Clicky Clicky's Top Songs Of 2012: Jay Edition

2012 provided another year of incredible music, from both Boston bands and the wider world. Music continued to transport us, to provide opportunities for celebration and for solace. Our simple mantra, that "music is important," drove us to engage with it in more and deeper ways, and -- not coincidentally -- our care and attention consistently was rewarded by bands finding new methods of knocking our proverbial socks off. And so we arrive at the end of the year, where we cast a long look back, we take stock of our ITunes playcounts, we think about the songs that occupied our mind and heart. The fruits of that examination are below, where we present our 10 favorite songs of 2012. Frankly, there are certain songs we are surprised not to see there (Karl Hendricks Trio's "The Men's Room At The Airport" immediately jumped to mind). But what did make the cut are tunes that moved us and continue to move us many months on. Expect to see our top albums list later this week, and perhaps lists from Michael and Edward before the year is out -- or before the new year has off-gassed a substantial amount of its newness -- as well. For now, we wish you and yours a peaceful and hopefully joyful balance of the year. If the songs below are not yet in your life, take some time and get into it.

1. Sun Airway -- "Close" -- Soft Fall

We try to stay sort of scientific with our top picks of the year, relying largely on data (basically, ITunes play counts). But there is also something to be said for the aggregate amount of time one spends singing a song to himself, something you will see us reference over and over below, and Sun Airway's "Close" ranks highest for us in 2012 based on that metric. The lovelorn lyric "I tried to get close to you," delivered by Sun Airway fronter Jon Barthmus, is among the most affecting of any this year, simple though it may be. The composition and arrangement on this brilliant single is anything but simple, however, with technicolor melodies and layered guitar and synths steadily spiraling around a stuttering rhythmic axis. Listen in via the embed below, and check out the amazing video right here. We reviewed the record for The Boston Phoenix in October right here.



2. Golden Gurls -- "I Can See The City" -- Typo Magic

A jaunty rhythm, big dense guitars modeled on Dinosaur Jr.'s Bug record, and a series of great melodies: what more can an indie rock fan ask for? "I Can See The City" is but one highlight of the Baltimore trio's exceptional debut full-length. From the undeniable, gestural guitar riff to the light, bouncing melody that complements it, to the peanut butter-thick guitars in the bridge, this is an understated piece of genius from one of the most thoughtful songwriters we've encountered in recent years. We're terrifically excited for Golden Gurls' planned sophomore set, but the band has set an extremely high bar for itself with Typo Magic and brilliant songs like "I Can See The City." We reviewed Typo Magic right here in May.



3. Everyone Everywhere -- "No Furniture" -- Everyone Everywhere (2012)

Although it opens with chugging fuzz bass and pummeling drums, Everyone Everywhere's "No Furniture" eventually exposes the still, desolate heart of the Philly punk heroes' second self-titled full-length, which the band self-released in 2012. The lyric describes the dismantling of a domestic situation, and at the tail of its second minute, the drums drop out momentarily, parting the composition like clouds to reveal the line "spare me the car ride home..." -- an indignity the apparently jilted just can't face. It's the receding water line chasing the final surrender of a narrator who's been worn down. And that moment of stillness that sets it off, it's also a momentary fissure in the fourth wall wherein our hero unburdens himself to us. In contrast to the quartet's prior two releases, Everyone Everywhere (2012) is substantially more mature, more emotionally weighty, as "No Furniture" perhaps best illustrates. We reviewed the record in September right here.



4. Swearin' -- "Movie Star" -- Swearin'

There were a number of excellent, excellent records in 2012 that we just didn't have the time to turn our critical ear upon, but that doesn't mean we enjoyed them any less. And so it was with Swearin's self-titled effort. The songs from the collection merged everything we love about pre-Warners Built To Spill -- you know, the brevity, the fizz and melodic sense -- with everything we love about The Breeders -- you know, the spunk and hooks... so pretty much the same thing, right? Chief among the songs on Swearin' in our cold little heart is the album closer "Movie Star." It's got insistent and scritchy guitar and bass, a patient pace, and the cheerfully self-effacing line "no one likes you when you're as old as we are." While we never got around to reviewing this record, we did play "Movie Star" during the September iteration of New Music Night and dozens and dozens of other times as well. Swearin' is an act we expect to hear a lot from for years to come, so if you do not yet know the name, mark it well. Dig the embed below.



5. Infinity Girl -- "Please Forget" -- Stop Being On My Side

This tune explodes out of the gate, even more so when the Boston quartet plays it live, and we never got tired of spinning it this year. In fact, we don't envision getting tired of spinning it any time soon, although the tunes on Infinity Girl's brand new Just Like Lovers EP certainly give this one a run for its money. If it had money, you know, which it doesn't, 'cause it's a song. What were we talking about? Oh, right: "Please Forget," the uptempo, visceral and blurry highlight of Infinity Girl's powerful full-length debut that we reviewed here in June. It's a tidal wave of melody, noise and sentiment.



6. Hop Along -- "Lament" -- Get Disowned

It was really a toss up, which tune to choose from Philly's Hop Along. The promo track "Tibetan Pop Stars" is an unabashed, high-octane, big-statement rocker with a killer hooks and a barely contained rage. But the deeper album cut "Lament" surpasses even that excellent number on the strength of a percolating, addictive vocal melody in the chorus and the greater degree of sophistication in the arrangement. We suppose it helps that the chorus has shouty vocals apparently abetted by at least one of the dudes in the late, lamented Algernon Cadwallader, whose label Hot Green Records released Get Disowned -- a windows-wide-open-to-the-gathering-heat, coffee-cup-in-hand kinda record -- last summer. And every time we listened, when fronter Frances Quinlan hit the line "the one on the left said to the one on the right," we couldn't keep from singing along. A brilliant, brilliant song.



7. Speedy Ortiz -- "Taylor Swift" -- "Taylor Swift" b/w "Swim Fan"

At the top of this piece we referenced singing songs to ourself, and Speedy Ortiz's very catchy single "Taylor Swift" was another we found ourselves absent-mindedly singing a lot. Which made us laugh. And so we made that the hook to a brief piece we wrote for The Boston Phoenix last spring. What's funny is the chorus, "I've got a boy in a hardcore band..." certainly doesn't apply to us, but that didn't make us sing it any less. Speedy Ortiz is a band destined for a national profile, and its facility for pop hooks paired with muscled compositions boasting big guitar parts is the reason why. Years from now, fans will probably remember this single as the thing that started the whole train rolling. It's certainly unforgettable. Dig "Taylor Swift" via the embed below.



8. Dikembe -- "Not Today, Angel" -- Broad Shoulders

Apparently one never outgrows an affinity for the beautiful, brooding ballad, as Florida-based emo heroes Dikembe's "Not Today, Angel" echoes the sort of heart-rending slow burners we loved in the early '90s from bands like Codeine and Seam. We've marveled for month and months at the understated, left-field production on this number: the odd clattering percussion, the guitars just slightly feeding back to fill the ambient space, gathering like a thick, quick fog shifting around the cycling melody. The tune isn't wholly representative of the rest of the music on Dikembe's amazing full-length, Broad Shoulders, but it also isn't completely out of character either. It's a beautiful, slow-spinning center of a collection of songs bristling with energy, edge and promise, and we listened to it a hell of a lot of times, reflecting on things so remote now that they might as well have happened to completely different people.



9. Los Campesinos! -- "Tiptoe Through The True Bits" -- Hello Sadness outtake

So it's a non-album track from an album released last year, but Cardiff-based indie rock giants Los Campesinos! gave "Tiptoe Through The True Bits" an unofficial release via its blog earlier this year and the patient, pretty song permanently burrowed its way into our subconscious not long there after. Fronter Gareth Campesinos! explained that while the tune was his favorite from the sessions for the band's excellent 2011 collection Hello Sadness, the band all agreed that it didn't sit well within the context of the rest of the songs on the album. The song is amazing and soulful, but -- more importantly for us -- it speaks to our fixation on bands' unreleased material. If Los Camp! had never put this song on its blog, few of us would ever have known about it and how awesome it is. What other gems does the band, or others, have laying around? That's the sort of thing we think about a lot. Perhaps almost as much as we sang the chorus "I've been waking on your side of the bed..." to ourself this past year. Download the song here, or stream it via the embed below.



10. Johnny Foreigner -- "3 Hearts" -- Names EP

As prolific as Birmingham, England's noise pop titans Johnny Foreigner are, for some reason we were surprised when the quartet released an EP this fall. Given how monumental the task of creating and promoting 2011's epic Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything must have been, we just didn't think the band would have much in the tank. But happily we were wrong, and Johnny Foreigner in late October released its brilliant Names EP, which we reviewed here last month. The short set was released both in the US and in the UK, with each territory having one exclusive track. But it is the EP closer "3 Hearts" that sticks in our head most. The tune memorably repurposes the line from Talking Heads' "Girlfriend Is Better" to power a characteristically overdriven, exasperated tale from the quartet. The tune provides a series of huge moments that make us very, very excited about what the band will do next, an excitement that has stuck with us for going on about six years now.

Today's Hotness: Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson, Sun Airway, Michael Quinn

>> We only discovered it about 12 hours ago (as of this writing Friday night), but we're already on our seventh listen to the massive forthcoming 10" EP from Norway's towering post-rock heroes, Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson. The Oslo-based septet's new collection Small Changes We Hardly Notice, exclusively premiered at Alternative Press here Friday, touts four spine-tingling numbers that deftly synthesize orchestral post-rock sounds with desperate and beautiful, classic midwestern-styled emo. Earnest and intense opener "All I Remember Is Punk Rock" pairs punchy rhythm tracks with shimmering guitars and reverbed horns and strings, but it is the powerfully evocative vocals that will unleash cascades of goosebumps across the listener's skin as gears shift, crescendos blossom, cymbals tear across the top of the mix, horns call like far-off sirens. It's mind-blowing; it's what you wish Built To Spill or Modest Mouse sounded like in this millenium, instead of what they've been doing (you know you do). We last heard from Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson way back in 2010, when the collective issued a self-titled sophomore set that we wrote about right here. Small Changes We Hardly Notice is being released domestically by Count Your Lucky Star Records, which is taking pre-orders for an August release right here. The Count Your Lucky Stars release is in a limited edition of 500 discs, 150 black and 350 electric blue, that come packaged with a download code. We found an embed of the opening track at Soundcloud (which we hope is legitimately posted there, guys), so do yourself a favor and stream "All I Remember Is Punk Rock" below, and then click over to Count Your Lucky Stars to pre-order the full-release.



>> Long-time readers will recall that we thoroughly enjoyed Pennslvania's scruffy, under-appreciated The A-Sides, a combo that burst out of Scranton in 2005 with a peppy, mod-sprung sound hard to resist. After two full-lengths (the second released by Vagrant), the band splintered and principal members Jon Barthmus and Patrick Marsceill formed futurepop concern Sun Airway, a band also familiar to these electronic pages. We are pleased by recent news that that musical concern will issue Oct. 2 a second full-length of its own titled Soft Fall. The set, which we expect will be packed with gentle electropop boasting big, radio-ready hooks and gauzy atmosphere, will be released by Dead Oceans and a preview track, "Close," surfaced 10 days ago; it has already garnered some 25,000 streams on SoundCloud, and we've embedded the dreamer below. It commences with a revved-up snare drum and faraway but insistent staccato guitar riff before Barthmus layers in syrupy vocals; the sum total could almost be mistaken for some sort of Top 40, Hollywood stadium production. However, a liberal application of plush synths and other tasteful trappings steer "Close" firmly toward the happily emotive, Ecstasy-approved vibes of later New Order, circa their 2001 comeback Get Ready. Sun Airway don't forget their previous '60s influences, either, allowing "Close" to lapse into flashes of psychedelia via some backward guitar noodling and soft cooing. It all makes us eager to hear the entirety of Soft Fall, which you can pre-order from Dead Oceans right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> When we last heard from Michael Quinn he was doing his rootsy indie rock thing in Scranton (that's two blurbs referencing Scranton in a row! Amazing!); he released that Steely Dan cover at the beginning of the year and a year ago he issued a full-length Magico. Mr. Quinn recently got in touch to share his new collection Youngs. The set features recordings Quinn made in the last couple years with collaborators including players from his prior bands Okay Paddy -- which released one of our favorite records of 2006 -- and ...And The Moneynotes. Youngs is a varied set that is perhaps more rock-oriented than Quinn's prior work (we swear there is a sort-of perceptible Joe Walsh thing going on here in a couple places); it also touts a stronger focus on groove, from the strangely electro rhythm of "Hippie Girl" to the jab-and-thump of "Roomy." The clear album highlight is the swinging and melodic, mid-tempo album opener "Ring-in." It's an incredibly pleasing romp with ear-catching vocal melodies, a guitar rave-up just past the two-minute mark, and a recurring and odd little melodic reference to James Taylor's "Your Smiling Face." Youngs is intended in a sense to clear the decks, as Quinn recently relocated to California and is currently in the process of formulating a new band with which to seek auditory nirvana. The album was released via Bandcamp July 2; stream "Ring-in" via the embed below and then click over to grab the entire set.

Today's Hotness: Sun Airway, Antiques

>> Contemporary dream pop giants Sun Airway disclosed today that Dead Oceans will issue in July a new 7" single from the Philly-based act. The single features the songs "Wild Palms" and "Symphony In White, No. 2;" both will be available at the usual digital storefronts this coming Tuesday. In a twist that we love, the songs will not debut at a blog, but on TERRESTRIAL RADIO SUCKAH! Philadelphia's WXPN gets the honor, and the songs will be played on Dave P's Making Time radio show Friday from 7-9PM, which yes, of course, you can stream right here. Dig it. Sun Airway recently wrapped a short tour supporting Asobi Seksu, and plays a special multimedia event Friday night in Philadelphia at the First Unitarian Church. Tickets and more information is posted right here.

>> While it isn't flawless, there is enough loose jangle and stray slack on Antiques' forthcoming, enigmatically titled JWNS that we keep listening. Lo-fi is the order of the day, but fortunately Antiques has the songs to back it up. Album opener "Turn Me Loose" (not a Loverboy cover), "Letter #2" and "Making Friends" carry the pleasant stale-beer smell of Bob Pollard sketches. The latter song we like in particular because of the vocal production; there is an interesting breathiness and reverb and layering going on. And when the big guitar chords (underpinned by some organ? Or are we just hearing things now?) kick in, "Making Friends" reveals itself to be an anthemic mid-tempo sparkler. For something a little more peppy, fractured and emo, we direct your attention to the big, diaphanous strummer "ETC." Antiques is based in at least three cities presently, which we expect makes it difficult for the band members to stop by to borrow a pack of Ernie Balls or smokes or whatnot. Despite that distance, JWNS -- which is slated for release June 28 -- will be Antiques' fourth full length (the band began life as an outfit called Sparrowhawk in 2003, apparently). The band's Tumblr jokes that tour dates are "coming never," but there also appears to be a live shot from Charlie's Kitchen in Cambridge, so maybe if you all wish very hard... In the meantime, check out the embed of "Making Friends" below.

YouTube Rodeo: Sun Airway's "Put The Days Away"

This clip, directed by Ricardo Rivera of Klip Collective, makes us miss Philadelphia. The song is from rising electropop duo Sun Airway, whose debut Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier will be released on Dead Oceans Oct. 26 [as we reported here in August]. The song and the video are slow burners, with a big payoff at the end. You can pre-order Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier from Dead Oceans on CD and LP right here. That's something you should do. After the requisite CMJ performances, Sun Airway is mounting a thorough U.S. tour from Oct. 26, and you can review all of those tour dates at the band's web dojo right here. The duo performs locally at the Middle East Downstairs Nov. 18 with Bear In Heaven and Twin Shadow.

Put the Days Away by Sun Airway

Today's Hotness: Propeller, Sun Airway, Yuck, Everyone Everywhere

>> If you've been reading along with any regularity, you are surely aware that one of our favorite acts is Varsity Drag, the indie punk concern fronted by Lemonheads co-founder Ben Deily. You may even know that the currently Cambridge, Mass.-based quartet got its start on the West Coast with a different line-up. We gave no thought at all to the chaps who abetted the early incarnation of Varsity Drag until quite recently, when former 'Drag guitarist and singer Greg Randall of the fizzing pop-punk act Propeller contacted us about his new band's recently released collection The Fear Of Rock And Roll. Unsurprisingly, the music of Propeller -- a duo comprised of Mr. Randall and former 'Drag bassist Will Anderson -- sounds a whole lot like the music found on Varsity Drag's debut EP For Crying Out Loud. San Francisco-based Propeller is perhaps not as nervy or manic, instead Mssrs. Randall and Anderson murmur, ooh and ahh through a dozen somewhat more bubble-gummy (yet also more laid back) tracks that suggest, to our ears, things like Big Star and Teenage Fanclub (the cut "Not You," which features Mr. Deily on guitar, sounds particularly Chilton-ish, and in fact The Fear Of Rock And Roll is dedicated to the late, great songwriter). Propeller's facility with melody should not be underestimated, and we've found ourselves listening to The Fear Of Rock And Roll quite a bit. The whole thing, which was released May 18, is for sale at Propellor's Bandcamp yert right here. To further compel you to consume, we're posting below the freebie cut "Broken Ones." It's hot stuff.

Propeller's "Broken Ones"

>> We were very pleased by yesterday's news that Philadelphia-based electropop concern Sun Airway has been signed. The act's full-length debut Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier will be released by Dead Oceans Oct. 26. We've been writing about Sun Airway for almost two years at this point, and in fact we followed closely the careers of band principals Jon Barthmus and Patrick Marsceill as far back as the debut of Sun Airways' predecessor act The A-Sides in 2005. Sun Airways also graced us with one of the more recent Show Us Yours features of ours, here in February 2009. One of the earliest Sun Airway tracks we heard was the sparkling dreamer "Waiting On You." Have a listen. And check out the album art for Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier right here.

Waiting on You by Sun Airway

>> Thanks to Jane of Scenesters And Mirror Kissers for directing our attention to the fact that rising London-based phenoms Yuck will support certain The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart tour dates in the U.S. this fall. Importantly, one of the three dates -- which we believe will be Yuck's U.S. debut -- is at Boston's Paradise Rock Club. Be a smaht kid and get your tickets now. Yuck, of course, recently issued a four-song, cassette EP on Charleston, South Carolina-based Mirror Universe featuring the stirring ballad "Weakend," which we wrote about here in June. The EP sold out almost immediately, but we're hopeful Yuck will have more copies for the October live dates, or at least the Boston one. Here are all three Yuck dates with TPOBPAH.

10.20 -- Paradise Rock Club -- Boston, MA
10.21 -- Music Hall of Williamsburg -- Brooklyn, NY
10.22 -- Pi Lam -- Philadelphia, PA

>> There's finally some new music to hear from Philly emo goliaths Everyone Everywhere. According to this item at Pun Canoes, the quartet is on the brink of releasing a split with Into It. Over It. wherein the two bands do the ol' Archers Of Loaf/Treepeople routine: both Everyone Everywhere and Into It. Over It. provide one of their own songs as well as a cover of one of the other band's songs. It's a classic indie rock gambit. Anyway, a new Everyone Everywhere song "Fakin' It" is currently streaming at the band's MySpace casa right here. The production on the track is a little more dense than some of the other Everyone Everywhere stuff, and the chorus on one of the guitar leads is a nice little touch; all in all it's a hot number. Order the (very attractive) split single from Topshelf Records right here.

Review: The Swimmers | People Are Soft [MP3]

The title to Philadelphia-based The Swimmers' ambitious sophomore set is not a put-down, it's a poignant acknowledgment of human flaws. Or at least that is the impression we get after listening to People Are Soft, which is starkly different from the band's excellent 2008 debut Fighting Trees. The latter album was a scritchy, upbeat collection of jangly, rootsy indie rockers that sounded like the earliest Wilco records. By contrast People Are Soft is awash in icy, futuristic synths (as in the New Order-y "Anything Together"), electronically augmented rhythm tracks and imaginative production.

The remarkable difference -- production-wise -- can in part be attributed to the fact that between the recording of the two records The Swimmers built their own home studio. And if it wasn't for a freshly realized, pronounced darkness that hangs over People Are Soft we'd chalk up the startlingly dissimilar sonic palette purely to the band's newfound freedom to experiment in the studio without having to worry about paying for all the hours. Album closer "Try To Settle In" certainly takes an everything-and-the-kitchen sink approach while recreating a sound -- one melodically akin toThe Clash's "Hitsville UK" -- that wouldn't be out of place on The Magnetic Fields' recent Distortion. The second track of People Are Soft, "A Hundred Hearts," stomps along with a slight hint of roller disco funk that recalls Lilys' recent dance floor filler "A Diana's Diana" (for that matter, the closing seconds of album opener "Shelter" sound very similar to the closing seconds of Lilys' wonderful "Black Carpet Magic"). The lazery clean, glossy production of the new Swimmers record not only contrasts with the moodier outlook in the new songs, but also places them in the same sort of sonic area as another Philly band that drastically retooled (along with a name change and personnel pruning) from a rootsy sound to a spacey, glossy and studio-influenced one: Sun Airway.

As we alluded to above, even more jarring is the darker vibe of the new record, whose songs in sum suggest a loss of innocence. Where Fighting Trees included wide-eyed and infectious anthems like "Heaven," "Pocket Full Of Gold" and "It's Time They Knew," People Are Soft's post-lapsarian sound is more troubled and reflective. The overdriven rocker (and album highlight) "Drug Party" includes the lines "when they cut me open they'll see why I didn't fit" and "I'm always outside getting sick." These sentiments, that loss of innocence, could easily be a result of the band -- led by Steve Yutzy-Burkey and whose principals met at a small Bible college -- moving to the big city and confronting new, more complicated lives. But if we had to venture a guess we'd say that the new record carries a certain resignation and weariness that manifests itself among 20-somethings when youth and idealism become increasingly distant memories. People Are Soft is released by Mad Dragon Records today. Fighting Trees was named one of our top 10 records of 2008 right here, and we reviewed it here. The band will tour briefly to support the new collection, and Boston-area fans should make a special note about the Dec. 12 date at PA's Lounge.

The Swimmers -- "A Hundred Hearts" -- People Are Soft
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[buy Swimmers records from Newbury Comics right here]

The Swimmers: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

11.06 -- Kung Fu Necktie -- Philadelphia, PA
11.07 -- Main Street Music -- Philadelphia, PA
11.07 -- Pianos -- New York, NY
11.13 -- Progressive Galleries -- Lancaster, PA
11.14 -- The Bog -- Scranton, PA
12.11 -- DC-9 -- Washington, DC
12.12 -- PA’s Lounge -- Boston, MA

Show Us Yours #11: Sun Airway

[Photo Credit: Mike Fleming][Alt Photo 1; Alt. Photo 2] We were as surprised as the next guy when Philebrity broke the news in October that The A-Sides were officially kaput and in its place had blossomed the relatively mysterious electro/psych-pop duo Sun Airway. The act is comprised of former A-Sides singer and guitarist Jon Barthmus and former A-Sides drummer Patrick Marsceill, and we've heard little from the duo since that initial announcement. So we figured it was high time to check in with Sun Airway and see what is going on via our recently resuscitated Show Us Yours series. Among other things, we learned that the guys plan to release a free EP to the Internet sometime in the relatively near future and a full length this summer; that their practice space is more aptly described as a recording space; and that the space is brilliantly monikered. So with our thanks to Mr. Barthmus for playing along, here is Sun Airway in Show Us Yours #11.

Why did you choose this space?

We didn't particularly choose this space... We were essentially kicked out of our last space because the building was trying to attract a more "normal" clientele, and of course these new tenants didn't want live music below them at all hours. There was something about theater companies complaining or something, but there was definitely porn going on somewhere in the building, along with some semi-sweatshops and other art studios. Anyway, the owners of that building had just bought up another random abandoned factory in an even more remote and desolate part of town so they offered us our pick of the new rooms, and then they built it up for us and put power in. There are still very few tenants which is weird because the building is HUGE but our space is amazing and surprisingly conducive to musical activities. Part of our space almost looked like a studio already with a window into what could be a control room. But we just have one band on each side. We currently share the space with Brown Recluse Sings, who are A) a good band and B) good roomies.

Explain how an idiosyncracy or quirk of this space or a former practice space has affected a song (or even your overall sound).

When we moved into the space, we were still The A-Sides and we were just all standing in a big circle trying to practice in the least noisy spot. But once that fizzled and Sun Airway started, we don't really practice. We just record all the time, so we shifted the space into a recording studio. We don't know what we're doing so we built a drum tent, which is now sort of a vocal tent and we kind of just move stuff around and set stuff up arbitrarily and record until we like what comes out. Also, at the moment it is oppressively cold in there so we're kind of just doing quick takes and going with it because it's too cold to harp on it. I guess that could be how the space is currently affecting the music! Too cold to labor over anything!

You walk into your space. What's the first thing you smell? Why?

You walk into our space. You smell mostly construction-type smells. Outside of our door almost everything is unfinished and there's crazy construction dust everywhere. Even though we painted our whole space to make it insanely awesome and even varnished our painted-black floor, the dust seems to get in. On a side note, walking up to our door you see a beautiful image of Phil Collins along with the name Sususudio Studios, Ltd. since that's what we named the place. And that my friends, smells like brilliance.

Getting what ended up being the final A-Sides record out into the world appeared to be a major hurdle for the band, but the relationship with Vagrant seemed like a very positive development. Will Sun Airway be able to benefit from that relationship with Vagrant in any way, assuming it ended up being positive for you guys as artists and touring musicians? When can we expect to hear a full-length from you guys anyway?

I can't say that the relationship between Vagrant and The A-Sides was really positive. I'm extremely grateful that they came along and paid for the record, etc. But something just seemed to be lacking with everything that happened since then. Once a label like that starts to see that they're not making their money back they become impossible to even get a hold of. I think they used up all their effort right away and then gave up. There will be no Vagrant involvement in anything we do moving forward. At the very least though, they did get Silver Storms decent distribution and they probably helped a little bit in getting us on the road. Although our booking agent even said we'd be better off without them, so take that as you will. As far as a full-length from Sun Airway, that should see the light of day hopefully by the summertime. First we're doing a 5-song free downloadable EP which is almost done. Just some more mixing to do. Then we'll just continue recording until we have enough songs for a full length. The songs have all been written, most quite a while ago, but since we're producing it ourselves it's much more of a process. It's not a matter of writing and practicing songs, it's a matter of building a song up until we're satisfied with the results, which is different for us. We're used to going into a studio and hoping for the best.

What do the next six months look like for Sun Airway?

The next sixth months for us will just be a lot of recording and once we have enough material to play a show, we'll have to figure out how the hell we're going to pull any of it off live. Since most of what we're doing is sample-based and electronic beat heavy, we really have no idea how this is all gonna work. But we'll try!

Sun Airway -- "Waiting On You"
The A-Sides -- "Here Or There" -- Hello, Hello
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Sun Airway: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Show Us Yours episodes:
Shapes And Sizes | Dirty On Purpose | Relay
Mobius Band | Frightened Rabbit | Assembly Now
Meneguar | Okay Paddy | Charmparticles | Calories

Today's Hotness: Ringo Deathstarr, The A-Sides, Johnny Foreigner

>> [Video Credit: Acid Marshmallow4] Performances by Austin-based shoegaze provocateurs Ringo Deathstarr along the U.S. East Coast heretofore have been rare. Happily, the quartet has posted a strand of dates to its MySpace dojo that bring it back to not only New York and Washington, D.C., but also the Boston area. Indeed, The Deathstarr will perform at Tufts' Oxfam Cafe Friday Oct. 24. Based on a video of the band performing last month at The Cake Shop in New York that we've posted atop this item, fans can expect loud, dense renderings of Deathstarr favorites old and new. The video contains an entire 40-minute set that culminates in a brain-warping maelstrom of feedback and distortion and echo. In among the mire fans will recognize tracks from Ringo Deathstarr's 2007 EP including "Some Kind Of Sad," "Swirly," "Sweet Girl" and "Down On You," as well as the new single "Summertime." Full tour dates are listed below. And even though we post it all the time, we can't help but offer once again the quiet, fuzzy and fever-dreamy demo for "Your Town"

Ringo Deathstarr -- "Your Town (Demo)"
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[buy Ringo Deathstarr music from Spoilt Victorian Child Records right here]

10/14 -- Emos -- Austin, Texas
10/15 -- Walter’s -- Houston, Texas
10/17 -- Rubber Gloves -- Denton, Texas
10/20 -- Drunken Unicorn -- Atlanta, Georgia
10/22 -- Knitting Factory Tap Bar -- New York, NY
10/24 -- Oxfam Cafe -- Medford, Massachusetts
10/25 -- Velvet Lounge -- Washington, D.C.

>> Philebrity broke the sad news here yesterday that The A-Sides have broken up. The erstwhile Philadelphia-based quintet (which itself acknowledged the dissolution with a MySpace status message last night) released two records; the second, Silver Storms, was released by Vagrant last August after the album floundered for quite a while in the wake of a prior failed label deal. Even bigger news is that A-Sides members Jon Barthmus and Patrick Marsceill have launched an electronic-oriented new project dubbed Sun Airway, whose first track "Waiting On You" is streaming at the link supra. The band is also giving it away at its web site, so we'll post "Waiting On You" below along with a few of our favorite A-Sides jams. We suppose you could deem the Sun Airway track "Dntel-ish," although the trademark swirling, sun-shiney melodies of The A-Sides persist within the new paradigm. We last wrote about The A-Sides here in April, when we reported that the band was slated to play three live dates before embarking on the recording of its third record. Sometime in the intervening four months things must have taken a different turn, but we're glad at least some of the band members are continuing on with music.

Sun Airway -- "Waiting On You"
The A-Sides -- "Sidewalk Chalk" -- Hello, Hello
The A-sides -- "Here Or There" -- Hello, Hello
The A-Sides -- "Sinking With The Ship" -- Silver Storms
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[buy A-Sides records at a good price from Newbury Comics right here]

>> So the Johnny Foreigner live video we posted last week apparently features what is the band's typical opening salvo on its current UK tour with labelmates Dananananaykroyd, that is, the three songs "Ghost The Festivals," "Henning's Favourite" and "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella." This is according to a nice informative interview posted here at the blog Sex As A Foreign Language. In the interview the band also talks about future recording plans, which according to fronter and guitarist Alexei Berrow could include an EP that would contain a re-imagined version of an unspecified track from the band's debut long-player Waited Up Til It Was Light and a bunch of new tracks. Such an EP would be "a bridge" between Waited and a sophomore set for which the Birmingham, England-based trio has already been writing new material. Says Mr. Berrow: "The plan at the moment is to go in [to the studio] in February to start on the next one. We’ve written about half of it already and it’s been going very well." In addition to recording, Johnny Foreigner expect to spend a substantial amount of time touring the U.S. in 2008, and will prime the pump with a handful of gigs and radio sessions later this month centered around Berrow's birthday the annual CMJ Confab. All those dates are listed at the band's MySpace tent right here.