[2010] Small Black - New Chain

Holy. Motherfucking. Shit. Yes.

Small Black - Goons

[2010] Sri Aurobindo - Cave Painting

I couldn't find out a whole lot about this band. Named for some famous spiritual dude. Genre label tells you all you need to know. Click below to listen to one of my favorite tracks, "Find The Door". Found this on (new to me) music blog weedtemple, which also has a link to download the album, though I recommend you listen to it for free on bandcamp and buy it if you decide you like it. That's what I would do if I had money! (I don't have any money. If you have any money, can I please have some? no? jackass.)

[2010] Waggers Over The Station - Upekkha first impression

Waggers... appears to be the work of one Casey Shew, an unsigned artist who mixes ambient soundscapes full of pops and crackles, thoughtful and engaging percussion, and ethereal acoustic guitar with vocal samples and mostly mumbling male vocals. Climaxes build out of howling wind, twinkling bells, nice thick synths, and escalating guitar, and you wonder if this is what Mount Eerie would have sounded like if it had been taken in a more instrumental direction. And that's just the first two tracks. Suddenly, traditional melody appears. Accordion, more croon to the vocals...is that a marimba? I'm thoroughly engaged - and just as quickly, the tone turns darkly vicious. The anguished shrieks are a bit too earnest and jarring, but on the whole, the transitions on this record are actually fairly smooth and feel quite natural. The pacing of this record will either really please you, or will have you hitting "delete" before the first song even really gets going. Only halfway through the album as I write this, I can tell it won't appeal to many, but this is the kind of self-indulgent turd-sculpting that I love most. I found it on Dying For Bad Music, my favorite blog that's also a label, and it says here that there's an overt Mount Eerie reference on the album, but I haven't noticed it. Maybe the tiles of the first & last track? Who care.

Since it's being distributed online for free, that means I can too. Click here to download Waggers Over The Station - Upekkha

Moon Duo - Live @ KEXP, 2010

Moon Duo live @ KEXP, a nice studio session. To all the REAL Moon Duo fans (you know who you are) this is old as the hills but still, watch and love Stumbling On 22nd St., with it's jaw-dropping guitar work (that is my jaw you hear dropping, actually):



You can also see Killing Time, Dead West, and Motorcycle, I Love You on the youtube. If you want to listen on a non-YouTube device of some sort, here's some mp3s!

Moon Duo - KEXP 2010 (mediafire)

Gary War, The New Lines, and Flight!

What do these three bands have in common? I've been listening to them non-stop for a few weeks now. Helplessly. Also they're kinda obscure-ish. But am I listening to them BECAUSE they're obscure? I don't know. I'm self-aware enough to know if I'm being a tool, I think (just take my word for it) so probably not. So because I'm listening to these three bands all the time that I love, but they're obscure, it leads me to the conclusion that the internet has magically found me (at least) three bands that appeal to me in a very niche way. Sort of like the G-spot is hard to find but if you get a thousand tries you eventually find it (wait, nobody else has that problem? I AM A TERRIBLE LOVER). Overexposure = good.

Gary War (cover(?) of upcoming EP Police Water above.) JUST LISTEN TO BORN OF LIGHT ALREADY. Very excited about November whenever/etc/whatever when it comes out via Sacred Bones. I really don't have anything to say about Gary War other than "psychedelic insane genius" and don't expect me to go into why I love this sound beyond reason. I know this is a "blog" for "writing" but really. Swirly synths, punchy tempo, hacked up vocals tearing through the songs like a chainsaw and it ALL WORKS. ah. Buy all of his albums and singles and stuff. The MP3 is from internet blog of note Gorilla vs. Bear (more Gary War posts, GVB). Also, watch this Viva Radio video of a song from his '09 Horribles Parade album:


Flight. They / him (whatever) is a loud crazy band from Mississippi that rocks my socks. Style over content wins the day here but hey, who cares? If you're going to rock, do it in STYLE or STYLE BEFORE COMFORT etc. You know what I'm getting at. Give Ghosts a try @ Weekly Tape Deck. If you buy the single, Crackerjack Woman is one of the best b-sides (ever).

The New Lines. Brooklyn band that writes great pop tunes, ah! I see them as an early Broadcast in technicals, Belle and Sebastian in feel, and with a sort of charmingly unguarded simplicity of sound that feels very unique to me. Other things that get me: lots of repeated phrases, interesting time signatures, and overlapping melodies mixed with vocals that hover above in their own world. It's interesting stuff. Admittedly, I've been limited to their myspace tracks and last.fm songs, but luckily they've come out with a Beko single (GOD I love Beko. even when it's bad it's good.) Love it. 'Kings Civil Calendar Control' & 'Windimir And The Gift Of Death' are two songs that encapsulate everything great about them (though they are more polished than the other stuff you find floating around). Download their Beko single here.

Anyway, enough about the stuff I love and can't get enough of. The earnestness of this blogpost is DISGUSTING.

[2010] Eluvium - Similes

Also, the Eluvium album. You probably already know it. I like it too.

[2010] Small Black - Small Black

I'm sorry. I love it. I just can't help myself. It's catchy, it's thoughtfully detailed, and it's unashamedly twee in some way that's difficult to describe. I've heard they suck live. They're getting plenty of buzz without my help. I don't care. Good music is good.