Regolith A2E1: Sean Tracy Is A Songwriter

He rumbles the thunderstick for Boston anxiety-pop phenoms Chandeliers, he blasts the bottom end for Boston-and-New Hampshire-based shoegaze goliaths Bedroom Eyes, he does a bunch of other stuff, too. And now Sean Tracy is doing Regolith, Clicky Clicky's still new-car-smelling, month-long songwriting challenge. Attentive readers will recall it was just last month that we unveiled the results of Regolith Series 1, which featured scene stalwart Reuben Bettsak, and which produced this pretty dynamite collection of music (some of which will be performed this Sunday). We are very excited to have Mr. Tracy as our next songwriter-in-his-own-residence for this tripartite series. He's a New Hampshire native that has been keeping it real in the greater Allston/Brighton for several years, and we've been a fan since way back in 2010, when we put Chandeliers on a very hot bill at Precinct in Somerville, MA. As we mentioned supra, Tracy is also now playing bass in another Clicky Clicky fave act, Bedroom Eyes, which just released a totally sick new track called "Wild Sins" that we've embedded below. Incidentally, both acts he now plays with contributed tracks to our 2012 RIDE tribute comp NOFUCKINGWHERE. We think membership in two of the city's best bands is reason enough to bamboozle a gal or guy into doing Regolith, don't you? Either way, Tracy graciously has taken up the gauntlet and recently began work in earnest. We'll be sure to keep you apprised, as is the Regolith way, but before we go too much further, let's get acquainted. -- L. Tiburon Pacifico

CC: What is happening with your various projects right now?



 ST: Chandeliers is coming out with a full length LP this year. It's 12 tracks we recorded in January, that were written over the last two years or so. I'm really excited about it, and can't wait to put it out. We're doing a 2-day trip [this] week, out to Connecticut and Philadelphia, two places we have never played before, and planning a longer tour once we have records to sell.



Bedroom Eyes just released a single for a compilation and, besides that, we're finishing up some material that was tracked before I joined the band. That should be out soon. Besides that, we're writing new songs for an EP that we'll hopefully record later this year.



 I played in/play in a band called Dye (briefly, emphasis on briefly, called Kardashians). It's now mostly a recording project consisting of me and my friend Sam. We played two shows before he moved to the west coast and we have yet to release anything, but have 6-7 recorded songs that I really hope we will release this year. We practice as much as we can given the distance, maybe 2-3 times a year.



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



 ST: I play guitar (7 years), bass (5 years), and I can play drums a little. I have a kit, but don't really (never) play it. I can also "play" keyboard, if pressing keys and hoping they make pretty sounds counts as playing... [it does. -- Ed.]



 CC: How long have you been writing music?



 ST: I guess ever since I got my first guitar. I always tried to write my own parts, really simple ones at first, even though I couldn't really translate the ideas into actual playing. I actually sort of learned how to write songs by recording my own stuff with Garageband when I was around 19 or 20, and that's when I started messing with multi-tracking, learning how to mix audio, junk like that. And then after being in a band that worked on songs together, and seeing how that process went, I kind of eventually started working on more complex parts and full songs of my own.



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



 ST: Very, very many. I guess the biggest influences are my favorite bands, mostly jangly guitar bands from the '80s, and c86 bands: McCarthy, The Bodines, The Smiths, The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, '90s Slumberland stuff, especially Black Tambourine and Henry's Dress. Early Modest Mouse, '90s Kinsella-sphere emo, like Cap'n Jazz, American Football, Joan of Arc (that first album), The Promise Ring, and other stuff like Sunny Day Real Estate, Braid, early Fugazi, and older punk bands like Minor Threat, Bad Brains and The Wipers. For more contemporary stuff, Grouper, Deerhunter and Broadcast. Is this too many? [No. -- Ed.]



 I've also got a real place in my heart for old doo-wop stuff, like from the '50s and '60s. Not that I think that sound influences what I write, but I really admire how simple, in terms of structure and lyrics, that most of those songs are. But you can still tell there's real emotion that goes into it.



 CC: How would you describe your songwriting (not recording) process. Are the songs planned out, or is the process more organic, with single chords or melodies developing into parts, which then develop into songs? Or do you have a back catalog of riffs/parts/progressions that you mix and match until they find a home?



 ST: Well actually, I write quite a bit by recording. If I have one or two parts that go together, I'll record it and listen for how another part might work its way in there. Hearing something play back usually helps me decide what works and what doesn't, and where structural things and transitions should go. It feels a lot different playing a song vs. hearing it recorded. It's almost like how I "proofread" a song.



 Typically I'll have a few parts that will not really have a set order/duration, but almost always the part that comes to me first ends up being the chorus, and I kind of work the other parts around that.



CC: Do you normally write your songs alone, or are you used to writing with others? Will this project change the way you typically write?



 ST: Most of the songs that I write, I write by myself, so this is actually somewhat normal for me.



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



 ST: My bedroom/apartment, and maybe some in my practice space.



 CC: What are your goals/aspirations for this project?



 ST: My goal is really to push myself outside of my comfort zone, and by that I mean, actually PRODUCE something. Since I was 19, I have started writing and recording literally dozens of songs, some finished, many more unfinished, but zero that I've formally released. It's partly an insecurity thing, but it's also an attention span/schedule thing: I have ADHD, I work full time, I play and practice in two bands, and I have a girlfriend. There's not a lot of time in between for me to focus on songwriting, and this is a really good excuse for that, and it's just a cool idea for a project, too.

What else can we tell you? Here's the Face book deets for that show Chandeliers are playing in Philly Saturday night: all of our Philadelpia pheoples should hit that. The threesome is back in Allston Rock City April 30 supporting this bill at O'Brien's toplined by Streight Angular. Enough of my yakkin', how about some songs?





Related Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Bedroom Eyes
Today's Hotness: Chandeliers
Review: Bedroom Eyes | What Are You Wrong With
Bedroom Eyes Record Release Show With Sneeze, Lube, Kal Marks And Big Mess
And Then Some Days We Get Awesome Mail 12
Clicky Clicky Music Presents... N O F U C K I N G W H E R E
Young Adults, BDRM Eyes, Chandeliers and The Living City | The Box Fort, Allston Rock City | Jan. 28
Today's Hotness: BDRM Eyes

Today's Hotness: Mahogany, Snowden, Teardrop Factory



>> Like Tom Waits, art-pop concern Mahogany keep getting weirder while staying the same (to whit, Wikipedia describes the once-octet thusly: "an electric music-based multidisciplinary media ensemble currently working in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and other locations"). After only faint rumors and dead-ends in regards to the follow-up to their massive, brilliant and still misunderstood 2006 album Connectivity!, the band has finally released a new song. And it's a doozy, too. "Phase Break" is an eight-minute cycle of beats, choruses, and synths that incorporates elements of house music and disco into Mahogany's purposefully modernist, architectural dream-pop. As with "Leo Ryan (Our Pharoah's Slave)" by this blog's beloved Lilys, Mahogany synthesize myriad ideas and carefully constructed sounds into a full-blown mini-suite that plays as much as a mediation and art project regarding a beloved form as it does a coherent piece of music. That, however, is exactly what will likely please patient fans of the Mahogany cult; arguably anyone that fully understands where this band is coming from will appreciate the continued and pronounced proclivity for pop eccentricity. The group -- here just the duo of Jaclyn Slimm and founder Andrew Prinz -- fuses elements of Cocteau Twins bass-chord groove with every manner of analog drum patches, pristine cello work and Ms. Slimm's elegant vocals. At the two-minute mark, the song takes the first of many turns as a funk bass line enters; later, Mr. Prinz's familiar vocals announce the delightful "phase break" chorus. Additional playful twists ensue and exhaust in due course their saturated and crafty intentions, allowing "Phase Break" to meet the lofty expectations of fans who've been waiting on a sign from Mahogany. Incorporating elements of dance music will hopefully win Mahogany an even larger share of fans, although it is the complicated joys of its non-traditional compositions that should really wow admirers. We are eager to hear and see what magic the band conjures next. -- Edward Charlton



>> For many twenty-somethings, the post-punk and garage-rock renaissance in the early years of the new millennium served as an introduction to the wider world of indie music and its antecedents. Sure, those Interpol and Franz Ferdinand albums may have gotten less play once those early dorm parties were over and listeners found, say, PiL and This Heat, but one never forgets their first true loves. Another memorable band of the last decade for many was Atlanta's Snowden, fronted by Jordan Jeffares. The act hasn't released a new full length since 2006's potent debut Anti-Anti on Jade Tree. But come May 14 that all changes, when Serpents And Snakes releases No One In Control, the act's long-anticipated sophomore full-length. Much has changed in the musical landscape over the past seven years, but Snowden's vision remains pleasantly consistent. Indeed, the new collection is a fitting successor to Anti-Anti, and combines moody distorted synth and bass textures with spindly guitar riffs and clean, almost tribal drumming. While the grungy "Hiss" and new-wavey "The Beat Comes" keep the pace up like prior repertoire highlights "Anti-Anti" and "Kill The Power," much of No One In Control abides in a slower tempo that makes the band's dream pop all the dreamier. The synthetic 12-string acoustic atmosphere of "Anemone Arms" echoes '80s alt. acts like Crowded House or The Church; it's an unexpected but well-reasoned reach that works well for Snowden. The opening title track of the new collection even evokes the choral elements of a band like Ride, relying on singer Jordan Jeffares’ syrupy voice, which is glossy and tuneful throughout despite his monotone delivery. Snowden resoundingly delivers the goods on No One In Control, leading one to wonder why Jeffares waited seven years between long players (although, it should be noted there were EPs in 2007 and 2010). Regardless, like an old college friend, it's great to hear from him once again. Snowden embarks on a month-long U.S. tour May 30, and will play a Boston date at Great Scott June 26; full tour dates are posted right here. -- Edward Charlton



Stream all of No One In Control at Soundcloud right here.

>> England’s Faux Discx has been steadily inching up our list of 2013's record labels to watch, given that, as our executive editor so succinctly stated recentky, "it seems to be building a nice little universe of stuff." We first encountered the concern in 2012 when it issued Cold Pumas' excellent post-punk platter Persistent Malaise. On May 27 it will release Brighton, England lo-fi rockers Teardrop Factory's debut, the Topshop EP, in a limited edition of 300 vinyl 7" records. As with the other label signatories (including the brilliantly monikered Sauna Youth as well as Vision Fortune, among others), Teardrop Factory effortlessly combine messy, youthful energy with fully-realized songwriting and rich, analog (sounding) production. The band dares to keep their cards close, and so we're left with colorful intrigue and only one member's first name -- Andy. "Vanity Unfair," the preview track from the EP, is sadly not a cover of the classic single from The Ocean Blue. But it is nonetheless a brief, but gratifying, stormy two-chord rocker. Riding the groove, the singer (presumably Andy) offers a quick spoke-sung verse before his distaff counterpart steers the tune into a relaxed, brooding chorus. Distorted bass chug and reverbed drums (dig that massive wave of washed crash and ride cymbals), lend the tune the flavor of a frenzied live performance. The downcast energy recalls O.G. downer-pop Anglos like Eternal, Secret Shine or Jesus & Mary Chain. The production on "Vanity Unfair" touts a perfectly proportioned blend of hi-fi direction and the full-frequency onslaught of the best lo-fi (which, truly, makes us wish indie groups would ditch the fake "digi-studios" or completely lazy indifference and make stuff like this). The Topshop EP is another winner for Faux Discx, a label that is proving it knows where it's at when it comes to rich, analog guitar pop packaged with a little bit of mystery, a little brashness, and a whole lot of understated class. Pre-order here, and stream "Vanity Unfair" via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Pedro The Lion, Ringo Deathstarr

[Playing a little post-vacation catch-up here, with massive help from long-time friend of the blog Vanessa Deroo. We're pleased to welcome her writing to these electronic pages, and hope we'll be able to wring more out of her as her new, busy English lifestyle permits. -- Ed.]

>> It's hard to believe so much time has blown past, but we suppose we're at a point now where the name of David Bazan's mothballed project Pedro The Lion may not ring a bell with younger indie fans. But for those of a certain age, Bazan's defunct slowcore act -- which issued its debut long-player It's Hard To Find A Friend 14 years ago -- means intimate and scorched songs contemplating misplaced trust, broken faith and unsteady redemption. Over an 11-year span from 1995 to 2006, Seattle-based Pedro The Lion released five LPs, from the aforementioned flawless and raw debut LP to the electrifying finale Achilles Heel; a number of EPs and singles complete the Pedro The Lion catalogue. "Bad Diary Days," from It's Hard To Find A Friend, is an all-time favorite song of this blog's executive editor, we should point out. Thankfully, more indie fans will be able to discover for themselves the smoky magic of Pedro The Lion, as stalwart indie concern Jade Tree Records announced late last month that it will reissue this fall It's Hard To Find A Friend, The Only Reason I Feel Secure, Winners Never Quit, Control and Achilles Heel. Four LPs were remastered from the original sources by long-time co-conspirator TW Walsh; Winners Never Quit, the band's first and perhaps finest conceptual collection released in 2000, was remastered by John McCaig. The reissues are due from Jade Tree Oct. 30 and are available for pre-order now. A bundle of all five LPs packaged with a turntable mat and limited edition 10" by 10" print by Bazan is also available for a cool USD$70, but only until Aug. 31. Stream "A Mind of Her Own," the climax of 2000's Winners Never Quit, via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Vanessa Deroo, correspondent



>> Austin-based shoegaze heroes Ringo Deathstarr are wrapping a successful, fan-backed album campaign that we've followed closely here at Clicky Clicky headquarters. The trio announced in late July that its second long-player is titled Mauve; it will be issued by Sonic Unyon in the US and Club AC30 in the UK Sept. 24. The album release will be preceded by tour dates in Japan and South America and will coincide with a massive North American tour through late October. According to a Facebook post the trio will be in Boston Oct. 19; we expect UK and European dates are also in the cards. The 335 fans who supported the release via the PledgeMusic funding campaign will likely receive the record prior to the completion of the planned West Coast leg, but perhaps not before the release of the pending first single from the set, "Rip," an open invitation to noisy dreams which got premiered on Pitchfork here last month and which you can stream via the Soundcloud embed below. A stream of another track, a "drone in D flat" called "Girls We Know," was made available exclusively to pledgers and showcases the doomier, later JAMC-influenced side of Ringo Deathstarr. Mauve was produced by fronter and guitarist Elliot Frazer in Austin and Los Angeles earlier this year, in between touring with such luminaries as Smashing Pumpkins and the mighty Johnny Foreigner. The Deathstarr's full-length debut Colour Trip was one of Clicky Clicky's favorite records of 2011. -- Vanessa Deroo, correspondent

Today's Hotness: Ringo Deathstarr, Superman Revenge Squad, Psapp

>> Two of our favorite acts, Ringo Deathstarr and Superman Revenge Squad, have recently posted new material for streaming at their respective MySpace drive-thrus. Austin-based shoegaze celebrants Ringo Deathstarr, which commenced a rare but short strand of tour dates last night, has just uploaded two tunes, including the JAMC-ariffic "In Love" and the pop-ambient dreamer "Summer Time." The latter track is almost a shoegaze revision to the standard "Girl From Ipanema," while the former track is in the mold of Jesus And Mary Chain's controversial single "Reverence." If we recall correctly, the two tracks are intended for a forthcoming single or EP. The Deathstarr's planned live dates include three very rare East Coast engagements in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and New York. Frankly, we're astonished that no one booked the quartet in Philadelphia or Boston while it is out this way. But the world is a crazy, mixed-up place, innit? View the planned live dates here.

Superman Revenge Squad, for its part, has also added two new tracks to its MySpace dojo. One is the folksy strummer "Pupkin," and the other is the likely quasi-title track (that is, the title is in the lyrics, but is not the song title) to a forthcoming full-length from Ben Parker's solo entity. This second track, "I'm Gonna Go To Bed And When I Wake Up I Gonna Be Someone Else," opens with a characteristic spoken proclamation and segues into the manner of desperate strummery to which we've grown accustomed by following Mr. Parker's music for a little over a year. The tune also delivers one of Parker's typically self-eviscerating closing lines: ..."and looking back you weren't as useless in the sack as you gave yourself credit for." As usual, talking about Superman Revenge Squad has led us down the black hole of listening to Nosferatu D2's "A Footnote" on repeat. Nosferatu D2 was one of Mr. Parker's former bands, and as "A Footnote" is likely one of the best songs written in this decade, we're posting it below for what feels like the hundredth time.

Nosferatu D2 -- "A Footnote" -- Nosferatu D2
[right click and save as]

>> In early July we told you that Psapp would release its third record The Camel's Back later this year. Well, things have changed somewhat. While the U.K. release date Oct. 27 remains, the early November North American release has been pushed back to Jan. 20 according to an email from the quirky, London-based electropop duo. Another new bit of information: the first single from the record is "The Monster Song," which Psapp alleges is "a hugely catchy pop number, life affirming and vast." The single will be promoted with an animated video slated for release "soon." You can pre-order the U.K. version of The Camel's Back from Domino right here. There are several Psapp tracks we can't get enough of, and one of these is "Curuncula" from the act's 2004 set Tiger, My Friend. Below we're posting a recording of Psapp performing the number on radio broadcaster KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic program in 2006.

Psapp -- "Curuncula (Live)" -- Morning Becomes Eclectic, 14 June 2006
[right click and save as]
[by Psapp records from Newbury Comics right here]

Today's Hotness: The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Sea And Cake

>> As a teen few things fired our imaginations more than Barbed Wire Kisses, the B-sides compilation from the notoriously surly, riot-inciting and now reunited Scottish act The Jesus And Mary Chain. The remarkable collection is stuffed with narcotic melodies and blasts of static and sonically references Bo Diddly and The Beach Boys. After exploring bands whose music we had presumed to be so extreme as to approach unlistenable -- and finding that in almost every instance that simply was not the case (Minor Threat, Public Enemy, for example) -- we were thrilled by the challenge posed by the dense, dark, trebly tracks of the aforementioned set. We remember circa 1989 an ill-fated vacation (mountain house with a toilet that flushed directly into the yard) during which we had this in our Walkman for days on end. Strangely, it was many years before we hunted down any of the rest of JAMC's catalogue, although we are certain we heard Psychocandy many times before shacking up with Mrs. Clicky Clicky, who has the title in her collection. Anyhoo, it was with great interest that we read Billboard's piece published here Wednesday that describes the forthcoming JAMC box set The Power Of Negative Thinking: B-sides And Rarities. The set will be issued by Rhino Sept. 30, and according to Billboard it is like Barbed Wire Kisses on steroids. Nineteen of 20 Barbed Wire Kisses tracks -- including our favorite, "Everything Is Alright When You Are Down" -- make the cut for inclusion among the box set's four discs, as do a number of previously unreleased tracks. The full track listing is at the link above. The Jesus And Mary Chain play four west coast dates in the U.S. in mid-July; check out the dates here.

>> Given our deep affinity for the band's mid-'90s output, we are always eager to give another record from The Sea And Cake a listen. And while we grow increasingly skeptical as years pass that a new set will resonate as strongly with us as The Biz or The Fawn, stranger things have happened. So we were excited by this news at Pantsfork that the Chicago quartet featuring Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt will issue Oct. 21 the curiously titled Car Alarm. Longtime label Thrill Jockey will do the honors. You can review the track listing and album art for the band's seventh set, and read some fairly repetitive remarks (TJ, let us know if you need an editor), right here.

>> Some show listings at Earfarm remind us that Icy Demons will issue its third long-player next month. We initially wrote about it early last month here. The post-rock outfit's Miami Ice will be released on its own Obey Your Brain imprint, and the collection features contributions from Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist and Prefuse 73/Sam Prekop collaborator Josh Abrams. Icy Demons will play Boston's Great Scott July 27, and if you are out on the Cape that week, fret not: the band plays The Beachcomber in Wellfleet the night before.

>> During our stint at the beach Aquarium Drunkard was getting things done. The blog published a very good interview with Julie Ocean and the first part of an interview with The Hold Steady's Craig Finn. We highly recommend reading both here and here respectively. Fun fact from the Finn feature: J. Mascis plays banjo on the forthcoming Hold Steady set Stay Positive, which is out next month.

Today's Hotness: Ringo Deathstarr, The Notwist, Daytrotter

>> Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you above the new Ringo Deathstarr video for the Jesus And Mary Chain-arific track "Some Kind Of Sad." It's quirky, in kind of a "Lovecats" vein. Scroll down to our earlier item listing The Deathstarr's upcoming tour dates. The other really good video we encountered today is for the new Morrissey jam, "That's How People Grow Up," which will be included on a forthcoming hits package from the fabled former Smiths fronter. The clip makes us want to see him perform even more than when we posted (and unposted) "The First Of The Gang To Die" here. Watch "That's How People Grow Up" at Pantsfork here.

>> Bradley's Almanac's excellent 2008 preview contains some particularly exciting news for us: there will be a new Notwist record this spring. At least according to the Notwist-Ultras.com blog, which we had never encountered before. A post there in late November reported that the recording was completed and that the set was being mastered in November and December 2007. The name of the new set, which will be The Notwist's sixth, has not yet been disclosed, but it will likely be released by City Slang in April or May. Longtime fans will be interested to note that founding drummer Martin Messerschmidt has left The Notwist, and that drumming in the new record was executed by Masha Qrella and Saroos timekeeper Andreas Haberl. Mr. Haberl will also drum on planned German tour dates. We reviewed the excellent DVD "On | Off The Record," which memorialized the making of Notwist's superlative 2002 set Neon Golden, right here last February. The Notwist contributed to the excellent Morr compilation Putting The Morr Back In Morrissey, which was released in 2000. We're posting their selection, a clicktronic instrumental called "Scoop," below.

The Notwist -- "Scoop" -- Putting The Morr Back In Morrissey
[right click and save as]
[buy Notwist recordings from Newbury Comics here]

>> We think the sidebar to this Des Moines Register piece about Wolfgang's Vault's purchase of a majority stake in Daytrotter.com has the most interesting information. Daytrotter plans to record more well-known artists (Death Cab For Cutie and Stephen Malkmus are offered as examples); remove older recordings from the web site and sell them as high-quality MP3s; and press certain recording sessions to limited edition (500-1,000 copies) vinyl LPs. Which all sound like excellent ideas to us. Kudos to you, Daytrotter.