quite delivered to a final destination, as closer "Admission" stretches into the aforementioned infinity for a solid and beautiful eight minutes, perhaps returning listeners to the dream-state or fugue-state that enveloped My Psych in the four years between last year's digital single and 2009's Piecemeal & Envy. Whatever it does, "Admission" has become one of our favorite tracks of the year. Choreomania was released today and it is a tremendous record; calling it a return to form misses the mark, as we're fairly certain it is the band's best record to date. Stream the entire full-length via the embed below, and click through to download the release, which is priced at paywhutchyalike. We last wrote about My Psychoanalyst seven years ago, right here.

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

Today's Hotness: Walrus, Red Sea, Wildhoney

>> If the allegedly impending spring has you in the mood for some Syd Barrett-inspired psych pop, well, you are not alone. Enter Walrus, a sextet based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, led by brothers Justin and Jordan Murphy. The act's dazzling and impressively realized new EP Glam Returns highlights the band's modern, compact and sunny take on the style. Across four songs simple chords, richly delayed vocals and burbling organ unravel to reveal bright, quirky songwriting. Standout track "Bulash" is buttressed by whooshing synths and circularly applied tremolo guitars that imbue the verses with a bouncy, almost tropical feel. The hazy vocals recall those of popular beat group Tame Impala. The most thrilling section of the song arrives at the tail end of its first minute, when a shouted, echoing blast of vocals and guitar announces the chorus. The choppy guitars here elevate the energy from that of a lysergic psychedelic fever dream to more mod-leaning aggression; it jolts the listener from the cozy bed of effects defining each instrument. Walrus draws heavily on powerful strains of our collective psych past, and on all four cuts on Glam Returns the band's enthusiasm and love for the style is both evident and contagious. Glam Returns was issued digitally via Bandcamp last month, and it will apparently be released on cassette via Out of Sound and Poncho Records March 27, in time for Walrus' planned jaunt out of town to destinations including Fredericton, Ottawa and Montreal. The EP, according to a recent interview, contains older material that the band doesn't perform live much these days, and Walrus hopes to have a full length out later this year. In the meantime, dig in to Glam Returns via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> "We love to sound as one would love to food." That's the opening line of the Bandcamp bio for Atlanta's Red Sea; theirs is some of the best music (food?) this reviewer has encountered so far in 2014. The quartet's brilliant recent EP, Yardsticks For Human Intelligence, is presently available as a free download, and it is an art rock tour de force. Brainy, knotty, and alluringly catchy, this is the kind of stuff one would play for someone who claims they are "bored with music" (though really, why would you hang out with an asshole like that? -- Ed.). It's that good. This four-song selection follows up on a similarly sequenced EP from 2010, and, interestingly, these tunes appear to have been recorded in 2012. While that may make one wonder about the present state of Red Sea (keep your blouse on, they just played a hometown show last week), it also adds to the mystery from these compositional mavericks. The band just has so much on offer. Opener "Tandem Style" menaces with almost taunting vocal work and jumbled rhythms, which are interrupted by high-pitched slashes across the bridge of the guitar. Very quickly one senses that these guys are operating within their own, singular sound world, one in which it's normal for a singer to fluctuate from evoking Nico to Kermit the Frog to an opera singer within the span of a verse, one in which any of the more aggro-avant fret work of Thurston Moore is fair game for the plundering. Highlight "Grapes" cascades through mysterious section after mysterious section over the course of six minutes. Despite hard stops, one-offs and dramatic arpeggios, the piece never loses inertia; one particularly memorable bridge drops in at the two-minute mark. A generously textured noise section closes the tune out with exotic pedal work. The balance of the EP, comprised of the numbers "Down With The Crown" and "Vacant Ring," features more shifting, schizophrenic earworms. The steady, cool strum of the guitar work, despite the erratic changes, calls to mind Women and their prickly, post-punk masterpiece Public Strain. Indeed, at times, Yardsticks For Human Intelligence even feels like a possible extension of that band's legacy in an instrumental sense. Red Seas' EP offers an arresting look at a very compelling young band, and we recommend you listen very closely to what it has to offer. Stream Yardsticks For Human Intelligence via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to download the tunes. -- Edward Charlton



>> We've been hearing about Wildhoney through the dream-pop grapevine over the last year, and the band's hotly anticipated 7" EP, Seventeen Forever, proves the hype is warranted. The Baltimore, MD-based shoegaze concern are now previewing the quasi-title track from that upcoming slab of vinyl, which arrives on D.C.-based Photobooth Records April 20, and, man, is this purist heaven. As on the act's previous disc -- recorded by Roomrunner bassist Dan Frome -- Wildhoney channels the best late-80's shoegaze and post-punk and synthesizes it into a fresh, professional 2014 model. "Seventeen" opens with some reverb-saturated surf guitar before a hip-hop drum break erupts, a smooth move straight from the Chapterhouse playbook. Soon after, Lauren Shusterich's lead vocals fly in on a sheet of harmonies that exude a contemporary pop confidence rarely exhibited so early on by such a young band. The crystal clear recording and myriad guitar tracks that surround her recall the same sort of carefully laid out, yet spirited indie rock of Maryland-based forebearers Velocity Girl. The most compelling part of the tune comes during the chorus, when both singers chant "over and over" while the guitars switch over from the chunky chording in the verses to melodic, single-note leads that one could almost mistake for bright keyboards. This grade-A East Coast dream pop not only feels very now and dreamy, but also so purposeful that one can hardly imagine anything but a bright future for Wildhoney. Our recommendation? Snatch up the band's dynamite previous self-titled 45, from 2013, in time to be prepared for this great piece of springtime wonderment here. Stream "Seventeen" via the Bandcamp embed below, and click here periodically for the next few weeks to see when pre-orders the 7" EP will begin. Massachussets and/or New England fans can catch Wildhoney performing at The Flywheel in Easthampton, Mass. March 23 with mighty Boston shoegazers Soccer Mom. Wildhoney plans to record a full-length set in June, according to its tumblaaaaaahhhh. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Winter, Spectral Park, Panda Riot

>> One marvel of the modern age is the speed at which technology continually reinvents ways for artists to conceive, collaborate and record music together. Case in point: Boston's new dream-pop concern, Winter. The band's terrific new EP Daydreaming is a collaboration between Infinity Girl fronter Nolan Eley and singer and songwriter Samira Winter. "She would write the songs, and send me demos she recorded on her iPhone. Then, I would arrange and produce them, record all the instruments and have her come [in and] sing," Mr. Eley told us late last month. The result is a deft synthesis of shoegaze atmospheres and vintage girl-group vocals. What makes the pair's artistic partnership remarkable is how fully-formed and well-realized the songs are: at no point do the four songs comprising Daydreaming sound like anything other than a group that has tested the mettle of the compositions to the point of comfort and ease on stage. Throughout the EP, glassy guitars brush gently against cloudy vocals that sway with a sunny disorientation. Highlight and closer "Nothing" adds bouncy, slinky keyboard textures and buzzing, treble-kicking fuzz before the song breaches a sleepy but catchy chorus. The tune comes undone in a coda that affords Eley the opportunity to stare in the distance with some Loveless-styled reverse guitar washes. Hopefully, Daydreaming is but the first instance of collaboration between a pair that really do work together so naturally. Grab it for any price via Bandcamp right here. Winter makes what very well may be its live debut Jan. 28 at Great Scott in Boston. Dig the Facebook event page right here. Stream the EP via the embed below, and also check out the video for the title track. -- Edward Charlton



>> Southampton, England's Spectral Park raised our eyebrow with news of its upcoming self-titled full-length due next week. Little is known of the zany band's history, beyond a two-song demo on Bandcamp, but the bio on label Mexican Summer's website indicates Spectral Park is actually the product of a lone man, Luke Donovan. Leveraging loops and samples scraped from 45s Donovan liberated from the trash, the result is a masterful fusion of unhinged garage rock and bizarre sound effects. In lead single "L'appel du Vide" (translation: call of the void), a heavily reverbed click erupts into a manic verse and a short, Jefferson Airplane- echoing chorus. The tune then cycles between the two with abandon. Perhaps the label summarized what's going on here best at its web site, calling Spectral Park's music "clear-eyed flower child reveries of pop chaos." Indeed, Mr. Donovan's music would seem to offer a glimpse into a time (in the '60s) when musicians were still astounded and perplexed by analog electronic wizardry (The Electric Prunes, anyone?). The result is Spectral Park at times sounds like MGMT covering lost Syd Barrett cuts. Clicky Clicky applauds the stylish, higher-profile Mexican Summer for taking a gamble on something like this. After all, with the cheesy organs and buried drum beat, "L'appel du Vide" (stream embedded below) may not be very "of-the-moment" for a youth culture that coexists with dubstep -- but perhaps it should be. Mexican Summer releases Spectral Park Jan. 29; buy the vinyl here. -- Edward Charlton



>> >> Rising, Chicago-based dream-pop powers Panda Riot will release Feb. 19 the full-length Northern Automatic Music. Doing the honors will be Saint Marie Records, the outfit that previously issued Panda Riot's exemplary single "Serious Radical Girls," which we wrote about here last summer. A lush and deliriously beautiful preview single from the forthcoming collection titled "Black Pyramids" indicates the band persists in purveying an alluring mixture of electronic drums, shoegaze textures and palpable distortion. The rhythm tracks here are augmented by new addition to the group, drummer Jose Rodriguez. Digital, endless "ahhhs" serve as a returning riff in "Black Pyramid," then explode in the outro. Indeed, the upbeat build to that all-too-brief climax is a highlight of the number, with Rebecca Scott's sweet lilt providing a nice counterpoint to the group's stormy instrumentation. Also, the brief sing-along breakdown evidences atypical aural elements that Panda Riot occasionally incorporates –- always with one eye on the positive ecstasy that the rhythms bear repeating. Pre-order Northern Automatic Music from Saint Marie here, and stream "Black Pyramids" via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Varsity Drag, Pia Fraus, Dikembe

>> So rarely does a song rate on our proprietary Spicoli/Sneaker Rockness Axis (which, briefly, means a song rocks us so hard that listening to it makes us want to hit ourselves repeatedly in the skull with a sneaker a la "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" protagonist Jeff Spicoli), that we had to look up the small number of instances in our archives (we'll shortcut it for you: 1, 2, 3). But this new number "Mind Like A Sieve" from Cambridge, Mass.-based Varsity Drag is just such a rocker. It's 92 seconds of fourth-gear punk-pop, and it evidences Drag fronter Ben Deily's success at tapping the vibrant well-spring of rockulence that helped him write killer Lemonheads tracks like "Uhhhh" and "Anyway" and "Ever" and etc., etc., about a quarter of a century ago (ummm, holy shit). This new tune features on a forthcoming split 7" EP with a trio called Chestnut Road, and other Varsity Drag recordings on the platter include a cover of Versus' "Let's Electrify" and another new-ish original from Deily called "Particle Horizon (The Dark Matter)." But wait -- there's more Deily! Toulouse, France-based Chestnut Road covers the Cantabrigian's Lemonheads composition "Falling" on their side of the EP, which also includes the absolute belter "Bicycle" (which sounds like Goo Goo Dolls back when Goo Goo Dolls was good) as well as a tune called "Fade." Stream both "Mind Like A Sieve" and "Bicycle" via the Bandcamp embeds below. It bears mentioning that "Mind Like A Sieve" was written for the big Lemonheads reunion record that was announced in the fall to be helmed by Ryan Adams; we're not sure what the status of that is, but we do know that Mr. Adams proposed the last three notes of "Sieve." There is as yet no pre-order information for the EP, but we will certainly update you on that once the information becomes available.





>> We suppose it is a healthy realization, coming to terms with the fact that you just can't hear everything. Even so, it's nice when a label gives you a second shot, which is one of the things we think about when we stream Pia Fraus' amazing "Feeling Is New." The tune lodges breathy vocals within a dense wall of guitars in a very pleasing manner that recalls the best moments from the Chapterhouse catalogue, to pick a random example of vintage shoegaze excellence. "Feeling Is New" is one of 13 songs featured on a forthcoming compilation being released by Portland, Ore.-based Shelflife Records under the title Silmi Island. The set collects songs from the Estonian dream pop sextet's 10-year tenure between 1998 and 2008, during which time Pia Fraus released four full-lengths and a bunch of singles on labels such as Clairecords and Estonia's Seksound. Each song selected for the comp was either re-recorded or remastered for its inclusion here, so even if you were hip enough to know about the band years ago, there still might be something new for you to hear here. Shelflife is co-releasing Silmi Island Jan. 22 with Seksound in a limited edition of 500 LPs with CD included. The CD contains two bonus tracks, including a cover of the title track of My Bloody Valentine's 1987 Strawberry Wine EP (incidentally, the legendary shoegaze act's first release to include Bilinda Butcher). Buy Silmi Island from Shelflife right here, and stream "Feeling Is New" via the embed below. Grab that second chance.



>> Sure, you probably already have the MP3s, but emo label juggernaut Tiny Engines has decided to go ahead and legitimize Dikembe's apparently-controversial-but-probably-not-really debut Chicago Bowls EP by remixing, remastering and releasing the thing on 7" vinyl. The short set -- or at the least the titles to its quite excellent songs -- ridiculously celebrated both the dynastic iteration of the Chicago Bulls and pot smoking and was originally only available digitally when it was released to the wilds of the Internerds in April 2011. Tiny Engines' vinyl reissue has somewhat predictably been given the release date 4/20/2013. We'll let that sink in for a second. The new pressing will also have certain audio clips from the TV show "Freaks And Geeks" removed for licensing reasons, but that detracts not at all from how great the songs are. In other Dikembe news, the Gainesville, Fla.-based emo heroes' 2012 set Broad Shoulders is about to get a second pressing, and the foursome are already writing songs for a follow-up album that could be released before the end of the year. Broad Shoulders featured tons of great tunes, and "Not Today, Angel" was one of Clicky Clicky's favorite songs of 2012, as you can see from this handy list. The band played an early all-ages show in Boston in the first week of January that we had to miss, but we're hopeful the band returns before too long and plays a little later at night. For now, why not stream Chicago Bowls via the Bandcamp embed below. Assuming you don't want to wait until 4:20...

Today's Hotness: Whistle Jacket, Whirl

>> We walk the streets of this city every day and we still don't know where all the bands spring from. Well, we do, of course, but we're constantly surprised when we encounter another one we like. And we certainly like the quirky pop of Whistle Jacket, which has just self-released an eighth full-length called Hello Heart. The collective is fronted by Michael Leyden, who long ago must have grown tired of hearing the adjective quirky attached to his work. But Mr. Leyden's high, nasal vocal delivery -- reminiscent, yes, of Alec Ounsworth -- and jangly, jaunty accompaniment (somewhere between early Small Factory and Hands And Knees) certainly fits the bill. The proceedings are a little too chamber-poppy to be dubbed pure twee, but there is a light-heartedness throughout Hello Heart that makes the record incredibly listenable. The fact that a message board poster two years ago dubbed Whistle Jacket "fascinatingly bad" only adds to the mystique (the message boarder goes on: "Every time [Leyden] opened his mouth it came as a shock. Every single time. It was amazing"). Maybe the band just can't get it together live, maybe it can, but Hello Heart is absolutely worth a listen. The opening track, "Microphone," disturbingly opens with a suggestion of Sting's "All This Time," but fret not, it passes, and once the beat comes in the track ascends into poignant, whimsical indie pop heaven. Amen.

Whistle Jacket's "Microphone"

>> We present your new shoegaze crush, Whirl -- not to be confused with Whorl [gratuitous link to page containing MP3 of one of our favorite songs of all time]. The former act, a Northern California-based sextet, recently self-released its debut EP Distressor, seven tuneful tracks swirling neck-deep in guitar attack with ethereal vocals bobbing along the top of the mix. The demo can be freely downloaded here, and cassettes of same are available directly from the band for USD $2 if you email them at the address listed here. You're wondering where this lines up with the classic shoegaze canon, so we'll tell you: we hear Chapterhouse and Slowdive, and we expect you'll hear the same. Distressor broods and shudders and nods and, as we noted supra, swirls. Nick from Whirl was cool enough to allow us to give away a track, so we submit below for your approval the thrusting standout "Meaningless."

Whirl's "Meaningless"

Today's Hotness: Muxtape Numero Dos, Silver Jews, MySpace Music

>> New Muxtape "STEADY NOW DON'T FALL APART" up tonight here. Again, we were hugely frustrated by the amount of our digital collection that we ripped in AAC. We had really intended to start this mix off with "Cadali" by The Coctails, which is a truly unparalleled beauty of a pop song. But we didn't feel like re-ripping it. Well, now we're changing our mind, because it's really that good. Hold on. Sorry Bikini Kill's "For Tammy Rae," you just got bumped. Anyway, our notes are below.

1. The Coctails -- "Cadali" -- The Coctails
(makes us think of walking past the library and to WESU on a cold winter's day and realizing there's only so long you can ignore the elephant in the room)

2. California Snow Story -- "Suddenly Everything Happens" -- single
(immediately gripping, powerfully melancholy)

3. Barnabys -- "Gargamel" -- Jiffy Boy Records' 10 Cent Fix comp
(so many guitars, so much sitting with legs crossed knowing there's no real reason etc. etc. etc.)

4. Chapterhouse -- "Breather" -- Whirlpool
(sleeper track for us from one of the most important mix tapes we ever received, given to us by a guy who now owns sheep and doesn't really follow music anymore)

5. Daylight's For The Birds -- "To No One" -- Trouble Everyday
(pretty, cinematic, captivating singer)

6. Mobius Band -- "Frozen Lake In Unison" -- Three EP
(those early self-released EPs from Mobius Band are no joke. this song always makes our ears perk up when it shuffles into the mix)

7. Happy Mondays -- "Bob's Yer Uncle" -- Thrills, Pills and Bellyaches
(another classic mix tape cut from a tape received from a different guy who now lives in the middle of nowhere and doesn't really follow music anymore. this song distinguishes itself as being the only Happy Mondays track we enjoy. it occurs to us that the secret theme of this mix might be flute)

8. Jawbreaker -- "Rich" -- Hardcore Breakout USA
(we came to this band late, despite everyone raving in the '90s. we came to this song even later, but it is certainly one of Jawbreaker's best, right up there with "Chesterfield Kings")

9. Finger -- "Ship Full Of Holes" -- Jettison 18 single
(North Carolina act whose single we bought probably because of an ad in the back of Spin or maybe in a hard copy catalog from Alias or Merge or Jettison or Antenna or one of those Carolina labels. All of which reminds us we don't have any Connells in CD or digital form. We'll have to remedy that. This one's a pretty straight rocker, enjoyable nonetheless)

10. Portastatic -- "Look, Honey, Peaches" -- A Day In The Park compilation
(the epitome of sad, lovestruck Mac, in our opinion. Portastatic is too band-y and glossy for us nowadays, and whenever a new set comes out we long for more numbers like this and the stuff on Slow Note From A Sinking Ship)

>> Example of the commutative property of mathematics: we love Babar the Elephant; the cover of the forthcoming Silver Jews record has Babar on it; therefore we love the cover of the forthcoming Silver Jews record, which is titled Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. Pantsfork has all the details here.

>> This Wired.com piece contains all the details about the planned MySpace Music service. And you know what? It all sounds boring. Perhaps if MySpace founder Chris DeWolfe offered more than the sort of boasts that a more critical reporter would not accept at face value. Wired touts the interview as "in-depth," but the piece reads more like an email interview conducted by an inexperienced blogger without the chutzpah to challenge DeWolfe's marketing-speak.