Sort of a Big Deal

I got an email from Records Records Records Records about three weeks ago concerning Big Deal's debut single, and am just now getting around to posting about it. Too much homework and not enough time makes SugarSours a dull blog. Ironically, the a-side, "Homework," is about one very good reason for not being able to do it. It being homework, get your mind out of the gutter.
I've always had a soft-spot for folksy pop songs, especially when they involve harmonized boy-girl vocals and are about things like not being able to do homework and walking home from school. Needless to say, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy on spiffy vinyl if that sounds remotely appealing. If you're still skeptical, watch the video and I'll spare you an "I told you so."

Le Futur Pompiste

I've been on a hiatus of sorts, but nothing compared to Le Futur Pompiste, who are putting out their second album after a six year interim.  The sheer fullness of their self-titled sophomore release on Shelflife Records is proof enough that they haven't been sitting on their laurels, and with all the layers and swells and keys and guitars, Le Futur Pompiste have started to sound a lot like a Scandinavian Rocketship. And in case the banner isn't a tip-off, I'd say that's quite the accolade. Having Ms. Jessika Rapo of Burning Hearts fame on vocals is just icing on the cake.  Now, I like to categorize music into soundtracks for life, you know, "this album I can dance to, this album I can sleep to, this album I can cook to" and so forth, and Le Futur Pompiste was no exception, except, well, it was sort of difficult to pigeon-hole.  It's not so introspective that you wouldn't listen to it around other people, so maybe you'd play it at something intimate.  It has a certain openness to it, so maybe you could listen to it outside, but it has an almost ethereal quality that you'd probably want to just sit and enjoy.  After a couple listens I figured out that it would be a perfect soundtrack for a picnic, but not just any picnic, it would be perfect for a picnic through infinity where when you look up you see this:

and the only disturbance is that little skip when the album starts over.

But don't take my word for it, order it here, and download the complimentary .mp3 copy.  Once you've done that, pack a snack, and head outside and just lie on your back and listen.

For the abridged experience, download Five Hundred Heartbeats and look out a window. 


Five Hundred Heartbeats .mp3

Basement Scam!

It's almost worth a turkey trade off...

This Friday is the very last Basement Scam night at the Buffalo Bar, and headlining are Foxes! from Brighton who are fresh from their tour supporting nautical folk band Stornoway. Here is the video from their "Who Killed Rob?" single which was released earlier this year, which as you'll agree is a right indiepop stomper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umYxAvsjWyI

Blood Oranges will also be playing their first London show in support of their new single which is out on Things to Make and Do on the 29th November and yes there's another awesome video (with a semi naked man in it!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOqVuXjGHMI

Supporting we have London favourites Evans The Death and Plantagenet 3. Tickets are only £5 and available in advance from http://www.wegottickets.co

m/event/99378

What do a cucumber and cassette have in common?

They're both cool in a crisis! Yeow! I'll be here all week.


























Really though, Cool in a Crisis is a great start-up cassette label hell-bent on spreading lo-fi, cuddly, pop goodness. Their first release will be a split between California's Sweater Girls, and the UK's The History of Apple Pie (who I've written about before), that's due out on November 14th!

You know The Softies? Of course you do. Now double them. And add one. You know what you've got now? Sweater Girls. It's like Rose Melberg got stuck in LA and tried to start a jangle-pop band. All four Sweater Girls tracks on this split are totally cute, about pretty smiles and picnics in the rain.

Sweater Weather .mp3


I was also happy to see that The History of Apple Pie are still around, and still making their lovely kind-of-fuzzy-but-not-really pop songs. I'll forgo the stupid analogy this time and just get to the point; The History of Apple Pie have 3 solid popsongs on this tape and each and every one of them have that perfect blend of fuzz, reverb, and harmonized girly vocals.

You're So Cool .mp3

Big Wave Riders

They're from Finland. They also play some great surf-inspired, new-wave influenced, 90's-throwback tunes. Now you're probably thinking, "Surf music from Finland?" but here's a fun fact for the day: Finland has over 600 miles of coastline, and from the surfers I know, where there's water, there's someone with a board. Anyways, you don't need to surf to drench your guitar in reverb. Think Devo backed by Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet, and, well I don't know, pick a guitar based pop band. I'm terrible with the whole comparison thing, but that amalgamation is Big Wave Riders. Summer Cats actually come to mind when the keys kick in on "Republic of the Average." Yeah, let's go with Summer Cats. So if that sounds like it might tickle your fancy, listen to or download "Republic of the Average" and "Big Sound" here. If it doesn't, well, give it a go anyways.

All our money goes to 7" singles, cardigans and traveling around the world

No new music, just youtube solid gold. Whoever made it fess up, because you're comic a genius.

OnomonoPOWERPOPia!

I think lethargy is a chronic condition. I've been meaning to post on The Tyler Trudeau Attempt's 7" for ages and just haven't. Alas.

So hey! The Tyler Trudeau Attempt have a 7" out on February Records RIGHT NOW! Sometimes you need a little kick-start in the morning (or morning, evening, and then morning again in my case), and These Are Dark Times is like a powerpop-punt. The surf inspired riffs mixed with a heavy dose of reverb and distortion get "The Are Dark Times"' proverbial foot in the door of the reverb-drenched garage scene that's so hot right now, but make no mistake, this is solid power pop. Flip it over for "We'll Win This One Yet," and wind things down as Tyler winds things up, doubling the tempo before just drifting off.

These Are Dark Times .mp3



















And then there's Life Size Maps, who take the chamber pop route, breaking out the fucking cello while still keeping all the classic aspects of 90s power pop. Sing-along-ability, bop-along-ability, and rock-along-ability are all there, but don't write off Life Size Maps as just Superchunk with a cello. They incorporate everything from the Beach Boys, to 50s pop, to classical to make something all at once familiar and refreshing. But don't take my word for it, check out the "Seems to Me" .mp3 that's right fucking here! Or, make your way out to Spike Hill in Brooklyn on October 1st for some live action.

Sssshhhhhhh.....

Keep your voice down. I've got a secret. No, I can't tell you, it wouldn't be much of a secret if I could, would it? I'll give you a hint though, I heard it from Camila, and she heard it from Colin, and it's wonderful. Almost as wonderful as the new WeePOP! Let's Wisper EP. Or maybe a little more. I'm not so sure, but I do know those four tracks on that little CD are the best four consecutive tracks I've heard in a long time. I also know Let's Whisper are a bunch of sadists. Well, two sadists anyways. Why would I say that? Because they schemed a diabolical scheme to rope unsuspecting listeners in with the catchy and oddly familiar "California Girls" before shutting off the power and whispering sweet nothings on "Snowy Sunday." You know what they do next? They turn the wintertime lull into a fucking discotheque with Colin imploring to "Meet Me on the Dance Floor." And once you're in the groove, bopping and shaking and shimmying, the music dies and you're back in Vermont in the middle of a fucking snowstorm with "Holly in Wintertime." Colin and Dana, you're the worst. Just for that, I'm telling everyone your dirty little secret...the one about Let's Whisper putting out a full length album on WeePOP!

Because I can...
Meet Me on the Dance Floor .mp3

Speaking of Darren Hayman

He has a new album coming out sometime soon on Fortuna POP! I don't know much besides the title, Essex Arms, and that there's a track on it called "Two Tree Island." I'm also not sure of the influence an outside conversation-of-sorts is having on how I'm interpreting it; there is an awful lot of talk of pushing and wood. Regardless, it's a catchy little folkestral tune with banjos and cellos and a uke and some other things backing the possible smut.

It's not going to be a single or anything, but there's a pretty Super 8 video for it anyways.

Forgotten

No, not the blog. I just haven't had internet for the past couple weeks. Here's a free tip for anyone planning to move to New York: Don't use Time Warner Cable if you can help it.



























That little preface aside, the title is actually in reference to the new Tears Run Rings single by the same moniker. To get us all ready for their upcoming sophomore album Distance, the long distance quartet/quintet decided to mercilessly tease us with "Forgotten" in both .mp3 and video format. Comfortably nestled in what I so eloquently like to call "swirly shoegaze" Tears Run Rings make their noise using generous quantities of modulation rather than the wall of fuzz that the "fuzzy shoegaze" groups generate. Since Distance isn't due out for another month, I'm going to have to make due with dusting off my old Pale Saints and Lush records. Blast. Luckily, it's already available for preorder from Tonevendor, so all you impatient and forgetful types can get that out of the way now.

Forgotten .mp3

Forgotten from Tears Run Rings on Vimeo.

Rise and shine sleepy head!

I've been abysmally lazy for the past couple weeks, and Mike's put out five, yes, five, superb new releases in the past month.


The Pains new single "Say No To Love" is every bit as good as you'd expect it to be. And one of the perks of being indie-pop super stars is you can make all sorts of ace music videos to accompany your ace singles and everything will be ace. And that wasn't the least bit sarcastic, unlike a certain NME article.


See? And you can download it here.


Tender Trap are sounding like a proper girl group these days with Amelia, and the new additions Katrina and Elizabeth, all pitching in on vocals. Actually, the girly harmonies are about as far as the girl group comparisons can go. The ramshackle beats, dirty-jangle guitars and somewhat seedy subject matter are still classic Tender Trap/Heavenly/Talulah Gosh. You can get a taste from the "Do You Want a Boyfriend" single, or a three course meal with Dansette Dansette.

Here's Dansette Dansette's title track.


New Haven's Procedure Club is the noisiest bedroom pop project I've heard in a while. If you haven't been washed away by the deluge of noisy, reverb drenched garage pop bands from the past year, give Procedure Club a listen. While Andrea might be a raging bitch (Adam's words, not mine. I'm sure she's perfectly lovely), she's got some pipes on her. And Adam has a gift for causing a racket. A beautiful, beautiful, racket that would get most people evicted. Is there really any higher praise one can bestow?

Nautical Song .mp3. It's loud.

The History of Apple Pie

You know the saying "As American as apple pie?" It's not especially accurate, seeing as apple pie's origin can be traced back to 14th century England. That's right, the History of Apple Pie is British. See what I did there? Flawless segue. But really, The History of Apple Pie are a two piece from London who are making some pretty reverb-y (or pretty, reverb-y) pop songs. They're still in the writing/recording process right now, but when your first dish is a cup of Comet Gain, three scoops of Young Marble Giants, and two tablespoons of Galaxie 500, all baked in a flakey Beach Boys crust I'm excited to see what else is in the oven.

Sorry, that was stupid, but I reaaaallly want some pie.
Here's a .mp3 of "Tug."

Birds of California!

Ramshackle jangle-pop. Fuzzy shoegaze. Surfy horns. Boys racing for their lunchboxes. A useless stream of consciousness to try to summarize Birds of California. Actually, they're a six piece that's comprised of Tim Brown and Donna McKean of Lunchbox, Stewart from Boyracer, and Ron Mckean, Amr Toppozada, and Jeremy Goody, who all just happen to be awesome. And they actually do mix the aforementioned elements to make some fantastic indie-pop. The genre bending single Great Expectations is available as a free download from Tweefort-cum-February Records just in time to keep you cool during the terrible transition to summer. I suppose I should also elaborate about Tweefort's evolution to a record label. Danny and the gang are going to be focusing more on putting out ace music such as this, and the Fictional West single I mentioned a while ago, than booking.

Very Truly Yours!

I just made a root beer float, and gave the new Very Truly Yours album Things You Used to Say, a spin on the stereo. It was an excellent combination. Very Truly Yours say they're influenced by Heavenly and Camera Obscura, and I wouldn't disagree. I would probably be content listening to Kristine sing the dictionary, especially if she had Katie backer her up. Add the some guitars, strings, keys, glock, and drums and you've got a hit. Now replace the dictionary with something handwritten and heartfelt and you've got a smashing album. Honestly it's good enough that I can't even do a track-by-track review because it seems uncouth to do anything but let it play through. So, if you like Camera Obscura and other pretty sounding pop things of that ilk, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy from Skywriting Records so you can fully enjoy summer!

SF Popfest Lineup Anncounced!

Yeow!

Our Dearest Friends,

Everything is set for San Francisco Popfest 2010! Come join us from May 27 - 30 for the fun. Our full lineup is below. We have a very limited number of festival passes still available via our website (http://www.sfpopfest.com) for the discounted price of $48. If you'd like more information about SFPopfest, please sign up for our mailing list at our website and join our facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=45263827262&ref=ts).

Date: Thursday - May 27
Venue: Rickshaw Stop
Doors: 8pm
Ages: All Ages!
Tickets: $10 advance & $12 door
Ticket Link: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/7429
Tune-Yards
Eux Autres
Knight School
Social Studies

Date: Friday - May 28
Venue: Bottom of the Hill
Doors: 8pm
Ages: All Ages!
Tickets: $12 advance/door
Ticket Link: http://www.stubmatic.com/bottomofthehill/event/4354
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Nodzzz
Antarctica Takes It!
English Singles

Date: Saturday - May 29
Venue: Hotel Utah
Doors: 2:30pm
Ages: All Ages!
Tickets: $6 advance/door
The Orange Peels
Dream Diary
Leaving Mornington Crescent
The Corner Laughers

Date: Saturday - May 29
Venue: Rickshaw Stop
Doors: 8pm
Ages: All Ages!
Tickets: $12 advance & $14 door
Ticket Link: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/7431
All Girl Summer Fun Band
Still Flyin'
Cars Can Be Blue
BOAT
The Art Museums

Date: Sunday - May 30
Venue: Dolores Park
Doors: 2pm
Ages: All Ages!
Tickets: Free!
Our second annual acoustic picnic show with:
Math & Physics Club
Watercolor Paintings
TeamAWESOME!
The Hairs
Normandie Wilson
Girl Band

Date: Sunday - May 30
Venue: Rickshaw Stop
Doors: 7pm
Ages: All Ages!
Tickets: $12 advance & $14 door
Ticket Link: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/7435
Cats on Fire
Math & Physics Club
The Tyde
My Teenage Stride
Devon Williams

We hope to see many of your smiles come May!

Best,

SFPopfest crew x (Aaron, Debbie, Kardyhm and Stuart)

The Winter EP for Spring

I think this might be my most overdue post to date, but that's alright because it involves free music, and that never has an expiration date. Well, it does, but this is still fresh.

I got a wonderful email from Christoffer of the long defunct, but now revitalized, Cafe2001 record label saying just that; they were back in business. What's more, their first release ever, and first new release are both available for free download from their site.

Unlike Matthew from Shelflife I didn't know about this compilation, until now, so it was an introduction to a whole slew of new bands for me. For the most part, the 14 tracks span the spectrum of that Casio backed brand of indie-pop. If you've exhausted the Casiotone for the Painfully Alone back catalogue, give Toyen a spin. Want something to compliment Au Revior Simone in your next mix tape? Give a listen to that TAFKA Pasaan track. If you've ever wondered what a bunch of Norsemen on a beach in the Mediterranean in the 60's would sound like, that's in there too.

There's also a brand new EP over there as well. I'm not quite sure what to say about Remington Super 60. They play some beautiful indie pop with fragile keys swirling behind gentle everything. Sounds pretty twee until you hear that Burt Bacharach and a couple acid jazz-y groups are major influences.

Anyways, go here and download them both because they're great.

Blue Sky On Holiday (but it's out today)

I thought I posted about Annemarie before, but apparently not. So, Annemarie are a six-piece pop outfit from Indonesia. "Bubblegum" seems to be stuck to them like glue, and if you play "Bubblegum I See" off their Myspace, you'll see why. I got a nice little email the other day saying they're working on a new album, and it looks like they're going to make a slight departure from the usual "bubblegum pop" sound. Something about infusing some jazz and Latin sensibilities to it, and that's just fine with me (as you might gather based on my last post). I'm not sure exactly what that's going to sound like, but I am sure that the two new tracks I've heard are pretty ace.

Spring Bus .mp3

Cymbals!

So I stumbled across these guys while YouTube link jumping. According to Wikipedia, the trio was active from 1997 to 2003. They've got a sort of fusion between Brit pop and jazz thing going on. Anyways, all the tracks I've come across have been quite pretty.

NYC Popfest Hi-lite! Mustache of Insanity!

I was going to try to write something about all the bands playing the PopFest this year, but then Matt started first, so I decided not to steal his thunder, but now I've changed my mind. So first up is Moustache of Insanity, who are coming all the way from London before going on a mini tour of the Northeast (they play the PopFest on the 22nd at Spike Hill).

They had a release on WeePop! that was super-fun (yes that was hyphenated intentionally), and now have a EP out for free download, so you really don't have a reason not to listen to them. If you really need some specifics of why you should, how about: super-fun-DIY-casio-and-guitar-playing-out-of-key-singing-drum-machine-backing-pop-blast-YEOW! Translation: MOI (that's Moustache of Insanity) play simple songs that stray dangerously close to twee, in both subject and presentation. Utilizing a casio, guitar, and what could only be described as "sick" beats, MOI will charm their way into your heart riding on magic jumping beans. And they have more facial hair than I could ever hope to grow.

Anyways, here's their new EP Postcards to Strangers. Get it while you can!

Elm City Popfest Lineup!

Yay Danny!

FRIDAY, MAY 14
PopFest kick-off show @ Cafe Nine 9 p.m.
250 State Street, New Haven, CT — FREE
Boy Genius (NYC) with special guest Mr. Ray Neal
Veronica Falls (UK)
Steven Deal (Milford, CT)
The Wee Bees (New Haven)
The Nathan Hall Band (Southport, CT)

SATURDAY, MAY 15
Afternoon show @ ArtSpace New Haven 2 p.m.
50 Orange Street (at Crown Street), New Haven, CT — $5
Eula (New Haven)
Panda Riot (Chicago)
Midstates (Chicago)
The Fictional West (New Haven)
Roadside Attractions (New London, CT)

ArtSpace Underground @ Elm City PopFest 8 p.m.
50 Orange Street (at Crown Street), New Haven, CT — $5
Butterflies of Love (New Haven)
The Secret History (NY)
Procedure Club (New Haven)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26
PopFest follow-up show @ Cafe Nine 10 p.m.
250 State Street, New Haven, CT — FREE
The Tyler Trudeau Attempt (New Haven)
Women’s Basketball (New Haven)
Horowtiz (UK)
Plus possible special guests

When you look outside

Do you see
Snow Like This

NYC Popfest 2010 lineup!

Yay Maz!

Thursday May 20th
Venue - Cake Shop

Sweater Girls (CA)
Elephant Parade (NYC)
Dream Diary (NYC)
Leaving Mornington Crescent (Sweden)
Horowitz (UK)
Veronica Falls (UK)

* * * * *

Friday May 21st
Venue - Don Hill's

Cotton Candy (MA)
The Smittens (VT)
Allo Darlin (UK)
Pants Yell! (MA)
Tender Trap (UK)

* * * * *

Saturday May 22nd
Venue - Spike Hill (free matinee show!)

Hearts!Attack (UK)
Corita (NYC)
Gold-Bears (GA)
Moustache of Insanity (UK)
One Happy Island (MA)

* * * * *

Saturday May 22nd
Venue - The Bell House

Very Truly Yours (IL)
World Atlas (NYC)
Bears (OH)
My Teenage Stride (NYC)
BOAT (WA)
The Wake (UK)

* * * * *

Sunday May 23rd
Venue - Littlefield

Santa Monica Swim & Dive Club (MI)
For Ex-Lovers Only (FL)
The Young Friends (AZ)
Apple Orchard (CA)
Brown Recluse (PA)
Bunnygrunt (MO)
Sea Lions (CA)
Neverever (CA)
The Secret History (NYC)
The Embassy (Sweden)



Ticket info, DJs, and more details will follow soon!

xo
nyc popfest

New Pipettes!

It's like ABBA descended from the heavens.


And you can download the mp3 from Fortuna POP!

Wee! Disappear!

WeePOP! just released their newest 3" CDR, and as expected it's super cute in every way. This time around it's We Disappear by the Transmittens. The Kansas duo combine what could only be described as jangly "twee" and synth-pop to create something special. For those of you who want an imaginary reference picture, think Pipas meets the Besties and Smittens with less guitars and more glitter. Clocking in at about 20 minutes, the packaging isn't the only thing that's super tiny and super cute. Just give the opening track "Marfa Texas" a listen if you don't believe me. The wonderful thing about the 10 tracks contained on this tiny disc is the variety. Some are super-mixed-down-fuzzy-fun, some are super summer-y, some are good ol' pop, and some cover the space in between, but all of them possess wryly written lyrics that will lodge in your mind if the keyboards, handclaps and guitars fail to first. Oh, and did I mention that it's limited to 160 copies?

The Sea at Night .mp3

A Massive Shelflife Update

Somehow I haven't posted a word about a Shelflife release in a good while. It's not for lack of material, because at the moment there are five, yes count them five, newer releases (or at least newer to their inventory) in the Shelflife store that warrant a spot in everyone's little discography. Mind you, over half of these aren't actually Shelflife releases, but Matthew is a swell guy, and trying to save us a couple bucks.




























I guess I should start with the new Burning Hearts 7" "Night Animal." Honestly there isn't much to say except Burning Hearts make beautiful music and this 7" is no exception. I really really want to call them organic-electro-pop. I finally realized that they sort of remind me of The Lovekevins, who I think also fit into that little genre niche. The b-side is a remix of "A Peasant's Dream," by Anyways if you're on the hunt for something you can simultaneously sing, dance, and sit to, I'd pick up a copy on lovely white vinyl. And for added indie-cred, Matthew Edwards (from Skatterbrain) did the artwork. Neat!

Night Animal .mp3






























So it looks like 80% of what I'm talking about isn't actually a Shelflife release, but whatever, they're good and in the Shelflife shop. There's a 7" for Korallreven's (Marcus Joons and Johan Duncansson from the Radio Dept.) "Loved Up," with a remix as the b-side. It's a super great track, filled with heaps of reverb and delay, percussion that just keeps building, and beautiful vocals. The remix is pretty fun too. This was originally a Fastcut Records release, but like I said, Matthew is a swell guy and saving the world some crazy expensive shipping costs.

Loved Up .mp3

Actually I'm going to stop at two. I'll finish the update soon. Or you could just go see for yourself.

'69 Love Songs' on vinyl!

"The limited-edition box set includes all 69 love songs re-mastered for vinyl on six 10” records and housed in a super-sized 69 Love Songs box, along with a 10” version of the original booklet featuring liner notes written by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler.

From now until April 20, pre-order the vinyl box set at the discounted price of $89.99 in the Merge store." Damn you Merritt!

I don't really need to say much more than that. Unless you work for Merge. Send me a set and I'll say as much as you want!

You can download the entire album
here (Disc 1)
here (Disc 2)
and here (Disc 3)

Slumberland's 20th Redux

Really? Really? Words cannot express the awesomeness that is this line-up.

March 27 at The Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA
All ages, doors at 5:00pm

• Boyracer
• Brilliant Colors
• Brown Recluse
• Devon Williams
• Go Sailor
• Henry's Dress
• Neverever
• Pants Yell!
• Summer Cats
• The How

March 28 Part Time Punks at The Echo, Los Angeles, CA
All ages, doors at 7:00pm « tickets »

• Boyracer
• Brown Recluse
• Devon Williams
• Go Sailor
• Henry's Dress
• Neverever
• Pants Yell!
• Summer Cats
• The How
  

New Black Tambourine!

From Slumberland:
"March 30 will bring the long-awaited return to vinyl for Black Tambourine. This is no mere reissue, though; we've added unreleased songs, new liner notes and a trove of never-before-seen photos of the band, all wrapped up in a spiffy gatefold sleeve."

I believe this calls for a "YEOW!"

The Fictional West

Some of you may have seen that Tweefort has expanded to the point of starting its own online record label. Now Danny's a pretty cool guy and has pretty good taste, so needless to say I had some pretty high expectations. The Fictional West, a recently formed three-piece from Connecticut definitely exceeded them.
























With hints of The Magnetic Fields, the Smiths, and what I say tastes like Orange Juice have a perfect formula for down-tempo jangle pop, seeing as their jangle isn't exactly jangle-y, The Fictional West play that lazy-day, let's go for a drive, indiepop that I'm so fond of. And they don't just sound like the aforementioned groups, they also have the same knack for songwriting. No lie, the Giant Clouds single sounds like it could have been sent in to NME and gotten lost in the post for 20 years.

You can download the single directly from Tweefort here.

Quince Records is effing sweet!

So I've been meaning to mention some more recent releases from those fine folks that brought us Half Dreaming (which is still brilliant) for a while, and it just never happened. That said, here's two Quince Records releases that have been getting some pretty heavy play lately.

























SPC ECO put out an album in June last year, and I have to say they're one of the best, true-blue, shoegaze acts out there. Sure they have a leg up on the competition seeing as Dean has umpteen years of shoegaze-xperience (remember Curve?). But you know they're good when they get Andy-fucking-Bell on one of their tracks. Talk about indie-cred. In the dead of winter there's only two things that pass through my headphones: Rose Melberg, or shoegaze. Unlike in the 15th century, everyone is a winner because Rose Berlin's voice can melt your heart faster than snow on a city street.

You're Alright .mp3





























Speaking of shoegaze and things I've been listening to, Quince also put out a Maribel album almost a year ago. I know I'm a little late (I think Matt from Skatterbrain used one of the tracks on a mix), but Aesthetics still warrants all the attention it can get. Between the fuzzy guitars, breathy lyrics, and occasional atmospheric dreamscapes Maribel have a bright future of staring at little LEDs.

Downstairs .mp3

Check out Quince's myspace for some other bands/releases as well. They have a really great roster.

A very late New Year's song

So, I got Allo, Darlin's "Will You Please Spend New Years With Me?" with plenty of time to fit in a write-up before New Years. Instead, I think I took a nap and baked, but that's besides the point. The point is, New Year's Eve is but a distant memory at this point, yet this "holiday" song is still getting pretty heavy rotation. It's just so cute, I can't resist giving it a proverbial spin at least once a day. Oh, did I mention it's a b-side? The "a-side" has the same sort of upbeat, melancholy, earnest lyrics based around a relationship and a Polaroid picture. If you haven't already (considering most blogs have given it the attention it deserves), head over to Fortuna Pop this instant!

Will You Please Spend New Years With Me? .mp3

Big Boy Genius Plans

I must be the laziest person I know. There's a plethora of great pop happenings right now and I haven't written a word. For starters Boy Genius put out a pretty ace video for their new single "Old New England" that features everything New England (aka rain, fields, lobster, and triangle hats), and everything Boy Genius (aka a pretty rockin pop song). It's from their forthcoming album Staggering, which I'm quite looking forward to since it seems they've been honing their chops since their last record. And they're on tour if you need something to do later this month (check their myspace for dates).