Today's Hotness: Funeral Advantage, Her Magic Wand, Break Up Flowers

>> We've persistently loved our idea of what M83 could be more than we actually loved M83 itself. The France-spawned but now LA-based project helmed by Anthony Gonzalez edged close to some sort of New Order-ish ideal (of an electropop band that irresistibly incorporated guitars into a dreamy sound) with its 2008 breakthrough Saturdays = Youth, and particularly its arresting single "Graveyard Girl." But Gonzalez had and has his own desires and agenda, and while these led him to great success with his succeeding albums, they never quite intersected with what we wanted the band to be. This continually crossed our mind in recent weeks as we listened obsessively to the flawless debut long-player from Boston dream-pop gigantes Funeral Advantage. The 10-song set Body Is Dead would seem to take "Graveyard Girl" as a stylistic jumping-off point to a certain extent, and the results are perfection. We discussed two preview singles, "Sisters" and "Gardensong," here in July. But the entire record is replete with dramatic and melancholy dream-pop the likes of which aptly soundtracked certain of our John Hughes-accompanied youths. Body Is Dead opens with the sparkling, perhaps Bloc Party-inspired "Equine," which whispers its secrets into delays and reverbs while a crisp beat propels the proceedings. "Should Have Just" similarly murmurs sweet nothings a la Mr. Okereke, but the tune is spangled by steady tambourine and clean, mesopheric guitar leads. The 10-minute-plus title track warrants special notice because it takes the rhythmic and melodic elements of the rest of the record -- not to mention the serene romance -- to a logical compositional terminus, successfully applying same to create a protracted, steadily spiraling composition of pop ambience worthy of the Kompakt series (someone please commission Axel Wilner for a 20-minute remix of same). Body Is Dead will rate high in our annual year-end list of best albums. The collection is available now on LP and as a digital download from The Native Sound here, and in a limited edition of 100 cassettes from Disposable America right here. Stream the entire, stellar collection via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> When we last wrote about Parisian dream-pop project Her Magic Wand here in these electronic pages in late 2014, the act had just issued "Everything At Once," a single from a planned LP. And while that LP has not yet materialized, the act is set to release later this month its Blossom EP. The short set leads with "Everything At Once," but perhaps more notably the A-side also features a remix of same executed by Grandaddy's Jason Lytle. Somewhat coincidentally, just hours after receiving an email about Blossom from Her Magic Wand mastermind Charles Braud, the Grandaddy reunion was announced; timing! Mr. Lytle's thoughtful and balanced deconstruction of the tune layers in a thin harmony vocal, a recognizable proclivity from the ol' Grandaddy tool set, and elsewhere erects tall walls of dense guitars in the mix. The final minute of the remix swells and burbles with electronic tones, elegantly interrupting the lock-step 4/4 of the original version to create something more nuanced and expansive. The b-side to Blossom features two tunes, "Draw A Line" and "Love Letters," and the entire collection will be released via Darla on 10" vinyl and as a digital download Sept. 18 in the USA (the EP will also be released in Japan and Europe via two other labels). Mr. Braud tells us a full-length is still in the offing, and will arrive Jan. 29. In the meantime, listen to both versions of "Everything At Once" via the Soundcloud embed below, and click here to purchase the collection from Darla.



>> While many in Portland hipster circles continue to champion slick "PBR&B" [Oh my god is that a thing. -- Ed.] acts and clean-cut rock outfits, the city’s DIY scene flourishes unabated in the underground. There a wealth of inventive and expressive guitar pop bands are peaking, achieving a fever-pitch of output, and drawing deserved attention within and without the scene. And there near the fore is the trio Break Up Flowers, whose seven-song, limited-edition cassette Man Made Path streeted Aug. 11 via Brooklyn's strong Mirror Universe Tapes. The matter-of-fact jam "Take Hints" was the preview single from the collection; its spare, gritty guitar and bass lines grind against a steady, tom-heavy beat as fronter Beth Wooten's calm vocals coolly warn "just give me my two cents, just take my some of my hints." Ms. Wooten's singing recalls that marking '90s greats such as Tsunami and the many projects of Mary Timony, as well as modern practitioners such as the mighty Speedy Ortiz – groups literate and thoughtful with a subtle temper and aggression that provide ready inspiration for young women rockers (and, at least in the instant case, by design: Ms. Wooten also heads Portland’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp For Girls). Further, Mac Pogue's laissez-faire production work situates listeners in the cassette's earspace like the best of the no-nonsense, realist gurus including Steve Albini. The result? Not only a promising debut from the kind of band we'd like to see more of, but also a hopeful sign of things to come as the reach of the underground extends toward the overground. Man Made Path is available from Mirror Universe now, and you can stream "Take Hints" via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Hideous Towns, Her Magic Wand, Primitive Parts

They come from the land down under, but their name is lifted straight from a track on The Sundays' legendary debut Reading, Writing & Arithmetic, which is the reason why Melbourne foursome Hideous Towns first caught our eye. The quartet's stirring shoegazey ballad "Undone" is set to feature on a forthcoming Beko Records comp titled Oz Do It Better Vol. 2, which is slated for release in 2015. But a little Googling tells us that the swaying noise-pop gem was included on a self-titled, debut EP Hideous Towns self-released just last month, and you can stream the entire short set via the Bandcamp embed below. We recommend you do, as the Aussie act -- which has apparently only been playing shows about a year -- certainly channels a Sundays vibe, although the dense guitar work and pretty vocals on "Undone" and elsewhere on Hideous Towns aren't as uniformly intricate or fluid as those of Sundays' David Gavurin and Harriet Wheeler, respectively. We admit the comparison is an unfair one, and we should be clear that the merits of Hideous Town's EP are many and should be celebrated separate and apart from the work of the UK legends (who are apparently a functioning operation again, we learned in recent days). Where The Sundays are more literal and dour, the Aussie act is more abstract and aggressive. "Undone" and its shuddering, gigantic chorus is undeniably the highlight of Hideous Towns, but the song's beauty and majesty are recreated on the succeeding track "Devolution," and the vocal harmonies in the relatively spare and placid closer "Pets" are riveting and affecting. Hideous Towns fête their self-titled EP with a release show Saturday night at Boney in Melbourne; the bill also includes Bad Family, Zig Zag and Basic Spirit. We imagine most readers aren't going to be hopping a plane to make the show, so take comfort in the fact that the favorable exchange rate means you can get the EP for less than a buck a song in USD. We think you will find that to be money well spent.



>> Who remembers 2010? Anyone? Maybe a few of you? No... OK. Well. Way back when we devoted some of our attention to the Parisian dream-pop project Her Magic Wand, which had just self-released a notable EP titled Catch A Rainbow. We were surprised to get an email from mastermind Charles Braud earlier this month, reporting that a new single from Her Magic Wand was in the offing, and directing our attention to the understated, perhaps Dntel-inspired electro anthem "Everything At Once." Mr. Braud tells us that "Everything At Once" concerns itself with the phenomenon of synesthesia, which he ably defines as "a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway and where letters or music can be perceived as inherently colored." The lyrics do much of the heavy lifting in driving this point home, but really it is Braud's dreamy delivery amid stormy, electric crescendoes that provides the most exciting moments of "Everything At Once." The song chases a desperate electro pulse, the rhythm tracks drawing out cool synth chords that deeply layer as the canned beats pile up and white out in the tune's smouldering choruses. The tune is a taster for a forthcoming full-length set recorded over the course of 10 months and mixed last summer by Stephane "Alf" Briat, who has worked with basically every French rock act you could name if given 30 seconds. We certainly recommend the single to your attention, and you can stream it via the Soundcloud embed below; click through a link there to purchase that jawn from Apple's ITunes digital music store.

We feel compelled to mention here that at this point Apple = "The Man;" the company presently touts a market capitalization of $676 billion dollars and recorded a net profit of $8.5 billon dollars for its 2014 fiscal fourth quarter closed Sept. 27. Read about the alleged human rights abuses attributed to the company right here. If we choose to, we can make the world a better place. How's all of that for a tangent?



>> Nervy and spikey post-punk has been the Brighton, England-based Faux Discx label's stock-in-trade, and it is backing a winner in a forthcoming single from the sorta supergroop Primitive Parts. The trio is comprised of a who's who from label affiliates Cold Pumas, Sauna Youth and Male Bonding, and its new offering is the single "TV Wheels" b/w "The Bench," which you can stream in all of its glory via the Bandcamp embed below. B-side "The Bench" in particular is a strummy and cool hip-shaker, just a little bit of attack on the guitars, tambourine and hand-claps driving an inevitable groove toward a gloriously rudimentary guitar solo that emphasizes the band's garagey bona fides. "TV Wheels" would sell tens of thousands of singles if it were a new Dandy Warhols song, but we don't imagine that Faux Discx will be able to keep the single in stock no matter who recorded it, as the two-minute tune is air-tight (indeed, some pre-orders have already shipped). Primitive Parts previously issued in February its debut single "Open Heads" b/w "Signal" on Sexbeat, and also had its cover of The Yummy Furs' "Chinese Bookie" featured on Faux Discx's 2013 comp Collective Hiss. Faux Discx releases "TV Wheels" b/w "The Bench" Monday as a 7" single in a humble paper sleeve with insert, pressed in a limited edition of 300 pieces. Primitive Parts are planning a UK tour for 2015. We previously wrote about Cold Pumas here two years ago; the act disclosed in September it had recently wrapped recording on its own sophomore effort.

Today's Hotness: Her Magic Wand, Bitches

>> Parisian dream pop concern Her Magic Wand self-released Jan. 31 the remarkable Catch A Rainbow EP, a five-song set that situates dense sheets of melodic guitar chords between airy, earnest vocals and icy, electronic rhythm tracks. The resulting music will entrance fans of Slowdive or M83. Her Magic Wand is the brainchild of a fellow named Charles who is joined by a coterie of performers when performing live. Charles launched the project in 2005, and recorded but never released one previous EP, appropriately titled Rough Draft, in 2008. Both EPs can be streamed at the Her Magic Wand Virb page (yes, we are surprised as you that people still use Virb) right here. At said Virb page fans can download the murmured guitar anthem "Mistakes," which touts layers of delicious guitar reminiscent of the best Yo La Tengo tracks, but we've gotten permission to offer you the track right here below. Dig it.

Her Magic Wand -- "Mistakes" -- Catch A Rainbow EP
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[buy Catch A Rainbow from Her Magic Wand's Bandcamp page right here]

>> Readers reacted positively to the completely bonkers video we posted earlier this month from thrashy London duo Bitches for its new single, which is offically released today. The video was for the A-side, "Winner," and we're pleased to report that Bitches have agreed to let us offer one of the two B-sides to our readers. While "Winner" caused some to cite Black Flag, we feel like "Can Not Love" has a bit more dimension. It has Bitches' characteristic drum-and-bass bash 'n' throb, but in brief moments the song actually approaches tuneful -- the pair actually deploy harmony! Anyway, download "Can Not Love" below, and then click this link to buy the vinyl single via the band's Big Cartel store.

Bitches -- "Can Not Love" -- "Winner" b/w "Sleepwalk" and "Can Not Love"
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[buy the "Winner" single here]