Live in Cleveland (Last Night)

Last night I went up to the Beachland Ballroom to see Local Natives and Suckers, who are both on Frenchkiss Records. Local Natives started out the night early, playing a brief in store (4 songs, I think?) at Music Saves prior to the show, but I missed out on that because I was over at Blue Arrow Records helping them get some things ready for next Saturday’s Waterloo Feral Cat Project Benefit. But, I heard that the in-store was well attended (around 60 people, which is a lot to cram into Music Saves!) & when I showed up there were still plenty of people milling around (including the band.)

I actually hadn’t really planned on attending the Local Natives show. I listened to their album once a month or so ago and it didn’t really catch me, but Drew and I were offered the opportunity to go for free, so we thought, “Why not?” &, on the whole, it was a decent decision (aside from the relatively minor setback of missing Lost and having our DVR cut off the last 15 minutes because the broadcast was delayed due to a “weather emergency.” ANYWAY.)

A little while ago (maybe a week? a month? longer?) I was listening to stonecoldbikini on WRUW and Christin described a band (I can’t remember what band — if only I had known that this information would become semi-critical to a blog entry in my near future) as “forest rock” and then went on to vaguely elaborate by saying, “you know, dudes with beards harmonizing” (or something to that effect.) Which is pretty spot on for Local Natives (though they’re more accurately described as mustachioed (as opposed to bearded.)

ANYWAY — they certainly aren’t bad, it’s just that the whole “dudes with beards harmonizing/forest rock” thing isn’t something that I’ve really developed a taste for yet. But, I think that in a lot of cases, it can be nice to go into a show with no real expectations. So that’s what I did & here’s what I found:

The Local Natives; live show definitely kept my attention in a way that their record didn’t. They played a great, brief set (somewhere around 40 minutes, which was just right for me) & surprised me with a cover of “Warning Sign” by Talking Heads (which likely would have been less of a surprise if I had read CLE music blogger Erin’s interview with the band over on her blog Dust Sleeve.) The Ballroom was pretty packed, which was great to see, & the crowd clearly had favorite tunes that they were waiting to hear (the band did an awesome job pacing these songs throughout their set, so when it seemed that the crowd’s attention was beginning to wander, they were pulled back in.)

The opening band, Frenchkiss label-mates Suckers, was also a pleasant surprise. They had a vaguely Animal Collective-ish sound (which is invariably my go to descriptor for almost anything that involves the combo of guitars, electronics, and yelping) & by the end of their set it seemed like they had really won the crowd over.

Local Natives and Suckers are midway through their tour. You can view remaining tour dates & sample songs on their MySpace (a handful of the remaining tour dates are already sold out, so if they’re coming to your town & you want to be there, you may want to consider buying tickets in advance.)

Birds of California and The Month of June

EPs from Birds of California and The Month of June mark the inaugural releases from February Records (formerly known as Tweefort.)

I’m terrible at writing proper reviews (even when asked), but here are some quick impressions:

Last week, when I wrote about The Honey Skoolmates, I mentioned a compilation called Moshi Moshi: Pop International Style. Though Birds of California are based in Portland, OR, the songs on their EP Great Expectations sound like they would be right at home on that much beloved (by me) 2CD set (maybe it’s the horns?) The three song EP starts out sweet with “Great Expectations” (I love the horns, chimes, etc. in this track — there’s a lot going on, but it never becomes overwhelming.) The next song, “Saturday,” is a bit slower, but has the same layered instrumentation and backing vocals (not unlike something you might hear on a Beulah album.) The EP closes with “Laugh Out Loud,” a fast-paced pop romp that might just be my favorite out of the three tracks.

Great Expectations is available as a free download from February Records (DOWNLOAD)

Call it Art by The Month of June has an atmospheric electronic sound utilizing synthesizers and a vocoder. Out of the three songs on the EP, the second (“Daffodil”) is my favorite by far — it’s in “Daffodil” that I really heard the comparisons that February Records makes between The Month of June and acts like Panda Bear Galaxie 500.

Call it Art is available as a free download from Feruary Records (DOWNLOAD)

February Records has a number of other releases available for free download, including a sampler of bands playing the Elm City Popfest and Home and Abroad vol. 2, a compilation of Connecticut, US, and international indie pop groups.

Summer Jams Series #1: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

As everyone knows by now, I’ve been really into summer songs lately. I’ve identified my favorite summer songs (and, where appropriate, sent summer themed mixed out to friends) & I’ve been asking other people about their favorite summer songs — first just my friends, then people who read this blog, &, most recently, musicians.

So, the idea is that this summer there’s going to be a series of posts curated by artists about their favorite summer songs. Many of the people who have agreed to share their summer jams will be on the road this summer, so be sure to see them if they’re coming your way!

To start things off, we have a post by Kip Berman of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The Pains are touring the US this summer (you can see dates here) before heading overseas to headline Indietracks and play a few dates around the UK.

Kip’s summer jams are as follows!

1. “Sunny Sundae Smile” by My Bloody Valentine (listen here)

People say, “you guys rip off Sunny Sundae Smile-era My Bloody Valentine.” And they’re totally right. I know why the later stuff is legendary, but to me there’s something that just hits me in the center of the chest with this song, the lyrics, music, enthusiasm, feelings, treble– I never really get tired of listening to this, or really anything off this EP (“Sylvie’s Head,” “Paint a Rainbow,” “Kiss the Eclipse”).

2. “Wild Eyes” by The Vivian Girls (listen here)

It’s really hard to pick a single Vivian Girls song, as there are several that feel extra perfect on a summer day. But there’s something about this song that feels equal parts carefree and dead serious. It hints at a sort of dangerous summer love– maybe it won’t last forever, but while it does, it’s all that matters.

3. “Girl From Mars” by Ash (listen here)

Anyone that’s been around me for more than three minutes has heard me talk about how all I want to do in life is someday write a song this awesome (and maybe play a show with The Strokes). I may never do it, but from the first time I heard this on Alternative Radio as a kid to now, it just seems like total, unabashed wonderfulness.

4. “Our Deal” by Best Coast (listen here)

This is probably going to be the song to beat for summer 2010. I really like songs that say a lot of stuff with not that many words– I think that’s a really hard thing to do. I really like her voice and vibe a lot, and the arrangements with the backing “ahhhs” and piano (right?) give it that magical 60s feeling.

5. “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins (listen here)

“Mayonaise” is awesome, as is “Cherub Rock,” “Rocket,” GeeK U.S.A. and a bunch more from Siamese Dream. But to me, this, along with “Nevermind” by Nirvana and Dirty/Goo-era Sonic Youth and the first two Weezer records is the apex of American 90s alt guitar music– equal parts raw and gooey. The James Iha lead lines with the bendy stuff is just the coolest– how come no one does that anymore?

—
So, an infinite thanks to Kip for being kind enough to kick this off! Be sure to support the Pains on their tour this summer — they’ll have a new single with them called “Say No to Love” (if you’re in the US, it’s being released on Slumberland and Insound is already taking preorders, UK listeners will be able to get a copy via Fortuna Pop.) “Say No to Love” is also streaming on Pitchfork (I’ll be honest — this Pitchfork stream hasn’t been working for me, but here’s an audio-only YouTube video.)

Clevelanders — the Pains will be at the Beachland Ballroom on June 6th. If you’re in the area, you should definitely come out for the show!

The Summer Jams Series will continue next week with a post by Elizabeth from Allo Darlin’!

New Blanche Hudson Weekend Song

There’s a new Blanche Hudson Weekend song! It’s called “Let Me Go” and you can stream it via their MySpace page.

The Blanche Hudson Weekend takes their name from the Bette Davis/Joan Crawford classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and contains former members of Manhattan Love Suicides. (Not unlike MLS) The Blanche Hudson Weekend blends shoegazy guitars with lovely pop vocals — a combination that’s especially noticeable on “Let Me Go,” which is a delightfully upbeat track.

The Blanche Hudson weekend have released two 7″s to date, The Rats in the Cellar EP (Odd Box Records) and The Letters to Daddy EP (Squirrel Records.) If you’re in the US and don’t want to pay overseas shipping, Jisgaw Mailorder has The Letters to Daddy EP in stock for $6.

The Blanche Hudson Weekend is gearing up for their first ever live show (they’ll be playing in London on July 20th) and will also be playing at Indietracks this summer (which features an all around astounding lineup. I wish I could be there!)

I know that this post is ostensibly about the new BHW song, but while you’re over at their MySpace page, I really recommend listening to all of the stuff they have posted, especially “Grip of Fear” and “Only Snow” from The Rats in the Cellar EP. I can’t get over how good those two songs are — absolutely gorgeous.

The Blanche Hudson Weekend on MySpace
Odd Box Records
Squirrel Records
Jisgaw Mailorder (US orders, has The Letters to Daddy EP)

Courtney Love (The Band)

Courtney Love, Hey! Antoinette 7″ (DOWNLOAD)
Courtney Love, Highlights 7″ (DOWNLOAD)
Courtney Love, Uncrushworthy 7″ (DOWNLOAD)
Courtney Love, “Don’t Mix the Colors (Live)” (Beat Happening cover) (DOWNLOAD)

Awhile ago Tukru asked if anyone had Courtney Love’s cover of “Don’t Mix the Colors” (or any other Courtney Love in general) and I say, “I do, I do!” and then promptly forgot to share it with her. So, here it is, somewhat belatedly.

Courtney Love is the sweet team of Lois Maffeo (vocals, guitar) and Pat Maley (drums). They released 3 7″s together and contributed tracks to a compilation or two. Generally speaking, I’m a big fan of Lois, but I’m especially partial to these songs she recorded with Pat. “Uncrushworthy,” “Hey! Antoinette,” “Motorcycle Boy,” songs don’t get much better than these.

The songs are simple, just guitars and drums and Lois’s voice, but they’ll win your heart over in an instant. What I love about music like this is that it really invites the listener to participate — if you listen to this & like it, there’s nothing to stop you from jumping in and doing it on your own.

The Courtney Love 7″s are out of print now, but aren’t especially hard to find (or expensive) on the used market, especially if you’re willing to be vigilant.

For more on Courtney Love, check out this delightful archived interview with Lois.

Courtney Love, Hey! Antoinette 7″ (DOWNLOAD)
Courtney Love, Highlights 7″ (DOWNLOAD)
Courtney Love, Uncrushworthy 7″ (DOWNLOAD)
Courtney Love, “Don’t Mix the Colors (Live)” (Beat Happening cover) (DOWNLOAD)

Honey Skoolmates

Honey Skoolmates, Your Aquarium EP (DOWNLOAD)

This morning I was hit by a weird wave of nostalgia for the Honey Skoolmates, a band I haven’t listened to in years (and had very limited exposure to to begin with.) They contributed a track called “Go Now!” to a 2CD comp called Moshi Moshi: Pop International Style. I listened to that song constantly and longed for more of their endearing pop tunes, but was never really able to track anything down aside from their EP Your Aquarium.

Your Aquarium has just 5 songs sung in Japanese and English, but they’re lovely and understated. Something about their sound is both shy and welcoming, not quite as intimate as Rocket or Chiritori, but still as endearing.

A YouTube search turns up one lonely video of them performing their song “Ryme to the Ocean” (from their full length album Insomniac):

A general Google search is just as scarce (aside for results for the Moshi Moshi comp and a Velvet Underground tribute album curated by Gerard Malanga), though it does look like you can still buy Your Aquarium and Insomniac here, from CD Japan.

If you’re an international pop fan, definitely give this a listen (and invest in a used copy of that Moshi Moshi comp, it’s full of pop gems!)

Honey Skoolmates, Your Aquarium EP (DOWNLOAD)

Weed Hounds Announce Summer Tour

I’m stoked to say that Weed Hounds are hitting the road this summer (and have scheduled a stop in Cleveland!) They’ve mentioned that they’re in need of help booking shows, so if you live in one of these cities you should send them an e-mail at weedhounds[at]gmail[dot]com.

The Weed Hounds demo tape was one of my favorite releases last year. It’s sold out now, but you can download it here. It has four perfect dreamy shoegaze pop anthems & set the stage perfectly for their split with Dude Japan, which you can order direct from the label (Rok Lok) or from the band via their tumblr (they’re also offering pre-orders for their upcoming 7″ and a sweet Gossip Girl inspired t-shirt.)

Their tour schedule is as follows:

7/4 Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD w/ Girlfriends

7/5 Richmond, VA w/ Girlfriends

7/6 NC w/ Girlfriends

7/7 SC w/ Girlfriends

7/8 Athens, GA w/ Girlfriends

7/9 Birmingham, AL w/ Girlfriends

7/10 Jackson, MS w/ Girlfriends

7/11 Circle Bar in New Orleans, LA w/ Girlfriends

7/12 Super Happy Fun Land in Houston, TX w/ Girlfriends

7/13 Club1808 Austin, TX w/ Girlfriends

7/14 Dallas/Denton, TX

7/15 Little Rock, AK

7/16 Memphis, TN

7/17 Nashville, TN

7/18 Louisville, KY

7/19 Columbus or Cincinnati, OH

7/20 Cleveland, OH

7/21 Pittsburgh, PA

7/22 Philadelphia, PA

7/23 New Brunswick, NJ

P.S. I ran the random number generator this morning and the winner was reggaechicken — I’ve messaged you via tumblr, but just in case you see it here first: send me your mailing address so I can ship you your 7″!

New Tender Trap Single

Tender Trap have released a new single from their forthcoming LP for free online! You can download “Girls with Guns” free from the Fortuna Pop website right here.

Tender Trap consists of former members of Heavenly, Marine Research, and Police Cats as well as Elizabeth Darling from Allo Darlin’. The e-mail I received from Fortuna Pop indicted that the single might soon be available from Slumberland as well, though I’m not sure if they meant it will be available as a download or a physical release (I’m leaning towards download as right now neither label’s site has a physical release available.) ANYWAY, for those of you in the US, Slumberland will be handling US distribution of Tender Trap’s upcoming 3rd LP, Dansette, Dansette. (Speaking of Slumberland, I just dropped $40 on their website this morning, so maybe I’ll be doing a mailorder roundup edition of “What I Bought.”)

So, to actually talk about the song for a second, “Girls with Guns” is a girl gang anthem in which Heavenly vows revenge, saying, “We are ready to get mean/We are watching out/For all the girls around this town/And you will be found out/If you try to bring one of those girls down.” I love the way this song is driven — the guitars are relentless, but without losing any of Tender Trap’s delightful pop sensibilities. There are also a few little guitar/bass flourishes that make me think of old western soundtracks, which is in amazing touch.

Fortuna Pop says:

It’s a riot-grrrl-esque tale of sisterhood and revenge that wouldn’t be out of place among the punkest moments of Amelia Fletcher’s previous outfits. While guitars and drums rush by in a blur, Amelia and her new girl crew swear a cold-hearted vengeance on the unreliable and untrustworthy menfolk of the town.

Tender Trap will be playing in the US on May 21st as a part of the New York Popfest (fellow Fortuna Poppers Allo Darlin’ will also play a gig there — I wish I could go!)

Tender Trap has made a video for “Girls with Guns” & I’ve embedded it below:

What I’ve Been Listening To This Week

It’s Friday afternoon and in just a few short hours I’ll be cutting out of work early (admittedly, this early departure really just has to do with doing more work, only from outside of my cubicle), but until then, I thought I’d pass the time with a brief analysis of what I’ve been listening to lately.

I’m always interested in the ways we present ourselves vs. the ways we’re actually, privately living. The music I write about here is a public expression of what I’ve been listening to, thinking about, seeing, etc., but the “private” side of things (all the things I listen to and don’t write about here) is usually a totally different story.

So, here are my top ten artists this week according to my last.fm account:

1. Free Loan Investments Is their better springtime music than Free Loan Investments? Not today, there isn’t. Their cover of “Rush Hour” from Shelflife’s You’re Still Young at Heart comp is making my heart flutter and my head spin.

2 & 3. Delta Dart and Mary Timony are tied for second place. I woke up in a Delta Dart kind of mood this morning and listened to their albums Fight or Flight and Lone Star. I’ve been really into Mary Timony’s album The Golden Dove lately, especially the song “Blood Tree.” I mentioned this on twitter and my friend Brittany said that Mary Timony is a witch who enchants all of her tunes, which is way better than Drew’s claim that Mary Timony is a watered-down Sonic Youth ripoff.

4. Best Coast I’m still riding the high of seeing Best Coast in Oberlin a few weeks ago (review here) and have been listening to their tour CD-R & other tracks a ton (they would probably actually be number one for this week if last.fm had tracked the amount of times I streamed their new song.)

5. Mirah I don’t know why, but this week I was in the mood to listen to Advisory Committee (I think this was probably inspired by the recently announced Thao and Mirah tour) & I’m always in the mood to listen to Mirah b-sides and compilation tracks (“Tumwater Falls” is the perfect springtime song.)

6. Pearl Harbor I just found out about Pearl Harbor this week from my friend April and wrote about their lazy California pop jams yesterday. This morning I ordered the repress of their Something About the Chaparral 12″.

7. Little Red Car Wreck I wrote about Little Red Car Wreck way back when. Their album Motor Like A Mother is one of my mainstays and has been for something like 10 years now.

8. Allo Darlin’ Are all of you too good for that free Allo Darlin’ 7″? Hardly anyone has commented on that entry! You have until midnight (EST) on Sunday. Anyway, I’ve been really into some of the new Allo Darlin’ tracks (especially “Dreaming” and “My Heart is a Drummer”) and that is duly reflected in my last.fm stats.

9. Churchbuilder Churchbuilder is another band that I wrote about a long time ago. Akron based pop with dreamy synths and songs about Flannery O’Conor and bad northeastern Ohio weather.

10. The Lemonheads I was in a mopey mood on Monday morning and started my work week off by listening to the Lemonheads’ album Car Button Cloth — it’s the perfect sad springtime record, especially with songs like “Hospital” and “The Outdoor Life.”

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, “Sunburn” (DOWNLOAD)
Pearl Harbor, “California Shakedown” (DOWNLOAD)

UPDATE You can get the repress of Something About the Chaparral (along with a cassette version of the EP) direct from Pearl Harbor for $15 (postage paid) today only (4/30/2010.) Further information and a PayPal link is here. I’m assuming they have a limited number of these available, so don’t wait on ordering yours if you’re sure you want one. These are now sold out, but the repress of Something About the Chaparral is now officially available on the Mexican Summer website. You can order it here.

I am just going to start lurking April for all of my new music. This morning she introduced me to Pearl Harbor, an LA duo who write and perform some seriously gorgeous shimmering pop songs that make me think of the following (in no particular order): Galaxie 500, unicorns, costume jewelry, roller skates, tv shows set in imaginary high schools in California, and the opening sequence of the Less Than Zero movie. Pearl Harbor makes beautiful, lush tunes and it’s honestly difficult to stop myself from just writing things like: “lush, atmospheric, dreamy, etc.” over and over and over.

What’s especially interesting is that normally I am not interested in anything “lush, atmospheric, dreamy, etc.” In fact, normally I think that kind of stuff is boring and I take pains to avoid it (with a few rare exceptions — I guess up until now there was (aside from Galaxie 500) actually only one exception, Panda Bear’s Person Pitch.) Just yesterday Drew and I were in the car and I was talking about how much I hate soundscapes, if that gives you any idea of what I usually don’t like in a song.

Anyway, if Pearl Harbor can get me listening to the kind of stuff I normally ACTIVELY DISCUSS DISLIKING, I think it’s safe to assume that they are good at what they do.

They currently have two releases to their name: There’s a debut 12″ Something About the Chaparrals on Mexican Summer (view it here). I am admittedly not sure of what’s going on with this — the first press is sold out, I’ve heard there’s a repress on turquoise vinyl (which the Mexican Summer site seems to suggest is sold out — BUT all over the internet it’s listed as having a May release date and less than 24 hours ago Pearl Harbor posted about it on Twitter in a way that suggested it should be readily available… Perhaps weirdest of all: you seem to be able to preorder it from Best Buy. I am not entirely sure what that’s all about. Maybe it’s one of those “sold out at the label, still available through distros” situations?)

There’s also the Slivers of You 7″ available from Japanese mail order label Big Love (the link takes you to and English-language ordering page.) It sounds like Pearl Harbor will have a few of these to sell on their upcoming tour with Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and Magic Kids (you can see tour dates on their MySpace.)

The two songs I’ve uploaded with this post are “Sunburn” (the first track off the 12″) and “California Shakedown” (the b-side from the 7″.) It’s a real shame that The OC is no longer on the air, because this song would work seriously well with a California teens driving down the 101 montage. I can seriously see Summer Roberts’ hair blowing in the wind when I listen to this. “California Shakedown” is a little darker — a little more Sweet Valley High Elizabeth Wakefield remembers that time she was kidnapped and kept under the floor of a burning building. OK, maybe not that dark. It’s probably a little more Jessica Wakefield remembers that time she almost let Bruce Patman take off her bikini top and thinks to herself, “I thought I knew everything back then.” Which is, when you think about, still pretty dark.

So, there you have it. Pearl Harbor: music for girls who remember when they thought they knew everything.

Pearl Harbor on blogger
Pearl Harbor on twitter
Pearl Harbor on facebook
Pearl Harbor on MySpace
Order the Slivers of You 7″ here

Pearl Harbor, “Sunburn” (DOWNLOAD)
Pearl Harbor, “California Shakedown” (DOWNLOAD)