Rumskib - "Hearts On Fire"
It's fair to compare these retro shoegazers to Lush, at least early Lush. They have the breathy female vocals down perfectly, and the guitars are just as sonically satisfying. The drums are busier than you'd typically find in the genre which adds some nervous energy to the proceedings. It's on Darla so set your expectations appropriately high.
Jatun - "Fashion Whore"
Used this as concert report music on 4/12/07. Shoegazer instrumentals that have much more of a driving drumbeat than comparables such as Manual or Ulrich Schnauss. The keyboards provide a goth edge. Some muted male vocals appear occasionally but neither add or detract from the aural wallpaper vibe.
Celestial - "Nothing Happens; Twice"
Still sticking with the chiming guitar vibe, this has a late-80s Sarah records feel to it, Brighter is a good signpost. Drenched in reverb'd male vocals that play across an upbeat poppy background with fuzz-drenched backbeat and one crisp chiming guitar. Other tunes on this record were moodier, but I reserved the most uptempo of the bunch. Swedish so you know it sounds authentic.
Au Revoir Simone - "Dark Halls"
The lovely ladies that form this synth-pop trio tease us on the front and back cover with vaguely out-of-focus photos which suggest plenty of skin but little possibility for titilation. So I rapidly grabbed the booklet in search of further eye candy, but found only a lush green setting instead. So listeners will have to settle for an aural fixation instead (or cruise over to their website for a murky photo collection), the album contains sing-songy ditties with swapped vocal parts. This tune mentions Boston which put it ahead of the pack of consistently enjoyable brethern.
Matthew Dear - "Deserter"
Matthew sent out his latest single on a thumb drive, though I think WMBR may have just downloaded it. This song is played straight for Matthew, usually he includes plenty of busy electronic touches but what we have here is a rather simple but affecting new wave tune with dour vocals and a bubbly synth riff. Only a hint of entropy creeps in about halfway through.
The Airborne Toxic Event - "The Girls In Their Summer Dresses"
Going for the emotional side of jangly early 90's guitar pop with a prominent rhythm section, rare for the genre. In other words, it has more drive than your average early Trash Can Sinatras tune, the male vocals are croonerish in style with some lovely female backing as well. The other songs on the ep were more typically retro-postpunk. Guessing this is their debut, hopefully the name is not a precursor of things to come.
The Ponys - "1209 Seminary"
Probably the least rockin' song off their new album ... hey I can't stray too far into Late Risers' Club territory can I? Probably about as shoegazery as these guys get (which is not very), the guitars do sound very jovial and provide a bit of a flourish to this kaleidoscopic tune. But they still have the garage in their heart, don't you worry. Spun it on 4/12/07.
Pterodactyl - "Rampage 1"
From Oneida's Brah label comes a group even noisier than the host band, juxtaposing hefty guitar fuzz bursts and a chugging beat with some spindly and barely competent vocals. Has that on-the-edge-of-falling-apart loping feel, kept waiting for it to break up Polvo style but they hang together until the conclusion.
Slade - "Do We Still Do It"
From a Slade b-sides comp we just received at the station, this song has more "C'mons" than any of Cheap Trick's c'mon songs. The album itself is as all-over-the-map as the band, but of course they all rock. I went for a bubblegummy glam tune as that Slade style presses most of my musical buttons. Will be difficult to wrest this one from either Rich or Joanie's clutches.
Pop Levi - "Mournin' Light"
Speaking of glam here's a modern day purveyor of the genre. Don't know if this should be filed in the "P" or "L" section of the library but it looks to be one gentleman. If you wish Destroyer rocked out here's your wish granted as it is similar in tone but contains much more electric guitar testosterone T Rex style.
The Veils - "A Birthday Present"
Released last year in the UK, we had to wait until now for the follow up to their debut. Christopher Vyce of L&F repped this as one of his ten best of last year, unfortunately I do not concur. I can see why it tweaks his nipples though, it is more bluesy and the vocals much grittier than the smoother brit-rock execution on the first one. Couldn't find a rockin' stormer that kicked out the jams so I was disappointed.
The Soft Drugs - "Defending The Paint"
Former (and now again current) local TW Walsh of the alt.country solo releases on Truckstop and the rockin' lineup of Pedro The Lion (in other words, the last one) puts out this ep of his new outfit which is off to a promising start. Impeccably produced as you'd expect, the vocals have never sounded better. Cuts a middle ground between the Pedro emo pop/rock and the grittier aspects of his solo stuff.
Mandrew - "Princess On The Porch"
Capable power pop, a bit too earnest for my tastes but several of the songs back off enough to get the nod. Is that a vibes solo I hear? Some very smooth passages in this song make it memorable, like eating cake icing out of the can.
The Marlboro Chorus - "Hello!"
Really enjoyed the retro 60's pop (think Minders as a touchstone) on their first two records but can't find as much to recommend here on the 3rd one. Seem to be attempting to meld their bouncy style with a rock feel that borders on bluesy. Want to give them another try so I reserved a song here.
Golden Smog - "Starman"
Midwestern alt.country supergroup really dropped the ball on their most recent lp, which sounded like an unfocused mish-mash of ideas that were never fleshed out properly in the studio. This ep contains a few covers, I grabbed the Bowie tune for curiosity's sake but it's a by the numbers attempt. Believe there were Dinosaur Jr and Soul Asylum takes on there as well.
Christopher Walla - "Shattered Dreams"
Speaking of covers we were sent a compliation of Portland OR artists taking on mostly 80's favorites for charity, called Bridging the Distance. Most of the attempts seem to be one-off live recordings that don't attempt to do anything different beyond a note-by-note recreation, and as a result suffer in comparison to their originals. The DCfC singer at least updates the sound of the Johnny Hates Jazz sophisti-pop original into a smooth emo-power-pop confection. It deserves at least one spin.
The Puppini Sisters - "Wuthering Heights"
If you thought Nouvelle Vague's bossa-nova updates of 80's tunes was a seriously weak concept, wait til you get a load of this UK flavour-of-the-month. Yes, it's Andrews Sisters swing style vocal harmony stabs at hit songs (I Will Survive?!?) and classics of the era. How this paper thin premise got expanded into an album that set off UK buzz meters here in the US I dunno, as most of these are embarrising at best. My Kate Bush fandom required me to grab this one, and I must admit they do a credible job of translating the chorus. For the rest of the song (and album) ... stay far away.
The Autumn Defense - "Feel You Now"
Reasonably proficient 70's retro pop with some nice vocal harmonies and bluesy keyboards - aimed straight at The River demographic. Actually, I think I am The River demographic. Luckily it doesn't come close to supplanting Josh Rouse atop my guilty please Hall of Fame list, but that sure seems to be the inspiration.
Johnny and the Moon - "The Ballad of Scarlet Town"
Most of the cuts on this album were rather sparsely constructed country-folk-pop tunes, this one adds some extra percussion and a mandolin (?) to flesh it out into BoC territory. The "everyone join in the wordless backing vocals" ending is almost Decemberists-ish. I'm more than ok with the harmonica solo as well.
Bill Callahan - "Sycamore"
The opening guitar is almost Clientele-ish, though the rest of the song is definitively Smog. If there's any difference this has much more of a band effort vibe than any of the Smog albums. Bill Callahan's trademark am-I-singing-or-am-I-talking vocals trickle across this brightly constructed tune, quite friendly for him actually. Don't know why he went for the name change but I doubt Smog - or is that (smog) - fans will be alienated.
Mr. Flash - "Sideo Dynamite"
This electro-disco cut from a Vice compilation of Ed Banger records (volume 2) doesn't fit in with any of the preceding cuts, guess that's why I tacked it onto the end of this CD-R. Melding 70's TV theme flourishes with more current dance club flavors.
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