Rain Delay Dampens Boston Calling Day Two, But The Hold Steady, Sky Ferreira And Lorde Still Shine Brightly

[PHOTO: Dillon Riley] As some of our more observant readers know, we had the good fortunate to wait out most yesterday's three-hour rain delay of Day Two of the Boston Calling festival from the relative safety of the VIP section of City Hall Plaza. Between some intense bouts of beach ball keep-up and sorta-frightening lighting strikes, we made some new friends and chatted about The Hold Steady, among other things. We were among the first hundreds back inside around 9PM post-delay, which afforded us the opportunity to be thoroughly impressed with New Zealand pop wunderkind Lorde's performance. It goes without saying that we're grateful to the Boston Calling staff for being accommodating and making sure we didn't get turned into Sizzlean via lightning blast last evening. Here's the best of what we heard and saw Saturday. -- Dillon Riley

Sky Ferreira (3:05 p.m. Blue Stage)

Hype and tempest/teapot-scaled controversies aside, one thing was made clear during Sky Ferreira's mid-afternoon set: she's got a hell of a voice. Surrounded by a trio of grizzly dudes whose day jobs are more than likely far removed from the glittery, girl group-indebted synth-stomp of Night Time, My Time, Ms. Ferreira presented a commanding presence on stage. While the music itself -- driven by thudding synth bass and high-hat driven beats -- is easy enough to swallow, it does little to hide the fact that Ferreira is really the show. And, as such, it grew easier and easier to see why her (pop) star has steadily grown over the last few years. Certain technical issues broke the rhythm of her set, but even so watching her shout to the sound crew from behind big black sunglasses seemed consistent with its overall vibe. "Everything Is Embarrassing" inspired dancing among the assembled masses.

The Hold Steady (5:00 p.m. Blue Stage)

The Hold Steady were our key picks for Saturday's festivities, and we're very happy to report that they did rock most steadfastly. Our scrawled notes excitedly shout from the page something to the effect of Craig Finn being the consummate indie rock frontman. Much like, say, Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard, Mr. Finn pulls plenty of rock star stage moves, as they have been handed down generation to generation from Elvis to Iggy and so on. This included plenty of nerdy off-mic ad-libbing and over-animated expressions to go along with Finn's prowling, strutting and mic stand twirls. The Hold Steady tour with two additional guitar players these days that trade lead and rhythm duties, which render Finn's guitar-based contributions (or more accurately, lack thereof) all the more comical. Songs in which he elects to sling on the ol' axe were seemingly chosen at random, but, hey, we aren't roadies, so what do we know? When minded at all, his guitar would typically only receive attention for a verse or two before Finn shoved it aside to make with the dancing. The Hold Steady's set itself was a briskly paced tour de force of rock 'n' roll, and drew tunes from nearly its entire catalog. It was a crowd-pleaser to be sure, cramming in 14 songs in just about an hour.

Previous Coverage:
Classic Neutral Milk Hotel Lineup Electrifies Night One Of Boston Calling Festival
Boston Calling This Weekend: Five Key Sets To Catch By Bands That Are Not The Replacements
Boston Calling This Weekend: The Replacements Return To Boston For First Show In 23 Years

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

Today's Hotness: Whirr, Honey Radar, Lurve

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



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



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

Reviewed: Big Dipper, Banquet Hall

Big Dipper Crashes On The Platinum Planets' second track should have been its first. It's a lament, but also a prayer of sorts to activate the muse for this, the first new Big Dipper album in over 20 years (sort of) - hoping for "voices that guide a rising chorus that opens wide!" So goes Gary Waleik's "Robert Pollard," which worries that a classic era of songwriters like namechecked Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Jagger-Richards, and Newmans both Randy and Colin, is coming to end and all hope lies with Guided By Voices oracle Robert Pollard (who also created the album's cover art) may be the last man standing to carry the torch. The merits of that argument are called into question by its very existence as "Robert Pollard" is catchy as hell.

But maybe not as catchy as "Princess Warrior," drummer Jeff Oliphant's highly hummable tribute to cancer recovery. The refrain's plead "help me get back on my knees, I'm begging you, begging you please" is as big a hook as they make 'em. The album covers some wider ground too: Goffrier's "Joke Outfit" has biting guitar and smiting lyrics, and his "Hurricane Bill," "Pitbull Cruiser," and "Happy New Year" are grand, smooth pop. Waleik's "Sarah and Monica" recalls Dipper's longtime (and perhaps over-estimated) association with scientific and extra-terrestrial imagery (c.f. "Lunar Module," among others), but is as much a memory of summers past spent under "constellations in summer skies," though it does ask "is memory matter, in that it can be destroyed?"

Big Dipper Crashes On The Platinum Planet is everything we'd hoped it would be. Full of catchy hooks, idiosyncratic playful guitar jousting, and that essential silliness that make the band what it is. That latter bit may be the most important. Whether it's oddball characters called Lord Scrumptious, or the way Bill Goffrier hesitates while reaching for a high note in your face, or the way his guitar jabs in response to Gary Waleik's, Big Dipper continues to remind us that this whole music thing is supposed to be fun.

The self-recorded album out this week (very limited blue vinyl available here and signed CDs here) is their first since their 1990 major label debut (and finale) and their 1992 breakup. This reunion run started in 2008, when Merge, doing a great public service, reissued the band's Homestead catalog (an EP and two nearly perfect albums), along with a revelatory collection of an album's worth of material recorded but never released after the band's very short major label tenure. That collection, and the band's joyous reunion shows, hinted at what they were still capable of. Now we know for sure.




This is just the latest in a great classic Boston rock renaissance that I've talked a lot about in this space. These last few weeks alone have seen reunions of legends Human Sexual Response (who played literally every song they released in their short 80's run) and 90's indie pop favorites Fuzzy, who played a birthday show for one of their guitarist-singers, along with Tanya Donnelly playing a few Belly hits with Buffalo Tom as her backing band, along with the latter running through a few of their biggies as well.

This isn't just about reunions, though. I always closely associated Big Dipper with their contemporaries The Cavedogs as they trod the same boards around town and were in the same rough neighborhood of 'pop,' but the latter with their own bent and a bigger rock sound and more 12-string jangle. Like Big Dipper, the Cavedogs had their own flirt with the majors that led to their downfall. Their guitarist, Todd Spahr, spent the 90's leading greats Merang and then The Gravy before pulling up stakes and moving to Los Angeles. Save a couple of Cavedogs reunions (like this one a couple of summers ago), we haven't heard from him in awhile.

He finally resurfaces as a member of Banquet Hall, along with a couple of other Boston transplants. Rick Shaw, a criminally under-appreciated songwriter that some called the Godfather of the Northern Worcester County post-punk scene (by 'some' I mean I called him that) when he fronted his early band, Navy Blue Nuns (grab their great compilation here) before leading a couple of quality Boston bands like The Meltaways and Krebstar, handles the other guitar and Paula Kelly, who cut her teeth in cult legends Drop Nineteens and remained a prominent scene figure throughout the late 90's and early aughts, plays the bass and does some arranging as well.

After grinding it out in L.A. clubs for a few years now, the band has just released their debut album, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, which is the sum of its great parts. Right off the top of it feels so great to hear Spahr's playful jittery guitar chords on leadoff track "Stars After Stars" and Shaw's pop classicist approach to "Puppets," with warm lounge harmonies from the Watson Twins. Later, Spahr's "Urban Renewal" betrays an Elvis Costello influence wrapped in a cozy acoustic guitar, Shaw's "Bells On" is the kind of heart-on-your-sleeve pop song that Boston songwriters (like, say, Buffalo Tom) seem to do so well, and the band resurrects an old Merang single to great effect with lost classic "Drunk and Quartered."

Here, have a listen:


-Michael Piantigini


Big Dipper: Facebook | Twitter 
Banquet Hall: Facebook | Bandcamp

Today's Hotness: The Hush Now, R.M. Hendrix

>> The Hush Now's fidelity to tradition persists, a small but beautiful thing we've come to count on, a little consistency in a crazy world. Like morning frosts and 4PM sunsets, the Boston-based dream-pop quintet returns, here with a third annual Halloween-themed treat in hand, this one titled "The Flapper." The jaunty song reinforces our long-held belief that singer and founder Noel Kelly and his merry men could easily be raking in dough on the side writing pop gems for Disney soundtracks. "The Flapper" rests upon a winking guitar lick and a sturdy beat, both of which provide a platform for Kelly's strong, soulful voice, creepy leads from guitarist Adam Quane and dusty organ from key stroker John Millar Jon Rosen [sorry Jon! -- Ed.]. As entrancing as the tune is, we are curious to know whether there is an extended version somewhere, as we'd certainly like to hear more of the stone groove the quintet digs as the song heads into the fade, where dubby reverb hits the drum kit and synth noodles scurry like creeping insects (this latter part reminds us of a passage from some electric Miles Davis jam we can't put our ears on right now). Previous Halloween numbers from The Hush Now include 2011's "The Legend Of Dudley Town" [playlisted] and 2010's "Please Mephistopheles (Leave Me Alone)" [blogged]. Check out the latest offering via the embed below; you can also download the joint from Bandcamp right here, where you will find most if not all of the band's catalog available for free download. The Hush Now in recent days have been tracking tunes for a new planned full-length, its fourth, at Allston's Mad Oak Studios. Check out the band's Facebook page for photos from the ongoing sessions.



>> Boston-based graphic designer and music DIY-er R.M. Hendrix last month issued the latest in a long strand of releases, the dense, droning psych-pop platter Pink Skin EP. The short set trades in big, effected guitars and driving drum beats, all cleanly captured to tape (or, more likely these days, ones and zeroes) for maximum impact. "Last Days of Black" commences with cool guitar noise loops before a slinky bass enters and clears room for some massive guitar swaths. Just as quickly, Mr. Hendrix's voice comes in, recalling Adam Franklin's effortlessly cool speak-sing in Swervedriver, or even the Brit-affected warbling of Robert Pollard. The real jewel is the final track, "Lipstick and Perfect Hair." A jangling rock structure plays underneath disorienting guitar strums that aim to disrupt the classic college rock vibe that carries the song. The track evokes Lenola's first album (or maybe at times Julie Ocean) in its youthful power-pop innocence, paired perfectly with queasy histrionics. Pink Skin, available on CD and digitally, was conceived by Hendrix earlier this year and eventually mastered by Starflyer 59's Jason Martin. Hendrix, formerly of indie rockers Flannery, has apparently been slyly producing music for nearly as long as his particular strain of the genre has existed -- at least one song at his web site dates back to 1996. Peruse the entire catalog right here. Could R.M. Hendrix be the R. Stevie Moore of shoegaze? The world could certainly use more of those. -- Edward Charlton

Rock Over Boston: Guided By Voices | Paradise | 11.05.2010

[Guided By Voices at the Paradise, Boston, MA 11/5/2010. Photo by Michael Piantigini. A few more photos here.]
Guided By Voices in 2010 might be what it would be like if your drunk uncle’s band had really, really amazing songs.

On December 31, 2004, with the name being more brand than band at that point, Bob Pollard retired the final lineup of Guided By Voices with a delirious 4-hour set in Chicago. Judging by The Electrifying Conclusion (Plexifilm), the DVD account of that night, it’s a wonder anyone survived.

But survive they did, and here they are. Owing largely - much like this year’s Pavement reunion - to the fact that Matador Records asked them headline their big 21st anniversary shindig in Vegas (grrrr). Pollard credited Matador’s founders the other night, telling us “they’re not stupid.” Apparently not - unlike Pollard's last few tours, as well as recent visits by this lineup's contemporaries like Teenage Fanclub and Superchunk, Guided By Voices’ Boston date sold out instantly. As it should have, since this is this particular sub-culture's Beatles, Stones, and Replacements all rolled into one.

The “classic lineup” on the road now is – and always was – a bit rough around the edges. But if you’re looking for precision musicianship, you best look someplace else because Guided By Voices – as the name implies – is about a spirit. Whether Pollard's making records with pals in the basement or dragging those pals on tour for the kids, this stuff connects and makes a club feel like family. Maybe it’s frat rock for music nerds?

One can quibble over who precisely makes up the "classic" lineup (there have been many members), but the period that this tour is covering is incontrovertibly classic: their string of albums from 1992-1996 beginning with Propeller, and continuing with Vampire on Titus, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Under the Bushes Under the Stars is a staggering 5 album run that is nearly unmatched.

But GBV are a different animal live than on record. Basement cassette four-trackers become windmill-slashing, beer-raising, fist-pumping anthems on stage. However unlikely sounding, "Exit Flagger," "My Valuable Hunting Knife," and "I Am A Scientist" feel every bit as important as any Springsteen anthem when the entire club is shouting along in a boozy bliss. Every song feels like an anthem from this period, and they drew not just from those five albums, but a host of singles and EPs as well. There was a lot to choose from, but when a band is giving you upwards of 40 songs, chances are you'll hear your favorites. That being said, Under the Bushes... felt a little under-represented.

Guitarist Mitch Mitchell - who, by all accounts, seems to be having the most fun on this tour - is so very rock and roll. His late-show stage banter about the, ahem, ladies in the audience (a distinct minority) would have made Steven Tyler blush. In stark contrast, mild-mannered guitarist Tobin Sprout held down the other side of the stage, and his being the George Harrison to Pollard’s Lennon AND McCartney, his songs were a gentle respite throughout the 2-hour set.

Bob Pollard presided over it all, of course. Addressing us, like always, as “kids,” which gets more hilarious with each passing year. Though we all kinda felt like kids for those couple of hours.

Later lineups may have been a little tighter (though some of them were often just as drunk), but this Guided By Voices is the real deal. The hard-partying must be getting tougher, but hopefully they'll survive this round too.

-Michael Piantigini

Robert Pollard/Guided By Voices: Intertubes

Today's Hotness: Bridges And Powerlines, Darker My Love

>> [PHOTO: Ana Blohm] One record we've been enjoying no small amount recently was sent to us by the fellows in Bridges And Powerlines. The set is called Ghost Types and it is filled with big, melodic rockers. Point of interest: Keyboardist and singer Andrew Wood sounds inescapably like Robert Pollard in places, but that, of course, is a plus. Musically the three-year-old foursome leans heavier on synth in places than GBV ever has, but Bridges And Powerlines is no synth-rock act. Instead, the band crafts strident numbers with balanced arrangements that allow push and pull between guitar, bass and synth, with urgent vocal harmonies embellishing the entire proceedings. And there's still room for some quirk, like the stumbling, "Caterpillar"-esque piano in the verse of "Half A Cent" (or did we just hallucinate that?). Album closer "The Last Equation" simply smokes. Another favorite, "Middle Child," swoops in and out on fuzzy synth slithers and then drops nicely into a rocking gear with a descending vocal hook that sounds lifted from the old, good R.E.M. The band has graciously allowed us to post that track, so grab it below and have a listen. Ghost Types was issued April 22 on Citybird.

Bridges And Tunnels -- "Middle Child" -- Ghost Types
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[buy Ghost Types from Insound right here]

>> We've been waiting so long -- so very long -- to hear the follow-up to Darker My Love's self-titled set that we'll take anything at this point. While it may not be true, we feel like we hear from a publicist every few months promising that the thing is coming out, yet still there is nothing. Given the precarious position the record business has found itself in this decade, perhaps it should be no surprise that we finally are hearing something from the L.A.-based nu-gaze rockers via a sneaker company promotion. PF Flyers has partnered with Dangerbird Records to promote "the archival release of the 1956 Bob Cousy All-American," and as part of the promotion four bands including Darker My Love have recorded a version of a song originally released in 1956. DML's tune is a slow, reverby take on Sanford Clark's rockabilly hit "The Fool," and it is totally righteous in a sorta Mogwai (i.e. stoned), sorta Spiritualized (i.e. reverent) kinda way. We're posting "The Fool" below; three additional tracks from other Dangerbird acts can be had right here. And for the record, we reviewed Darker My Love's self-titled set here in 2006.

Darker My Love -- "The Fool" -- PF Flyers Modern 56 Promotion
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[more free rock and roll music right here]

>> Former Small Factory/Godrays fronter Alex Kemp has just posted a new track to his MySpace dojo right here. "From Someone Who Knows" has a jazzy piano lead and omniscient strings riding the mix, but at its core there's Mr. Kemp strumming a guitar and, if you want, you can sort of hear a Small Factory song hiding in there. But the thing is, this arrangement is really good. It feels nice and full like a plastic bag holding cool water. It's been a while since we checked in on Mr. Kemp's goings on, so there are a few other tunes posted at MySpace that were new to us. One we've heard before, "Misery Of Others," is available for download, so we're posting it below. The sum total of all this new music gives us hope that this guy will finally get a record out. As we reported here many moons ago when we wrote under someone else's shingle, Kemp had been playing with Chicago synth-poppers Assassins.

Alex Kemp -- "Misery Of Others" -- MySpace download
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Today's Hotness: Lilys, Robert Pollard, Camper Van Beethoven

>> [UPDATED AGAIN] What you are looking at above is the Holy Grail. More precisely, it is a picture of a vinyl version of Lilys' 1992 masterwork In The Presence Of Nothing. We think you can tell it is the vinyl version because the cover art is different from the CD. In fact, 1992 being 16 years ago, we can't definitively say whether we've ever actually seen this cover art before now (even the official Slumberland Records discography only shows the art with which we are exceedingly familiar). Needless to say, this record is rare, having only been issued in an edition of 500 copies on vinyl (although the Slumberland site makes an ambiguous reference to a later vinyl edition from Spin Art that had "a normal LP picture sleeve;" according to Discogs.com this may have been a 1998 vinyl reissue -- did that actually happen?). And needless to say we are torn about whether we should bid on this or not. This may be our only chance to ever aquire this record, for which EBayer Mr--Morgan currently stands to reap USD$61, plus $4 for shipping. And currently, we twiddle our thumbs and watch and wait. Here's a marvelous track from the set below; you can download the amazing track "Claire Hates Me" at the Slumberland page here. [UPDATE: This ended up selling for USD$76 plus at least $4 shipping. Dang...][According to commenter Mike -- perhaps it is even Slumberland Mike? -- this cover above was from the 1998 reissue, so that must have been what the chap was selling. The original 1992 issue was a numbered edition of 500. And if anyone has one in good condition to sell us, you know where to reach us].

Lilys -- "Elizabeth Colour Wheel" -- In The Presence Of Nothing
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[out of print. perhaps you can get a copy at MusicStack here?]

>> Seriously, how many hooks are in the newish Robert Pollard jam "Weatherman And Skin Goddess"? Every line is a hook. It's ridiculous. We were (obviously) taken with "Gratification To Concrete," which we posted last weekend. But "Weatherman And Skin Goddess" is like a five-and-a-half-minute-long concept record. It was initially issued on the eponymous EP as the first release of Mr. Pollard's newly minted Guided By Voices Records, but we didn't hear the track until digging into the promo of the forthcoming full-length Robert Pollard Is Off To Business on Thursday night. That full-length will be issued June 3. Brilliant, brilliant stuff. We uploaded "Weatherman And Skin Goddess" to our sadly neglected Imeem profile, so you can click here to catch a stream of the song. For those of you in the mood to download, RobertPollard.net has a whole sack of MP3s, including the very good "Supernatural Car Lover" from last years solid release Normal Happiness. If you missed it the first time around, check it out now.

Robert Pollard -- "Supernatural Car Lover" -- Normal Happiness
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[buy Robert Pollard releases from Rockathon right here]

>> Legendary "college rock" band Camper Van Beethoven is marking a quarter century of existence by releasing a hits collection called Popular Songs June 24. The set includes original and re-recorded versions of classics including "Take The Skinheads Bowling," "All Her Favorite Fruit" and "When I Win The Lottery," among others. Five songs originally released on the Virgin-issued sets Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart and Key Lime Pie were re-recorded because Virgin refused to allow them to be included in the set, which will be issued by Cooking Vinyl. We sure wish some agreement could be reached regarding those Virgin titles, because if any two albums (well, besides the two My Bloody Valentine sets that will be reissued next month) were screaming to be reissued, it is those two. We promise we'll buy them, Mr. Branson. Here's our favorite CVB jam as offered by Archive.org's Live Music Archive.

Camper Van Beethoven -- "All Her Favorite Fruit (Live)" -- Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA, July 20, 1989
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[get the whole set from the Live Music Archive here]

Today's Hotness: Robert Pollard, The Replacements, Big Science

>> Still catching up... We were minding our business early last week listening to the "tape delay" of one of the prior week's episodes of WMBR's crucial "Breakfast of Champions" program when a tune caught our ear. It was distinctly Pollardian, and so it was little surprise when the DJ back-announced that the track was from a forthcoming Robert Pollard solo set. We made a note to look for more info on the Internet, but before we even had a chance to sit down and look an email had already hit our inbox with the details. Indeed, Mr. Pollard will issue a new solo set Robert Pollard Is Off To Business June 3, and it will be released on his own new label GBV Records. Pollard's previous four records were released on Merge, and probably all within one twelve-month period, given the man's ability to churn out records like most of us churn out blog posts. Anyway, the track that caught our ear is titled "Gratification To Concrete," and it is the promo track for the new set. Download at will.

Robert Pollard -- "Gratification To Concrete" -- Robert Pollard Is Off To Business
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[pre-order Robert Pollard Is Off To Business here]

>> Interesting grab bag of news for the taking in this Man Without Ties post. To whit: the reissues of The Replacements catalogue will not be available at ITunes (and presumably no other digital music storefront) prior to the release of the Sire titles in September; and apparently Paul Westerberg has taken up ice hockey. More notable tidbits at the link supra.

>> Chicago-based sort-of newcomers Big Science was slated to play its first show Friday night. Not a big deal in and of itself, as new bands play first shows somewhere every day. But the quartet's blend of Big Country hooks and Talking Heads-ish radio pop sensibilities make us believe Big Science will break big at some point. The band, which sprung in part from the ashes of defunct San Deigo post-hardcore act The North Atlantic, recently made its MySpace offerings downloadable, and we recommend snatching them all. To get you started here is the demo for the tune "My Career As A Ghost."

Big Science -- "My Career As A Ghost" -- MySpace demo
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[more at the band's MySpace tent here]

>> So our initial excitement about Jim Guthrie's new project Human Highway is tempered by the two tracks recently posted at the band's MySpace yert here. "The Sound" is a playful strummer with a canned beat that sounds a bit like '80s TV show soundtrack music. It's something like Men At Work, but without Colin Hay's voice and personality. The second track, "Sleep Talking," seems to reimagine Modest Mouse's "Sleep Walkin'" without any of Isaac Brock's pilled-up melancholy. On the whole the songs seem to lean more in the direction of the prior work of former Islands guy Nick Thorburn, who is the other principal member of Human Highway. We'll be interested to hear what else the act has to offer, but for now we're not sure if it is going to excite us at all. The duo's full-length Moody Motorcycle will be issued by Suicide Squeeze Aug. 18.