That Was The Show That Was: Japanese Breakfast with Porches, Rivergazer | The Sinclair | 5 Oct.

[PHOTOS: Tiffany Law for Clicky Clicky Music Blog] The reverbed keys and dense shoegazey guitars on Psychopomp, Michelle Zauner's full-length debut with her latest project Japanese Breakfast, represented a sharp stylistic pivot away from the music of her beloved and much-Clicky Clicky'd Philly indie combo Little Big League. That and the fact that Psychopomp was largely inspired by the loss of Ms. Zauner's mother to cancer provided ready-made narratives ahead of the long-player's release. But the big story for Psychopomp, which was issued last spring, has to be its superlative songwriting, which couches concise hooks and earworm choruses within expansive production. It is one of the year's more arresting releases.

Last Wednesday night at Cambridge, Mass.'s Sinclair the band ran through a tight live reworking of the record, while mixing in a number of affirmative nods to certain key influences. Among the live set's highlights were performances of widely heralded album preview tracks. Japanese Breakfast's cover of Birthday Girls' "Everybody Wants To Love You," whose sprightly indie pop guitar leads -- admittedly something of a tonal outlier on record -- practically blossomed in a live setting. Better still was the band's sparkling rendition of "In Heaven," a track that doubles as Psychopomp's thesis statement, and one that felt particularly cathartic presented on stage. Multi-instrumentalist Nick Hawley-Garner flipped between guitar and keys throughout the set, working to animate Psychopomp's lush and at times Smashing Pumpkins-indebted arrangements.

Even so, and aside from a gorgeous cover of The Cranberries' eternal teen-pop smash "Dreams," the night's biggest moment was Japanese Breakfast's set-closer, an as yet-untitled new tune touting bubbly synth and auto-tune styled vocals from Zauner. For this, she abandoned her guitar and bounced around the stage, underscoring this reviewer's hunch that the band may be heading in a poppier, and perhaps thrillingly experimental, direction. Following its show at The Sinclair, Japanese Breakfast played two sold-out "hometown" shows in Brooklyn and Philadelphia; next week the act heads across the ocean for a three-week tour of the UK and Western Europe. Stream all of Psychopomp via the Bandcamp embed below and click through to purchase the set on vinyl, cassette or as a digital download.

Popular New York group Porches headlined the night, proffering plenty of cuts from its moody, swaying Domino Records debut Pool. Bandleader Aaron Maine has grabbed headlines for taking his project in a bolder direction away from its earlier downer folk-rock. He now leads a much looser live outfit, and has become something of an enigmatic focal point: video clips now depict his slightly off-kilter delivery and dance moves. There are few indie groups out there with as strong a stage chemistry, which likely accounts for the incredible live takes on Pool highlights "Car," "Mood," and "Braid." New York alt R&B outfit Rivergazer, whose Kevin Farrant also plays guitar in the Porches live band, opened the night with tasteful numbers from its recent Only 4 U EP. -- Dillon Riley

Japanese Breakfast: Bandcamp | Facebook



Related Coverage:
Review: Little Big League/Ovlov | "Year Of The Sunhouse," "Pure Bliss Choices" b/w "The Great Crocodile"
That Was The Show That Was: Little Big League with Paws, Idiot Genes | Great Scott | 14 Nov.
Today's Hotness: Little Big League

That Was The Show That Was: Alex G, Porches, Your Friend | Middle East | 12 April

[PHOTO CREDIT: Dillon Riley] UK-based Domino Records, long home for considerable talent via its transatlantic operations, has caused a stir with the recent signings of some buzzed-about American indie rock bands Alex G, Porches [thank you for dropping the ridiculous period in your name. -- Ed.], and Your Friend; we raved about the latter act's single "Heathering" here in January. Domino recently sent the three acts packing across the U.S. on a kick-ass tour that wrapped last week, not long after a hotly tipped, entirely sold-out stop at Cambridge, Mass.'s storied Middle East Downstairs.

Your Friend, the one-time bedroom pop project of Lawrence, Kansas' Taryn Miller, began the evening with a hypnotic set that more than delivered on the promise of her ambitious, engrossing debut LP Gumption. The recently commissioned, full-band incarnation of Your Friend is -- unsurprisingly yet thrillingly -- a much louder affair onstage, but in achieving the bigger sound the band never sacrifices the subtleties of its music's dense, swelling movements. By taking all the beguiling elements of Gumption and in effect blowing them up, like ten times over, the band reaches the audience in ways groups that mine vaguely similar sonic moods often fail to do. The five-piece backing band imparted additional dynamics and rhythmic feel to Ms. Miller's music, especially in passages where drum machine patter progressed to live drumming, and particularly chest-thumping kick drum. Miller's searching vocals -– crucial to Your Friend's appeal to our collective ears -- were similarly impressive, and shone on numbers including the aforementioned "Heathering," as well as "Come Back From It" and the album's haunting title track [check the arresting, recently released video here]. The set was an auspicious showing for a project that will see increased attention for Your Friend's next moves, as more and more music fans seem to be turning on to Gumption.

New York's Porches, still surfing the fizzing acclaim surrounding the release of their newest LP Pool played to an enthralled audience. While somewhat self-serious in its disco- and R&B-indebted workouts on record, the songs were given a sort of playful bent onstage, a feeling enhanced by fronter/mastermind Aaron Maine's deadpan banter and sly dance moves. While the band ran through some lovely takes on Pool material buoyed by lively live drumming, it was the dancier renditions of earlier Porches songs that impressed most. A shuffling, beatific version of "Franklin The Flirt" and "Headsgiving" were stunning reminders of the band's appreciable sonic progression.

Philly’s Alex G capped the evening with an all-killer, no-filler set of jams taken almost entirely from 2014's critically lauded DSU and the Domino-issued follow up Beach Music. The strongest material off Beach Music like, say, "Kicker," ranks among Mr. Giannascoli's best songs to date and were unsurprisingly highlights. Better still, though, were performances of some long-revered b-sides, some from earlier Alex G Bandcamp releases, such as "Sarah" and "Soaker." These drew massive cheers from the die-hards scattered throughout the club's cavernous downstairs space, and underscored the strong depth of the Alex G catalog. -- Dillon Riley

Alex G: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds
Porches: Bandcamp | Facebook
Your Friend: Facebook | Internerds







Related Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Your Friend
Today's Hotness: Alex G
Today's Hotness: Porches

Review: Bedroom Eyes | Honeysuckle

Standard bearers for unyielding, big-guitar shoegaze in Boston would seem to be hard to come by these days, with many of the genre's key regional proponents shutting down, migrating elsewhere, or mutating. The newer school of Boston 'gaze is tempered with pastoral passages, post-rock dynamics and more distinctly American production aesthetics, and the richly melodic, guitar-drenched sound purveyed by now-resuscitated legends RIDE and My Bloody Valentine would seem to have somewhat fallen out of favor. However, that all changes next week, when Bedroom Eyes return with a commanding sophomore set. The Boston foursome's new long-player Honeysuckle -- its first in three years -- places Bedroom Eyes at the vanguard of the city's big-guitar scene, poised for a breakout into the broader American underground on the strength of its moody, sonically aggressive and vividly rendered songs.

Honeysuckle is intoxicating, and its uptempo material particularly so. Buzz-sawing album highlight "Plain Heir" hits like a tsunami of swirling, bending guitars, with deep reverbs elevating the drums and characteristically smeared vocals in the mix. Similarly powerful is "Gypsy," whose churning, distorted guitars and breakneck pace are all blitzkrieg and no ebb. That pacing and surprisingly compact compositions establish a tension with the richness of Honeysuckle's arrangements and production, and this tension is at the core of what makes the set so entrancing. The effect is amplified by the fluidity between tracks; while the album doesn't quite have a continuous mix, songs flow and breathe into each other. Indeed, Honeysuckle employs two beautiful interstitial instrumental compositions to link key tracks like so much edgeless watercolor. First, the arpreggio-led, narcotic revery "(Highsummer)" ties the aforementioned "Plain Heir" to the pretty, mid-tempo anthem "Wild Sins," a tune whose thunderous choruses are set off by dreamy passages of layered guitar leads. The final third of the record is unstoppable; there the interstitial "(Deepwinter)" is sandwiched by the fiery, indefatigable belter "Lorraine" and the tremendous closing title track, which alternates between glimmering verses that call and shuddering choruses that respond.

Part of the narrative pushed with Honeysuckle is that the collection represents a "painstaking reworking" of the Bedroom Eyes sound. Nonetheless, it is striking how our review of the band's spine-tingling 2012 debut could very well apply to the new set. All of the visceral guitars, spectral vocals, saturated emotion and crackling energy the band presented on What Are You Wrong With persist here. Perhaps the production is where the foursome's game feels most stepped-up, particularly the vocal treatments, and a sonic wholeness across the record achieved by a honey-dripping, sub-aquatic ambiance. Despite its familiar building blocks, the new record by any metric is a distinct step forward. Sure, Honeysuckle arrives in the wake of a lineup change and an earlier scrapped LP session, but the painstaking reworking would seem to have rebuilt a reliable foundation, not reconfigure the band's sonic DNA. Whatever; the results speak for themselves.

Honeysuckle is a towering collection, a masterstroke, and so we are very pleased to premiere for you today the entire album via the Soundcloud embed below. Midnight Werewolf Records will release Honeysuckle in a limited edition of 100 cassettes Nov. 24, and the label is already taking pre-orders right here. The release is the first in a series of three cassettes that the label will issue over consecutive months featuring Boston acts (subsequent tapes feature Charles and Pleasure Gap). Honeysuckle will also be available on CD, and the band has already been selling it at shows. Bedroom Eyes just wrapped a short strand of live dates that took it as far south as Richmond; the band's next area show is Dec. 5 at Firebrand Saints in Cambridge, Mass. with Burglary Years, Summer of Aden and Babydriver. Bedroom Eyes also performs the following week with Porches at UNH in Durham, NH, and you can read more about that right here.

Bedroom Eyes: Bandcamp | Facebook



Previous Bedroom Eyes Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Bedroom Eyes
Review: Bedroom Eyes | What Are You Wrong With
Bedroom Eyes Record Release Show With Sneeze, Lube, Kal Marks And Big Mess | O'Brien's | 9 July
Clicky Clicky Music Presents... N O F U C K I N G W H E R E : 11 Boston Bands Perform Ride's 1990 Album
Young Adults, BDRM Eyes, Chandeliers and The Living City | The Box Fort, Allston Rock City | Jan. 28
Today's Hotness: BDRM Eyes

No, Thank YOU: Exploding In Sound Commemorates Protracted Awesomeness With Long Weekend Of Shows In Boston, That Other Place

Anyone with a passing interest in this publication probably has some understanding as to the awesome might of Brooklyn's Exploding In Sound Records. Originally a Boston-based concern, the Empire State label powerhouse is home to arguably the greatest active roster in indie rock, a kudo likely to be burnished further by the recent signings of DC's elastic slowcore trio Swings and extremely curious New York indie four Palm. History lessons aside, the folks over at EIS do it good, and they do it righteously, which is definitely something worth celebrating. And what better way to do so than with a long weekend of shit-hot rock shows across two states, a couple cities and a half-dozen venues? To sweeten the deal, said rock shows are not only highlighting the formidable EIS stable, but also bring under the big tent certain extended and notable family and friends. The festivities are already underway this evening at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn, with the traveling circus not hitting Boston until Saturday. Below we look under the hood of those local bills, running down the sights and sounds of what's being called The Exploding In Sound Presents: "Thank You For Being A Friend" Extended Weekend. So read the good news and spread it wide, readers.

SATURDAY AUGUST 22nd | The Sinclair | Cambridge, MA | All Ages
Palehound, Stove, LVL UP, Big Ups, Krill

The first night of the Boston leg of the extended weekend takes place at what we believe is the biggest venue in the series, Harvard Square's opulent The Sinclair. Although our proposed review got somewhat lost in the shuffle of paperwork, music work, and real work, Palehound’s stunning debut LP Dry Food may very well be Boston's record of the year. An eight-song collection of inventive lyrical, and musical twists and turns, Ellen Kempner and co.'s work stands strong among her labelmates and neighbors, and -- as proven by last Sunday’s opening slot at the Royale -- Palehound proves to be an increasingly formidable live act as well, and we expect their time on stage Saturday will be particularly memorable. Also playing the big, big rock show Saturday is Steve Hartlett’s post-Ovlov (RIP) project Stove, which we gathered last time they were in town also includes other members, both former or otherwise, from hit-makers like Ovlov (duh), Sneeze, Bedroom Eyes, Kal Marks, and Big Mess. We promise we will die happy the day we get to see Stove play the Lemonheads classic "Stove" live, so, you know, keep an eye on us. New Yorkers LVL UP and Big Ups are also on the agenda for Saturday, and both groups have wowed us in the past with their live presentments. Clicky Clicky faves Krill plays last, most likely to little or no fanfare wink wink nudge nudge. Tickets and other info can be found right here.





SUNDAY AUGUST 23RD (Afternoon) | O’Brien’s Pub | Allston, MA | 18+
Coaches, Great Deceivers, Zula, Lady Bones, Swings, Washer, Vundabar

Sunday's slate on the far side of the river features not one, but two stacked rock shows in Allston at two of the city's most popular rock halls. The afternoon plays host to an eclectic bill featuring the talents of some out-of-town friends, some city-bred rising talent, and some new-comers to the fold. Vundabar's set is sure to stand out, as its recently self-released sophomore LP Gawk is chock-full of weird, slippery instrumental turns and expertly crafted phrases. The record is a huge leap beyond their still-pretty-great debut Antics. Other performers toiling in the daylight hours include local noisy rock outfit Lady Bones, formerly local heirs to Boston's shoegaze throne Coaches (whose likely forthcoming EP is like whoa, and whose drum stool for the afternoon we believe will be occupied by Infinity Girl's Sebastian Modak), New Yorkers Washer and Zula, Chicago-based math-punks Great Deceivers and the aforementioned jazzy DC slowcore heroes Swings. We’re given to understand there will be free pizza for those who show early. We repeat: FREE PIZZA. As if all the great rock sounds we’re enough incentive to roll out of bed around noon. Tickets and other info can be found right here.





SUNDAY AUGUST 23RD (Night) | Great Scott | Allston, MA | 18+
Bunny's A Swine, Leapling, Gnarwhal, Kal Marks, Pile

The finale of Sunday's double-header marks what we believe is the Boston debut of New York's Leapling, whose EIS debut Vacant Page caught the attention of our own Edward Charlton a ways back. The set presented a breezier, reverb-ier affair than we're generally used to from the Exploding camp, and yet another winner in a year full of unreasonably great records from the label. It is one that most definitely has us primed for a proper introduction to the indie pop group. Sunday night also boasts the talents of Nashville math-rock duo Gnarwhal and long-running Northampton fuzz-rock crew Bunny's A Swine. Eternal Clicky Clicky faves Kal Marks (!!!!!!!!!!) and the kings of the Boston underground Pile will bat cleanup at the joint, which presumably will be the final gig ever to take place at America's Living Room (a/k/a Great Scott) after the stage inevitably succumbs to all the heavy rock power. Tickets and other info can be found here. -- Dillon Riley

Today's Hotness: Frankie Cosmos, The New Mendicants, Beach Volleyball

>> The hype surrounding NYC-based combo Frankie Cosmos belies the cloistered, personal vibe of their music -- proof positive, we suppose, that great songwriting finds its audience. The quartet, which is fronted by Greta Kline and includes among its number Aaron Maine of Porches., trades in the kind of plainly stated, lo-fi pop that lives and dies on personality. It's music that emphasizes unadorned, in-your-ear moments -- such as those that characterized Velvet Underground's third album -- as opposed to the blunt grandiosity and electronic immersion found more widely in today's underground. Frankie Cosmos' "Birthday Song" is a sweet, minute-and-a-half pop confection that recalls a certain stripe of indie pop that has not pinged the mainstream for years. The tune's biggest moments arrive at the end of each of the verses, when the drums shift into a half-time beat -- a trick borrowed from the metal and hardcore bands of our youth, perhaps, but it's very effective here, where Ms. Kline's vocals seem to get dragged down with a sadness that matches her year-closing observations and angst toward a changing world. Kline's wistfulness here is perfect and fresh for a band that hails from the Big Apple in 2014. With the success of Hospitality and now Frankie Cosmos, we're holding out hope for a full-blown indie pop renaissance emanating from New York City. "Birthday Song" is the second preview tune from the forthcoming collection Zentropy, a set of songs that is the first featuring a full-band iteration of Frankie Cosmos. Zentropy will be released as an LP by the Exploding In Sound-affiliated label Double Double Whammy March 4. The first 250 copies of the collection carried a screen-printed B-side and appear to have already sold out; another 200 pieces are pressed to white vinyl, and you can pre-order it right here. And although we do not know details and haven't yet cracked it open ourselves, fans would do well to note that Frankie Cosmos has issued what seems to be an even newer collection of recordings called Donutes, that can be snatched via Pukekos for free right here. Stream "Birthday Song" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> If this -- along with last year's Black Hearted Brother album -- is any indication of the way things are rolling, yesterday's indie pop and shoegaze pioneers are finding plenty of fresh inspiration in new trios that embrace collective legacies, adaptability and excitement. Here we are referring, of course, to Into The Lime, the tremendous new collection from The New Mendicants, a threesome comprising Joe Pernice (The Pernice Brothers), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), and Mike Belisky (The Sadies). The set finds all three principles fluidly rotating duties while creating vibrant, cohesive work. With each successive track, it seems the band challenges itself again and again to create classic, harmony-laden pop in the vein of British Invasion bands such as The Hollies, Peter and Gordon, The Beatles pre-Revolver, and (more recently) XTC. Songs such as "Cruel Annette," "If You Only Knew Her," "High On The Skyline," and "A Very Sorry Christmas" all balance rich vocals that the light acoustic strumming, organ, and other period touches feel like the only extra weight the compositions could handle. The balance of the record emphasizes electric guitar, echoing at times Mr. Blake's Teenage Fanclub (with "Shouting Match") while coming as close to that classic band's power-pop euphoria as any combo in recent memory. Into The Lime, like BHB's Stars Are Our Home, so impressively balances the individual strengths of each band member that one can nearly cherry-pick them from any three-second clip form any song. Even so, the enthusiasm, songcraft and performances are so tight and fluid that it is hard to overstate the pop smarts at work. Perhaps the most telling gauge of success is this one: The New Mendicants on Into The Lime work free of whatever the confines of Teenage Fanclub, The Sadies or The Pernice Brothers might be, yet the disc feels like a welcome addition to any of their discographies. Buy the set from Ashmont Records right here, and stream the now seasonally inappropriate "A Very Sorry Christmas" via the Soundcloud embed below, and watch a beautiful and spare live iteration of "Follow You Down" right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> When we last tracked the arc of London shoegaze luminaries Beach Volleyball here last fall, we made sure to remark on the irony of their name, given the windswept, downcast vibe of the act's music. Now we are confronted with a second realization -- namely, that Beach Volleyball does classic, American-style shoegaze better than most American acts in the game. We're not the only ones taking a second look at the combo, as Oakland, Calif. and Berlin-based label Spiralchords announced late last month that it will reissue Beach Volleyball's full-length debut Broadcast later in February. The first teaser track from the collection this time around is "Contack," and it is a stunner. The short piece (short in shoegaze terms, anyway) is knotted and tense, and confidently arrays a driving group of chords. These bristle with texture, between the deep bass and droning, bending high notes, and the rhythm guitar's serrated tone applies an element of knife-fighting menace to the proceedings. Alex Smith's saddened drawl slips amid the textures, adding just the right pathos, contrasting against the noise rock danger and rolling drum beats. Closing with an ambient outro, the tune turns more contemplative as it slowly fades into greyscale. "Power Cuts," another pre-released tune (although, technically, all of them were "pre-released" last August), is similarly strong, and showcases again the driving snare and undulating bass of the rhythm section. These songs suggest a darker take on the early '90s, Isn't Anything-inspired rock of Americans all Lilys, She, Sir, Lorelei and The Swirlies -- bands unafraid to revel in mystery while staying true to their indie roots. Broadcast will be re-released digitally Feb. 28. Stream "Contack" below; it's not presently clear whether there will be a pre-order for the set, but keep watch at the Spiralchords Facebook page for additional release information. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Grass Is Green, Porches., LVL UP, Eugene Quell

The last time Boston-based progressive indie goliath Grass Is Green graced these electronic pages they were party to the epic local release show in July for Speedy Ortiz' year-defining Major Arcana. Now the dome-crushing quartet is back with a new long-player of its own, due next month. The set, Grass Is Green's fourth, is titled Vacation Vinny, and believe you us it is massive and formidable [review pending]. The set was recorded in September with Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez at The Silent Barn; that's the same team behind Krill's Lucky Leaves and a flotilla of additional compelling now sounds. Ahead of its release via the mighty Exploding In Sound, Grass Is Green has loosed to the wilds of the Internerds a single, "Vacation 2.0." The song is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, rife with stop-start dynamics and crisp, brittle guitars. The foursome whips through multiple time signatures during the brisk, three-minute blast without ever losing control of the song's central melody. "Vacation 2.0" is a dizzying bit of math-punk that comfortably packs enough ideas for four different songs despite its short running time. Stream the song via the Soundcloud embed below, and then hit this link to pre-order the full-length. Vacation Vinny will be released Jan. 14 as an LP or download, by which time Grass Is Green will already be out on its first tour of 2014 along with the aforementioned Speedy Ortiz (all confirmed dates and TBAs are listed below the embed, for you pre-planning party people). A local release show for Vacation Vinny is slated for Jan. 25 at the Cambridge Elks Lodge, with an absolutely insane bill featuring Krill, Ovlov, Palehound and Trespasser. -- Dillon Riley



01.03 -- New Haven, CT
01.04 -- Philadelphia, PA -- The Keystone
01.05 -- Baltimore, MD -- Floristree
01.06 -- Richmond, VA -- Strange Matter
01.07 -- Chapel Hill, NC -- Local 506
01.08 -- Columbia, SC
01.09 -- Jacksonville, FL
01.10 -- Tampa, FL
01.11 -- Tallahassee, FL -- Office Lounge
01.12 -- Atlanta, GA -- Capsule Gallery
01.13 -- Birmingham, AL --The Forge
01.14 -- Nashville, TN --The Stone Fox
01.15 -- Knoxville, TN
01.16 -- Charlottesville, VA --Tea Bar
01.17 -- Washington, DC
01.18 -- Northampton, MA

>> We've spent a significant amount of time of late grooving to the recent split from Porches. and LVL UP. Fans of both know the acts are fixtures in the New York DIY scene, the former having released their debut long player Slow Dance In The Cosmos via Exploding In Sound earlier this year, and the latter recently wrapping dates with Clicky Clicky faves Little Big League and Pile. As fate would have it, Porches. and LVL UP are on very friendly terms, a dividend of which was the release last week of a very enjoyable split 7" on the Birdtapes label. Porches. owns the A-Side, delivering a smoldering bit of downer folk with "Strapping Young Weirdos" alongside "Townie Blunt Guts," a bouncing ode to the depressing reality of a lifetime spent in one's hometown. Fronter Aaron Maine is an excellent storyteller, which makes it easy to root for the suspect characters that populate his perma-bummed tunes. LVL UP, who rule the flip, get compared to early Weezer with some regularity. While the act certainly packs pop hooks into its guitar sludge, LVL UP excel when they keep things short and sloppy -- call it self-editing by proxy, something Weezer has long since forgotten in their race to the bottom of painful self-parody. LVL UP's second cut on the single, "Bad Blood," is probably their best song to date, so this split (released Nov. 26) is a crucial listen. You can pick up the vinyl here, or download the tracks over here right now. -- Dillon Riley



>> And what turns out to be our third and final bit of Exploding In Sound related news for Today's Hotness: the debut single from fuzz-rock newcomer Eugene Quell. A preview of a soon-to-be-released and apparently eponymous debut EP from Mr. Quell, the song "Weird Purr" was our formal introduction to the man; according to his Bandcamp outpost Quell has been banging around the UK indie scene for two decades. Despite the deep UK roots, "Weird Purr" proclaims a distinct American influence, as certain elements of the tune echo early Modest Mouse and Pixies. Indeed, with its slick acoustic intro and insistent rhythm, the track wouldn't be too far out of place on The Bends, easily Radiohead's most American-sounding record. Even so, Eugene Quell (knowingly or not) distinguishes his work from that of the aforementioned monsters of indie rock. Layers of distorted guitar pile up and fade out within seconds of entering the mix, burning in breaks that hint at a cathartic release that never quite transpires. The song is all build with no clear-cut pay-off, making for an arresting introduction to a project we will have our collective ears attuned to in the coming months. Eugene Otto Quell is set to be released as a free download New Years Day via Sonic Anhedonic and Exploding In Sound right here. Stream "Weird Purr" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Dillon Riley

Show Us Yours #16: Krill

By our reckoning we're less than three weeks away from living in a world where those in the know will be walking around town unable to stop themselves from singing "Krill, Krill, Krill forever" [and oh shit hare krsna, now there are these t-shirts, too]. Not because a new cult is taking hold in indie rock circles... or at least not the kind of cult that one usually associates with word "cult." No, that simple chant is the chorus to the opening and closing numbers from Boston indie trio Krill's triumphant sophomore set Lucky Leaves, which is being self-released June 24. The melodic and wiry music collected on the record flexes and breathes and is awesome in about two dozen different ways that we intend to tell you about in a more fulsome review later this month. But in the meantime we thought it would be a good idea to check in with the band to see where they do the things they do, to sort of gauge the environment in which its particularly curious aural alchemy transpires, to see where it makes the sizzle and the sparkle. Krill bassist and singer Jonah Furman -- whose voice careens powerfully between the blissed abandon of Alec Ounsworth and the dark desperation of Isaac Brock on Lucky Leaves -- kindly obliged our request, and in the exchange below goes into detail about why the band until very recently lived in a mansion vacated by a professional baseball player, which member of the band was theoretically in line to share a room with parrot named Shakespeare, and more than a few other fairly odd things. Read on, then gather yourself together enough to listen to two cracking songs from Lucky Leaves below.

Clicky Clicky: So we should make it clear, this episode of Show Us Yours is sort of a "ghost of Christmas past" episode, as we're talking about a practice space you just had to leave. Our usual lead-off question is "why did you choose this space?" But it was your basement, so that question isn't as interesting as this: how is it that the band came to live in a mansion that used to be owned by a professional baseball player? Because that is sort of weird.

Jonah Furman: OK, the basic thing that happened is we were on tour, and our friend found this mansion on Craigslist, and we all thought it was a scam but we were away and were like, "yeah, OK, whatever Dan," and then Dan went and they showed him the house and it was this crazy mansion and at no point did a scam happen, so I guess it wasn't a scam. The guy who owns it is a JP mansion slumlord who walks around with a parrot on his shoulder (named Shakespeare; incidentally Jonah's room was constructed as a room for the parrot when the slumlord moves in in 2 years). There was a man named Vicente Padilla living there, the first Nicaraguan MLB player, Sox pitcher, led the league in hit batters in 2006, for some reason went to Japan I think and left the lease so... and then here is where I get lost. Something about Japan making it cheap, so we got it for real cheap. Since we got to practice in the basement it was ultimately cheaper than most normal places. OK.

CC: Was there an idiosyncrasy or quirk of the space that affected one of your songs, or even your overall sound?

JF: As has always been the case for Krill, we don't have a PA or any nice gear or anything, so that at least has affected the vocals; we just put them through the second input on Aaron's guitar amp and Jonah tends to have to strain/scream to be heard during practice, which is a hard habit to break when you can actually hear the vocals. Also, a lot of songs were written in a parrot's room.

CC: When you went in to the studio to record your upcoming full-length, was it weird adjusting to the room sound of the studio versus the room sound of your basement? That basement looks pretty big and boomy. Boomy's a word, right?

JF: [Our friend Adam] Schatz has this term 'gro-fi' which is, like, when lo-fi bands get a lil' nicer equipment and recording stuff. But the Silent Barn studio is still a very DIY spot, even though [friends and recording engineers] Carlos [Hernandez] and Julian [Fader] really know their shit. Since we were one of the first (I think the first full album?) bands to record there, it wasn't all that built-out yet, and was still pretty basement-y. The bass was all DI and the guitar amp was like across the room turned around and, I don't know, it wasn't like fancy studios. That was good for us, takes some getting used to being able to hear the music you're making.

CC: When it was still yours, when you walked into the basement, what was the first thing that you smelled?

JF: Hay. There were inexplicably many bags of hay at all times in the basement. Fusty hay.

CC: And so, as we alluded to above, you've had to move out of the mansion. Is there any sort of interesting story to why you had to move? How is the hunt going for a new practice space?

JF: The hunt is a horrid hunt. We're striking out left and right, please help us, we will pay menial fees. Move out was yesterday, they fucking threw away Luke's towel.

CC: What do the next six months look like for the band? Do you have it in you to do as grand a tour for the record coming on the 24th as the one you did last fall?

JF: We're goin' on a big tour in September, hitting lots of states we missed on the last national thing, like South Carolina and Texas and Tennessee and Alabama.

Here's the part where you listen to some great music, namely the two preview tracks from Krill's spectacular new record. First up is the lumbering rumination "Purity Of Heart," then wash that down with the more skeletal groover "Never A Joke." Both are time well spent.

Krill: Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter





Previous Show Us Yours episodes:
Shapes And Sizes | Dirty On Purpose | Relay | Mobius Band | Frightened Rabbit | Assembly Now | Meneguar | Okay Paddy | Charmparticles | Calories | Sun Airway | It Hugs Back | Lubec | A Giant Dog | Bent Shapes