Today's Hotness: Barry Marino, Big Deal, Business Models

>> While Managing Editor Michael P. continues to manage SXSW, the everyday business of the blog goes on... This Today's Hotness is brought to you by the letter "B," in alphabetical order, sorta...

>> For the second year running, multi-instrumentalist and video director extraordinaire Barry Marino (who is perhaps best known to Clicky Clicky readers as drummer for Boston indie rock heroes The Hush Now) wrote and recorded an entire album during the month of February. This year's effort culminated with the release last week of the sparkling and curious eight-song collection February 2.0. Apparently the exercise is a bit more formalized than we had realized previously, as Mr. Marino's impressive feat is part of something called RPM Challenge, an event that encourages participants to record in a mere 28 days either 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material. Like his solid 2012 collection I Made These Gems In A Month, the new set strikes a balance between serene folk, hazy contemplation and upbeat electronic experimentalism, suggesting influences like Mazzy Star and U2 along the way. Up-tempo highlights "Level Planes" and the not entirely reassuring "We're Not Going To Guam" employ dance-ready rhythm tracks to anchor surreal, at-times-unsettling sentiments (the latter tune includes the brilliant line "half the stuff he says goes way over my head, the other half goes way, way over"). "The Subway Ninjas," a song apparently about being stuck on the subway with a jerk, a song that Google Translate improbably indicates is sung in Esperanto, uses bright guitar leads and a female guest vocal to conjure a breezy, South American vibe. Closer "White Knuckle" quietly echoes the verse of the aforementioned Irish quartet's "Ultra Violet." February 2.0, as well as the rest of Brooklyn-based Marino's work within and without The Hush Now, routinely finds ways to impress without being flashy or pedantic. Instead, there is a patience and ease to the music that somewhat downplays the cleverness and lucid imagery that are Marino's true hallmarks, all of which makes February 2.0 well worth your time and attention. We most recently heard from Marino in late 2012, when he sang the lead vocal for The Hush Now's annual holiday single (Marino also shot and starred in this video for the tune). In related news, The Hush Now is preparing the release of "Arkansas" as a digital single in the UK, to be followed by a digital UK release of the quintet's superlative 2011 long-player Memos. Incidentally, Marino is not the only member of the quintet releasing solo music these days: lead guitarist Adam Quane issued Tuesday a new collection of vibrant, textured psychedelia called O Orpheus Singing under his long-running No Evil Star moniker. You can check that out here; in the meantime tuck into Marino's February 2.0 via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> Big Deal announced last week it will release April 23 "In Your Car," the first proper single from the London-based dream-pop pair's planned sophomore set June Gloom. The captivating track maintains the act's new, noisy posture established via the early album two preview tune "Teradactol" last year. However, "In Your Car" ably harnesses the volume and attitude of "Teradactol" but successfully channels it into Big Deal's melodic and characteristically poignant pop. Indeed, the breezy, wistful chorus ("driving in your car / I wanna be wherever you are...") fits comfortably within the band's canon, particularly the music from Big Deal's brilliant full-length debut Lights Out. And perhaps it is just the title suggesting the correlation, perhaps it is the jarring opening notes, or perhaps it is the sweeping synth in the chorus, but we sense the second single also throws an affirmative nod toward Boston's own '80s pop legends The Cars and their tune "Just What I Needed." Sure, it's a fairly jarring evolution from the quiet, pretty harmonies and delicate guitar work of the band's debut single "Homework" from a few years ago, but those harmonies and Big Deal's deft ability to sound like it is constantly telling secrets persists even with the duo's contemporary "big band" sound. Mute will release "In Your Car" as well as the aforementioned full-length; June Gloom is slated for release June 4. As we reported here last month, Big Deal principals Alice Costelloe and Kacey Underwood have buttressed Big Deal's personnel with the addition of a rhythm section, which -- for the album sessions anyway -- included drummer Melissa Rigby. It's unclear who is playing bass with the band, or whether Ms. Rigby is part of Big Deal's touring unit, but we expect all of this will be revealed in time, as the presser announcing the single promises live dates will be announced soon. In the meantime, why not stream "In Your Car" over and over and over again as we have been doing?



>> Mr. Charlton was not overstating it during his assessment of the new Purling Hiss tune when he referred to a "strong wave of municipal all-stars" rising up out of Philadelphia these days. Indeed, the mental laundry list we maintain of Philly acts we need to monitor grows almost daily. At the top of the list today is Business Models, the new endeavor from ex-Algernon Cadwallader bassist and fronter Peter Helmis that also counts among its number former members of Ape Up! (Nick) and Man Without Plan (Barclay). The self-described "post-pop-punk" trio has released to Bandcamp under the title Room preliminary mixes of four songs from a "forthcoming bunch of songs." The music maintains the melodicism and energy of Algernon Cadwallader, but eschews that band's intricate guitar work in favor of chunky guitar chords. The resulting tunes recall the city's best West Philly-styled punk and brings to mind in particular Clicky Clicky faves Armalite, whose self-titled 2006 set was among this blog's favorite of that year. We strongly suggest streaming Room via the Bandcamp embed below -- it is all killer and no filler. The trio played some tour dates in Boston and Amherst earlier this month, so we expect that might be the last we see of Business Models until a record comes out, but who knows. Here's a video of them playing "The Aptitude," one of the four jams from Room.

Today's Hotness: Young Prisms, Violens, Speedy Ortiz

>> Shoegaze purists rejoice! While waiting for the next Ringo Deathstarr platter to come along and provoke the tinnitus, might we suggest checking out another group of revivalists who have done their homework: San Francisco's Young Prisms. The quintet's second full-length, In Between, is due March 27 on the venerable Kanine Records, and the album's wide-eyed take on the genre evokes memories of a certain strata of superlative, bygone American pedal pushers (Ultra Cindy, Drop Nineteens, Astrobrite). While Young Prisms breaks no new ground either compositionally or sonically here, In Between's understated boy/girl vocals, churning guitar chords, and dazed, reverberant snare drum marches will delight enthusiasts of the genre (present company included). Throughout the mostly mid-tempo set, Young Prisms cultivates some great melodies, including that of lead single "Four Hours (Away)," the vocal of which notably taps a Mazzy Star-like lilt while the instrumentation strikes a light, Motown-flavored contrapposto. The real winner of the collection, however, is "Better Days," a wonderful tribute to "Sarah Sitting" by the mighty, beloved Boston group The Swirlies that touts a shifting melody and queasy guitar lead. In the way that Interpol took the vibe of The Chameleons and sexed it up for a new generation, Young Prisms aims to inspire a rising legion of 'gazers with seldom-heard references that have always deserved more attention. Pre-order In Between from Kanine right here, and check out the marvelous live set recorded at Shea Stadium last October via the embed below -- Edward Charlton



>> In a wonderful surprise last week, Slumberland Records posted to its Soundcloud page a new track from New York-based chord merchants Violens (an act which, incidentally, has remixed Young Prisms' "Floating In Blue"). The song, "Der Microarc," is from the act's upcoming album True, slated for release May 15th. Violens isa five-year-old progressive pop band that combines elements of '80s alternative rock sounds with early electro and broad vocal harmonies. Utilizing these tools, the band concocts a rare form of psychedelia via compositional weirdness, rather than relying on effects. Beautiful, odd chords and melodic turns can leave the listener disoriented even as they are dancing along. It's a rare musical feat that speaks of a musical intelligence and playfulness that the indie world can always use more of. "Der Microarc" is a quickly paced jam that displays a clarity that was missing on Amoral, the group's crowded yet superb 2010 debut. The song follows an effective four chord strum; a kraut groove filtered through the prickly surrealism of Daydream Nation. Better yet, the band seem to be tapping into the vibes of Mahogany's smashing Connectivity! album and its internationalist cosmo-pop. The signing of Violens could signal a welcome shift in the recent Slumberland roster, which lately has seemed to focus primarily on somewhat predictable presentations of the C86/ Black Tambourine legacy, as opposed to the label's more experimental past, including ground breaking releases from bands like Hood, Lorelei, Stereolab and Whorl. This thought alone is enough to make the anticipation for True unbearable. -- Edward Charlton



>> We don't know the age of Sarah Dupuis and the rest of Western Mass.-based Speedy Ortiz, but we imagine that they wish they were born 20 years ago. Because there's little doubt that Speedy Ortiz's recent single "Taylor Swift" would be garnering scads of major market FM radio play on the fledgling alternative rock-formatted stations that were springing up back then. And on the strength of the single Speedy Ortiz would probably be aboard a commercial flight to Los Angeles right now (well, right now 1992) to record a full-length for one of those major-backed, faux indie labels we had back then. But, of course, it is not the bizarro world of the early '90s we're currently living in. That, however, does not weaken the impact of "Taylor Swift," a crunchy, feedback-spangled, grunge-pop gem with a ridiculously catchy, swaggering chorus. The single, backed with the even-heavier but still delicious and angular "Swim Fan," was recorded by Paul Q. Kolderie at Mad Oak Studios and mixed by Justin Pizzoferrato, whose name you know from his work with Dinosaur Jr. and Young Adults, among many others. And, if a post on the band's Facebook page is to be believed, apparently naming their single "Taylor Swift" is a trademark violation, so the song title may be changing. Speedy Ortiz are slated to play the Pipeline! radio show on MIT's WMBR on April 24, and the band has a short series of tour dates in the Northeastern United States in late March that are posted to its Bandcamp page right here. It appears the band is currently recording a five-track EP at the Sex Dungeon in Philadelphia titled Sports, which we are now very eager to hear. Check out "Taylor Swift" and "Swim Fan" via the embed below.

The Warlocks: Through The Looking Glass The Hard Way

We didn't know anything about The Warlocks -- except wasn't that name the original name for the Grateful Dead? -- until hearing the L.A.-based quintet's absolutely sublime tune "Dreamless Days" on WMBR a couple years back. Since then -- and since buying Heavy Deavy Skull Lover, from which "Dreamless Days" was taken -- our affinity for the band has grown steadily. The Mirror Explodes, The Warlocks' sixth record, is available in the UK today and will be released in the U.S. on Tee Pee Records tomorrow. The opening track "Red Camera" begins like a dangerously overdriven version of the title track to Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See, but then floats into dark electric curtains of white noise and feedback. The record is not uniformly weighty: the ballad "There Is a Formula To Your Despair" is distinctly more gentle, although perhaps only a little less narcotic. The Warlocks launch a two-week UK tour July 14, after hitting Paris July 10; U.S. dates have not been revealed. Download "Red Camera" below.

The Warlocks -- "Red Camera" -- The Mirror Explodes
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[buy Warlocks records from Newbury Comics right here]