That Was The Show That Was: Soccer Mom Record Release Show | TT The Bear's Place, Cambridge, MA | Sept. 23

The few inconsequential hiccups during Soccer Mom's striking live set for its You Are Not Going To Heaven EP release show -- a broken string, a false start here and there -- are entirely understandable within the context of the Boston quartet's now reliably cataclysmic live performances. At any given moment Friday evening guitarist/singers Dan Parlin and William Scales were doing all they could to keep their respective streams of colliding positrons blasting from their amps from crossing, which theoretically would have vaporized all of TT The Bear's, as well as much of the northern end of Brookline Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That the mass of humanity present for the show (which show included attendant sets by Autochrome, Marconi and Emergency Music) survived intact, and were treated to Soccer Mom's astonishing serial delivery of squalling noise rock anthems to boot, well, that's just icing, baby. Soccer Mom's performance was highlighted by the increasingly familiar, lights-out bludgeoning of "Southern Bells," the retro-Youth buzzsaw of the Scales-sung "(A) Natural History" and Mr. Parlin's bending, existential wailers "Celebrity Unrest" and "American Shirt (Eagle Flag 911)." The band's energy level was high, and despite its meandering path in the general direction of becoming one of Boston's most-buzzed about bands, it was hard not to feel like Soccer Mom is reaping hard-fought rewards. You Are Not Going To Heaven resolutely establishes Soccer Mom as the real deal, not bad for a foursome whose only other release is a single. The band has another record release show booked for New York Oct. 8 at Party XPO (XPO 929) in Brooklyn, and makes a return to Boston stages Oct. 22 at Precinct in Somerville, MA.

Soccermom Record Release Show | TT The Bear's | 23 Sept

One week from tonight, it's the big, big Soccermom record release show for the band's dynamite EP You Are Not Going To Heaven. It's going to be the bomb. Emergency Music, Autochrome and Marconi also playing. Tickets right here.

Be Prepared: Soccermom | You Are Not Going To Heaven EP | 3 October

Absolutely crushing 10" extended play release from pack-leading, Boston-based noise rock juggernaut Soccermom. The quartet's 2010 single "Bill Cosby In Glamorous Chains" b/w "High On Dad" was an impressive debut, and early shows were remarkable, but Soccermom has further refined its attack. As evidenced by this six-song collection, the 'Mom continues to set its bearings via sonic references to early Lilys, Swervedriver and Polvo, but its live performances have become increasingly desperate, dynamic, precise and heavy. The band closed a set with the new song "Southern Bells" last week at Precinct and the room shuddered in the moment following the song's final staccato blast. Soccermom co-fronter Dan Parlin in particular performed as if everything was on the line, and You Are Not Going To Heaven, which will be available on letter-pressed LP and digitally, captures ably the beauty and weight of the quartet's current onslaught. Soccermom plays a release show for You Are Not Going To Heaven at TT The Bear's Place Sept. 23; LPs may be available for sale by then, but the confidence level is higher that vinyl will be ready contemporaneously with the already-firm digital release date of Oct. 3. We won't bullshit you: in 10 years someone will be flipping through your records, will see the Soccermom EP, and say, "wow, how did you get this?" And you will say, "some blog told me to get it. It's fucking awesome, right? I was really bummed when they went all Jan Hammer for their third record..." We don't have a pre-order link for the EP yet, but you should watch this space for one. As Built PR's summer 2011 comp includes "(A) Natural History," which as far as we know is the second track on the forthcoming Soccermom EP. Have a listen to the Bill Scales-sung number via the embed below (the line "I think I should take you home and keep you under glass" gets us every single time).



Soccermom: Internesticles | Facebook | Soundcloud

That Was The Show That Was: Guillermo Sexo Record Release Show with Soccermom, Night Fruit and Young Adults

Guillermo Sexo graciously engineered a dream bill of local acts for its record release show last night at Precinct in Somerville, but the crowd was certainly at its densest for the main event when the Boston-based quartet commenced its set after midnight. Being feted was the band's fourth full-length Secret Wild, an entrancing nine-song set that crackles with energy while charting middle ground between heavy atmospheric shoegaze (put on your good headphones and listen to the album closer "Industry" embedded below several times and see if it doesn't somehow change you) and Led Zeppelin-styled English folk ("Secret Wild"). Guillermo Sexo played a number of songs from the new collection, and highlights of their set included a chilling run through album opener "Color The Noise" and its bashing choruses, and a crushing iteration of the searing shouter "Green Eyes." It was our first time seeing Guillermo Sexo, but we look forward to seeing them a lot more. We first wrote about the band right here a year ago.

As we stated supra, the undercard last night was not one to write off; we'd pay full fare to see just one of these acts, so the fact that we were able to see all four last night was not only convenient, but also approached thrilling. Young Adults' bracing set of reverbed punk fist-bangers was delivered with reliable vim, and we'd be lying if we weren't totally psyched to hear once more our favorite YA jam "Wasting Time." Providing middle support were Cantabrigians Night Fruit. The bass guitar-less trio -- named by the Phoenix in January as one of Boston's best new acts for 2011 -- impressed with songs that recalled Polvo and even late great midwest stargazers (terrible iffy pun) Hum. In a live setting Night Fruit comes across grittier and tougher than the music on their Triangles EP, which was released a year ago. Clicky Clicky favorites Soccermom delivered a triumphant set of bending, suprematist guitar anthems and stop-start bludgeoning which included two songs we'd not yet heard tentatively titled "Four Deep In The Left" and "Thoughts & Prayers." Which sadly means fans will have to wait to possess these tunes until there is a release following the band's long-awaited 10" You Are Not Going To Heaven, which will be available in early October, and is already listed at Amazon. Soccermom plays a release show for You Are Not Going To Heaven at TT The Bear's Place Sept. 23, and tickets are already on sale here.



Guillermo Sexo: Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube
Young Adults: Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube
Night Fruit: Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube
Soccermom: Internets | Facebook | MP3s

Guillermo Sexo Record Release Show With Soccermom, Young Adults | Precinct, Somerville | 16 July

So we know earlier in the summer, we were all like "the Ringo Deathstarr/Young Adults show is the show of the summer," or some such. Which may turn out being true. But what if it becomes a close call? What if the Guillermo Sexo record release show next weekend turns out to be seriously off the chizz-nain? After all, the new Guillermo Sexo record Secret Wild is wonderful [review forthcoming]. And also Clicky Clicky faves Soccermom AND Young Adults are also on the bill. And both of those acts are seriously at the top of their game right now. Young Adults played "Wasting Time" during their headline slot for the Deathstarr gig [review here] and the entire crowd hollered along, the room started to get that heat ripple look that you see when you stare across asphalt parking lots on a boiling-hot summer day. It was amazing. And Soccermom's headline set for the Get Help record release show at the end of May was a jaw-dropper [review]. What we're saying is all the ingredients are in place. Next Saturday is going to be bonkers. This isn't just about you buying us beers. This is bigger. This is about awesome indie rock in Boston. Be there.

Young Adults - Wasting Time by Tympanogram

Soccermom | O'Brien's Pub, Allston | 17 June

That Was The Show That Was: Get Help with E.R. and Soccermom

Thursday night at PA's in Somerville, Mass., three of Boston's best -- we're fudging New York/New Jersey-based Get Help's geographical bona fides here on purpose because of history, man -- brought their A game for an evening packed cheek to jowl with rock that howled. Beatings co-fronter Eldridge Rodriguez stuck the landing on a gripping and occasionally curious set that drew heavily from his superlative 2011 solo long-player You Are Released. The collection grafts onto Rodriquez's characteristically intense guitar shouters electronic beats and samples, and it was interesting to see drummer Dennis Grabowski, who also detonates the cans for The Beatings, play to electronics triggered live by a guy that we assume was Ray Jeffery, co-producer and recording engineer for You Are Released (among other E.R. recordings) brother Dave Grabowski (formerly of Scuba, now of Midriff Records' own Louder My Dear, which features Dennis Grabowski on guitar). Those electronics also writhed in the breaks between songs like a dimly lit pit of snakes, limning the already dark tunes with an ethereal, unsettling dimension. The set was highlighted by Mr. Rodriguez, resplendent in a white suit, delivering a scalding iteration of "Run MF Run;" the live rendition was augmented with a new bell sample and the explosive choruses were gratifying.

Gracious hosts for the evening Get Help obliged listeners with a set almost solely drawn from the quartet's wonderful sophomore record The Good Green Earth, although said set closed memorably with the undeniable, pogoing title track to its 2008 debut The End Of The New Country. Unsurprisingly, the highlights of the set otherwise were our favorite tracks from The Good Green Earth: closer "Crooked Streets" -- rendered here without the sadly beautiful organ backing -- and the strident strummer "You Should Be Home By Now." We'd like to see these guys play more often.

You Should Be Home By Now by Get Help

Jamaica Plain-based Soccermom brought the evening to a kaleidoscopic close with a dazzling set forged from dense guitars and desperate vocals. The quartet, fronted by longtime scenemaker Dan Parlin, was simply brilliant, regularly bending over-driven chords and slide guitar around a decisive rhythmic attack. New drummer Justin Kehoe, he formerly of The Migration Trap, was remarkably fluid and understated behind the drum kit, and seems to be a perfect complement to the extant Soccermom alchemy. We heard new material in the set and it gives us high hopes that the band will garner the recognition it deserves very soon -- if only from the legions of music fans out there waiting for a contemporary take on early Lilys or early Polvo. Soccermom intends to issue later this year a 10" EP titled You Are Not Going To Heaven, and we've heard some of the recordings and they are terrific. If you haven't heard the band's debut single, here's one of the tunes.

Soccermom's "High On Dad"

E.R. and Get Help fans can catch Mssrs. Rodriguez and Skalicky in their natural habitat fronting The Beatings this Friday -- while R.S.V.P.s last -- in Charlestown at an event being helmed by the RSL Blog. So get with that. Soccermom returns to the stage Saturday night at The Beachcomber in Quincy, and again July 16 at Precinct in Somerville, Massachusetts for the Guillermo Sexo record release party.

Get Help Record Release Party With E.R., Soccermom | May 26 | PA's Lounge

Be Prepared: Get Help | The Good Green Earth | 10 May

Midriff Records will release next month the sophomore set from this, the other Beatings side project, Get Help. Fast on the heels of Beatings ying Eldridge Rodriguez' recent solo effort You Are Released, Beatings yang Tony Skalicky (along with compadres including Mike Ingenthron) readies The Good Green Earth for delivery to the masses May 10. The 11-song set is a wholly satisfying amalgamation of all your favorite fruit. "A Brittle World" piggybacks on a melody from Pixies' timeless and delightful "La La Love You;" affecting closer "Crooked Streets" charts a soulful march into a two-dimensional wooden sunset with the same wry resignation as They Might Be Giants' "Road Movie To Berlin" (organ and all). The final lyric of "Crooked Streets" -- a dense, barroom holler, "There's too much background noise as the saints come driving through" -- is just icing on top of icing.

Perhaps the highlight of an album filled with highlights is curiously sequenced at track 8, the desperate strummer "You Should Be Home By Now." Dig the stream below. Get Help has just announced a Boston record release show, which will transpire at PA's Lounge May 26 [details]. Additional acts on the bill include the aforementioned Eldridge Rodriguez and Clicky Clicky faves Soccermom. That's a hot show. We reviewed Get Help's full-length debut The End Of The New Country here in 2008.

You Should Be Home By Now by Get Help

Eldridge Rodriguez Record Release Show | O'Brien's Pub | 1 April

With the inimitable Soccermom, who are planning a release of their own sure to knock socks. Midriff Records issues Eldridge Rodriguez' You Are Released tomorrow. Buy it here.

Greg Lyon with Soccermom | PA's Lounge, Somerville | 4 December

We speculated here earlier this month that Greg Lyon's debut solo set Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie was going to get lost in the end of the year shuffle. But after spending a lot of time with the record, we're of the belief that the late-year release date perfectly poises the set to settle into your conscience at a very appropriate time: during frozen, still winter days. The pervasive mood of one is wholly appropriate for the other; these are not hot summer party jams, but rather a series of reckonings approached in solitude, teeth about to chatter, hands chilled to the bone as you light your cigarette and set out walking. Even the relatively upbeat title track or the jaunty "Industrial Park"'s sunny dispositions are anchored by wintry piano. Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie will be released by Midriff, but is available now at Bandcamp (hence the stream embed below), so you've got plenty of options to score what is rapidly becoming our go-to record for this, the winter of our discontent.

Soccermom | House Of Blues, Boston | June 3

Your biggest problem next week will be trying to juggle your schedule so you can see Soccermom AND The Hush Now play House Of Blues, Boston, Thursday despite the fact they are playing in different rooms at potentially the same time. Maybe cloning will become a reality by then. One can only hope. Soccermom's show is free, and The Hush Now's is RSVP, so make sure to get your plan straight.

Behold! The Eldridge Rodriguez Residency!

[Poster by Ian "EEE" Adams]

That Was The Show That Was: Varsity Drag, Soccermom | PA's Lounge

[UPDATED with Varsity Drag set list below] Varsity Drag's fiery Friday night headlining set at PA's Lounge was notable for a number of reasons. First, the Cambridge, Mass.-based indie punk stalwarts have maintained the edge to their live show that they brought back from their fall UK tour. Second, the band has apparently fully integrated charming cellist Aliah Rosenthal into its stage show, adding a surprising new dimension to songs we'd never heard him play on. And for fans afraid that the addition of electric cello can only portend ill, un-rocking things for Varsity Drag: fear not. Mr. Rosenthal most certainly rocks.

It was also notable that The Drag played not one of fronter Ben Deily's classic Lemonheads cuts. We suspect that says more about the depth and quality of the Varsity Drag catalog at this point than it does about Mr. Deily's affinity -- and the collective affinity of fans -- for the older tracks. And while our calls for "Ever" at the close of last night's set went unheeded, we were more than pleased with the final selection, Varsity Drag's infrequently aired, wholly gripping cover of The Cure's annihilating "Push" from 1985's The Head On The Door record. As part of its UK label's 20th anniversary Varsity Drag has also been working up and recording a cover of Ipanema's "White Cat In A Snowstorm." The Drag's live performance of the tune was searing, and we look forward to hearing the recording of the track. According to this recent interview Deily gave, Varsity Drag is planning an EP that will contain the Ipanema cover as well as four bonus tracks from the sessions for the band's superlative 2009 long-player Night Owls [review here].

Soccermom, who we profiled here earlier this month, were a revelation. The quartet's quietly determined stage presence belies its dense, visceral guitar attack. Indeed, the recordings we've heard that will grace Soccermom's forthcoming debut single only approximate the squawl and punch of the live renderings of Soccermom's compositions. The tracks on the single, "High On Dad" and "Bill Cosby In Glamorous Chains," bring to mind the relatively more controlled and architected sounds of Polvo. But Soccermom on stage through brute guitar force earn comparisons to the music of the earliest incarnation of Lilys (1991-1992) and even Rodan, although perhaps with less of the melodic sense of the former or the dynamic rhythms of the latter. We look forward to seeing these guys a lot more in the future. Soccermom is slated to play O'Brien's May 5 as part of the E.R. residency.

Varsity Drag: Internerds | Bandcamp | YouTube | Flickr
Soccermom: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

The New Sound Of Slack: Soccermom Surfaces Slowly

[Left to right: The chair reserved for William Scales, David Kaplan, Danielle Deveau, Dan Parlin]
In the midst of conversation half of the party at the table in the front of the room pauses at the sound of the beginning of the Dinosaur Jr. b-side "Quicksand," only to realize that the tune on the hi-fi at the subterranean Harvard Square bar early Saturday afternoon is actually David Bowie's "Andy Warhol." Unsurprisingly, minutes earlier Dan Parlin and Danielle Deveau offered in just-about-unison "nineties" as an overarching musical influence shared among the four members of the rising, Boston-based indie rock concern Soccermom. Mr. Parlin, who fronts and plays guitar in the band, explains that, despite a suggestion that early '90s Chapel Hill and Louisville post-rock sounds echo perceptibly in Soccermom's forthcoming debut single, the common ground is just generally "nineties."

On the single, Soccermom sets off new parts and bridges with a patient efficacy, powershrugs into exuberant crescendoes with nonchalance. The song "High On Dad" opens with a pleasantly familiar, Pixies-ish ascending bass line and finally introduces urgent vocals more than three-quarters of the way through. Everything about Soccermom's music seems informed not only by the best music of two decades past, but also a measured, casual attitude toward crafting good music. Soccermom abides.

The band has percolated for about five years, from its earliest days when Parlin began four-tracking in San Francisco following a stint at Mass Art in Boston. He returned to Massachusetts in 2006, but his music rode the jumpseat while he played with Boston acts including E.R., Get Help and The Spanish Armada (all of the Midriff Records cohort). Only after Ms. Deveau, Soccermom's bassist, threw in her lot with the band did the project gain something resembling momentum. Asked why the band has finally gelled, why it is only now getting around to releasing a first single, Parlin and Deveau point to a collective caesura among the various competing projects. In due course fellow E.R. sideman and Spanish Armada principal William Scales enlisted as a second guitarist, and not long after amiable Spanish Armada drummer David Kaplan claimed the drum stool.

Underscoring Soccermom's unhurried nature is that its show this Friday at PA's Lounge in Somerville, Mass. is only the fifth-ish it has played despite debuting live two years ago. Friday's show was to have been a record release gig for the single, which also includes the rocker "Bill Cosby In Glamorous Chains," but certain delays mean a May gig at O'Brien's or a contemplated June live date are more likely to serve that purpose. Either way seems fine with Soccermom. Despite close ties to the Midriff Records, the band is self-releasing the vinyl single, and it expects to have stock in hand by the end of the month. The foursome envisions additional singles down the road, and expresses no sense of urgency to cut a full-length record for now. Soccermom abides.

Soccermom -- "High On Dad"

Soccermom: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Varsity Drag, Tartufi, Soccermom | 9 April | PA's Lounge, Somerville