Clicky Clicky Music Blog Is 10

Well, no, not just yet. But on Feb. 26, 2006, or thereabouts, we waved goodbye to the fine folks at Junkmedia.org and began writing here under our own shingle. We'd had a personal blog here or under a clunky AT&T URL (dial-up, fool!) since 2000, but early in 2006 we looked at the future and wondered something akin to what the Red Stockings of the era were thinking: why not now? Why not us? Autonomy appealed to us, we gave it a go, and here we are 10 years and some 2,150 or so blog posts later. A great many terrific writers helped us along the way, including upstanding citizens (and one French national) Michael Piantigini, L. Tiburon Pacifico, Jay Kumar, Ric Dube, Nick Lorenzen, Michael RobbGrieco, Brad Searles, Mark Griffey, Jeff Breeze, Vanessa Deroo and D.P. Dean. And of course we would be nowhere without the indefatigable efforts of current long-tenure writers Edward Charlton and Dillon Riley. So many thanks to all, but especially you, the readers. It seems ridiculous to think that we'll do this for another whole decade, but for the time being we aren't going anywhere. There is just too much rock to rock.

Speaking of which, and as you might have gathered from the hot graphic above (featuring Mark from "G-Force" / "Battle Of The Planets," for those of you not as nerdy as us at the turn of the '80s), we are having a rock and roll show at the end of the month to celebrate our decennial. Topping the bill at Out Of The Blue Too in Cambridge, Mass.'s lovely Central Square are Boston fight-pop heroes Earthquake Party!, whose long-germinating full-length will hopefully feel the warmth of daylight sometime this year. Shoegaze titans Bedroom Eyes and upstart 'gaze-punk outfit Blew will also perform, and we're not ruling out a last-minute addition should a Clicky Clicky fave come knockin'. We're also sorting out someone special to provide interstitial and post-prandial auditory delights from the proverbial DJ booth, so expect an announcement on at least that in the coming days.

We've also been cooking up some other stuff to mark the anniversary. This link, for example, will take you to a Spotify playlist representative of the Clicky Clicky Sounds Of The Decade. It's not wholly comprehensive, of course, as it only contains what music is presently available on Spotify. And it is long on older sounds and short on more recent stuff, as we figured most of you know what has been "up" in more recent years. We've been thinking about creating a hard-copy 'zine to hand out at the show mentioned supra, and perhaps soliciting guest listicles of one sort or another from writers. But in all likelihood, the Spotify playlist is all we'll get done in the next two weeks, as we're always looking ahead, and only look back in rare instances like these. No matter. Clicky Clicky is 10. Hope to see you at the show in a couple weeks. Here's the Facebook event page where you can pledge your allegiance. Thanks for reading Clicky Clicky Music Blog. Here are a few of our guiding stars, all released on Slumberland a distressingly long time ago, now out-of-print, but never far from our thoughts.

Velocity Girl -- "My Forgotten Favorite" -- "My Forgotten Favorite" / "Why Should I Be Nice To You?"
Whorl -- "Maybe It's Better" -- "Maybe It's Better" b/w "Christmas"
Lilys -- "Claire Hates Me" -- In The Presence Of Nothing

Today's Hotness: The Fuzz, Gold Muse, Lubec

>> While media reports decry the slow-down of the Chinese economy, the vast nation's production of top-tier indie rock seems to continue unabated. Or at least that's the impression we get based on the output of de facto flagship label Maybe Mars, which has a dynamite 2016 planned. Among the label's first releases of the year is the long-player The Root Of Innocence from indie rock quartet The Fuzz (a/k/a Chinese Fuzz or Fazi). The 11-track set was released Tuesday, and the lead preview track was the dreamy, synth-led treat "0909 II." The song's icy keys and sparkling guitars communicate a love of '80s UK darkwave, perhaps even an affinity for A Flock Of Seagulls. We admittedly know little else about The Fuzz, but comparing two versions of the band's "Control" -- one from a 2014 compilation and the other from the new record -- gives some indication of the band's artistic development. The compilation version (from Maybe Mars' collection The XP Sound Vol. 1) is a big, guitar-driven rocker. But this version that opens The Root Of Innocence is more atmospheric, reverberant and mysterious. The English language Internet tells us The Fuzz hails from Xi'an, capital of the northwestern Chinese province of Shaanxi (thanks Wikipedia!). The Fuzz will tour China in March and April to support the release of The Root Of Innocence, according to Maybe Mars, and the tour aims to visit about 40 cities. The band also intends to record its next record during the tour. If you happen to have the good fortune to be in China this spring, keep an eye out for the band. For the rest of us, streaming The Root Of Innocence will have to tide us over for the time being.

>> Relatively new 'gaze-pop four Gold Muse this week released a second digital single, which is not only notable for its great songs, but also because it shows a promising level of productivity for the Boston supergroup. Considering the easy pace at which certain of Gold Muse's members' other bands have released music, fans have reason to be pleased. As we've reported elsewhere, Gold Muse formed only last year, and is comprised of current or former members of Swirlies, Soccer Mom and Earthquake Party!; it took Soccer Mom about five years to release its only LP, and in about the same amount of time the still-quite-active Earthquake Party! has released but six songs. Gold Muse's rate of output appears Pollardian by comparison! The act's terrific "Kiss The Sun" b/w "Your Floral Crown" digital 1-2 presents a decidedly moodier side of the band, in contrast to its terrific first single. Deb Warfield's vocals and the exercised bass in the verses of "Kiss The Sun" deliciously echo classic Unrest, although the frantic jangle and explosive distortion of Dan Parlin's guitar propel the song somewhere altogether more dynamic. Darker still is the Parlin-sung "Your Floral Crown," which is led by an ominous, ascending synth melody buoyed by parallel bass work from Will Scales. Reverbed guitar sparkles faintly in the mix of the chorus, while a characteristically desperate vocal from Parlin is foregrounded, and the song soars to a dramatic conclusion across the back of some droning guitars and Justin Lally's bashing of the drum kit. It's a very strong single, and Gold Muse thankfully already has plans for a third, which it will begin work on this very weekend at Norwood, Mass.'s storied Hanging Horse studio. Which is not the only thing in Gold Muse's date book for the next 48 hours: indeed, Sunday the band plays night #4 of Magic Magic's current residency at Boston's Great Scott rock club (also on the bill are Boston treasures Hallelujah The Hills and Twin Foxes). Coincidentally, at Hanging Horse Gold Muse will work with hitmaker/engineer Bradford Krieger, who is presently playing in Magic Magic (in addition to his own project). It's all very serendipitous. Get that feeling by streaming "Kiss The Sun" b/w "Your Floral Crown" via the embed below, and click through to purchase the tunes.



>> It's been a while since we've heard from dream-pop heroes Lubec, but the brilliant Portland, Ore.-based trio return at long last next week with an EP it has been teasing since last summer. Dubbed Concentration and featuring pop hits "Late Bloomer" and "Many Worlds" ahead of the title track, the initial plan was for a vinyl and cassette release (as we wrote here in July), but plans on the former fell through. The music, of course, was very much worth the wait: the three songs on Concentration continue Lubec's winning ways, all sparkling guitars and massive melodies and the dueling vocals of guitarist Eddie Charlton and keyboardist Caroline Jackson. "Late Bloomer" in particular feels like a milestone for the band, with Ms. Jackson's vocals in particular literally and figuratively echoing the classic Slumberland sound, and Mr. Charlton's splashes of guitar and expansive, reverbed picking leading the songs through effervescent verses and arresting choruses to a deliciously jammy final minute marked by deftly arranged dynamics where big strums and explosive drums from kit-minder Matt Dressen trade off. Touchy Feely releases Concentration in a limited edition of 100 cassettes on Feb. 5. Lubec plays a release show for the cassette that very evening at Portland hot-spot The Know with support from Post Moves and Seattle's Versing, and full deets for that show are right here. Lubec plans a return to the studio in March to begin recording an LP with producer Dylan Wall that will be the follow-up to the band's titanic album The Thrall [review], which was among our favorite albums of 2014. We're hopeful Lubec will get out for another east coast jaunt this summer; keep hope alive by streaming the terrific "Late Bloomer" and "Many Worlds" via the embed below, and click here to grab your copy of the tape before copies are gone.

Today's Hotness: Soccer Mom, Young Adults, Gabriel Saloman, Los Roys

>> For quite a few years we sided with Tom Petty, believing that the waiting was the hardest part. What we learned in the interim is that that feeling sort of subsides once you're an adult and a lot of life's waiting is behind you. Now we feel firmly ensconced in the Johnny Foreigner school of thought, which believes the hardest part is letting go. We were met yesterday with an opportunity to remember that, as news made its way to us that beloved Boston noise-pop goliath Soccer Mom was pulling the plug on its operation after just a couple more live shows. The context here is that The Mom will play as part of the bill for static-blasting scenemates Young Adults' final show Oct. 12. News of Young Adults' dissolution surfaced this spring, and we have steeled ourselves to the idea of living in a post-YA world, so the sting of the noisy power trio's demise has long since ebbed. But Soccer Mom's formal announcement today was certainly a surprise to many. The foursome -- founded by guitarist and singer Dan Parlin about five years ago -- rose slowly and steadily up from the Boston underground on the back of a couple singles and an EP, all of which we wrote about in these electronic pages, and with the release of its fiery self-titled full-length this past spring [review here, stream it via the embed below], it was as if the band had finally, finally arrived. Now after its show Oct. 12 and an as-yet-unannounced final show, The Mom is gone. If there is some consolation, it is that we're already hearing rumblings about new music projects coming from certain of the members of Soccer Mom, and there is similar news about new music coming from Young Adults fronter Chris Villon, and we look forward to bringing you more information about those things at the appropriate time. In the meantime, Young Adults intends to issue to the wilds of the Internets tomorrow two previously unreleased tunes "Old Kids" and "Void," and we can tell you that both of them rage against the dying of the light and are sure to inspire fist-banging mania among the band's adherents. Chances are if you keep an eye on the Young Adults Facebook page tomorrow you'll see the announcement, but you may also want to open a browser tab for this link and this link, too, just to make sure you've got an eye on things. Young Adults' final salvo into the proverbial breech will occur, as mentioned supra, Oct. 12 at Great Scott in Boston; in addition to Soccer Mom, California X and Earthquake Party! will also perform, making the show a wall-to-wall slayfest. All the details are at this Facebook event page. Now get some rest, you.



>> As the autumn leaves begin to turn and ultimately fall to the streets below, the bare trees will in turn make way for winter's eerie, late-night silences that seem to exist simply for fragile, emotional drone music. Overly sentimental, perhaps, but this reviewer will certainly be adding all 34 minutes of "The Disciplined Body" by Gabriel Saloman to his queue of introspective, ambient jams. Mr. Saloman, who operates out of Vancouver and may or may not be better know for his work with noise-duo Yellow Swans, has turned his attention of late to pleasing piano drones and swooping electronic zones for his latest, two-track release Movement Building Vol.1. The set that apparently collects recent work composed by Saloman to accompany a dance performance by fellow Vancouver-ite Daisy Karen Thompson called "Re-Marks on Source Material." Movement Building Vol.1 will be released by Shelter Press Oct. 18. An preview excerpt titled, for some reason, after the record and not the song, offers up a glimpse into Salomon's sonic world. The composition commences with glowing, quavering bass pulses, then slowly unravels. The front end of the excerpt at first sounds synthetic and vaguely electronic, but gradually gives way to a spacious instrumental section that captures the introspective, clenched emotions of the most chilly, starry evening. After two minutes, the overbearing bass steps aside and an impossibly reverberated guitar drapes a wandering, bottom-string motif over a kick drum that mimics a heartbeat -- an arresting move that gives the glacial track a queerly vital immediacy. And that's just a single excerpt! Stream "Movement Building Vol.1 (Excerpt)" as well as a second excerpt via the Soundcloud embeds below. These relatively quick flashes of the larger whole of "The Disciplined Body" makes purchasing the stark, 500-edition vinyl that much more tempting. Buy it from Shelter Press right here. -- Edward Charlton





>> Remember Bozmo? We covered the Berkeley, Calif.-based outfit now and then, noting its awesome, wide-eyed '60s-inspired psychedelia. The act's sound is never too derivative, coming across more as homage than rote reproduction. More recently we turned on to the apparently affiliated California act Los Roys, whose latest self-released digital EP Hag Season seems to be further evidence that there must be something -- something murky and mod-garage -- in the obviously-only-proverbial Northern California water nowadays. Over the course of six tracks, Hag Season grounds itself in bright acoustic strumming while layered harmonies, snappy snare work and clean lead guitar flesh things out. The overall effect is not too far from some of the fractured pieces by White Fence, whose latest single on Famous Class comes highly recommended. Outside of the eponymous opening instrumental and similar closing track, Los Roys' EP offers up four perfectly realized pop songs that showcase humorous crooning and carefree lyrics in equal measure. "One Thing At A Time" strikes this listener as a sarcastic ode to dealing with life's many problems. "Honey Bear" not only revisits the very Lewis Carroll-esque whimsy that dominated much of the British freakbeat and psychedelic scenes from 1966-1968, but further adds to the tongue-in-cheek fun that Los Roys capture so well (Case in point: The dejected "fuck" that begins "Twisted"). Speaking of "Twisted," it's the best song of the bunch -- all fuzzy vocals and funny warbling and cackling that leads right into an odd, lounge-y electric guitar riff. For those who regard the slack, cut-up posturing and atonalism of the Pebbles, Vol.3: The Acid Gallery compilation as the pinnacle of boomer-generation creativity, Los Roys could not be any more appealing. They speak the truth, man! Stream Hag Season via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to download it for any price. -- Edward Charlton

Guillermo Sexo, Slowdim, Lindsey Starr and Confessions | Great Scott | 15 Jan.

Just look at this bill. Just look at it. We'll give you a minute.

This is what an average Wednesday night in Boston looks like (or, more to the point, sounds like) these days, folks. But just because the scene is vibrant and strong and delivers hot bills like this with heartbeat regularity (to whit, Thursday's show with Earthquake Party and the re-Modaked Infinity Girl and Chandeliers, and let's not even start talking about next week yet, hot damn) doesn't mean we shouldn't heed the call of the rock and roll music tomorrow. Particularly what with Clicky Clicky faves Guillermo Sexo and Slowdim appearing on the same bill -- indeed, it may be an unprecedented pairing (we'll have our imaginary intern run that down. ARVIN!). Both acts featured on our lists of 2013 superlatives (!, !). The social media scuttlebutt is that Slowdim may premiere a new song, and given the furious pace with which Guillermo Sexo's Reuben Bettsak writes songs (more about that next week), we can only imagine that combo will also have something new up its proverbial sleeve.

What of the balance of the bill? It's been months since electropop duo Confessions unveiled its debut EP on Vanya Records, which we wrote about here, so we'll be interested to hear whether they've got something new in store as well. Lindsey Starr is a relatively unknown quantity to us here at Clicky Clicky HQ, but there are ample rock sounds present in this digital single released in early 2013, and folks will recognize certain names among her cohort, including former Protokoll bandmates Danny O'Neil (bass, now of Young Adults) and Ben Greenspan (guitar, engineer for hot rock bands like Young Adults). Whatever Great Scott is charging Wednesday is likely a BAH-GIN. We just checked -- 8 bucks! -- it is, indeed. In short, going to this show is like paying yourself a salary of rock music. All the details are at this Facebook event page right here. Whilst you sit back and reflect upon the good fortune that brought you to this bright moment in your life, why not stream some songs via the embeds below?

That Was The Show That Was: Clicky Clicky Community Servings Benefit Show Thank Yous And Wrap-Up

Well that was quite a night, wasn't it? I mean, the Pats scored like 55 points! Oh wait, right, the rock show. THE ROCK SHOW. The rock show was tremendous! Not only were punters treated to four Clicky Clicky faves delivering impassioned performances, but we raised a tidy sum for a great cause, Community Servings, whose various services we have detailed here often, and include providing nutritious meals to the critically ill and their caregivers.

The show kicked off with an entrancing solo set from the magical K. Heasley, a/k/a Kurt Heasley, the visionary behind the long-running, shape-shifting indie rock enigma Lilys. Kurt, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and seated on a wide stool he carried into the club with him, played mesmerizing versions of "Ginger" and "YCJCYAQFTJ" from the towering A Brief History Of Amazing Letdowns EP; "Cambridge, CA" from the LP Better Can't Make Your Life Better; "Will My Lord Be Gardening?" from Precollections; and "Claire Hates Me," the transcendent closing number from Lilys' full-length debut In The Presence Of Nothing. While Mr. Heasley complained of some sniffles whatever effect they might have had on his transcendent performance were imperceptible. A more tender version of "Will My Lord Be Gardening?" you will, in almost all likelihood, never hear again. Here's a similar version from 2009.

Local shoegaze titans Soccer Mom grabbed the proverbial baton from Kurt and launched into an intense set heavy on the foursome's desperate and dense noize-gaze sounds. Bassist Danielle Deveau was playing fairly fresh from having pieces of metal extracted from her ankle, but she executed with nary a wince from between Will Scales and Dan Parlin. The lads traded off good cop/bad cop style on their very loud, dynamic and textured tunes, and highlights of their set included the single "Canoe" and several new tracks from the foursome's pending 2014 collection, which we could not be more amped to hear.

The Hush Now burst from the proverbial carbonite of a two-year hiatus with a leaner formation (gone are the keyboards that colored the band's last LP, 2011's Memos) and more tricks. The band played about eight songs, all of them brand new and likely to appear on their own planned 2014 set. The opening salvo was an Adam Quane-sung number titled "Pandas," and a clear highlight was a subdued and sad new one sung by guitarist Noel Kelly called "Manchester UK." Earthquake Party! delivered on its youthful, shambolic promise, exploding like a bomb each time it blasted through a selction from its repertoire of compact, fizzing power-pop. Highlights of the set included convulsing versions of "Little Pet" and "One More Night Could Ruin Us," each from last year's Let's Rock, OK? cassette. Surprisingly, the trio pared down to a duo for an uncharacteristically moderately paced cover of "Stephanie Says," a sweet nod to the late October death of punk pioneer Lou Reed. And with that appropriate close, the night was done.

There are many, many people who helped make this event the success it was, not the least of which are Sadie Dupuis, who took a break from an insanely busy life to DJ between sets, and Joe Turner, who washed the stage with dazzling visuals throughout the night. And while we are certain we will forget a name or two, our feeling has always been it's better to try to acknowledge everyone and fail rather than to not acknowledge anyone at all. So here we go. A huge Clicky Clicky thank you goes out to not only Sadie and Joe, but also Tim Leahy, Nick Lorenzen, Richard Bouchard, Barry the totally relaxed and affable sound guy, Carl Lavin, Wayne S. Feldman, Christian Housh, Kurt Heasley, Will Scales and Soccer Mom, Justin Lally and Earthquake Party!, Noel Kelly, Barry Marino and the rest of The Hush Now, Jeff Breeze, Jed Gottlieb, Michael Marotta, Anngelle Wood, Adam XII, Jonathan Donaldson, Bryan Hamill, Perry Eaton, Jay Kumar, Lisa Deily, Kristin Bishop And Rook, Ilya Sitnikov and all of the folks who came out to support the cause. We are excited to do it again next year, bigger and better. Stay awesome, Boston.

OH! If you would like another opportunity to support the great work that Community Servings does, you can buy a pie, right now, from my good friend Nick. All of the details are right here, but the long and the short is you give them $25, they use that $25 to feed a critically ill client for a week, and in return you get a pie in time for Thanksgiving. I believe that is called a win-win. Do it now.

Clicky Clicky's Community Servings Benefit Show with Earthquake Party!, The Hush Now, Soccer Mom & K. Heasley of LILYS | 3 Nov. | TT The Bear's Place

We're just a few days away. Which is hard to believe, after the months of planning, all the emails, texts, yadda. It all goes down Sunday night, "it" being the second annual Clicky Clicky Music Blog Community Servings benefit show, this year featuring an absolutely massive bill: Earthquake Party!, The Hush Now, Soccer Mom and K. Heasley of Lilys. We couldn't be more excited, and we hope you will come out to TT The Bear's Place in droves to make the scene, bask in the rock and roll, and help support the cause. Doors at 8:30, tickets are $10, and all proceeds go to help Jamaica Plain-based Community Servings provide free nutritious meals to its chronically ill clients, their children and their caregivers. In addition to the bands performing, we are totally psyched to have Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz DJing between sets, and Joe Turner will bathe the stage in mind-bending visuals. And of course there will be raffles, things like gift certificates and the like. Maybe we'll raffle a ticket to next week's My Bloody Valentine show? Is that a thing people would want to buy raffle tickets for? It could happen. On top of it all, we're pretty sure you'll be able to buy a pie, because pie is awesome, and is also another way Community Servings helps raise money to feed those in need.

So here's what you need to do:

1) buy a ticket or, hell, buy a dozen tickets.

2) click over to the Facebook event page and let us know you are coming.

3) let you friends know that this show is the place to be by sharing the Facebook event in your Facebook Timeline or blasting it out your Twitter feed.

Then just show up. We will do our part: you will be rocked. In fact, let's rock you a bit now. Below we've embedded some tunes from the bands to get you pumped. Listen in, and we'll look for you Sunday night at TT's. Turn on the bright lights.

Clicky Clicky Presents A Benefit Show For Community Servings Featuring Earthquake Party!, The Hush Now, Soccer Mom & K. Heasley of LILYS | 3 Nov. | TT The Bear's Place

[Flyer: Matt Klimas] After months of planning, we are thrilled to announce that Clicky Clicky Music Blog will once again present a bill for the ages, four of Boston's best indie rock acts, performing together for one night only Sunday, November 3, to raise money for one of the worthiest charities in all of the Commonwealth [Facebook event page]. The evening will be headlined by explosive Boston noise-pop makers Earthquake Party!, who are joined by Clicky Clicky favorites all The Hush Now -- yes, you read that correctly, the band is back from a two-year hiatus -- as well as shoegaze goliaths Soccer Mom and the legendary K. Heasley of the transcendant, shape-shifting Lilys. The lineup is amazing, as Earthquake Party!, The Hush Now and Soccer Mom are each finishing up albums that we expect will be career-defining, and K. Heasley of Lilys, well, every record he's made has been career-defining. The bands will perform to help Clicky Clicky raise funds for Community Servings [Link]. The Jamaica Plain-based organization prepares and delivers daily free, nutritious meals to almost 800 acutely ill clients (as well as their caregivers and children) in 17 cities and towns in Massachusetts. If you'll permit us to copy and paste from Servings.org as we did last year, Community Servings' web site, "meals are prepared with delicious, fresh foods and are packed with the nutrition needed to fight illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and lupus. To meet our clients' needs, we cater to their dietary restrictions, providing for 25 special diets."

The goal now is simple: we want tickets to this event to sell out, as soon as possible, so that we can accomplish three things. First, we want to raise a substantial chunk of change for Community Servings to help support them in their mission of feeding those in need. At the same time, we want to convey a strong message that Boston's indie rock community continues to help make a difference in people's lives when the opportunity arises. And our third and final goal is that we can have a night so big, so successful, that the first question everyone asks the next morning is "when can we do it again?"

So click this link and buy your tickets. We promise a show so amazing that people will talk about it for a long time to come (last year there was a blizzard, and the cats from Johnny Foreigner ended their set by doing snow angels on the sidewalk outside Great Scott. That was something). All the bands are playing for free, so all proceeds after the club covers its costs go straight to helping pay for nutritious meals for our chronically ill neighbors and their caregivers and kids. We're also planning raffles or other ways for you to agreeably part with a little more hard-earned money the night of the event. We'll have more details on that as the date of the show approaches. For now, though, here's what you need to do:

1. BUY TICKETS. LOTS OF TICKETS.
2. RSVP AT FACEBOOK AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO THE SHOW
3. ATTEND, GET BLOWN AWAY.

That Lineup Again:

Earthquake Party!



The Hush Now



Soccer Mom



K. Heasley of LILYS

Show Us Yours #18: Earthquake Party!

[PHOTO CREDITS: Ian Doerr/bad digital collaging by Clicky Clicky] Earthquake Party! is a band so good that we actually willingly use their superfluous punctuation. The Boston-based trio makes frenetic indie pop that is so desperately energetic it comes across as imperative, it needs to happen. The act has released only a handful of songs to date (despite being together for about three years), but the urgent thrill of every one of them makes us think of how a diver feels post-plunge as she anticipates surfacing, anticipates the visceral pleasure of that first deep, clear breath of air. After a chance meeting with guitarist Justin Lally early this summer, wherein we discussed the incredibly ambitious LP the band has been working on, we decided it was time to get a better sense of what makes Earthquake Party! tick. And what better way than to survey where the magic is made? As with scenemates Krill, EqP! actually have a fairly unusual practice space situation. No, not a mansion, but a recording studio located north of Boston called Mystic Steamship. We put some questions to Mr. Lally about what it's like to practice there, and, of course, about the album. Along the way he offered one of the most articulate descriptions of the joy of being in a band united in a creative endeavor. We're grateful to Mr. Lally for his time, and we invite you to read on and, if you are not familiar, check out the music below the interview as well.

Clicky Clicky Music Blog: So why do you use this space? What makes a recording studio a better fit for Earthquake Party! versus, say, a malodorous and poorly lit closet at the Sound Museum in Allston?

Justin Lally: It was less of a cognitive choice and more of an opportunity we stumbled into. We have had many spots in the past... ranging from big, dirty rooms where the end of practices always included inviting friends for impromptu shows, to basements that made our eyes and throats sting after being down there for more than 20 minutes. The Mystic Steamship space is great, and having the ability to record practices and listen back is such a helpful tool... Sometimes you don't hear everything that's going on in the room when everything is turned up and everyone is going full bore, then you listen back and realize, "hey, maybe those riffs don't actually go together" or "that drum fill before the first chorus was perfect, we should keep that"...stuff like that.

CC: I'd imagine practicing in a studio created with acoustics in mind offers some advantages, sonically. Is there an idiosyncrasy or quirk of the space that has affected one of your songs, or even your overall sound?

JL: Having a room that is designed for playing music is helpful, but overall we practice for our live show... which includes turning up real loud and trying to create and troubleshoot things that we would run into at a venue or basement.

CC: Usually we ask bands how their practice space smells in this feature, because we think that gives readers a really visceral idea of what it's like to hang out in there. However, I imagine Mystic Steamship is -- if you'll pardon this turn of phrase -- fairly ship-shape. But you must have practiced in at least one pretty rank place before -- any unpleasant memories you wanna share?

JL: First off, Mystic usually smells great because Ian Doerr (who is producing our upcoming record) is always burning these little incense sticks all around... that and the smell of solder, which i also enjoy. The basement of my current apartment is probably the worst place we have practiced... it's way too cluttered to set up any sort of arrangement that is conducive to being creative, and the air quality is shit. Also, the water heaters have exploded a couple of times and soaked the bottom two inches of all of our gear.

CC: I know from our chat early this summer that Earthquake Party! is in the midst of cutting a very ambitious full-length that aims to cram 28 songs into a little more than a half-hour. But I was surprised to hear you say that the music wasn't entirely written. Are you working with some sort of conceptual roadmap that lets you know you're looking for certain number of songs?

JL: There're 28 song names... We'll see how many survive the maturation process. I've been very into albums lately that utilize -- I guess you could call them interludes -- shorter bits of music that help the overall album have a more cohesive identity, but also allow you to cover more ground without sounding scattered.

CC: You guys seems to be about quality rather than quantity, when it comes to length of your songs. But also in terms of the gross number of songs, too: you've been around for three years, but have only officially released six songs. Potentially packing 28 songs on to the new record goes to the opposite extreme. What brought on the deluge? And is there some sense of relief from just getting so many songs out of your head all at once?

JL: We have done what we were able to in the past, and also what made sense for our band at those moments... and it just makes sense to do this album with Ian now. It's been so easy and fun in the tracking sessions... I've had the chance to use some gear I didn't think I'd ever hold, let alone record with (1960s Vox Phantom XII through an original Electro-Harmonix POG through a Traynor stack with blown 15" speakers... totally bonkers). And beyond that, we are really good friends having fun making a record. We'll drive to the beach just talking about the pros and cons of tambourine vs. sleighbells on a track, or which songs could handle drums completely hard panned... it never feels like we're punching the clock and recording music. We have always been creatures of circumstance, right now it's going pretty well.

CC: You also mentioned to me taking a cue from Guided By Voices when thinking about the new record, its brevity, its ratio of big ideas to short running times. I remember being surprised that you covered "Tractor Rape Chain" in your session for WMBR's Pipeline last year [link], because I thought you guys were coming from more of a C86/agit-twee kind of place. Has Guided By Voices always been an influence? Has the scope of what influences Earthquake Party!, and what Earthquake Party! wants to be, changed since the inception of the band?

JL: I've always been a huge fan of melody, and Robert Pollard has always been someone I've admired. That guy has written thousands of memorable songs that don't boast a great riff or solo, it all comes back to the melody. I don't think the thesis statement of the band has changed much at all... I do think we are trying some things on this record that we were incapable of before, but we are still three people humming and yelping about the delight of living with reckless abandon.

CC: What does the next six months look like for you guys?

JL: Finishing the record. I'm trying to put all my waking thought into this thing first before moving on. But... there's been talk of a Beach Toys(check em out)/Earthquake Party! tour in the fall, stay tuned. And of course we will be playing Boston shows in the coming months.

Previous Show Us Yours episodes:
Shapes And Sizes | Dirty On Purpose | Relay | Mobius Band | Frightened Rabbit | Assembly Now | Meneguar | Okay Paddy | Charmparticles | Calories | Sun Airway | It Hugs Back | Lubec | A Giant Dog | Bent Shapes | Krill | Golden Gurls

Show Us Yours #14: A Giant Dog

[Yes, somehow, miraculously, after a four-year hiatus, we are resuscitating our ancient feature Show Us Yours, wherein Clicky Clicky asks notable bands about where they make their magic: their practice spaces. It has always fascinated us to no end to see where bands spend their time shaping their sound, and that curiosity has only intensified now that we're 10 years removed from playing in our last (relatively) serious band. Let's dig in. -- Ed.].

We were compelled to check in on Austin-based garage punks A Giant Dog earlier this month after listening to their completely arresting new collection Bone three times in a row. With our inbox constantly overflowing, we don't ever listening to *anything* three times in a row these days -- unless it's a vinyl 12" we're too lazy to pull of the turntable -- so we knew the quintet was one worth digging into a little deeper. Bone, a melodic and driving collection of shouty garage-rock anthems, was issued two weeks ago on Tic Tac Totally and the quintet is out on the road this month promoting its release. Indeed, A Giant Dog will perform at O'Brien's Pub in Allston Rock City this coming Sunday on an insane bill with Earthquake Party, Idiot Genes and Ex-Magicians. Not only is that Cinco De Mayo, but, well, this band is awesome, so if you are fortunate enough / young enough / stupid enough to use Cinco De Mayo as a reason to be out drinking on a Sunday night, why not smarten up for a second and see a kick-ass band while you are at it. We were fortunate to be able to wrangle A Giant Dog fronter Sabrina Ellis to share a little bit about the good-looking practice space pictured above, as well as the optimal activity to accompany listening to A Giant Dog's concise rockers and the band's potential demise (that last one, not really). Bone, A Giant Dog's second full-length, is available now via Midheaven right here, and we've embedded a stream of the entire album below the interview. If you need to be sold on the record before diving in, we suggest starting with the fiery, completely non-P.C. album closer "Teasin' Ass Bitch." Bon appetit!

Clicky Clicky: So why do you use this space?

Sabrina Ellis: This space is my husband Seth's recording studio [Superpop! -- Ed.] and also side B of our duplex. We bought the place condemned and turned it into a recording studio. A Giant Dog practices here because it is paid for and we're a bunch of broke-asses. Also, the air-conditioning doesn't hurt.

CC: Is there an idiosyncracy or quirk of the space that has affected one of your songs, or even your overall sound?

SE: The violent orange of the walls has us writing some disturbing material lately. Horny and deranged material. Our former space was the garage at the Giant Dog House. The garage is definitely what gave us our garage sound. The garage is like the vagina of a house. The hot, dark place where music embryos grow.

CC: You walk into your space. What's the first thing you smell?

SE: Incense. To cover the weed smell. Because The Bad Lovers were just recording in here. There's also this awesome, musky, old tube amp smell at Superpop.

CC: I remember a friend telling me about 20 years ago that the perfect rock song length was the amount of time it took to smoke a cigarette. I think at the time he pegged that at about three-and-a-half minutes... which, now that I think about it, seems kind of fast. But he was a heavy smoker. Anyway, most of your songs are around two minutes long. What's the perfectly suited activity to accompany one's listening to a single song from the new record?

SE: At about two minutes each, our songs are perfectly timed for a young man's first sexual encounter.

CC: You're out on the road for a couple weeks. Besides the tour, what do the next six months look like for the band?

SE: Pretty bleak, to tell you the truth. I sense a huge falling-out between the members of A Giant Dog on this tour. We wont be able to handle the pressure or the fame. Decade-long friendships are about to be torn apart on this bitch. We'll get a little crazy one night and do and say some things we'll regret. We wont be able to look each other in the face anymore. The next 6 months will see us on individual downward spirals, wondering what went wrong. Common story. What a shame.

A Giant Dog: Bandcamp | Facebook

Previous Show Us Yours episodes:
Shapes And Sizes | Dirty On Purpose | Relay | Mobius Band | Frightened Rabbit | Assembly Now | Meneguar | Okay Paddy | Charmparticles | Calories | Sun Airway | It Hugs Back | Lubec

Today's Hotness: Dangerous Ponies, Johnny Foreigner, Fiocz

>> Veteran Philly-based indie pop concern Dangerous Ponies are knee-deep in the hoopla of a massive, six-week spring tour to promote its latest release, the EP Tenderheart. The four-song collection, produced and co-engineered by ex-Algernon Cadwallader guitarist Joe Reinhart, includes the title track as well as the tunes "Sparks," "California" and "Dogfite," and it was released digitally March 8. Tenderheart will be released on 7" vinyl March 27, just days before the collective founded and fronted by Chrissy Tashjian blows into Boston for what will surely be a barn-burner of a show at some place called Discovery Zone with white-hot Boston aggro-twee trio Earthquake Party!. Incidentally, Ms. Tashjian is abetted by a half-dozen "friends, family and lovers" (Facebook's words, not ours, LOL) including the five-different-band-having, wholly righteous dude Evan Bernard on guitar and vocals. The EP boasts invigorating pop numbers notable as much for their punk energy as they are for the creative arrangements, vocal harmonies (particularly those sunshiney ahhhhhhs on "Sparks," and the layered interplay in the brilliant chorus of "California.") and pro performances that elevate Dangerous Ponies' music far above the realm of anything one might refer to as "pop-punk." The admixture is significantly enhanced by the depth provided by Reinhart, et al.'s imaginative production, but goddamn if plain writing awesome songs doesn't help a whole lot, too (srsly, have you seen this? / spot the Ampere T). Tenderheart, as we noted supra, is already available digitally now and pre-orders for the vinyl issue (as well as orders for the digital) are being taken through the Dangerous Ponies Bandcamp yert right here. Stream the entirety of the delightful EP via the embed below. Complete spring tour dates can be inspected right here. Dangerous Ponies released a self-titled debut full-length in Jan. 2011, and the Dr. Ponie Medicine Ponie EP in 2009, both of which are also available via Bandcamp.



>> Earlier this evening Birmingham, England-based noise-pop heroes Johnny Foreigner finally revealed the full skinny vis a vis its recently promised mini-album. The self-recorded and self-produced short set is titled Manhattan Projects, and 22 very lucky fans snapped up in minutes the physical version of same, much to our chagrin (you turn your back from the Internet for ONE MINUTE to feed your kid...). That tangible manifestation of Manhattan Projects packages "4 unique 8" x 6" photos from our November trip to America and Canada, with hand drawn bastardiasations and special effects by Lewes" (guitarist Lewes Herriot) along with a download of six songs. Fortunately for the rest of us, the music is also available sans the photo set. As we reported earlier this month, the half-dozen songs are re-worked version of older tunes with tweaked names alongside some new tunes. So the Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything highlight "(Don't) Show Us Your Fangs" becomes "(Don't) Throw Us Your Slang;" the recent EP standout track "3hearts" becomes "Free Starts" (a version that includes a performance from the inimitable Jack Pop of Alcopop! Records himself); and the 2008 single "Eyes Wide Terrified" becomes "Ice Slide Terrordive;" etc. Manhattan Projects, so named for a comic book that as best we can tell has the same premise as one of our many favorite Michael Paré films, is clotted with gems, but definitely hang around until the end for the stirring, even-quieter-than-the-rest closer "Riff Clitchard (Cursed Version)." The tune commences with a hypnotic guitar arpeggio and a subdued vocal from bassist Kelly Southern and then breaks down like a crumbling, old-world automaton -- it reminds us of the crushing final number, "Yr Loved," from the brilliant 2010 EP You Thought You Saw A Shooting Star But Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears And That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With The Sky So Clear And Sea So Calm. Listen to the entirety of the new collection via the Bandcamp embed below, and click through to purchase, which we highly recommend you do. Johnny Foreigner has promised two more releases this year, and Manhattan Projects has us even more excited for them than you would normally expect out of us, rabid love for Johnny Foreigner and all.



>> After selling out of its debut release almost entirely on pre-orders earlier this year, fledgling London-based experimental music label Glass Reservoir returns next month with a full-length from Zurich-based electronic music producer Fiocz. The 10-song collection, titled Social Cognition, will be issued under the catalog number TGGR002 in a limited edition of 50 CDs and as a digital download. Fiocz, according to Glass Reservoir, "is an innovative experimental analogue modular synth composer who builds intricate compositions one patchcord at a time." As we alluded to supra, Glass Reservoir's initial release, Benjamin Shaw's spooky, buzzing Summer In The Box Room, sold out quickly. With certain of its compositions (particularly "Dysphoria") touting almost conventional rhythms, Social Cognition is perhaps even more accessible, so we expect it will be snapped up by fans of thoughtful abstract music in a similarly expedient fashion. Indeed, Fiocz's tracks convey their own odd sense of groove that frames patient, shaded ambient drones that are sourced in part from field recordings of Fiocz's work, home and "surrounding environments." The result recalls elements of the work of electronic producers a decade ago, such as the more subdued productions of bigs such as Squarepusher (we're thinking "My Fucking Sound") or even not-so-bigs such as Lawrence ("Titel 4"). Social Cognition will be released April 29. Stream via the embed below the album track "Subtyping," a pensive mecha-groover which clicks and stammers and hums with much solemnity. Pre-orders for Social Cognition will be taken beginning March 29, and it is our advice that if you want this thing you pre-order early and often.

Young Adults, Suicide Dolls, Earthquake Party, Soccer Mom | TT The Bear's Place, Cambridge | 21 Feb.

Stand up and be counted, for what you are about to receive. Gadzooks. It's gigs like this that make us wish we had our own gig rating system. But what would be the top rating? Would it be something empirically awesome like AC/DC's cannon blasts, which would sit atop a range of discrete things each less empirically awesome than the last? Or would it be an award of a number of the same empirically awesome thing, like one Van Halen flaming gong is worst but 10 Van Halen flaming gongs is the best? Clearly, we have a lot of thinking to do. But whatever that hottest rating would be, tomorrow night's show at TT The Bear's Place would absolutely warrant it. Don't let that innocent little flyer above with the candy hearts fool you: these bands are going to blow your face clean off your head, in the nicest way possible. First up are Clicky Clicky faves Soccer Mom, whose dense guitar assault and desperately delivered tunes make the quartet one of the most compelling bands in Boston. Earthquake Party and its convulsive, over-fizzed indie pop follow, and are in turn followed by Connecticut stoner-punk heroes The Suicide Dolls. Top-lining the bill and closing out the night are the Allston-spawned, reverb-eating indie punk titans Young Adults, who will be celebrating (and vending to willing purchasers) their stellar Born In '91 EP (which we wrote about here last week). In sum, this is an evening of rockutainment from which you may never recover. Ear plugs will likely not be enough; you may want to consider ear plugs as well as some sparring headgear to protect your dome whilst you headbang your life away. This will happen. You can thank us later. Now how about some songs?

Today's Hotness: Young Adults, Bozmo, Silkworm

>> Boston-spawned indie-punk titans Young Adults at long last today made an enhanced version of its electrifying Born In '91 cassingle available as a five-song digital download and (limited edition) CD. The original version of Born In '91 was issued last summer as a cassette sold at the trio's live shows, but the 2013 version is not just easier for the non-tape-obsessed to use. It also touts some newly recorded guitar tracks on the title track and the opener "Context," as well as a "more chaotic-sounding mix courtesy of Justin Pizzoferrato," Young Adults guitarist Chris Villon told Clicky Clicky earlier this week. "The cassette versions are like 'lite' versions of these!" The new-and-improved Born In '91 EP was to have been made available via Bandcamp Feb. 14, but the set was already online as of this morning and you can stream the entire thing via the embed below. The balance of the EP program consists of additional tunes "Spectre," "College Rock" and "Stasis;" fans will recall the cassingle contained only "Born In '91," "Context" and Young Adults' blistering cover of Ride's "Decay," which originally appeared on Clicky Clicky's Nofuckingwhere compilation released in May 2012 [download the comp here]. Young Adults will sell the limited edition CD version of Born In '91 at three shows lined up for the final weekend of February (the CD version comes packaged in a slim DVD case with lyrics and art). The first of these shows is a headline slot Thursday the 21st on an epic TT The Bear's bill that includes Connecticut legends Suicide Dolls, the very hotly tipped Earthquake Party and the mighty Soccer Mom. Dig the Facebook event page for that show right here. Young Adults' previously issued full-length, Black Hole, was released by Prague-based AmDiscs in 2010.



>> We've got the typical love-hate relationship with music PR types, but there have certainly been situations where we've been downright grateful for the right pitch at the right time. For example, we had no idea that Barry Black was Eric Bachmann of Archers Of Loaf until somebody (probably the guy from Alias) got us on the phone and made us pull the disc from the mountain of submissions clogging the college radio music director's office in 1995. Similarly, and more recently, we would not have turned onto the jangly, Kinks-styled brilliance of formerly local (but now Berkeley, Calif.-based) garage rock heroes Bozmo were it not for an unexpected email from a Boston PR concern (we think it was from Sippy Cup Everything). Around the time of the exchange, Bozmo -- the vehicle of mastermind Bo Moore -- had just put out its wonderful long-player Hosanna In The Highest [at Bandcamp here], and after spending an entire evening streaming it over and over off Bandcamp we plunked down for the vinyl, and have been a satisfied customer ever since. Now Bozmo is back with an intoxicating single featuring the overdriven stomper "B A Tree" on the A-side. The tune touts a thunderous call-and-response verse that layers even-more-crushing guitar over crushing guitar, while organ struggles to get atop the mix to join the clattering snare beat and terrific vocals and harmonies. The flip is the more subdued "Lakehouse," a song laced with buoyant 12-string leads that spiral off mild clouds of psychedelia and prop up a gentler, more wistful, but no less affecting vocal. "Lakehouse" apparently also features playing from the aforementioned Earthquake Party's drummer Josh "J-Raff" Carrasco. Taken in sum, "B A Tree" b/w "Lakehouse" is our favorite single of the year to date, and it is available to download from Bandcamp for free/paywhutyalike, so get yourself on that immediamente. Allston Pudding premiered the video for "B A Tree" earlier this month; check it out right here.

>> To the extent that there was a cat and a bag, and the cat was in the bag, well, now that cat is out of the bag. What? We're talking about Comedy Minus One Records finally coming out and saying what its social media tidbits have been suggesting for a while now: that the label is preparing a deluxe reissue of Silkworm's towering work of genius, the 1993 LP Libertine. The release, to come later this year, will apparently be made manifest in various packagings including a double LP, and there will be various tiers of pre-order delights on offer. Comedy Minus One aims to include among these a download of live versions of the songs from the LP, but the label has come up short in its hunt for recordings of "The Cigarette Lighters" and "Oh How We Laughed." so, if you have recordings of these songs, Comedy Minus One wants to hear from you. Click the hyperlink above or shoot an email to Clicky Clicky Executive Editor Jay and he can put you in touch. For those of you who don't know, Libertine is a startlingly beautiful record that features classic, unfuckwithable Silkworm jams including "Wild In My Days," "Couldn't You Wait?," "Grotto Of Miracles," "Cotton Girl" and "There Is A Party Tonight In Warsaw." Fans of the band should also be made aware of the pending release of the apparently exhaustive documentary Couldn't You Wait? The Story Of Silkworm, which we believe is being released as a download this month. Full details, as well as scads of excellent video clips, teasers and outtakes, can be found at the documentary's Facebook page right here.

Today's Hotness: Earthquake Party, Pile, Screaming Maldini

>> Earthquake Party! is back with three new songs spanning four minutes total, a brutalist pop assault that is somehow impossibly more raucous and frantic than the Boston trio's dynamite Vs. Pizza three-song cassette of a year ago. While the young band does not have a large catalogue of original recordings, it has certainly maximized them: Vs. Pizza was followed in the spring by a convulsing, electrifying video for its lead tune "Pretty Little Hands." The pressurized, careening kineticism of that video persists on the new, triple A-side cassette Let's Rock, OK?, which features the blistering hot numbers "Little Pet," "Hello Weirdo" and "One More Night Could Ruin Us." "Little Pet" recalls vintage Slumberland Records acts, but all three tracks earn the A-side demarcation as the Soundcloud embed below attests. The songs were recorded live to two-track, half-inch tape Aug. 25 at Allston's Mad Oak Studios, and the energy level is so high the tape can barely contain them. Let's Rock, OK? is available in a limited edition of 34 pieces being sold on the trio's current minitour, and we imagine those cassettes are long gone. The imprint Mystic Steamship Co. will sell a second edition of 100 cassettes plus digital download from Oct. 5. Earthquake Party! plays a homecoming show at Great Scott this coming Tuesday, then unwinds another short skein of dates skipping down to Atlanta and back in early October, before returning home once more for shows at The Rosebud in Somerville Oct. 13 and at Great Scott Oct. 18. All that touring costs money, and Earthquake Party! are running a very modest Kickstarter campaign to amass funds for gas, food and lodging. Premiums start for backers pledging at least $5, and run the gamut from a personal postcard from the road to an entire meal delivered to you. Check it out here, and toss some scratch the band's way if you can to help guarantee they'll actually make it back, yeh?



>> Maybe in the "Punk Rock Academy" conceived by the late, lamented Atom And His Package, Pile's new single, the curiously twangy and tense post-hardcore bash-and-pop "Prom Song," would actually be played at the prom. The displays of power in Boston-based Pile's tune gradually obliterate the swaying verses and serene, melodic passages under a pummeling of guitar, bass and drums that hits like an animated .gif of a tsunami: serially, relentlessly. As with the old chestnut "Stairway To Heaven," prom-goers would have to sort out what to do when "the fast section" (or in the case of Pile's jam, the bass-chugging, cymbal-smashing, lead guitar-lashing final 90 seconds) commences, but that's why they invented punch bowls, people. "Prom Song" is taken from Pile's forthcoming third long-player Dripping, which Exploding In Sound will release Oct. 23. The record will be available as a download, digipak CD and a limited edition of 500 vinyl pieces (the first 100 orders will be fulfilled with white vinyl, and apparently the white vinyl is nearly sold out). The quartet rounded out a tour earlier this week in Philadelphia, but it has three Massachusetts dates in the coming weeks: Great Scott in Boston Sept. 27; O'Brien's in Boston Oct. 13; and Sierra Grille in Northampton Oct. 18. A tour to support the release of Dripping commences Oct. 20 with Pile's appearance at the much-anticipated Gimme Tinnitus / Exploding In Sound CMJ Showcase. Pile's debut LP Jerk Routine was issued in 2009; the second LP Magic Isn't Real materialized the following year.



>> What this complete insanity coming from the Screaming Maldini camp? Apparently the second single taken from its forthcoming self-titled full-length debut for the song "Summer Somewhere" will be released via "uber-limited-edition sunglasses!" This according to a recent Facebook status update. The venture has Alcopop! Records proprietor Jack 'Pop's fingerprints all over it, don't it? We've previously written about the single here, so no need for us to reiterate. But seriously? A single on (or via, anyway) limited edition sunglasses! Very impressive indeed, lads and lasses, very impressive.

Footage: Earthquake Party's Totally Thermonuclear "Pretty Little Hand"

Boston indie pop sensations Earthquake Party premiered the video embedded above for its cataclysmic hit "Pretty Little Hand" over at the Boston Phoenix's On The Download blog earlier tonight. As you can see, it is a monster. A deceptively simple performance clip comprised of tight shots that shudder under the pressure of the band's tightly compacted and euphoric pop. There are additional insights from the clip's director over at On The Download. We last wrote about Earthquake Party here in February on the eve of the band's first tour, and in the wake of a superlative radio session on WMBR's Pipeline! in which the trio ably covered both Black Tambourine and Guided By Voices. Earthquake Party's sole release at this point is the Vs. Pizza cassingle, upon which "Pretty Little Hand" first appeared. Vs. Pizza was first issued in November before a second edition was created earlier this year due to demand. We remain eager to hear more from the threesome, whose next area performance is at Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge May 30 with Thunders and two DJ sets.

Earthquake Party! Ride Imaginary Fault Line To Chicago, Back

We've been meaning to make mention of Boston fuzz-pop superlatives Earthquake Party! for weeks, ever since being blown away by their recent radio session for the inimitable Pipeline! show on WMBR hosted by Jeff Breeze. Seriously, have you heard this thing? There's a blinding version of "Pretty Little Hands," the highlight track of the band's recent Vs. Pizza cassingle release that we wrote about here in January. There are massive covers of Black Tambourine's "Throw Aggi From The Bridge" and Guided By Voices' "Tractor Rape Chain." And then there's cracking new tracks like the garage basher "Trash." What more could you ask for? Seriously, what's your problem?

Earthquake Party embarks next week on its very first tour, but not before a local gig tomorrow night hosted by Allston Pudding. Thereafter, as the title of this post suggests, the band tours out to Chicago and back with a second limited edition of Vs. Pizza in tow (this one on white cassettes, as opposed to the first edition's black). The trio rounds things out at Cake Shop in New York March 11, after which we hope they are heading straight back into the studio. In the meantime, you can stream the cassingle below, and download Earthquake Party!'s Pipeline! session right here. Get out to the show tomorrow.

New Music Night DJ Sets | River Gods | 26/27 January

Here are the songs we played whilst manning the figurative decks last night in the booth at the fabulous River Gods in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Avail yourself of all the relevant linkage; if you have any questions or want to know more, hit us on Twitter or drop a comment. We'll create a Spotify playlist of all the songs we played last night shortly and post a link right here [Edit: HERE IT IS]. Also, please click over to Bradley's Almanac and check out Brad's playlists for the 9PM and 11PM hours, they will move you, and tons of free music to boot.

Set Two/Jay -- 10PM

1. David Newton & Thee Almighty Angels -- "Paint The Town" -- Paint The Town EP
[listen / buy]
2. Lubec -- "You're A Good Idea" -- Rip Tide 7"
[listen / buy]
3. School of Seven Bells -- "The Night" -- Ghostory
[download / pre-order]
4. Night Fruit -- "Dark Horse" -- Dark Horse EP
[blogged / listen / buy]
5. The Big Sleep -- "Ace" -- Nature Experiments
[listen / pre-order]
6. The Blue Dress -- "My Deth Ray" -- These Happy Golden Years EP
[blogged / listen / buy]
7. Satellite Stories -- "Blame The Fireworks" -- Blame The Fireworks single
[blogged / listen / buy]
8. Amity Beach -- "You'll Never Hear That Sound" -- Amity Beach single
[blogged / listen / buy]
9. Earthquake Party! -- "Pretty Little Hand" -- Vs. Pizza cassette
[blogged / download for free / buy Vs. Pizza]
10. Ringo Deathstarr -- "Sailin' On" -- Bad Brains cover, for Esme
[listen / donate to help Esme Barrera's family; Ms. Barrera was murdered Jan. 1]
11. Ovlov -- "The City" -- What's So Great About The City? EP
[listen / name-your-price]
12. Chandeliers -- "Age Sex Location (rough mix)" -- digital single
[blogged / download for free]
13. BDRM Eyes -- "Soggy" -- What Are You Wrong With EP
[listen / buy]
14. White Laces -- "Dissolve Into Color" -- Split 7" with Arches
[blogged / listen / buy]
15. Work Drugs -- "Rolling In The Deep (Adele cover)" -- digital single
[listen / download]
16. The xx -- "Open Eyes (Demo)"
[listen / download link seems to be dead but maybe it'll come back? like Shane?]

Set 4/Jay -- 12AM

1. Occurrence -- "You, Me And Everyone We Know Will Die" -- The Apocalypse Is Postponed
[listen / buy]
2. Johnny Foreigner -- "If I'm The Most Famous (Robot) Boy You've Fucked, Then Honey Yr In (Robot) Trouble" -- You vs. Everything EP
[blogged / listen / buy]

Today's Hotness: Earthquake Party!, Amity Beach, Caspian

>> We've been way behind. But we're clawing our way back, and one thing that has jazzed us to no end over the last two months is the debut release from Boston's deservedly hyped Earthquake Party! (exclamation point theirs, we suppose a hat tip to post-rock collective Godspeed? No?). We first mentioned the band in a sidelong manner way back in late 2010, when it appeared on the bill for local noise punkers Young Adults' record release party. Well, Earthquake Party! almost a year to the day later issued its own debut, a three-song cassette/digital download of fizzing fuzz-pop, reminiscent of an even peppier version of British upstarts Fanzine (how awesome would THAT double-bill be?). The wholly terrific "Pretty Little Hand" proclaims in its chorus "all I want is a pretty little hand filled with pills and candy," and who doesn't want that? The tune is backed with "Nails & Hammers" and "Brains," and all three tunes were recorded last summer at local facility Esthudio, which you may recall is where Young Adults committed Black Hole to tape. Or maybe you don't recall that. While Young Adults favors power slightly over pop, Earthquake Party! noise pop evidences alliegiances to certain classic sounds. "Brains," for example, bumps and sways like a Motown girl group number (or, we suppose, more accurately like Jesus & Mary Chain-rendered fascimile of same). But the lead-off track will be enough to get you hooked, so go get 'em. No word on what to expect next from the band, but we're hoping to get more acquainted with Earthquake Party! in the '012.



>> Another act whose music has been hanging around rocking us is Amity Beach. The Grand Bend, Ontario-based quintet's self-titled EP on Eternal Bummer delivers copious pop thrills on its recent single, wherein it festoons its own brand of quirk with sounds that fans of Tokyo Police Club will find pleasing. All three songs are strong (and apparently they have been repackaged with some compilation tracks into a weightier, six-song EP), but if we had to pick a winner from the surprisingly young act we'd finger "You'll Never Hear That Sound." The tune's first and final minute features a dizzying arrangement of synth and chime that sounds like a heavenly barrage of typewriter clatter, and bright horn arrangements adorn all three tracks. We're definitely queuing up "You'll Never Hear That Sound" during one of our sets at New Music Night later this month. Stream all three tracks via the embed below.



>> Last we saw the mighty Caspian, more than five years ago, they were in an early slot at Great Scott looking and sounding a little out of place. They may as well have had green skin, antennae and bubble helmets, but we expect they deal with that a lot: when you are post-rock knights wielding paranormal slow jams, you're just different from other people. The band's latest release completely does the band's epic stylings justice, as it captures the band performing live on Oct. 22, 2010, in a massive National Historic Landmark, a Northern Italian Gothic church erected in Boston in 1875. Oh, the glorious tumult, oh the passion to be heard in Live at Old South Church. Opener "Last Rites" explodes in its seventh minute, not somber as the title suggests the song might be, but instead intensely passionate, as if it were the soundtrack to Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Five songs in an otherworldly 35 minutes, the collection is pressed to a limited edition of 1000 vinyl circles, including 200 white vinyl copies available in finer record stores right now (the official release date was Jan. 10). If you can't wait to feel the crashing waves and ethereal calm amplified by the relatively vast space of the edifice, the entire collection is streamable via the Soundcloud embed below.

Caspian - Live at Old South Church by The Mylene Sheath

Young Adults Record Release Show | Great Scott | 6 Nov.

Yes, we know you're going to go to Guided By Voices the night before, and you'll be in no shape Saturday night to think about being out. But this is a big deal show. Also on the bill are the hotly tipped Girlfriends, scene-makers Doomstar and Earthquake Party. That sounds like a recipe for a sell-out. Young Adults will be hyping the release of their snarling new 12" Black Hole, which is being issued by Prague-based AmDiscs. You've seen them rock basements, you've heard them unleash tsunamis of swear words on live radio. But you've never seen them play a record release show for Black Hole before. Be there.