Today's Hotness: Grass Is Green, Porches., LVL UP, Eugene Quell

The last time Boston-based progressive indie goliath Grass Is Green graced these electronic pages they were party to the epic local release show in July for Speedy Ortiz' year-defining Major Arcana. Now the dome-crushing quartet is back with a new long-player of its own, due next month. The set, Grass Is Green's fourth, is titled Vacation Vinny, and believe you us it is massive and formidable [review pending]. The set was recorded in September with Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez at The Silent Barn; that's the same team behind Krill's Lucky Leaves and a flotilla of additional compelling now sounds. Ahead of its release via the mighty Exploding In Sound, Grass Is Green has loosed to the wilds of the Internerds a single, "Vacation 2.0." The song is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, rife with stop-start dynamics and crisp, brittle guitars. The foursome whips through multiple time signatures during the brisk, three-minute blast without ever losing control of the song's central melody. "Vacation 2.0" is a dizzying bit of math-punk that comfortably packs enough ideas for four different songs despite its short running time. Stream the song via the Soundcloud embed below, and then hit this link to pre-order the full-length. Vacation Vinny will be released Jan. 14 as an LP or download, by which time Grass Is Green will already be out on its first tour of 2014 along with the aforementioned Speedy Ortiz (all confirmed dates and TBAs are listed below the embed, for you pre-planning party people). A local release show for Vacation Vinny is slated for Jan. 25 at the Cambridge Elks Lodge, with an absolutely insane bill featuring Krill, Ovlov, Palehound and Trespasser. -- Dillon Riley



01.03 -- New Haven, CT
01.04 -- Philadelphia, PA -- The Keystone
01.05 -- Baltimore, MD -- Floristree
01.06 -- Richmond, VA -- Strange Matter
01.07 -- Chapel Hill, NC -- Local 506
01.08 -- Columbia, SC
01.09 -- Jacksonville, FL
01.10 -- Tampa, FL
01.11 -- Tallahassee, FL -- Office Lounge
01.12 -- Atlanta, GA -- Capsule Gallery
01.13 -- Birmingham, AL --The Forge
01.14 -- Nashville, TN --The Stone Fox
01.15 -- Knoxville, TN
01.16 -- Charlottesville, VA --Tea Bar
01.17 -- Washington, DC
01.18 -- Northampton, MA

>> We've spent a significant amount of time of late grooving to the recent split from Porches. and LVL UP. Fans of both know the acts are fixtures in the New York DIY scene, the former having released their debut long player Slow Dance In The Cosmos via Exploding In Sound earlier this year, and the latter recently wrapping dates with Clicky Clicky faves Little Big League and Pile. As fate would have it, Porches. and LVL UP are on very friendly terms, a dividend of which was the release last week of a very enjoyable split 7" on the Birdtapes label. Porches. owns the A-Side, delivering a smoldering bit of downer folk with "Strapping Young Weirdos" alongside "Townie Blunt Guts," a bouncing ode to the depressing reality of a lifetime spent in one's hometown. Fronter Aaron Maine is an excellent storyteller, which makes it easy to root for the suspect characters that populate his perma-bummed tunes. LVL UP, who rule the flip, get compared to early Weezer with some regularity. While the act certainly packs pop hooks into its guitar sludge, LVL UP excel when they keep things short and sloppy -- call it self-editing by proxy, something Weezer has long since forgotten in their race to the bottom of painful self-parody. LVL UP's second cut on the single, "Bad Blood," is probably their best song to date, so this split (released Nov. 26) is a crucial listen. You can pick up the vinyl here, or download the tracks over here right now. -- Dillon Riley



>> And what turns out to be our third and final bit of Exploding In Sound related news for Today's Hotness: the debut single from fuzz-rock newcomer Eugene Quell. A preview of a soon-to-be-released and apparently eponymous debut EP from Mr. Quell, the song "Weird Purr" was our formal introduction to the man; according to his Bandcamp outpost Quell has been banging around the UK indie scene for two decades. Despite the deep UK roots, "Weird Purr" proclaims a distinct American influence, as certain elements of the tune echo early Modest Mouse and Pixies. Indeed, with its slick acoustic intro and insistent rhythm, the track wouldn't be too far out of place on The Bends, easily Radiohead's most American-sounding record. Even so, Eugene Quell (knowingly or not) distinguishes his work from that of the aforementioned monsters of indie rock. Layers of distorted guitar pile up and fade out within seconds of entering the mix, burning in breaks that hint at a cathartic release that never quite transpires. The song is all build with no clear-cut pay-off, making for an arresting introduction to a project we will have our collective ears attuned to in the coming months. Eugene Otto Quell is set to be released as a free download New Years Day via Sonic Anhedonic and Exploding In Sound right here. Stream "Weird Purr" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Dillon Riley

PREMIERE: Occurrence | Decks [album stream]

It's pretty safe to say that few among us are like Ken Urban. Mr. Urban is many things, first and foremost an accomplished playwright and academic, but his singularity lies in a perverse world view (as well as an admirable drive to explore it). He carries over a flair for drama and skull-grinding tension into the electronic musical project Occurrence, which came online in 2010 after many years dabbling with music within and without the context of his stage productions. As we wrote here in late 2012, Occurrence has in the past two years rapidly mutated in exciting ways, evolving from a vehicle for psychodramatic and almost confrontational confessionals to a platform for densely layered, excitingly textured and more overtly rhythmic music. The addition of Wayne S. Feldman (formerly of high-concept experimental unit therefore) in 2012 to the permanent roster injected a significant degree of nuance into the music of Occurrence, whose songs now are just as likely to reveal (or revel in) a looser, The Books-styled absurdity as they are the peculiar darkness that is Mr. Urban's calling card. The particularly attentive will recall Occurrence closed out the 2012 Clicky Clicky Ride tribute comp Nofuckingwhere with a claustrophobic and noisy iteration of the song "Nowhere." But it was with the release last fall of the brilliant The Cotton Floppy EP that Occurrence sounded almost reborn. This week we finally hear the full promise of that EP delivered via the digital issuance of the now Cambridge- and New York-based duo's formidable new full length Decks.

Recorded over 18 months and sprawling over 15 songs and 55 minutes, the collection ebbs and flows and encompasses elements of hip hop ("Awesome Jean Jacket," featuring a next-level rhyme set from not-infrequent collaborator Jeff Stern) as well as turn-of-the-'90s, Consolidated-style sampletronic ("DTMLNJ"). The front end of the record is highlighted by compelling sequential tracks that encapsulate the darkness/lightness yin and yang of Occurrence in 2013. "Sleep Forager" melds guttural and raw no-wave guitar to a punishing, rudimentary jungle beat which buoys a nefarious-sounding chant by Urban. The bad vibes there are quickly neutralized by the wide-eyed reverie of "Little Junior Skagscroft" [video], which is colored substantially by Mr. Feldman's found-sound spoken-word recording of an apparently infatuated boy (who giggles a bit like Suzanne Somers circa "Three's Company"). The chirping voice is appended to a surprisingly pleasant synth melody and propulsive yet light rhythm tracks; fans may recognize the song as a new iteration of the Cotton Floppy highlight "Philip's Emotion Cards," because, well, that's what it is. The EP's "We Were The Future, Now We're Past" also made the cut for the full-length, but there is a whole lot of new and exciting stuff on Decks as well. There are even a few surprises, including a stunning vocal performance by the shadowy fronter of the turn-of-the-century project And Joseph, Mike RobbGrieco, who sings the Urban-penned album closer "Never Alone." The album version layers in some backing vocals by Urban and various electronic adornments, but a "naked" version of the track is available on Soundcloud and is even more spine-tingling. Decks will be released digitally to subscribers of Occurrence's mailing list later this week on Thanksgiving (remember Urban's perverse world view referenced supra?), with a physical release arriving Jan. 7. We are thrilled to be able to premiere for Clicky Clicky readers the entire record, which you can stream via the Soundcloud embed below. If you like what you hear, it's not too late for you to subscribe and get the whole shebang in your inbox at the end of the week.

Occurrence: Internets | Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud

New Music Night 13 DJ Sets | River Gods | 21/22 Nov.

Hey there, ho there, heigh ho, heigh ho. Friday Friday Friday! We're trying to pump ourself up because we are super-tired. Fascinating and rare blogger insight, right? Anyway, that's not why you called. Here are the songs what we played whilst manning the figurative decks last night and into this morning in the booth at the fabulous River Gods in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. 'Nac and I spun the new sounds for the people, quite a crowd, unusual in that there were only a couple familiar faces. Who are all these other random people who like the new music? No matter, our playlist is below; if you have any questions or want to know more about the songs below, hit us on Twitter or drop a comment. Also, please click over to Bradley's Almanac and check out Brad's playlists for the 9PM and 11PM hours once he gets them online. #NewMusicNight 14 will come at you in 2014, which we totally planned (not really) because we are geniuses (really). Ready for more new in the oh-one-four? Sure you are.

Set 2 / 10PM / Jay

01. Calories -- "Tropics" -- III
[epic closer of superlative third record from Birmingham, England legends / download]
02. The Derevolutions -- "We Found That Beat"
[addictive lo-fi bouncer from Western Mass. / download]
03. School Shoes -- "Cults" -- digital single
[brilliant lo-fi dream-pop from upstart Boston sole practitioner / download]
04. The Fireworks -- "Runaround" -- Runaround 7"
[superfuzz / blogged / stream]
05. Winter -- "Find Me" -- Creechers
[Creech Records comp / download]
06. Pony Bones -- "3" -- Pony Bones
[can't even remember where we got this]
07. Mote -- "Pull Me Apart" -- "Dirty Water" b/w "Pull Me Apart"
[tremendous single from new Louisville guitar-pop act / stream]
08. Mean Creek -- "Johnny Allen" -- Local Losers
[local kids continue to make good with LP out in Jan.]
09. Matt Pryor -- "Kinda Go To Pieces" -- Wrist Slitter
[Get Up Kids guy goes solo, Alcopop! is releasing in the UK Dec. 2 / stream]
10. Butterknife -- "Goodnight, Goodbye" -- Attractions
[fresh Boston emo / download]
11. No Other -- "Destruction Song" -- I Believe In Werner Herzog EP
[bracing post-punk from new Philly consortium / blogged / stream]
12. Idiot Genes -- "Soaked Pillow" -- Lousey
[face-scraping fuzz delight from the Boston underground / download]
13. Work Drugs -- "Chemical Burns" -- digital single
['80s-soaked pop gem from Philadelphia outfit / download]
14. Gondoliers -- "Mackerel Hill" -- Tonight's Whispering
[just downright spooky / blogged / stream]
15. Lamps -- "Cooscoos" -- Alpine digital single
[minimal electronic bliss-out / blogged / download]

Set 4 / 12AM / Jay

01. Mutes -- "Memory Serves" -- Starvation Age
[return of the Birmingham, England ambient pop project / download]
02. New Dog -- "I'm Your Man" -- Lost Weekend
[great cover from a captivating record out at the end of the month / pre-order]
03. School Shoes -- "Dress" -- digital single
04. Joey Fourr -- "Luv Is In The Morning" -- Luv Is In The Morning EP
[back to the quirky lo-fi pop for the former Tubelord guy / download]
05. Warm Brains -- "Happy Accidents" -- digital single
[of-the-moment UK guitar-band producer Rory Atwell's own project resurfaces / download]
06. Gum -- "Sinking" -- 100 Club Series, Vol. 1
[first of a trio of excellent tracks from recent Oddbox singles / stream]
07. Martha -- "Sycamore" -- 100 Club Series, Vol. 1
[second of a trio of excellent tracks from recent Oddbox singles / stream]
08. Flowers -- "Joanna" -- 100 Club Series, Vol. 1
[third of a trio of excellent tracks from recent Oddbox singles / stream]
09. Black Seas -- "Counting Colours"
[mysterious project's latest is its best, highly recommended / download]
10. Future Wife -- "Leg Day" -- Hot Singles In Your Area
[more ambient perfection from Birmingham / download]
11. Dosh -- "We Are The Worst" -- Milk Money
[delightful / stream]

That Was The Show That Was: Cut Copy | House Of Blues, Boston | 16 Nov.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Sugg, special to Clicky Clicky] The Clicky Clicky brand doesn't exactly connote dance music, but every now and then the ol' dancing shoes get broken out for another hurrah. Such was the case last Saturday night, when Aussie dance crew Cut Copy boogied into Boston for an early show at the House Of Blues. Fun ensued.

Touring in support of their expansive new record Free Your Mind, the quartet delivered on their shape-shifting sound in the live forum in a big way, deftly sliding between warm-hearted indie-pop and full-on euphoric house grooves from song to song. In a dramatic display of showmanship, the band was presented behind a large transparent screen as the opening synth stabs from Free Your Mind blared through the front of house speakers. While the timing was slightly off, Cut Copy's emergence from behind the screen as the opening bass tone of the title track dropped was still a thrilling bit of rock star theater. It was also a fitting entrance for Cut Copy, a band perhaps more attuned to getting a party going than agonizing over the implications of their stage show moves (the screen shtick notwithstanding).

The band's hour-and-a-half-long set, which drew heavily from the new record, was a pitch-perfect display of festival-friendly dance-pop, all flailing limbs and eyes-closed sing-a-longs. The foursome's secret weapon lies in the hands of bassist Ben Browning. While never eclipsing the other instruments in the mix -- which, by the way, was pristine -- Mr. Browning's tones routinely enlarged songs to mammoth proportions, filling the space with room-shaking bounce. 'Twas impressive stuff for a band whose records typically lean more heavily toward the front end (and narrow end) of the term dance-pop.

While proclaiming affinity for whatever city you're performing in on a given night is a time-honored and somewhat patronizing bit for touring acts, it's especially fun to be a tour stop the band actually loves to play in. In this case, Cut Copy were really psyched to be in Boston, a fact the assembled crowd could certainly feel. Call it naiveté, but we seriously doubt they'll play a single show on this tour better than the one they threw down on Saturday. -- Dillon Riley

Cut Copy: Internet | Facebook | Tumblr

New Music Night 13 with DJs Brad Almanac + Jay Clicky Clicky | River Gods | 21 Nov.

It's New Music Night 13, the baker's dozen, the triskaidekaphobic's delight, the big kahuna, the tallest Tom Collins, the BEST JERRY, the BEST. On this night, Nov. 21, 2013, Brad de la 'Nac and Jay of Clicky Clicky Music Blog will electrically coax music from the lightboxes and hoozywhatzits in the DJ booth at River Gods. In fact, it will be nothing but new or not yet new or even pupal/larval indie music, primarily carrying the rock stripe, but making the occasional foray into ambient or electronic-sounding sounds. It will help you slide into the holiday season, as we'll be a week out from American Thanksgiving, and perhaps you'll be able to keep that slide going, Pete Rose-stylee, straight through to New Year's. We'll try to soundtrack the auspicious beginning of that thing you'll do, with the best in new music. All of this happens that particular Thursday within the friendly confines of Cambridge's finest neighborhood pub. For a sense of what you're getting into, check out Brad's playlist from the October event, or our very own. Solid. Sold? Thinking about it? Here's the Facebook event page, why not click on over and pledge your allegiance?

River Gods
125 River Street
Cambridge, MA
MAP

Accessible via Red Line at Central Square.

Today's Hotness: Gondoliers, No Other, Lamps

>> It has already been one of Midriff Records' busiest years, but the little label that just might is not quite through with you yet. Next week the Boston- and New York-based enterprise issues the latest long-player from veteran Boston noise rockers Gondoliers. The album, Gondoliers' third and second of 2013, is titled Tonight's Whispering, and it is filled with the trio's characteristic sinister and off-kilter Sturm und Drang, a singular sound that situates the band along a strange, fantastical axis running between The Fall and Jesus Lizard. The album's titular whispering is elusive, but the album cut "Mackerel Hill" comes closest, and is a rare spot of calm within the otherwise convulsive and electrifying set. The song stutters along within intermittent gravity, shepherded by minimal percussion, a slow, staccato series of jarring and bending guitar chords, and plonking, round synth tones. Above the measured din, fronter John Manson proffers a Slint-styled spoken word incantation. The pace and posture of the song make it stand out among the rest of the music comprising Tonight's Whispering, which Midriff releases Tuesday as a digital download and vinyl LP (the vinyl is a co-release with 100% Records). You can not yet order the record, presumably because the Midriff people are still trying to, like Gary and Wyatt from "Weird Science," hook up the doll. But we think if you go to Midriff's Internet Home Page by mid-week, you should be able to find a buy link there. Fans would be well advised to mark down Nov. 25 in their date books, as that is when Gondoliers will play a record release show at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square; there are more details about the show right here. Gondoliers only recently returned to Massachusetts after what sounded like a very successful campaign touring Europe, bringing the evil robot basement grooves to the people. All of Tonight's Whispering is streaming at Soundcloud here; we've embedded the creepy "Mackerel Hill" below to give just a little bit of the taste of the bass for you as you get up and dance at the LQ.



>> If you are launching a new band and have to pick a sonic square one at which to start, we think you could do far worse than staking your claim to a piece of the scene by emulating Wild Flag. Which is pretty much where we find the fledgling Philly-based indie rock trio No Other, at least at times, on its nimble debut EP, I Believe In Werner Herzog. The outfit, fronted by notable jill-of-all-trades (guitar girl, DJ, show promoter) Maria T, takes its name from an obscure Gene Clark LP. But instead of the indulgent excess of the Byrds co-founder's career-derailing album, No Other trades in stylishly lean post-punk. That Maria T's voice can be favorably compared to that of Velocity Girl's Sarah Shannon (and, yes, Mary Timony's) makes the Philadelphia act's EP particularly easy on the ears. The collection was recorded at Sex Dungeon in Philly, which indiescenti will recall is the facility responsible for awesome records from Fat History Month, Pile and Speedy Ortiz. Included in the No Other offering are three songs, which are available for free to those willing to give over their email address. The promo track "Destruction Song" makes for a tidy statement of intent. Plenty of fuzz on the guitar, ample fizz from behind the drum kit, and burly bass conspire to give the song substantial magnitude and direction, although the vocal interplay in the pre-chorus really makes "Destruction Song" take off. EP opener "Break Away" thrives via a long skein of fuzz bass that goes Hulk during the song's dense choruses, and the final track "DSSN" propounds the set's most danceable beat. In sum, it's a very fine start for a very promising act, and we're eager to hear more. Stream "Destruction Song" via the Soundcloud embed below.



>> Minimal electronic music: we feel like our inbox should be filled with it, a new full inbox every day. Not because our appetite for it is vast, but because 10 years ago we were listening to scads of compelling European electronic stuff, and it seemed like it was going to become a "thing." And we suppose it did, although largely the sort of excellent music that arrives in America on labels like Kompakt and Morr, well, still comes from overseas, and the present wave of American EDM that has supposedly gone mainstream, well, it still seems too removed from indie rock blogs like this one. This is in part because what we typically encounter seems descended from house and techno, so dance music as opposed to head music. And the electronic music we favor, to paraphrase something Mr. Riley wrote last week, aims directly for the head. Which is a long way of introducing Lamps, the nom de guerre of Chicago-based electronic producer, mixer and engineer Keith J. Nelson. What may or may not be his debut offering under this particular moniker is a fine pair of pulsing, droning compositions, "Alpines" and "Cooscoos." The tunes are quietly kaleidoscopic, at peace with their own shifting layers of synth tones, drones, acoustic guitars and beats. For all of its focus on texture and depth, Lamps' songs are notable for their deceptively intricate rhythms. "Alpines" breaks its reverie just before it enters its final minute, hitting a full stop before resuming its hurried waltz time and augmenting it with fat electronic snare cracks and kick drum. "Cooscoos" is suspended along a mesh of time signatures that coalesce under a modulating, mid-range hum and some high and lonesome melodica. If indeed this is Lamps' debut, it is an auspicious one, and even if it is not, it is well worth you time and attention. Both songs are available as a paywhutchalike download via the Bandcamp embed below. Mr. Nelson's musical CV shows he has worn a lot of musical hats (not literal musical hats, although that would be cool, too) in Boston prior to heading out to Chicago, including serving as one part of a duo that ran the now apparently defunct concern Bedroom Singles.

That Was The Show That Was: Little Big League with Paws, Idiot Genes | Great Scott | 14 Nov.

We've expended plenty of words over the past year talking about the impossibly fertile music scene in Philadelphia right now, so we won't reiterate that again here. What we will tell you is that among the many top-shelf acts currently operating out of our executive editor's former hometown is Clicky Clicky faves Little Big League. We were pleased to be able to catch the hotly tipped indie-punk foursome Thursday at Great Scott, on a stacked bill sandwiched between rising Allston scuzz-punks Idiot Genes and present tourmates Paws, and, oh boy, was it a doozy.

The Philly quartet's expansive emo sound takes on a harder edge when the band presents it live. Guitars sliced through the front of house mix, gliding along to the cadence set by the rhythm section. Leading lady Michelle Zauner's dynamic vocals became strained as she pushed her voice above the buzz of crashing cymbals. This is not a knock on Little Big League in the least; rather, it shows a dimension of the band different from that represented by the (relatively) controlled performances on its thrilling debut long player These Are Good People, which was released by Tiny Engines in August. If anything, we dug the live versions even more than their recorded counterparts, no mean feat considering how hard we fell for Good People. For a relatively young band, Little Big League boasts a wealth of good tunes, and they ran through a pile of them Thursday with gusto. The patient and yearning rocker "Lindsey," easily one of the better album openers of 2013, was particularly triumphant, with short bursts of ringing distortion punctuating the tune's soaring chorus

Scottish garage punks Paws headlined, and their melodic, sloppy and gear-destroying jams capped a great night. Having seen the trio at Great Scott previously when they were out supporting their debut Cokefloat!, we had some familiarity with Paws' live look and sound, and it's a beautiful thing. Sure, they flub a few notes here and there amidst frequent drum malfunctions, and a guitar pedal, or two, or three, shuts down... but that's rock 'n' roll, baby. Thursday these great Scots [see what we did there? -- Ed.] composed their set almost exclusively from their forthcoming "Adventure Time"-inspired sophomore LP Youth Culture Forever, and, based on what we witnessed, you all will be psyched to hear it when it comes out. Indeed, few of the new songs are downright fierce. In a touching moment of tour camaraderie, LBL sent up a little gift to Paws, a Finn The Human action figure from the aforementioned "Adventure Time," an animated series that is also a favorite of this writer. Go figure. The Paws/Little Big League tour closes tonight in Chicago, after which the bands go their separate ways. Paws heads to the west coast while Little Big League winds their way back to Philadelphia via Boston yet one more time: the quartet headlines O'Brien's in Allston Rock City Nov. 22. Stream all of These Are Good People via the Soundcloud embed below, and buy the record from Tiny Engines right here. -- Dillon Riley

Little Big League: Bandcamp | Facebook | Tumblr