A Very Clicky Clicksgiving with Philosophical Zombie, Prom Night, New Dark Arts | O'Brien's Pub | 18 Nov.

As mentioned previously, yr friends here at Clicky Clicky are putting together a series of now-sound rock shows at famed neighborhood establishment O'Brien's Pub in Allston Rock City. The next entry is this Wednesday, when we will be complicit in presenting three new Boston acts on the club's famed corner stage. We're calling this one A Very Clicky Clicksgiving and you are all cordially invited to come early, stay late and drink a beer (if you are so inclined/legally able). Bring some earplugs, cause it'll get loud. So what's on auditory tap?

Top-lining the event is the garagey indie project Philosophical Zombie, the latest outing from scene veteran Ted Billings, formerly of Age Rings and Slater. Wednesday's show serves as the Boston record release party for PZ's bracing debut long player Loneliness Is Blue And Not Blue. The collection presents something of a slightly more spontaneous approach to Billings' music, although it does not sacrifice any of the immense songwriting talent that has made him a person of interest on this blog during the last several years; indeed, Billings' last Age Rings record and the solo record that closely followed were among Clicky Clicky's favorite records of 2011 and 2012, respectively. The rap is that the 10 songs that comprise Loneliness are the results of a writing exercise, and, with the encouragement and blessing of the fine folks behind Killer Wail Records, are presented mostly unretouched. Which is not to say that the record feels rushed or even incomplete -- quite the contrary -- but rather that it brims with potent urgency emphasized by an in-the-red production style. Loneliness Is Blue And Not Blue's best moments, such as opener "All Men" and "Father John," are fuzzy and distorted but never hazy, propelled by driving, insistent rhythms toward ready hooks. Closer "Wedding" tops both with Billings' shouted and sharply panned vocal tracks heard bouncing between shards of heavy down-stroked guitar. It's a dizzying effect that again meshes well with the live, fresh feel of the recording. Loneliness Is Blue And Not Blue is out now via New York based Killer Wail, and we are pleased to present below a stream of "Ash And Her," a more tender moment from the set that still leans heavily on guitars. Digital copies of the record are on offer right here.

Along for the ride Wednesday are area indie concerns New Dark Arts and Prom Night, two bands that orbit the same scene-iverse as those Boston acts we highlighted earlier this year in our Class of 2015 overview. New Dark Arts is the newly rebranded, emo-tinged indie rock project from Collin Coviello, a Boston transplant heretofore known for his work in BDAY BOY. Prom Night is a darker, denser, horror film-themed shoegaze project of Elizabeth Colour Wheel principle Mike Costa, who coincidentally also contributes drumming to New Dark Arts. Check out music from both acts via the embeds below. The show's particulars are all laid our in this Facebook event page, but to sum up: doors Wednesday are at 8:30 PM, it’s 18+ and the ticket will set you back eight American dollars. Speaking of tickets, those of you who like to plan ahead may acquire some at this link. -- Dillon Riley

Philosophical Zombie: Facebook
Prom Night: Bandcamp | Facebook
New Dark Arts: Bandcamp | Facebook







Related Coverage:
Review: Ted Billings | American Bedrooms
Today's Hotness: Age Rings
Review: Age Rings | Black Honey (Reissue)

Today's Hotness: Ringo Deathstarr, Boston Does Boston

>> The 2014 album announcements are coming fast and furious these days, with Clicky Clicky faves Speedy Ortiz, Krill and The War On Drugs all making (albeit expected) disclosures of this sort in recent days. We noted yet another over at the Clicky Clicky Facebook page Monday, but given our enduring love for noise-pop heroes Ringo Deathstarr we wanted to reiterate here the news: the Austin-based trio will release a new collection, Gods Dream, in the U.S. in 2014. The set is being released first in Japan Dec. 18 via the Vinyl Junkie label, so if you are in Japan, feel blessed. A preview track, "Flower Power," is already available to people of all nations; in addition to being awesome, the song features guest guitar work from the legendary Swervedriver fronter Adam Franklin (we should note here that Swervedriver also issued to the wilds of the Internerds recently two new songs that are terrific). "Flower Power" opens with two barking guitar chords and a rhythmic red herring; after the first half-minute the song explodes into a four-on-the-floor belter that re-centers the beat and then gets progressively heavier and more manic with each passing bar, until an oasis of melodic, calm interrupts the frenzy and resets the song, allowing it to establish a slow, elegiac groove. This being Ringo Deathstarr, the serenity persists but unsurprisingly crumbles, giving way to a final 40 seconds of grind. "Flower Power" is an auspicious taste of a record we expect we will listen to quite a lot in 2014; there is as yet no information about a label or release date for what is hopefully an inevitable domestic release. Vinyl Junkie's web site indicates the record has nine tracks, including three that are exclusive to the Japanese release, so maybe Gods Dream is actually an EP? Hard to say what a domestic release will look like until it is announced. While we wait, stream "Flower Power" via the Soundcloud embed below. We reviewed The Deathstarr's 2011 debut full-length Colour Trip here, and its 2012 collection Mauve right here.



>> It's the sheer magnitude of the effort that impresses us most about Boston Does Boston, a new, two-disc benefit compilation that features local independent rock combos covering one another's work. Proceeds from the sale of the set will be donated to the Animal Rescue League of Boston, which means the set gets our vote pretty much right out of the gate. Besides the production costs of the CDs, everything else related to making Boston Does Boston happen was donated -- right down to the studio time, the art and the mastering -- which is pretty wonderful, and speaks to the kindness in the music community in our fair burg. The running order of the formidable collection is daisy-chained across 26 songs, with each artist or act covering a song by the next artist/act performing the following track. So, for example, Clicky Clicky fave Ted Billings (who is actually now based in Brooklyn) covers former Elevator Drops guitarist Garvy J.'s "Celebrate," then Garvy J. covers Sarah Rabdau and Self-Employed Assassins' "Pavement Prophet," and so forth. The biggest hooks might just be in I, Pistol's blazing version of The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library's anthemic "Amylee." Relatively new power-pop act Parks' take on Corin Ashley's "Badfinger Bridge" is another one that will have you hitting the "back" button on your IPod (or having you root around in there for Mr. Ashley's criminally-lost-in-the-shuffle-by-us 2013 collection New Lion Terraces -- hear it at Spotify). Boston Does Boston is a lot of music to take in all at once; perhaps that makes the holiday season the best time to release it, a time when folks might have a chance to put their feet up and really dig in. There will be not one, not two, but three CD release shows, beginning tomorrow night at Brighton Music Hall. Full details of the three events can be found here, here and here, and you can purchase the collection via this Bandcamp page. Can't make it to the show? Want to do more than just buy a CD? There are lots of different ways to support the very good work the Animal Rescue League performs. Read more about that right here.

Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Top Albums Of 2012: Jay Edition

Man, what a thrilling year of music we had. So many surprises, and so many favorite bands making some of the best music of their careers. It was gratifying to sit and listen to it all go by, to see and feel the shows we were able to make it out to see. But there can only be 10 favorites in our list below, and we're super pleased to be able to share them with you below. We'll reiterate our position: music is important. This thing we all share, the fandom, the making, the considering, the camaraderie of being out in the clubs: you get to a point in your life where you realize how important that is. It's inherently optimistic, in a way, our collective pursuit -- whether that be a pursuit of artistic perfection or the hedonistic thrill of having the music just wash over you -- innit? We thank all of the bands we wrote about this year for inspiring us, and we thank all of you readers for sharing our passion for it all. We're more excited than ever for the future, and as difficult as recent events have been for so many, let's remember: the potential for greater things is always sitting out there. The bands whose albums are below certainly chased that and made good. Take a few minutes to reflect with us upon the best 2012 had to offer.

1. Karl Hendricks Trio -- The Adult Section -- Comedy Minus One

Was anyone expecting a new record from Karl Hendricks Trio back when the calendar flipped to January? Was anyone expecting it to be this great? We're betting for most of us the answer to those questions are no. While we weren't looking, Mr. Hendricks was slowly writing rock hits in his beloved home town of Pittsburgh, at the pace of a few a year by his own reckoning, and retrofitting his Rock Band back to its original Trio configuration. Gone -- obliterated under the delightfully excoriating guitars of "The Men's Room At The Airport" -- are the lighter touch and looser feel of 2007's The World Says, which is a fine record indeed [review], but it didn't contain the sort of mint condition Hendricks losercore found on the Trio's classic records. Does that make The Adult Section a "return to form," a phrase we loathe? Whatever it is, it resulted in a collection of fiery rockers and thoughtful ballads, a collection that was our favorite of 2012. Stream "The Men's Room At The Airport" via the embed below or stream the entire record via Spotify via this link. We were pleased to be able to publish a comprehensive interview with Hendricks in July that you can read right here.



2. Golden Gurls -- Typo Magic -- Self-Released

Ever since Baltimore-based Golden Gurls' record was brought to our attention we have written about it early and often, so it should surprise precisely no one to find it firmly lodged here in the upper echelon of our year-end list. Along with the above-referenced The Adult Section, Typo Negative was among the first things we grabbed (well, you know, digitally grabbed, "grabbed") whenever we had some mental headspace and music-listening downtime, meaning it was the thing we listened to a lot because we WANTED to, not because it was sitting in our queue awaiting our critical attention. The tune "I Can See The City From Here" was one of our favorite songs of the year, but song-for-song Typo Magic is remarkably strong all the way across the record, from the delicately burbling ballad "Cars On Mars" to the cracking anthem "Excited." We reviewed Typo Magic here in May, and published an interview with Golden Gurls' fronter Andrew Mabry right here in September. Stream the whole thing via the Bandcamp embed below.



3. Ringo Deathstarr - Mauve -- Sonic Unyon

Because of a successful PledgeMusic campaign mounted by the band to fund it, Ringo Deathstarr's sophomore set Mauve didn't enjoy the element of surprise as did Typo Magic, which dropped out of nowhere upon on us, but nonetheless the record's length and depth made it incredibly enjoyable. We spun the Austin-based trio's LP constantly during the waning days of summer and into the early fall, side one for days and then side two for days because our turntable is a real pain in the ass to access to rock the flip. No matter. Mauve is bursting with lysergic stargazing rockers ("Slack," "Waste") and dance-inflected, moody groovers ("Brightest Star," "Drag"), and the Deathstarr sounds almost eerily at ease working within its various idioms. Perhaps it is the greater emphasis on ambience and atmosphere that distinguishes much of the music on Mauve from the band's prior releases, but truly nothing seems out of the band's grasp on the record. As such, we're eager to hear where Elliot Frazier and his cohort take the band next. Stream "Rip" via the Soundcloud embed below, or listen to all of Mauve at Spotify via this link.



4. Infinity Girl -- Stop Being On My Side -- Self-Released

What else is there left to say about Infinity Girl? The young Boston band's star has burned very brightly over the course of the last six months on the strength of this record and the band's impassioned live shows. In light of the news that the band is entering a hibernation of indeterminate length, Stop Being On My Side (and the recently issued, sparkling Just Like Lovers EP) takes on even greater importance as a document of a great shoegaze band. It's all about the songs, of course, and readers already saw us name "Please Forget" as one of our favorite tracks of 2012 here. But the record is filled with great music from front to back, until the final moments of "Cannons" fade out. Seeing the band close its EP release show earlier this month with a crushing iteration of that tune was the perfect way for Infinity Girl to close this chapter. Until another one begins, we've got this record, which we reviewed right here in June. We were privileged to publish a long-form interview with fronter Nolan Eley and drummer Sebastian Modak right here in July.



5. Johnny Foreigner -- Names EP -- Alcopop Records

Just having the Birmingham, England-based noise-pop titans come to America would have been enough. That they played our benefit show in Boston early last month was completely unreal and awesome. But to top it off by dropping a sterling EP this fall as well? Johnny Foreigner have always been the band that kept on giving, but despite not releasing a full-length this year we can't help but feel lucky as a fan. The four songs released on Names (three each in the U.S. and the U.K., although one title was exclusive to each territory) are all electric, fist-banging rockers of the first order, and the EP -- the band's fifth -- is another in an impressively lengthy strand of brilliant releases. We reviewed Names right here last month. Stream the whole dealy via the Bandcamp embed below.



6. Big Science -- Difficulty -- Self-Released

It's a very compelling transformation, that evolution of San Diego-based The North Atlantic's post-hardcore/Archers alloy into the brilliant, crystalline, reggae-influenced space pop of Chicago's Big Science. The quartet released in May its debut full length Difficulty, and it is a slow-burning, certified indie rock classic. Drawing from the band's strengths as first mapped on the excellent 2008 EP The Coast Of Nowhere, Difficulty captures the band's music in full, dewy bloom. Opening with the spectral ballad "All Of The Heat Has Escaped" and climaxing with the spine-tingling, wide-screened guitar anthem "Subliminal," Big Science's record was a jaw-dropper at every turn. With its lush sonics and sturdy rhythms, the record is an embarrassment of riches, and certainly one worthy of wider attention and critical kudos. Stream all of Difficulty via the Bandcamp embed below.



7. Swearin' -- Swearin' -- Self-Released

Sometimes we think this record is almost cheating, the way Brooklyn quartet Swearin's self-titled debut LP gives us exactly what we want: great melodies, punky attitude, raw production. And so maybe Swearin' is doing us two great services: not only is it giving us music we love, that reminds us of The Breeders and early Built To Spill, but also it's a reminder that maybe the seriousness with which we typically focus our critical ear upon music can sometimes cause us to miss the point. That point being that great music can also be fun. Not to discredit any of the brilliant songwriting here, or the propulsive energy with which Ms. Allison Crutchfield and her band of merry persons deliver these twelve numbers. For much of the year Swearin' was available as a free download, but it was subsequently released by Salinas Records and is available as an LP or CD right here. It's a crucial record, it includes one of our favorite songs of the year, and you should buy it. In the meantime catch the stream via the Bandcamp embed below.



8. Hospitality -- Hospitality -- Merge

It seems like every year there is one pure indie pop record that comes along and wins our heart outright. And while it was a tight battle for that distinction between this and Allo Darlin's Europe, the ITunes playcounts don't lie, and Brooklyn-based Hospitality's delicious self-titled debut full-length takes the prize. From the odd disco of "The Birthday" to the nostalgic, pretty strummer "Betty Wang," from the shimmering wall of sound in "Argonaut" to the relatively rocking album highlight "The Right Profession," Hospitality boasts gems at every turn that only gained more luster as we listened repeatedly in recent months. Listen to "Friends Of Friends" via the Soundcloud embed below or stream the entire thing via Spotify right here.



9. Ted Billings -- American Bedrooms -- Self-released

Ted Billings' first solo full length is the most recent entry into our list, a feat made possible by the collection's forthright hooks, near-palpable energy and rich narrative. That Boston rocker Mr. Billings was able to turn this set around in only one year after his band Age Rings' epic 2011 release Black Honey -- which was made available as both a double album to Kickstarter backers and an abridged, single disc set released by Midriff Records -- is a remarkable feat. Perhaps the short window of time to work in helped inspire Billings. No matter what incited it, the well-sequenced American Bedrooms is an eminently listenable record, eight tightly composed power-pop songs that inexorably proceed to a startling conclusion in the sweet and dour ballad "Rotten World." Highly recommended. Stream the entire record via the Bandcamp embed below.



10. Everyone Everywhere -- Everyone Everywhere (2012) -- Self-released

Philly-based emo heroes certainly seem to go about things in their own way, be it the clever blog tour that promoted their first self-titled set a few years ago or the fact that its most recent record -- also excellent -- was self-released on the band's own imprint and promoted with a huge UK and European tour months ago, but will only see a local record release show next month (Jan. 19 at The Barbary in Philadelphia). Indeed, Everyone Everywhere has already sold out of its first pressing, and the band hasn't even celebrated the thing in its hometown yet. It's certainly worth the fuss, as the album showcases the band taking its big guitars and punchy rhythms and using them to make a record dealing with markedly more mature issues. Album highlight "No Furniture" was among our favorite songs of the year, and we reviewed Everyone Everywhere [2012] in September right here. Stream the entire thing via the Bandcamp embed below.

Review: Ted Billings | American Bedrooms

It's safe to assume that no one is more relieved by the release of American Bedrooms than Ted Billings himself. Not only is the amazing and potent new collection being issued little more than a year after the most recent long-player from Mr. Billings' mothballed rock outfit (this is no small victory, as Age Rings' Black Honey -- one of Clicky Clicky's favorite records of 2011 -- somewhat infamously took four years to complete). But also the release of American Bedrooms likely serves at least in some small part as an exorcism of the feelings related to the events described therein. Most everyone has a story about where they were when the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 occurred; Mr. Billings' American Bedrooms jumps off from that horrific day ("I was starting school when the planes hit," he sings in the opener "Freedom") to explore the songwriter's struggle toward peace of mind in the decade that followed.

While a substantial part of the ambitious, Townshendian narrative is fiction -- particularly the record's climax, "Rotten World" -- it's pretty heavy. Still, it doesn't weigh down the proceedings in the least: American Bedrooms is first and foremost a great rock and roll record whose eight anthemic songs comprise a concise psychodrama punctuated by brilliant, punchy power-pop. Perhaps because of its relatively short gestation period, perhaps not, American Bedrooms is a leaner, more lucid set of tunes than those on Black Honey. Where the prior record was rife with tunes marked by the surrealism of fever dreams, American Bedrooms feels refreshingly straightforward, almost literal. Musically, the record rides high on an undercurrent of vital punk mania; fuzzed guitars rule the day. The set's narrative arc spans both a slow-boiling, post-millennial confusion and disillusionment and a dark twist on conventional salvation (love, here not quite requited and complicated by a hostage situation...) that culminates in the dark ballad that closes the record.

The aforementioned "Freedom" is a tight, buoyant composition commencing with a choppy guitar riff touting Telekinesis-styled fuzz. The fuzz deepens and seeps into the vocal on "House On Fire," a tune that broadens the scope of the record to implicate the collapse of the domestic housing market ("I live in a house on fire, a foreclosure the price was right, we all choose how we're gonna die..."). The guitar part in the title track's verse echoes a bit of Bryan Adams' "Run To You." Thumping, relentless quarter notes from the drum kit anchor the slithering six-string part, but pointedly evaporate at the spine-tingling first chorus, which is ushered in over a solemn, ecclesiastical organ lick. The beat returns, as does the narrator's simple prayer for a facsimile of the American dream ("...all I want to do is to share an American bedroom with you..."). The narrator's misguided hopes of ameliorating his disillusionment and frustration via a romantic conquest, well, that doesn't go as planned ("... I thought you'd learn..."), but it certainly makes for a beautiful finale for American Bedrooms; the stunned admission "didn't see that coming" in "Rotten World" -- delivered amid a pretty cascade of synths -- is terrifically poignant.

Billings self-releases American Bedrooms digitally tomorrow; it is already available for streaming and purchase via the Bandcamp embed below. It is certainly among the best records released this year, although given its late entry it likely won't be recognized as such, sadly. The record will be feted tomorrow evening at The Middle East Rock Club in Cambridge with a record release show featuring a stellar bill. Not only will Mr. Billings and band perform, but also Midriff Records' flagship act, Boston post-punk titans The Beatings, will play, as will the acclaimed Dear Leader and Marconi.

Ted Billings: Internet | Facebook | Bandcamp

The Ash Gray Proclamation and Clicky Clicky Music present Hallelujah The Hills, Ted Billings, Richard Davies and The Blue Dress | PA's Lounge | 14 Jan.

We are exceedingly pleased to be presenting this Saturday alongside our friends at The Ash Gray Proclamation a sterling evening of rock and roll music. The bill, as the title of this post makes clear, features local heroes Hallelujah The Hills, Ted Billings of Age Rings, Richard Davies and The Blue Dress. The show is at PA's Lounge, and we are (briefly) coming out of our just-had-a-baby-show-going-hiatus to make the scene because, you know, we love rock and roll music.



Hallelujah The Hills, of course, needs no introduction, but if you gotta start somewhere like Jon Brion, we'd direct you to the recent, wonderful digital-only b-side "Some Of Them We Lost," which is embedded above and was introduced to us by Team AGP. The song, as we have quipped elsewhere, "at 3:11 ... all of sudden comes on like the vertigo of five too many shots of liquor, and you get up off the couch and realize you can't stand at all." The more recent work of Mr. Billings in Age Rings is well-known to readers of this blog; that band's Black Honey was among our favorite records of 2011, and Age Rings promised a follow-up entitled Magnum Love will appear sometime this year. Here's hoping that we get a little preview Saturday.

We're not going to lie: Richard Davies is totally new to us. But his inclusion on the bill definitely tells us that his music is something we'll want to hear. Word is that some of The Blue Dress guys will be backing Mr. Davies up for his set, which may or may not be akin to juggling swordfish or drinking moonshine from a sneaker, we don't know, but the proposition of the unknown is exciting. As for The Blue Dress (whose appearance here is apparently the band's first club show), we first became aware of the band last summer when the words "dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio..." kept wafting out of our IPod in an unusual context. The line, of course, is lifted from Joy Division's epic "Transmission," a song covered by many but perhaps most notably by Low. The Blue Dress tucked it into their demo "House Of The Demon," and that little hook -- mournfully delivered, but with a different vibe than Low's -- got us very interested in the band. The band's dazzling recent EP These Happy Golden Years is something we wish hadn't slept on in late 2011, because it has that perfect -- dare we say Kiwi-esque -- balance of melody and noise (and trumpet! which is sorta both!) that keeps us coming back for more. Check out "My Deth Ray" below:

The Blue Dress - "These Happy Golden Years" - My Deth Ray by The Blue Dress

It's going to be a great night, and we do sincerely hope you will come out and say "hi," it's been a long time since we've been among the indie rockers. See you then.