Today's Hotness: Bleeding Rainbow, Milkshake, Solids

>> Hotly tipped and Philly-based noise-pop purveyors Bleeding Rainbow's terrific new long-player Interrupt may prove to be little surprise to fans of the band's progression from lo-fi bedroom act to wide-screen dreamscapers. But even so, that evolution, no doubt influenced in part by the act's expansion to a solidified four-piece, is captured in vivid and urgent bloom on the new set, which will be released by Brooklyn’s Kanine Records Tuesday. The music of the current iteration of Bleeding Rainbow maps a mean between the angular kinetics of Burning Airlines and the tuneful rush of early Velocity Girl, proffering plenty of earworm choruses and loads of ringing guitars that flatten against the edges of the envelope of the stereo field. Co-fronter Sarah Everton's voice swims among the guitar tracks, while Rob Garcia's thrilling, aggressive lead vocal on "Images" could have come straight off of Drive Like Jehu's legendary Yank Crime. At press time this coming weekend's Bleeding Rainbow show at Tasty Burger in Harvard Square has been cancelled, according to this well-reported piece over at Vanyaland. It's unclear whether the show will be moved, and the band may be slightly less incentivized to deal with the bullshit of moving the show as they are already slated to play Hotel Vernon in Worcester the night before (see all Bleeding Rainbow’s tour dates right here). It would be a shame if the night doesn't go off, however, as the bill also included local heavies Fat Creeps and Boston indie pop phenoms Bent Shapes. Pre-order Interrupted on red or blue vinyl, or on what is in all likelihood a metallic silver compact disc, from Kanine right here. Below you may stream three absolutely smoking album tracks. -- Dillon Riley







>> It's no secret that this reviewer thrives on left-field twists in indie rock, and the latest from Melbourne, Australia-based dream-pop outfit Milkshake certainly delivers. The act is a side project of Bored Nothing's Fergus Miller, who joins with some fellow Aussies from the combo Retro Culture to make this remarkable and charming EP. Milkshake EP II, which was self-released Jan. 25, combines instrumental introspection with great production, engrossing guitar textures and wispy vocals, making for some bracing shoegaze that nearly evades categorization. The highlight of the short set is "Repeater" (after arguably the best Fugazi song, perhaps?), a tune that emphasizes warm drum production, floating, picked guitar work, and powerful, yet distanced, singing. While most groups tilling similar sonic terrain might choose to emphasize the strings, Milkshake's power is founded in the jazzy drum work. The snare and toms' vintage-sounding, analog dimensions would seem to have been modeled on a classic Vince Guaraldi cut (an early dream-pop master of the highest order, but that’s another discussion for another day). After "Repeater" well, repeats overdriven guitar sections and choruses, it settles into a beautiful, piano-led bliss out section that maximizes pristine chords; the section builds intensity yet never shakes a lightweight, airy vibe. Elsewhere, "The Way Back Through" employs interesting, fuzzed-out snare work, while "End" presents a full-blown ambient hiss piece that leaves listeners too soon. Milkshake deftly balances progressive elements on these cuts with a DIY indie aesthetic, rendering thought-provoking music ideal for a crisp, clear fall morning. It's all very compelling stuff, stuff that reminds us of the 2012 sleeper classic from Pacific Valley, Woodgate Valley. Grab Milkshake EP II as a digital download for any price, or order one of a limited number of handmade CDs (in a "sensual, handmade CD casing"), right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> Last week Montreal-based fuzz-rock duo Solids dropped a scorching Fat Possum debut titled Blame Confusion, and, well, if you gotta blame something, that's a good place to start. A stirring blur of head-on pop-acknowledging punk -- but certainly not pop-punk -- the long-player nonetheless wears its influences proudly on its sleeves. The thick, swirling guitars recall vintage Dinosaur Jr., while frontdude Xavier German-Poitras' vocals echo a dozen first-wave Midwest emo records. Much like fellow Canadian duo Japandroids, Solids have a sound totally conducive to late-night, steering wheel-slamming drives. However, while Japandroids aim to channel the foggy fragments of that one night you'll never forget, Solids' noise-addled numbers feel more akin to living those boozy nights in real time. Call it I Can't Remember Why We're Celebrating Rock, maybe... Last week Solids released a video for album highlight "Haze Away," which you may view view right here in all its cartoon glory. The band undertakes a North American tour this spring that will bring them to Boston's venerable Great Scott March 17; full tour dates are listed right here. We recommend you order Blame Confusion on vinyl, CD, or as a digital download from the Corpulent Possum right here; while you wait for your mersh to arrive, stream the primo face-scrapers "Trace" and "Haze Away" via the Soundcloud embeds below. -- Dillon Riley

Today's Hotness: Pacific Strings, Cold Pumas

>> UPDATED: For a while there Berlin-based Pacific Strings seemed willfully obscure, as there was barely any information about the act beyond its Bandcamp page. But Clicky Clicky doggedly pursued the truth on the Internerds, and we are now able to penetrate the entrancing haze surrounding the band largely thanks to the small indie Cass Flick Records. Belfast-based Cass Flick is selling a "super limited" edition cassette version (as well as digital download) of Pacific Strings' brilliant full-length debut Woodgate Valley; the release date is Nov. 19. A cached Last.FM page -- the live page has since been edited -- reports Woodgate Valley is "a concept record about love and god. In addition, soda and tommy wright III." We can't begin to tell you what that means. What we can tell you is that we now know the names of the people behind this beautiful, mysterious record: Daniel John Boyle, Florian Zeisig and Maggie Buck Armstrong, of the UK, Germany and USA respectively. We don't know a thing about the latter two, but we've got an inkling that Mr. Boyle may be the same fellow who was a founding member of Clicky Clicky faves Johnny Foreigner, and apparently our belief about "Mr. Boyle" (we are told this is a pseudonym) is incorrect, so let's make it three for three: we don't know these folks. According to the Cass Flick Big Cartel page for Woodgate Valley, the trio formed "in early 2012 after a chance meeting on a bus, recording the eight song mini-album in a summer house on the Polish border after only a few months together. The three [members] share vocals and instruments to create a sinuous, multi-layered yet accessible sound, a combination in their own words of 'pop obsession and new world atmospherics.'"

The effortlessly gorgeous record -- one of the best of the year -- is rife with soft focus reverbs that envelope the tunes like so many blankets in an unheated apartment, yet never disrupt the head bobbing grooves. While much of Woodgate Valley aims for the female-led sensuality of Mazzy Star, opener "Ithaca, NY" emphasizes a different strength. The male lead on the tune has a great voice that brings to mind that of The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and provides the perfect foil for the song's pillowy guitar loops and vocal blips. Album highlight "Do You Love Me?" touts a simple, beautiful melody, is relatively uptempo and features a fetching vocal from Ms. Armstrong; it is all delivered in such an understated manner that it is one of the best songs of the year. Sleepy, but insistent, Pacific Strings nonchalantly exhibit such a complete mastery of songcraft and mood that we're particularly excited to hear what they do next. Pre-order Woodgate Valley right here. -- Edward Charlton and Jay Breitling



>> That a post-punk renaissance is in progress overseas right now is self-evident and undeniable, with bands like Iceage, Male Bonding, as well as the previously Clicky'd Eagulls and Bos Angeles all channeling the genre's tense, violent passions. It's unsurprising, as this new generation of bands comes of age in a global economic slump not unlike that of the Thatcher-era Britain that informed key progenitor Joy Division's digitally-smeared masterworks. Come now Brighton, England's Cold Pumas, who heretofore have been responsible for a steady trickle of singles and comp appearances. The trio's newly minted debut full-length, Persistent Malaise, is a brilliant collection of tense rhythms and disciplined guitar and bass work. Lead single "Sherry Island" storms out of the gate with a tight, hypnotic groove that trades on the sort of kraut-beat that is so much the rage these days in psychedelic circles. The tune's simple two-note guitar motif in the intro hops in and out around the thudding bass-line until the steadily slowing tempo grinds the affecting clang and drone down to a halt. Cold Pumas singer Patrick Fisher's vocals are pleasantly reverberated and wistful, contrasting pointedly with the mechanical gyrations of the guitar, bass and drums. Album cut "The Modernist Crown" is denser and more melodic, with vertiginous guitar chords bending in the chorus, but the motorik rhythm continues to anchor the proceedings. Persistent Malaise was issued by Faux Discx, Gringo Records and Italian Beach Babes Nov. 5 in a limited edition of 500 LPs -- of which apparently only 46 remain -- as well as CD and digital download; here's a link to where you can buy, buy, buy. Cold Pumas are presently only gigging in the UK, but we're hopeful this wonderful full-length might put enough wind in their collective sail to get them to the States before too long. -- Edward Charlton