More Slumberland!

Let's see...I've been so backed up and have a billion things to cover (thanks a lot Mike!)...


























Pants Yell's new album Received Pronunciation is absolutely fantastic. Jangly guitars and earnest, will written lyrics are always in style. Remember Alison Statton? No, Alison Statton. Yeah her, with her perfectly delivered little whispers and words. Andrew was taking notes from the best, hence the aforementioned album, and hence the magic of the understatement that is Received Pronunciation. And it comes in some spiffy faux-Japanese packaging complete with obi strips (those neat little paper belt things for albums). You can go to their myspace to give them a listen, or to Slumberland to give them an order.

Here's the opener to get you hooked!
Frank and Sandy .mp3

Happy Thanksgiving!

That is all. Not really, but here's the Peanuts Thanksgiving Special.

Warped!

Sometimes I like to listen to loop-y, drone-y, repetitive, electro-y, atmospheric, pop-y music. Sometimes I wish Animal Collective was more accessible. Sometimes I wish they had more bleeps and bloops. Sometimes I listen to Seattle's Big Spider's Back to fulfill those desires. I'd highly recommend picking up a copy of Warped from Disco Earth if that sounds good to you.

Perfect Machine .mp3

Well fuck.

No more Bridal Shop.

A la their myspace:

And then -- silence. No cards, no best wishes, no "I See You In Hell" comments... Why?Well, the world of "independent" pop music is probably glad to see one of its worst opponents, The Bridal Shop, the Knights of the Truth, sink into the sea of oblivion; finally everything can work smoothly again, and -- never forget that things work like architecture -- finally the misty lords of the industry can release loads of records which will all carry the BAU inscription (Business as usual); and when you go to a BAU concert, dressed like a five-year-old, you can finally listen to your heterosexual, banal, "seeensitiiiiive", shit music, mostly sung by broken-hearted boys with cute hairdos, without being disturbed by, damn right, The Bridal Shop, the Knights of the Truth.

To my homies Hegel and Adorno, and to everyone daring to express something truly beautiful in a world where beauty is destined to decay in an alphabet of nothingness: Welcome! Let's fuck time and make love to space!


K.

Well, here's the entire From Seas EP.

And the video for "Ideal State."

the bridal shop: IDEAL STATE from fredo landaveri on Vimeo.

Social Studies!

San Francisco's Social Studies are one of those rare beasts that straddle the fine line between indie-rock and indiepop. Is it a poppy rock song, or a rockin' pop song? Who knows. There's some plunking keys, burly guitar riffs, and that Natalia sure does have a nice voice, so do we really need to pigeon-hole it? Their 2 track Hourglass EP is out now (you can download it here for free). Both tracks are off the full length A Wind Up Wooden Heart, which is due out early next year.

The Marshmallow Ghosts! Happy Halloween!

= BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW+ THE APPLESEED CAST+ DREAMEND + CASKET GIRLS. They made a spooky 7" picture disc. It's two tracks "Creaks" and "Shrieks." I like "Creaks" more.

Marshmallow Ghosts .zip

Radio Twelve!

So I got a copy of Steven Deal's forthcoming album Radio Twelve in the mail last week and have been pleasantly surprised over its nearly 40 minute span (I wasn't expecting any mail, so it turned out to be a nice little treat). Steven used to play in Bleached Black and the Absolute Zeros back in the day and has apparently been on an 11 year hiatus. But now he's back with a mostly-solo album (Dan Kohler, Lisa Hammer, Chris Cretella and Dave Parmelee also lent a hand). Radio Twelve is an earnest anti-love album that's got all sorts of mental baggage. Between the passive-aggressive jabs at an ex-lover's weight, songs of self-loathing, and all sorts of disappointment Steven managed to craft a pop album that's anything but stagnant. This track's rocking, that one's acoustic, is that an electric organ? Hey handclaps! Wait was that Orpheus' daughter? Covering everything from pop punk (not pop-punk) on over to 60's inspired garage pop, and even some folksy stuff Radio Twelve definitely get my nod of approval. It's due out in November from Seditionary Kitten Media.

Valentine .mp3

So I've been swamped with school and work, and the pile of stuff I have to post about just keeps growing, so I'm going to try out a new format. Two sentences. Biiff baam boom.

Katsen sound something like Ladytron in anoraks. It Hertz! is out October 27th on Shelflife Records. Do want!

German Film Star .mp3

Slumberland 20th Anniversary is A-Go-Go!

Slumberland Records has been around for a whopping 20 years now, and to celebrate, Ma and Pa Slumberland are putting on a couple East Coast shows featuring some new acts (Crystal Stilts, Brown Recluse (Sings)) and some reunions (Lorelei, The Ropers). Dates are below, and the West Coast can probably expect something similar early next year. I'm pretty ecstatic about it myself.

Nov 13, Washington DC at Black Cat
tickets: http://www.ticketalternative.com/Events/8171.aspx

Crystal Stilts
Brown Recluse
Pants Yell!
Frankie Rose and The Outs
The Ropers
Nord Express
Lorelei



Nov 14, Brooklyn NY at Bell House
tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=2936044

Crystal Stilts
Brown Recluse
Pants Yell!
Frankie Rose and The Outs
The Ropers
Nord Express
Lorelei
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Elm City Popfest!

So it looks like the infamous Danny has outdone himself this time, and unleashed another Popfest upon the world! And on par with what Tweefort is all about, it's a medley of acts from Connecticut and various other cities along the eastern seaboard. It's and amazing lineup, and the proceeds go towards keeping Artspace New Haven afloat, so go show your support if you can make it! Oh, did I mention there's art on top of the great indiepop? Sounds like an amazing day to me! The details are all below...

Tweefort and CT Indie have teamed up to bring you a full day of music to support Artspace New Haven

Saturday, November 14th, 2009:

The music will start at 3 PM. Headlining the afternoon show will be New York indiepop band The Metric Mile. Also playing will be Fay Rey (New Haven/New York) followed by One Happy Island (Boston), The Sugarplums (Baltimore) and The Cavemen Go (New Haven/Boston). Members of the band Boy Genius (New York) will DJ.

The music continues at 8 PM. The Tyler Trudeau Attempt (New Haven) and festival headliner A Sunny Day in Glasgow go on after a pleasant intermission of indiepop spinning and performance art.

Drinks will be provided at the evening event by New Haven's 116 Crown.

A full day ticket is $8, afternoon only or evening only are $5 each. Both the afternoon and evening shows are All Ages.

Artspace New Haven is located at 50 Orange St., New Haven, CT 06510

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

Horse Shoes!

The most Swedish thing in Florida? Maybe. Horse Shoes write simple, catchy pop songs wrapped up in swirling keys, breathy vocals, and general Sarah-ness (Sarah-n wrap! Oh geez.) They also remind me a lot of The Format, but that's another story. Their new album, The Imperial School, is perfect for those days where all you want to do is stay in bed and watch the rain splash on the window. Did I mention they remind me a lot of The Wake and The Format? For all of its lazy day ambiance, The Imperial School has that beat that might just have you shuffling your feet. The Imperial School is available from Shelflife right now as part of their beautifully packaged 1000 series (though it's not officially out until September 22nd). Oh, I didn't explain the Sweden thing, did I? Air France! Kablow!

I Can't Decide .mp3
The Imperial School .mp3

This Must Be Heaven

Because Slumberland just keeps churning out solid gold. In this installment of the Slumberland Fanclub we'll be discussing Searching for the Now 5 and 6.


Searching for the Now 5 is three all Swedish tracks, and not just any Swedes either, we're talking Liechtenstein backed by the Faintest Ideas. Liechtenstien kick things off with "This Must Be Heaven," and it's simply enchanting (not to mention previously unreleased). The guitars are jangle-y, the drums are toe-tap-y, and as usual, their harmonies are spot on. The Faintest Ideas get two tracks, "You're Gonna Wake Up One Morning And Know What Side Of The Bed You’ve Been Lying On" and "Procrastination Of Every Day Tasks" (probably because they're flying along at like a billion rpm). They're fast, fun, get the job done, and will have you playing some sort of air instrument in under a minute (a la killer guitar riffs or high octane drums).

This Must Be Heaven .mp3
Procrastination Of Every Day Tasks .mp3


Searching for the Now 6 features The School and George Washington Brown, both of the UK. The School do a wonderful cover of Left Banke's "And Suddenly." It's a beautiful little summer pop gem for the remaining days of summer. Flip the disc and flip into George Washington Brown's two tracks of noisy psych-pop. "End of the..." and "Twin Towers" kind of make me want to bike really fast down a busy, tree-lined street and look up at the sky. Or something like that.

And Suddenly .mp3
End of The... .mp3

Lick Your Lips and Fuck Suicide

Oh. My. God. I dare say the Raveonettes get better with every album, and since "Suicide" is the single from their upcoming album In And Out of Control, that would make it the best Raveonettes song ever. Or at least for right now. Allow me to paint you a picture. Imagine a downtrodden young girl who runs away to New York (because it's the shit), and with her heart broken by a sucky boyfriend, and bitchy mother she learns to holster her pain and though it might be tempting, fuck suicide. And most importantly, there's that chorus. Seriously it's infectious. In And Out of Control is out October 6th on Vice Records, and you and me an everyone else needs it.

Suicide .mp3

A Cameo with Zaza

I've been trying to think of a word to summarize Zaza's new album Cameo, and I think "cavernous" does it. In case you haven't heard them before, Zaza's music falls into the shoegaze niche, but not the wall of guitar sound that usually comes to mind when you think shoegaze. Rather, Zaza drop you into a deep, dark cave made of drums and breathy vocals with more reverb than you can shake a stick at. There's guitars and keys in there too, and they just make the cave that is Zaza's sound that much deeper and encompassing. Cameo is so hypnotizing and ethereal that I just space out for the length of the EP. Not the bad kind of space out either, the good kind. The really good kind, like the kind people pay top dollar for. Cameo was supposed to come out August 18th on Kanine Records, but apparently insound and a couple other places have it for sale already. And for those of you in need of a quick fix, you can listen to the whole EP on Zaza's myspace.

Here's the opening track :
The Call .mp3

Yeah I Know

Darlings are pretty great. They're one of those "New York buzz bands," and I'd say they deserve it. Yeah I Know is like 10 New York moments wrapped up in jangly guitars, where you remember everything, but it's just a bit fuzzy and you cant's get that New York noise out of your head. The songs are at once familiar (so familiar in fact, that I can't think of the comparison I want to make) and relatable, yet still have that youthful exuberance that comes with the light subject matter. Darlings probably aren't trying to change the world with their music but they definitely make some fun, noisy, 60's influenced garage pop about girls, TVs, and everyone's favourite reason for celebration: eviction. Yeah I Know releases August 11th on Famous Class, and I'd highly recommend picking up a copy since it's an all-around good time. And so you can say you knew about them before they go on and open for the Strokes or someone.

Yeah I Know .mp3

FIGHT RIFF!

Eula are a really great noise-pop (I guess the fall into that category) band from New Haven, Connecticut. Based off the couple songs on their myspace they're something like CSS if Stewart Boyracer ran the show, meaning they don't make you want to dance, they make you want to fucking dance.

Fight Riff .mp3

Seems like they'd be loads of fun live, right? Yes? And you live in New York you say?
KABLOW!

Songs for Tuesdays on Wednesday

I'm not sure whether this was a happy coincidence or stroke of release date genius, but Summer Cats' debut full-length Songs For Tuesdays hit shelves yesterday (that's Tuesday)! Clocking in at 33 minutes, the Summer Cats were kind enough to supply the pop-world with 13 songs for every day of summer, including last year's jam "Lonely Planet." Take the fun of their Cloudberry or weePOP! singles and multiply it by thirteen and you should have a good idea of how much distorted guitar/keyboard/catchy bass/amazing vocal dancey-fun you're in for. If you've never heard their singles, think Honeybunch playing garage pop. Sounds nice, eh? You can pick up a copy from Slumberland on CD or pretty color splatter vinyl.

Hey You .mp3
Super .mp3