Today's Hotness: Night Dew Call, Katie Dey, TV Wonder

>> We love encountering evidence of the universality of indie pop, identifying acts from around the world mining the sounds of Anglophilic '80s guitar pop. That the "cause" side of the equation has traveled far and wide perhaps shouldn't be surprising any longer in our Internet-connected age, but the "effects" thrill us nonetheless. The very location of a band can seep into its interpretation of the form, and in sometimes subtle and effervescent ways complement the timeless aspects of the little genre-that-could. Be it in sound, language, spirit or even general enthusiasm, when it is good it is icing on the cake. Which is why recent digital singles from young Ukrainians Night Dew Call have caught our collective ear. Straight outta Pobho, the dreamy and twee four-piece craft dancey, clean and crisp singalongs for late night bar crawls amidst the open-collared breeze, as in its tune "Someday." "You'll see me around someday" promises a pleasant mid-range singer (in perfect English, we suppose it is worth adding for our lyrically fixated readers). The bending "ohs" and the earworm guitar line that opens the tune recall touchstone acts like The Smiths to some degree, but the brisk pacing and relaxed but confident guitar solos suggest that this band needs no help understanding how to execute an effective entrance into a three-and-a-half minute sleeper anthem. And so bring on the Globalism, we say. Download "Someday" for any price right here; that number as well as two other digital singles from this year, "Citizen" and "Schedryk," can be streamed via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton, At Large



>> We were quite entranced by Melbourne, Australia-based electro-acoustic sound manipulator extraordinaire Katie Dey's 2015 full-length debut, asdfasdf, taking note of her stunning and original twists of melody and sound. The songs were fairly singular, offering modernist, post-pop tones and pitch-shifted vocals that sounded painstakingly crafted. Just about a year later we now have the first fruits from Ms. Dey's follow up, flood network. Due Aug. 12 via Texas-based Joy Void Recordings, the album is heralded by a brace of preview tracks: "Fear o The Light" and "Only to Trip and Fall Down Again." The tunes indicate a slightly more rockist approach when compared against last year's model, with steady drums grounding impressive and unique EQ artistry and fuzz. Still, dubbing the tunes conventional, however, stretches the definition of that word toward the breaking point. "Fear o The Light" -- seemingly a counterpoint to asdfasdf's "Fear o The Dark" -- marries white-noise beauty to a steady, acoustic guitar-led folk-rock structure before Ms. Dey sets to work shifting her lovely vocals into hyper oblivion. The tune "Only to Trip and Fall Down Again" aspires toward blooping electronica that pleasingly echoes Clicky Clicky-faves The Books at times (that's an extreme compliment from this publication, don't you know), although the rhythm tracks' organic feel is more exotica than futuristic. This reviewer is expecting the majority of music press to adore Dey's inventive release: if only the overground was routinely this exciting. Joy Void is releasing the set on Pink/Blue/Yellow/Clear, Blue/Pink or Blue/Yellow splatter vinyl, color combinations that perhaps come close to approximating the amazing and original talent cut into the grooves. Pre-order flood network right here. -- Edward Charlton, At Large



>> This writer was absolutely in love with TV Wonder's Bird Sounds EP, which was released last year by the routinely excellent Faux Discx. The short set was a highlight of a pretty cracking year, and the Dutch quartet appear to have made the most of it, garnering slots performing with American indie heavy-hitters such as Viet Cong (now Preoccupations), dream-pop delighters DIIV and the mighty Detroit four Protomartyr. On top of this, the band has recorded two new songs for a cassette Geertruida Records issued late last month. "Glazed" and "Fixed Aesthetic" continue in the vein of the Sonic Youth-inspired jams of the aforementioned EP, but incorporate a pinch of additional clarity and studio punch. "Glazed" opens with a surprisingly major-key garage shuffle before introducing the more dissonant guitar interplay characteristic of the band's music. At the eighty-second mark, the band reacquaints listeners with its post-punk gloom and tension, and it is a delight to hear once more. From there TV Wonder locks into a groove so sinister that when the song's care-free opening chords return, they're run over flat by detuned anti-solos that capture the youthful anxiety and explosiveness this band expresses so well. It's just a great steamroller of a song that makes the most of its few, simpler parts. "Fixed Aesthetic" sticks more to the gloom side of the TV Wonder coin, but, again, the combo switches gears midway to a new part that captures a dreaminess and dread reminiscent of the late, great Women, while also still having its own stark and minimalist European voice. TV Wonder are on a roll, let us all pray they don't stop. Boston fans familiar with the shoe-brand cross-marketing phenomenon Converse Rubber Tracks will be interested to know TV Wonder recorded these two tunes in a single day as part of Converse Rubber Tracks Amsterdam. Order "Glazed" / "Fixed Aesthetic" on cassette right here, or click through the embed below to acquire the digital files. -- Edward Charlton, At Large

Clicky Clicky Music's Top Songs of 2015: Jay Edition

2015 was surely an incredible year for music, with each week delivering exciting new sounds from all corners. Clicky Clicky devoted most of its electronic column inches to acts hailing from the U.S. (and particularly our hometown of Boston) and the U.K., but also featured acts from Australia, France and Portugal, and probably other places we're forgetting. This year, favorite songs were a little more difficult to select than over the past decade that we've been doing this, in part because of the vast amount of great things to choose from (how is there not a Beach Slang or Stove song on this list? Shit is competitive, yo...), and also because we spent a lot of time seeking out records that don't necessarily reveal themselves all at once, records that establish and maintain their own peculiar universe of meaning. Even so, it is most often the case that our favorites immediately rise to the top, and that's true of more than half of the songs below. Some of our favorite records were sleepers, and some songs they contained were more insidious in their efforts to dominate our consciousness and subconscious.

So while the Infinity Girl track below was immediately addicting and we've listened to it scores of times, the Colleen track and others like it snuck up on us, suddenly and surprisingly dropping into our brain out of our mouth during a quiet dog walk or long commutes in the car. No matter how they got there, all 10 songs listed below are a part of us now, and we'll always associate them with 2015. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Keep an eye open for our year-end albums list, which will be along sometime in the run-up to Christmas, but in the meantime we invite you to rock out to Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Top Songs of 2015: Jay Edition, either a la carte via the individual embeds below, or via this both handy and dandy Sporkify playlist (which sadly but necessarily omits the cracking Hard Left track, which is presently unavailable via the service). We salute the bands below, and we thank you, dear reader, for passing the year with us. There's a lot coming up from Clicky Clicky in 2016, so remain vigilant.

1. Infinity Girl -- "Dirty Sun" -- Harm [buy]

"Dirty Sun" emerges from noise and feedback and then swells into shape on the back of Mitch Stewart's driving bass melody, which is truly the secret sauce of this, Infinity Girl's most potent pop moment since the towering "Please Forget" that featured on the band's 2012 debut Stop Being On My Side. "Dirty Sun" is even more vibrant, its crackling pace providing an irresistible pull that never betrays the listener. The Brooklyn foursome's characteristically colossal guitars and fronter Nolan Eley's cool vocal acquit themselves wonderfully, and it is the latter that supplies the strongest, if most understated, hook. Mr. Eley's narrative of a love going off the rails effectively captures the teetering feeling where romance goes from intoxicating to irreparable. That the band can make it all sound so arresting is a testament to the pop smarts that help make Infinity Girl one of today's most exciting indie acts.

"...you said you were OK, but I don't buy it, you used to get excited..."



2. Funeral Advantage -- "Gardensong" -- Body Is Dead [buy]

It's soothing and fantastic, and appointed with glistening guitars. It's dense but light, basks in airy reverbs and touts curiously affecting robot-voiced verses. It's "Gardensong," and it stands out like a crown jewel even on one of the year's standout records, the Boston dream-pop heroes' debut long-player. Fronter Tyler Kershaw's vocals are heavily veiled within the song's dreamy, trance-like state, but enough of them bob above the steady waves of crystalline, delayed guitars and the surprisingly crispy beat to indicate affairs of the heart are at issue. A glance at the lyrics reveals lovers at an impasse, a place where the thing that they both want is not the right thing. The still sweetness of that resignation is nearly as fetching as the song's melody, which is gently arrayed along layered guitars and bass whose sounds seem to stretch to a sunny horizon, despite Mr. Kershaw's downcast lyrics.

"...so if you’re not there then I'm not there / so just close your eyes..."



3. Dogs On Acid -- "Let The Bombs Fall Off" -- Dogs On Acid [buy]

Love can bring you down, but "Let The Bombs Off" feels like a celebration, despite the desperate times conveyed in its lyrics. Perhaps we can attribute that to the singular imaginary Philadelphia that exists in our head and heart; collectively, the city's indie rockers seem to have historically colored their lovelorn sentiments with a certain determination to live on -- it's just part and parcel of the city's DNA. Indeed, on "Let The Bombs Fall Off" Dogs On Acid fronter Peter Helmis (ex-Algernon Cadwalader) sings of wishing he was a widow ("'cause then I'd know that you're not coming back") and crashing his dream car ("just to see you shake"), but with a delivery that is more determined that dour. The song's chugging rhythm, deliciously chunky bass and bright guitar work don't take a backseat to the vocals, however. The splashes of bending guitar in the chorus recall the heyday of the absolutely brilliant Meneguar, but truly every second of the tune is paved gutter-to-gutter with hooks.

"...blowing up my whole vicinity / I'm learning to stop worrying..."



4. Fog Lake -- "Dog Years" -- Victoria Park [buy]

This song is absolutely devastating, and in our estimation is the most devastating song of 2015. "Dog Years" is a bottomlessly poignant chamber-pop ballad from Canadian outfit Fog Lake; its whispered vocals carry a patina of menace limned by droning strings that unspool across a bed of watery piano chords. The narrator sings from a place of desolation, but the song's understated but haunting melody hints at the possibility of salvation, especially as a curtain of angelic keys swallows the song. Whether or not deliverance is ever achieved is as much as mystery as how it could have been achieved, but the understated melodrama of "Dog Years" is nonetheless perfect, and makes for a terrifically affecting piece of work.

"...haven't you heard / I know everything / I've heard angels calling me..."



5. Swings -- "Tiles" -- Sugarwater [buy]

At its best the curious music of Swings presents terrifically appealing shards of forgotten dreams, and "Tiles" is certainly the D.C. trio at its best. The song feels extracted from fleeting waking moments, when your subconscious rapidly falls away just as it reveals some deeper truth with its fading mirror. At least, that's as good an explanation as any for what is going on here, as fronter Jamie Finucane's elastic vocals are notoriously unparsible, much in the way Elizabeth Fraser's were in the front end of the Cocteau Twins catalogue. The skeletal pulse of "Tiles"'s arrangement and its cycling, ascending, straightforward melody erected from bass and guitar quarter notes set a sturdy table for Mr. Finucane's lyrics, which almost wink as they don apparent (if not actual) vocoder, change shape as vampire does to bat, and flitter off into a mysterious firmament that is distinctly the band's own.

"...one hundred percentaaaaaa WHAT THE FUCK IS HE SINGING I DON'T EVEN KNOW..."



6. Hard Left -- "Kicking It Off" -- We Are Hard Left [buy]

As social challenges have mounted during this century, it has been persistently disappointing that indie rock has not responded in kind with calls to arms, with ideas, with possible leadership toward meaningful joint solutions. You might be asking, well, why should they? To which Clicky Clicky says, why shouldn't they? Instead, macro political issues were largely ignored -- and we are not the better for it. It's an idea we discussed with comrades Mike and Tim from Hard Left here last spring, around the time of the release of the Oakland-based quartet's cracking full-length debut. Album highlight "Kicking It Off" is both exhortation and affirmation, a vow to act, and we're hopeful that it can be a model to the wider independent music community, that eventually the song will be perceived as the tip of the spear. Hard Left here delivers an uplifting, energizing banger descended straight from the day of Joe Strummer and The Clash, big fuzzy guitars, vocals that testify, beats that bang. Heed the call. Start today.

"...making do with what we didn't choose..."



7. All Dogs -- "Flowers" -- Kicking Every Day [buy]

There is magic in big guitars and steady harmonies and yearning sentiments: it's an age-old recipe, to be sure, but one that still can yield spine-tingling results when applied by skilled songwriters and performers. Columbus, Ohio four All Dogs certainly capture the lightning in the bottle here with "Flowers," although it is difficult to pick just one track from the band's terrific long-playing debut Kicking Every Day. Here the band seems to strongly channel classic Superchunk, but it is fronter Maryn Jones' charming, poignant vocal that is impossible to ignore. At fewer than 140 seconds in length, this song perhaps more than any other on our list likely keeps fans' fingers poised just above the play button and ready for another go, as 5, 10 and 20 listens just isn't enough. Gold.

"...our bodies are longing for things you don't know..."



8. Colleen -- "This Hammer Breaks" -- Captain Of None [buy]

Hand percussion like heavy steady rain (perhaps struck off her favored instrument, the viola de gamba), and quietly chanted vocals that layer and diffract, render Colleen's "This Hammer Breaks" eery and enchanting, much like the rest of her excellent 2015 set Captain Of None. The record explored mastermind Cécile Schott's love of dub reggae music, which is reflected her in the delays and reverbs that push and pull on the percussion and vocals here. The second half of the composition dives deeply into a polyrhythm and cleverly leverages production elements to render something mysterious and maximal from relatively minimal instrumentation. Squeaky, spacey tones overtake the songs and pulse through the final minute of "This Hammer Breaks," and it seems as if the entire composition is sucked down a drain at its close, adding to and not detracting from a truly mesmerizing listen.

"...you never know what's in the heart..."



9. Krill -- "Phantom" -- A Distant Fist Unclenching [buy]

It turns out Krill in one very real sense is not forever. And we had a hard time choosing just which tune from its 2015 swan song represented the whole of the band for Clicky Clicky. A strong argument could be made that "It Ends" hosts a multiplicity of meanings that make it a strong proxy for the set. But Krill has always been about the investigation, and so ultimately we chose the song that opens, rather than closes, A Distant Fist Unclenching as one of our favorite songs of the year. The song's rocking middle third, with bashing percussion and fronter Jonah Furman's exercised vocal, is especially engaging, but it is the song's understated coda -- and Mr. Furman's incisive questions that plumb the parameters of one's internal and external lives -- that is startlingly thrilling in its bare truth.

"...what is the proper orientation of the world to me? and does it have to be to me..."



10. Spectres -- "Blood In The Cups" -- Dying [buy]

Albums this purposefully dark can feel campy, but there is no wink and nod to be found on Spectres' stunning full-length Dying (winks and nods seem reserved for the band's videos and social media posts, which are regularly deliciously funny and irreverent). While still boasting the Bristol, England-based foursome's characteristic, Sonic Youth-indebted aural assault, "Blood In The Cups" is among the set's most melodic compositions, and its balance of beauty and firepower is terrifically compelling. Spectres' greatest skill is conjuring visceral moodscapes with its music, and "Blood In The Cups" exemplifies this, stretching anxiously but languorously across almost eight minutes with a psych-blues derived sound that recalls LA's The Warlocks. With its pulsing bass, spectral vocals, and maelstroms of guitar, "Blood In The Cups" presents a perfect storm, while highlighting Spectres' terrific vision and control.

"...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

Today's Hotness: Flying Saucer Attack, Happy Diving, Mourn

>> A particularly cultish corner of the experimental rock music world was driven to hysteria month ago when it was finally announced that Flying Saucer Attack, one of the finest shoegaze/drone concerns of the 1990s, would release Instrumentals 2015 on Drag City Records this month. The new collection, due July 17, will be the band's first in 15 years! The apparently aptly titled, 15-song set features pieces recorded by fronter David Pearce (partner and vocalist Rachel Brook presumably sits this one out) to analog tape and CD-R at his home, a medium which served the band well on landmark static-und-drone releases Further and Distance. With hopes of appealing to both die-hard fans and those unfamiliar with the its catalog, Flying Saucer Attack's two preview tracks gently lull the listener while providing windows into Pearce's thoughtful and powerful sound world. "Instrumental 7" opens with smooth, mid-range guitar feedback that dramatically shuts off briefly at various intervals. As each drop-out occurs, swells of supporting notes join the feedback tone to establish additional new harmonies. Second single "Instrumental 4" takes a different approach, instead employing ear-splitting cascades of feedback and slowly plucked single-note guitar leads to slow time and space to a hypnotic background whir. With each track, the subtle mastery of the dynamics is first-class. Like another dreamy '90s shoegaze group, Auburn Lull, did last year with its magnificent Hiber cassette, the inimitable FSA have reappeared to show the seemingly burgeoning legions of bedroom drone instrumentalists how things are done. Pre-order Instrumentals 2015 on 12" vinyl, CD or cassette from Drag City Records right here. Both "Instrumental 7" and "Instrumental 4" can be streamed via our curiously but purposefully narrow YouTube embeds below. -- Edward Charlton





>> This publication was properly bowled over by Happy Diving's Father/Daughter-released debut long-player Big World last fall, and last month's news that the group are already set to return with a fresh 7" on the mighty (and getting mightier) Topshelf Records is certainly cause for celebration. Out July 17 on a variety of colored wax, the East Bay, Calif. band's preview single offers up two great, humid, chugging sludge-pop jams. A-side "So Bunted" recalls the Big World standout "Space Ooze" with its atypical structure, dense chordings and bummed-out vocals, while further pressing those signifiers as some of the band's greatest strengths. After a brief opening comprised of post-Blue Album guitar wailing, the group scales back to a single verse where guitarist/singer Matt Berry's plaintive, bruised vocal details a relationship gone as sour as the minor-to-major power chord changes that keep the song both murky and anthemic. Recorded in just four hours at The Atomic Garden with go-to California heavy-rock producer Jack Shirley (Deafhaven, Whirr, Joyce Manor), the two-minute piece is perfectly rendered in all of its live-sounding, signal-clipping glory. Happy Diving stay true to their monolithic approach to twenty-something, house show angst, and it promises even more fuzz-fest payouts on their next album, which at this rate of productivity just might be here by 2016. Pre-order "So Bunted" from Topshelf right here, and catch the band on its upcoming tour, the dates of which are listed out below. Stream "So Bunted" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton



07/15 -- Oakland, CA -- One Fam
07/17 -- Portland, OR -- TBA
07/18 -- Olympia, WA -- Old School Pizzeria
07/19 -- Seattle, WA -- Office Space
07/20 -- Vancouver, BC -- Alf House
07/21 -- Victoria, BC -- The Mirancave
07/23 -- Santa Rosa, CA -- The Funk Den
07/24 -- San Francisco, CA -- Thee Parkside
07/25 -- Santa Cruz, CA -- Cafe Pergolesi
07/26 -- Los Angeles, CA -- The Echo
07/27 -- Corona, CA -- Sinbad's Hookah Lounge
07/28 -- San Diego, CA -- Che Cafe
07/29 -- Merced, CA -- Tigers & Daggers Records
09/04-09/06 -- Berkeley, CA -- Resurrect Cali Fest @ 924 Gilman

>> This reviewer admittedly missed Mourn's Captured Tracks-released self-titled debut album, which was issued in February, but the quartet's wickedly quick follow up Gertrudis 7" was enough to send us back to listen to it. The much-hyped Catalonian co-ed punk group apparently represent a rising wave of young Spanish punk which has greatly excited tastemakers including Captured Tracks' Mike Sniper, and A-side "Gertrudis, Get Through This!" certainly bears out that heightened interest. Opening with a kinetic, prickly guitar riff, the song highlights the cool vocals of Carla Perez Vas, which echo those of the band's idols including PJ Harvey and Sonic Youth. Building in tension as the instruments remain sturdy and straight, Ms. Vas breaks from a clear and upfront coo to a desperate chorus that brings to mind other European positive feminist punk outfits such as Welsh powerhouse Joanna Gruesome. While straightforward in its construction, the song shifts so dynamically into the "get through this!" chorus that the youthful angst of Mourn arrives in ear canals completely, precisely. Album number two will certainly not be slept on after a wake up call like this, and a release date has been tentatively scheduled for this very month. In the meantime, grab the single digitally via Steve Jobs MegaCo. right here. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Flout, TV Wonder, William Basinski

>> Our last Today's Hotness focused on Art Is Hard Records' terrific spring schedule, and it turns out this post just drives the point home even further. Much is said of the sound of lo-fi indie music, but often not enough about the philosophies underpinning the stylistic choices. It seems that out of all of the thoughtful articles praising a guitar fuzz or in-the-red cymbal sound, too few ever ask why. Enter Weymouth, New York home-recorder Flout (a/k/a John DeRosso) and his new Gims cassette, which hits shelves on May 15th via the aforementioned Art Is Hard. On the hook-saturated, 11-song set (which clocks in at a leisurely 22 minutes), Flout doesn't just wrap his concise, heartfelt miniatures in the warm glow of DIY, he wears them like a badge of honor and even tells you how he pulled it off. Just look at the label's bandcamp page, where Flout's simple explanation of his work illuminates the appeal of the realism of DIY. "I wouldn't change a thing," he says of the collection. "The constant clearing of my throat, my cat meowing after track 1, the footsteps of my roommates on the hardwood floors present on many tracks, the shouts of seamen on the Titanic attempting to avoid an iceberg at the end of track 7, and all of those other 'blemishes' encapsulate the cathartic days and nights recording this fledgling body of work." Gims, we would like to think, celebrates place and setting when it comes to home-recording. It also minimizes the time between that initial bolt of inspiration for a song idea and the moment that it gets bottled up in a recording. As a result, a fresh energy is manifested in tunes including highlight "filiale," which at times sounds like a contemporary folk tune, a delicate fuzz guitar lamentation and a rhythmic incidental piece before erupting into a celebratory chorus in the final seconds. "Salad Supper" makes use of DeRosso's spot-on shaker and tambourine percussion and occasional electric guitars to nearly sound like a full band. Opener "Poor Kid" not only expertly uses that aforementioned cat sound, but also delivers a jangly, strummed verse that foregrounds DeRosso's rich and smooth baritone -– perhaps the best part of the Flout sound. Indeed, his stretched, held vowels and dejected melodies bring to mind new Clicky faves Swings, especially in their "pleasantly downcast" affectation. This reviewer will go as far as to hope it's a new underground vocal trend that might eventually replace the hollow, post-Arcade Fire "whoas" which have clogged many speakers the past few years. It certainly all feels more real, and in this genre, that’s always been the point. Pre-order Gims right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> It's no secret that we’ve been longtime fans of Brighton, England's Faux Discx label. The enterprise's consistently tasteful roster of contemporary post-punk and indie pop regularly wows, and its signing of Dutch quartet TV Wonder indicates that 2015 looks to be another great year for the label. The foursome's debut EP Bird Songs proffers high-quality, spiky and at times discordant guitar-pop; it was released as a four-song cassette and digital download March 30. The band solidified while its members booked and presented shows in Amsterdam, and in all likelihood that environment influences TV Wonder's scrappy sound, which touts a warm, analogue haze and recalls both the hey and day of alternative guitar rock. Opener "Into The Deep," a highlight of the EP, commences with an angular guitar riff that beckons the rest of the band, which dives in with a slash-and-burn skronk that echoes Sister-era Sonic Youth. The vocals of Marijn Westerlaken and Tibor Bijl charm, and carry a more natural feel than most post-punkers purvey, while their mildly accented English provides a distinctive timbre. The influence of Canadian heavies Women looms over the proceedings -- and, this reviewer can think of no recent group more worth studying -- but the Dutch four never resorts to copying. Instead, we get great dynamics, as in the outro of closer "Prime Steps," which latches on to a deep, lockstep groove. Order Bird Sounds on limited-edition white cassette with clear case (100 copies) or as a digital download right here; we highly recommend checking out the entire thing via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> Some artists are considered one-hit wonders, still others considered to have created a defining work. And while drone sculptor William Basinski is decidedly in that latter category, we can all imagine the possible frustrations and (at the very least mental) challenges an artist can face creating work in the wake of a so-called "defining work." Which is a long way of saying, for music fans who may not have Mr. Basinski's name at top of mind, where does one go when one has created what is perhaps the defining drone release of the last fifteen years, as Mr. Basinski did with his tragic, beautiful and solemn The Disintegration Loops albums (which were reissued for their 10th anniversary in 2012). Basinski released a set in 2013 called Nocturne that somehow evaded our critical attention, but we were very pleased to learn about his latest collection, which will be issued on 180g, white vinyl May 25 by Temporary Residence, Ltd. The new set is titled The Deluge, and it includes three compositions: a title track, "The Deluge (The Denouement)," and "Cascade." A companion CD and digital issue goes by the title Cascade, comes out a month earlier, and may or may not feature a different running order -- the notes from the label are a bit confusing on that point. But one of these tracks, or at least a portion of same, was released to the wilds of the Internerds recently, and it is phenomenal. The delicate, poignant, soul-touching "Cascade" twinkles and breathes and spreads in every direction, and sounds as if it is built up from layers of short, meandering piano key caresses and buttressed with delays, reverb and natural signal distortion. An excerpt of the tune can can be streamed via the Soundcloud embed below, and purchased on LP here and CD right here. Without the tragic context that surrounded The Disintegration Loops, perhaps The Deluge / Cascade will not find as large an audience. But it is nonetheless terrifically affecting, and we highly recommend it to your attention.

Today's Hotness: WHOOP-Szo, Dignan Porch, Popstrangers

>> We make no secret of our affinity for the unexpected in music -- hell, even perplexity, in the right frame of mind -- and the latest band to wow us in that regard is Guelph, Ontario-based psych-pop explorers WHOOP-Szo. The act, which just this week self-released their incredibly ambitious and apparently third LP Niizhwaaswo, has spent a substantial amount of time living in "Arctic Canada" among certain Inuit people, and a curious email we received described their latest release as "our third and final document of our adventures" there. The songs on Niizhwaaswo are bathed in a manic, modern psychedelic sensibility; soothing faraway vocals anchor a collection that otherwise readily sprawls in every direction with a sort of aural schizophrenia. While perhaps hard to grasp at first, this is truly rock music that betrays little in the way of traditional influence or stylistic corruption. Instrumental opener "Boat Cave" establishes a mood with long blasts of feedback, organ and all manner of squiggly fuzz sounds, as well as jazzy percussion, all of which serves to introduce the improvisational nature of the band. By the next track, "CSG," group vocals bathed in reverb and atonal chordings make overatures toward a traditional tune, but are ultimately scuttled by metallic chugging, snotty screams and a derailed train ride of moans and yelps. "Myeengun" recalls EVOL-era Sonic Youth, and their bruised and tense no-wave sexuality. Lead single "Jan. 3rd" even more surprisingly peels things back to reveal an acoustic strummer befitting of certain songs in Kevin Drew's repertoire. "I'm Outside Looking In," they sing, on their one truly "normal"-sounding song, and really no sentiment is more fitting, especially considering where this set was recorded. Given the vast amount of terrain it covers, Niizhwaaswo is shockingly brief. In today's ultra-connected era, one expects nearly every musician to have consumed heaps of other styles and touchstones that set general parameters before she or he ever writes a note, but WHOOP-Szo are the exception to the rule. Are these guys the spiritual successors to yesterday's unhinged, experimental improv pop ensembles like The Red Krayola, The Pop Group or Butthole Surfers? Maybe. Either way, we're all lucky that there are still creative minds out there that can so interestingly break free. We highly recommend Niizhwaaswo, which you can purchase here as a beautifully silkscreened, single-sided vinyl LP or digital download. Stream the entire LP via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> Coming June 16th is yet another classy slice of mid-fi goodness from Brighton, England's reliably great Faux Discx label. We speak of the third album from South London-based jangle merchants Dignan Porch, the one-time bedroom pop-ject of one Joseph Walsh (no relation, we're sure) that is now a quartet. Their forthcoming set is called Observatory, and, based on the jaunty pop of the preview track "Wait & Wait & Wait," we expect it will be a fine compendium of the band's signature refined guitar-pop sound. Having already released two albums on New York's renowned Captured Tracks imprint, Dignan Porch are hardly newbies. "Wait & Wait & Wait" is a fuzzy, bouncing and vaguely country-tinged track with a fine dual vocal harmony throughout the verses. The tune touts a fantastic pop structure, with a subtle, sly chorus that sneaks up on the listener. Tasteful guitars never showboat, but instead inhabit the sad, patient groove in ways the Velvet Underground's Sterling Morrison was particularly adept at on those classic live albums. Even more special are the last three chords of the main riff, which are emphasized by the drummer's crash cymbal and effect a great downward run that perfectly highlights lead singer Joseph Walsh's melancholy, choked-up acceptance as he waits, and waits, and, well, you know. Preorder Observatory on 180g vinyl or as a digital download right here. If you want that vinyl, act fast: according to Bandcamp only 36 of the original pressing of 500 flat circular discs remain unsold. Stream "Wait & Wait & Wait" via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> In the run-up to the release of it latest LP, London-transplants Popstrangers have played a perfect inning. The first brace of preview singles, the undeniable "Country Kills" and dark groover "Don't Be Afraid," stepped to the proverbial plate with quality, and a third preview single from Fortuna, the trio's recently issued sophomore set, loads the bases. "Distress," is a delay-soaked classic punk rocker, sporting the band's characteristic textures, a free-wheeling sensibility and a sly chord arrangements. The tune touts fantastic, seemingly off-the-cuff verse melodies that present a perfect aural foil to the song's straightforward guitar strumming. "Distress" builds to a brilliant if cloudy Britpop plea in the chorus ("Why don't we all just stop fighting?") that, interestingly, evokes the more accessible cuts from (formerly) fellow New Zealanders Bailterspace. Indeed, the press materials accompanying Fortuna make light of Popstrangers' transition from their native NZ to London, so maybe, just maybe, said evocation is a friendly shout-out to a life left behind. Popstrangers' grand slam, of course, is Fortuna itself. Released just last week in the U.S. on the increasingly formidable Carpark label, the collection confirms what this reviewer suspected -- Popstrangers are capable of applying their careful sense of texture and production to an entire, dynamic set of songs. Opener "Sandstorm" dramatically shifts between dreamy picked passages and a key-changing strummed chorus. "Tonight" conjures more of the odd, choppy, upfront guitars that made the dynamite album highlight "Country Kills" so thrilling. Closer "What's On Your Mind?" further evidences that this band's boldness at marrying together disparate slices of songs to form unexpected, poppy epics. Carpark released Fortuna May 23; purchase it right here, and stream the entire collection via the Spotify embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Premiere: Soccer Mom's Crushing LP Soccer Mom

We are exceedingly pleased to premiere today the self-titled, full-length debut from the mighty Boston shoegaze foursome Soccer Mom. More than four years ago, we decided this was an important band, and despite the protracted wait (which was honestly little surprise, given the premise of our first feature on them), here today the quartet resoundingly and at long last delivers on the promise of its clutch of early singles and the crushing 2011 EP You Are Not Going To Heaven. Certainly all that time seems to have been put to good use: Soccer Mom is a painstakingly crafted, likely career-defining collection that positions the act for national attention. The LP contains powerful and beautiful music explosively rendered from charred shadow and blinding light. But the biggest accomplishment of Soccer Mom may be the containment itself: Soccer Mom in effect cages the beast, tidily confining -- without stifling -- the visceral squall of the band's live sets in such a way as to reveal the elegant architecture and compelling emotion that comprise the bone and flesh of Soccer Mom's music.

The album sits in a strange place: it sounds like a lot of things -- Soccer Mom typically draws references to Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Swirlies -- but very few things in the contemporary soundscape within and without its native Boston sounds like its synthesis of shoegaze, post-hardcore and post-rock. While not overtly mathematic or emo, Soccer Mom wields its very considerable charms not just through raw power but also via big dynamic shifts and face-stinging emotions. One feels it as the towering walls of textural guitar crumble into slowly picked melodies in "Orejas," or while the chords of "It's Probably Not Your Fault" stutter, grind and wantonly feedback in the song's final thrilling minute. It's in drummer Justin Kehoe's clever consolidation of new wave and hardcore playing, which skitters like mechanical mice in "Sundown Syndrome," and routinely spurs jarring transitions. And it's in Danielle Deveau's bass playing, which serves as the still point of turning that anchors the record.

The album's emotional impact is firmly indexed to those big dynamics, a key factor in making the music so engaging, even as it comes in a variety of flavors. There's the cool, clinical reportage of co-fronter and guitarist Will Scales' "Hideaway Sands," or his troubling final understatement ("you don't seem like yourself") in the buzzing and grinding "Open Heart Surgery." Co-fronter and guitarist Dan Parlin's desperate, declaratory vocal in opener "It's Probably Not Your Fault" (a title that feels equally sarcastic and sad, but knowing this band it probably is a sound bite from a reality TV show) is just as affecting as his poignant, introspective query "what's a boy to do, but hang around with you?" in the aforementioned "Sundown Syndrome." Many of the songs on Soccer Mom are burnished by the subtly applied vocal contributions of Deborah Warfield, who has in the past served time with the aforementioned Swirlies and collaborated with former Autochrome fronter Jeff Bartell. Notably, instead of weighing the mix down with yet another element to manage, Ms. Warfield's voice, while often barely there, provides a sense of lightness, that, were this a different kind of album, we might even consider uplifting. We extend kudos to recording engineer Shaun Curran of Somerville, Mass.'s Napoleon Complex for executing a very precise mix that, as we stated stated supra, reveals and even illuminates Soccer Mom's music. The band writes terrific melodies worthy of its oft-cited shoegazing progenitors, and now you know.

Soccer Mom will be released Thursday via the New York-based 100m Records as a vinyl 12", compact disc or digital download. The release is being feted May 3 with a live show at Boston's Great Scott rock club; dream-pop titans Infinity Girl, shoegaze behemoth Bedroom Eyes and indie rock upstarts Palehound also perform, making the evening one of the most rewarding you will likely see in a small Boston club this year. Here's the Facebook event page for the show. We are given to understand Soccer Mom will have merch on-hand, including some fetching shirts, so start saving up your shoe-shine tips now. We'll see you Saturday.

Soccer Mom: Facebook | Tumblahhh | Twonger

Selected Related Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Soccer Mom
Clicky Clicky Presents A Benefit Show For Community Servings Featuring Soccer Mom | 3 Nov. | TT The Bear's
Footage: Soccer Mom's Devastating "A Canoe Shy"
A N D I F O R G O T A L O N G T I M E A G O H O W Y O U F E E L
Midriff Residency Night X: Home for Little Wanders Benefit With Soccer Mom
Clicky Clicky Music Presents... N O F U C K I N G W H E R E
That Was The Show That Was: Soccer Mom Record Release Show | TT The Bear's Place | Sept. 23
Be Prepared: Soccermom | You Are Not Going To Heaven EP | 3 October
The New Sound Of Slack: Soccer Mom Surfaces Slowly

Today's Hotness: Myrrias, Creepoid, Popstrangers

>> Philadelphia's Myrrias is a relatively new quartet which played its first shows late last year, but a short set of demos already has us very excited about the future of the futurepop act. The all-lady combo's "Focus," "Pattern" and "All Alone" were recorded by brilliant Philadelphia producer (and Arc In Round ringleader) Jeff Zeigler, and their fully realized, airy dream-pop suggest that the band has great respect for notable forebears like Lush and Cocteau Twins. A bit of Googleplexing indicates that the foursome is comprised of Philly scene veterans, including fronter Mikele Edwards, who also plays in the aforementioned Arc In Round, and drummer Casey Bell, one cog in the machine of guitar-pop upstarts Break It Up. Myrrias' terrific digital single "Focus" boasts icy and engaging guitar and synth, a galloping bass line, tom-centric drumming, and arrestingly layered vocals (as well as Mr. Zeigler's characteristically rich aural texture). April Harkanson's spiraling guitar work is immaculate, with layers of effects adding a palpable edge and electric excitement to lead guitar lines that seem to grow ever wider and wilder. The dual female vocals are a joy, and the close harmonies remind this reviewer that such an effect is all too rarely employed by today's indie rock bands -- a real shame. Myrrias state the song, and two others available to stream, will feature on an forthcoming full-length, which we are now very keen to hear, so hopefully momentum is in place to get more music in the proverbial pipeline. If this is the future of Philly indie rock, sign us up. Myrrias' next show is in Philly at Ortlieb's May 22nd. In the meantime, all three songs can all be streamed via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> And more from Philly: from our lofty vantage point it appears as if the focus of any purported '90s revival (to the extent such a thing exists -- a discussion for another day -- and as opposed to the '80s Revival -- Ed.) of the last few years has shifted sub-genres: where contemporary acts once doggedly mined the noise-pop and shoegaze sounds of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine and bands like them, downer grunge and sludge rock now seem to be coming into their own as sonic signifiers. "Wet Bread," from Philadelphia nu-gazers Creepoid, is among the latest songs to wow us, and would seem to have identified a cozy place in the middle. Hot on the heels of the band's self-titled sophomore set on No Idea records, this latest cut features on the forthcoming Wet 12" EP. The short set will be available for Record Store Day later this month via the mighty Graveface records. All four songs are programmed on the A-side, the flip features an etching, and the vinyl is hand-poured by Daniel Huffman of New Fumes. "Wet Bread" rolls out a deep, woozy guitar groove like so much thick pink fiberglass insulation, a sound turgid with distortion. Hooky, spoke-sung male vocals guide the verses and harken back to the slinky, reflective and narcotics-infused croon of, although we hesitate to say it, Kurt Cobain (you know, before he would start screaming during Nirvana's choruses). The EP exhibits remarkable diversity amongst its four tunes: "Blinding Halo," a piano-appointed, atmospheric composition, marshals a marching cadence, eerie guitar feedback, and sampled conversation that again reminds this reviewer of Mr. Cobain's wandering surfer drawl. Closer "Truth" highlights Anna Troxell's vocal, mixing it high as half of a smokey duet, amid bent guitar notes and the tune's generally gnarled glory. -Stream "Wet Bread" via the Soundcloud embed below, and get thee to a hip IRL record retailer April 19 to get your hands on the special one-sided 12" -- Edward Charlton



>> New Zealand noisy guitar-pop heroes Popstrangers are extending a very productive streak in the wake of its excellent 2013 album Antipodes (which we wrote about here and here) and a great 7". Last month the trio announced a new full-length, Fortuna, which will be released by Carpark Records May 27. A winning preview single from the set called "Country Kills" highlights a restless band drawing on a wider array of influences. The tune's choppy, two-chord riff and skittering drum cadence in the verse bash out a pleasing if awkward groove, one that is all the more engaging because of its curious posture. Especially pleasing are the slightly dissonant lower notes on the guitar, which counterbalance the higher tones establishing the groove and take a dynamic downward run at the end of each verse. Unsurprisingly for Popstrangers, the chorus touts a pretty-yet-aggressive, anthemic dimension that feels scaled for the arena. A brief bridge unexpectedly and momentarily steers the song into epic dream-pop; the unexpected, cascading and beautiful tumble suggests Fortuna may be the record that cements the Popstrangers as New Zealand's most vital and original contemporary pop artists. Pre-order the 10-song set from Carpark right here, and stream the completely dynamite "Country Kills" via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: National Park Service, Francisco Franco, Spectre Folk

>> Not since the early days of file sharing or the rugged heyday of affordable used-record stores has this reviewer experienced so much adventure. Adventure with what, you ask? The contemporary, underground cassette culture, that's what. It's no news that the tape scene is experiencing a renaissance, as the present disheveled state of the music industry has encouraged artists and consumers to reconsider the medium. The colorful, home-grown masterpieces one can find when navigating the wide-open possibilities of plastic cases and spooled reels both delight and abound. Take, for instance, our happenstance discovery of The National Park Service, an anonymous, Cleveland-based experimental artist (not to be confused with the LA- based Americana concern) whose soundscapes dazzle the ear. The outfit's first publicly issued cassette I Was Flying, released via the lovely Lily Tapes and Discs label last month, presents a tastefully pastoral twist on dream-pop and ambient music. NPS here employs many of the methods of loud shoegaze, including feedback washes, loops and backwards guitar tracks, but manages to temper its aural explorations into sculpted instrumental pieces that suggest autumnal introspection as opposed to delirium. "Community Sunburn" inserts the listener among field recordings of what sounds like a seaside marketplace; one can almost feel the crisp coastal air biting at woolen sweaters as looped guitar erects a motif of knotty whirring and distant booming. NPS proves a master of the greatest tool of the ambient artist: the fade-in. One is employed to great effect on "Road Dog," a piece that transitions effortlessly from a collage of pitch-shifted mumbles, distant percussion and stray noise to a front-porch acoustic guitar exercise and then again to trippy, reverse-guitar dive bombing. The set's twangy acoustic guitar work provides some of the most arresting moments on I Was Flying. On "1993," "Stormwatchers," and the absolute highlight "Quick, Before It Rains," the instrument's rural timbre shines when set against the electronic textures. It has not been since Van Dyke Parks' 1968 masterpiece Song Cycle that this reviewer has felt the resonant power of this very particular and category-defying fusion of the Antebellum and psychedelic. "Put it in your Walkman and take it for a walk through the park with a cup of coffee," urges Lily Tapes and Discs, and we couldn't agree more. This is modern outdoor music, as attached to a sense of place as it is to its own joy and wonder. Stream all of I Was Flying via the Bandcamp embed below, and buy the tape here before the limited edition of 50 cassettes sells out. -- Edward Charlton



>> Another subtle and powerful instrumental group has held our attention at Clicky Clicky HQ lately, the Philadelphia-based trio Francisco Franco. The pre-released single from the act's self-titled album that was released today on New Images Limited is a cool and moody analog stunner. Called "Three Cushion Champs," the tune is a masterful almagamation of crisp, minimal post-punk and steady surf rock. Francisco Franco -- a duo comprising principals Rob Francisco and Matt Franco -- utilize simple bass and deftly layered guitar loops like fellow instrumentalists El Ten Eleven, but the Philadelphians bring to bear more of a 1960s Factory-scene vibe that would seem an appropriate soundtrack to modern-day Fishtown gatherings. After establishing a dreamy, two-chord strum, the song cycles through several tasteful changes, transitioning from reverberated, single-note leads to a tasteful bass solo (!). The entire proceedings are swaddled in warm, vintage-sounding production but are still able to concoct a breezy, pensive atmosphere. Perhaps it's the sparse drum machine, or the brittle tone to the strings, but Francisco Franco remind this reviewer of many of the early '80s Martin Hannett-produced artists that weren't afraid to reveal some bruises within their rock maximalism. A video for "Three Cushion Champs" can be seen right here; it appears to feature a bunch of footage shot along the commuter rail lines stretching out from Philadelphia into our beloved Philly suburbs. Purchase Francisco Franco from New Images Limited right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> Ah, serendipity. While perusing the New Images Limited web site for info about the aforementioned Francisco Franco, we encountered the surprisingly little-discussed news that just last week the label released a new 7" from Spectre Folk. Spectre who?, you reply. Well, the act is the long-time concern of Magik Markers drummer Pete Nolan, and also happens to be a heavy-hitting NYC indie supergroup featuring both Pavement bassist Mark Ibold and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, the latter of whom we assume has some more time on his hands following the much-lamented end of his iconic band. The A-side of the new Spectre Folk single, "Mothership," is a heady slice of wah-wah infused psych rock. While not expressing the more experimental bent that some of the members' other projects are known for, the veteran status and skill of all involved manifests itself in tasteful and vital jamming that never grows tiresome. Starting out with a loose classic rock jam, the song eventually showcases Mr. Nolan's reedy vocals; these anchor the structure with some lucid, groaning melodies. After some short incantations from Nolan, the song blossoms into eight minutes of saturated, neon guitar soloing and feedback. The superstar rhythm section shines, as Ibold's rich bass melodies and Shelley's ever-evolving snare vivify the frayed guitar shredding, which echoes the majesty of Ron Asheton's boneheaded six-string genius on the first two Stooges albums. "Mothership" is late 1960s Eastern-U.S. guitar rock of the purest, most undiluted grade, from a group of seasoned players that are not only enjoying themselves, but also reminding the psychedelic tastemakers of today where most of the contemporary trends originated. New Images Limited is clearly on a roll; support the label and snap up this great piece of wax right here. "Mothership" can be streamed via the Soundcloud embed below, and we recommend you do just that. -- Edward Charlton

That Was The Show That Was: Bleeding Rainbow | Wonder Ballroom | Portland, OR | 3 May



[PHOTO: Matt Dressen for Clicky Clicky] Philadelphia noise-pop crew Bleeding Rainbow blasted through a bristling, low-fanfare set at Portland's Wonder Ballroom Friday, visiting town in support of its third record Yeah Right, which was released earlier this year on Kanine Records. Bleeding Rainbow has successfully moved beyond the more traditional pop approach of its past and in the direction of a more calculated guitar band, one evocative of a very specific point in alternative rock history. The strength of the band's more recent approach was on full display Friday.

Opening for the Cave Singers -- a band composed of former members of defunct poppy post-hardcore act Pretty Girls Make Graves -- the group wore their hardened, tour-heavy tightness and passion on their collective sleeve. While Bleeding Rainbow's previous iteration as Reading Rainbow was perhaps a more singular vehicle for bassist Sarah Everton and guitar player Rob Garcia -- due to neat, '80s noise-pop songwriting within a minimal, duo format -- the new four-piece incarnation very enjoyably conjured Friday a jammy, early '90s buzz-rock vibe that was a welcome surprise for those familiar with their previous work. One need not look further than Goo or Dirty-period Sonic Youth to understand Bleeding Rainbow's recent inspiration; indeed, Ms. Everton's neon SY t-shirt left little doubt of this. Just about every song of the Philadelphia foursome's set aimed for the fizzing intensity of the mid-section instrumental segments of classics like "Kool Thing" and "Sugar Kane." Some bands like to evoke the 1960s Brill Building. Others want to sound like NME’s C86 cassette. Bleeding Rainbow seem bent on approximating the treasured "1991: The Year Punk Broke" VHS.

Saddled with an early set time, the quartet confronted a thin crowd that was made all the smaller by the large floor of Wonder Ballroom. Even so, the Rainbow won over the initially unreceptive audience through sheer energy. One could not help but wonder if they could have had an easier time with the audience working within the more cozy confines of one of the smaller, more indie-centric venues around town. These concerns were soon forgotten, though, as the Ballroom's well-crafted sound engineering filled the room with guitars. Bleeding Rainbow's set consisted almost entirely of Yeah Right's thick, pounding chords and loud, simple drum beats from Dominique Montgomery. In particular, opener "Pink Ruff" and "You're Not Alone" crashed through the venue with the power of a tidal wave. Everton and Mr. Garcia pushed the songs vocally with close harmonies that cut across guitarist Al Creedon's single note squeals and bloops. The band closed with a new song, "Monochrome," a stunner with pummeling open chord freak outs that had Everton excitedly rolling around on the floor. Where many bands draw inspiration from indie rock's elder statesperson, Bleeding Rainbow showed Friday they don't aspire to simply remind listeners of the alterna-heyday, they want to live it. The quartet wraps its current tour Friday, then heads back out on the road in June with the hotly tipped Boston indie rock concern Fat Creeps; full dates for that are posted right here. Stream all of Yeah Right via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton.



Bleeding Rainbow: Internerds | Facebook | Bandcamp

Today's Hotness: Royal Wedding, Halasan Bazar

>> Bursting forth with the ferocity of Link Wray's meanest, tobacco-spitting moments comes Boston's Royal Wedding. The trio's dilapidated, guttural, rockabilly skronk quickly drew us into its latest release, Inhabitants, which was released to the wilds of the Internerds last month. The EP, available as a pay-what-you-like download from Bandcamp right here, touts six skeletal and electrifying numbers. Echoed, harsh and dangerous-sounding effects fly from each instrument, but paint-by-numbers rock-shock sleaze Royal Wedding is not. Each song from the threesome's EP carries wisps of driving, atonal no-wave, like opener "S.C.U.M," the primal intensity of which recalls O.G. heroes like Mars or early Sonic Youth in the clean, serrated chops of tangled guitar. Elsewhere, singer Eric Boomhower's voice delightfully proves to be a dead-ringer for Thurston Moore at his most engaging on Royal Wedding songs including "Inhabitants" (which calls to mind Moore indulging Ramones-referencing yelps and vocal ticks in the late '80s). Royal Wedding's "This Many Phases" boasts such colossal delay on the mix in its early moments that the song nearly assumes a dub reggae posture. It's no secret that this reviewer greatly appreciates the repurposing of genre signifiers within a broad spectrum of popular styles. It's this ever-evolving conversation that creates most worthwhile contemporary music. It's also the stylistic bent that makes Royal Wedding's no-wave rockabilly fusion deserving of all the attention and praise it can get. Somebody get this band in a studio with Wharton Tiers! Royal Wedding play this Friday at Cambridge, MA's Plough And Stars, and the next day the act joins Clicky Clicky-approved garage ravers Thick Shakes at Collective A Go Go in Worcester. In the meantime, stream the entirety of Inhabitants via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton



>> With some bands, sometimes it seems they have arrived on the scene via time machine. Halasan Bazar of Copenhagen is one such act. The quintet's latest album Space Junk, available for sale on vinyl right here via the Crash Symbols label, features on its cover a rendering of a futuristic farming-colony starship. It's not, however, toward the next space age that these men are headed, but rather some imagined one from an increasingly remote past. Indeed, the group of visionary tunesmiths sounds straight out of San Francisco, circa 1966. With a warm, jangling acoustic drive, Halasan Bazar repurposes the idealistic folk-rock synonymous with a bygone California, and augments it with modern hypnagogic tape warbling and gooey, spaced-out vibes. Further bolstering that concoction is singer Fredrik Eckhoff's bouncy and playful spirit, which helps the five-piece breathe new life in to both the musical past and present. Space Junk is highlighted by "Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad," which leaps into the stereo field with thoughtfully delayed guitar leads, cheapo keyboard lines and lo-fi fuzz. Mr.Eckhoff's Neil Young-evoking slacker croon makes the tune as bittersweet as its title tidily suggests. Elsewhere, the album plumbs more mellow depths with delicate, subdued and echoed folk numbers. Closer "Ease Up" is the best of these, touting a crisp, circular lead guitar guiding soft, beautiful melodies; the songs captures an intimate spirit reminiscent of certian numbers on Velvet Underground's serene third album. Halasan Bazar counts itself one among a growing number of European bedroom recording acts that smartly appropriate elements of the 60's pop avant-garde and re-interprets it via a youthful, weirdo aesthetic that sparks new sounds and songwriting perspectives. With the Elephant 6 scene somewhat dormant -- beyond Of Montreal's funk and soul exploits -- and the latest wave of garage-revival big dogs such as Ty Segall apparently more focused on the pounding hiss of the usual chords, one hopes more acts on our side of the pond will wake up and smell some of the same acid as Halasan Bazar. We'd suggest you pull the couch out into the back yard, get comfortable, and stream all of Space Junk via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: The Raveonettes, The Cherry Wave, Videotape

>> We won't go so far as to say we dislike The Doors, as we spent far too many happy times with family in our formative years listening to the act to turn our back on them. There are even songs we look forward to hearing, such as "The WASP (Texas Radio and The Big Beat)" and "Love Her Madly" (particularly the piano playing on the latter cut). But the bloated blues often purveyed by the band now sounds lazy, and the faux mysticism and sophomoric intellectual tripe offered by Jim Morrison, well let's just say that ever since we turned onto alternative and punk music in the mid-'80s we haven't had any time for that. We bring this up because, as we referenced in our review of the new Raveonettes record Observator published by The Boston Phoenix this week, we had a moment of genuine fear that The Doors' influence on Raveonettes songwriter Sune Rose Wagner might alter his band's terrific and fizzy noir pop. In collecting materials as part of our research for the review we noted Mr. Wagner more than once professing taking inspiration from Morrison and company, and we were concerned that influence would manifest itself audibly on Observator. Fortunately, that didn't happen. As we summed up in the Phoenix: "Instead, The Raveonettes here plot the aural dimensions of a timeless autumn. Ever-present reverb casts long chiaroscuro shadows across undeniable pop hooks in uptempo strummers 'Downtown' and 'Till the End.' Observator's melancholy California come-downs are equally arresting, including opener 'Young and Cold,' one of three songs featuring piano (a first for the Raveonettes, now six albums deep" into its career. Read the entire review right here. Observator is a very rewarding collection perfectly suited to the change in season that is just about upon us. Stream the album cut "Observations" via the Soundcloud embed below, or stream the entire record over at RollingStone.com right here. The Raveonettes will perform at Boston's Paradise Rock Club Oct. 7; buy tickets here.



>> The delightfully gnarly noise-pop on the recent self-titled EP from Glasgow's The Cherry Wave captured our interest, as it fires aural pleasure centers first activated in our brains more than two decades ago. Much is made of the more produced and synthetic qualities of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, particularly by the many shimmering bands whose work interprets it. However, considerably less focus is placed these days on the early arc of MBV, and the sounds that the fabled act explored before releasing the aforementioned, genre-defining album. It's a shame too, as it's one of the best damn moments in rock music's endless evolution. MBV’s earlier recordings don't hide the band's love of the scuzzy American indie and hardcore underground, inspired as they were by noise rockers like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. In turn, of course, My Bloody Valentine influenced countless others, including The Telescopes, The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, and later Male Bonding, and now The Cherry Wave. The Glaswegian quartet, which played its first live gig only last month, extends the fine tradition with its five-song, aggressive and noisy set that affirms once more the practice of marrying blissed chord structures and dejected vocals to punky angst. Opener "Doe Eyes" touts enthusiastic and scraping guitar tracks so clotted with rich grit that they sound three dimensional. Overly dry drum tracks offer an unexpected and interesting contrast to the faraway reverb and trebly guitars on songs such as "Indian Summer." That initially might seem like a music production no-no, but it ends up grounding the mix and emphasizes the dangerous teen-hardcore aspect that lurks throughout this release and gives it real spirit. Grab this "gaze-punk" release from Bandcamp right here for a grand total of... nothing! The EP is slated for physical release on cassette next month via Good Grief (which, we presume, is this). A new EP is expected from The Cherry Wave in December, according to a post on Facebook. -- Edward Charlton



>> Pleasant surprises abound on This Is Disconnect, the full-length debut self-released by Chicago-based guitar-pop quintet Videotape Sept. 4. First there's "Static," the earworm that opens the set, which we discuss further below. Then there's the clear, yet maxed-out production that isn't afraid to keep the guitars panned and big in a way that would make Butch Vig flash a smug smile in his mid-'90s flannel factory. And finally, singer Sophie Liegh's assured vocals are a real treat, pairing less typically feminine affectations and modest allure with precise melodies. Videotape exudes a workman-like quality that doesn't seem as evident in indie music these days as it was in decades past. Of course, this reviewer is thinking of female-fronted mainstays like Throwing Muses or The Breeders, and how those groups never overshadowed their focus and taste with mystery and empty style. Sure, the Chicagoans trade in carefully conceived guitar effects and minor chords, but only to the extent that they serve the song toward building clean and pounding tracks that can appeal to anyone. Aforementioned highlight "Static" doesn't eclipse the two-minute mark, but manages to corral therein a choppy and danceable guitar lead, a demanding verse melody, sudden tempo breaks and an ethereal bridge. "No One" offers hard-hitting grunge slinkiness that somehow still feels fresh (the tune also borrows a fair bit of the great riff from Lilys' slacker-oddball "Evel Knievel"). Elsewhere, "The Creeps" captures what it must be like to have Florence And The Machine attempt the riot-grrrl-politik that characterizes Sonic Youth's Dirty. With all those pop smarts paired with such brevity, one could say that Videotape is a dream-pop analogue to Clicky Clicky-approved indie poppers Hospitality. Based on the strength of This Is Disconnect, it is certainly an exceptional band with big and open aspirations, and we're hopeful that any success they enjoy is indicative of a larger cultural shift toward their noble thinking. Buy the album via Bandcamp right here. -- Edward Charlton

Forever Now: The Infinity Girl Interview

It's that they make it look so easy, that's what initially enticed us to approach the chaps in upstart Boston shoegaze unit Infinity Girl for an interview. With almost zero warning, the foursome issued in May a very impressive full-length debut, Stop Being On My Side, which we reviewed here last month. There were no singles and very few shows to serve as harbingers for the set, making the band's sudden leap into the vanguard of the city's expanding shoegaze scene all the more surprising. With its remarkable debut out, a personnel change brought on by the departure of founding bassist Ransom for Los Angeles, and some great live bills facing Infinity Girl in August, we thought it was high time to check in with the band, which is certainly among the most promising of Boston's current crop of startlingly good young bands. Fronter and guitarist Nolan Eley and drummer Sebastian Modak were very gracious with their time, and while we ultimately didn't learn why it is the songs seem to come so easily, we did get a feel for how the band did what it did and does what it does.

Clicky Clicky: You've just released a very good record. If you could choose another, released by anyone ever, that you wish Infinity Girl could have made itself, what would it be? And you're not allowed to say Loveless.

Nolan Eley: If I was answering this for myself I might say Emergency And I by Dismemberment Plan, but as a band we'd probably go with Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth.

Sebastian Modak: I think it would have been pretty nice to have made Yuck's recent record. Personally, I would be content with life if I had played drums on Fugazi's 13 Songs (yeah, it's a compilation, but whatever). I can't even imagine what it would feel like to play those songs live.

CC: There were very few shows and no singles leading up to the release of the record. And that's one of the things that made a big impression on me: no single, no fucking around, just a handful of shows and then BOOM, a wonderful, fully formed full-length. It reminds me of the genesis story of the Greek goddess Athena. Did Infinity Girl feel like it was important to make such a strong statement right out of the starting gate?

NE: Thank you, to be honest, it was kind of surprising how easily it happened. I think we just wanted to record the songs we had and at first we were thinking it was probably going to be a 6-track EP when we initially went into the studio. We had just learned "Void" at that point and decided trying to record it. We did a few takes that weren't that great, but listening back, the energy was so good we decided to include that on the record. Shortly after those sessions happened Seb and I wrote "By Now" and we were all like 'we have to put this on the record.' So we went into the studio and recorded that. So at this point we were sitting on 8 songs and thinking 'is this an EP or a full length?' Then "Pulling A Smile From A Drawer" happened almost on accident, I was messing around with this piano at The Record Company, it's an acoustic piano but it has electric pickups on it, so I was running it through a bunch of guitar pedals, just messing around. Thank God somebody hit the record button. Anyways, after that I got the idea to record some instrumental tracks. Those, I think, helped the record really flow together as a full length and brought it up to 11 tracks.

CC: Who does the bulk of Infinity Girl's songwriting?

NE: I've done most of the songwriting so far, but the songwriting process is evolving as we play more.

SM: [When t]he band started [it was] based around songs Nolan had already written. We were already friends and I heard him playing at a weekly songwriter's circle that some close friends of mine used to run at All Asia [in Cambridge, Mass.]. I immediately started fantasizing about how great the songs would sound, louder and with a full band. What you hear on the record is mostly from Nolan's existing songs. But as the band has evolved, so has the songwriting process. I wrote the lyrics to "By Now," while I was in Spain and sent them to Nolan while he was in China... So, it's not always just Nolan. But most of the time he'll be the one that turns our ideas into something that sounds kind of like a song.

CC: The reason I ask about songwriters is that, from a songwriting standpoint, there seems to be a tension in your music between the more pure shoegaze stuff and something like "Cellophane And Gold," which is more uptempo and has almost a punk edge, or the lyrics to the chorus of "Cannons," which is surprisingly up top of the mix and pretty emo?

NE: I think the reason for this is that most of the songs on the record did not start out as a band writing them together. I have always just written and recorded music for fun. Sometimes I would keep the songs hidden on my computer, sometimes I would put them online for my friends to hear. Creating an album with a consistent aesthetic was not my priority. I just wrote the songs how I felt that day or that week. Some of them were straight-up shoegaze, some of them with complex orchestral arrangments, some folky, some electronic. I guess the songs that made it onto the record and into the Infinity Girl catalog were the ones that translated over to a four-piece rock band the easiest.

SM: It's also a product of what we're listening to. Sure, a lot of what has influenced us comes from the same time period, but when you're (subconsciously or otherwise) thinking about "Big Day Coming" by Yo La Tengo and "The Leper" by Dinosaur the result can be all over the place. And I think that's a good thing.

CC: Did you heavily demo Stop Being On My Side? I'm just curious to know how hard you had to work to get the sounds on the record? Did you bring a record to the producer and say "make it sound like this?"

NE: About half the songs I had recorded beforehand, for my own personal enjoyment, so this gave the producer and the band a pretty strong idea of what certain songs were going to sound like. Also we recorded some live demos in our practice space so we could all listen to the songs and share ideas about them. From experience I gained recording my own music, I already had a lot of ideas as far as the sounds for the record. I just had to get these ideas across to the other people involved in making it.

SM: Once we got the idea in our heads to make a record, we reached out to our friend (and new bassist) Mitch Stewart to produce. He and Pat McCusker engineered it at The Record Company -- they're both close friends of ours (I went to high school with Mitch and play in another band with both of them called Friendly People). We did a couple of demos in our practice space as well and I think both Mitch and Pat knew what we wanted in terms of sounds by the time we spent two insane nights at The Record Company. It was a really open, not to mention surreal, experience, considering the time of night we were able to get recording time, and the sounds kind of shaped themselves along the way.

CC: Shoegaze, or at least shoegaze influences, certainly seems to be having a moment in the Boston music scene right now. Does that sort of external influence, what you are seeing out in clubs and basements, factor into what you do at all?

NE: I've been mostly unaware of the local shoegaze scene until recently, and I'm pretty excited about it. I would say that the music we make mostly just comes from us liking the music we like and being friends enough to share a few hours a week together playing what we like playing.

SM: It helps that people are into it right now, but we're just a band that is doing what we individually and collectively love to do. If it turns out that people are into it, then that's fantastic and we really appreciate it. But we'd be doing it anyway if we were the only noisy band in town. It's just that ALL our shows would be at the Elks Lodge, if that was the case.

CC: The common conception is that a band in the early part of its career focuses in and settles on a style in time. Do you guys step back and think about where you are heading, about where you might be stylistically two years from now?

NE: We don't really think about this too much, I know I'll always keep writing music that reflects the music I'm currently listening to, and what's happening in my life, and we will always want to play music, so wherever that takes us is where we'll end up. As long as everyone else in the band doesn't hate me and I don't hate them we'll keep on doing this thing.

CC: Assuming people can agree on what the term shoegaze really means anymore, it's hard to think of a lot of examples of shoegaze bands that have had long, continuous careers -- much to my own disappointent, I'll say. This is sort of a loaded question, but as songwriters and music fans, do you think shoegaze is too limiting a style to sustain a band creatively over the course of, say, a ten-year career?

NE: Shoegaze is such a niche genre. Loveless simultaneously created and destroyed it. Everything that can be said in that language has been pretty much said on that album. I think the only way shoegaze bands can survive is if they have something else to offer along with it. It's not really straight-up shoegaze bands that are surviving but mostly bands with shoegaze influences; bands like Deerhunter or Yo La Tengo that have these undoubtedly shoegaze moments but are diverse enough in their arrangements to avoid being pigeonholed as just a shoegaze band.

SM: Whenever I'm describing Infinity Girl to people, I'll use the word "shoegazey," and immediately feel like an idiot. But it kind of makes sense. It's true that the term "shoegaze" has lost a lot of its significance over time, but I don't think bands like ours are making shoegaze music, in the most traditional sense of the word. Sure, we're inspired by bands like MBV and JAMC but we'll never be them or even sound like contemporaries. That music came out of a very specific time and place, both literally and culturally. What's happening now is its own beast and I think it will develop in its own way, independent of nostalgia. I think we're part of that and that will definitely sustain us creatively. The risk comes only if we box ourselves in, and I don't think that has happened or will happen any time soon.

CC: You've got two shows coming up next month. Will these be the first with Mitch Stewart playing bass live for you?

SM: Yes. Having spent so much time with the songs -- producing, engineering and mixing the record -- it was very easy having him take over on bass. I think he knows the parts better than the rest of us do at this point. Surprised he's not too sick of them at this point. That being said, Ransom is a big part of what has made Infinity Girl what it is and I hope he hates LA (joking... sort of).

CC: What's next for Infinity Girl after the shows in August? What do the next six months look like for you guys?

NE: We are just trying to play as many shows as we can around the area, and get people listening to our record. We've got an EP (probably) still in the demo stage, we haven't started recording anything yet. The songs sound summery and less dark than Stop Being On My Side does, so it would be nice if we could get it done while it's still warm out. Obviously though we're not going to compromise anything just so we can rush it out before the next equinox.

CC: Thanks so much for giving this interview, guys.

SM: Thank YOU. It's fantastic what you are doing for the Boston music scene with your blog. Far too few people are pointing people towards good music with the consistency and eloquence that you do. It's humbling to be included in all of that.

NE: Thank you for taking an interest in us! Seriously, we've all been fans of this blog for a while now and it's so cool to be included in it.

See Infinity Girl live at Precinct in Somerville Aug. 4 [Facebook event page] and at TT The Bear's Aug. 30 with the mighty Soccer Mom and serial face-melters Young Adults [tickets].

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