That Was The Show That Was: Eternal Summers | Great Scott | 2 June

[PHOTO: Dillon Riley] Eternal Summers boast a bright, airy sound that's familiar yet distinct, but they are particularly beguiling live, so the fact that the Roanoke, VA-based dream-pop trio played an expanded set last week at Boston's Great Scott rock club was a welcome surprise. The set -- actually more like a set-and-a-break-and-then-a-half-set -- drew heavily from the band's recently issued collection Gold And Stone, the fourth Eternal Summers platter issued by indie mainstay Kanine Records (which has also brought you now-sounds from luminaries Grooms, Pinact and Young Prisms, among others). The Great Scott gig served as a sort-of release party for the new record, as it was issued that very day, and unsurprisingly the evening's program leaned heavily on the crystalline yet urgent material from Gold And Stone.

Eternal Summers' shimmery, reverbed songs hint at some sort of sublimated, inner darkness, but the band seems to uncoil live, and the effect on the already-affecting music is revelatory, as emotions captured in the songwriting are pushed to the fore. Fronter and guitarist Nicole Yun wields a truly underrated voice, one comfortable corralling songs in with lilting coos, but also capable of commanding shouts, too. The trio's sound is led by Ms. Yun's big, clean guitars, but its secret weapon may very well be the adventurous work of drummer Daniel Cundiff. With a playing style that struck us as akin to a slightly reeled-in Jayson Gerycz from Cloud Nothings, Mr. Cundiff often snuck quick floor tom hits between his snare beats. The band routinely bested the recorded renditions of its songs on stage, especially in the case of many of the still-fresh new numbers.

Kanine released Gold And Stone June 2, and one may acquire the collection as an LP, CD or digital download directly from the label right here. Stream the romantic rocker "Together Or Alone" at Soundcloud right here, and the title track to Gold And Stone via the embed below; a video for "Gold And Stone" was unveiled last week and can be seen here. Eternal Summers' current tour wraps June 19 in Harrisonburg, VA, but the band is on the road for much of the (we suppose not-quite-eternal) summer, and all currently scheduled live engagements are listed at the threesome's web dojo right here. -- Dillon Riley

Eternal Summers: Bandcamp | Facebook | Interzizzles

Today's Hotness: Pop Ambient 2014, Cloud Nothings

>> The transient and shifting nature of popular music, and the ideas that drive it, is in fact one of its most important traits. Certainly there's a lot to be said for consistency as well, which we imagine is why Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon held a place in the album sales charts for 741 consecutive weeks, from 1973 to 1988 (and one can speculate that string might have persisted had Pink Floyd not cannibalized potential sales of Dark Side when it released A Momentary Lapse Of Reason in September 1987; the latter record would ultimately go quadruple platinum in 2001. BUT WE DIGRESS.). There are, of course, myriad examples in contemporary music of consistency (or more to the point, of consistent excellence), something of which Kompakt Records reminded us this week. The esteemed Cologne-based electronic label Monday issued the latest annual installment of its Pop Ambient series, Pop Ambient 2014. The compilation series has presented the best in ambient electronic music each year since 2001. That every last collection has been rife with contemplative beauty and dazzling texture is a testament to the stable of artists Kompakt has cultivated. Many artists -- including The Field, label co-owner Wolfgang Voigt and Thomas Fehlmann -- contribute tracks year upon year. Others come and go: making a return after a six-year absence is Ulf Lohmann, whose glacially stuttering composition "Kristall" was a highlight of Pop Ambient 2008. As was the case with its predecessors, Pop Ambient 2014 is a timeless set of thoughtful dreamscapes, and one we expect will stay with us for years to come. Stream samples of the entire album via the Soundcloud embed below; in particular we recommend Mr. Fehlmann's placidly rippling exploration "Treatment," as well as Marsen Jules' "The Philosophers Trap," which is being promoted with this very compelling music video. Somewhat criminally, we last wrote about the series here in 2008. Purchase Pop Ambient 2014 on LP, CD or as a digital download from Amazon (which will save you the cost of importing from Cologne) right here.



>> The meteoric rise of Cleveland trio Cloud Nothings persists. What began as a lo-fi bedroom concern now stands as a legitimately big-font indie rock act, in large part due to the fact that its sophomore album-as-mission-statement (we don't count Turning On, as it was essentially an anthology) was a behemoth. Drawing equally from the urgent post-hardcore of Drive Like Jehu and the slick indie pop sounds upon which fronter Dylan Baldi built his fame, Attack On Memory dotted many best-of-2012 lists. It helped that Cloud Nothings toured the tar out of the set, making a few stops in Boston along the way. Fast-forward a year-and-change and the band has since downsized to a trio, but you wouldn't know based on "I'm Not Part Of Me," the act's latest anthem of dissatisfaction, and the first taste of the newly announced third long-player Here And Nowhere Else. We're particularly drawn to the way Baldi drawls the "youuuuuuu" in the song's undeniable chorus, a nice echo of the slight vocal tics Baldi would affect on newer tunes as the touring cycle for Memory wore on. The adolescent angst is dialed back slightly -- slightly -- on "I'm Not Part Of Me," but even so the track may yet shape up to be the new record's "Stay Useless": the (relatively) poppy anomaly among a slate of guitar rave-ups. Here And Nowhere Else, which touts eight tracks, will be released domestically by Carpark and Mom + Pop April 1 as an LP, CD and digital download; it is also being released into the UK, EU, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China -- not bad for some regular dudes from Ohio, yeah? Stream "I'm Not Part Of Me" via the embed below, and pre-order the whole set via ITunes here or Mom+Pop right here. -- Dillon Riley

Today's Hotness: Los Campesinos, ISAN, Speedy Ortiz

>> Cardiff-based indie pop heroes Los Campesinos delivered in a big way today on a surprise they've been teasing for a couple weeks. The news is the sextet is releasing a new live set titled It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight, and based on the preview track, a cracking version of "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed," it would seem the record is going to be a fireball. It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight was recorded live at Islington Assembly Hall in London on December 15th of last year (the collection takes its title from a lyric in the band's thrilling hand-clapper "By Your Hands"). According to this tumblr post, the London date was actually the band's second try at a live recording, an earlier attempt planned for a show in Seattle, WA in the US was scotched for reasons Los Campesinos doesn't elaborate on. The London show -- 21 songs across 90 minutes -- was played to a sold-out crowd of 800 fans; the performance was the final show to feature Ellen Campesinos, and it also featured an appearance by Aleks Campesinos, who left the band three years prior to concentrate on academics. It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight is available for pre-order now for five British pounds, and the files will be emailed to purchasers May 4; the band is also selling a poster print and various cool t-shirts that can be bundled with the album, so make sure to look over all of the offerings at its Big Cartel yert. Pre-orders are rewarded with an immediate download of the final song of the main set, "Baby I Got The Death Rattle." In what is perhaps even more exciting news, the band says it will begin recording its fifth record in June; its prior two records, Romance Is Boring and Hello Sadness, each landed prominent spots on Clicky Clicky year-end lists. Pre-order It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight right here, and stream the slamming version of "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" via the Soundcloud embed below -- and scream along with the crowd when the line "THERE IS NO FUCKING FUTURE" rolls around.



>> We've found ourselves revisiting recently a lot of records that were released around the time we first began writing about music in earnest about 11 years ago. We were very excited at the time about the rising tide of IDM and ambient/minimalist electronic producers and electropop acts, many of which we first discovered by watershed compilations from Berlin-based label Morr Music such as the brilliant Slowdive tribute set Blue Skied An' Clear. A relatively veteran act of the then burgeoning electropop scene was the UK duo ISAN, which was founded in 1996 and is comprised of members Antony Ryan and Robin Saville. Morr Music has just announced it will re-release the pair's 1998 full-length debut Beautronics as a CD, and -- for the very first time -- vinyl. The vinyl issue will is a very, very limited gatefold double LP; it was previously made available on Record Store Day earlier this month, and at the time it drafted its press release Morr only had 30 copies left in its own warehouse. Samples of the entire 19-song album can be streamed via the player at this page, and a complete stream of the set's penultimate track "Xylomat" can be streamed via the Soundcloud embed below. "Xylomat" is a spare, echoing confection with subtle melodies whose click-pop sound was pretty much a template for quality ambient electronic and IDM music of the five years following its release. According to ISAN's web site, the song was one of four previously unreleased tracks added to Beautronics for this release. The duo, of course, continues to keep busy, and it recently composed music for a film soundtrack and last month released an EP of analog cassette loops titled Descette on a one-sided 12" via SecretFurryHole. Pre-order Beautronics from Morr via the ANOST store right here. Highly recommended.



>> Hotly tipped indie rock foursome Speedy Ortiz announced Tuesday that its pending debut full-length Major Arcana, which we first mentioned here a month ago, will be released by D.C.-based indie stalwart Carpark Records. While Clicky Clicky still mentally associates Carpark with the more experimental releases of yesteryear from acts such as Greg Davis and Ecstatic Sunshine, the label has been hitting hard more recently with the aggressive and guitar-centered sounds of Popstrangers and Cloud Nothings. In that latter context, of course, Speedy Ortiz is an obvious choice for the label, not to mention a feather in its proverbial cap. Carpark will issue Major Arcana, a 10-song collection, July 9. Next week the Northampton, MA-based quartet release the 7" single "Ka-Prow" b/w "Hexxy" via Inflatable Records, pre-orders for which are now being taken right here. The single is available in a limited edition of 500, with 40% of the vinyl coming in some combination of "piss yellow" and blue. Speedy Ortiz is in the middle of a stretch of tour dates that has them on the road through Sunday, and its live commitments going forward includes not only a stop at our alma mater's own WestCo Cafe in Middletown, CT May 8, but also a Boston show at Great Scott May 15. Stream the brawling gem "Ka-Prow" via the Soundcloud embed below.

Today's Hotness: Johnny Foreigner, Popstrangers, Oval

>> Birmingham, England-based indie demigods Johnny Foreigner let loose a torrent of good news Tuesday at its webtumblrthingo, where it reported working on no fewer than three (!!!) new releases. According to this blog post, the quartet is prepared to self-release imminently via its BigCartel what it is calling a "mini album + photo set thing." Proceeds from the sale of the collection will apparently go to paying increased rent on the band's rehearsal space, which we think is an admirable goal. In June the band plans to release a new EP via its longtime UK label home Alcopop! Records that they've "pretty much written aleady" (no word whether the release will also be issued domestically by Johnny Foreigner's U.S. label home, Swerp). At the very tail end of the post, the band (probably Lex writing, yeh) states it has "this grand lazy arc of a plan that culminates in us releasing a CD at the end of the year like it's 1998 or something." 1998, we'll point out for no reason whatsoever, is the year that Interscope put out The Dismemberment Plan's The Ice Of Boston EP. Taken all together, Johnny Foreigner has just issued a colossal amount of good news. The band's summer festival schedule is already shaping up (Handmade, Now We Are, Y Not, ArcTangent, we're sure there will be others) and there is a very curious reference to Malta. What? Yes, Malta. Which Wikipedia tells us is an archipelago in the center of the Mediterranean east of Tunisia and south of Sicily. We here at Clicky Clicky can only hope that Johnny Foreigner intends to go to Malta to do something like this, although we have no idea what Malta is like, perhaps there's no place suitable for filming a self-indulgent concert film of psychedelic noodling. WE DON'T KNOW. Anyway, there's a few other tidbits of edutainment in the blog post, read the whole thing via the link supra. Needless to say, we are incredibly excited by this turn of events. How about some old songs to celebrate?





>> Remember Auckland, New Zealand's Popstrangers and their upcoming album of rich, noisy guitar pop? We highlighted the album's bright, undeniable preview track "Heaven" right here in October. Press for the trio's now-released long-player Antipodes (Carpark) is uniformly positive, and it is easy to hear why based on the album stream premiered by Popmatters a couple weeks back. Interestingly, as great as "Heaven" is, listeners will quickly grasp that the preview track was not the most representative indicator of the band's tone and demeanor. Unexpectedly, tunes on the balance of the record including "Full Fat," "404," opener "Jane" evidence a harder and darker band switched into full-on attack mode. This is emphasized by the follow-up single "What Else Could They Do," which turns on a thick, grungy riff that slams and sparkles with a 3-D distortion that the Kiwis very likely encountered on, well, every Butch Vig-produced album worth its salt. Elsewhere, Unwound-esque detuned guitars bleakly propel songs like the chilling "In Some Ways" and "Cat's Eyes," indicating that Popstrangers are as comfortable interpreting the aural idioms of '90s post-hardcore and math-rock as the threesome is with the celebrated dream-pop revival currently in swing. And so the brilliant Antipodes situates Popstrangers among those inspired by -- or hell, even still making -- the sounds of the mid-'90s, such as Sydney, Australia's brilliant and slept-on Line Drawings or the widely-cheered Cloud Nothings. With Antipodes, Popstrangers earn kudos for distilling the disparate influences of a surprisingly wide range of acts into some very catchy and curious numbers. You can stream Antipodes via the Soundcloud embed below; buy the record from Carpark right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> We tip our figurative hat to TinyMixTapes, who seem to be the only one with the very exciting news that Thrill Jockey will reissue Oval's mind-blowing 1996 sophomore set 94Diskont on vinyl for Record Store Day. After a mild and relatively unsatisfying flirtation with trance music in the early/mid-'90s, we were struck by 94Diskont like a bolt from the blue: where the trance we were listening to seemed sterile and limp, Oval's collection sounded like it was coming from 10 years in the future. The glorious centerpiece of the set is the epic-length dreamer "Do While," which some kind soul very helpfully uploaded to YouTube for you to listen to -- all 24 minutes of it. This year's Record Store Day reissue of 94Diskont is a double LP that features remixes of "Do While" created by such luminaries as Jim O'Rourke, Scanner, Mouse On Mars and Christian Vogel. Read the full details at TMT right here. Now, where are you going to get this stuff once April 20, 2013 rolls around? Well, fortunately for you, the Record Store Day web dojo has a store locator dealie right on the home page. Will the dealy tell you which stores will have the 94Diskont and its companion piece Systemisch, which is being reissued the same day? Doesn't look like it. But perhaps you can hit up the Thrill Jockey Twitter and they'll point you in the right direction. You want that.

Today's Hotness: Dead Mellotron, This Many Boyfriends, The Bombhappies

Baltimore-based Dead Mellotron recently unleashed its superlative new number "Stranger" on the Internets. Fronted by Josh Frazier, who is abetted by mysterious backers CC, Aimee and Faith, the group's contemporary take on good 'ole chugging shoegaze rock accomplishes a lot with a relatively straightforward approach. The first 30 seconds of the cinematic "Stranger" -- which will feature on Dead Mellotron's forthcoming third album Glitter -- relies on a facile electronic drum pattern that clatters behind a gorgeous curtain of reverb and auto-tune effects. A simple distorted guitar emerges and applies a steady rhythm that drives things toward a pleasing ride cymbal peak. And, then, well... that's pretty much it. The beautiful thing is the song begs for nothing more. Why complicate matters when you have a few good chords, a lilting chorus, and a great atmosphere? "Stranger" is available for free download at SoundCloud and you can grab it via the embed below. Glitter will be released by Sonic Cathedral May 7th and you can pre-order the record right here; the seven-song collection is available for £12 in a limited edition of clear vinyl packaged in glitter sleeves with download code. The band previously released a self-titled long-player in 2010 and Ghost Light Constellation in 2009; both are available via Bandcamp here. Dead Mellotron plays Soft House in Baltimore this Friday night, and then again on April 1 at Ottobar opening for the very hotly tipped Cloud Nothings. -- Edward Charlton



Leeds, England-based This Many Boyfriends' new single "Starling" boasts breakneck pacing and cheese-grater guitar leads that make it one of the most bracing things we've heard recently. The scrappy guitar-pop quartet's name, a nod to indie pop legends Beat Happening, is a telling reference that telegraphs the instrumentation and exuberant playing herein. "Starling" opens with neatly serrated rhythm guitar and upbeat crooning. Effective single note leads and vibrant, jubilant group vocals toward the end will spur listeners to serially depress the play button for yet another ride. Really, there's no better way to sum up the song than the act do themselves, "it has a riff, it's about ornithology and love." Brilliant. The group -- whose members Daniel, Laura, Richard and Tom all carry the last name Boyfriend in true Ramones style -- recorded the single with recently deceased guitarist, Peter Sykes. Tragic as the band's loss is, the group apparently continues to flourish in his memory and absence. "Starling" b/w "Just Saying" was released as a fanzine single by Angular Recording Corporation February 20th. This Many Boyfriends previously released another single and an EP and is slated to support The Cribs for three dates this month. -- Edward Charlton



Also capturing our fancy of late is "Ants," a devastatingly poignant preview single from Scandinavian rockers The Bombhappies. Further investigation finds the band to be a long-running concern with a soft spot for 80's indie. Indeed, the quintet (Joel, Johan, Jonas, Linus and Andreas, again, only first names) seems intent on conjuring a vibe straight out of the good-guy sadness of the Galaxie 500 catalog, and the '80s feel is also boosted by the Michael Stipe-esque inflections of The Bombhappies' lead singer. "Ants," taken from the band's forthcoming full-length A Good Fire, revels in its forward guitar plucks, matched by acoustics and relaxed snare hits. The vocals have a subtle, slap-back echo that adds a patina of ready-made nostalgia to the song. "Ants" is a heartbreaker, too, as a doo-wop breakdown and build follows lines like, "you've made it clear, you don't want to be with me." A Good Fire was self-released by The Bombhappies today, and we can't wait to listen to the whole thing. -- Edward Charlton