Show Us Yours 20: Seeds Of Doubt

We've missed the Show Us Yours feature, and we hope you feel the same way, especially seeing as we've gone to the trouble to bring you this, its TWENTIETH installment. So today we look across the ocean -- for the first time in five years -- to the UK, where in London upstart indie pop four Seeds Of Doubt are honing a guitar-pop sound that embraces aspects of vintage U.S. surf and relatively contemporary Pacific Northwest garage. We first encountered Seeds Of Doubt early this year, when it released its fetching DCP EP on Italian Beach Babes (we've since learned what the acronym stands for: De Crespigny Park). The act features Chris Hopkins on guitar and lead vocals; Ed Shellard on lead guitar; Ashley Hassell on bass; and Max Hart on drums. Seeds Of Doubt practices and cuts demos in a flat shared by Hopkins and Mr. Shellard, and you can click through shots of the space above. Since the release of DCP, the quartet has been writing for a new EP and planning summer live dates, and it also released a short, nifty collection of outtakes from DCP as well. During recent recording sessions, Seeds Of Doubt tracked a new version of the older cut "Spout Control," a scritchy, uptempo rocker that recalls the tremendous Seattle act The Fall-Outs; that tune will feature on a planned comp from Italian Beach Babes, and you can stream it at the foot of this feature. With so much going on, we thought it would be a good time to check in with Seeds Of Doubt to learn about where it makes its magic, the influence of Australian indie acts on its evolving sound, and what the apparently fashionable drug of choice is in rural England. Mr Hopkins reveals all of that and more, and we are grateful for his gracious responses to our questions, which are below.

Clicky Clicky: So why do you use this practice space?

Chris Hopkins: Because we are little paupers and have no money.

CC: Is there an idiosyncrasy or quirk of the space that has affected the sound of one of your songs, or even Seeds Of Doubts' overall sound?

CH: When I'm recording demos I try and play the drums quite quietly because I'm always worrying about the neighbours... luckily they haven't complained yet, though.

CC: You walk into your space. What's the first thing that you smell?

CH: Haha, probably smoked fish. Its so damp in the house, the food smells linger for days.

CC: Switching focus to the music, the gentle vibe and distinct lead guitar lines in "There You Go" and now "Running" makes us think of early '60s U.S. surf music, and that made us wonder whether there is a tradition of that musical style in the UK at all, or if it is a distinctly American thing? Maybe it's not fair to test your music history with such a specific question... and obviously there are more dimensions to your music ("Enough Is Enough" and "Green Triangle" portray more traditionally post-punk sounds, for example), but that odd little slice of it interested me.

CH: Ed came up with those leads bits, pretty sure he's never listen to early '60s surf music, though. I think those kinds of guitar parts mostly filter through to us from a lot of the current Australian rock scene, Scott and Charlene's Wedding, The Twerps, Dick Diver, etc. I'm not aware of any exclusively surf stuff from the early '60s in the UK, there were a lot of garage vibes going on, though. The Kinks and Ray Davies are a huge influence on me.

CC: You've recently begun recording a new EP, so I'll assume the writing is pretty well done. Do you see the work you are doing now with the new material as trying to accomplish something different musically than the stuff released on DCP early this year? Seeds Of Doubt doesn't strike me as a band that is going to suddenly start making jungle or ska records or whatever, but can you can see your releases as particularly distinct, whether because of influences, subject matter, or increased chops?

CH: We've been using a proper studio called Sound Savers in East London, so I think we've moved away from any nostalgia-heavy stuff a bit. We re-recorded an old song ("Spout") whilst doing the sessions for the new stuff, and it just sounded a bit like dad rock radio or something, because the overly nostalgic tape feel had been taken away. I think we've just got a bit better as a band and are able to write more complex songs now, and people will be able to hear that. Fundamentally though, it is still just rock music.

CC: Your aim is to tour once the planned EP is in the can. Have you played many shows outside London, or will the dates largely be new markets for Seeds Of Doubt?

CH: We played this show in Stroud, Glostershire, because our drummer is from there, it is pretty funny, proper farmer country. It was in a pub owned by this really nice sort of ex-rocker guy, he was super cool and the show was really busy. We got paid for the show and the money smelt really strongly of this nasty drug called mephadrone that is really big down there, people had obviously been hoofing it up in the toilet all night in-between paying for their beers. The tour should be hilarious, no one will know us but our music is pretty accessible, so hopefully it will be ok.

CC: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us!

CH: No problem, great to have some overseas attention! Cheers!

Seeds Of Doubt: Bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud

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 | Krill | Golden Gurls | Earthquake Party! | Hallelujah The Hills

Today's Hotness: Her Parents, Scott & Charlene's Wedding



>> Our executive editor last August described U.K. spazz-pop band Her Parents' music as "hypercaffeinated," and we can't turn our back on that apt summation. It simply nails the band and its sound too well to ignore it, and it applies as firmly to the early tune "Justin Vernon" as it does to the latest album from the quartet. Her Parents, hailing from London, released May 20 the breathlessly brief long-player Happy Birthday on the beloved Alcopop! label. As we wrote here in March, the new set is so brief that it is pressed to one side of a vinyl 12" with the band's debut LP Physical Product pressed to the flip. Consider the new collection a State of the Union address for a band that has cut its teeth on strong digital singles (the aforementioned "Justin Vernon" and the ludicrously genius "Why Don't You Just Fuck Off?") and blinding passion; it also evidences the evolution of a chaotic-yet-tuneful blend of punk rock that makes this band so vital and worthy of attention. Like caffeine, Her Parents push and prod both body and mind, while reminding listeners just what a punk-influenced tune can be capable of. Lead album single "Lithuanian Mercedes" is a great case study. The tune clocks in at just over a minute and a quarter, yet is crammed with a full arsenal of snotty pub jeers, jarring halts, post-hardcore guitar lines, dramatic ambient backing vocals and a grinding chorus that is over before one can regain her senses. The sarcastic sense of play, the upbeat melodies and caterwauling tempos are delivered with a curious aggression that the band seems to revel in. Happy Birthday is all delightfully disorienting, to be sure, but it also showcases a group of musical minds that can take the high road by bludgeoning its audience with crafty intelligence as surely as it does with adolescent, brute force. Simply put, Her Parents is the kind of band the world needs. Stream "Lithuanian Mercedes" via the Soundcloud embed below, stream all of Happy Birthday at Bandcamp here, and buy Happy Birthday from Alcopop! right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> Australia is totally killing it right now in the indie rock department, in case you haven't noticed. The immense success of Tame Impala makes it the latest act to illuminate the land down under in the minds of indie fans the world over. But that's not to say Tame Impala is the only antipodean outfit making waves right at the now. Indie pop concern Scott & Charlene's Wedding, spawned in Oz but now operating out of New York, recently upped its profile with the cracking single "Fakin NYC." The tune arrives in advance of the act's sophomore LP Any Port In A Storm, which is slated for release July 22nd via Fire Records on CD, vinyl and digital. Scott & Charlene's Wedding, fronted by Craig Dermody, clearly mines a well-traveled indie rock lineage. The biting, distorted guitars and arch lyricism of "Fakin NYC" pleasantly echo prodigal slacker kings Pavement or the lo-fi pop stylings of fellow countrymen Twerps. "Fakin NYC" was inspired in part by Dermody's awkward experiences upon moving to New York City. Channeling real-life tales of security guard jobs and grating interactions with snobby New York types, the song presents a moodier attitude than the usual slacker-pop fare, but not so moody that it soaks the pop thrills propounded by scritchy guitars and shouty vocals. The band will be supporting Any Port In A Storm with a lengthy tour in Europe for much of the summer (peruse the tour dates here); there's no word yet on North American dates. Pre-order Any Port In A Storm right here. Clicky Clicky previously wrote about Scott & Charlene's Wedding's Two Weeks 10" here in March. -- Dillon Riley

Today's Hotness: Scott And Charlene's Wedding, Hallelujah The Hills, Speedy Ortiz

>> What keeps us coming back to Soundcloud every day are the surprises, the stuff we love but that we had no idea was out there just waiting to be heard. The latest act we discovered there that caught our fancy is a Brooklyn-via-Australia combo named Scott And Charlene's Wedding (so named, we believe, for a major happening on a popular Aussie soap opera that starred Kylie Minogue, whom most Americans associate with this or even this). The band is the solo vehicle of Craig Dermody, former denizen of Melbourne, where he played in the bands Spider Vomit and Divorced, according to this handy Village Voice piece from October. Anyhoozle, Scott And Charlene's Wedding issued earlier this month via London's Critical Heights label a new 10" EP titled Two Weeks. The five-song short set is filled with cracking, jangly indie rock touting a recognizable slacker bent that suggests '90s indie touchstones Pavement and Guided By Voices. We are embedding two tunes from the 10" for listening below: "My World" and the more uptempo, billowing pop gem "Gammy Leg." The latter track sounds at least partially autobiographical (it references Dermody's move to New York), a lyrical approach characteristic of Dermody. Indeed, one of the more compelling numbers from Scott And Charlene's Wedding's debut long-player Para Vista Social Club [Bandcamp], the big strummer "Footscray Station," recounts Dermody's daily grind driving a truck and the inspiration he took from a friend struggling with a fledgling retail situation. Para Vista Social Club was originally issued in Sept. 2011 in a limited edition of 200 LPs with covers painted by Dermody. The act plans to release a second LP with a new, New York-based lineup later this year via Fire Records. Scott And Charlene's Wedding's next show appears to be at the Philadelphia Museum of Contemporary Art on May 4, supporting the presently white-hot Parquet Courts, and Dermody, et al., are also planning a tour of Europe for July and August, according to this Facebook post. Do the streamiez.





>> Boston indie rock institution Hallelujah The Hills last week disclosed it will release May 7 an odds and sods collecton titled Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can. The collection will include three new songs, as well as all the band's non-album singles, its Prepare To Qualify EP, remixes, radio performances and a never-released Daytrotter session. Hallelujah The Hills' next area performance is May 3 at The Sinclair in Harvard Square, a date so very proximal to the release of the compilation that we're gonna go ahead and call it a release show. The now eight-year-old sextet recently issued the terrific digital single "The Three Minute Mark" b/w "Meet Me In The Car," and neither song is slated to appear on a planned fourth full-length that Hallelujah The Hills is working on for potential release this spring later this year. According to the HtH web dojo, the record has "a title and a concept and is loud." Which we think is a good sign. The band's prior full-length, No One Knows What Will Happen Next, was released in May 2012. Pre-orders for Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can are already being taken right here; the set is being offered on the popular compact disc format or as a digital download. While we sit around and wait, shall we revisit a hot one from the 2009 set Colonial Drones? Sure we should. Stream "Classic Tapes" via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> If you were all tl;dr;moarsandwichez this afternoon with the latest update from Northampton, Mass.-based snack rock superlatives Speedy Ortiz, then perhaps you missed the part where they disclosed the name of their full-length debut. The quartet's long-player will be titled Major Arcana and it is "probably coming out in July." Speedy Ortiz also revealed that Inflated Records will release next month a new single featuring two older tunes, "Ka-Prow" and "Hexxy," which were re-recorded during recent sessions for Major Arcana with Justin Pizzoferrato. The art for the single is posted in the update, so click through and scroll down if art is something that appeals to you. There is as of yet no pre-order info online for the single. As we mentioned in prior reportage, Speedy Ortiz is basically on tour for all of April, during which it will take in such sights as the annual MacRock fest in Harrisonburg, play with Marnie Stern in Brooklyn, and do three dates in Canada. Full tour deets are at the Speedy Facebook yert right here. So as to get you pumped up for things, we are embedding below a stream of that older version of "Hexxy," which we think you will agree rocks most steadfastly.