Today's Hotness: Ringo Deathstarr, Superman Revenge Squad, Psapp

>> Two of our favorite acts, Ringo Deathstarr and Superman Revenge Squad, have recently posted new material for streaming at their respective MySpace drive-thrus. Austin-based shoegaze celebrants Ringo Deathstarr, which commenced a rare but short strand of tour dates last night, has just uploaded two tunes, including the JAMC-ariffic "In Love" and the pop-ambient dreamer "Summer Time." The latter track is almost a shoegaze revision to the standard "Girl From Ipanema," while the former track is in the mold of Jesus And Mary Chain's controversial single "Reverence." If we recall correctly, the two tracks are intended for a forthcoming single or EP. The Deathstarr's planned live dates include three very rare East Coast engagements in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and New York. Frankly, we're astonished that no one booked the quartet in Philadelphia or Boston while it is out this way. But the world is a crazy, mixed-up place, innit? View the planned live dates here.

Superman Revenge Squad, for its part, has also added two new tracks to its MySpace dojo. One is the folksy strummer "Pupkin," and the other is the likely quasi-title track (that is, the title is in the lyrics, but is not the song title) to a forthcoming full-length from Ben Parker's solo entity. This second track, "I'm Gonna Go To Bed And When I Wake Up I Gonna Be Someone Else," opens with a characteristic spoken proclamation and segues into the manner of desperate strummery to which we've grown accustomed by following Mr. Parker's music for a little over a year. The tune also delivers one of Parker's typically self-eviscerating closing lines: ..."and looking back you weren't as useless in the sack as you gave yourself credit for." As usual, talking about Superman Revenge Squad has led us down the black hole of listening to Nosferatu D2's "A Footnote" on repeat. Nosferatu D2 was one of Mr. Parker's former bands, and as "A Footnote" is likely one of the best songs written in this decade, we're posting it below for what feels like the hundredth time.

Nosferatu D2 -- "A Footnote" -- Nosferatu D2
[right click and save as]

>> In early July we told you that Psapp would release its third record The Camel's Back later this year. Well, things have changed somewhat. While the U.K. release date Oct. 27 remains, the early November North American release has been pushed back to Jan. 20 according to an email from the quirky, London-based electropop duo. Another new bit of information: the first single from the record is "The Monster Song," which Psapp alleges is "a hugely catchy pop number, life affirming and vast." The single will be promoted with an animated video slated for release "soon." You can pre-order the U.K. version of The Camel's Back from Domino right here. There are several Psapp tracks we can't get enough of, and one of these is "Curuncula" from the act's 2004 set Tiger, My Friend. Below we're posting a recording of Psapp performing the number on radio broadcaster KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic program in 2006.

Psapp -- "Curuncula (Live)" -- Morning Becomes Eclectic, 14 June 2006
[right click and save as]
[by Psapp records from Newbury Comics right here]

That Was The Show That Was: Xiu Xiu at the Paradise

To paraphrase the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, we can't tell you what psychodrama is (never fear, Wikipedia can: "In psychodrama, participants explore internal conflicts through acting out their emotions and interpersonal interactions on stage."), but we know it when we see it. And we saw it Wednesday night when Oakland, Calif.-based indie trio Xiu Xiu passionately delivered a set of its beautiful, harrowing, exploding noise-pop at Boston's Paradise Rock Club. Beyond its truly exceptional cover of Joy Division's wonderful guitar anthem "Ceremony" and several tracks culled from blogs, we aren't overly familiar with Xiu Xiu's repertoire. But Xiu Xiu's performance was quite literally spectacular (that is, "dramatically daring and thrilling"), so the set was very satisfying to behold even for a basically uninformed fan.

Mr. Stewart's group is currently completed by Caralee McElroy on harmonium, melodica and percussion and Ches Smith on drums and percussion. As the set progressed Mr. Smith's performance in particular became increasingly intense, and he often rose from his drum stool and assisted the exorcism of Stewart's (seemingly myriad and deadly serious) demons by slamming a series of cymbals. But it was nearly impossible to look away from Stewart, whose theatrical tenor readily careened between a mournful murmur and a full-throated condemnation. McElroy, by contrast, cooly switched among her instruments and offered lead and backing vocals in an understated manner. We were pleased to hear "I Do What I Want, When I Want" from Xiu Xiu's most recent set Women As Lovers, which was released by Kill Rock Stars in January. The Urban Legend, our connect for a much-appreciated guest list spot, was particularly jazzed by a re-worked version of "Fabulous Muscles."

Xiu Xiu had just been in Boston in May, and that proximity may have precipitated the relatively light turn-out last night. Even so, the floor in front of the stage was filled with scores of solemn, angular-haired fans. You can look at a few additional pictures we took during the show right here. Xiu Xiu's tour continues tonight at Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. The remaining two weeks of tour dates are posted below. Finally, because it is one of our favorites, we're posting the aforementioned cover of "Ceremony" below (which we found at this Spoilt Victorian Child post back in the day).

Xiu Xiu -- "Ceremony" -- Chapel Of The Chimes EP
[right click and save as]
[buy Xiu Xiu records from Newbury Comics right here]

Xiu Xiu: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

08/28 -- Bowery Ballroom -- New York, New York
08/29 -- Garfield Artworks -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
08/30 -- Milo -- Columbus, Ohio
09/01 -- Grog Shop -- Cleveland, Ohio
09/02 -- Crofoot Ballroom -- Pontiac, Michigan
09/03 -- Bottom Lounge -- Chicago, Illinois
09/04 -- House Cafe -- Dekalb, Illinois
09/05 -- High Noon Saloon -- Madison, Wisconsin
09/06 -- Triple Rock Social Club -- minneapolis, Minnesota
09/07 -- Aquarium -- Fargo, North Dakota
09/10 -- Chop Suey -- Seattle, Washington
09/11 -- Backspace -- Portland, Oregon
09/13 -- Bottom Of The Hill -- San Francisco, California

Clicky Clicky 200 Steps Into The Light With Archers Of Loaf

We feel our proclivity to tie posts to a news peg has kept us from simply writing about our favorite songs. So herewith we inaugurate a new series called The Clicky Clicky 200. The series casts light upon the 200 tracks that we've listened to most, as tabulated by ITunes. Point of interest: the barrier to entry as we start the series is 27 plays, which is the amount received by track 200, The Association's 1967 pop hit "Windy," a favorite of the missus.

But we're not going to go in any set order, so the first tune we'll write about is actually #198, '90s noise-pop heroes Archers Of Loaf's "Step Into The Light." The song opened the North Carolina-based quartet's sophomore collection Vee Vee, which we were fortunate enough to receive on vinyl for free as part of the spoils of being music director in college. At the time of its release "Step Into The Light" seemed like a departure for the band, whose first album and early singles were less introspective and a touch more straightforward. "Step Into The Light," by contrast patiently plods like a long, measured series of breaths. Fronter Eric Bachmann (now a solo artist) quietly pleads "step into the light, so tired of being in the dark and all alone," but the real grabber is bassist Matt Gentling's mournful holler in the background "step into the ligggggggghhhhhhht!" Bob Weston's wonderfully naturalistic production renders the guitars bristly and the drums crisply boxy (seems like an oxymoron, here it's not), but the composition itself is a slow, airy trudge. Compared to the early Archers Of Loaf material the track borders on cinematic. We're posting the album version and a live recording below; you can also grab it and a whole mess of other free Archers downloads over at the band's Last.fm page. Incidentally, we predict an Archers reunion in the next couple of years, maybe a festival one-off or something. For now, "Step Into The Light" is #198 in The Clicky Clicky 200.

Archers Of Loaf -- "Step Into The Light" -- Vee Vee
Archers Of Loaf -- "Step Into The Light (Live)" -- Tramps, NYC, 26 Nov 1996
[right click and save as]
[buy Archers Of Loaf records from Newbury Comics right here]

Archers Of Loaf: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

That Was The Show That Was: Varsity Drag with Lump | O'Brien's

We are indignant. Where is the profile for Boston indie rock superlatives Varsity Drag? Sure, we are more than pleased that we are able to stand five feet from Lemonheads co-founder Ben Deily's trio as it performs on one of the smallest stages in its hometown. But as a fan, we are conflicted by the access. Varsity Drag's material is on par with Mr. Deily's best tunes written with the band that made him "famous" (we're thinking "Uhhhh," "Anyway," "Two Weeks In Another Town," the ballad "Postcard"), but his current outfit seems to enjoy greater acclaim in Germany or even Australia than at home. Why Varsity Drag doesn't have the following that would allow it to headline shows at, say, The Paradise is beyond us.

On Friday night the act, anchored by Lisa Deily on bass and explosive drummer Mike "Panama" Quinn, treated a few dozen faithful to spirited takes on half the material from the 2006 set For Crying Out Loud, as well as about as many new tracks (or at least new to us, it looks like all the material is on the out-of-print Ben Deily compilation All These Years Gone By: Selected Songs, 1986-2001) and classic Lemonheads cuts. We always feel especially fortunate to hear the latter material, because -- as we wrote here in February -- by the time we got turned on to Lemonheads Deily had just exited the band, making it impossible for us to have seen him perform the songs created while he was with the act that Evan Dando later rode into the spotlight (Dando's current incarnation of The Lemonheads intends to release an album of covers in September).

As it had when we saw the band at The Cantab earlier this year, Varsity Drag reached back for Lemonheads' "Burying Ground" and "Second Chance," and then it threw in :: clicky clicky :: favorite "Anyway" and "Falling" for good measure. The set commenced with two of the biggest Drag anthems, the scratchy pop delight "Skinny Ties" and the powerfully wistful "Summertime." Not long after the band played its ode to legendary scenester Billy Ruane, who we recently saw storm the upstairs room at The Middle East with a tray of fresh baklava. At O'Brien's we tugged on Deily's shirtsleeve prior to showtime and he reports the band has no live dates booked until November, and he is hopeful to make substantial progress writing songs for the next Varsity Drag album in the meantime.

In the top supporting slot for the night was recently resuscitated Massachusetts power-pop quartet Lump, who turned in a surprisingly sludgy and rocking set. We're not sure if all the sludge was intentional, as the sound guy was inattentive enough at first to leave guitarist Rock's (no surname for Mr. Rock) mic out of the mix for the first few numbers. In reviewing our pictures from the night (flickr set here) we were amused to see that between the rocking out, the shorts and the lighting that Lump reminded us a little of Helmet, visually. In reality Lump is sonically more akin to bands like Small 23. We aren't overly familiar with Lump's repertoire, but we showed up hoping to hear the classics "13" and "Tatters" and we weren't disappointed. And closer "Primrose" was an immaculate noisefest that hope to witness again sometime soon. Lump is writing new material and aims to cut a new record as soon as it has enough new material to fill it. For now, head over to the foursome's MySpace dojo to stream the musical goodness.

Varsity Drag -- "Summertime" -- Live On WAAF, 2008
Varsity Drag -- "Skinny Ties" -- For Crying Out Loud
[right click and save as]
[buy For Crying Out Loud from the band right here]

Varsity Drag: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

YouTube Rodeo: Dinosaur Jr.'s "Puke And Cry" Live

A complete face-melter of a performance. We had forgotten all about the HBO show "Reverb." Not that we ever saw it broadcast, but the head WMG press guy we used to deal with back in the day was also the producer of the show. Sent us a VHS of a Built To Spill performance, he did, if memory serves. That's probably around the house somewheres. Anyway, we spent most of Wednesday evening watching Ride and Stone Roses clips, but somehow ended up back looking for Dinosaur Jr. clips from the Green Mind era. We were not disappointed. We'll be seeing Built To Spill and Dinosaur Jr. with Meat Puppets here in Boston next month. Yay.

Venice Is Sinking Re-emerges With Two New Records

[CORRECTED] So it took us several days but we've finally digested the lengthy email we received last week from Athens, Georgia's Venice Is Sinking. The superlative chamber pop quintet first hit our radar when some blog or other posted the demo track "Undecided" in early 2006. The song ended up on the full length Sorry About The Flowers the same year. In May 2007 the band began working on a follow-up, and after some protracted recording, line-up changes and other real-life business had its collective way with Venice Is Sinking, said follow-up is completed. It is called AZAR, and new tracks from the record are available for streaming at the fivesome's MySpace cabin here. When it rains, however, it pours: Venice Is Sinking has just finished mastering still another record. This set of even newer material was recorded live to two mics at the Georgia Theater in Athens, and the sessions were engineered by former Mercyland dude/Sugar bassist David Barbe.

So when will all this music be released? Venice Is Sinking isn't saying, although the email promises more information next month and perhaps only half-jokingly threatens a double album release on the order of Use Your Illusion, or more aptly Springsteen's Human Touch and Lucky Town one-two punch. The Georgia Theater record may even be released first. In the meantime, you can check out some spacey, solemn and beautiful new tracks (as well as some tour dates) at the aforementioned MySpace outpost. One new An older track, "Pulaski Heights" has been made available for download through CNET's Download.com, but we'll save you the trip and post it below.

Venice Is Sinking -- "Pulaski Heights" -- AZAR Sorry About The Flowers
Venice Is Sinking -- "Undecided (Demo)"
[right click and save as]
[watch the Venice Is Sinking MySpace dojo for ordering information]

Mercyland -- "Who Hangs Behind Your Eyes?" -- Spillage/Life Before Sugar Ryko comp
[right click and save as]
[buy Spillage at MusicStack.com right here]

In The Studio With... The Hush Now

Music bloggers get invited to rock shows. It's a regular occurrence. And so -- when it is a band we like and we're not feeling lazy -- we cover them, either on our own dime or on someone else's. But we'd never been invited into a recording studio during our stint as a music blogger prior to receiving an invitation from new Boston-based indie rock quartet The Hush Now. Despite not yet releasing its debut, the band, fronted by songwriter and guitarist Noel Kelly, is already hard at work at recording a second set. As we had just reviewed The Hush Now's self-titled debut and found it really enjoyable [review here], we took up Mr. Kelly on his offer and sat in on sessions Thursday night. The recording of the new record has not been without a little drama. The basement room of the Charlestown recording studio the band was using flooded out not long after tracking began.

This seems to have been taken in stride, and as we settled into a black leather couch in the back of the control room last week basic tracks were already complete and Mr. Kelly was beginning vocal tracks. So for a couple hours -- while also joking around with bassist Mike DiMinno, drummer Barry Marino, keyboardist Kurt Schneider and producer David Newton (formerly of late '80s Sire act The Mighty Lemon Drops) -- we listened in as Kelly did takes of a soaring, guitar-heavy anthem titled "The Atheist." Surprise, surprise, there's a religious theme to the track, a theme the guys joked would bolster the case for reserved seats in hell. The tune touts big crescendoes, not unlike the preview track "Traditions" from The Hush Now, which we're posting again below. No word on when the band's sophomore set will be released, but since The Hush Now is still mid-album cycle with its debut, we expect it will be sometime in 2009. We'll keep you posted.

The Hush Now -- "Traditions" -- The Hush Now
[right click and save as]
[watch The Hush Now MySpace dojo for pre-order information]

The Hush Now: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr