Although it seems lazy to draw comparisions to other bedroom pop heroes (Alex G, R.L. Kelly, Gorgeous Bully) the elements that made all of the aforementioned so endearing and excellent are present here. The sound of someone finding their feet whilst making understated pop songs complete with all the perfect imperfections that come with recording at home. As John says himself “I wouldn’t change a thing about it. The constant clearing of my throat, my cat meowing after track 1, the footsteps of my roommates on the hardwood floors present on many tracks, the shouts of seamen on the titanic attempting to avoid an iceberg at the end of track 7, and all of those other “blemishes” encapsulate the cathartic days and nights recording this fledgling body of work.”
Brian Franklin Beautifully dark and moody. A piece of captured art like the paintings in the album's cover.
Loic Glavany Pour l'instant captive par l'athomsphere de ce petit coffre de pepites, je reserve un commentaire plus precis lorsque j'aurais procede a plusieurs ecoutes.
Pascale St-Onge Sincèrement, une artiste à suivre pour sa sensibilité et ses ambiances sonores hypnotiques. Un coup de coeur.
There’s always been something pure and innocent in the music of Jimmy Hewitt. When he was living in Allston and creating minimal guitar-pop as Orca Orca, the songs bounced back and forth as his lyrics and chords traded off each other, the words providing intimate, diary-esque looks at the strange life around him and the guitarwork providing the comfort zone that ensured everything was going to be ok.
Now Hewitt is out west in Northampton making music as Lost Film, and this week announced his debut LP, Imago, will be released August 18 via The Native Sound, the same New York indie label that’s issuing the Funeral Advantage record we praised just last week.
Imago features 10 new songs recorded over a single weekend here in Boston, and unlike Hewitt’s past efforts as a solo artist, the record was crafted with the help of a live backing band.
The Autumn Stones is a dream-folk/alt-pop band from Toronto with an unassuming presence and formidable skillset that appears to be hitting all the right notes as of late, especially with the recent release of their much lauded single “End Of Faith”, bolstering a relatively brief career trajectory and nudging them ever closer towards a much bigger spotlight. And deservedly so by all accounts. Since forming in 2010, this inspired quartet doesn’t seem to compromise when delving into their creative consciousness, a musical alchemy that nurtures and explores the essence of the songs, capturing each as an organically driven, thought provoking journey. There are no ditties or throwaways for effect. These are artists who take an earnest and methodical approach to their craft, who will bide their time and wait for the music to resonate with an audience, because that’s when you have something special that stands the test of time. The lyrics are passages to an engaging narrative, with instrumentation that’s carefully assembled to create a beautifully stark and eccentric sonic environment. Their sound can be compared to seminal 80s groups like Echo & The Bunnymen and The Smiths, although somewhat more refined and cerebral as opposed to unbridled and trailblazing. They’re not attempting to break new ground as much as they are enriching the soil, and the results are a heightened listening experience that soon turns to heightened anticipation for the release of their forthcoming LP Escapists. Rokline
Fraser A. Gorman’s song-writing builds around his wry charm and offbeat storytelling. In recent years, Gorman has taken a sly sidestep away from the country-folk of his early releases; his sound is still steeped in Americana, but this time it’s somewhere between Transformer-era Lou and the joyous romp of early Big Star.
St. John’s, Newfoundland is the easternmost part of the North American continent. It is one of the rainiest cities in Canada, and the home of Aaron Powell, a.k.a. Fog Lake, whose most recent record moves like raindrops slipping down a windowpane. I’ve been listening to the record on surprisingly gray mornings in Los Angeles, where the rain refuses to come, thinking of the days in high school when the drainage system was so bad we had days off for heavy rainfall. portals
Langhorne Slim & The Law’s new album The Spirit Moves is out August 7th. While you wait, check out The Way The Spirit Moves featuring 3 new songs from the upcoming album, plus 3 standout tracks from 2012’s Ramseur Records release The Way We Move. Having shared the stage with the likes of The Lumineers, The Avett Brothers, Dawes and many more, the new album is an effervescent collection of Langhorne's now-signature, cinematic, joyful noise, rooted in folk, soul, and blues.
"Revolution - The Shoegaze Revival" is an epic, truly international 30-track compilation comprised of outstanding original material. Such bands have set the stage for shoegaze pioneers’ return to today’s scene by upholding their wall of sound and painting it with breathtaking colour. Some of these bands are also ‘first wave’ but have remained underground, while some are newbies – the ‘second wave’ of shoegaze.
Curated by UK label Ear to Ear Records and Indonesian label Gerpfast Kolektif, this compilation features 30 bands from 16 countries, covering 5 of the 6 inhabited continents. Each was selected purely on the basis of their dynamic sound, without any consideration of geographic preference, label affiliation, popularity ranking or hype. Without even one throwaway or filler track, these are all 'keepers'.
Not too long ago, my basement bedroom flooded as a result of heavy rainfall and snowmelt. This happened twice during the transitional turmoil between Ontario's sombre winter and damp spring. It had a much more tragic and lasting effect than I anticipated, since many sentimental items were slowly destroyed by mould. We wrote these songs about it.
As Girlpool, Harmony Trividad and Cleo Tucker have distilled the equipment necessary for a direct link between ear canal and heartstrings down to two members, two instruments, one cassette, one EP and one full-length album. That album, Before The World Was Big, is a lo-fi collection of punk songs that have a playful spirit but aren't playing around. Trividad and Tucker specialize in no-frills singing and simple instrumentation that cut through bone and aim for marrow. The title track, in particular, features vocal harmonies that are almost startling in their poignancy and impact, bringing life to lyrics about memory and the loss of things remembered. Girlpool's lack of polish does nothing to diminish its shine, and its free-spirited approach to punk only adds to the power behind their punch. —Katie Presley
Tour Dates:
06/01 Los Angeles, CA @ Eagle Rock Center For The Arts
06/07 London, UK @ Dalston Roof Park
06/09 London, UK @ Rough Trade East
06/10 London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
07/07 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
08/08-09 Atlanta, GA @ Wrecking Ball Festival
08/22-23 Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Festival
09/04 Bristol, UK @ Exchange
09/06 Salisbury, UK @ End Of The Road Festival
09/08 Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute
09/09 Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
09/10 Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
09/11 Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
09/12 Isle Of Wight, UK @ Bestival
09/14 Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
09/15 London, UK @ Scala
09/16 Paris, France @ Point Ephemere
09/18 Cologne, Germany @ King Georg
09/20 Tilburg, Netherlands @ Incubate Festival
09/21 Berlin, Germany @ Monarch
09/25 Hamburg, Germany @ Reeperbahn Festival
It’s been three years since Advance Base’s debut album, A Shut-In’s Prayer, made #19 on MOJO Magazine's Best Albums of 2012 list. Since then, singer, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Owen Ashworth has published a book of drawings, made beats for Chicago rapper Serengeti, recorded the debut single by psych-folk troubadour Julie Byrne, paid tribute to gospel & outsider music legend Washington Phillips (see 2013’s The World Is In A Bad Fix Everywhere EP), contributed electric piano & co-writing credits to Sun Kil Moon’s critically acclaimed 2014 album, Benji, & produced more than a dozen other releases for his own label, Orindal Records. Ashworth has finally turned his focus back on his own music & given us Nephew in the Wild, the second official album by Advance Base.
Nephew in the Wild is a nostalgic, melancholic & occasionally harrowing collection of lo-fi indie rock & electronic pop. Electric pianos, drum kits, drum machines, autoharps, Omnichords, Optigans, Mellotrons & the occasional guitar lay the foundation for sweetly sad stories about lonely Midwesterners trying to make sense of their troubled pasts. In the world of Nephew in the Wild, the internet hasn’t been invented yet, & a change of address is the only thing a person needs to exit their old life completely. Disappearance, displacement, hell-raising, child-raising, Christmas, Michigan, arson, aging & animals are recurring themes throughout the album. Nephew in the Wild was recorded by Ashworth in his basement in Oak Park, IL
He just released his debut EP 'nothing buttrock' which incorporates a splendid mix of fuzzy guitars, odd vocals & psychedelic charm. Being heavily influenced by The Pixies, Krill & Built To Spill. We believe it is a impressing debut for a very promising artist. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
