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: Bully, Palberta, Bored Nothing

>> When it comes to rocking songs, how does one objectively define a blaster? A banger? A stomper? It's a deceptively interesting question to ponder, even while sober (maybe), but at the moment the easiest answer might be to direct answer-seekers to the electrifying "Milkman" by Nashville indie rockers Bully. The song comprises the top half of the threesome's new 7", which was released April 25 on Chicken Ranch Records with "Faceblind" gracing the flip. The up-tempo (a blaster's gotta be uptempo, right?) "Milkman" metes a master class in how to concoct an A-side, while proffering some of the most riotous guitar pop we've heard this year. Bully's new single follows three pressings of the act's self-titled EP [as we wrote here] with tracks that feature similar sonics but even more power and more purposeful production. This reviewer is not a rich man, but he'd wager a fiver that the two-minute "Milkman" blows up in the underground in the coming weeks. Fronter (and producer) Alicia Bognanno drives the song's propulsive tempo and tried-and-true chord changes with her affectingly raspy soprano, which is reminiscent of that of Juliana Hatfield. Ms. Boganno's would seem to be a voice destined for greatness -- it's equally effective at punk sneers, candy-coated hooks screamed down an ear, and precise self-harmonizing, a rare gift. Also worth mentioning: "Milkman" presents some of the most tasteful cowbell heard in recent memory! "Milkman" b/w "Faceblind" is available in a limited edition of 500 flat, circular vinyl discs. One-hundred-and-fifty of these were pressed to blue vinyl and only three of those remained as of a week ago; the balance of the pressing is on black media. We recommend pre-ordering the new single now via the Bandcamp embed below, as the band's need to continually repress old records should be ample evidence that more and more people are in on this great, perhaps not-so-secret, Tennessee secret [Tennessecret? -- Ed.]. -- Edward Charlton



>> No-wave noiseniks Palberta returned earlier this month with more economical, tweaked tunes on a cassette split titled Special Worship, which features music from the equally madcap New England Patriots on the back side. When we last wrote about the Annandale-on-Hudson, New York-based threesome here in December, the prankster surprises and spooky songwriting on its creaky/jerky/perky debut collection My Pal Berta had successfully loosened at least a few screws in this reviewer's brain. Across five tracks on the new collection, Palberta delivers succinct blasts of wiry, squirming guitar, minimal drum textures and grungy, lo-fi bass. The great groove of "Store" -- a tune that echoes the taut, dry weirdness of Brooklyn-based punk-funk luminaries Ava Luna -- is interrupted in its last ten seconds by serrated guitar strums and high, menacing yelps that suggest a young child's new-found ability to sing with reckless abandon. A delightfully skewed cover of "Hot Cross Buns" takes the tune somewhere it's certainly never gone before. Skittering atop the wonderfully concise compositions are dueling female vocals, which almost seem to play out the roles of Freud's Ego and Id, respectfully. One voice is calm and collected, often evoking the cool, speak-sing street moves of Kim Gordon, while the other trades in bubbly shrieks that imbue the trio's music with much of its chaotic swagger. Palberta continues to tap into something rare with its music, and we recommend you keep an ear on what they are doing. Stream Special Worship via the embed below, and maybe consider buying it at the hilarious and awesome $1,000 minimum. -- Edward Charlton



>> It's not boring, and it's not nothing: it's the latest bit of pleasing downer-pop from Melbourne, Australia DIY pop outfit Bored Nothing, the nom de indie rock of one Fergus Miller. Titled "Why Were You Dancing With All Those Guys?," Mr. Miller's new slow-burner is a beautiful, rainy strummer, flush with delicate electric jangle. High-string whammy bar action floats low in the mix and lends the ballad just the right amount of lovesick tension. Handclap accents on the snare hits and perfect, brief guitar and organ leads say just enough without getting in the way. Additionally, on this track Miller's voice reminds this reviewer of Elliot Smith, but in an alternate universe where the famed singer-songwriter attempted to audition for Slumberland Records after hearing The Aislers Set. "Why Were You Dancing With All Those Guys?" comes in a limited edition of 30 lathe-cut 7" records (housed in sleeves that bear the likeness of cartoon antihero Bobby Hill), which we imagine must be sold out by now. Bored Nothing's Facebook and Bandcamp pages don't state definitively that the packages are all gone (they do state there will be no repress, and the song will never be made available as a download), so who knows. Orders come packaged with a shirt, sticker and letter that are all related to the tune, making the $40 Australian price tag a bit more understandable. Stream "Why Were You Dancing With All Those Guys?" via the embed below, and click through if you feel like trying your luck at getting what may be the very last piece of vinyl. We previously wrote about Bored Nothing here last July. -- Edward Charlton

Back To Now: The Hush Now Interview With Noel Kelly

For a band whose history notably features a major car accident and a flood, guitarist and singer Noel Kelly's The Hush Now certainly seems to operate as agent of Fate's whimsy. Which is why we were surprised when we checked in with Mr. Kelly recently ahead of Thursday's record release party for the Boston-based quintet's well-received, self-titled 2008 debut. Surprised because Kelly talks of a five-year plan and of having songs ready for a third record, despite the fact that as of this writing he had not finished a second that was begun last summer prior to the release of The Hush Now. Kelly -- whose music recalls '90s indie pop stars Poole and Sire-signed stand-outs The Ocean Blue -- plans to complete tracking for album 2 this weekend, and speaks with striking confidence about making things work on his own terms with a new band content to ignore the music industry ladder historically seen as the best way up.

CC: We met last summer and you come across as a mellow but passionate guy. That said, there are a lot of things about The Hush Now that are kind of topsy-turvy. You began recording your second record last summer months before you formally released your first. Before finishing your second record, you put together a different line-up of the band. Has anything about The Hush Now gone the way you planned?

NK: Actually, everything is going much better than planned, if you can believe that. I know it probably doesn’t look that way from the outside, but there is a pretty methodical approach behind what probably looks like relative chaos. Other than the scramble with line-up changes (BTW, the new line-up is super -- great people, great songwriters, great musicians – it's always good to know you're the weakest in the room), I think things are really flowing well. I'll attempt to explain though why things seem a bit out of order compared to the usual "band forms, band plays, band records, band tours" paradigm.

I wrote some tunes while living in Portland, OR but I wasn't sure how my sound might translate. I wanted to put together an album and see if there was any real promise there. Although it's not exactly cheap to record these days, it's not entirely impossible. There I was 2 years ago living in a basement (I'm a bit of a recluse), with no money left and I thought, "I don’t think anybody else is going to pay to make this album." So off I went to Boston to find a job that could pay for the album.

The first line-up was a miracle. Moving to a new city and finding musicians who are interested in playing somebody else's music is a really difficult task, especially if you're not quite the social butterfly. Barry, Mike and Kurt just got it. And having Dave Newton, who I was already comfortable with, produce the album just brought everything together. So we knocked out the first album in LA and Joshua Tree. It was like a vacation for me. Good times.

It was at this point (and with Dave's encouragement) I decided to push the album out to the world. I wanted to make sure the effort was more than a vanity project though. After years in [my old band] Cerulean and scratching my head over why we were never able to sustain a higher level of interest, I really backed up and tried to deconstruct not only the efforts of a band trying to gain exposure, but also what I really wanted as a musician and as an artist. In the end, I decided I really just want people to hear the music and if so inspired, maybe come to a show. I had/have no delusions of grandeur with expectations of signing a label deal.

I figured the best alternative was to just invest in myself and the band. So I drew up a 3-5 year plan and pretty much started dumping all my energy and income into The Hush Now. Understanding some of the shortcomings of Cerulean, I decided it was best to always have an album ready to be released. I never planned for The Hush Now's success to be tied to one single album, but rather a succession of albums that gained more and more momentum. So, six months after we finished the first album, I had a new batch of songs ready and we jumped back in the studio. I'm finishing tracking on album 2 this weekend and planning to record album 3 this summer. If all I ever accomplish with any of this is to create some pretty cool music that some folks dig, then I'll consider that success. Anything else is just icing on the cupcake, as they say.

CC: Let's talk about the new line-up. Who do you have doing what in this iteration of the band? Where did you dig them up? Which was the hardest slot to fill?

NK: First, let me say that both Kurt Schneider [who plays keys with Boston indie geniuses This Car Up. -- Ed.] and Mike DiMinno were invaluable in creating the sound on the first two records. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for different reasons –- nothing personal. We're still great friends. That being said, the new line-up is soooo good. I'm really lucky. Everybody has a unique ear and all are stellar musicians. We have a soft spot for similar bands and understand the idea of making music that gets people moving.

John Charpentier I found on Craig's List. He’s a huge Elliot Smith fan and a great guitarist/songwriter. Mike Wittrien responded to an ad as well. Usually finding a bass player is always the most difficult thing in the world. Not only did I find one, but Mike is out of this world. He is a musician’s musician. Barry brought John Millar into the fold on keys. John just fits in really nicely. He's also the youngin' in the band at 22 years old. There were no tryouts or auditions. I just met the guys for drinks and if we hit it off, they were in. I just got lucky that they all turned out to be phenomenal. The spot that worried me the most though, was filling the drummer slot. Barry had originally just come on board for the albums only, but when he decided to join the band full time, it was a huge weight lifted. He really is that fucking good. You can build something around a good drummer. Otherwise, you’re fucked. Now, I just don't want to let these guys down.

Would you say the new line-up has made the material on the self-titled record its own, or is the new Hush Now such a fresh commodity that it is just hoping to just nail the material as it is on the record at the record release show?

With new players, there's always going to be interpretations of the music. It's a fine line. On one hand you want them to recreate the album, but not to an extent where their playing becomes stale. It's always better if a musician makes the music their own in some way so they are playing rather than executing. It's been so long since I've looked at the songs from the first album that I even had to learn the music myself with the band. But I think we're getting there. We're going to be good.

CC: The self-titled record made a respectable showing on the CMJ Top 200, which was quite a feat for a band that at that point, well, kind of didn't exist, am I right? What can you tell us about any plans to get out and tour the record to try to capitalize on the good showing at radio?

NK: Yeah, I was really happy with how well the debut did. We charted in the top 100 for weeks and even started getting spins from commercial radio. The coolest is that Steve Lamacq from BBC 6 is playing us. What an honor, ya know? And you're right, we didn't exist. But that's what's so great about the new media outlets today. If you put together a quality product and get it out there, there's always the chance somebody will pick up on it. The key I'm finding is patience followed quickly by persistence... and getting a great team of folks involved that believe in the music and are self-starters. I think some folks get worried about fucking up or saying or doing the wrong thing. Who gives a shit, really? I always look at problems as something to solve. I work with engineers during the day and they approach problems the complete opposite way. They point out every reason why you can’t do something. That mindset is fucking paralyzing and it drives me insane. Really, what's the worst thing that's going to happen... all lessons learned. Personally, I thrive on scars, because I tend to fuck up quite a bit, but it keeps me energized. As long as you're honest, people will forgive mistakes.

Anyway, off the soapbox... We’re planning shows on the east coast for the spring as well as a couple of tours of England and Scotland (anybody know of cheap fares out there?). Because we all have day gigs, it makes it difficult to take off for months on end right now... but I'm positive that day will come. I'd love to get the guys over to play some west coast shows as well. And of course, we'd love to play the CMJ festival and SXSW next year. Hopefully the new album will create enough buzz to make those a reality.

CC: Can we expect to hear any songs from the second album Thursday night? And what can you tell us about a release date or label for that set?

NK: Actually, you'll get to hear a song from the third album. How's that for being fucked up and out of order? It's a great song though that the new line-up had a hand in creating, so we're all really excited about it. It's an exciting indicator of where the music will grow. The new album will be released to radio this coming October with a single dropping in June/July. I have my brother singing opera, my sister on flute and clarinet and brother-in-law on trumpet. I'm pretty excited how the album is coming together. We're going to offer the album for free download again. I think musicians/bands have to start thinking of approaching the "music business" (whatever that is) differently these days. People are going to get the album free anyway, why fight it? And fuck it, I'm not making the music for me to listen to alone. My father made a living supporting a family of six playing gigs. It wasn't a lavish lifestyle, but he did what he loved and we turned out OK. Sure, it wasn't always glamorous for him, but let me tell you, there's nothing like watching your father's Irish band play Michael Jackson's "Beat It." I wish I had that on tape.

The Hush Now plays T.T. The Bear's in Cambridge, Mass. Thursday night. Tonight the quintet plays a live radio session for Pipeline! on MIT's 88.1 WMBR-FM.

The Hush Now -- "Bedtime Stories" -- The Hush Now
The Hush Now -- "Ashes" -- The Hush Now
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