Today's Hotness: Flying Saucer Attack, Happy Diving, Mourn

>> A particularly cultish corner of the experimental rock music world was driven to hysteria month ago when it was finally announced that Flying Saucer Attack, one of the finest shoegaze/drone concerns of the 1990s, would release Instrumentals 2015 on Drag City Records this month. The new collection, due July 17, will be the band's first in 15 years! The apparently aptly titled, 15-song set features pieces recorded by fronter David Pearce (partner and vocalist Rachel Brook presumably sits this one out) to analog tape and CD-R at his home, a medium which served the band well on landmark static-und-drone releases Further and Distance. With hopes of appealing to both die-hard fans and those unfamiliar with the its catalog, Flying Saucer Attack's two preview tracks gently lull the listener while providing windows into Pearce's thoughtful and powerful sound world. "Instrumental 7" opens with smooth, mid-range guitar feedback that dramatically shuts off briefly at various intervals. As each drop-out occurs, swells of supporting notes join the feedback tone to establish additional new harmonies. Second single "Instrumental 4" takes a different approach, instead employing ear-splitting cascades of feedback and slowly plucked single-note guitar leads to slow time and space to a hypnotic background whir. With each track, the subtle mastery of the dynamics is first-class. Like another dreamy '90s shoegaze group, Auburn Lull, did last year with its magnificent Hiber cassette, the inimitable FSA have reappeared to show the seemingly burgeoning legions of bedroom drone instrumentalists how things are done. Pre-order Instrumentals 2015 on 12" vinyl, CD or cassette from Drag City Records right here. Both "Instrumental 7" and "Instrumental 4" can be streamed via our curiously but purposefully narrow YouTube embeds below. -- Edward Charlton





>> This publication was properly bowled over by Happy Diving's Father/Daughter-released debut long-player Big World last fall, and last month's news that the group are already set to return with a fresh 7" on the mighty (and getting mightier) Topshelf Records is certainly cause for celebration. Out July 17 on a variety of colored wax, the East Bay, Calif. band's preview single offers up two great, humid, chugging sludge-pop jams. A-side "So Bunted" recalls the Big World standout "Space Ooze" with its atypical structure, dense chordings and bummed-out vocals, while further pressing those signifiers as some of the band's greatest strengths. After a brief opening comprised of post-Blue Album guitar wailing, the group scales back to a single verse where guitarist/singer Matt Berry's plaintive, bruised vocal details a relationship gone as sour as the minor-to-major power chord changes that keep the song both murky and anthemic. Recorded in just four hours at The Atomic Garden with go-to California heavy-rock producer Jack Shirley (Deafhaven, Whirr, Joyce Manor), the two-minute piece is perfectly rendered in all of its live-sounding, signal-clipping glory. Happy Diving stay true to their monolithic approach to twenty-something, house show angst, and it promises even more fuzz-fest payouts on their next album, which at this rate of productivity just might be here by 2016. Pre-order "So Bunted" from Topshelf right here, and catch the band on its upcoming tour, the dates of which are listed out below. Stream "So Bunted" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton



07/15 -- Oakland, CA -- One Fam
07/17 -- Portland, OR -- TBA
07/18 -- Olympia, WA -- Old School Pizzeria
07/19 -- Seattle, WA -- Office Space
07/20 -- Vancouver, BC -- Alf House
07/21 -- Victoria, BC -- The Mirancave
07/23 -- Santa Rosa, CA -- The Funk Den
07/24 -- San Francisco, CA -- Thee Parkside
07/25 -- Santa Cruz, CA -- Cafe Pergolesi
07/26 -- Los Angeles, CA -- The Echo
07/27 -- Corona, CA -- Sinbad's Hookah Lounge
07/28 -- San Diego, CA -- Che Cafe
07/29 -- Merced, CA -- Tigers & Daggers Records
09/04-09/06 -- Berkeley, CA -- Resurrect Cali Fest @ 924 Gilman

>> This reviewer admittedly missed Mourn's Captured Tracks-released self-titled debut album, which was issued in February, but the quartet's wickedly quick follow up Gertrudis 7" was enough to send us back to listen to it. The much-hyped Catalonian co-ed punk group apparently represent a rising wave of young Spanish punk which has greatly excited tastemakers including Captured Tracks' Mike Sniper, and A-side "Gertrudis, Get Through This!" certainly bears out that heightened interest. Opening with a kinetic, prickly guitar riff, the song highlights the cool vocals of Carla Perez Vas, which echo those of the band's idols including PJ Harvey and Sonic Youth. Building in tension as the instruments remain sturdy and straight, Ms. Vas breaks from a clear and upfront coo to a desperate chorus that brings to mind other European positive feminist punk outfits such as Welsh powerhouse Joanna Gruesome. While straightforward in its construction, the song shifts so dynamically into the "get through this!" chorus that the youthful angst of Mourn arrives in ear canals completely, precisely. Album number two will certainly not be slept on after a wake up call like this, and a release date has been tentatively scheduled for this very month. In the meantime, grab the single digitally via Steve Jobs MegaCo. right here. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Happy You, Nothing, Crying

>> Far be it from us to invade the purview of the artist, and tell her or him what to do. All the same, and as much as we absolutely love it, wouldn't the terrific new record Giggle from New York dream-pop septet Happy You be even more terrific if it were sequenced in reverse? Turn the record on its head, and it leads off with the angular, It Hugs Back-esque stunner "Chummy," with its wonderfully melodic and relatively mellow chorus, and then slides into the set's cracking title track right in the crucial number two slot. And how could you not want "Giggle" in at number two? With another undeniable melody mainlined via breathy vocals, ample fuzz and ethereal feedback gently leads the song up to a near dead-stop. There a curious and quiet bridge -- reminiscent of early Mercury Rev -- introduces an ecstatic, but all-too-brief sax solo that foreshadows (if you are going by the Clicky Clicky-approved alternate sequence) the totally bananas sax playing that sets off the buzz-sawed strummer "Blood Blood Blood." Alas, as Giggle was already issued digitally Tuesday, and vinyl pre-orders are already being taken for a planned Dec. 5 LP release date, our proposed running order will remain unofficial. But you could also do a lot worse than starting your record off as Happy You does, with the optimistic and giddy blaster "La La La Summer," which casts a spell with charming and innocent lyrics "summer's coming and we're hoping that its good" and "spitting in the wishing well is better than goodbye." Frontwards or backwards, Giggle is a very rewarding listen, and we're hopeful the act makes a trip to Boston before too long. There appears to be a local connection, too, as Coaches' Brady Custis is listed as an additional performer at the Happy You Bandcamp, which we highly recommend you visit forthwith to grab the download and pre-order the 12" vinyl. The first edition of the LP is 300 pieces pressed to random-colored vinyl. Happy You's next show, according to the banner at its Facebook dojo, is tomorrow night at a house in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, so, uhhhh, ask a punk? While you sort that out, stream all of Giggle via the embed below.



>> Earlier this month Philly's resident existential noise-thugs Nothing unleashed to the wilds of the Internets their first new original material since their crushing debut LP Guilty of Everything. The song, a dense, chugging number entitled "July The Fourth," arrives as half of the band's contribution to a split 12" due from Run For Cover Nov. 18. The other side of the platter features tunes from the self-described bad boys of nu-gaze, Whirr. "July The Fourth" is the short set's final cut, and it sheds the hazier gloom found elsewhere in favor of a more charged and chaotic, twin-guitar attack. We still fondly recall with precise detail seeing these acts at Boston's Great Scott last year. Nothing's Domenic Palermo wildly stage dove into a crowd of, errr, no one, and Whirr played so loudly the walls and ceiling ominously shook all around us. And so we are collectively psyched for this split 12", which will be released in an edition of 5,000 pieces with an etched B-side available in myriad color options (black appears have already sold out, but pink, baby blue, cream/green, and green/baby blue/yellow starburst apparenty remain). The media in question comes packaged with a special behind-the-scenes DVD titled In The Studio that we presume captures aspects of the recording sessions, which will surely prove entertaining and/or illuminating. Stream "July The Fourth" via the embed, and pre-order the record right here directly from Run For Cover. -- Dillon Riley



>> In other Run For Cover news: Crying, the chiptune-oriented trio that includes LVL UP's Nick Corbo and Whatever, Dad's Elaiza Santos along with a (figurative) cat named Ryan, disclosed that it will release a first set for RFC imminently, a double EP titled Get Olde/Second Wind. The release combines the first physical manifestation of the Purchase, New York-based threesome's 2013 debut on the A-side with with a brand new six-song companion EP on the flip of a single LP. The band is already streaming one of the new songs from Second Wind entitled "Batang Killjoy." The briskly paced and fresh-faced tune proffers a sharper, crunchier edge than the balance of the material on the relatively light Get Olde, replacing the former's dream-pop sheen with slicker alt-rock riffage. The tune also has one of the most romantic lyrics we've heard in a while: "yr girl is in the pew / I feel insane sitting next to you." You can pre-order Get Olde/Second Wind from Run For Cover right here. The set is available in an edition of 1,000 pieces pressed to blue, pink, white and blue/pink starburst media. Crying will go out on tour Nov. 11 with Modern Baseball, Knuckle Puck and Somos, a tour that last more than a month. The road show rolls into Boston Dec. 14 for what will surely be a hot evening at the olde town's fabled Paradise Rock Club; the show is all ages and doors are at 6PM. Grab tickets for the show here, and stream "Batang Killjoy" via the embed below. -- Dillon Riley

Review: Happy Diving | Big World

San Francisco sludge-pop upstarts Happy Diving first breeched our radar at the onset of the year via a digital/cassette EP, but the East Bay act is poised to decisively put its stamp on 2014 with an ear-pleasing, skull-pounding full-length debut titled Big World. Due Nov. 4, the record bears all of the hallmarks of a contemporary classic indie release: recorded quickly (two days); with a hot shot up-and-coming producer (Jack Shirley of Deafheaven, Joyce Manor and Whirr fame); backed by a rising area imprint (Father/Daughter Records). Oh, it also rocks.

As with the likely incessant humming inside producer/The Cars guy Ric Ocasek's head, Happy Diving brings the fuzz. Indeed, Big World channels Ocasek-produced touchstones like Weezer's thrilling blue album and Nada Surf's High/Low -- and, to a lesser extent perhaps, Bad Brains' Rock For Light -- into aggressive punk rock forms. With each pummeling chorus, grit and dirt shudders loose from Happy Diving's sustained, high-output sound like the dessicated refuse from sonic flypaper faced with a strong breeze. And so thick rhythm guitars establish a formidable aural wall along the length of Big World. It's perhaps the most pronounced element substantiating the Weezer comparison (although the band's occasional third guitarist is clearly a big fan), although Happy Diving's melodic sense is fairly keen as well. Even so, the constant clipping and in-the-red tones of songs including "Mikey's Rules" and "Weird Dream," all the searing feedback and sustain, evoke something ultimately darker and more dejected than Rivers Cuomo's adolescent observations. Big World highlight "Space Ooze" follows this model, economizing its down-stroked chords to create a compact punk bruiser with thrilling single-note bends, a quick verse, a sore-and-subtle harmonic "oohing" bridge and a slapdash guitar solo. The tune's breakneck pace implies a sense of danger, leading the song somewhere substantially more troubled. In this context, and especially when taking into account the album art, the album title is less optimistic than it is anxious.

Fronter and guitarist Matt Berry's resigned singing does much to establish the disaffected mood of Big World. Mr. Berry's smooth yet sour pipes evoke the characteristic confusions and frustrations of 20-somethings, specifically that state of feeling one way while being pressured to present another. And so Berry's singing injects another dimension to the sweeter melodies of the more pop-oriented "Sad Planet," and imbues much of Big World with greater emotional depth than a superficial read of its songs might otherwise note. Still, song titles like "Always Noon," "Whatever" and the aforementioned quirky, sci-fi referencing duo "Sad Planet" and "Space Ooze," evidence that Happy Diving don't take all of this rock 'n' roll business too, too seriously. So as the listener can imagine the year-old foursome running through its repertoire in a dimly-lit basement -- pissed off and disenchanted with the world, perhaps -- she or he can still also imagine Berry and co. still goofing off and having fun.

Big World will be released by Father/Daughter Nov. 4. Said release is being celebrated with a release party tomorrow night in Oakland, Calif. at 1234 Records; the show includes Fish Breath, LVL Up and Big Ups. The album is available as a digital download as well as a limited edition vinyl 12" pressed to oxblood, oxblood and baby blue splatter, or classic black media, and it appears there are only 100 pieces of each, so be sure to pre-order one while they last via the band's Bandcamp right here. The entirely un-eff-withable Art Is Hard label will release a cassette version of Big World in the UK Nov. 3; there are only 100 of those available. Stream three tracks from the record via the embeds below. -- Edward Charlton

Happy Diving: Bandcamp | Facebook

Today's Hotness: Alex G, Basement, Camera Shy

>> Philadelphia's Alex Giannascoli is a young man at a threshold. That he is a young man is not entirely why people are interested in him, although his growing profile as a purveyor of fine lo-fi indie pop is informed by a certain ordinariness, which we don't use pejoratively in the least. He's the boy-in-the-dorm-room-next-door, in a sense. The earnest, enigmatic wunderkind known to music fans as Alex G has seen his low-key pop project go from cult fave to, well, an even bigger cult fave in what feels like a matter of months. The recent release of his first-ever vinyl full-length, the wistful, mysterious DSU, has precipitated a gradual unveiling of the soft-spoken musician. Not unlike Frankie Cosmos' Greta Kline, Mr. Giannascoli toiled in obscurity for years creating an extensive catalog to little fanfare -- until recently. His singular songcraft, however, increasingly spurred significant word-of-mouth, and even endorsements from now-label mates Elvis Depressedly and Ricky Eat Acid, as well as a curious boomlet of exploratory profiles including an excellent one from Jersey Beat. As a result, Alex G seems positioned to break out in spite of himself, if not into a wider consciousness in the indie rock world, then certainly into notoriety among lo-fi adherents. Not unlike the songs he pens, Giannascoli comes across like a passive, hyper-aware dude and other recent sit-downs with Impose and The Fader reinforce this, painting him as a talented, if unsure millennial. While he's tagged with comparisons to Phil Elvrum's The Microphones and Mount Eerie, Alex G's homespun indie-pop -- typically recorded with little more than a computer and a duct-taped microphone -- resonates with a singular domesticity and intimacy, despite occasionally inscrutable lyrics. DSU is available now on vinyl and as a free download via Orchid Tapes right here; you can stream it via the Bandcamp embed below. Alex G is touring this summer, and is presently slated to perform at Roggies in Brighton in August -- that date may or may not get moved given the venues's current shutdown. Query a counterculture enthusiast. -- Dillon Riley



>> One thing we can all agree on is that a number of bands signed to the venerable Boston indie label Run For Cover have a very loose understanding of the term "hiatus." This week saw the release of Scranton-based punk collective Tigers Jaw's Charmer, a record that came to fruition in spite of (or perhaps because of) a significant lineup change and subsequent hiatus notice (it also happens to be the band's strongest work to date). In the fall of 2012, Ipswich, England-based post-hardcore heroes Basement countenanced a similar inflection point, and elected to put the band on ice in favor of school and work endeavors. Earlier this year, however, Basement surprised fans by announcing reunion shows in the states, Australia and Japan. The dates sold out quickly, proving that fans continue to carry a torch for the band. In tandem with these shows, the wuintet has announced the arrival of its first new material since 2012's Colourmeinkindness in the form of a three-song EP entitled Further Sky. The first, and likely only, preview tune from the EP is the stunning and pretty "Summer's Colour," wherein the band slightly subdues its heavy guitar attack in favor of a denser chug more characteristic of the space-rock vibe of unsung '90s heroes Failure. Britpop fans will be delighted to learn the new short set also includes a cover of the Pulp classic "Animal Nitrate." Preorder Further Sky via Run For Cover right here. Basement will perform at The Sinclair in Cambridge, Mass. in late August. It's a killer lineup including RFC affiliates Pity Sex and Superheaven, as well as the mighty Ovlov, and the show -- as well as all of the rest of the US dates, apparently -- is already very, very sold out. Stream "Summer's Colour" via the embed below and kick yourself repeatedly. -- Dillon Riley



>> In other RFC news, Jack-O-Lantern, the debut EP from the upstart dream-pop combo Camera Shy, is slated for release next week. The act features current Whirr/Nothing/Death Of Lovers guitarist Nick Basset alongside former Whirr vocalist Alexandra Morte. The duo takes a decidedly more delicate, candied approach to the dream pop template than that of the related acts: in the context of Camera Shy finds Mr. Bassett sticks mostly to acoustic strums with the occasional bright and clean electric guitar noodling, and Ms. Morte's vocals are up-front and unmarred. Unsurprisingly, Camera Shy is widely considered to be Bassett's most accessible project yet, and while we feel the huge melodies found on Whirr's debut Pipe Dreams were very appealing and fairly conventional (albeit loud), we understand the sentiment. If Camera Shy ever decide to play some shows its music will likely be delivered well under the sonic pain threshold, which will feel sort of novel in contrast to the work of Bassett's present "day-job" band Nothing. Two gentle and sunny preview tracks, "Spin Me" and "Come Around" can be streamed via the Soundcloud embeds below. Preorder Jack-O-Lantern on Halloween-themed vinyl -- obviously -- from Run For Cover right here. -- Dillon Riley

Today's Hotness: Nothing, Seeds Of Doubt, Ancient Babes

>> The Whirr/Nothing/Soccer Mom show we saw last summer was the most extraordinarily loud thing we've ever witnessed, and we've been lots of loud places. We suppose there are different qualities to loudness, but what we'll always remember about this show was that at one point the extreme volume actually made our brain vibrate inside our skull, which was a completely insane feeling. Philly-based shoegaze titans Nothing return to Boston this week at long last, ahead of the release of a hotly anticipated debut full-length titled Guilty Of Everything. The mind-blowing second preview track from the collection, the sinisterly titled "Bent Nail," is a blistering number with remarkable sonic depth. It's interesting to observe here how the band aims to translate the visceral loudness of its music to the controlled parameters of a sound recording. Bands like Dinosaur Jr. and My Bloody Valentine, two acts renowned for their aural assault, at least these days make very clean and contained recordings, ones that respect the limits of the media that hold them. This in contrast to the grinding, paint-peeling sounds of something like, oh, you know, Dinosaur's "Don't" or the so-called "holocaust section" MBV famously inserts into its live performances of the song "You Made Me Realize." On its new track "Bent Nail," Nothing submerges its massive wall of guitars, bet-everything drumming and subdued vocals neck-deep in a consistent and even reverb, the effect of which approximates well how Nothing's sound cocoons fans in a small rock club. It also emphasizes the softer, dreamy quality that lurks just below the danger and noise inherent in Nothing's music, a yin/yang relationship that echoes the tension between the beauty and the turmoil in the band's songwriting. The Jeff Zeigler-produced Guilty Of Everything will be released by Relapse March 4 on LP, CD and as a digital download. Pre-order the set right here, and then hit the embed of "Bent Nail" below to dream away your evening. Nothing, whose previous release was the 2012 EP Downward Years To Come, reunite with Boston's mighty Soccer Mom tomorrow when they anchor an epic bill at Great Scott toplined by dreampop luminaries Weekend.



>> Despite the clean lead guitar lines and upbeat tempos, it is apparently the skateboard and not the surfboard that occupies the hive mind of rising London quartet Seeds Of Doubt. Or at least the band's music has been used to score skate videos published by an international athletic shoe brand; for all we know Seeds Of Doubt hates skating. But we can be sure that what it does like is strong, hooky indie pop, which is what the band delivers on "There You Go," a compact and uptempo strummer with a sing-alongable chorus and neat little guitar leads dug into a watery, lo-fi mix. The tune features on the just-issued DCP EP, a five-song cassette available now from the always-quality Italian Beach Babes label. DCP is the first recording to feature the new four-headed iteration of Seeds Of Doubt; a previously released 12-song cassette was issued by founding member Matt as a solo endeavor. We don't know what the weather is like in London right now, but the light, summery sound of "There You Go" is a potent (if temporary, as all pop must be) antidote to the deep freeze currently gripping Boston and the surrounding environs. Somewhat surprisingly, we didn't write about Italian Beach Babes in all of 2013. That is just as likely an oversight on our part as it is any indication of what the label accomplished last year; they certainly seemed to come on strong in 2012 with splendid releases from Mooncreatures and Cold Pumas. Anyhoo, stream the breezey rocker "There You Go" via the Soundcloud embed below, and hit this link to purchase the tape from IBB. £5 plus shipping gets you the cassette and a download code.



>> When we last checked in on Vancouver-based electronic producer Ancient Babes last summer, it had just posted the '80s-echoing chillwave delight "Malcolm X In The Middle" to Soundcloud. The tune sounded like the lost track to a John Hughes teen dramedy, and in the ensuing months the man behind Ancient Babes, Sam King, continued quietly dropping tracks over at Soundcloud. Last week the best of these were bundled up into Futuristic Demon, a debut EP featuring three previously posted tracks and the compelling new cut "Occult Commando." The new tune closes the four-song taster in grand fashion, big wet snare cracks punching holes in a dreamy cycle of synth tones and small smears of guitar as Mr. King murmurs what could be the sweetest nothings or the dreamiest death threats into the middle of the mix. Sonically and compositionally "Occult Commando" is a strong step forward for Ancient Babes; the only miscalculation might be the tune didn't get the first slot on the EP, which you can stream via the embed below. Click through to download Futuristic Demon in exchange for as much or as little money as you can spare.

Today's Hotness: Whirr, Honey Radar, Lurve

>> Bay Area shoegaze goliath Whirr accomplished more than its name suggests with the 2012 debut full-length Pipe Dreams. Rather than embrace a controlled spin, the sextet charted a course for sweet oblivion, aided by metallic riffing, barely whispered vocals and destructive, tom-heavy drumming. The result was one of the best shoegaze albums of the year and, likely, the decade. Consequently, Pipe Dreams set the bar high for future efforts from Whirr, and everyone else for that matter, but with the recently issued Around EP that challenge has been roundly met. Released July 9 on Graveface Records -- a label that issued certain of the group's work pre-Pipe Dreams -- the EP presents four songs including the single "Swoon." The song's epic scope encompasses pummeling chords, serene, nearly-ambient drop outs and everything in between. After a cymbal-heavy crash of over-reverberated drums and what sounds like thirteen individual guitars playing one note, a rhythm guitar sets off a marvelous cycle of dripping-wet, almost water-colored structures. While still decidedly Whirr, the more sprawling, glassy and gothic tones of Around emphasize that Whirr is not interested in simply recreating Pipe Dreams; much credit should be parceled off for Whirr's drummer, whose dynamic performances often are what makes these four songs particularly dramatic. By hammering a harder edge on styles made prominent by legends such as My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive, Whirr have established a singularly beautiful sound with Around, one that thrives on pillowed delay, exploratory tempos and profoundly affecting chord changes. The EP is available for purchase from Graveface as an LP, CD, cassette or download right here. Stream "Swoon" via the Soundcloud embed below. Whirr plays Great Scott in Boston Aug. 15, with support from hotly-tipped Philadelphians Nothing and local noise-pop heroes Soccer Mom. The date is part of a tour that commenced Tuesday; full details on the Boston appearance are right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> Strolling through the world of underground DIY cassette releases seems similar to what this reviewer imagines an indie record store must have been like before the Internet [Oh, you young people smh -- Ed.]: crates of bands, tapes and labels, linked mostly by scene and bubbling up based on word of mouth. Many tapes of the contemporary era can only be obtained through stock sheets collected from bedroom imprints, and often only 100 copies are made before the work dissolves into the ether and collective memory of friends and devotees. And so the current cassette culture requires buy-in from both ends, of course, and perhaps that is why discovering a really stellar tape is such a uniquely rewarding experience nowadays. Which explains why we were stoked to receive in the mail Western Plum Musket by Honey Radar, a tape out now on Philadelphia's Tree Top Sorbet label. Honey Radar, a shadowy lo-fi concern from Indiana that appears to have been in operation for several years, trades in the sort "sudden epiphany rock" of contemporaries like Guided By Voices and Times New Viking. While the dashed-off production values and singer Jason Henn's strange word associations do evoke Bob Pollard or Syd Barrett, the breezier songwriting and softer singing come across as contemplative and wistful. Western Plum Musket, an EP of sorts, offers several very strong songs. The opening one-two-punch of "Roughing Up The Painter" [video] and "Mason Neck," highlight Honey Radar's quirky strengths. The former tune offers a prickly warble and wins over the listener with a charmingly out of tune bass pattern and automated frequency adjustments. It is "Mason Neck," however, that is the real treasure. A pretty, yet shambling, psychedelic strummer, the song sounds like a lost garage-folk 7" from the mid-'60s. The warm and crispy production gives the number a hint of a modern, updated sense, and the tumbling rhythms and wispy voice recall the twelve-string stunners of mid-period Lilys. The band works through a couple of short noise numbers on the cassette as well, which capture the spontaneity seemingly intrinsic to the format. The contrast between these experiments and Mary Plum Musket's more serene moments limns both with a flash of gratifying unpredictability, just the sort of magic one hopes to find on a cassette. Get your copy of the limited-edition Mary Plum Musket right here while you can, and stream the entire deal via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> In our online pseudoworld of limitless (and increasingly meaningless) genre fusions, vertiginous taste-making and purportedly new approaches to making the heart of rock and roll beat, sometimes you just want the straight stuff with a capital R. Brooklyn's Lurve are happy to oblige with "Wires," one of two numbers the band posted to its Bandcamp earlier this year. "Wires" is a driving, tightly realized and deftly disguised power-pop song that erupts with a basement-show exuberance, one that makes the song seem significantly shorter than its four-minute-ish runtime. After some distorted opening guitar chords, "Wires" presents its best side –- a thirty-second breakdown of punky guitar figures that interrupt each softly sung verse. Eventually the song latches onto a fixed-note groove that delivers it to a squalling end. The smeared noise, sudden minor chords, and rough-hewn production try, but fail, to mask somne keen pop songcraft. And speaking of "smeared," this song is remarkably evocative of Canadian power-pop juggernaut Sloan's overlooked 1992 grunge-noise statement Smeared, and songs like "I Am The Cancer," or even contemporaries Superdrag, and their crushing early tune "Senorita." Sure, the underground remains subject to Eric Bachmann's prescient mid-'90s lament, but Lurve hit upon a memorable pop formulation that they can hopefully continue to shape into their own. "Wires" and "Simple Syrup" show much promise, and we are optimistic that Lurve's planned full-length -- recorded by Roomrunner's Dan Frome and slated for release this month on Cincinnati's Broken Circles Records -- will follow suit in offering up something fresh via that which is already tried and true. Stream both tunes via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Big Deal, Whirr, Projekt A-ko

>> Please do not construe our silence on the release of Big Deal's full-length debut Lights Out as anything other than a lack of time on our part. We followed the band closely through the release of their early singles in 2010 and 2011, and wrote about Big Deal most recently here in October. We are pleased that the charming and hazy full-length Lights Out lives up to all that early promise. As Mr. Yang pointed out in his spot-on assessment here, yes, the London-based duo is working with a limited palette (two voices, two guitars), but through some beautiful alchemy the melodies, production and performances meld into the proverbial sum-greater-than-its-parts. Perhaps it is the performances -- earnest, hurt, lovelorn -- that make songs like "Chair" and "Cool Like Kurt" so powerful. The latter song so magically crystallizes the feelings of fragile, youthful romance: uncertainty, longing, the fleeting nature of the enterprise. Out of context this lyric is a little creepy, but we can't think of any more perfect way to sum up feelings that at this point in our lives are barely accessible via memory: "take me to your bed, don't take me home, before this is oh, before this is over." Lights Out was finally released in America on Mute Jan. 24 in the wake of an eponymous EP; the set was issued in the UK Sept. 5. Big Deal plays what we believe are its first U.S. shows next month (full dates below), despite male half of the duo Kacey Underwood being an American. The band has completed a new video for the song "Talk," which you can expect to see online soon. In the meantime, in case you've forgotten what it sounds like, you can stream below. Dig in.



03.11 -- The Glasslands -- Brooklyn, NY
03.12 -- Mercury Lounge -- New York, NY
03.13-03.18 -- SXSW TBA -- Austin, TX
03.20 -- The Echo -- Los Angeles, CA

>> Pun Canoes was the first outlet we saw to report that Whirr's hotly anticipated full length Pipe Dream will be released by Tee Pee Records March 13. The venerable publication characterizes the set as Whirr's second full length, but we think that is incorrect: the act -- when it was going by its previous nomme de rock Whirl -- released its Distressor EP in 2010. So, right, this will be its first full-length. Pipe Dream contains the title track from the excellent June EP, "Junebouvier" (but not the b-side "Sundae") that we first wrote about here in September, as well as eight other numbers we are very eager to hear. Peruse the full track listing at Pun Canoes right here. Whirr will tour out to Austin in March for the obligatory strand of SXSW performances, and full dates are posted right here. "Junebouvier," in case you missed it, is a stunningly beautiful dream-pop track that we highly recommend (having included it during our October New Music Night set). Listen to it:



>> Projekt A-ko fans have reason for optimism, as an email this week from fronter Fergus Lawrie states that progress has resumed on a new album. Lawrie, as we wrote here in October, has been keeping busy with noisier, improvisational pasttimes including Angel Of Everyone Murder. A video featuring that project is included in a new DVD from Kovorox Sound titled Video Vomit Volume 1. As for Projekt A-ko, Mr. Lawrie says a new track may be posted online "in the next couple of months." The new song would be the first since the release of the fan-only cover of Drop Nineteens' "Winona." Projekt A-ko's towering, monumental, incredible, terrific, etc. full-length debut Yoyodyne! was our second favorite record of 2009. It is mammoth.

Today's Hotness: Fanzine, Yuck, Whirr, Saint Solitude

>> Fat Possum is doubling down on UK guitar bands, as it disclosed today it will release the debut single from Fanzine, an act vigorously touted by London-based indie phenoms Yuck earlier this year. Yuck, of course, issued its debut self-titled LP via Fat Possum early in 2011. On Nov. 22 Fat Possum will deliver Fanzine's double A-side single "Roman Holiday" b/w "My Stupid Brain" in a limited edition of 500. The single will be available as a traditional vinyl 7" as well as a CD-R packaged with -- surprise, surprise -- an illustrated fanzine. Fanzine's previous self-released EP1 similarly packaged music in a 'zine, although that was distributed as a PDF with an embedded URL pointing to MP3s. "Roman Holiday" has higher production values than the music on EP1, but continues to rely on fuzzy vocals, big guitars and bigger melodic hooks, not unlike the aforementioned Yuck. In case you didn't get a chance to download EP1, it looks like this link is still live. And speaking of Yuck, the quartet continues to ride high on the success of its self-titled debut, and last week launched yet another in a rapid succession of U.S. tours with a stirring performance at TT The Bear's in Cambridge, MA. Yuck has gone over so well that Fat Possum is issuing a special double-CD/vinyl version of the collection whose second disc contains a half-dozen B-sides, including "Soothe Me." The band put the song, recorded a few months ago in London when the band had some down time, up on its Soundcloud earlier this week. Stream the mid-tempo space ballad via the embed below.

Roman Holiday by Fanzine

Soothe Me by Yuck

>> Hat tip to Sonic Masala for bringing to our attention with this item that Northern California-based shoegaze sextet Whirl has re-branded itself as Whirr. The change was apparently due to some sort of legal issue having to do with the use of the name. But more importantly, Whirr has a new single, June, out today on New York-based Tee Pee Records and it is AMAZING. The song "Junebouvier" from the single was premiered elsewhere earlier this summer and we missed it, but we've dropped a Soundcloud embed below so you can bask in the swirling, guitar-y gloriousness. June is available in a limited edition of 250 Coke-bottle green vinyl 7"s, and the single sets the stage for a full-length that Whirr was scheduled to begin recording last month. Back when the band was known as Whirl, it self-released the EP Distressor in 2010, which we wrote about right here. June sounds like a big step beyond Distressor, and we are commensurately beyond-excited to hear the planned full-length; there's no word yet as to when it will be issued.

Whirr-Junebouvier by Not Enough Recognition

>> Today is a big new release day, in case you didn't know. In addition to the Whirr single mentioned supra, The Hush Now's sparkling third record Memos is officially out. Also now available is folk-rock (now-)foursome Saint Solitude's enjoyably breezy sophomore set By Some Great Storm. Think early, more acoustic-oriented Small Factory and you are in the ballpark. Asheville, NC-based Saint Solitude mastermind and one-time sole proprietor Dup Crosson has galvanized a band around him, and, based on a couple listens, it sounds like Mr. Crosson is letting the dynamic of the band take a central role, as opposed to adding sonic flourishes and overdubs like those that filled out 2009's Journal Of Retreat. Crosson mentioned somewhere recently that he'd been feeling a Smashing Pumpkins vibe of late, and we hoped that influence would find its way into By Some Great Storm. The new rocker "Lifted" certainly does lay on the Corgan guitar fuzz and its drums hit a little harder than Crosson's typical jams, but by and large the new record continues Saint Solitude's mapping of rootsier indie pop. Buy By Some Great Storm from Alive And Well Records here or Bandcamp here, and get out to support the band when it comes to your town on tour next month. We wrote about the Saint Solitude's standalone single "Deliverance" right here last month.