Happy Fuzztember! Part II

It was a sad, sad day when The Manhattan Love Suicides called it quits. Thankfully, they pulled a Royal We and just sort of dispersed and renamed. A.J. and Rachel stuck together, got a few friends, and voila! The Medusa Snare was born. Some of the fuzz was shaved off, everything's a little more lo-fi, and Adam Leach is singing. Think MLS meets the Clean meets Crystal Stilts. Awesome, right? Their debut album, Cinderella, came out yesterday on Squirrel Records. Go over to The Medusa Snare's myspace to give them a listen while you're waiting for your CD.

No mp3s at the moment...

Happy Fuzztember!

Is anyone else half as excited as I am for this month's releases?

Let's start with the glaringly awesome. The Pains are bestowing two wonderful gifts upon the world this month. First off, there's the Come Saturday 7" (it technically came out 8/31, but hey). "Come Saturday" needs no introduction or explanation at this point, and luckily for us Kip believes that if you're paying two dollars a song for a 7" both sides should be stellar. Enter "Side Ponytail." Two minutes of buzzsaw guitars, a boy/girl chorus to die for, and all the indiepop fun you'd expect from a Pains track. "Side ponytail forever" indeed.

Follow that up with the Higher Than the Stars EP, and you've got a painfully good month already (ahaa!). The title (and opening) track "Higher Than the Stars" is probably the most keyboard driven track I've ever heard from the Pains. Between the chorus-ed guitars (that's right, no fuzz at all here), and twinkling keys, Kip's breathy vocals nestle right in there. Throw Peggy in there for the chorus and you've got yourself a pretty track perfect for the upcoming fall nights. While there might not have been any fuzz to kick things off, they bring it in to wrap the album up. "Twins" is the fuzzy Pains we all love, melodramatic lyrics and all. On top of being super catchy, the refrain of "I didn't even let you down" is a testament to their lasting awesomeness.

Higher Than the Stars .mp3

Come Saturday .mp3

and here's a bonus since I think I've posted "Come Saturday" already... from the upcoming remix album:
Higher Than the Stars (St. Etienne Remix) .mp3

Home and Abroad Songs

I've been listening to Tweefort's compilation Home and Abroad Songs for the past while, and have been trying to think of a good way to summarize it. It's fit in wonderfully with how all over my life's been, so maybe "varied." Aside from offering a smorgasbord of the Connecticut indiepop scene, it also serves as a sort of indiepop style sampler. There's some jangly pop (a la Boy Genius), some noisy pop (I'm looking at you Submarine Spaceship) and some minimal electro stuff (Welcome) coming from as close as Tweefort's home state of Connecticut, to New York, to as far away as Denmark. Connecticut doesn't usually come to mind when you think of indiepop epicenters, and Home and Abroad Songs shows that while it might be at the top of the list, the CT kids show they can hold their own. They're all out of physical copies, but you can head over to Tweefort's website to download the entire album. With so much diversity there's something for everyone.

Here's the Pipettes-esqu "Andrew" from Lisa Bouvier, and the low-fi gem "You're Not Poignant" by The Procedure Club
Andrew .mp3
You're Not Poignant .mp3