Today's Hotness: Bored Nothing, Kigo



>> Sounding as laid-back and natural as when your humble scribe first listened to it in his underwear, the latest release from Melbourne, Australia's slacktastic Bored Nothing captured that relaxed mindset, and man, was it perfect for the occasion. The self-released, four-song Thanks For The Mammaries EP (not the wording that we expect many use on Mother's Day) collects a set of warm, fuzzy lo-fi rock tunes that tout just enough strange tones and warbling to recreate for listeners the bedroom in which it was recorded. Bored Nothing is a vehicle largely driven by a fellow named Fergus Miller, who has been releasing music under the Bored Nothing moniker for about three years. The songs from this latest EP are the sort that travel with you during the day -- never forcing themselves in, but always eager to provide the right frame of reference for your thoughts. The two strongest cuts, "Just Because" and "Dial Tone Blues," showcase the disparate soft and loud aspects of the project. The former is a tape-machine acoustic lament that is achingly beautiful in its clunking rhythm and loping chord structure. It needs little more than a repeated chorus to work its charm. "Dial Tone Blues" is a more surfy, guitar-pop number that layers clean electric guitars and a helping of reverb over Miller's slight falsetto. The result is a mellow bouncer that echoes efforts of bands like Real Estate or even Further (circa their great, under-appreciated lo-fi statement Grimes Golden). The biggest appeal of Thanks For The Mammaries is in the approach: its charm could be compared to that of the self-titled third Velvet Underground album, where the closeted mix of rock elements works more as a lullaby than an alarm. Go ahead and get cozy. Stream the EP via the embed below and click through to download it gratis. Bored Nothing also contributed a tune to the recent Audio Antihero compilation we wrote about here last month, so take some time to revisit the Homerically titled strummer "Black Snuff Pouch And Scuffed Mood Ring (Original Version Recorded While I Was Writing It, Through My Laptop Speaker While I Was Watching 'Castaway' With Tom Hanks On TV, Which By The Way, Did Not Make Much Of An Impression On Me)" right here. As for the future of Bored Nothing, it sounds like the band is taking some time off to write a new record after a flurry of recent live dates, so Mammaries will have to occupy you for the foreseeable future. -- Edward Charlton



>> Sure, Tame Impala undeniably has their dream-pop moments, but we honestly can't call to mind another contemporary Australian shoegaze act (without resorting to the Googles). Until now, that is, as we recently turned on to Kigo and the act's clipped, neon approach to the form. Comprised solely of one D.B. Pearce, Brisbane-based Kigo's latest EP, self-released in late May as a digital download under the title Some Other Place, beautifully explores some singular textures and monumental moments within a framework marked by maximum delay and distortion. The music is almost gothic; indeed, Kigo's compositions carry a certain dark element to them, calling to mind the music of mighty lovesliescrushing and their ecclesiastical tones. Closer "Washed" features a guitar lead that hints ever so briefly at The Cure's "Pictures Of You." But it is the song "I Won't (I Can't)" that is the highlight of Some Other Place. It is almost a love-letter to the blistering alien world that is My Bloody Valentine's "To Here Knows When." Glitchy drums flicker underneath dark, excoriating distortion, while soft whispering, cooing, and a pleasant, rising synth-flute line imbue the song with a gentle humanity, even eroticism. Some Other Place furthers the great shoegaze and dream-pop conversation, one which newer bands keep current and relevant as each endeavors to put its unique stamp on the revered sound and style. Kigo does all of this, and from a country where -- at least from an outsider vantage point -- this sort of thing is a little more rare and precious. Stream the EP via the embed below and click through to download it for whatever you'd like to pay for it. And then get ready for more, as an update to Kigo's Facebook teepee from last week indicates that a new EP is already being written. Thereafter the pace of releases may slow, as Pearce considers writing a full-length collection. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Hallelujah The Hills, Au.Ra, Foxes In Fiction + Benoit Pioulard

>> We had hoped to have had these remarks about Hallelujah The Hills' tremendous new single prepared in time for our coverage of last weeks' The Unfolding Synchronistic Improbable event, but doing it this way will have to do. The Boston-area indie rock institution led by Ryan Walsh on Valentine's Day released "The Three Minute Mark" b/w "Meet Me In The Car," with the A-side streaming at the act's Bandcamp dojo, where we've listened to it repeatedly for days and days and days. The single is available on limited edition, hand-made CD for five American dollars, and we'd say the A-side alone is worth your Abraham Lincoln. "The Three Minute Mark" -- which actually eclipses that total by about a half-minute -- deftly builds from a tense and quiet initial verse that rises from a cyclical bass line and a single acoustic guitar chord into a shuffling chorus. That shuffle is emphasized by a nifty, tight echo on the snare; by the time that becomes apparent Mr. Walsh is erecting a house of cards from the repeated line "I'll need about three minutes to explain just how I feel for you now" and layered horns, and indeed by the three-minute mark the song is cooking. To paraphrase the famous cigarette jingle, there's a lot to like; stream the tune via the Bandcamp embed below and click through to get your paws on the limited edition, physical article. According to the band, neither "The Three Minute Mark" nor "Meet Me In The Car" will feature on the next Hallelujah The Hills full-length. Hallelujah The Hills' most recent long-player was its third, titled No One Knows What Will Happen Next. It was released last May and featured excellent tunes including "Call Off Your Horses," the awesome video for which you can watch right here. The band, now in its eighth year of rockulescence, tonight wraps a short strand of live dates with a performance at The Rock Shop in Brooklyn, although we can assure you that if you are just learning this now there's little chance you'll make it to the show in time. So there's that. Stream "The Three Minute Mark" below.



>> Remember our post last summer about Exeter, England-based Art Is Hard Records and their "Pizza Club" singles series? Well, that series wrapped up last year, but the clever label is back with another series for 2013. No, it's not more pizza boxes (alas). Instead, for one pound, lucky adherents receive an individualized, band-created postcard conveying a new digital single from the series every three weeks. The first installment, released ON DATE WHAT?, featured the bobbing dream-rock stunner "Morning" by Au.Ra. The Sydney, Australia-based band -- a two piece comprised of Tom Crandles and Tim Jenkins -- score with a slow-burning indie rocker built on a steadily enlarging pile of smooth and silky guitar loops. Previous singles from Au.Ra focused more on melodic electronic elements that echoed work by contemporaries Sun Glitters, or even Starslinger in terms of the instrumentation. But "Morning" evidences a more analog approach to Au.Ra's evolving soundscapes. After some delayed glide guitar in the opening, the band introduces a solid eighth-note bass line that recalls Kim Deal's influence. With this sensual rhythmic drive, the guitarist tastefully goes pedal-crazy on top with blasts of distortion, echoes that plop and fizz, clean strums, and circular melody lines that pile up into an extremely over-driven music box by the tune's close. The song shifts subtly throughout, the singer's vowel-heavy vocals sighing through verse and chorus. What makes the song so pleasing is its own forward groove and how everything within it shuffles. A cursory glance at the Art Is Hard roster should be enough to induce anyone to partake in the "Postcard Singles" club; a second single, from Manchester, England's Sorry, No, has already been revealed, but we’d venture it is still not too late to get in on the action. In a time of declining emphasis on the value of physical media within music, Art Is Hard (along with like-minded peers including, specifically, Alcopop!) deserves all the attention it can get, not just for its solutions to the conundrum facing the recorded music industry, but also for approaching the problem with impeccable taste. Order a "Morning" postcard here and stream the song via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> Thanks to the work of stalwart wide-angle outlets like The Wire, local Boston outlet Anti-Gravity Bunny and even Tiny Mix Tapes, artists branded with unpopular identifiers such as "ambient," "experimental," and "drone" receive a not insignificant amount of attention in this here Internet age -- perhaps not on par with that of today or tomorrow’s Pitchfork darling, but certainly greater than non-pop-oriented-or-derived artists received in the era of paper-only publishing. Or so it seems. The jury is out as to whether the greater exposure has translated into more artists working in these areas of specialization, but a swelling tide of tonal recordings rises to the ears of interested, aware listeners these days. One recent effort from Warren Hildebrand, a/k/a Foxes In Fiction, and Thomas Meluch, known better by his nom de music Benoit Pioulard (who will soon release his latest album Hymnal on Kranky), has captured our attention. "Ground Glass" is the A-side of a forthcoming single the pair will release next week via Wool Recordings, and it suggests a drifting, scraping shell of half-remembered dream-pop in the best way. Opening with a distant synth patch and a scratchy sample of a woman's confusion, the song abruptly blasts into a swirling, directionless fuzz. Anchored by a reverberated strum and a gorgeous, deep-voiced vocal, "Ground Glass" modulates infrequently, but even so beckons listeners to get lost in the rich tones and a carefully concocted floating effect. The bold, churning motion of the distortion as it decays and collapses is another remarkable element that makes the piece so enjoyable. In sum, the number suggests to this writer what might result were Austinites She, Sir to take a stab at the drum-less, gothic work of the groundbreaking lovesliescrushing. "Ground Glass" b/w "Etalon" will be released Feb. 28; you can stream the A-side below and pre-order the vinyl here. Speaking of both Benoit Pioulard and Anti-Gravity Bunny, the latter recently celebrated its five year anniversary with a free digital comp featuring a cracking collection of droney stuff including an apparently exclusive jam from Benoit Pioulard; grab that comp right here. -- Edward Charlton