Today' Hotness: Eros And The Eschaton, Ghost Orchard, Landing

>> Inspired dream-pop concern Eros And The Eschaton's second LP, due later this summer, is heralded by the surprisingly brash and altogether thrilling preview rocker "Rxx." After a bright, uptempo introduction, the song deftly shifts into a spiky, punky verse featuring an arresting vocal by co-founder Kate Perdoni, whose delivery ranges from delightfully bratty to pensive as she mythologizes a restless life on the road and the band's conception (at the climax she erupts "I started this band from a traffic jam when I was trying to find my way back to Canada!"). Formerly based in North Carolina but now operating out of Colorado Springs, Colo., Ms. Perdoni and partner Adam Hawkins now count among their number drummer Alex Koshak, bassist Ryan Spradlin and keyboard player Mitch Macura. The quintet's forthcoming album Weight Of Matter is said to be strongly influenced by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, but if "Rxx" takes a cue from Mr. Young's wide-ranging career, it would have to be Young's weird, new wave and experimental pop phase (he was a proponent of and sometime collaborator with DEVO, our older readers might recall). Even that feels a stretch, though, and it really makes no difference, as "Rxx" is so potent a single that it needs no RIYLs to prop it up. While the subdued dream-pop of songs like "You Know I Do" and "Don't Look So Sad" from Eros And The Eschaton's early day feels remote here, the big dynamic drumming, anthemic synth lines, spindly guitars and rich feedback in "Rxx" make for a very potent sound that presents exciting opportunities for the band. Bar/None releases Weight Of Matter Aug. 19 on vinyl and CD and pre-orders are being taken for the set right here. The band celebrates the record with two shows at the end of August in Colorado Springs and Denver and also performs in Denver this Saturday; all dates available at press time are listed below. Stream "Rxx" via the Soundcloud embed below. In related news, Weehawken, NJ-based Bar/None this past March celebrated its 30th anniversary, a very notable achievement indeed, and there are retrospective blog posts and a link to a label comp that are definitely worth checking out right here.

06.25 -- Denver, CO -- Westword Music Festival
07.30 -- Denver, CO -- Underground Music Fest
08.05 -- Colorado Springs, CO -- Fine Arts Center
08.26 -- Colorado Springs, CO -- Flux Capacitor (Record Release Show)
08.27 -- Denver, CO -- Larimer Lounge (Record Release Show)



>> Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Ghost Orchard's latest set, Bliss, is a veiled and smothered bedroom dream-pop wonder that has already soundtracked many a late night to devastating and lonely effect. Led by Sam Hall, the project enlarges the scope of similarly bleary solo work of artists like Astrobrite, Atlas Sound and the recently reviewed Flout for an adventure in woozy, driving sound design, not to mention yearning and youthful lo-fi contemplation. Short and sweet songs like "Seperate" and "Sorry" pair distant percussion to textured and tasteful guitar chords for a contemporary take on the "hypnagogic pop" genre which came to the fore with rise of Ariel Pink and other deconstructed songsmiths. Mr. Hall's mid-range vocals serve as another yawning instrument more than a direct lead, but his pleasant tones nonetheless complement the auditory universe he contrives. Loveless-styled instrumental segues bookend "I Saw You Floating," "Sleepover" and "Wisher," and these run into other pieces, adding to the intimate, toy-instrument song-cycle vibe conjured here effectively. While this style of music has been tackled by many, Hall's inoffensive and rounded mid-heavy production and original instrumentation prestidigitate a boyish wonder that circulates through much of Bliss' 13 songs, making the collection an ideal choice for lazy, searching summer evenings. Take this moment to act decisively, however, as Orchid Tapes' recent second pressing of 100 cassettes is likely to disappear as quickly as this piece can be read. Do it: grab Bliss now on tape or as a digital download right here, lest you have to wait for round three. -- Edward Charlton



>> While the name of Connecticut-based drone-rock four Landing has registered on this reviewer's radar in years past -- perhaps due to its prior association with labels as esteemed as K and Geographic North -- its music had eluded our ears until the recent lead-up to its latest album, Third Sight. That collection hit racks earlier this month on CD and green vinyl LP via El Paraiso Records, but indeed the band's legacy stretches back almost two full decades to 1998. Third Sight is a four-song platter of head music characterized by a psychedelic and ambient narcotic lull, one akin to those conjured by legendary hitmakers Spacemen 3, Stars of the Lid and The Warlocks. Landing achieves this through the use of pristine and full production, as well as a distinct, major-key howl. The collection, recorded as part of El Paraiso's Impetus series, aims for the tranquil yet hallucinogenic side of Landing's sound with protracted, ruminative songs and serious pedal work. The lead preview track "Delusion Sound/Third Site" (split into two tunes on Spotify) presents soft, delayed vocals that intertwine within a drift of synthesizer patches and slow-burning feedback. "Facing South" highlights spewing, long-timed drone pedals and bongo-esque percussion to establish a meditative, instrumental trance, while closer "Morning Sun" aims for middle ground between the two, before female vocals pour a little bit of light into the composition. Much of Third Sight comes across as tempered experimentation and improvisational, but the focus with which Landing tackles its craft makes for a compelling album that, we'll speculate, likely sounds massive on vinyl, the manner of consumption this music seems clearly intended for. Order Third Sight here or check out Landing’s impressive and substantial body of work at their Bandcamp page. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: The Hush Now, Brunch

>> Boston dream-pop institution The Hush Now disclosed late last week that it will self-release its long-awaited fourth full-length, Sparkle Drive, next month. The act, now operating as a quartet, has issued to the wilds of the Internet an appropriately sparkling preview track, the mid-tempo strummer "Arthur Come On, Really You Can't Be Serious." The tune gives lead guitarist Adam Quane a turn at the microphone; long-time fans will remember Mr. Quane's vocal debut with The Hush Now was on the jaunty bouncer "Cameraphone," which graced the band's terrific third LP Memos, which we reviewed here in 2011. "Arthur Come On, Really You Can't Be Serious" carries Quane's characteristic quavering vocal and is anchored by rich bass tones and layer upon melodic layer of the band's big guitars. As strong as "Arthur" is, it isn't even the best Quane-sung tune on Sparkle Drive; the album opens with the darker, more ethereal composition "Panda" --which touts a spectacular, glistening outro in its final minute -- which we think will connect strongly with fans when the album is released Sept. 23. The Hush Now has been quiet, but not entirely quiet, in the three years since the release of Memos. Among other things, readers will recall founder Noel Kelly picked up his guitar to write a response to the Boston Marathon bombings, and more recently he memorably covered Neil Young's "Motion Pictures" to promote a show over the summer. Information about a proper Sparkle Drive release show has not yet been revealed, but you can watch the band's Facebook outpost for further bulletins. In the meantime, stream "Arthur Come On, Really You Can't Be Serious" via the Soundcloud embed below.



>> The Internerds went all aflutter a couple weeks back with the news that Krill's dearly departed drummer Luke Pyenson had joined a band in London, that the band was good, and that the quartet had a pretty great song in the fuzzy gem "Sea Toad." All of the above is, in fact, true. But by the time Brunch -- that's the name of the band -- dropped its self-titled debut EP last week, much of the Internerds had already moved on. Which is too bad, because it turns out *all* of the noise-pop upstarts' EP is terrific. "Sea Toad" is a fine calling card, yes, flexing scritchy riffage under a high and lonesome lead guitar and fronter Sean Brook's pliable and evocative baritone. However, the best tune of the short stack is its anthemic centerpiece "Tidal Wav." The tune touts an oversized and yearning vocal hook in the chorus, with verses that remind this reviewer of the patient plod of The Velvet Underground's "Lady Godiva's Operation," while the huge chorus echoes the more contemporary outsidery crunch of Dark Blue or even the shadowy London act Black Seas. The succeeding number "Cordial I" slows the tempo and thins out the sonic picture for quiet verses that set up the aggressive choogle of the tune's final 90 seconds. Surprisingly, Brunch plans to come to the U.S. in late September/early October (according to the act's Bandcamp page) to play some shows, and we're very hopeful we'll see the band right here in Boston playing with Krill, because, you know, that seems like a really obvious thing for them to do, and because we like rock and roll music. You should spend time with the Brunch EP, it's time very well spent, and if you pony up the £3 asking price for either the download or handmade CD, you'll be helping in an albeit small way to get the band across the pond for the aforementioned U.S. shows. Stream the entire EP via the embed below, and then click through to purchase.

Today's Hotness: Royal Wedding, Halasan Bazar

>> Bursting forth with the ferocity of Link Wray's meanest, tobacco-spitting moments comes Boston's Royal Wedding. The trio's dilapidated, guttural, rockabilly skronk quickly drew us into its latest release, Inhabitants, which was released to the wilds of the Internerds last month. The EP, available as a pay-what-you-like download from Bandcamp right here, touts six skeletal and electrifying numbers. Echoed, harsh and dangerous-sounding effects fly from each instrument, but paint-by-numbers rock-shock sleaze Royal Wedding is not. Each song from the threesome's EP carries wisps of driving, atonal no-wave, like opener "S.C.U.M," the primal intensity of which recalls O.G. heroes like Mars or early Sonic Youth in the clean, serrated chops of tangled guitar. Elsewhere, singer Eric Boomhower's voice delightfully proves to be a dead-ringer for Thurston Moore at his most engaging on Royal Wedding songs including "Inhabitants" (which calls to mind Moore indulging Ramones-referencing yelps and vocal ticks in the late '80s). Royal Wedding's "This Many Phases" boasts such colossal delay on the mix in its early moments that the song nearly assumes a dub reggae posture. It's no secret that this reviewer greatly appreciates the repurposing of genre signifiers within a broad spectrum of popular styles. It's this ever-evolving conversation that creates most worthwhile contemporary music. It's also the stylistic bent that makes Royal Wedding's no-wave rockabilly fusion deserving of all the attention and praise it can get. Somebody get this band in a studio with Wharton Tiers! Royal Wedding play this Friday at Cambridge, MA's Plough And Stars, and the next day the act joins Clicky Clicky-approved garage ravers Thick Shakes at Collective A Go Go in Worcester. In the meantime, stream the entirety of Inhabitants via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> With some bands, sometimes it seems they have arrived on the scene via time machine. Halasan Bazar of Copenhagen is one such act. The quintet's latest album Space Junk, available for sale on vinyl right here via the Crash Symbols label, features on its cover a rendering of a futuristic farming-colony starship. It's not, however, toward the next space age that these men are headed, but rather some imagined one from an increasingly remote past. Indeed, the group of visionary tunesmiths sounds straight out of San Francisco, circa 1966. With a warm, jangling acoustic drive, Halasan Bazar repurposes the idealistic folk-rock synonymous with a bygone California, and augments it with modern hypnagogic tape warbling and gooey, spaced-out vibes. Further bolstering that concoction is singer Fredrik Eckhoff's bouncy and playful spirit, which helps the five-piece breathe new life in to both the musical past and present. Space Junk is highlighted by "Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad," which leaps into the stereo field with thoughtfully delayed guitar leads, cheapo keyboard lines and lo-fi fuzz. Mr.Eckhoff's Neil Young-evoking slacker croon makes the tune as bittersweet as its title tidily suggests. Elsewhere, the album plumbs more mellow depths with delicate, subdued and echoed folk numbers. Closer "Ease Up" is the best of these, touting a crisp, circular lead guitar guiding soft, beautiful melodies; the songs captures an intimate spirit reminiscent of certian numbers on Velvet Underground's serene third album. Halasan Bazar counts itself one among a growing number of European bedroom recording acts that smartly appropriate elements of the 60's pop avant-garde and re-interprets it via a youthful, weirdo aesthetic that sparks new sounds and songwriting perspectives. With the Elephant 6 scene somewhat dormant -- beyond Of Montreal's funk and soul exploits -- and the latest wave of garage-revival big dogs such as Ty Segall apparently more focused on the pounding hiss of the usual chords, one hopes more acts on our side of the pond will wake up and smell some of the same acid as Halasan Bazar. We'd suggest you pull the couch out into the back yard, get comfortable, and stream all of Space Junk via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Rock Over Boston | Demme, Young, and Hitchcock at the Coolidge | WFMU

[Jonathan Demme talks about his new film and how to shoot Robyn Hitchcock at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, March 1, 2010. Photo by Michael Piantigini]

So hand-held camera fan-shot concert films are a thing now, but most of them aren't directed by Jonathan Demme.

Neil Young Trunk Show isn't strictly speaking fan-shot (well, they're probably fans too, right?), but the effect is similar. Last night at the venerable Coolidge Corner Theatre (who are honoring Demme this year with their 2010 Coolidge Award), speaking before what was described as the final print of the film (though it has been kicking around for nearly a year since it premiered at last year's SXSW), Demme talked about his minimal direction to his camera crew, who he said were all musicians. Shoot what you want for as long as you want. What Demme put together from what they shot can only be described as intimate, trite as that sounds. It is, though, intimate in all the right ways: sometimes you're pumping your fist in the third row, sometimes you're backstage watching the tour doctor help Young out with an errant fingernail, and other times, you're there on stage with him.

Ultimately, though, it's all about that tone. That particular alchemy that Neil Young teases out of his fingers on his strings (he's usually not using a pick), through that mysterious magic industrial pedal board, and through that amp at the back of the stage tha that looks like part of an old console stereo you used to see in your grandparents' attic. There's a good mix in the film of Young's acoustic balladry ("Ambulance Blues,") and, yes, there's a few obvious hits ("Like A Hurricane"), but the centerpiece of the film is the 20 minute "No Hidden Path" from 2007's Chrome Dreams II, which stands up to any of Neil Young's epic guitar orgies. Wish I was at the show.

Demme re-created his Trunk Show approach last night by bringing previous documentary subject and pal, Robyn Hitchcock along with him and inviting anyone in the audience with a video camera to record his performance. We got some decent footage of his one song set of "Born On The Wind" from the new album by Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Propellor Time. There doesn't seem to be a US release planned for Propellor Time at the moment, but the UK version is being done by Sartorial, so you can check it out over there. It isn't clear how or where to send the footage, but I'll certainly let you know if it gets used!

When was the last time you sat in a theater and watched a whole concert film, by the way? Been awhile for me. For a long time, it seems, these sorts of things are experienced on DVD at home, while you're half paying attention. Worth trying again, I say.

ALSO WORTH YOUR ATTENTION: The radio station that is everything that radio stations are supposed to be, WFMU of Jersey City, NJ, is heard around these parts and worldwide on the internets and on their incredible new version 2.0 of their iPhone app - is just starting up their once per year two-week fundraising drive. Unlike most fundraising drives, WFMU's are a blast to listen to and the swag you get for pledging is nothing short of mind-blowing. I personally can't wait to get my hands on Tom Scharpling's Best Show on WFMU premium the "Chump Steamroller Fun Pack" that features an all-star DVD among many other things (and tune in tonight to hear Ted Leo among other guests), and the CDs curated by Boston-area native Evan "Funk" Davies, and Cherry Blossom Clinic hostess Terre T., among so many others. Oh, look! You can give right here:


-Michael Piantigini

That Was The Show That Was: The Spanish Armada | PA's Lounge

If you've been attuned to the Boston-based portion of the Midriff Records cohort for the last few years, you've likely heard more talk about the band The Spanish Armada than you've actually heard music. The band's debut long-player, prior to its release last week, sat in the can ready to go for quite a while. And then at some point the core duo of Greg Lyon and L. Tiburon Pacifico augmented the collection with a battery of overdubs. The finished product being celebrated with a record-release show Saturday is a mysterious, atmospheric mix of the crystalline and the noisy, and is filled with compositions whose aural topography is remarkably disparate. There is a lot of space, and there is a lot of stuff, and all of it is artfully arranged around Mr. Lyon's murmured, pointedly feel-bad vocals.

And so the biggest question Saturday night was how will The Spanish Armada -- now a quintet with a three-guitar attack, a bass player like Dee Dee Ramone, and an impressively fluid new drummer -- translate all the work in the studio to the stage performance. We spoke briefly with Mr. Pacifico prior to showtime and he said the band had worked hard on re-wiring its dynamic after drummer Dan Parlin moved to guitar and David Kaplan was brought in to command the drum kit. The effort seemed to pay off, as each of the three guitar players (wielding perhaps four times as many noise-shaping guitar pedals) during the six-song set worked in his own space and left no sludge in the palpable wake. Even so, Lyon's dour whispers and mumbles -- clearly presented on The Spanish Armada -- struggled to get atop the room mix, despite occasional support from bassist Logan Hodson.

But on the whole The Spanish Armada's set, which opened with the brilliantly titled new track "Sinking Off The Coast Of Spain," succeeded in charting a Mogwai-ish bearing throughout about 40 minutes. While the songs can get very heavy and occasionally aggressive on the self-titled record, it is interesting that the live unit cast the tracks as some golden mean between Sonic Youth and Neil Young. Perhaps it was just Lyon's flannel shirt. But we think it was more the flavor that this iteration of The Spanish Armada brings to the material. It's little surprise that the highlight of the set was the one-two punch of the strongest songs on The Spanish Armada, "Captain's Gone" and "Start Writing Up The Truce." The live airing of the former didn't include the cool piano denoument of the studio recording, but the swathes of guitar noise in its place were very cool. The act currently has no other live dates booked, but we expect to see more of them on area stages as the promotion for the new set heats up. In the meantime, have a listen to the album opener "On The Giving And Receiving" below.

The Spanish Armada -- "On The Giving And Receiving" -- The Spanish Armada
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[buy The Spanish Armada from Midriff Records right here]

The Spanish Armada: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Today's Hotness: Mobius Band, Dirty On Purpose, Neptune

>> So we didn't have to wait until Thursday to learn cyborg rockers Mobius Band's aforementioned surprise after all. As we suspected, and as the band hinted, the surprise is recordings from Mobius Band's recent woodshedding in Western Massachusetts collected under the titled Love Will Reign Supreme EP. The EP is comprised of six covers including versions of Daft Punk's undeniable dance anthem "Digital Love," Neil Young's "Razor Love," Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine" and Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You In The End." Which is proof, in case you didn't already know, that Mobius Band are bigger music nerds than you. Love Will Reign Supreme will be available for free (and with cover art) at the band's web site on Thursday. It is unclear whether the tunes will continue to be available thereafter, so it'd be best for you to make a mental note to snatch them that day. As we noted previously, Mobius Band begins a seven-week UK-and-European tour Feb. 21 in Dublin. Since the band is kicking it old school with its choice of covers, how about some old school Mobius Band? Here is the original version of "Taxi Cab," from the band's self-released 2002 EP Two.

Mobius Band -- "Taxi Cab" -- Two
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[buy Mobius Band records from Newbury Comics here]

>> Dedicated readers may recall in December when we reported that Brooklyn shoegaze quartet Dirty On Purpose would be releasing a series of four digital singles via the irritatingly spelled rcrdlbl blog. Well, it turns out the second single is now available, and the series of singles is now being referred to as the digital-only free EP Dead Volcanoes -- although now that we look at the ID3 tag for the first rcrdlbl release, "Leaving," we see the information was there all along. The new song is called "Hard To Tell You" and you can download it here. It is surprisingly anchored by acoustic guitar and has bleepy synth tucked into its eaves. And, frankly, it doesn't approach the sublime bliss-out that is "The Audience In The Room" from Dirty On Purpose's recently issued Like Bees EP. But the folksy vibe and neatly organized layers of sound complement each other and give the song an interesting early '70s feel.

>> Finally, we'd be remiss not to mention the Neptune record release show Saturday at Great Scott in Boston, because the bill is one of the best to come around in a while. Noise-rock behemoths Neptune will be supported by the unhinged and angular rock of Helms, among others, which makes this pretty much the best show this month. A second Neptune record release spectacular will occur Sunday in Providence, RI at AS220 and the official street date for the trio's forthcoming fifth set Gong Lake is the following Tuesday, Feb. 19. As we noted here in November, the new set will be issued by Radium/Table Of The Elements as part of the two-record deal announced in August 2006. Neptune will tour for much of March to support the release of Gong Lake, and you can check out all the dates here.

Review: Karl Hendricks Rock Band | The World Says

Karl Hendricks' latest collection is remarkable for its looseness. Although Mr. Hendricks has always displayed a sense of humor on the records of his eponymous trio, relaxed is not the first adjective that likely comes to mind for those of us who came of age listening to his tales of those broken by love. However, there has been a perceptible change in attitude on Hendricks' recordings since the late '90s. With a new combo christened The Karl Hendricks Rock Band and with the release of The World Says, our hero's outlook still seems resigned but also almost content -- and downright sunny in comparison to feel-bad numbers from his back catalog such as "Your Damned Impertinence."

And so, miraculously, Hendricks has transformed from a guy making visceral break-up songs into a reliable purveyor of summery (albeit still occasionally melancholy) rock jams. Along the way he shed most if not all of the anger that featured in his mid-'90s catalog, but none of his musical ability to land an emotional punch. What is left on The World Says -- Hendricks' eleventh full-length if you count a few cassettes we're not familiar with -- is fortified with unobfuscated charm and world-weary humor ("I'm Not Crying Karl," "The Last Uncompromising Hardcore Band").

As opposed to the tightly composed downer-ballads and sonic assaults of Hendricks' bygone days, The World Says showcases loose, crunching rockers packing plenty of big guitars. Behold the twisting, fuzzy and Television-like riffs in the denoument of the aforementioned "I'm Not Crying Karl." The rocker "Irony Fails Me" recalls "Nogales By Tuesday" from the excellent 1996 set For A While, It Was Funny (a record that memorably opens with the lyric "Are you naked and high on drugs?"). And even these days, after almost two decades recording indie rock records, the stuff of relationships remains on Hendricks' mind, as evidenced by the yearning album highlight "Banned For Life."

The tone of the new record, recorded in the band's practice space, is noticeably influenced by the lyrical playing of new second guitarist Alexei Plotnicov, to whom Hendricks ascribes adjectives including "Allman-esque" -- surprisingly, in a number of places that characterization is very on point. Plotnicov adds significant weight and riffage to "Mediocre Advice," a number that wouldn't sound out of place on one of those mid-'90s, Dinosaur Jr. records. Of course, a Karl Hendricks record would not be a Karl Hendricks record without an epic-length track or two, such as the aforementioned "Your Damned Impertinence" from 1995's A Gesture of Kindness or the amazing "The Summer Of Warm Beer" from 2003's The Jerks Win Again [which we reviewed here for Junkmedia]. On The World Says, Hendricks obliges with the mind-numbingly good, Neil Young and Crazy Horse-tinged rockathon "California In October."

According to Hendricks, there are no current plans to tour to support the release of The World Says. The album was issued April 30 on Surplus Anxiety, and you can buy it right here from Midheaven Mailorder. As a bit of inducement, here are a couple streams.



Karl Hendricks Rock Band: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr