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!