Today's Hotness: The Prefab Messiahs, Red Sea, R.M. Hendrix

>> Editor's Note: We're not dead, we're just extremely sleepy, as the coroner once said of Alan Stanwyck.

>> We first encountered Massachusetts’ superb psych-rock concern The Prefab Messiahs when they played The Lilypad with (who else?) Lilys back in 2013. While new to the publication then, the group's origins lie in the early 1980s, an era that for regional indie rock fans is synonymous with the truncated initial reign of legends Mission Of Burma. However, post-punk was only a slice of what the Bay State was cooking back then. The gentlemen behind The Prefab Messiahs reinvigorated their mojo in the past decade via a wealth of “DIY garage-pop-psych provocation.” This work, and the rubbing of shoulders with other garage-revival figureheads at the time of the quartet's 30th anniversary, has precipitated the imminent release of a new maxi-EP titled, awesomely, Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive. Coming out as a co-release on KLYAM and Burger on virtually every format but DataPlay (so 10" vinyl via KLYAM, cassette via Burger, and CDs and digital downloads, too), the whole eight-song shebang is the band's first new release in 32 years, and it hits racks on March 10. Burger makes a lot of sense for The Prefab Messiahs, as many of the respected label's lo-fi, neon, classicist power-pop acts indeed sound like the grandchildren of psych-pop’s first revival that occurred around the time that the ‘Fabs four-med.

Your first look at and listen to Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive comes via the overloaded, animated dose of a video for "Weirdoz Everywhere" posted above (longtime fans will also remember it was part of that aforementioned live set at The Lilypad). The EP kicks off with the tune "Ssydarthurr" which not only (re-)introduces the act’s freakbeat influences and straightforward tones, but also its low-key sense of humor, something that separates these gentlemen from many of their stone-faced peers. And that element, ultimately, is what so many adherents miss about the spirit of '67 at the acid gallery. Take Syd Barrett: for all of his pioneering sounds, he was not above the silly, sidelong lyric. The Prefabs' "College Radio" commences with some menacing staccato guitar work and slapdash backing vocals and echo effects, all the while cheekily celebrating left-of-the-dial culture with a supernatural twist. The title track (and EP highlight) rides a steady, mid-period Rolling Stones rhythm and a simple, soaring harmony throughout a delightfully wistful and catchy chorus. The stark march of "Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive" builds in the bridge to a chaotic ending, marking the tune as both an economical and flippant piece of pop gold. Keep an eye on the KLYAM digital storefront and the Burger web dojo for pre-order info for Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive, which incidentally was engineered by sometimes-Lilys Doug Tuttle and Jesse Gallagher. -- Edward Charlton

>> We were excited to see another publication spill some ink for Atlanta art-rock quartet Red Sea and its terrific release In The Salon, which we wrote about here last year. The mini-album is seeing its first physical release in the form of a cassette from Bayonet Records, a new label co-run by Beach Fossils' Dustin Payseur and Katie Garcia (Ms. Garcia, if you don't know, was previously the label manager for Captured Tracks). And, boy, are we equally excited for Bayonet. Not only do the couple have the good sense and taste to release Salon, but they have introduced this reviewer to Red Sea scene mates Warehouse, as well. Presenting a scrappier, exuberant take on Red Sea's weirdo jazzy grooves, the latter band are now also firmly on our radar after just one listen to sophisti-punk lead single "Promethean Gaze." There, brilliant chord patterns, and Elaine Edenfield's Kim Gordon-esque vocals (which hit sarcastic low notes in a singular style that also recalls Red Sea) completely overwhelm. Both In The Salon and Warehouse's Tesseract are out later in March. Keep an eye on the Bayonet site for the launch of the online store and grab these fast, they'll likely move fast once the progressive indie movement takes over the country by storm [That's gonna happen, right? -- Ed.]. -- Edward Charlton



>> Boston DIY shoegazer R.M. Hendrix appears to be gearing up for a new record, and the proof is two wonderful demos he posted to Soundcloud recently. The first, a dark, hazy strummer titled "Half-Mast In Golden Light," takes you into its confidence via bending guitar chords, which drift between hard-panned drums as Mr. Hendrix looses a dreamy verse over top. Shortly after the song crosses the minute mark, spectral synth spreads over top the persistent strumming, pauses for a delightful, crumbling lead guitar interlude, and then returns. The tune is so strong in its demo form that we can't imagine it being improved upon, but we are always pleased when we're wrong about that sort of thing. The second demo, "Wolf On The Edges," is similarly arranged; it pursues a pulsing rhythm and gradually builds upwards from Axel Wilner-esque minimalism, employing soft, inevitable chord changes to achieve a tense, buzzing crescendo once Hendrix's subdued vocals give way. Any new collection would be Hendrix's first since Urban Turks Country Jerks, which was issued by Dallas-based Moon Sounds Records in April 2014; we wrote about that right here. Senior Writer Edward Charlton initiated our coverage of R.M. Hendrix right here in 2012, around the time of the release of Hendrix's Pink Skin EP. Stream "Half-Mast In Golden Light" and "Wolf On The Edges" via the Soundcloud embeds below.

Today's Hotness: Pop Ambient 2014, Cloud Nothings

>> The transient and shifting nature of popular music, and the ideas that drive it, is in fact one of its most important traits. Certainly there's a lot to be said for consistency as well, which we imagine is why Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon held a place in the album sales charts for 741 consecutive weeks, from 1973 to 1988 (and one can speculate that string might have persisted had Pink Floyd not cannibalized potential sales of Dark Side when it released A Momentary Lapse Of Reason in September 1987; the latter record would ultimately go quadruple platinum in 2001. BUT WE DIGRESS.). There are, of course, myriad examples in contemporary music of consistency (or more to the point, of consistent excellence), something of which Kompakt Records reminded us this week. The esteemed Cologne-based electronic label Monday issued the latest annual installment of its Pop Ambient series, Pop Ambient 2014. The compilation series has presented the best in ambient electronic music each year since 2001. That every last collection has been rife with contemplative beauty and dazzling texture is a testament to the stable of artists Kompakt has cultivated. Many artists -- including The Field, label co-owner Wolfgang Voigt and Thomas Fehlmann -- contribute tracks year upon year. Others come and go: making a return after a six-year absence is Ulf Lohmann, whose glacially stuttering composition "Kristall" was a highlight of Pop Ambient 2008. As was the case with its predecessors, Pop Ambient 2014 is a timeless set of thoughtful dreamscapes, and one we expect will stay with us for years to come. Stream samples of the entire album via the Soundcloud embed below; in particular we recommend Mr. Fehlmann's placidly rippling exploration "Treatment," as well as Marsen Jules' "The Philosophers Trap," which is being promoted with this very compelling music video. Somewhat criminally, we last wrote about the series here in 2008. Purchase Pop Ambient 2014 on LP, CD or as a digital download from Amazon (which will save you the cost of importing from Cologne) right here.



>> The meteoric rise of Cleveland trio Cloud Nothings persists. What began as a lo-fi bedroom concern now stands as a legitimately big-font indie rock act, in large part due to the fact that its sophomore album-as-mission-statement (we don't count Turning On, as it was essentially an anthology) was a behemoth. Drawing equally from the urgent post-hardcore of Drive Like Jehu and the slick indie pop sounds upon which fronter Dylan Baldi built his fame, Attack On Memory dotted many best-of-2012 lists. It helped that Cloud Nothings toured the tar out of the set, making a few stops in Boston along the way. Fast-forward a year-and-change and the band has since downsized to a trio, but you wouldn't know based on "I'm Not Part Of Me," the act's latest anthem of dissatisfaction, and the first taste of the newly announced third long-player Here And Nowhere Else. We're particularly drawn to the way Baldi drawls the "youuuuuuu" in the song's undeniable chorus, a nice echo of the slight vocal tics Baldi would affect on newer tunes as the touring cycle for Memory wore on. The adolescent angst is dialed back slightly -- slightly -- on "I'm Not Part Of Me," but even so the track may yet shape up to be the new record's "Stay Useless": the (relatively) poppy anomaly among a slate of guitar rave-ups. Here And Nowhere Else, which touts eight tracks, will be released domestically by Carpark and Mom + Pop April 1 as an LP, CD and digital download; it is also being released into the UK, EU, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China -- not bad for some regular dudes from Ohio, yeah? Stream "I'm Not Part Of Me" via the embed below, and pre-order the whole set via ITunes here or Mom+Pop right here. -- Dillon Riley

Today's Hotness: Frightened Rabbit, Kompakt, The Breeders

>> Last.FM here has an exclusive on the new Frightened Rabbit video for the wonderful and romantic b-side "Set You Free." But we're embedding it above because, well, you're already here, aren't you? The song was the flip to the Selkirk, Scotland-based quartet's "Head Rolls Off," which was issued March 3. "Set You Free" is apparently a cover by a '90s club music act N-Trance, which we did not know until reading FR's MySpace bulletin. Further, the video for "Set You Free" apparently is a bit of an homage to the original video. We haven't seen the original video, but we find it hard to believe that it is any better than what is above. Frightened Rabbit's latest single, "Fast Blood" b/w "Soon Go," was issued in North America today, or so the Fat Cat label would have us believe. The band makes its return to Cambridge, Mass. July 1, when it will play at TT The Bear's Place with The Oxford Collapse. We'll be there, and we may have a ticket or two to give away when all is said and done. We'll let you know, OK?

>> Today is a day for rejoicing, for today the first wave of titles from the catalog of superlative Cologne, Germany-based electronic music label Kompakt and its many affiliates has become available at Emusic. Click this link for EMusic's editorial introduction. Read on for our take on what you should be listening to among the first 17 titles EMusic has licensed. First and foremost is the Pop Ambient series. We're pleased as punch to see that the 2008 edition (the compilation is issued annually and is a reliable source for totally blissed-out electronic Candyland dreams) is available [link] and we used our final 12 downloads of this month's subscription allotment to snag the set, which includes contributions from the usual suspects including Markus Guentner, Thomas Fehlmann and The Field's Axel Willner [remember him?]. Buying the Pop Ambient compilations -- and really any of Kompakt's wares -- is a pricey proposition, what with the exchange rate and the air mail shipping and whatnot. Which is why EMusic's offering is so awesome. Kaito's trancey gems Special Love [link] and A Hundred Million Light Years (link -- the last Kompakt CD we bought, incidentally) also warrant strong consideration. EMusic has said it will continue to add more Kompakt titles in the future, but just in case Kompakt pulls a Rolling Stones you'd best get over there and start downloading you summer beach chill-out jamasauruses. Incidentally, we reviewed Special Love for Junkmedia here a million years ago. And here is a superlative track from our copy of Pop Ambient 2005, Mr. Guentner's skittering dreamer "Innenfeld."

Markus Guentner -- "Innenfeld" -- Pop Ambient 2005
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[buy Kompakt MP3s from EMusic here]

>> Bradley's Almanac's newly posted recordings of last weeks Breeders show at The Paradise Rock Club have excellent sound quality and the performances qualify as rollicking. And of course the banter is hilarious. Do yourself a favor and make time to listen to the set, which spans the Deal sisters' careers and makes for a bracing listen. Download the MP3s at The 'Nac here or stream the whole joint at Hype Machine right here. Serious American good rock here: "Iris," "Huffer," and all your favorites. Zesty!

That Was The Show That Was: The Field | Great Scott

Many fans of electronic music have likely experienced a live performance comprised of little more than a man staring intently at his laptop and at least appearing oblivious to his surroundings. And so the prospect of Stockholm-based Axel Willner's The Field performing its music augmented by a band -- as happened very, very early this morning at Great Scott -- was a particularly enticing proposition. It turns out that the spectacle was still little more than the old man-and-his-machine trope, although Mr. Willner was indeed augmented by two cohorts who shifted roles providing drums, electric bass and a second machine of some sort (a sequencer mixer deck thingy? our knowledge of such hardware is, ahem, minimal). Fortunately, the minimal electronic music that is the musical currency of The Field is indeed sublime. The live sound from our perch directly in front of the house sound desk was visceral and perfect, and the young crowd -- smaller than we expected, given the deserved renown of the performer; how far that performer had traveled to be there; and how rare in Boston such appearances by said performer are -- was well into it.

The only disappointment of the show was its relative brevity. Granted, The Field's compositions regularly stretch past the five-minute mark, and the show lasted some 40 minutes. But even so, we only recall a handful of tracks being administered to the crowd by Willner, et al. According to our sharp-minded show-going cohort The Urban Legend, the set list was:

Night
The Little Heart Beats So Fast
Everyday
Over The Ice

It felt strange for The Field to be breaking down its gear and leaving the stage a few minutes before 1AM. Perhaps we misjudged and the trio came back for a second set. But it certainly didn't feel like that was going to happen, so we packed it in. No video of last night's show has hit the YouTubes yet, but there is a good, short clip of The Field doing "Everyday" at the Paradise Rock Club in April right here. We shot some pictures last night, and you can view a Flickr slideshow right here.

[Link to song at Imeem removed because the embed broke our layout]
Listen to tracks by The Field at Hype Machine right here.

The Field: Internerdsz | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr