Premiere: Emerald Comets | Explore Your Dreams

Boston lost one of its most prolific songwriters when Guillermo Sexo and Emerald Comets mastermind Reuben Bettsak decamped for the American South this summer. True to form, he remained productive right up until the end of his local residency; what has since been deemed the final Guillermo Sexo album, the space-rock triumph Eclipse [review], was released in April, and two preview tracks for a forthcoming Emerald Comets set were released to the wilds of the Internerds in August. Today we are pleased to premiere for you the entirety of that set, titled Explore Your Dreams, the first and final Emerald Comets long-player to have been recorded in Massachusetts with Hub-based collaborators Jason Layne, Kristy Foye, and Steve Rowe and with help from Western Mass. hitmaker Justin Pizzoferrato.

It being a solo vehicle, Emerald Comets' music touts a different flavor than that of the better-known Guillermo Sexo. The former has typically been quieter, rawer, and more subdued, but fans will recognize certain stylistic hallmarks, such as the pastoral psychedelia of Explore Your Dreams's placid opener "Monochrome." More so than any other Emerald Comets release to date, Explore Your Dreams feels fully realized. This is perhaps due as much to the set's relatively long gestation period as it is to the efforts of the aforementioned collaborators. The dynamic feel of upbeat early preview single "Fortress" is substantially enhanced by Mr. Pizzoferrato's drumming, and Ms. Foye's cello rests eerily but on point in the center of the mix, at times applying a swaying melodicism, at others boosting the rhythm with bowed chops.

The set ends very strong with back-to-back album highlights "Explore Your Dreams" and "Cornflakes And Stout." The former fizzes with the rough-hewn vim of a Guided By Voices track, while the latter is a gentler, more melodic, and folk rock-tinged strummer in the vein of Ultimate Painting, the quality UK combo whose delightful LP Dusk was released by Trouble In Mind Friday. Longtime readers will recognize Emerald Comets' "Lost In Our Land" and "Revolutionary Earthworms," earlier versions of which came into being as part of our inaugural Regolith songwriting challenge, which of course was undertaken by the indefatigable Bettsak and resulted in the EP Inside Dream Room (still available for free here).

Explore Your Dreams is available now via Bandcamp, and you can stream the entire collection via the embed below. While we expect it will take Mr. Bettsak some time to find collaborators in his new environs, fans in the Greater Hotlanta should certainly keep their eyes on the club listings: we'd wager it won't be too long before Bettsak brings the rock to the denizens of his new home town. We previously premiered Emerald Comets' self-titled EP here in 2014.

Emerald Comets: Bandcamp | Facebook



Previous Coverage:
Review: Guillermo Sexo | Eclipse
That Was The Show That Was: Infinity Girl, Lubec, Guillermo Sexo, Havania Whaal | Great Scott | 9 July
Regolith A1E3: Reuben Bettsak Presents Emerald Comets' Inside Dream Room
Premiere: Emerald Comets | Emerald Comets EP
Review: Guillermo Sexo | Dark Spring
Review: Guillermo Sexo | Bring Down Your Arms EP
That Was The Show That Was: Guillermo Sexo Record Release Show with Soccermom, Night Fruit and Young Adults
Review: Guillermo Sexo | Secret Wild

Premiere: The Rutabega's Ruminative, Majestic "Lip"

South Bend, Indiana-based pair The Rutabega makes music that answers the musical question "why don't people make music like that anymore?" Not that the band's very appealing sound is dated. Indeed, despite undercurrents of earnestness and optimism -- of the sort that marked a certain stripe of DIY two decades past -- it can't be accurately termed a throw-back, either, especially given the fact that the long-running project founded by guitarist/singer Josh Hensley has been doing its thing for 15 years. Most of that time Mr. Hensley operated The Rutabega as a sole proprietor, and he drew acclaim in the early aughts via a split EP with Owen that made its way to Polyvinyl in 2004 (only two 12"s left at press time!). Five years ago The Rutabega doubled its population with the addition of spitfire drummer Garth Mason, and the band's purview expanded more than commensurately. It is downright witchery that a two-piece band can create music with such epic grandeur. Part of that can be attributed to big arresting melodies that echo hitmakers including The Wedding Present and Guided By Voices, and part to the intoxicating degree of vim present in the tunes.

What excited us most about The Rutabega's forthcoming fourth long-player, titled Unreliable Narrator and due later this month on Comedy Minus One, is the band's fearless willingness to go long. Rounding a tad, half the record's eight numbers meet or exceed the six-minute mark, and its massive emotional centerpiece "Lip" swells and sighs across nine terrific minutes; we are pleased to premiere that particular song for you today. The panoramic composition gently sparkles through its ruminative first quarter, then spreads figurative wings in ensuing sections haunted by dense shimmer here and motorik minimalism there, all driven by firm tempo and rhythm changes. While the biggest big guitars and Mr. Mason's hardware provoke the song's most spine-tingling moments, these are set off by Hensley's perfectly understated recitation of certain parameters of isolation ("...it's an empty world without you here, I'm not getting to it, right out to the lip...") in a tenor reminiscent of that of Elliott Smith. The sum total feints in the direction of Built To Spill's acclaimed Perfect From Now On or some deliciously hypothetical iteration of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, but the reality is "Lip" resides in a universe of The Rutabega's own creation.

Comedy Minus One releases Unreliable Narrator June 24 pressed to a limited edition of vinyl LPs; the first 250 of these are pressed to clear media bearing black streaks (observe), and additional LPs are available in classic black. Unreliable Narrator will also be released on CD and as a digital download. Pre-orders are on offer right now and those availing themselves of that opportunity will be rewarded with a download of certain acoustic demos titled Unreliable Sketches. The band intends to fête the release of the record with a show July 2 at Vegetable Buddies in South Bend; the bill also features 2 Big 2 Be Buried and The Columbines. Stream "Lip" via the embed below. The peppy rocker "Shiny Destination" was previously pushed out to the public earlier this spring, is available on limited-edition white 7" from Triple Eye Industries, and a delightful, puppet-packed video for same can be viewed right here.

The Rutabega: Facebook | Internerds

Today's Hotness: DTCV, Thin Lips, Spectres

>> We suppose it's possible another song as enchanting as DTCV's "L'Accord Parfait" will be released this year, but we can't imagine one more enchanting. The romantic swooner is a bit of a deep cut on the Hollywood-spawned duo's forthcoming fourth full-length Confusion Moderne, which is due next week on Xemu Records. DTCV is comprised of songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Lola G. and Jim Greer. If you're sitting there saying to yourself "*That* Jim Greer?" the answer to your question is "yes." For those not in the know, Mr. Greer is -- among other things -- a former member of Guided By Voices and author of the excellent book "Guided By Voices -- A Brief History," which book we highly recommend. If memory serves, Greer also once took us to task on Twitter for using the genre descriptor shoegaze in a non-pejorative way, something we felt oddly honored about. Anyway, the aforementioned "L'Accord Parfait" is a highlight of the very strong album, and achieves an emotional peak in its final choruses as layered vocals beginning a delirious swirl of words. The song and indeed most of the album features lyrics sung in Lola G.'s native French, and these are apparently concerned with "her anti-capitalist, neo-anarchist, radical feminist, and pro-environmental concerns," according to press materials. While it's hard to hear "L'Accord Parfait" in the context of that heavy subject matter, the substantially more gritty "Conformiste" -- whose riffing verses call to mind The Dead Boys' classic punk anthem "Sonic Reducer" -- certainly channels a serious vibe. New York-based Xemu releases Confusion Moderne as a digital download April 8; a very limited edition clear blue vinyl version released in France is already sold out. DTCV plays a hotly anticipated Boston show at O'Brien's Rock Club in Allston Rock City April 17, an evening that also features GBV-ophiles Halfsour, scene heroes Reports and The Dazies. DTCV formed in 2012 and was initially known as Detective, a name borrowed from the title of a Jean-Luc Godard film. The act's previous releases include the cassette However Strange on Burger Records, a label that readers will recall co-released last year The Pre-Fab Messiahs' delightful 10" Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive. Stream DTCV's "Captain Ennui" and "Bourgeois Pop" via the Soundcloud embeds below, and click here to purchase the set as handy MP3 files.





>> Philadelphia indie-punk unit Thin Lips's Divorce Year EP was one of the best releases of 2015, so we've been eagerly anticipating a full-length from the band. Our proverbial prayers will be answered May 20 when Philly's Lame-O Records releases the quartet's debut long-player Riff Hard. The 10-song set is heralded by the stupendous preview track (and video) "Never Again," a hook-spangled ripper that foregrounds fronter Chrissy Tashjian's potent, emotive vocals. The tune is a 155-second blast of uptempo awesomeness with a shout-along chorus and zippy lead guitar licks. Ms. Tashjian powers the tune with a voice that can do jubilant just as convincingly as bummed. Long-time readers will recall that Thin Lips sprang from the equally tremendous but sadly defunct guitar-pop unit Dangerous Ponies -- other members of DP went on to form emo heroes The Superweaks (which features Chrissy's brother and sometimes bandmate Mikey Tashjian). Sadly, second guitarist Chris Diehm's father is gravely ill with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and treatment costs are mounting; two test pressings of Riff Hard were to have been auctioned off recently to help defray those costs, although we're not sure if the auction has happened yet or not. Either way, donations can still be made via Paypal; check out the details here. Thin Lips recently wrapped a short tour with the Max Levine Ensemble; they next play Boston June 23 on an extraordinarily hot bill that also features emo titans Modern Baseball and Joyce Manor. That June show is near the tail-end of a massive strand of tour dates that stretches from late May through early July, making 2016 truly a summer of rock for the act. Lame-O is already taking pre-orders for Riff Hard. The set is available in a limited edition of 750 black vinyl LPs (pre-order here) or as a digital download (pre-order here). Stream "Never Again" via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> We went gaga for the doom-'gaze sounds of Spectres' stunning 2015 collection Dying, and we're not the only ones. If you follow the Bristol, England quartet on the social media, you've seen them popping up next to famouser folks like Henry Rollins or Thurston Moore (maybe we imagined the latter, as we can't find the pic now). Just last week, Spectres disclosed it has been tapped to open a number of vintage shoegaze faves Lush's reunion dates. Dying was recently followed up with a remix collection called Dead that sees songs from Dying getting the remix treatment from luminaries including Ride's Andy Bell, Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite, and Factory Floor, among others. In all, Dead contains 13 tracks, as Dying standout songs "Mirror," "Sea Of Trees" and "This Purgatory" were remixed doble vez. And yet Dying *still* has not had a proper domestic release. Perhaps that is going to change though, at least in a limited way. According to a recent email, the US LP subscription service Vinyl Me, Please is offering subscribers a limited edition of 300 Dying LPs pressed to "the blood of Phil Collins" red vinyl. The same email says non-subscribers can get the record in "regular shops" in May. It's unclear if that would be leftover stock from the Vinyl Me, Please pressing, or a larger pressing in wider release; it's also unclear if the reference to "regular shops" means US shops. So keep your fingers crossed, we suppose. Spectres is promoting the release of Dead with a strand of gigs in the UK, some of which will include appearances by certain of the remixers; if you are in the UK and fancy seeing a show, we'd suggest looking up the show dates here and buying tickets ahead, as tomorrow night's date at London's Waw Warehouse is already sold out. Stream Mr. Braithwaite's remix of "This Purgatory" via the Bandcamp embed below. Stream all of Dead via Spotify right here.

Today's Hotness: Halfsour, Fall Seattle, Rocketship

>> We suppose there might be some quibbling, especially as how one defines "big" or "Boston" has some bearing on the matter, but it seems indisputable anyway that the first big Boston album of 2016 comes courtesy of Halfsour. The trio's terrific debut long-player Tuesday Night Live, which streets next week, boasts scads of brisk tunes fizzing with hooks. The first preview track "Porch Sittin" presented a hardscrabble garage sound a la Parquet Courts, but the great strength of the set is its variety of approaches to power-pop (emphasized by the traded-off lead or doubled-up vocals from Zoe and Matt). An outsized melody, caffeinated strumming and explosively boxy snare conspire to make set highlight "Pop Art Pop Tart" a breathless banger. The song careens from verse to pre-chorus to chorus, marrying scritchy guitar chords to just enough jangle to conjure thoughts of Peter Buck. The swinging hip-shaker "Pleasantly Whelmed" also shines brightly, and hints perhaps at Halfsour's purported small-g genesis as a Guided By Voices cover band. The verse of the slow-burning, syncopated "I.K." recycles the classic Beatles "Ticket To Ride" riff, and bursts its seams coming out of a manic chorus with an angular guitar solo that buzzes like a fridge. There's just a lot to like. Tuesday Night Live will be released in a limited edition of 300 LPs and (virtually) unlimited CDs by Jigsaw Records Jan. 29; pre-order the set right here. In addition, Baltimore-based Nebraskan Coast is doing a run of cassettes for Tuesday Night Live, so watch this link for availability, quantity, color, etc.; the label has also done tapes for Princess Reason and Wildhoney, in case you were wondering. Halfsour previously released via Ride The Snake a dandy of a split EP with Boston luminaries Reports in late 2014, which you can purchase from Jigsaw right here.



>> We're longtime fans of Brighton, England's Faux Discx label, in part because the outfit supplies a keen look into a vital slice of the UK underground. Interestingly, the label's latest is shining a light on a terrific act native to these United States, namely Reston, VA space-pop foursome Fall Seattle. The act's self-titled debut, due next month, was two years in the making. And the wait was worth it, based on three very dreamy preview tracks that cast big guitars and sublime melodies within songs the hint at a firm push-and-pull between dream-pop and reigned-in, post-punk influences. The brisk opener "Carol" pairs punchy bass and clangorous, chiming guitar stabs for a spiky composition perfectly topped by a charming, adenoidal tenor. Fall Seattle quickly turns lush on the succeeding track, the winning "Wanda Jackson," which sets sparkling guitar leads against murmured vocals to deliciously gauzy effect. The glimmering strummer "Time" feels especially romantic and recalls the understated and underrated California Snow Story, an act that, incidentally, recently announced its return. An earlier version of "Time" from 2014 is also well worth a listen, although there are few if any structural differences between the two versions, and the differing production values reveal nothing revelatory; it's just a good song that you should listen to more than once, yeah? Faux Discx releases Fall Seattle Feb. 5 in a limited edition of 100 cassettes, and you can already pre-order one right here. Hit the embed below to stream the aforementioned three cuts, which also happen to open the record. We don't see any information about a release show or touring, but we suspect if you watch the band's Facebook dojo information will be forthcoming. Fall Seattle formed in 2012.



>> Given Rocketship's primary auteur Dustin Reske is a bona fide pop genius, it's safe to assume that when it feels like his song is trying to make a point, it probably is. The thought came over us as we listened to the act's dazzling new single "Sleeping Pills," a deliriously upbeat and bright pop gem whose lyrics steadily reference certain of the band's classic recordings. When the old album and song titles caught our ear, we took a look to see if the lyrics were on Bandcamp, and we were pleased to find them there. They describe a relationship in trouble, but we couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't Mr. Reske's relationship with the music industry itself that he was actually singing about. An unedited version of an interview he gave last year, posted to the Rocketship web site, details Reske's forthright opinions on the problems with the business of music. Given that, it's easy to construe lines like "We shared 'A Certain Smile...' but you sold everything, it don't compute, now there's just a certain sadness and ambiguities about the loot" in more than one way. Speaking of Rocketship's older stuff, a Kickstarter for the reissue of the band's absolutely titanic 1996 Slumberland LP A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness on vinyl is said to be starting next Wednesday or Thursday (!!!), and in the aforementioned interview, Reske stated a new Rocketship record titled Thanks To You would follow quickly on the heels of that reissue. If "Sleeping Pills" -- which previously had only been available at Rocketship's surpassingly rare 2014 live dates in San Francisco and New York -- is any indication, the new LP should be very satisfying for fans. Stream "Sleeping Pills" via the embed below, and start scraping together your cash for the big Kickstarter next week.

Rain Delay Dampens Boston Calling Day Two, But The Hold Steady, Sky Ferreira And Lorde Still Shine Brightly

[PHOTO: Dillon Riley] As some of our more observant readers know, we had the good fortunate to wait out most yesterday's three-hour rain delay of Day Two of the Boston Calling festival from the relative safety of the VIP section of City Hall Plaza. Between some intense bouts of beach ball keep-up and sorta-frightening lighting strikes, we made some new friends and chatted about The Hold Steady, among other things. We were among the first hundreds back inside around 9PM post-delay, which afforded us the opportunity to be thoroughly impressed with New Zealand pop wunderkind Lorde's performance. It goes without saying that we're grateful to the Boston Calling staff for being accommodating and making sure we didn't get turned into Sizzlean via lightning blast last evening. Here's the best of what we heard and saw Saturday. -- Dillon Riley

Sky Ferreira (3:05 p.m. Blue Stage)

Hype and tempest/teapot-scaled controversies aside, one thing was made clear during Sky Ferreira's mid-afternoon set: she's got a hell of a voice. Surrounded by a trio of grizzly dudes whose day jobs are more than likely far removed from the glittery, girl group-indebted synth-stomp of Night Time, My Time, Ms. Ferreira presented a commanding presence on stage. While the music itself -- driven by thudding synth bass and high-hat driven beats -- is easy enough to swallow, it does little to hide the fact that Ferreira is really the show. And, as such, it grew easier and easier to see why her (pop) star has steadily grown over the last few years. Certain technical issues broke the rhythm of her set, but even so watching her shout to the sound crew from behind big black sunglasses seemed consistent with its overall vibe. "Everything Is Embarrassing" inspired dancing among the assembled masses.

The Hold Steady (5:00 p.m. Blue Stage)

The Hold Steady were our key picks for Saturday's festivities, and we're very happy to report that they did rock most steadfastly. Our scrawled notes excitedly shout from the page something to the effect of Craig Finn being the consummate indie rock frontman. Much like, say, Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard, Mr. Finn pulls plenty of rock star stage moves, as they have been handed down generation to generation from Elvis to Iggy and so on. This included plenty of nerdy off-mic ad-libbing and over-animated expressions to go along with Finn's prowling, strutting and mic stand twirls. The Hold Steady tour with two additional guitar players these days that trade lead and rhythm duties, which render Finn's guitar-based contributions (or more accurately, lack thereof) all the more comical. Songs in which he elects to sling on the ol' axe were seemingly chosen at random, but, hey, we aren't roadies, so what do we know? When minded at all, his guitar would typically only receive attention for a verse or two before Finn shoved it aside to make with the dancing. The Hold Steady's set itself was a briskly paced tour de force of rock 'n' roll, and drew tunes from nearly its entire catalog. It was a crowd-pleaser to be sure, cramming in 14 songs in just about an hour.

Previous Coverage:
Classic Neutral Milk Hotel Lineup Electrifies Night One Of Boston Calling Festival
Boston Calling This Weekend: Five Key Sets To Catch By Bands That Are Not The Replacements
Boston Calling This Weekend: The Replacements Return To Boston For First Show In 23 Years

Today's Hotness: Gold-Bears, Bozmo, Mincer Ray

>> From its humble beginnings, the Slumberland Records catalog has always possessed a great spiritual unity, and an argument can be made that the revered label's aesthetic, as mapped by its recent output, is becoming more outwardly emotional and mature. It's in the remarkably affecting, folk-inspired rock of Withered Hand, and it's in the dazzling, exuberant new single "Simple And Sure" from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (who, strangely, are releasing the full-length that contains the single via a different label, Yebo). And it's also in the sparkling anthems of Atlanta-based guitar-pop giants Gold-Bears. That quintet's sophomore effort Dalliance will be released June 3 -- incidentally, the day after the band performs at Cambridge, Mass.'s Middlesex Lounge with local indie pop standouts Bent Shapes and shoegaze titans Soccer Mom [dee-tails]. As with another upcoming SLR band, The Proper Ornaments, Gold-Bears' two preview singles (the latest being the cascading, co-ed rush "Yeah, Tonight") draw from the '60s-influenced side of Slumberland's classic pop aesthetic, while pushing the emotion to the forefront in less usual ways. The first single "For You," is a step forward for Gold-Bears, particularly in terms of both audio fidelity and composition, when compared with the five-piece’s delightful 2011 debut. The song's impact is predicated on minimal, Ramones-inspired power chords and a thoughtful arrangement. What might at first seem a continuation of the band's frustrated, punk-ish yelp-pop in the tune's first half, though, shifts suddenly to a succession of refreshingly clear moments of triumph. At roughly the half-minute mark, a piano smartly lays a wedding-bell progression against the grind of the band, and emotionally flattens everything in the song's proverbial path. It's a simple move, but when that instrument counterbalances the fierce chord progression, it sets up a tight-throated rush that suddenly imbues aggressive lines like "You're a mistake" with a serious twist. Have you ever watched a song grow up before your very eyes? Spend three minutes with this one for sure: you can stream it via the Soundcloud embed below, and pre-order Dalliance from Slumberland right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> The madcap psychedelia lives! If our readers were truly in tune with this reviewer's taste, they would know he is very excited about the forthcoming cassette from Boston-born and now Berkeley, Calif.-based Bozmo. The set is called Leather Umbrella and it is due any day now on the un-Google-able Peaking Pear Records. The collection -- which was recorded entirely by Bozmo principal Bo Moore to a Tascam 388 -- presents a classic case of hard-shifting mod that chases it's own fascinating logic. The title track from the album has been loosed to the wilds of the Internerds for a couple weeks; it's a Revolver-esque jaunt through fields of poppies that features bouncy harmonized lead guitars and delicately picked verses that serve as a perfect foil to the bubbly guitar work that bookends the piece. Adorning the snappy composition are great, prominently mixed tambourines and period-correct vocal delays that neatly wrap the production in perfect 1967 indie dressing. While "Leather Umbrella" cycles resolutely between its A and B sections without further development, the overall energy and neat melodic flourishes recall our beloved Lilys circa Better Can't Make Your Life Better. That's high praise from this publication, don't you know. We've had an opportunity to delve into all of Leather Umbrella and are pleased to report that its contents are uniformly terrific, and, in fact, the brightest spots arrive back-to-back in the middle of the record. Here we find the mid-tempo strummer "Cheap Blue Memory," a slightly downcast mood piece with excellent lyrics, gentle vocal harmonies and an amazing, warped guitar solo. That tune is followed by the fuzzed-out pop triumph "Perry And The Vest," with high-voltage harmonies in the chorus and another, albeit briefer, transcendent guitar solo. The two tunes each clock at about three minutes and cry out for release as a vinyl 7", so if you've got unspent student loan money burning a hole in your pocket maybe now is the time to flush your future down the toilet and start your own indie label. While you ponder that exceedingly questionable advice, stream and download "Leather Umbrella" via the embed below and watch that Bandcamp page for information about the Leather Umbrella cassette, which may possibly be your most prized possession this summer. -- Edward Charlton



>> It's not uncommon for this American blogger to wonder about and perhaps glorify the life of ex-pats. For one thing, there's the suggestion of European jet-setting, or contemplative Far East sightseeing, but even more so, there's the thrill of making a fresh start somewhere challenging and different. Our urge is heightened by our recollection that Berlin indie rockers Mincer Ray counts among its number not one, but two American ex-pats apparently in search of some great truth about scratchy, trad-sounding indie rock. Mincer Ray recently completed a new, long-playing collection, Fellow Traveler, which is available to download now for any price via Bandcamp. What quickly becomes apparent when playing the ten tracks is the extent to which the group has surpassed the delightful Guided By Voices-inspired lo-fi of 2012's Ray Mincer, which we wrote about here. The new set is more scattered but no less creative, at turns surprisingly rootsy and soulful, and at others sonically aggressive. "Couch Neighbor Catherine" and "Bassmaster" trade in shambolic loose strums that remind this reviewer of Pavement at their most country-inclined, or Palace Brothers at their most precise. "A Pickaxe From My Mom" and "Grand Tunk Plastic Lake" are both bits of classic, Yo La Tengo-styled indie. Instrumental "Great Trunk National Park" evokes Fugazi at their most willfully sloppy and the shape-shifting, instrumental closer "Das Grune Tor" utilizes a distorted whammy to great effect. Sure, the Berliners often evoke their touchstones, but the sense that they're having a blast and tapping into something pure makes one curious as to what great truth they've uncovered during their international adventure. Download Fellow Traveler via the embed below; it's for you. -- Edward Charlton

Regolith A1E1: Reuben Bettsak Is A Songwriter

Our inaugural songwriter for the Regolith series is Boston indie scene mainstay Reuben Bettsak. Mr. Bettsak lives in town and has been party to the local music scene here for more than a decade, during which time he has performed in acts including The Nationale Blue and Big Bear. He presently plays in noted psych-pop outfit Guillermo Sexo, performs and releases music under the name Emerald Comets, and is part of the spectral New Romantic revivalists Future Carnivores. As a songwriter, Bettsak is as prolific as they come, and if you think it is just a coincidence that we chose to kick off Regolith with such an efficient and deadly songwriting machine as Bettsak, you are wrong. Regolith is not for the faint of heart. Or at least that is what we assume -- Bettsak is the first to go through the process with us, during which he is writing and recording completely new music under a Clicky Clicky-imposed 30-day deadline. In our intake interview below we dig into the basics and background of who Bettsak is, what he does, and how he works. The sands from the Regolith 30-day hourglass began falling Feb. 15. As noted in our introductory piece last week, we will check in with Bettsak midway into his month of work, and at the end we'll wrap up the project with a post mortem on his work, and with a premiere of the results on our Bandcamp page. Giddy up. -- L. Tiburon Pacifico

Clicky Clicky: What is happening with all of the bands you are involved with right now?

Rueben Bettsak: Guillermo Sexo is definitely keeping busy per usual. We have a Brooklyn show with Relations April 4 at Shea Stadium, an Illegally Blind show in Boston in May at Middle East up with Blackstone Rangers, Ghost Modern and Wakes. It's likely there will be other shows before these, but we are also working on new songs and are bringing back some old favorites from past albums. We want to change up our set list a bit ... [and] continue spreading the word on Dark Spring. We believe in this album. We want you to believe in the UFOs of Dark Spring...

I've been playing a few Emerald Comet shows here and there to support the free EP (performing solo, but possibly also with the gang that performed on the EP in the future).

Future Carnivores has a March show coming up at Charlie's Kitchen, which should be cool. We have a whole album's worth of stuff recorded, but most of it is in the early stages of recording. We'll see when we can get that out there this year.

CC: What instruments do you play? When did you start playing them?

RB: My principal instrument has been guitar. I started playing when I was... 15 years old. I also played a bit of drums growing up. It's so much fun playing drums, but I rarely rock it these days. I did a lot of the live drums on the first Future Carnivores record, though.

CC: How long have you been writing music?

RB: I've always wanted to write music. I think I knew this when I was 7 years old listening to Julio Iglesias or watching Quiet Riot videos on MTV in Panama. When I started playing guitar, I knew that songwriting would be my main focus. Back when I was 15 years old, I loved Eddie Van Halen, but I was never interested in playing the way he played. Writing music for me is one of the most beautiful, rewarding things in life. It's taken me a while to get to a place where I'm more confident with the songs I write... closer to the vision. But then again the vision always changes a bit, and that's part of what makes it exciting, right?

CC: What are your songwriting influences? Do you feel like there's an influence on these songs that is obvious to you but might not be necessarily apparent to a listener?

RB: I think this is a great question. I feel like there are definitely influences that pop up in the songs I write, and in the sounds my band(s) make. I really do approach songwriting with a completely open slate, meaning I don't try to sit down and write a certain type of song that sounds like any person or band in particular. But there are patterns that creep up that are part of my MO. I love catchy psych-rock songs from bands like The Kinks, Zombies, Guided by Voices and some current bands. I love the depth and beauty that bands like Spiritualized or My Bloody Valentine create. I love the studio experimentation of Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Broadcast and Olivia Tremor Control. So... these things seep in to what I do. And that is rock 'n' roll. I can say that I feel like I really have developed a songwriting voice of my own. I am thankful for this, but I'm always trying to grow and improve as a songwriter.

With this project an influence that might not be apparent to the listener is maybe some classical music. No specific composers, but just trying to create a little bedroom symphony. Although, it is too early to tell. This project could end up sounding like death metal by the end. We'll see.

CC: How would you describe your songwriting process. Are the songs conceived of first, or planned out? Is the process more organic, with single chords or melodies developing into parts, which then develop into songs? Do you have a back catalog of riffs, parts or progressions that you mix and match until they find a home?

RB: A lot of songs are written on acoustic guitar at home. I write a few guitar parts and develop the melodies right away, or I record the music and then develop melodies and maybe record line by line. It's definitely more of an organic process. Some Guillermo Sexo songs I bring to the fold are pretty fleshed out, but the band definitely shapes the way they end up sounding. There are also a bunch of Guillermo Sexo songs that are developed organically at the practice space. We just develop an idea/riff together as a band, and develop it until we have a song. I have a large back catalog of songs. My fear is that some of the really good ones in the back catalog will never be released and then I'll completely forget about them. I try to keep track of everything, but stuff gets lost. That's one reason I'm releasing stuff under Emerald Comets. There is no way Guillermo Sexo can tackle all these songs. It gets overwhelming. I send my band members and (producer) Justin Pizzoferrato so many demos, and they are like "Reuben... chill."

The Future Carnivores process is different. The first two albums were written by recording parts completely made up on the spot, with Bo and I switching turns. I'd lay down a beat, Bo would lay down bass line, I'd record a weird guitar loop, and so on.

CC: Will this project change the way you typically write?

RB: I'm used to writing alone, but I am trying to make this project sound different. It's a good excuse to create a standalone type of album or mini album that has an overall vibe to it. That's cool, because I usually have so many types of songs I bring to the fold. With Regolith, I'm looking to have an overall focus and feel throughout.

CC: Where will you be doing your writing and recording throughout this project?

RB: I will be writing and recording this project at home. I will be doing it with a simple Pro-Tools setup, which is nicer than what I use for my demos.

CC: Lastly, what are your goals/aspirations for this project?

RB: 1. I'm hoping to create some great songs. 2. It's always gratifying to share music with listeners. I look forward to sharing this music. 3. I want Jay and Will to give me a hug and say, "Hey Reuben, these songs don't suck." 4. One of my goals is to not get too carried away with layering. If this happens, I may end up turning in one song at the end of this project. (Note to self: Reuben, don't get carried away with layers. Try to keep it simple!)

CC: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us and devote 30 days of your life to Regolith. We eagerly await our mid-session check-in with you in a couple of weeks to see how it's going, and of course, hearing the finished results.

Related Coverage:
Premiere: Emerald Comets | Emerald Comets EP
Review: Guillermo Sexo | Dark Spring
Today's Hotness: Future Carnivores
Clicky Clicky Music Presents... N O F U C K I N G W H E R E : 11 Boston Bands Perform Ride's Classic 1990 Album
Review: Future Carnivores | Future Carnivores
Review: Guillermo Sexo | Secret Wild

Show Us Yours #18: Earthquake Party!

[PHOTO CREDITS: Ian Doerr/bad digital collaging by Clicky Clicky] Earthquake Party! is a band so good that we actually willingly use their superfluous punctuation. The Boston-based trio makes frenetic indie pop that is so desperately energetic it comes across as imperative, it needs to happen. The act has released only a handful of songs to date (despite being together for about three years), but the urgent thrill of every one of them makes us think of how a diver feels post-plunge as she anticipates surfacing, anticipates the visceral pleasure of that first deep, clear breath of air. After a chance meeting with guitarist Justin Lally early this summer, wherein we discussed the incredibly ambitious LP the band has been working on, we decided it was time to get a better sense of what makes Earthquake Party! tick. And what better way than to survey where the magic is made? As with scenemates Krill, EqP! actually have a fairly unusual practice space situation. No, not a mansion, but a recording studio located north of Boston called Mystic Steamship. We put some questions to Mr. Lally about what it's like to practice there, and, of course, about the album. Along the way he offered one of the most articulate descriptions of the joy of being in a band united in a creative endeavor. We're grateful to Mr. Lally for his time, and we invite you to read on and, if you are not familiar, check out the music below the interview as well.

Clicky Clicky Music Blog: So why do you use this space? What makes a recording studio a better fit for Earthquake Party! versus, say, a malodorous and poorly lit closet at the Sound Museum in Allston?

Justin Lally: It was less of a cognitive choice and more of an opportunity we stumbled into. We have had many spots in the past... ranging from big, dirty rooms where the end of practices always included inviting friends for impromptu shows, to basements that made our eyes and throats sting after being down there for more than 20 minutes. The Mystic Steamship space is great, and having the ability to record practices and listen back is such a helpful tool... Sometimes you don't hear everything that's going on in the room when everything is turned up and everyone is going full bore, then you listen back and realize, "hey, maybe those riffs don't actually go together" or "that drum fill before the first chorus was perfect, we should keep that"...stuff like that.

CC: I'd imagine practicing in a studio created with acoustics in mind offers some advantages, sonically. Is there an idiosyncrasy or quirk of the space that has affected one of your songs, or even your overall sound?

JL: Having a room that is designed for playing music is helpful, but overall we practice for our live show... which includes turning up real loud and trying to create and troubleshoot things that we would run into at a venue or basement.

CC: Usually we ask bands how their practice space smells in this feature, because we think that gives readers a really visceral idea of what it's like to hang out in there. However, I imagine Mystic Steamship is -- if you'll pardon this turn of phrase -- fairly ship-shape. But you must have practiced in at least one pretty rank place before -- any unpleasant memories you wanna share?

JL: First off, Mystic usually smells great because Ian Doerr (who is producing our upcoming record) is always burning these little incense sticks all around... that and the smell of solder, which i also enjoy. The basement of my current apartment is probably the worst place we have practiced... it's way too cluttered to set up any sort of arrangement that is conducive to being creative, and the air quality is shit. Also, the water heaters have exploded a couple of times and soaked the bottom two inches of all of our gear.

CC: I know from our chat early this summer that Earthquake Party! is in the midst of cutting a very ambitious full-length that aims to cram 28 songs into a little more than a half-hour. But I was surprised to hear you say that the music wasn't entirely written. Are you working with some sort of conceptual roadmap that lets you know you're looking for certain number of songs?

JL: There're 28 song names... We'll see how many survive the maturation process. I've been very into albums lately that utilize -- I guess you could call them interludes -- shorter bits of music that help the overall album have a more cohesive identity, but also allow you to cover more ground without sounding scattered.

CC: You guys seems to be about quality rather than quantity, when it comes to length of your songs. But also in terms of the gross number of songs, too: you've been around for three years, but have only officially released six songs. Potentially packing 28 songs on to the new record goes to the opposite extreme. What brought on the deluge? And is there some sense of relief from just getting so many songs out of your head all at once?

JL: We have done what we were able to in the past, and also what made sense for our band at those moments... and it just makes sense to do this album with Ian now. It's been so easy and fun in the tracking sessions... I've had the chance to use some gear I didn't think I'd ever hold, let alone record with (1960s Vox Phantom XII through an original Electro-Harmonix POG through a Traynor stack with blown 15" speakers... totally bonkers). And beyond that, we are really good friends having fun making a record. We'll drive to the beach just talking about the pros and cons of tambourine vs. sleighbells on a track, or which songs could handle drums completely hard panned... it never feels like we're punching the clock and recording music. We have always been creatures of circumstance, right now it's going pretty well.

CC: You also mentioned to me taking a cue from Guided By Voices when thinking about the new record, its brevity, its ratio of big ideas to short running times. I remember being surprised that you covered "Tractor Rape Chain" in your session for WMBR's Pipeline last year [link], because I thought you guys were coming from more of a C86/agit-twee kind of place. Has Guided By Voices always been an influence? Has the scope of what influences Earthquake Party!, and what Earthquake Party! wants to be, changed since the inception of the band?

JL: I've always been a huge fan of melody, and Robert Pollard has always been someone I've admired. That guy has written thousands of memorable songs that don't boast a great riff or solo, it all comes back to the melody. I don't think the thesis statement of the band has changed much at all... I do think we are trying some things on this record that we were incapable of before, but we are still three people humming and yelping about the delight of living with reckless abandon.

CC: What does the next six months look like for you guys?

JL: Finishing the record. I'm trying to put all my waking thought into this thing first before moving on. But... there's been talk of a Beach Toys(check em out)/Earthquake Party! tour in the fall, stay tuned. And of course we will be playing Boston shows in the coming months.

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

Today's Hotness: Whirr, Honey Radar, Lurve

>> Bay Area shoegaze goliath Whirr accomplished more than its name suggests with the 2012 debut full-length Pipe Dreams. Rather than embrace a controlled spin, the sextet charted a course for sweet oblivion, aided by metallic riffing, barely whispered vocals and destructive, tom-heavy drumming. The result was one of the best shoegaze albums of the year and, likely, the decade. Consequently, Pipe Dreams set the bar high for future efforts from Whirr, and everyone else for that matter, but with the recently issued Around EP that challenge has been roundly met. Released July 9 on Graveface Records -- a label that issued certain of the group's work pre-Pipe Dreams -- the EP presents four songs including the single "Swoon." The song's epic scope encompasses pummeling chords, serene, nearly-ambient drop outs and everything in between. After a cymbal-heavy crash of over-reverberated drums and what sounds like thirteen individual guitars playing one note, a rhythm guitar sets off a marvelous cycle of dripping-wet, almost water-colored structures. While still decidedly Whirr, the more sprawling, glassy and gothic tones of Around emphasize that Whirr is not interested in simply recreating Pipe Dreams; much credit should be parceled off for Whirr's drummer, whose dynamic performances often are what makes these four songs particularly dramatic. By hammering a harder edge on styles made prominent by legends such as My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive, Whirr have established a singularly beautiful sound with Around, one that thrives on pillowed delay, exploratory tempos and profoundly affecting chord changes. The EP is available for purchase from Graveface as an LP, CD, cassette or download right here. Stream "Swoon" via the Soundcloud embed below. Whirr plays Great Scott in Boston Aug. 15, with support from hotly-tipped Philadelphians Nothing and local noise-pop heroes Soccer Mom. The date is part of a tour that commenced Tuesday; full details on the Boston appearance are right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> Strolling through the world of underground DIY cassette releases seems similar to what this reviewer imagines an indie record store must have been like before the Internet [Oh, you young people smh -- Ed.]: crates of bands, tapes and labels, linked mostly by scene and bubbling up based on word of mouth. Many tapes of the contemporary era can only be obtained through stock sheets collected from bedroom imprints, and often only 100 copies are made before the work dissolves into the ether and collective memory of friends and devotees. And so the current cassette culture requires buy-in from both ends, of course, and perhaps that is why discovering a really stellar tape is such a uniquely rewarding experience nowadays. Which explains why we were stoked to receive in the mail Western Plum Musket by Honey Radar, a tape out now on Philadelphia's Tree Top Sorbet label. Honey Radar, a shadowy lo-fi concern from Indiana that appears to have been in operation for several years, trades in the sort "sudden epiphany rock" of contemporaries like Guided By Voices and Times New Viking. While the dashed-off production values and singer Jason Henn's strange word associations do evoke Bob Pollard or Syd Barrett, the breezier songwriting and softer singing come across as contemplative and wistful. Western Plum Musket, an EP of sorts, offers several very strong songs. The opening one-two-punch of "Roughing Up The Painter" [video] and "Mason Neck," highlight Honey Radar's quirky strengths. The former tune offers a prickly warble and wins over the listener with a charmingly out of tune bass pattern and automated frequency adjustments. It is "Mason Neck," however, that is the real treasure. A pretty, yet shambling, psychedelic strummer, the song sounds like a lost garage-folk 7" from the mid-'60s. The warm and crispy production gives the number a hint of a modern, updated sense, and the tumbling rhythms and wispy voice recall the twelve-string stunners of mid-period Lilys. The band works through a couple of short noise numbers on the cassette as well, which capture the spontaneity seemingly intrinsic to the format. The contrast between these experiments and Mary Plum Musket's more serene moments limns both with a flash of gratifying unpredictability, just the sort of magic one hopes to find on a cassette. Get your copy of the limited-edition Mary Plum Musket right here while you can, and stream the entire deal via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> In our online pseudoworld of limitless (and increasingly meaningless) genre fusions, vertiginous taste-making and purportedly new approaches to making the heart of rock and roll beat, sometimes you just want the straight stuff with a capital R. Brooklyn's Lurve are happy to oblige with "Wires," one of two numbers the band posted to its Bandcamp earlier this year. "Wires" is a driving, tightly realized and deftly disguised power-pop song that erupts with a basement-show exuberance, one that makes the song seem significantly shorter than its four-minute-ish runtime. After some distorted opening guitar chords, "Wires" presents its best side –- a thirty-second breakdown of punky guitar figures that interrupt each softly sung verse. Eventually the song latches onto a fixed-note groove that delivers it to a squalling end. The smeared noise, sudden minor chords, and rough-hewn production try, but fail, to mask somne keen pop songcraft. And speaking of "smeared," this song is remarkably evocative of Canadian power-pop juggernaut Sloan's overlooked 1992 grunge-noise statement Smeared, and songs like "I Am The Cancer," or even contemporaries Superdrag, and their crushing early tune "Senorita." Sure, the underground remains subject to Eric Bachmann's prescient mid-'90s lament, but Lurve hit upon a memorable pop formulation that they can hopefully continue to shape into their own. "Wires" and "Simple Syrup" show much promise, and we are optimistic that Lurve's planned full-length -- recorded by Roomrunner's Dan Frome and slated for release this month on Cincinnati's Broken Circles Records -- will follow suit in offering up something fresh via that which is already tried and true. Stream both tunes via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Mincer Ray, Tyrannosaurus Dead

>> With an appreciable Teutonic precision (which is sort of funny since none of its members is actually German), Berlin-based Mincer Ray return this month with a new EP titled A Magnate's Reach. We first turned onto the clearly GBV-influenced trio in March 2012, when it issued via Bandcamp the shifty long-player Ray Mincer, featuring the blistering anthem "A Burning Plane." A Magnate's Reach is a more concise five-song slate of tunes evidencing Mincer Ray's continued embrace of punchy, scritchy indie rock. Opener "Franki Jo" is a determined, melodic strummer indebted as much to The Kinks and the Davies brothers’ hip-shaking sounds as it is to the aforementioned Guided By Voices. Ballad "(Ever) The Optimistic Architect II" operates under an appropriately Pollardian title and gradually builds steam across syncopated quarter notes before hitting a wall after 125 seconds. Assuredly, fans of Dayton's finest will find a lot to like on this EP, and if we have a gripe at all it is that the Berliners don't expectorate music at anything approaching the ludicrous pace that Bob Pollard somehow magically maintains. A Magnate's Reach carries an official release date of May 31, although you needn't wait what amounts to months to hear it: it is available at Bandcamp as a name-your-price download right now, and you can hit the stream via our handy embed below. There will be a proper release show May 31, according to Mincer Ray's web dojo, and lucky fans able to make the gig will apparently be able to buy the EP on 180 gram vinyl. Until now, use your ears to process the ones and zeroes below.



>> London's Odd Box Records this week sent over word of some new releases in its pipeline, and we find ourselves streaming over and over two tunes from recent signing Tyrannosaurus Dead. The Brighton, England-based five-piece's "Soft" and "Sadie," from the forthcoming Pure // Apart EP, each present breakneck tempos and guitar-forward arrangements that show the act incorporating into its melodic, fuzz-filled sound the raw power of Boyracer and affecting sentiment -- as evidenced by certain of singers Billy Lowe and Eleanor Rudge's phrasing that forlornly dangles into space at times -- of Belle And Sebastian. Pure // Apart was recorded in London in late 2012 with Rory Attwell, whose name we’ve mentioned previously as the man behind the boards for acts including Big Deal, Veronica Falls and Yuck. Odd Box releases Pure // Apart May 6, but you can already stream the aforementioned noise-pop gems via Bandcamp. The six-song EP is being pressed in a limited edition of 250 vinyl 12" records, and pre-orders are already being taken, also at Bandcamp. Tyrannosaurus Dead previously released two excellent EPs (one eponymous, the other titled Lemonade) and a song on a split cassette, all of which are available via the quintet’s very own Bandcamp right here. But for starters we recommend to your attention "Soft" and "Sadie," which we've embedded below.

Today's Hotness: Scott And Charlene's Wedding, Hallelujah The Hills, Speedy Ortiz

>> What keeps us coming back to Soundcloud every day are the surprises, the stuff we love but that we had no idea was out there just waiting to be heard. The latest act we discovered there that caught our fancy is a Brooklyn-via-Australia combo named Scott And Charlene's Wedding (so named, we believe, for a major happening on a popular Aussie soap opera that starred Kylie Minogue, whom most Americans associate with this or even this). The band is the solo vehicle of Craig Dermody, former denizen of Melbourne, where he played in the bands Spider Vomit and Divorced, according to this handy Village Voice piece from October. Anyhoozle, Scott And Charlene's Wedding issued earlier this month via London's Critical Heights label a new 10" EP titled Two Weeks. The five-song short set is filled with cracking, jangly indie rock touting a recognizable slacker bent that suggests '90s indie touchstones Pavement and Guided By Voices. We are embedding two tunes from the 10" for listening below: "My World" and the more uptempo, billowing pop gem "Gammy Leg." The latter track sounds at least partially autobiographical (it references Dermody's move to New York), a lyrical approach characteristic of Dermody. Indeed, one of the more compelling numbers from Scott And Charlene's Wedding's debut long-player Para Vista Social Club [Bandcamp], the big strummer "Footscray Station," recounts Dermody's daily grind driving a truck and the inspiration he took from a friend struggling with a fledgling retail situation. Para Vista Social Club was originally issued in Sept. 2011 in a limited edition of 200 LPs with covers painted by Dermody. The act plans to release a second LP with a new, New York-based lineup later this year via Fire Records. Scott And Charlene's Wedding's next show appears to be at the Philadelphia Museum of Contemporary Art on May 4, supporting the presently white-hot Parquet Courts, and Dermody, et al., are also planning a tour of Europe for July and August, according to this Facebook post. Do the streamiez.





>> Boston indie rock institution Hallelujah The Hills last week disclosed it will release May 7 an odds and sods collecton titled Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can. The collection will include three new songs, as well as all the band's non-album singles, its Prepare To Qualify EP, remixes, radio performances and a never-released Daytrotter session. Hallelujah The Hills' next area performance is May 3 at The Sinclair in Harvard Square, a date so very proximal to the release of the compilation that we're gonna go ahead and call it a release show. The now eight-year-old sextet recently issued the terrific digital single "The Three Minute Mark" b/w "Meet Me In The Car," and neither song is slated to appear on a planned fourth full-length that Hallelujah The Hills is working on for potential release this spring later this year. According to the HtH web dojo, the record has "a title and a concept and is loud." Which we think is a good sign. The band's prior full-length, No One Knows What Will Happen Next, was released in May 2012. Pre-orders for Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can are already being taken right here; the set is being offered on the popular compact disc format or as a digital download. While we sit around and wait, shall we revisit a hot one from the 2009 set Colonial Drones? Sure we should. Stream "Classic Tapes" via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> If you were all tl;dr;moarsandwichez this afternoon with the latest update from Northampton, Mass.-based snack rock superlatives Speedy Ortiz, then perhaps you missed the part where they disclosed the name of their full-length debut. The quartet's long-player will be titled Major Arcana and it is "probably coming out in July." Speedy Ortiz also revealed that Inflated Records will release next month a new single featuring two older tunes, "Ka-Prow" and "Hexxy," which were re-recorded during recent sessions for Major Arcana with Justin Pizzoferrato. The art for the single is posted in the update, so click through and scroll down if art is something that appeals to you. There is as of yet no pre-order info online for the single. As we mentioned in prior reportage, Speedy Ortiz is basically on tour for all of April, during which it will take in such sights as the annual MacRock fest in Harrisonburg, play with Marnie Stern in Brooklyn, and do three dates in Canada. Full tour deets are at the Speedy Facebook yert right here. So as to get you pumped up for things, we are embedding below a stream of that older version of "Hexxy," which we think you will agree rocks most steadfastly.

Today's Hotness: Age Rings, Manorlady, Tungs/Heavy Midgets

>> Boston institution Midriff Records will release next week Age Rings' AM/PM EP, a companion piece to last year's best-of-2011 long-player Black Honey. The EP is comprised of songs resected from the Boston-based indie rockers' original, two-disc version of the acclaimed long-player it issued to Kickstarter backers a year ago. Midriff's release of AM/PM is no surprise, as it had been the label's plan since releasing its one-disc iteration of Black Honey last November [review] to release the songs it had excised at a later date. And that later date is May 25, when Age Rings plays a release show for the EP on the occasion of this month's installment of the very successful Midriff Records residency at Radio in Somerville, MA -- but more about that early next week. In a sense, AM/PM is a bin of spare arms and legs. But while the EP doesn't explicitly illuminate any heretofore unrevealed aspect of Black Honey (or vice versa), that perhaps speaks to the deftness of Midriff's curation of the portfolio of songs comprising the original, double-disc Black Honey such that the releases are self-contained collections complete in and of themselves. Indeed, the EP is populated with understated but brilliant rock songs showcasing Age Rings fronter Ted Billings' reedy tenor and wry outlook. Standout cuts include the noisier, heavier fist-pumper "Dreaming Forever" and the characteristically uptempo-but-down-in-the-mouth shuffler "Think Myself Sick." It's hard to know what to make of last week's news that Mr. Billings has converted the ongoing sessions for Age Rings' follow-up to Black Honey into sessions for a solo record Billings characterizes as "a bit of a departure from AR." After all, we like Age Rings a lot. But time will tell. In the mean time, rest assured in the knowledge that AM/PM is a known quantity, six tracks of lean, rootsy indie rock.

>> We were feeling a bit of a darkwave trend coming on when we last heard from Charlottesville, VA's Manorlady. We're not sure that has been borne out, particularly due to the apparent dissolution of the Lehigh Valley's best calling card in years, Soars, whose wonderful self-titled set seemed like another important focal point for the misperceived trendlet. But Manorlady soldiers on, thrives even, and the trio's latest collection Ego Oppressor will be self-released by the band June 18. Ego Oppressor will be issued as a CD/DVD combination; the DVD features an album-length, beat-synched video track to accompany the music on the CD. We don't think this will surprise anyone, but according to Manorlady fronter Aaron Baily, "[i]t's really, really, really trippy." The album remains true to the mid-fi and dark recordings from the band's last record, but the intensity level has increased. More aggressive tunes like the first preview track "Lines In The Corner Of Your Face" rock a little harder, while the dreamier, more subdued songs such as the pensive and nearly still "Sea Beast" -- check the Soundcloud embed below -- are more tightly focused. "Sea Beast," in particular, is exceptionally well-composed and the trio's skillful layering of guitar and synth (and even vocal parts) here hints at wide-open songwriting territory the band will find very fertile. Ego Oppressor will eventually be for sale right here, so keep checking back. We reviewed the trio's prior full-length Home a year ago here.



>> We think it is interesting that the term lo-fi has its heaviest associations bound to Guided By Voices' and Sebadoh's respective brands, while things like early Black Flag and Bad Brains recordings don't get discussed the same way (or at least not anymore). From a production standpoint, Richmond-based quartet Tungs has more in common with the Spot school of audio fidelity, at least based on the band's cracking new split release with scenemates Heavy Midgets, Sisters. There is something like a perfect balance to the overdriven productions contained therein; the split was released on vinyl and cassette by Bad Grrrl Records May 13. The music is boxy-sounding, post-punk that bleeds sizzling cymbals, high-hat and red-lined bass fuzz. The recordings practically throw off sparks due to the barely contained energy of the performances, and the rough edges don't detract from the experience; indeed the gritty power of the music on Sisters is the perfect antidote to the hyperclean, antiseptic recordings from the current crop of popular, smooth-pop guitar bands gracing the pages of a lot of music rags these days. But it's not just the everyman production values that make Tungs and Heavy Midgets stand apart: it's that the bands propound songs with character and imagination. Tungs' "Yossarian's Blues" warrants kudos for its vibrant, bristling take on Joy Division-derived punk. But that song seems almost conventional in comparison to "NewDiety," which touts ghostly, under-fi horns and Alice In Chains-indebted vocal yowling, or the pleasantly dubby wandering of "Bad Information." For its part, Heavy Midgets strike gold with its yearning ballad "Oh Susanna," which ends strong with a vast, feedback-flaring guitar lead, and the stuttering pop of anti-anthem "Come Get Me High," each strong enough to anchor a single in their own rights. Buy Sisters from Bad Grrrl right here or buy the digital version right here. Try before you buy via the Bandcamp embeds below.

Footage: Earthquake Party's Totally Thermonuclear "Pretty Little Hand"

Boston indie pop sensations Earthquake Party premiered the video embedded above for its cataclysmic hit "Pretty Little Hand" over at the Boston Phoenix's On The Download blog earlier tonight. As you can see, it is a monster. A deceptively simple performance clip comprised of tight shots that shudder under the pressure of the band's tightly compacted and euphoric pop. There are additional insights from the clip's director over at On The Download. We last wrote about Earthquake Party here in February on the eve of the band's first tour, and in the wake of a superlative radio session on WMBR's Pipeline! in which the trio ably covered both Black Tambourine and Guided By Voices. Earthquake Party's sole release at this point is the Vs. Pizza cassingle, upon which "Pretty Little Hand" first appeared. Vs. Pizza was first issued in November before a second edition was created earlier this year due to demand. We remain eager to hear more from the threesome, whose next area performance is at Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge May 30 with Thunders and two DJ sets.

Earthquake Party! Ride Imaginary Fault Line To Chicago, Back

We've been meaning to make mention of Boston fuzz-pop superlatives Earthquake Party! for weeks, ever since being blown away by their recent radio session for the inimitable Pipeline! show on WMBR hosted by Jeff Breeze. Seriously, have you heard this thing? There's a blinding version of "Pretty Little Hands," the highlight track of the band's recent Vs. Pizza cassingle release that we wrote about here in January. There are massive covers of Black Tambourine's "Throw Aggi From The Bridge" and Guided By Voices' "Tractor Rape Chain." And then there's cracking new tracks like the garage basher "Trash." What more could you ask for? Seriously, what's your problem?

Earthquake Party embarks next week on its very first tour, but not before a local gig tomorrow night hosted by Allston Pudding. Thereafter, as the title of this post suggests, the band tours out to Chicago and back with a second limited edition of Vs. Pizza in tow (this one on white cassettes, as opposed to the first edition's black). The trio rounds things out at Cake Shop in New York March 11, after which we hope they are heading straight back into the studio. In the meantime, you can stream the cassingle below, and download Earthquake Party!'s Pipeline! session right here. Get out to the show tomorrow.

Essay: The Club Is Open

[Mitch Mitchell of Guided by Voices at The Paradise, Boston, MA, 11/5/2010. Photo by Michael Piantigini. More here. || We are pleased to welcome to these digital pages the writing of friend Cathy Piantigini, whose last name should look very familiar to regular readers. We've been dying to have Ms. Piantigini write for the publication since we read this terrific essay about seeing Bill Janovitz at Toad in Cambridge, Mass. We look forward to more well-ordered words from her. -- Ed. ]

Buzzards and dreadful crows
A necessary evil, I suppose
There’s something in this deal for everyone
Did you really think that you were the only one?

-Bob Pollard

+++

My husband closes the door on the residuals of our Friday night dinner at home: dishes drying on the rack, spent bottle of wine in the recycle bin, homemade walnut basil pesto with sausage lingering in the kitchen.

Weighed down by a week spent catching busses, buying bananas and toilet paper, running miles on wet sidewalks made slick with falling leaves, and putting a combined 70 hours of our lives toward pensions, we lumber to our Civic. Not even out of our driveway, we're already hoping Commonwealth Avenue will take pity on two aging indie rock fans and offer up a parking spot so that we don't spend twenty minutes looking for one.

We're going to see Guided By Voices on their Classic Lineup Reunion Tour, which means everyone present will be a little older, a littler grayer, a little wistful. The show is at the beloved Paradise Rock Club, recently renovated, much to the dismay of my husband and I, and we duly note each other's complaints as we grumble our way to the bar.

The last song of the opening band sounds slick and boring, and is immediately followed with chants of GBV! GBV! GBV! when it ends. At the bar, we start catching up with friends we’ve grown accustom to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with these past two decades. They, too left creature comforts -- children, sofas, DVRs -– reckoning the value gained in getting lost in sound.

We spend the time between bands talking about buying and refinancing homes, the not-so-impossibility of running marathons, budget cuts, and some random shows we were luckily just old enough to get into at The Channel, may it rest in peace.

The club is as packed as it ever will be for a show.

I take the earplugs my husband hands me, not that I have a choice; he has a habit of checking to make sure they're in and will pinch me repeatedly if I'm caught without. A friend will see this, lean in and say something like, “Yeah, it's a good to...these days...hearing...,” but I can't hear him that well because I’m wearing earplugs.

"He's relentless," I shout, thumbing at my husband, and we look over to watch him, oblivious of our exchange, talking to another friend and sipping his beer.

Finally the band’s signature neon sign hanging on the stage comes to life: The Club is Open. The band takes the stage and instantly beer bottles are thrust skyward, along with fists. The moment of collective love and escape has arrived. The people pressed around me, jittery and anxious only moments before, suddenly seem to melt into each other as they slap one another on the back, clinking bottles and such. Someone, somewhere, is smoking pot. A pal from college comes up behind me, slings her arm over my shoulder, and I remember the quarter barrels ushered into her dorm room that I, the slack resident assistant, chose to ignore.

By the second song my earplugs are out and I am falling for the guitar player, Mitch Mitchell. Doused in cigarette smoke and tattoos, he makes me swoon with every windmill he strums off a guitar that is truly an extension of his body. He smokes through the night, this creased, leathery strip of a man, jumping up and down with an agility that ignores his paunch; cigarette dangling from his lips the entire time, it was occasionally necessary to put it back in his mouth by a guy whose only job seemed to be having the next cigarette lit and at the ready.

At some point Mr. Mitchell acknowledges, “the fine looking pussy in the audience.” All 8 out of 840 of us. I feel my cheeks flush, and can't even pretend to be offended, even when he goes on to tell us all where he wants that pussy. I watch him having the time of his life, glad to be back on a stage he hasn't stood on in 14 years, leaving the band that long ago.

Fanning myself, I turn to my husband, fortunately not beside me, as he notices my lack of earplugs, and I mouth to him, “Can you believe this?!?” and turn back to my highlight of the week, while he shakes his head, bemused. Later I grab his shoulder and exclaim, “Michael, I'm dying!” forever grateful for his tolerance of my stage crushes.

The night is like an express train I was relieved to already be aboard because it is nonstop. Passengers are driven through 39 anthems, most barely two minutes in length, and the conductor pauses just long enough to take a swig of beer before introducing the title of the next song. At times veering on wrecking, it makes the ride even more thrilling.

Near the end of the night, the singer, Bob Pollard, tells us he just turned 53 and, “So fucking what.”

Indeed.

He is drunk and telling us that it was Guided By Voices who single handedly saved rock and roll from the shoe-gazing bands of the 90s, and there isn't a single person in the audience who will argue with him, rabid My Bloody Valentine fans, like myself, included.

I think about Pollard and my swoon-worthy guitar player and how these shows are probably the only times they are given free reign. After the tour, I imagine they go back home to significant others who keep close eyes on how many drained bottles of beer sit atop kitchen counters. Maybe no one's keeping count and they're drinking alone.

The next day my husband gets a text from another friend at the show who I remember looking over at a few times during the night, as he stood there stoically, like a gargoyle protecting his patch of floor, and wondering if he was having a good time:

Man, how fucking awesome was that show? If we had to go to war against other countries using only rock shows as the weapon, I'd make GBV the main show in our arsenal. So glad I went.

It has been four years since Bob Pollard decided to put Guided By Voices to pasture. We had been missing him and his band for four years and they had been missing us: the audience in every city that welcomes their vices. He calls us kids, and as my husband pointed out, he's like our drunk uncle, if that drunk uncle is in a band that has really amazing songs. -- Cathy Piantigini

Rock Over Boston: Guided By Voices | Paradise | 11.05.2010

[Guided By Voices at the Paradise, Boston, MA 11/5/2010. Photo by Michael Piantigini. A few more photos here.]
Guided By Voices in 2010 might be what it would be like if your drunk uncle’s band had really, really amazing songs.

On December 31, 2004, with the name being more brand than band at that point, Bob Pollard retired the final lineup of Guided By Voices with a delirious 4-hour set in Chicago. Judging by The Electrifying Conclusion (Plexifilm), the DVD account of that night, it’s a wonder anyone survived.

But survive they did, and here they are. Owing largely - much like this year’s Pavement reunion - to the fact that Matador Records asked them headline their big 21st anniversary shindig in Vegas (grrrr). Pollard credited Matador’s founders the other night, telling us “they’re not stupid.” Apparently not - unlike Pollard's last few tours, as well as recent visits by this lineup's contemporaries like Teenage Fanclub and Superchunk, Guided By Voices’ Boston date sold out instantly. As it should have, since this is this particular sub-culture's Beatles, Stones, and Replacements all rolled into one.

The “classic lineup” on the road now is – and always was – a bit rough around the edges. But if you’re looking for precision musicianship, you best look someplace else because Guided By Voices – as the name implies – is about a spirit. Whether Pollard's making records with pals in the basement or dragging those pals on tour for the kids, this stuff connects and makes a club feel like family. Maybe it’s frat rock for music nerds?

One can quibble over who precisely makes up the "classic" lineup (there have been many members), but the period that this tour is covering is incontrovertibly classic: their string of albums from 1992-1996 beginning with Propeller, and continuing with Vampire on Titus, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Under the Bushes Under the Stars is a staggering 5 album run that is nearly unmatched.

But GBV are a different animal live than on record. Basement cassette four-trackers become windmill-slashing, beer-raising, fist-pumping anthems on stage. However unlikely sounding, "Exit Flagger," "My Valuable Hunting Knife," and "I Am A Scientist" feel every bit as important as any Springsteen anthem when the entire club is shouting along in a boozy bliss. Every song feels like an anthem from this period, and they drew not just from those five albums, but a host of singles and EPs as well. There was a lot to choose from, but when a band is giving you upwards of 40 songs, chances are you'll hear your favorites. That being said, Under the Bushes... felt a little under-represented.

Guitarist Mitch Mitchell - who, by all accounts, seems to be having the most fun on this tour - is so very rock and roll. His late-show stage banter about the, ahem, ladies in the audience (a distinct minority) would have made Steven Tyler blush. In stark contrast, mild-mannered guitarist Tobin Sprout held down the other side of the stage, and his being the George Harrison to Pollard’s Lennon AND McCartney, his songs were a gentle respite throughout the 2-hour set.

Bob Pollard presided over it all, of course. Addressing us, like always, as “kids,” which gets more hilarious with each passing year. Though we all kinda felt like kids for those couple of hours.

Later lineups may have been a little tighter (though some of them were often just as drunk), but this Guided By Voices is the real deal. The hard-partying must be getting tougher, but hopefully they'll survive this round too.

-Michael Piantigini

Robert Pollard/Guided By Voices: Intertubes