Today's Hotness: Audio Antihero Comp, Break It Up, COH



>> London's ineptly brilliant Audio Antihero recently unleashed a cracking, 31-track charity compilation, the latest in the label's efforts to leverage the music of its various constituents and supporters to do some good for those in need, in this instance the organizations Rape Crisis -- England and Wales and Rape Crisis -- Scotland. These two entities do an impressive number of things that you can read about here and here, but we think it is important for our largely US-based readership to understand that these services "are community-based, and independent of government and the criminal justice system." It being Audio Antihero, of course the comp has a ludicrous professional wrestling-inspired title, Regal Vs. Steamboat. Given the length and stylistic breadth of the collection of songs -- which is available for a minimum donation of £3.99 -- the set is just short of an unspoken invitation from the label to fans to mix and match favorites, perhaps creating three more traditionally sized compilations. The line-up includes a number of tunes from Clicky Clicky besties, including a thrilling hyperpop gem from Internet Forever and a classic downer from Benjamin Shaw, whose tune "Goodbye, Cagoule World" was recorded live at London's Union Chapel last year as part of Daylight Music weekly Saturday lunchtime shows. Well, consider AAH's unmade challenge met, as we've gone ahead and identified a Clicky Clicky's Choice (tm) version of Regal Vs. Steamboat that spotlights our 10 favorites of the 31, jumping off from AAH helmer Jamie Volcano's own lead-off choice, Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love's "Change The Mistake." Along the way you'll also hear a blindingly brilliant rocker from Glaswegians United Fruit and a similarly vital anthem from Ben Parker's current and ridiculously slept-on project The Jonbarr Hinge. You can stream our truncated, guitar-pop-plus-leaning Clicky Clicky's Choice version via the series of hyperlinked titles below, but once you click through, do what you can to support this extremely worthy cause being championed by Mr. Halliday, who is both a good and amusing man.

1. Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love - "Change The Mistake"
2. Burnt Palms -- "Empty Place"
3. Internet Forever -- "I'll Sleep When I'm Alive"
4. Wartgore Hellsnicker -- "Perfect Competition"
5. United Fruit -- "Go Away, Don't Leave Me Alone"
6. The Jonbarr Hinge -- "Don't Feel So Sorry For Yourself"
7. Salvage My Dream -- "Give In, Give Up (Modern Girls cover)"
8. Princess -- "Junk Mail"
9. Grand Pocket Orchestra -- "No One"
10. David Cronenberg's Wife -- "Drawn Again (Original Version)"

>> While Clicky Clicky will always have at least one ear on the city because it is the former home of our esteemed executive editor, presently Philadelphia is noticeably gathering some of that shifting, cyclical shine that periodically illuminates the music scenes of certain cities, causing folks to weigh appellations like "indie rock mecca." Between the runaway success of the Crutchfield twins (who you know from their shit-hot and totally quality acts Swearin' and Waxahatchee), the buzzing rise from Purling Hiss and the prolonged success of scene mainstay Kurt Vile, Philadelphia's present ascendency is incontrovertible. One could make an argument the aforementioned shine shows no sign of dimming based on the city of brotherly love's latest entry into the fold, indie-pop trio Break It Up. The band -- which includes Easton, Mass.-bred Dan Morse on guitar -- achieves a familiar, '90s-styled sound without a bassist, instead electing to leave aural space into which fluid, textural guitar work blossoms and bounces. The threesome's "New Penzance," taken from its recently released full-length debut Break It Up, is a stunner, all galloping drums, ringing guitars and two-part harmonies. Stream the tune via the Soundcloud embed below, and purchase the entire peppy and bright set, recorded at Philadelphia's Uniform Recording with renowned engineer Jeff Zeigler, via Bandcamp right here. -- Dillon Riley



>> As we've stated somewhere, we've been coming back around to revisit and catch up on the progress of certain of the electronic acts we used to follow when we first started spending a lot of our time writing about music. Some 11 years back we drew an assignment for Junkmedia to review a full-length of minimal electronic compositions from Russian-born Swede and acoustic engineer Ivan Pavlov, who releases music under the guise of COH, among others. We were largely stymied by COH's 2002 release (of recordings made several years prior) titled Mask Of Birth, as this over-long and rather defensive review evidences. There have been at least 17 releases since that time for various projects Mr. Pavlov is part of, but the latest set from COH (which, incidentally, is the Russian word for sleep), Retro-2038, is where we've finally picked up the thread again. In contrast to Mask Of Birth, the new eight-song collection is warm and inviting -- not necessarily the first two adjectives that come to mind when discussing minimal electronic music, we admit. Even so, we can't say enough good things about what we've heard: there is still a variety of textures and tones at play here, but rhythms tend to gravitate largely around a conventional 4/4 and melody is as pronounced in these eight songs as it is in, say, this recent, more banging but brilliant track from the untouchable electronic genius Keith Fullerton Whitman, or even My Bloody Valentine's superlative 2013 surprise mbv. Retro-2038 was issued by Editions Mego May 13, and the record is available for purchase on CD on double LP (drool...) as an import right here. Sure, with the shipping and exchange rate, this isn't a cheap investment, but it is certainly one of our favorite electronic releases of the year so far. Stream the entire collection via the YouTube embed below.

Today's Hotness: Travels, Projekt A-ko, The Jonbarr Hinge

>> Fans of hazy, dreamy minimalist indie rock rejoice! Boston duo Travels will release Dec. 1 a limited edition, 7" vinyl single and download package. The A-side of the single, "The Sun Shines Down On Me," is a Daniel Johnston cover, and the flip is a gently bouncing strummer titled "Stencil." The single comes with a download code to get digital versions of those songs as well as three more, turning the whole shebang into a digital EP, no? But wait, there's more: the physical package also includes a 7" x 7" colored still from an animated video that will be released concurrently with the single. Physical copies are limited to 150 pieces, and fans who pre-order now will get the disc, video still and downloads for $8 or 8 Euros, depending on which currency you rock in your locale. And it appears you can opt for just the digital version for $6, based on the pricing at this Bandcamp page. "The Sun Shines Down On Me" was first released by Johnston on his 1982 collection Don't Be Scared. Travels, you may recall, is comprised of Mona Elliot and Anar Badalov, who previously played with Victory At Sea and Metal Hearts respectively. We reviewed Travels' third full-length Robber On The Run right here in May 2010; the duo released a sophomore long-player The Hot Summer in 2009. Stream both songs from the forthcoming physical single via the embed below.



>> There's some news about -- well, tangentially related to -- the mighty Projekt A-ko. As we reported here in July, the Glaswegian indie trio earlier this year scotched efforts at completing a sophomore full-length, but fronter Fergus Lawrie (formerly of Urusei Yatsura), has been quite busy with other things. For starters, he and two partners have completed a documentary titled "Send/Receive" that chronicles experimental music in Scotland; the entire thing is available to watch at this tumblr. Additionally, Mr. Lawrie has a new band called Angel Of Everyone Murder, which is slated to soon release an album of "lo-fi drone shoegaze noise rock" via the label Kovorox Sound. In an email Lawrie told Clicky Clicky "the new band is entirely improvised," and its music is "mainly long (20 mins) single chord drones, no drums, just bass and [two guitars], but very textural, using specially modified 'halo' guitars I've built." All of the new music is recorded live in a rehearsal room, and Lawrie states its "quite different" from the brilliant indie rock on Projekt A-ko's immaculate 2009 full-length Yoyodyne. We've heard one of the new songs, "Child Of Nameless Time," and can report the fourteen-minute track is mid-tempo and boils like piles of charred snowflakes in hell. Read Lawrie's track-by-track dissection of Yoyodyne right here and watch the Projekt A-ko Facebook page for more information about how you can hear new music from Angel Of Everyone Murder.

>> It has been a year-and-a-half since we've mentioned The Jonbarr Hinge, the relatively new, full-band project that counts among its number Ben Parker, who is likely (hopefully?) better known for his hand in fronting Superman Revenge Squad and the legendary Nosferatu D2. When the last batch of The Jonbarr Hinge songs were released on a relatively unsuspecting world in early 2011, we were too tied up toiling away at an undisclosed location to make mention of it. But several days ago the Hinge unveiled three new songs on its Soundcloud page, "Limp Heart," "Spinning Rocks" and "Body vs. Brain." Each presents an exciting new face for the fledgling act, which despite our prior speculation remains unsigned (to our knowledge). Perhaps the strongest of the new tracks is the Parker-sung "Body vs. Brain," which boasts wonderful, shimmering guitar melodies in the verse that remind us of John Squire's guitar work in "Waterfall," among other Stone Roses tunes. The newer Hinge material introduces a bit more of a swinging feel to the proceedings, helped along by some able bass playing by Parker. The verse of "Limp Heart" rocks a bit of a Zombies groove. If you never heard the first three tracks The Jonbarr Hinge posted, you are missing out. Fortunately, all of the tunes are at Soundcloud, and we highly recommend you check out the nervous rocker "Looks Like A Nail." The songs features some of Parker's patented vitriol ("fed up with this city, get out of this city"), but tempers it with some sweet, melodic, mid-tempo passages. And, of course, some "oohs," "ohs" and "la la la la las." We're eager to hear more from these guys. Fans in the UK can catch them tomorrow (or today, if you are actually in the UK) at Oxjam Shepherd's Bush Takeover, which benefits Oxfam. Takeover details right here.

"Body vs. Brain by The Jonbarr Hinge

Today's Hotness: Footnotes, Superman Revenge Squad

>> We were inspecting the pending live engagements of Philly-based emo heroes Everyone Everywhere when we stumbled upon their recommendation that fans might also dig a band called Footnotes. The Clementon, NJ-based duo -- whose members appear astonishingly young -- somehow concocts Kinsella-influenced guitar music from just a single guitar, drum kit and vocal. The songs are necessarily lo-fi a la Japandroids, and the rhythms go wobbly now and again, but the results are still impressive. Footnotes plans to release sometime this summer a new EP charmingly titled Summer Shit; the collection is currently being mastered, according to this recent Tumblr post. The pair completes a short strand of tour dates this evening in Watertown, CT -- a/k/a the hometown of our former housemate Franklin Trench -- playing with Merchant Ships, Prawn and The Guru. Summer Shit will likely be available in a limited physical edition, and Footnotes plans to sell the set -- recorded at Gradwell House in New Jersey, otherwise known as the studio run by some of the Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start guys -- digitally at Bandcamp and elsewhere. What is especially exciting is it appears Footnotes are giving away every single previous recording digitally right here. Here's a hot track from the 2009 collection Everything Last Year to get you started.

Footnotes -- "It Get's Better" -- Everything Last Year
[right click and save as]
[download all that Footnotes goodness right here]

>> Fret not, Ben Parker devotees. Despite apparent quiet, the Superman Revenge Squad fronter reports that the duo has completed work on the planned EP Dead Crow Blues, which is slated for release by Smalltown America date TBD. According to a MySpace bulletin posted here, the final track destined for the EP was finished two weeks ago and now the short set is being mixed. Parker has also begun playing guitar with a surprisingly ace new act called The Jonbarr Hinge, and has contributed one track, "De La Fonte," to the fledgling outfit led by Sam Pluck Feezal. At first blush we'd say that The Jonbarr Hinge is a bit reminiscent of early (i.e. awesome) Built To Spill; check out the new act's MySpace page here. We predict The Jonbarr Hinge will be signed to an indie label by the end of the summer.