Today's Hotness: Pacific Strings, Cold Pumas

>> UPDATED: For a while there Berlin-based Pacific Strings seemed willfully obscure, as there was barely any information about the act beyond its Bandcamp page. But Clicky Clicky doggedly pursued the truth on the Internerds, and we are now able to penetrate the entrancing haze surrounding the band largely thanks to the small indie Cass Flick Records. Belfast-based Cass Flick is selling a "super limited" edition cassette version (as well as digital download) of Pacific Strings' brilliant full-length debut Woodgate Valley; the release date is Nov. 19. A cached Last.FM page -- the live page has since been edited -- reports Woodgate Valley is "a concept record about love and god. In addition, soda and tommy wright III." We can't begin to tell you what that means. What we can tell you is that we now know the names of the people behind this beautiful, mysterious record: Daniel John Boyle, Florian Zeisig and Maggie Buck Armstrong, of the UK, Germany and USA respectively. We don't know a thing about the latter two, but we've got an inkling that Mr. Boyle may be the same fellow who was a founding member of Clicky Clicky faves Johnny Foreigner, and apparently our belief about "Mr. Boyle" (we are told this is a pseudonym) is incorrect, so let's make it three for three: we don't know these folks. According to the Cass Flick Big Cartel page for Woodgate Valley, the trio formed "in early 2012 after a chance meeting on a bus, recording the eight song mini-album in a summer house on the Polish border after only a few months together. The three [members] share vocals and instruments to create a sinuous, multi-layered yet accessible sound, a combination in their own words of 'pop obsession and new world atmospherics.'"

The effortlessly gorgeous record -- one of the best of the year -- is rife with soft focus reverbs that envelope the tunes like so many blankets in an unheated apartment, yet never disrupt the head bobbing grooves. While much of Woodgate Valley aims for the female-led sensuality of Mazzy Star, opener "Ithaca, NY" emphasizes a different strength. The male lead on the tune has a great voice that brings to mind that of The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and provides the perfect foil for the song's pillowy guitar loops and vocal blips. Album highlight "Do You Love Me?" touts a simple, beautiful melody, is relatively uptempo and features a fetching vocal from Ms. Armstrong; it is all delivered in such an understated manner that it is one of the best songs of the year. Sleepy, but insistent, Pacific Strings nonchalantly exhibit such a complete mastery of songcraft and mood that we're particularly excited to hear what they do next. Pre-order Woodgate Valley right here. -- Edward Charlton and Jay Breitling



>> That a post-punk renaissance is in progress overseas right now is self-evident and undeniable, with bands like Iceage, Male Bonding, as well as the previously Clicky'd Eagulls and Bos Angeles all channeling the genre's tense, violent passions. It's unsurprising, as this new generation of bands comes of age in a global economic slump not unlike that of the Thatcher-era Britain that informed key progenitor Joy Division's digitally-smeared masterworks. Come now Brighton, England's Cold Pumas, who heretofore have been responsible for a steady trickle of singles and comp appearances. The trio's newly minted debut full-length, Persistent Malaise, is a brilliant collection of tense rhythms and disciplined guitar and bass work. Lead single "Sherry Island" storms out of the gate with a tight, hypnotic groove that trades on the sort of kraut-beat that is so much the rage these days in psychedelic circles. The tune's simple two-note guitar motif in the intro hops in and out around the thudding bass-line until the steadily slowing tempo grinds the affecting clang and drone down to a halt. Cold Pumas singer Patrick Fisher's vocals are pleasantly reverberated and wistful, contrasting pointedly with the mechanical gyrations of the guitar, bass and drums. Album cut "The Modernist Crown" is denser and more melodic, with vertiginous guitar chords bending in the chorus, but the motorik rhythm continues to anchor the proceedings. Persistent Malaise was issued by Faux Discx, Gringo Records and Italian Beach Babes Nov. 5 in a limited edition of 500 LPs -- of which apparently only 46 remain -- as well as CD and digital download; here's a link to where you can buy, buy, buy. Cold Pumas are presently only gigging in the UK, but we're hopeful this wonderful full-length might put enough wind in their collective sail to get them to the States before too long. -- Edward Charlton

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

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

A lot of people, places and things made this show happen, and they are, in no particular order: Carl Lavin; Kerri Lavin; Joe McMahon; Rafi Singer; Michael Marotta; Jeff Breeze; WMBR; Jed Gottlieb; The Dig; The Phoenix; The Boston Herald; Adam XII; RadioBostonDotCom; Anngelle Wood; WZLX; Nick Lorenzen; Tracy Gibbs; Tim Leahy; Sarafina Scapicchio; Gareth Dobson; Reuben Bettsak and the unearthly Guillermo Sexo; Sadie Dupuis and Speedy Ortiz; all the guys in Infinity Girl, who are the nicest dudes you'll ever meet; superheroes Benjamin Deily, Lisa Marie Deily and Joshua Pickering who together comprise the mighty Varsity Drag and who each deserve special recognition for their help; Alexei Berrow, Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, Kelly Southern and Lewes Herriot all of the fucking top serious Johnny Foreigner cohort, who we are proud to call our friends, including visual fifth man Benjamin Rausch and driver Evan Bernard; Johnny Foreigner's label heads J. Matthew Nix at Swerp and Jack Clothier at Alcopop; Brad Searles; William Scales, whose counsel we rely on regularly; Cameron Keiber; Richard Bouchard; Michael Piantigini; Berklee's The BIRN; Brendan Mattox at WERS. We are sure we forgot some people, for which we apologize, but the risk of forgetting someone is no excuse for not recognizing the rest of you. Cheers. Yr loved, drummed.

Despite the freak snow storm that blew in Wednesday night, the above-referenced show was a smashing success, albeit one scaled back somewhat by three inches of fairly unexpected slushy snow and 60 mile per hour wind gusts. The 100 or so folks who made it to Great Scott in Allston gave not one glaring expletive about what was going on outside once they made it through the doors, as all four bands on the bill turned in thrilling sets. Openers Infinity Girl, the hottest new band in Boston, brought their wall of sound in from the cold and made the dwindling ranks of the unfamiliar realize quickly why the band is becoming an ever-present fixture on bills around town. They normally lead off with "Please Forget," but this night they held it back, like a pitcher making a hitter wait for the fastball. It was a delicious set, and definitely the best we've seen the foursome play to date. Varsity Drag -- a very late addition to the bill after the snow forced Speedy Ortiz to cancel -- took the stage next, no sound check, hardly time for more than a "how's yer mum" as they strode through the doors and pretty much went right on stage, plugged into borrowed gear, and just slayed. Just turned in a murderously good set, filled with Clicky Clicky faves like "Summer Time," "Skinny Ties" and "Billy Ruane." It gets us every time, when they finish that latter song, and drummer Josh Pickering shouts "it's not the same!" Theirs was a commanding performance, and it included "Drowsy Owls" and "Mind Like A Sieve," new songs fronter Ben Deily is contributing to the planned Lemonheads reunion record we wrote about in September here.

After driving across Connecticut in the snow storm, a trek that took the band 10 hours door to door from New York to Boston, Birmingham, England-based noise-pop savants Johnny Foreigner finally made it onstage -- after some real-time soundcheck -- around 11:20. Just as quickly they dispersed from view, and then drummer Junior began the slow piano melody of the band's soul-crushing ballad "Johnny Foreigner vs. You," with fronter Alexei Berrow and bassist Kelly Southern singing the vocal off mic from different spots within the assembled throng, with many of the suddenly-very-young crowd singing along. The band slowly filtered back on stage, and the final note of "Johnny Foreigner vs. You" became the deafening squall of the first notes of the hyperfizzed anthem "Feels Like Summer." From there, the band turned in a shuddering, exhilarating, floor-shaking set for its Boston debut. Other tunes performed include at least two cuts from the brand new Names EP [review forthcoming], as well as classics "Eyes Wide Terrified," "With Who, Who And What I've Got," and "The Wind And The Weathervanes." A colossal rendition of "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella" inspired spirited moshing and generally threatened the structural integrity of 1222 Commonwealth Avenue. Johnny Foreigner closed with the classic early single "Sofacore," and with the final note the band ditched its gear and Ms. Southern led a giddy coalition of the willing back through the crowd and out the front door of the club to make snow angels on the sidewalk. Insane.

Boston psych-rock phenoms Guillermo Sexo, who are finishing up an extremely promising fifth collection recorded with Justin Pizzoferrato, turned in a focused, otherworldly set of hypnotic guitar workouts and steady grooves. It was the perfect way to ground and round out the evening, with singer/keyboardist Noelle Dorsey's incantations and swirling stage presence leading everyone on a journey inward. The quartet delivered thrilling iterations of "Colour The Noise" and "Skyline" from its most recent collection Secret Wild [review here], closed with the bright and elliptical new cut "Bring Down Your Arms," and then closed down the bar with the gang from Johnny Foreigner late, late in the evening. To say we are overjoyed by how the show went is an understatement, as not only was the music incredible, but we raised a nice chunk of money for Community Servings, which, as readers know, provides free nutritious meals to the chronically ill and their families. While Wednesday is just a fading memory at this point, the need for the services Community Servings provides never goes away. There are two ways anyone reading these words can help RIGHT NOW. First, if you are reading this sometime before Nov. 17, go buy a pie from our good friend Nick, who co-hosted the event with us. All of the money from your purchase goes to help feed those in need. If pie isn't your thing, you can click this link and make a donation of any amount to the organization. Finally, clear your schedules for 2013, 'cause were gonna do this again, for sure. How about some music to take us out?

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Today Is The Greatest Day

C'mon, Boston. Come party with us tonight. It's for a great cause. All the details are right here.

YouTube Rodeo: The I Want You's Gleeful "Three Short Days"

There's a lot to like crammed into this clever clip from garagey Boston upstarts The I Want You, even beyond the obvious cool factor of "hey! Lego animation!" First and foremost is the very snappy tune itself. "Three Short Days" touts fizzing, six-beats-to-a-measure (a la Pixies) verses and sugary, swaying choruses, all kinetically paced and spaced within a sharp 100 seconds flat. The video was painstakingly animated by the quartet's guitarist Blake Girndt along with collaborator Chris Newell, and it is filled with all sorts of funny details. And even some unfunny but impressive ones: we love how the traffic light is swaying in the shot about 30 seconds into song. Oh, right, the song: "Three Short Days" is taken from The I Want You's debut EP The Ocean State, which is being feted Saturday with a release show at Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA. The four-piece is also part of a completely killer bill Dec. 1 at The Midway Cafe in JP featuring all-time Clicky Clicky faves Varsity Drag along with the delightfully brutal Suicide Dolls and something called the Unholy III, who sound, uh, scary? Mom? MOM!! But anyway, The I Want You's entire five-song The Ocean State EP is available at the very nice price of you-name-it at Bandcamp right here.

The I Want You: Internerds | Facebook | Bandcamp

WEDNESDAY: Clicky Clicky Music Blog Presents A Benefit Show For Community Servings Featuring Guillermo Sexo, Johnny Foreigner, Speedy Ortiz And Infinity Girl

It is hard to believe, but after a year of planning, the date is almost upon us. This Wednesday -- no matter if tomorrow the guy we love wins the White House of the guy we hate wins -- is Clicky Clicky Music Blog's most important event of the year, a benefit show for the terrific and important local charity Community Servings. In case you missed our original announcement in August, Community Servings is a Jamaica Plain-based organization that delivers 395,000 free, home-style meals to 1,300 people per year, persons who are too sick to cook for themselves or their families. Community Servings cares for clients with 35 different life-threatening illnesses; its service includes a customized, nutritionally-packed lunch, dinner, and snack for sick clients, their caregivers and dependent children, 95% of whom live at or below the poverty level. The group performs a vitally important function supporting those who need it the very most.

So what's Clicky Clicky got to do with this? Well, we wanted to find an opportunity to leverage the blog to make a difference in people's lives, so we got in touch with reps from the organization early this year to pitch the idea of a benefit show, and Community Servings got on board right away. Then we turned around and asked some of our favorite bands whether they'd like to help support the cause, and each one agreed to help right away, without hesitating. From there the idea was off and running. And so, finally, Wednesday will feature a killer night of music, top-lined by local psych-pop veterans Guillermo Sexo, but featuring also the Boston debut of England's greatest contemporary guitar pop band Johnny Foreigner. Speedy Ortiz, who earlier this year were named the best band in Massachusetts by The Phoenix, and new-ish Boston shoegaze heroes Infinity Girl will also perform. It's going to be amazing. Doors at 9.

Tickets for the event are $10, and all proceeds from the evening go to help feed Community Servings clients. Buy tickets here; buy tons of tickets. To help raise even more cash, we will be raffling off prizes including New England Revolution tickets, tickets to the superfun F1 Boston go-kart facility, and even a brand new vinyl copy of Everyone Everywhere's excellent 2012 LP Everyone Everywhere, because, well, they sent us two by mistake. Community Servings is also currently running a larger fundraiser called Pie In The Sky, details of which are here, and show-goers will also have the opportunity to buy pies to help support Community Servings. Pie! Everyone loves pie! Jeepers, we wish we had some pie right now.

What else can we say? Please come. It's going to be awesome. We are beyond excited. Here's the Facebook event page; please RSVP, share the event, and invite all of your friends. Now how about some songs?

Review: Lubec | Wilderness Days

Around the time of the release of Lubec's brilliant EP Nothing Is Enough! we heralded the noise-pop act's music as "the definition of epic new dream pop." And while our excitement about the band is more fervent than ever, we think that assessment falls short in one respect: it doesn't convey that the Portland, Ore.-based quartet's music also communicates a charming, classic, early pop innocence. So, "epic" in scope and "new" in terms of, well, newness, yes. But the music is also rooted in and respectfully acknowledges a tradition encompassing Motown, The Modern Lovers and even Lubec fronter Eddie Charlton's beloved Lilys. This is all made more apparent on Lubec's brilliant forthcoming compilation LP Wilderness Days.

Like a Shakespearean mise en abyme, Wilderness Days contains all of Nothing Is Enough! alongside six additional recordings sequenced into a compelling whole. The full-length is intended to capture and contextualize most if not all of Lubec's early work as the band -- which began in Virginia but has reformulated on the west coast -- prepares what it considers a proper first full-length, which it is currently recording. That said, there is nothing in this collection that can be characterized as "improper;" Wilderness Days feels like a single collection of music, not a pastiche. As we've quipped elsewhere, there's only one way Lubec could have improved on Nothing Is Enough!, and that would be to make it longer. Wilderness Days, which features four previously unreleased tracks in addition to the six from the EP (free download here, incidentally), the 2009 teaser track "Gang Knife Battles" and the limited-edition vinyl single "You're A Good Idea (Theme From Lubec)," in effect does just that.

The title track is one of those previously unreleased tunes, and it is massive. The song is built up from a foundation of tremeloed guitar chords and sparkling piano accents to a shuddering, beautiful chorus. The lyric in the verse is the most tender and delicate Mr. Charlton has uttered, then the pre-chorus thunders. It's vaguely shocking that the band has held this song back as long as it has, as it makes perhaps the most compelling statement for Charlton's "sculpt-rock" vision (basically: big guitars + big melodies + adventurous sonic frequency equalizations) as any other track, even the kinetic, guitar-smeared roller-rink stomper "Your Magic Wand" from the EP or "Gang Knife Battles." Because of delays relating to pressing the vinyl, the release date for Wilderness Days has kept moving further away, like a mirage. But at least some fans recently received the "You're A Good Idea" vinyl single, which we've been told would be a harbinger for the shipping of the LP. Pre-orders are still being taken, however, and Wilderness Days is being released in a limited edition of 300 pieces packaged with poetry, sheet music and "clothing and accessories." Get in on the action before there is no longer any action to get in on, is what we'd advise, as we expect demand for the band's music is only going to increase.

Lubec: Facebook | Bandcamp | Interwebs

Today's Hotness: Endless Jags, Parakeet, Dot Dash, Soccer Mom

>> It's taken for granted at this point, to the extent that anyone really talks about it anymore. But the best part about music blogging is the band that randomly emails you, that says "check us out," and that is totally awesome. It might happen two or three times a year. The last one that blew us away was our beloved Infinity Girl (who, of course, next week will open Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Community Servings benefit show at Great Scott in Boston). But last month brought another, Portland, Maine-based indie rock upstarts Endless Jags. The sextet self-released a self-titled EP Oct. 16, and it is packed with dynamic, emo-tinged guitar pop driven by fronter Oscar Romero's impassioned vocals and overdriven by big melodies. The short set was recorded in part and mixed by Shaun Curran at Napoleon Complex in Somerville, Mass. Trivia hounds will recognize that studio as the same that produced Clicky Clicky favorites Soccer Mom's brilliant debut single and towering 2011 EP You Are Not Going To Heaven. Pegging Endless Jags' sound causes one to grasp in a lot of different directions: there's the care-free energy and care-full emotion of the music echoes that of Mock Orange's stellar First EP; the Farfisa that colors large portions of Endless Jags has not been so brilliantly deployed in indie rock since Rocketship's mind-erasingly good A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness; Mr. Romero's voice is not unlike that of The Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser. But it is the combination of these elements that makes the EP so potent, from the big crescendoes in opener "Seen Men" to the careening eponymous tune "Endless Jags." We can't wait to hear more from these guys: Endless Jags is a hit!



>> Parakeet, the side project of Yuck bassist Mariko Doi, last week quietly unleashed to the wilds of the Internet a stream of a new EP titled Shonen Hearts. If our minimal understanding of Japanese remains intact, we think "shonen" means "boy," so make of the title what you will. The music on the collection is delightfully smeared and grungy guitar pop. The lead track "Tuomono" layers rich, gritty guitar and bass over a simple rhythm and creates giddy forward movement by overlaying punchy melodies. The title track is a blissful confection that recalls The Primitives. The rest of the collection similarly pits noise against pop; it's not overtly Yuck-y, but there is an element of obviousness and inevitability that makes Shonen Hearts a rewarding listen. The London-based trio's short set is due Nov. 19 as a limited edition gold (we assume gold-colored, not, like actual gold) cassette available exclusively from Rough Trade in the UK. Pre-order Shonen Hearts right here, right now. Parakeet over the weekend played two UK shows with The Walkmen (there's that band name again...); the trio embarks on a short strand of tour dates Nov. 11 with the hotly tipped Diiv, which tour includes stops in Berlin and Cologne in Germany, Kortrijk, Belgium and two dates in London. Parakeet debuted with a single in April, "Tomorrow" b/w "Paper, Scissors, Stone," that we wrote about right here.



>> We've slept on it for weeks ands weeks, but the forever-solid Terry Banks and his band of merry indie veterans in Dot Dash returned last month with a cracking sophomore set, Winter Garden Light, that we've been spending a good deal of time enjoying. Yeah, the title sounds like an installment in the Dragonlance fantasy franchise, but we assure you: this is a very fine collection of indie pop tunes from a coterie of top-shelf scene veterans of bands including Julie Ocean, The Saturday People, Tree Fort Angst, Modest Proposal and legit hardcore legends Youth Brigade. Mr. Banks, et al., craft quality guitar-pop tunes that plant one foot in the future whilst dangling the other in the band's collective college rock past. And like Wire, from whose song Dot Dash takes their name, the D.C.-based act's approach is simple: each tune is an astutely realized nugget of punky songwriting relying on a few chords, aggressive bass work, and swoon-inducing backing vocals. "Writing On The Wall," a stand-out cut from Winter Garden Light, commences with an arresting bass descent paired with Banks' pleasant power-pop patter. Trebly, slapping rhythm guitar follows the vocal, as Banks peels off anthemic lines that penetrate your head like "a penny for your thoughts, my kingdom for a horse." The song closes with perfect snare rolls and a great guitar breakdown evidencing the band's tasteful deployment of delay and minor keys. Winter Garden Light is available now from The Beautiful Music label. -- Edward Charlton



>> Avid readers will recall that a month ago we wrote about the crushing forthcoming single from Clicky Clicky faves Soccer Mom. At the time we could tell you about "Brides" b/w "Canoe," but we weren't able to share any music with you. That's just no way to leave things. So fortunately we're now able to share with you a stream of "A Canoe Shy" (that's the full title of the tune, yeah) below. The song highlights the Boston quartet's dense, punishing guitar attack, features one of founder Dan Parlin's most affecting vocal melodies, and is also notable for being the first official 'Mom release featuring Mr. Justin Kehoe pounding the skins and hardware. As we said last month, Soccer Mom plays a very hot bill Monday at Great Scott in Boston, an evening that features the hotly tipped Tamaryn and west coast shoegaze luminaries Young Prisms. "Brides" b/w "Canoe" will be released by 100m Records the following day, and you can pre-order your copy right here if you aren't able to get to the show to buy one straight from the band.