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May 13, 2016

Nano Kino – Surfing On the Void (EP Review)

nano kino

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Nano Kino, a project led by Duncan Lloyd (Maximo Park, Decade In Exile) and Sarah Suri, have been of interest to this site since their very first recordings. The project has been capitalizing on their promise for well over a year now, with each successive release standing as a new career high. Surfing On the Void continues that trend with no shortage of finesse.

From the opening seconds of the title track alone, it’s clear that the band’s managed to find a new level of confidence and have fully committed to making something genuinely memorable. Falling even closer to the current field of extraordinary powerpop that’s currently emerging from Sweden, “Surfing On the Void” — the band’s finest track to date — also finds Nano Kino embracing their sunniest pop sensibilities to startling effect.

While the band hasn’t completely abandoned the stormy atmospherics that informed decent stretches of their past output, they’ve managed to integrate their formidable penchant for enthralling dynamics into what appears to be a new era of the band with an astonishing amount of natural ease. Everything in Surfing On the Void fits together neatly and is capped off intriguingly by the short acoustic closer, “New Love”, which seems to be pointing towards a very fascinating future for the project. Whatever’s on the horizon is shaping up to be well worth our attention.

Listen to Surfing on the Void below and pick up a digital copy here.

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May 13, 2016

Beverly – The Blue Swell (Album Review)

beverly

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

When Beverly first started making some waves, a lot of the credit was unfairly being siphoned from Drew Citron and given to Frankie Rose but, following Rose’s departure from the band, it’s been abundantly clear that this has been Citron’s project all along. The project’s latest record, The Blue Swell, follows the breakout success of Careers with grace and panache. The surf inflections have been honed, the retro-leaning bubblegum pop influence has been sharpened, and The Blue Swell comes off as an irrepressible statement of artistry.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as Beverly is now squarely Citron’s project, the vision of The Blue Swell congeals in a manner that’s far more unified than its still-impressive predecessor. Everything here is also sequenced beautifully, allowing the records strongest cuts to land with maximum impact. One of those highlights comes early by way of the Byrds-ian jangle of “Crooked Cop”, which the band rightfully ran as an early single.

Everything else on The Blue Swell benefits from placement while simultaneously building and/or sustaining the record’s momentum. There simply aren’t any weak tracks on the record, each one boasting the same kind of carefree summery qualities that turned Carefree into a sleeper hit. By the time the climactic finale of The Blue Swell rolls around, most listeners will likely have already lost themselves to the record’s susceptive spell. Dissect everything and The Blue Swell holds up as an exceptional piece of craft, simply let it wash over you and it quickly becomes one of the most charming records of the first half of 2016.

Listen to The Blue Swell below and order a copy from Kanine here.

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May 13, 2016

Diarrhea Planet – Bob Dylan’s Grandma (Stream)

diarrhea planet

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

After making their mark a few years back, Diarrhea Planet have refused to slow down- if anything, they’ve been fearlessly accelerating. Despite a slew of member changes and temporary setbacks, the band’s somehow grown more focused, a fact evidenced by the surprisingly sharp and (of course) ridiculously-titled “Bob Dylan’s Grandma”. The band scales back their trademark bombast here to latch onto something that feels clearer and less manic, which winds up benefiting the band in intriguingly unique ways.

By continuing to enhance their more melodic bent and trimming out the wild excess of their earlier material, the band winds up with a staggering number that somehow manages to feel completely of its time while still paying due reverence to the band’s influences from acts of decades long past. There’s a newfound emphasis on vocal performance and lyrical narrative as well, which suits the band far better than most may have expected.

Of course, there are still theatrics to be found that are peppered throughout “Bob Dylan’s Grandma” (this is a Diarrhea Planet song, after all) but even those feel remarkably restrained, especially when compared to the vast majority of the band’s previous output. Tasteful dynamics drive and, arguably, dominate the proceedings which never veer too far off of one of the most direct courses the band’s ever set. All of the unexpected choices culminate in one of the band’s best efforts to date, leaving the impression that the band’s far from over and still has plenty of things left to say.

Listen to “Bob Dylan’s Grandma” below and pre-order Turn To Gold from Infinity Cat here.

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May 13, 2016

Casket Girls – Tears of a Clown (Stream)

casket girls

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

One of the most arresting listening experiences I had in 2015 came when Casket Girls released the chill-inducing “Deep Time” and ushered in a bold new era for the band in the process. “Tears of a Clown”, the band’s latest single, proves that “Deep Time” was no fluke; the new single is one of the best tracks the band’s ever released. They’ve found life in embracing a wooziness that informs their hazy, punk-influenced dream-pop in unexpectedly powerful ways.

There are more than a few intangible elements that the band’s managed to harness in their time together and they’ve perfected sharpening those elements into something as extraordinary as it is singular. By injecting their music with an intimidating spikiness via noise, feedback, and untethered aggression, Casket Girls have created their own niche pocket.

“Tears of A Clown” feels even more aggressive than “Deep Time” while still conjuring up something that straddles the divide between tranquil and punishing. Exploring that middle ground is where Casket Girls have found a way to play to their strengths, piling on a formidable amount of hooks in the process (the pull of the “makin’ money, makin’ money” vocal hook here is as unavoidable as it is inescapable). If nothing else, “Tears of a Clown” shows that Casket Girls are rapidly approaching a realm where they can do no wrong; this is about as sublime as it gets.

Stream “Tears of A Clown” below and pre-order The Night Machines here.

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May 13, 2016

Jackal Onasis – The New Ron (Stream)

jackal onasis

Exploding In Sound has been carefully assembling one of the strongest track records in music over the past several years, so when they sign a new act to their roster it’s generally worth giving that act quite a bit of attention. The label recently acquired Jackal Onasis, a trio who specializes in creating discordant basement pop that, like much of the rest of the roster, boasts a knack for incorporating a whole host of influences gleaned from the slacker punk movement of the early ’90s.

Their first trip up to bat saw the band releasing the piercing “The New Ron” which exemplifies the exact kind of subversive, technically proficient basement pop-meets-basement punk that Exploding In Sound excels built its name finding. “The New Ron” finds its most defining elements in the nearly overwhelming amount of ideas that are packed into a scant two minutes and 13 seconds.

From the onset, the band’s exploring a surf-like bent before taking an extremely sharp left into a heavy grunge sensibility that quickly evolves into screeching noise-punk. It’s an impressively eclectic mix and, impressively, the band manages to pull it off with aplomb, never once letting the song escape from their grasp. Alternating between an airiness that skews closer to dream-pop and a brute, relentless, near-tribal propulsive angle, “The New Ron” stands out as one of 2016’s most fascinating compositions. In under two and a half minutes, Jackal Onasis make an airtight case for being the kind of band that arrives unexpectedly and blows everyone away.

Listen to “The New Ron” below and pre-order Big Deal Party from Exploding In Sound here.

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May 13, 2016

Twist – Soaked (Stream)

twist

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Buzz Records’ newest signee, Twist, came charging out of the gate just a few days ago with the surging “Soaked”. The surf-tinged basement pop number comes packed with plenty of punk bite and spells out in plain letters exactly why Buzz took interest in the first place; “Soaked” is of an exceptionally high standard and marries a twinge of noisy dissonance with a formidable, melodic core. Where it sets itself apart is in its retro-leaning pop sensibilities.

Taking an impressive amount of cues from the pop music of the 50’s and 60’s, “Soaked” finds intriguing ways to update those influences into something more identifiably modern. Utilizing subtle touches like the bell arrangements and a quasi-industrial percussion section to carve out its own place among a very crowded field, “Soaked” succeeds effortlessly as a welcoming introductory piece to a new artist that should, hopefully, be receiving a considerable amount of attention.

Sunny, battered, and tenacious in its determination, “Soaked” winds up coming across as something resembling a mission statement for Twist. If the project lives up to this glimpse at the future, then this entry will be far from the last time a Twist song appears in a featured slot on this site.

Listen to “Soaked” below and pick up the digital single from Buzz here.

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May 13, 2016

Faye – Ancient Bones (Stream)

faye

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

One of 2016’s most intriguing emerging acts made their mark with the memorable post-punk cut “Chow Chow“. That band, of course, was Faye, who have once again surfaced to offer up the haunting, meditative “Ancient Bones”. This time around, the band switches their focus from immediacy and directness to a more slow-burning, dynamic approach that pays dividends in unexpected ways. “Ancient Bones” is among the most gripping songs of the year’s post-punk output but it never sacrifices the amount of heart that propelled “Chow Chow” into a feature spot only a month ago.

The decision to embrace restraint and let the song slowly unfurl winds up benefiting the band’s intelligent melodic sensibilities while displaying an air of maturity that suggests they’re far more than a carefree party band. “Ancient Bones” also turns darkly introspective in its chorus, focusing in on a fractured relationship with a laser-like intensity that brings up the possibility the band may eventually be responsible for some of the strongest lyrical narratives of DIY punk’s slew of noteworthy emergent acts.

It’s a deeply promising song that demonstrates a tremendous amount of potential, that the trio’s capitalized on as much of it as they have already is nothing short of astounding and “Ancient Bones” serves as remarkably compelling proof.

Listen to “Ancient Bones” below and pre-order Faye here.

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May 12, 2016

Mutual Benefit – Lost Dreamers (Music Video)

mutual benefit

Back when Mutual Benefit experienced a breakthrough with the excellent Love’s Crushing Diamond, the project secured the attention of a lot of new listeners and I counted myself among that crowd. As much as I liked those songs on initial listen, they’ve grown on me exponentially over time. It wasn’t until “Not For Nothing” that a Mutual Benefit song knocked me flat (and was very nearly named this site’s Best Song of 2015).

“Not For Nothing” set an extremely high bar for the rest of Mutual Benefit’s upcoming Skip A Sinking Stone, as did its accompanying video. Thankfully, the arrival of “Lost Dreamers” quelled any doubts over whether or not Jordan Lee’s project was capable of living up to the task of matching the masterpiece that was “Not For Nothing”. A great song from the outset, “Lost Dreamers” took on even more poignancy when paired with the Ethan Samuel Young-directed music video. Separation, again, seems to be the defining crux of the song, only this time around that separation is more worldly than physically intimate.

All throughout “Lost Dreamers” there’s an acceptance of the world’s majestic sweep, that’s emphasized by erasing the human torso, allowing the viewer to get a more sprawling sense of the surroundings on display throughout the clip while simultaneously de-emphasizing our place as humans in that world. There’s a statement to be found about nature and industry but that large-scale issue is given minimum impact while the video chooses to present a more acute commentary on human perspective.

Suitably, gorgeous landscape shots comprise the bulk of “Lost Dreamers” visualization while flashes of everyday city life are integrated into the scenery in thought-provoking ways. With the palette almost exclusively leaning towards brights and tans, “Lost Dreamers” eventually registers as more of a celebration of humanity than a condemnation (while still showing a keen awareness of humanity’s potential to be irrevocably damaging).

Eventually, the formula’s switched and instead of erasing the torso, it’s the heads and hands of the people in the clip that have evaporated, subtly illustrating — once again — the importance of human perspective. By switching the focus to physicality, the clip touches on our relative meaninglessness in a way that encourages us to make the most out of what we’re given. In the end, “Lost Dreamers” stands as a moving, subversive reminder of why our own humanity matters while making a case for greater awareness. It’s a sublime piece of art that doesn’t deserve to be forgotten anytime soon.

Watch “Lost Dreamers” below and pre-order Skip A Sinking Stone here.

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May 12, 2016

WRAY – Pined (Music Video)

wray

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

One of the most unbearably tense music videos of 2016 came by way of WRAY‘s Dillon Hayes-directed clip for the outstanding “Pined”. Expertly lensed by Hayden Mason, “Pined” plays almost exclusively to the anxious paranoia that serves as the song’s driving function. Painstakingly choreographed, “Pined” is so meticulously composed that at more than one point it becomes a genuinely unnerving experience.

A loose narrative thread begins to emerge more than full minute into the clip that may or may not involve the occult but definitely involves an eerie woodland ceremony. At some point a series of shots involving a statue, tree branches, and a reflective body of water are interwoven to amplify the unsettling nature of “Pined” to an even greater magnitude. In the video’s closing moments, all three members of WRAY surround a cassette recorder that plays back field recordings before the POV switches to a skybound view of the trees, allowing some sunlight in, releasing the viewer from the relentless fear that imbued the rest of the clip (while letting it linger via the unanswered questions).

“Pined” is one of the more masterful videos, at least as far as classic filmmaking craft is concerned, to be released in recent memory. It’s difficult to parse, impossible to shake, and easy to admire. Tense and unforgiving, it’s a miniature masterpiece that succeeds in securing interest as it piles on a formidable amount of intrigue. As much of a short film as a music video, it’s the kind of clip you’ll want to show to your friends just so you can spend the next few days dissecting all of its potential meaning (and spend a few more hours getting lost to its spell).

Watch “Pined” below and order Hypatia from Communicating Vessels here.

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May 12, 2016

Patsy’s Rats – Rock N’ Roll Friend (Music Video)

patsy's rats

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Every once in a very rare while, a great song gets a great hangout clip that world-builds so effectively it’s easy to want to dive right into whatever’s being depicted onscreen and just get completely immersed in the experience. The clip for Patsy’s Rats standout single “Rock N’ Roll Friend” is that rare video. Kicking things off with a wink is the shot of someone in an Oldsmobile turning up the radio as the song swells up in the background.

What follows is a whole array of quintessentially Californian imagery: open roads, old muscle cars, skateboarding, and a quality selection of open fields. The band mimes their way through the song, throws guitars to each other, lights one on fire, and very clearly just enjoy each other’s company. It’s a video that lives in a very pure moment and it serves as the perfect antidote to the increasingly grim videos that have been populating the format’s landscape in recent times. Give it a watch (or five) and then call up some friends, take a trip, or just spend some time outside… and then do the whole thing all over again.

Watch “Rock N’ Roll Friend” below and pick up a copy of Patsy’s Rats here.

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