Review: Wire | Wire

After 39 years and a dozen albums as an on-again-off-again concern, London punk visionaries Wire have finally gotten around to releasing a proper -- albeit Wire-y -- dream-pop album. Though hinted at in classic cuts such as "Outdoor Miner" and "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W," never before has the quartet allowed itself to be so outwardly smooth, melancholy and serene. The new, eponymous 11-track collection integrates the impulses of Wire's exploratory rebirth following 2003's triumph Send into an inviting and cohesive set of mid-tempo songs, some yet bearing the sonic hallmarks of their highly celebrated late-'70s output. But Wire's lofty goal continues to be novelty (in the non-pejorative sense), and so it was inevitable that dream-pop would be way station. That inevitability, however, makes it no less enjoyable.

"The point where our personal narratives meet is all about change -- moving on and keeping it interesting for ourselves," guitarist and singer Colin Newman said recently in a press release. "We're in it for the long haul and this is a one-way trip." With that mission statement in mind, and, with touring guitarist Matt Simms (also of the massively under-rated It Hugs Back) now officially contributing to the group, the new disc wastes no time in throwing up an array of guitar textures both intricate and transporting. The band seems to have challenged itself to write clean and catchy numbers that draw great strength from their economy, and the results have certainly resonated with the record-buying public in the U.K., where Wire is the band's first album to chart in nearly 30 years.

Opener "Blogging" not only offers observations that hit a little too close to home for this reviewer, but also finds the band exploring a bluesy, deep groove that, dare we say it, approximates a simple sensuality similar to that of Violator-era Depeche Mode. The ensuing tune "Shifting" reinforces the steady, cleanly produced drum sound that dominates much of the album, while also highlighting the band's melodic gifts. Newman has always excelled at simple and elegant vocal melodies, and of this we are reminded here by his softly sung refrains of "gave you one more chance." By the third number, "Burning Bridges," it is clear just where Wire are journeying on their "one-way trip." A suitably dreamy video for the stand-out tune was released to the wilds of the Internerds earlier this week; watch it here.

The hook-laden "In Manchester" deploys prickly and warped lead guitar notes, which blend with subtle synth and drummer Robert Grey's ever-upfront hi-hat and snare work. "Octopus" raises the intensity a bit, with abrupt bursts of fuzz and chord changes that carry an energy straight out of Chairs Missing. "High" pits arpeggiated effects and synth strings against a traditional punk beat, and in doing so marries Wire's trademark brevity to a more shoegazey vibe. Interestingly, Messrs. Newman and Simms close some songs out with zipping and sizzling lead guitar effects that recall what My Bloody Valentine used on its cover of the aforementioned "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W" -- the Lovetone Meatball envelope filter, to be exact -- suggesting that Wire may have internalized the work of some of the very artists they had originally influenced. Perhaps, this feedback loop is what ultimately defines the album, since Newman and company sound more at ease than ever simply taking delight and relaxing in their own starry quirkiness.

Given the stunning results here, we are hopeful that Wire represents yet another new beginning for the the band, as the record manages to be cohesive, yet a great accompaniment to just about any mood. Wire was released this week via the band's own Pink Flag label; order it right here. The band is presently touring the UK through the end of the month, and embark on a two-week strand of dates in the U.S. at the end of May; full American dates are listed below. -- Edward Charlton

Wire: Facebook | Internerds | Soundcloud

05.26 -- Portland, OR -- Dantes
05.27 -- Seattle, WA -- Nuemos
05.29 -- San Francisco, CA -- Slim's
05.30 -- Los Angeles, CA -- The Echoplex
06.02 -- Cambridge, MA -- The Sinclair
06.03 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Music Hall of Williamsburg
06.04 -- New York, NY -- Bowery Ballroom
06.05 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Union Transfer
06.06 -- Washington, DC -- Black Cat
06.08 -- Cleveland, OH -- Beachland Ballroom
06.09 -- Detroit, MI -- Majestic Theatre
06.10 -- Louisville, KY -- Headliners
06.11-13 -- Chicago, IL -- DRILL:CHICAGO

Today's Hotness: Happy You, Nothing, Crying

>> Far be it from us to invade the purview of the artist, and tell her or him what to do. All the same, and as much as we absolutely love it, wouldn't the terrific new record Giggle from New York dream-pop septet Happy You be even more terrific if it were sequenced in reverse? Turn the record on its head, and it leads off with the angular, It Hugs Back-esque stunner "Chummy," with its wonderfully melodic and relatively mellow chorus, and then slides into the set's cracking title track right in the crucial number two slot. And how could you not want "Giggle" in at number two? With another undeniable melody mainlined via breathy vocals, ample fuzz and ethereal feedback gently leads the song up to a near dead-stop. There a curious and quiet bridge -- reminiscent of early Mercury Rev -- introduces an ecstatic, but all-too-brief sax solo that foreshadows (if you are going by the Clicky Clicky-approved alternate sequence) the totally bananas sax playing that sets off the buzz-sawed strummer "Blood Blood Blood." Alas, as Giggle was already issued digitally Tuesday, and vinyl pre-orders are already being taken for a planned Dec. 5 LP release date, our proposed running order will remain unofficial. But you could also do a lot worse than starting your record off as Happy You does, with the optimistic and giddy blaster "La La La Summer," which casts a spell with charming and innocent lyrics "summer's coming and we're hoping that its good" and "spitting in the wishing well is better than goodbye." Frontwards or backwards, Giggle is a very rewarding listen, and we're hopeful the act makes a trip to Boston before too long. There appears to be a local connection, too, as Coaches' Brady Custis is listed as an additional performer at the Happy You Bandcamp, which we highly recommend you visit forthwith to grab the download and pre-order the 12" vinyl. The first edition of the LP is 300 pieces pressed to random-colored vinyl. Happy You's next show, according to the banner at its Facebook dojo, is tomorrow night at a house in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, so, uhhhh, ask a punk? While you sort that out, stream all of Giggle via the embed below.



>> Earlier this month Philly's resident existential noise-thugs Nothing unleashed to the wilds of the Internets their first new original material since their crushing debut LP Guilty of Everything. The song, a dense, chugging number entitled "July The Fourth," arrives as half of the band's contribution to a split 12" due from Run For Cover Nov. 18. The other side of the platter features tunes from the self-described bad boys of nu-gaze, Whirr. "July The Fourth" is the short set's final cut, and it sheds the hazier gloom found elsewhere in favor of a more charged and chaotic, twin-guitar attack. We still fondly recall with precise detail seeing these acts at Boston's Great Scott last year. Nothing's Domenic Palermo wildly stage dove into a crowd of, errr, no one, and Whirr played so loudly the walls and ceiling ominously shook all around us. And so we are collectively psyched for this split 12", which will be released in an edition of 5,000 pieces with an etched B-side available in myriad color options (black appears have already sold out, but pink, baby blue, cream/green, and green/baby blue/yellow starburst apparenty remain). The media in question comes packaged with a special behind-the-scenes DVD titled In The Studio that we presume captures aspects of the recording sessions, which will surely prove entertaining and/or illuminating. Stream "July The Fourth" via the embed, and pre-order the record right here directly from Run For Cover. -- Dillon Riley



>> In other Run For Cover news: Crying, the chiptune-oriented trio that includes LVL UP's Nick Corbo and Whatever, Dad's Elaiza Santos along with a (figurative) cat named Ryan, disclosed that it will release a first set for RFC imminently, a double EP titled Get Olde/Second Wind. The release combines the first physical manifestation of the Purchase, New York-based threesome's 2013 debut on the A-side with with a brand new six-song companion EP on the flip of a single LP. The band is already streaming one of the new songs from Second Wind entitled "Batang Killjoy." The briskly paced and fresh-faced tune proffers a sharper, crunchier edge than the balance of the material on the relatively light Get Olde, replacing the former's dream-pop sheen with slicker alt-rock riffage. The tune also has one of the most romantic lyrics we've heard in a while: "yr girl is in the pew / I feel insane sitting next to you." You can pre-order Get Olde/Second Wind from Run For Cover right here. The set is available in an edition of 1,000 pieces pressed to blue, pink, white and blue/pink starburst media. Crying will go out on tour Nov. 11 with Modern Baseball, Knuckle Puck and Somos, a tour that last more than a month. The road show rolls into Boston Dec. 14 for what will surely be a hot evening at the olde town's fabled Paradise Rock Club; the show is all ages and doors are at 6PM. Grab tickets for the show here, and stream "Batang Killjoy" via the embed below. -- Dillon Riley

Today's Hotness: Mooncreatures, Tungs, Tapes & Tubes

>> Well, it didn't come as soon as we had hoped when we wrote about the band's first EP here two years ago, but Mooncreatures are indeed back, with another cinematic and evocative collection of heavily vibing ambient dreampop. The London-based duo's new, hermetic EP Gaslamps feels even more of a piece than its remarkable debut, as its six gentle songs steadily swell and breathe into one another. Band founder Rhys Griffiths describes the set as "a northern European night time record," but we'd put a finer point on it: the proceedings would seem to be aural travelogue of sorts, or so the song titles suggest. Opener "Cityscape, Hauptbahnhof" is all gauzy shimmer, as much an array of slowly shifting thoughts as it is cycle of pretty, waivering chords. The reverie is briefly suspended by a stretching tone that suggests a far off police siren, and the listener is suddenly transported to the second composition, the more intently structured dreamer "Tram To Brockenheim." The second half of the EP contains the sort of haunting half-dreams that hang in your consciousness for mere moments upon waking; these come in the form of the 44 second sketch "View From" and its two-minute successor "Expedition To." Gaslamps was released as a digital download March 14 via French label Beko, a concern that has also released music by the previously Hotnessed The Bilinda Butchers, Drug Rug and others. Stream the entire set via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to purchase the full EP.



>> Earlier in 2014 we deemed Heavy Midgets' superlative LP Super Kings the first excellent surprise of the year, and now the label responsible for it, Richmond's Bad Grrrl Records, extends its streak of hot releases from the area's best DIY guitar bands with a new long player from reliable scene mainstays Tungs. Tungs' weirdly wonderful Not For Grandma finds the trio further pushing sonic boundaries and contorting its influences, as it has since debuting in 2010 with a set called Sleeping. More so than any of its prior collections, Not For Grandma catalogs the band's whims like a mixtape. Surprises abound -- we recommend going straight to the deep cut "Eggsack" and sticking around for the completely demented saxophone that abducts the song in its final 90 seconds -- as each song seems to almost inhabit a separate universe. Single "Roses" is an aggressive, minute-long punker in the vein of early '80s Black Flag, with plenty of palm muting, echoey vocals and a slick delay-time spin in the final seconds as the tune collapses. The threesome shifts gears hard for the following track "Geebus," whose clean guitar chops and falsetto vocals mark it as an R&B-tinged guitar-pop jam until thick distortion overtakes the tune in the chorus. Most impressive is the four-song stretch from "Bone Dry" to the doomy (but strangely gleeful) "Flesh Light," which posits an alternate reality in which punky, Bleach-era Nirvana and the darker, bent string, drop-D-tuned Pac. Northwest grunge were never watered down following Cobain & Co.'s rise to superstardom. All four of the songs revel in the classic fuzz of alternative America's '80s heyday, and the serrated and slack nature (check the goofy closer "Me Fucking You") of it all is as cathartic as it is oddly comforting. Not For Grandma is available from Bad Grrrl now on CD, tape and vinyl via this Bandcamp page. Stream all of the long-player via the embed below.



>> Tapes & Tubes' music is meditative and sturdily constructed, and it has a timeless quality that has a lot to do with great songcraft and probably a bit to do with the manner in which it is recorded, too. The act is the project of Olympia, Wash.-'s Austin Potter, a home recording and analog sound enthusiast whose love for the dreamier and more sedate side of Yo La Tengo (or, by extension, greatly underrated Brits It Hugs Back) is readily ascertained by listening to the recent collection Ebb Tide. Throughout the contemplative, 10-song set boxy, minimal drumming, organ and Mr. Potter's quiet vocals routinely work in tandem to create vividly murky moods and a sense of broad possibility. The collection offers affirmative nods in the direction of Lou Reed and Bob Dylan, in the form of covers of "I Remember You" and "God Knows," respectively. The former is a relatively deep cut from Reed's 1986 set Mistrial, which is widely considered to be, well, the album before the one that had everyone proclaiming (rightfully) that Lou Reed was "back" (that would be the 1989 opus New York). The original has its charms, but Potter's reinvention of "I Remember You" succeeds via its understated restraint: Reed's bouncy guitar is kept, but the awful canned rhythm tracks scrapped. The new interpretation gives a sense of the reasoned smarts Potter brings to a song, and those smarts are evidenced throughout Ebb Tide. "Beginning" echoes to a certain extent Yo La Tengo's masterful "On Our Way To Fall," but Potter's whispered vocals, almost impossibly, feel even more intimate than those of Ira Kaplan. The whirling drone of organ on Tapes & Tubes' "Haunted House" may be a little too perfect, but it goes far toward establishing a sheets-of-rain-down-the-windshield vibe as well as the tune's steady groove. Grooves aren't always a necessity, however: the shimmering ambient guitar exploration "Solo Guitar Two" is pretty and enchanting, and indicates that the music of Tapes & Tubes may be increasingly potent the more minimal its approach. Ebb Tide was self-released last month and is available as a digital download via Bandcamp; plans are in place for a limited-edition cassette release as well. An even newer short collection titled Amplifer is already on offer right here.

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

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

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

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





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

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



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

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





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

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



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

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





6. Radiator Hospital -- Something Wild -- Salinas

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



7. Calories -- III -- Self-Released

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



8. Ovlov -- am -- Exploding In Sound

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



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

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



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

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

Today's Hotness: Confessions, Landmarks, Steve Hauschildt

​>> Pair up the fronter of a notable Boston dream-pop act and the live drummer from the ranking darkwave act of the day, and that's all the ingredients you need to mix up a tall cool glass of Your Girl, the debut EP from Confessions. Somewhat surprisingly, the Boston-based duo of Amanda Dellevigne and Alex Garcia-Rivera make music that is neither as dreamy as the former's Night Fruit nor as deliciously unsettling as the latter's Cold Cave, but even so the four songs on Your Girl please with a lightness and retro-futurist bent. It's both easy on the ears and a firm footing for further exploration by the two. Although the EP's quasi-title track "I'll Always Be Your Girl" is conventionally pleasing and will draw kicks to the dancefloor in droves, we think the real standout here is "Wonder." The latter tune touts a gently deconstructed and generously reverbed chant that implies a carefree sway despite the repeated rumination, "I'm in trouble now." The Your Girl 12" will be issued on a vinyl 12" and digitally tomorrow by Vanya Records, the sister label to Vanyaland.com, to which -- full disclosure -- this writer contributes. And firsties abound, as this Friday (July 26) Confessions make their live debut at Boston's esteemed Friday night dance party The Pill to celebrate the release of the EP. Your Girl is available for pre-order now via Bandcamp for the digital files or Big Cartel for the 12." Stream all four songs from the EP via the YouTube embed below.



>> Music fans have grown accustomed to flocking to Chicago each summer to take in the likes of Lollapalooza, Pitchfork Fest, Electric Daisy Carnival and Riot Fest. But while those big productions draw prominent national and even international talent, the Windy City for decades has boasted a strong local scene that most of those tourists sadly may never see (or, well, hear). Take, for example, one of Chicago's newer exports, the dream-pop quintet Landmarks. Despite having just three tracks to sample on the Internerds, the act's hit-to-miss ratio impresses. Landmarks evidence on its latest, second single a firm grasp on the classic Creation Records sound. The Public House 7", released May 3 via Public House Sound Recordings, also emphasizes the Chicago five-piece's strong affinity for dream-pop styles more generally as well. The band establishes in the opening moments of its particularly winsome B-side "Overflown" an insistent, krautrock groove, upon which Landmarks gradually layers spiraling, squalling guitar leads and placid keys. It's a sound that also echoes in the work of, say, contemporaries such as Kent, England's It Hugs Back or even, to perhaps a lesser extent, Munich's Lali Puna. The aforementioned groove is driven by a snappy, repetitive bass line that pushes and pulls against the messy, unsettled guitars while offering a formidable melodic counterpoint. "Overflown," along with the more subdued, more somnolent A-side "Cuscutta," is available as a pay-what-you-like download via Landmarks' Bandcamp, and you can stream the tune via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Dillon Riley



>> It is perhaps unfair to the reserved brilliance of Steve Hauschildt's dreamy electropop gem "Enter Return" to say it was the perfect thing to chill out to while we waited for last week's heatwave to break. That's because the tune's gentle rhythm, light beats and steadily cascading melody can surely transfix fans of conventional electronic fare or chillwave with or without the interference of extraordinary weather conditions. Even so, "Enter Return" was just about the only thing that was able to get our mind off the heat engulfing Boston late last week. Mr. Hauschildt's surname and warm analog electronics might lead one to believe he is another talented European producer, but in fact he is based out of Cleveland. He was also a founding member of the apparently influential ambient/experimental act Emerald. "Enter Return" is taken from the forthcoming double CD S/H, a set that collects 32 of Mr. Hauschildt's home-recorded solo tracks -- many of them previously unreleased -- produced between 2005 and 2012. The tune is one of the more recent compositions, having been recorded in Sept. 2012. S/H will be released by Editions Mego Sept. 16, and you can pre-order the collection right here. At 24 euros for the import, the price is a bit steep. But remember: this is a very large program of music, and if "Enter Return" is any indication, it will provide hours upon hours of enjoyment. And don't we all want enjoyment? Stream the tune via the Soundcloud embed below while you think it over.

Review: It Hugs Back | Recommended Record

With little fanfare -- at least here in America -- Kent, England-based It Hugs Back has been steadily building a formidable catalog of records and singles over the last several years. Its latest long-player, Recommended Record, is a lush, engaging and often aurally stunning marvel that gives the foursome a strong claim on a place in the vanguard of contemporary psych-pop. The set is roughly split into motorik groovers ("Sometimes") and gentle strummers that cushion persistently breathy vocals ("Teenage Drone"), although there are exciting moments that don't fit neatly into either pile, such as the blaring freakout "Big Sighs." That the music on Recommended Record runs the stylistic gamut with such ease is a tribute to the highly-developed and tasteful songwriting of the group, songwriting that evidences a keen ability to synthesize elements from a well-chosen stylistic palette.

The set commences with the charged, propulsive and kaleidoscopic rush of "Sa Sa Sa Sails," a sugary rocker that drips with the same sort of shuddering, guitar-heavy psychedelia as the best moments of the early Mercury Rev catalog. Even with the level of bombast high on the track, It Hugs Back guitarist and singer Matt Simms, who also plays guitar for post-punk legends WIRE these days, continues to sing with his characteristically dreamy, even delivery. From there the collection makes the first of many tidy transitions, here to the hip-shaking, organ-addled preview track "Go Magic!," which cleverly contrasts megaphoned lead vocals with pretty, terraced vocal harmonies and closes with wondrous, clanging guitars. The logically titled "Piano Drone" channels German legends Neu!, and the spooky "Sometimes" channels The Flaming Lips channeling Neu!, but Recommended Record also touts plenty of the catchy guitar pop -- in the vein of the Pitchfork-acknowledged 2009 single "Workday" -- that It Hugs Back is best known for. These include album highlight "Teenage Hands," as well as "Skateboard Rhythm," and the poignant, burbling "Waiting Room." That latter tune touts a subdued melody with swirled rhythm guitar that could have been inspired, perhaps improbably, by the introduction to Grateful Dead's "Crazy Fingers." While all of these reference points suggests a record that sounds scattershot and disjointed, in fact just the opposite is true, and -- as ever -- It Hugs Back succeeds by setting its own parameters in creating a warm, fuzzy and insular aesthetic.

Recommended Record will be issued on Safe And Sound Records worldwide on Monday and you can purchase it on CD or vinyl directly from It Hugs Back right here. All purchases are rewarded with an immediate digital download of the collection, and the first 100 pre-orders come packaged with a bonus EP. We've embedded a stream of the entire album below. It Hugs Back's prior record, the sophomore set Laughing Party, was released a year ago. We featured It Hugs Back in number 12 of our recently resuscitated Show Us Yours feature back in 2009.



It Hugs Back: Internerds | Facebook | Soundcloud

Today's Hotness: It Hugs Back, Black Tambourine

>> Hot on the proverbial heels of releasing the best holiday EP of 2012, Kent, England-based noise pop superlatives It Hugs Back have disclosed it will release its third long-player in March 2013. The forthcoming set is titled Recommended Record, it touts 10 tunes clocking in at 35 minutes, and it was recorded in the summer and fall of 2012. A bracing and brief teaser track from Recommended Record, "Go Magic!," is available to download for free right now -- right click and save as on this link while it lasts. During its 146 seconds the song harnesses the kraut rhythms and kinetic drive of the holiday EP's lead track "Snow Angel," but uses these to propel a more mod-inspired droner featuring a slap-backed lead, fizzing organ and sweet background harmonies. The Kentish quartet's sophomore set, Laughing Party, was issued on Safe And Sound Records last spring. It Hugs Back singer and guitarist Matt Simms may or may not be better known for his gig as touring guitarist for the current iteration of the legendary UK post-punk band Wire. Even so, Simms' own act has consistently delivered excellent, dreamy and slightly dark pop; It Hugs Back's brilliant, Yo La Tengo-esque song "Work Day" even got a little nod from Pantsfork back in 2009.



>> We're sure that if we still trolled message boards as we did years ago when we had less going on we'd see the sort of discussions about the importance of Soundcloud that we think the service deserves. It's not simply the technology we love, but also that it attracts folks like Archie Moore, a man whose C.V. includes stretches with all-time-greats Velocity Girl and Black Tambourine, among others, and it is this latter, massively influential band we're thinking about today. That's because Mr. Moore recently posted the first demo version of the Black Tambourine track "By Tomorrow," and it is wonderful. Moore mans the bass, Mike Schulman the guitar, Pam Berry takes the vocal and Brian Nelson works the kit. The song was one of several demoed in Northern Virginia in Oct. 1990; the session was engineered by a fellow named Ken whose mother's basement was used to house the proceedings. "By Tomorrow" was the lead track of a Black Tambourine EP released by Slumberland Records in Nov. 1991 as DRYL-9. We're hopeful that Moore and others will continue to unearth recordings such as these, as it rewards our deeply held belief that important, amazing music from our favorite bands continues to sit out there waiting to be revealed. As part of the Chickfactor 'zine's 20th anniversary celebrations last year, Black Tambourine temporarily un-retired in 2012 to release the wonderful OneTwoThreeFour double 7", which featured the band covering four Ramones tracks; more info here.

Review: The Snowy Owls | Within Yr Reach EP

Richmond, Virginia-based shoegaze quartet The Snowy Owls popped onto our radar about a year ago via the compelling digital single "Yr Eyes." The tune has proven to set the template for what has followed, as the dark, hazy promise of its JAMC-inflected fuzz and echo feels fully realized on the foursome's excellent new EP, Within Yr Reach. The act self-released the 30-minute set earlier this week and feted it with a release show in its hometown Friday night. Its eight songs double down on the band's '80s alternative rock and darkwave influences, presenting an affecting amalgamation of the early music of The Cure and The Chameleons that is as remarkable for its songwriting as it is for its consistent, pervasive tone. The Snowy Owls have a world view, and it is dark, concise, guitar-drenched and weirdly beautiful.

Within Yr Reach commences with one of the collection's two short intrumental tracks, "Pilcrow," a slow march of gauzy, reverbed chords from which catapults the firm beat of the title track. The song "Within Yr Reach" echoes It Hugs Back's early single "Other Cars Go," but eschews that band's motorik rhythmic tendencies in favor of just a touch more swing. Perhaps the best example of The Snowy Owls' relatively straightforward approach is the jaunty, feedback spangled rocker "Fortunate Isles," which trades on a sturdy rhythm, a simple arrangement of over-driven guitars, bass and drums, and well-conceived production, all of which highlight the fact that when you've got a great song with a great melody, there's no need for the extreme and heavy-handed auditory trickery many shoegaze acts favor. The foursome's respect for solid basics extends to a certain extent to fronter Matt Klimas' lyrics, which balance blurry abstraction and literal clarity, and even repeat certain imagery, to plot in simple terms the dimensions of an idealized -- if unconsummated -- relationship across the EP's eight songs. Within Yr Reach succeeds because the arrangements are relatively spartan, allowing each instrument to tumescently billow within the open aural space, even as Mr. Klimas and his band of merry men wash everything with reverbs and regularly distress the guitar leads with barely controlled distortions.

Brilliant and patient album closer "Falling" emerges from an elastic bass line into the sort of dysphoric dark vibe that made The Cure's Faith and Pornography so terribly affecting. Guitars gather for the chorus in proportion to the deepening reverb on Klimas' murky vocal. The play between the steady inevitability of quarter notes and so much saturated reverb, along with the song's wistful melody, makes it a fitting final statement for Within Yr Reach. Thanks to the good graces of Mr. Klimas, we are able to offer you a free download of the track, which you can snatch at this link. Stream the entire, excellent EP via the Bandcamp embed below; you can buy the collection at Bandcamp for a scant $3 American dollars for a limited time.

The Snowy Owls: Internerds | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitters

Today's Hotness: Yr Friends, It Hugs Back, Slowdim

>>Late last week Alexei Berrow surprised fans with a new EP from his project Yr Friends, the solo vehicle he commissioned last year. The new collection from the Johnny Foreigner guitarist and singer is titled Yr Friends Have Already Left and it contains five relatively placid and beautiful ballads. According to an email from Mr. Berrow, the music was inspired by the prospect of soundtracking an indie TV series, "a post-apocalyptic drama that uses real decayed buildings and urban wastelands for sets." In the interim between contacting the show's creators and learning that they had no need for his music, Berrow began writing the music in his head. Stuck with a cache of songs, he set about recording them anyway, and the result is, of course, Yr Friends Have Already Left. The quasi-title track "Yr Boyfriends Have Been Lying To You" is as forlorn and beautiful as anything Berrow has written; it pairs guitars, synth and a wistful lyric to goosebump-inducing effect. We're embedding the entire EP below, and we highly recommend after you stream it that you hop over to Bandcamp and buy buy buy. As with the debut EP Yr Friends Have Been Lying To You that we discussed here in August, the digital package contains assorted ephemera including lyrics and photographs, and it is available for ₤4 (about USD $6.50) via the Yr Friends Bandcamp right here. The aforementioned Johnny Foreigner embarks on tour Thursday to support the release of its epic third full-length Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything, which was our favorite record of 2011. Full tour dates right here.



>> Kent, England-based dream pop phenoms It Hugs Back disclosed Monday that they will release a sophomore set Laughing Party May 7. The 12-song collection is being issued on Safe And Sound Records and pre-orders are already being taken at It Hugs Back's web dojo right here. The first 100 pre-orders will ship with a bonus CD containing an additional 25 minutes of music. Laughing Party was recorded over the last year in the band's home studio known as the Record Room, which was featured in Clicky Clicky way back in 2009 in the feature Show Us Yours No. 12 (we should really bring that feature back). The quartet has unveiled one preview track from the new collection, the characteristically dreamy and ethereal "Massachusetts." While the tune is not a cover of the classic Scud Mountain Boys soul-spindler, it is still a wonderful, contemplative nodder that plays to It Hugs Back's strengths: patience, beauty and drone. Stream "Massachusetts" below. It Hugs Back launches a five-date tour March 21 that will see the band visit London, Manchester twice, Preston and Birmingham; details are here. These days we expect It Hugs Back singer and guitarist Matt Simms is better know for his gig as touring guitarist for the current iteration of the legendary UK post-punk band Wire. Or maybe not. But either way, It Hugs Back's music is excellent and the band remains curiously overlooked by many.



>> Bring on the lush and ardent Boston power pop, if you please. Indie rock lifer Paul Sentz and his henchpersons in Slowdim Monday dished up an eminently listenable new single "Money." The song is an insistent hand-clapper with big melodies, bigger guitar leads and rich vocal harmonies. It's also the first single from the foursome's debut LP, which Slowdim plans to record over the next few months with hopes of the record being issued later in 2012. Slowdim plays a release show for the single in Boston this Friday during the taste-making The Pill indie dance party at Great Scott. You should go to that. The band previously issued its Spirals EP a year ago [Bandcamp], which included the Clicky Clicky favorite "Take Your Only Heart That's Solely Free," a song that helped us close out our final set at New Music Night #2 way back in August.

Today's Hotness: It Hugs Back, Snakes Say Hisss, Edelweiss

>> Kent, England-based indie rock phenoms It Hugs Back have returned to action and are poised to issue a sophomore set. The title and release date have not yet been disclosed, but in an email to the dreamy quartet's mailing list It Hugs Back announced a two-week tour and said its live set would not only include material from the planned sophomore release, but also a couple songs currently slated for a third, we-presume-yet-to-be-recorded full-length. Formed in 2006, It Hugs Back has previously issued the debut full-length Inside Your Guitar -- featuring the undeniable pop tune "Work Day" -- as well as a compilation of earlier EPs titled The Record Room. The band was also kind enough to submit for questioning for our late, lamented Show Us Yours feature, which we hope to resuscitate some day. We also hope to have details about It Hugs Back's sophomore set as soon as they are available. Stream "Now + Again" from Inside Your Guitar below.

now + again by it hugs back

>> The name Snakes Say Hisss was something of a footnote to us when 20-year-old Sam Skarstad generated some acclaim upon the release of a solo set in 2007. Folks may not remember, but Mr. Skarstad released that year a fairly compelling full-length called Serkus, which got noticed by Clicky Clicky here and Said The Gramophone here, among others. And so it was Skarstad's name that raised our antennae when we got an email about Snakes Say Hisss last week, as the Philly-born-but-now-predictably-Brooklyn-based synth-pop duo only got passing mention in our own review and quickly faded from our mind. As the pair's instrumentation and rhythm tracks are primarily if not entirely synth-based, SSS's tunes are not generally in what we'd consider Clicky Clicky's wheelhouse. But the arranging, dynamics and melodic sense of the duo -- which also includes Jamie Ayers -- make the single "Right Behind You" and its flip-side "Comes And Goes" easy on the ears. Stream the A-side via the Soundcloud embed below, and "Comes And Goes" at RCRDLBL right here. The single was released in a limited edition of 300, and half of those are already gone, according to the Famous Class label web site. Snakes Say Hisss previously released the full-length (packaged with 'zine) I'll Be Lovin' You in 2007.

Snakes Say Hisss - Right Behind You by yvynyl

>> We hate to latch on to the incredibly young age of the Stroudsberg, PA-based quartet Edelweiss (because, really, the fact that they are from Stroudsberg is almost as unlikely), because that is usually the sort of thing we'd argue does not matter. But the band's new EP Pre-Columbians is remarkably accomplished, so the fact its members' average age -- average -- is 16 is kind of mind-blowing. Perhaps moreso because Edelweiss traffics in '80s-tinged, UK-styled guitar pop, a sound and era that it is mathematically impossible for guitarist Niko Porlier, drummer Coby Porlier, bassist Tommy Vitale and guitarist Tony Young to have experienced firsthand. So we hate to latch on to it, but there, we did it. These guys are young, and their music is great (albeit not overly original). Pre-Columbians presents songs that sound as if they draw from greats such as Bloc Party and The House Of Love. The song "(No)" is its most potent calling card, an uptempo toe-tapper appointed with cascading and noodly guitar leads and shouty backing vocals that sounds capable of starting a sensation for the quartet. Hit the stream below to hear for yourself. Pre-Columbians was self-released Sept. 13 and you can buy it from Edelweiss at its Bandcamp page right here. The upstart act has a handful of gigs lined up into the fall, check them out below.

09.23 -- Starlight Ballroom -- Philadelphia, PA
09.27 -- Arlene's Grocery -- New York, NY
10.18 -- The Studio at Webster Hall -- New York, NY
10.22 -- Lit Lounge -- New York, NY
10.28 -- Planet Trog Entertainment Complex -- Whitehall, PA

Show Us Yours #12: It Hugs Back

We only recently turned on to Kent, England-based indie rock foursome It Hugs Back, after hearing their excellent single "Work Day" on MIT's WMBR radio station late in the fall. The combo's proper full-length debut Inside Your Guitar will be released April 6 in the UK (April 7 in the U.S.) on the esteemed 4AD label, although as of last week It Hugs Back had inventory on-hand and was apparently selling the disc at shows. After picking up the band's singles compilation The Record Room: First Four Singles at EMusic we quickly became big fans, so we were pleased when It Hugs Back singer and guitarist Matthew Simms agreed to show us around The Record Room, the garage space in which the quartet both writes and records and whose name became the title to the singles collection.

CC: Why do you use this space?

MS: This is in my garage... it's perfect. It's always available and I have the shortest commute to work imaginable -- well, when we're recording or rehearsing anyway.

CC: Explain how an idiosyncracy or quirk of this space or a former practice space has affected a song, or even your overall sound.

MS: Being pretty small for all four of us, we have slowly worked out over time how we all best fit in... and still all able to hear everything. We have recorded everything we've released so far in this one room, so I think it has affected every recording... it definitely has a sound!

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

MS: On a good day... maybe the scent of nice fresh coffee... on a bad day... the not-so-fresh smell of hard work!

CC: Each of your now five singles has a bit of a different flavor: "Other Cars Go," for example, is droney, understated and in places discordant, while the newest one, "Work Day," has a beautiful and muted, '70s AM pop non-attack. You've presumably finished your forthcoming full-length Inside Your Guitar. Does it hang together as a complete, album-length work, or would you say the collection is as varied as your singles have been to date?

MS: The idea was definitely to make the singles as varied as possible and take advantage of the fact that it's only two songs that have to sit well together... while still aiming to sound like us! So for the album we wanted to do the opposite, and take advantage of putting together ten or so songs that run from start to end... We did have a tough time at first working it into a shape that was a coherent listen from start to end rather than a group of singles, especially trying to include all the band's favorites, but we got there in the end!

CC: What do the next six months look like for your band?

MS: The next six months revolve around the record release in April... touring and more touring... everywhere and anywhere!

It Hugs Back -- "Saving" -- The Record Room: The First Four Singles
[right click and save as]
[buy It Hugs Back music from EMusic right here]

It Hugs Back: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

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

Free-Range Video: It Hugs Back, Johnny Foreigner

>> Pitchfork today got the exclusive on the new video from It Hugs Back for the track "Now & Again." The song, from the Kent, England-based quartet's forthcoming full length Inside Your Guitar, is dense and beautiful like early Stereolab. The video itself is styled like many of the best early MTV clips (perhaps because there was a similar budget?) and features the band rocking out in a warehouse as Tetris-ish wooden blocks do their own peculiar variety of bumping and grinding. We'll be featuring It Hugs Back Monday in the next installment of our Show Us Yours feature. Inside Your Guitar, as we've reported several times, will be released by 4AD April 7.

>> Readers may recall we were very excited to go see Johnny Foreigner play at the annual CMJ music "conference" last fall. And then you may recall we got horribly ill and had to stay in Boston. Or maybe you won't. Anyway, that was no fun. But fortunately for us, when the Birmingham, England-based noise pop titans dropped in to record their radio session with New York-based WNYC someone thought to roll some video tape. The truth is the video quality of the clips we're about to link to is not that great. But the audio is very good, and there is a bit of a surprise as well, in the form of a new tranced-out arrangement for the old Johnny Foreigner single "Sofa Core." The band's most recent single (only released digitally, as it turns out) "DJs Get Doubts" gets a stirring reading, and the band makes an attempt at a refined take on "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella," although the song is much too boisterous to be held back. But let's get to the video: there is no embedding option, so click the hyperlinks to watch "DJs Get Doubts," "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella" or "Sofa Core."

Today's Hotness: Built By Snow, Burning Hearts, It Hugs Back

>> [PHOTO CREDIT: Alison Narro] Austin, Texas regularly surprises us with upstart indie acts. Recently it was turning out impressive shoegaze bands (the mighty Ringo Deathstarr, She, Sir), but its manic quartet Built By Snow trades in synth pop. The aesthetic is not unlike scene antecedents Belaire (whose self-titled 2005 EP continues to make us smile). But Built By Snow, which formed in early 2006, embraces a more overtly rock sound encompassing the bracing '80s pop of, oh, let's say The Tubes, as well as a thousand forgotten acts, as evidenced by the upbeat, hand-clapping anthem "All The Weird Kids Know." Built By Snow counts among its influences Devo and The Cars, but we think that assessment ignores several obvious contempories; Built By Snow's "Something In 3D" sounds a lot like New Pornographers. "A-Beta" touts sparer -- but no less punchy -- verses that the foursome leverages into dense pre-choruses/non-choruses packed with squalling guitars. Built By Snow self-release its new album Mega Jan. 20; an earlier EP, Noise, was issued in 2007. The band will be quite busy beginning tonight, when it plays the first of a half-dozen local engagements. We've posted Built By Snow's itinerary below.

Built By Snow -- "A-Beta" -- Mega
[right click and save as]
[buy Mega from Built By Snow right here]

01/02 -- Mohawk -- Austin, TX
01/06 -- Beauty Bar -- Austin, TX
01/08 -- Beauty Bar -- Austin, TX
01/18 -- KVRX radio session -- Austin, TX
01/24 -- Club DeVille -- Austin, TX
02/25 -- Emos -- Austin, TX

>> Pushing an even more synth-heavy musical agenda is the Finnish duo Burning Hearts, whose icy music largely foregoes real drums and rocking electric guitars in favor of programmed beats and analog(-sounding) keys. The act is comprised of Cats On Fire drummer and multi-instrumentalist Henry Ojala, and Le Futur Pompiste singer Jessika Rapo, who met while those two outfits toured Sweden in tandem in 2004. Burning Hearts' debut Aboa Sleeping will be released by Shelflife Feb. 10. The set is filled with gently glistening and airy compositions anchored by Rapo's rich and affecting alto, and the combination of the singing and synths will likely spur some knee-jerk comparisons to Stereolab. The likeness, however, is merely superficial, and we can't imagine anyone mistaking Burning Hearts' mid-tempo brooder "Sea Birds" with a Stereolab jam. The former's "A Peasant's Dream," well, maybe.

>> A left-over item from before the holiday: Kent, England-based It Hugs Back's full-length debut is -- somewhat improbably -- titled Inside Your Guitar. The set will be issued by the venerable enterprise 4AD, and likely not before April, although the quartet hopes to be selling the collection at gigs early from early in 2009. Inside Your Guitar will be preceded by at least one and perhaps two singles. Readers will recall we were ga-ga for the band's most recent commercial offering, the single "Work Day," which will also feature on the full-length. In late December It Hugs Back was offering a gift in the form of two tracks, NRBQ's "Christmas Wish" b/w "Sometimes The Snow," wrapped up in a .zip file. We're not crazy about the former track, but "Sometimes The Snow" is an interesting pastiche of spacey studio rumination built on reversed tracks, cymbal drone and guitar and bass snippets that went very nicely with the snow that fell on Boston the Sunday before Christmas. If you rush over here right now perhaps you can still download it.

Today's Hotness: It Hugs Back, Revelation Records, Henry Rollins

>> Letting go is hard to do. Especially when one of your favorite bands makes a groundbreaking recording, and then follows it up with something unexpected and dramatically different. Fans of the mercurial and chameleonic Lilys know what we are talking about. And to a certain extent we felt the same way when Dustin Reske of '90s dream pop heroes Rocketship left the world of sunshiney guitars to explore a more electronic palette. Last week we found something that filled the crater of certain unmet expectations whilst minding our own business listening to WMBR's delightful Breakfast Of Champions radio program. And that something is the latest single from It Hugs Back, "Work Day," the video of which we've embedded above. The Kent, England-based quartet's new single certainly reminds us of Rocketship, although in exploring its back catalog over the weekend it is notable that there is even a touch of Mission Of Burma to be found among the band's four prior singles. It Hugs Back isn't easily pigeonholed, however; "Early Evening" opens as an acoustic ballad that gradually gains steam and transforms into a light chime-studded rocker with overtones of Sufjan Stevens and Gastr Del Sol. "Work Day" was released by 4AD Sept. 29; 4AD and Too Pure, which put out the band's first four singles, merged in June. Another single is in the works, and both it and "Work Day" will appear on a planned 2009 debut full length release on 4AD. It Hugs Back's first four singles were collected up in April on The Record Room, which was issued on CD and in a limited-edition canvas bag, but can also be downloaded right here at EMusic. Highly recommended. Here's the A-side to its first single, the sold-out "Lights In The Trees," which was initially released by Too Pure in October 2006.

It Hugs Back -- "Lights In The Trees" -- "Lights In The Trees" b/w "Soft Spot"
[right click and save as]
[buy It Hugs Back records from the band here or EMusic here]

>> Speaking of EMusic, there was a recent notable addition to the digital music storefront's offerings, the Revelation Records catalog. Revelation pretty much cornered the market on New York Hardcore and the bands that sought to continue its legacy. Among its titles are astonishingly good releases that every fan of heavy music should own, including the crucial first Texas Is The Reason single [link]; Youth Of Today's final and un-eff-withable "Disengage" single [link]; and Burn's chillingly awesome self-titled EP, featuring "Drown" [link]. Noticably absent? The first Shelter record, which featured Ray Cappo backed by members of 76% Uncertain.

>> We don't get IFC on our living room lightbox machine. But if we did, we can only think of one thing we'd watch on it, which is Henry Rollins' talk show. This month IFC is rolling out three new episodes of "Henry Rollins: Uncut," including a show looking at New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a show capturing Mr. Rollins doing his talking show in Northern Ireland and a show during which Rollins tours a South African Township. Clips of all three shows, as well as a heralded show filmed in Israel, is combined with clips from Rollins doing his spoken-word bit live in an amusing 20-minute video you can watch right here. If you've see Rollins on a recent talking date (we saw him in 2006) some of the stuff late in the video will be familiar to you. That said, his story of meeting his idol Ted Nugent is one of a few that is easy to watch over and over and over. And it has historical import, as Mr. Nugent's teetotaler status was a direct inspiration on the straightedge hardcore movement.