Today's Hotness: Johnny Foreigner, Popstrangers, Oval

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





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



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

Review: Line Drawings | Take/Over

What alchemy transforms a good indie guitar band into a great indie guitar band? There must be myriad answers, and, in the case of Line Drawings, fronter and guitarist Pat Haid says it all comes down to the simple fact that the quartet tried harder this time around. But even so the substantial leap forward demarcated by the Sydney, Australia-based quartet's recently issued debut full-length Take/Over sparks speculation: where the hell did these guys come from, all of a sudden?

Crystalline guitars, vocals desperate and resigned, punchy drumming, atmospheric synth: these are the building blocks of a great sound, and Line Drawings arrange same with artfullness and restraint. Sure, it would be foolish to discount the roles respected Australian producer Wayne Connolly's mixing and production and Bob Weston's mastering play in elevating these recordings, but it comes down to excellent songwriting and credible performances. The indie rock concern's self-titled 2009 EP was good (the thing sold out, although Mr. Haid admits it was not much more than a demo), but Take/Over's emotional impact and sparkling production declare the quartet has mastered its form.

All of Take/Over, which was preceded in May by the single "Sleeplines" b/w "Twist And Go (Merry Go Round Version)," builds to the crescendo that is the relentlessly cascading, pensive album closer "Disremembering." As the song enters its thundering sixth minute Line Drawings sound determined to bring resolution to the proceedings by force. The collection commences with the catchy, uptempo and slightly discordant rocker "Fly" and continually lands punches that pack both power and pop sense. "Twist And Go" bounces with a flavor similar to the late, great The Godrays' "Both Your Names (Janus' Creepy Girlfriend)." "Sleeplines" crunches with effortless cool into a powerful chorus smothered under buzzing rhythm guitar and popping and buoyant lead lines that recall the work of Archers Of Loaf's Eric Johnson. Take/Over was issued in June in Australia and New Zealand by Other Tongues; North Americans can buy the set from ITunes here.

Line Drawings - Interstate

High Wires by Linedrawings

Still Frames by Linedrawings

Line Drawings: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

YouTube Rodeo: Line Drawings' "Interstate"

Gaze upward at the video for the second track from superlative Sydney, Australia-based indie rock concern Line Drawings' debut full-length Take/Over. The record was released June 11 in Australia and New Zealand only, although U.S. ITunes users can buy the digital version here. Take/Over, which was mastered by Bob Weston in Chicago, is immensely enjoyable to listen to, and frankly we think "Interstate" somewhat undersells how excellent the dreamy, guitar-heavy set is. In a year thronged with astonishingly good records, Line Drawings' ranks among the best. We are formulating a full review. If the band sounds familiar, it may be because we first wrote about Line Drawings here in April 2009.

Interstate by Linedrawings

Today's Hotness: Line Drawings, Saint Solitude, AC/DC

>> We like what we hear from Line Drawings, an Australian indie rock quartet whose recently released, self-titled EP has been getting a lot of play here at headquarters. No surprise, really, as Sydney-based Line Drawings' first two Top Friends at MySpace -- :: clicky clicky :: favorites Polvo and Seam -- indicate that we're likely as pre-conditioned to be a fan of these Australians as anyone. Although, if we had to pick our own RIYL to slap on a sticker meant to entice college radio play, we might go with Swervedriver first, as Line Drawings is neither as technical as Polvo nor as seething and disappointed as Seam. That said, there are very pleasing curtains of electric guitar and mildly plaintive vocals, a sturdy recipe (along with well-constructed melodies, also present here) for successful indie rock. Line Drawings has been together since 2007, and prior to that certain of the cohort played together in the act Ides Of Space. The band's self-titled EP contains six moody tracks and opens auspiciously with the urgent guitar anthem "Atmosphere Flies," which is certainly Line Drawings' strongest calling card, and which you can download below. Victoria-based Bell Sounds Digital issued Line Drawings March 28.

Line Drawings -- "Atmosphere Flies" -- Line Drawings EP
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[buy Line Drawings from the band right here]

>> We're inclined to be skeptical of one-man bands, who nowadays often ply their trade with loop machine and/or laptop, because the live spectacle can lack the sort of passion that really drives our fandom. There are exceptions, of course, as we think you'll agree -- if you've seen him -- that Dosh can work some hypnotic business on stage (granted, he performed with a colleague when we saw him). All that said, it really comes down to songwriting, and so we were favorably impressed with Asheville, N.C.-based and Maine-bred solo effort Saint Solitude. The band is a fellow named Dup Crosson, and Mr. Crosson writes very catchy indie pop numbers that -- at least as recorded -- bear none of the undesirable hallmarks of the solitary musician. The piano-anchored toe-tapper "Tosabesatoch" touts a light touch and an arresting melody. The rocker "Soft Contact" sounds like something Ben Gibbard might sing if he were in good mood and was backed by a sunshiney outfit; the guitar-and-voice ballad "Stay In Touch" is obvious enough sentiment-wise but is eminently listenable. "Tosabesatoch" is on the split EP He Is Contrary To Him out this month and available at shows, and Crosson is already at work on a full-length he hopes will be ready for public consumption come summer. Saint Solitude embarks on a three-week tour of the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. Thursday, and the act touches down at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville, Mass. April 25, with Midriff Records' Scuba supporting. Full tour dates are at the Saint Solitude MySpace casa right here. Crosson was kind enough to allow us to post "Tosabesatoch" below, so do check it out.

Saint Solitude -- "Tosabesatoch" -- Split EP
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[buy Saint Solitude music from Crosson here]

>> Let us be the first to suggest that in the inevitable TV movie that will re-tell the heroics of the past weekend (remember that whole hostage/pirate/sniper thing?), the climax should be dealt with as a montage soundtracked by AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock, We Salute You." The events leading up to the snipers' dispatching the three Somali pirates should unfold in real time, and the decisive gunshots should be unleashed as Brian Johnson shouts "FIRE!" Just sayin.'