Säkert!: "Och Jag Grät Mig Till Sömns Efter Alla Dar"

Annika Norlin is Säkert!

Säkert! is another solo project of Annika Norlin from Hello Saferide. If youre familiar with Annika's work as Hello Saferide, then you'll undoubtedly love Säkert!, that is, if you dont already. You will however notice that while Hello Saferide's song are sung in english, Säkert!'s are not, which i find to make them all the more charming to listen to. The music on Säkert!'s debut self-titled LP, released this past February on Razzia Records, is considerably more upbeat than the majority of Hello Saferide's output and I think, much more exciting. Have a listen.

[MP3]: Säkert! :: Och Jag Grät Mig Till Sömns Efter Alla Dar (Highly Rec'd!)
[MP3]: Säkert! :: Allt som är ditt (Highly Recommended!)

You can/should buy Säkert!'s self-titled LP from Razzia Records.
Säkert! on MySpace

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Hey Maryland People!

Come to this tomorrow night, okay. Okay good, see you there!



It's at The Copycat building, 5th floor, 10pm. Wham City dot com for more info.

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Emmy The Great: "Two Steps Forward" Video

I can't get enough of this video, it's just beyond excellent. 5 stars. 10 out of 10. Bravo. USDA choice. Awesome. So, um, WATCH IT!

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Yellow Fever: The Culver City EP

Yellow Fever circa before Cole Huddlestein.

After a longer wait than my eager ears anticipated, Hugpatch Records, one of my favorite little labels out there, is finally releasing their third record. Better yet, it's a 7" single from Austin, TX's Yellow Fever! I've been absolutely smitten with the band since I ordered their self-titled EP off their myspace a couple months ago (that particular release seems to no longer be avaiable, but you can still order their Cats and Rats EP, which, too, is excellent). The new 7", entitled The Culver City EP, features some of the best stuff that Jennifer Moore, Adam Jones, and Isabel Martin have ever put to tape. Sadly, Isabel has since moved to New York, with Cole Huddlestein now taking over the bass playing duties. You may have seen him at the Athens Popfest!

Aaaaaaaaanyway, The A-side "Joe Brown", is my new favorite Yellow Fever song ever, for sure. I really love the theatrical gasps in the intro, and the melody is irresistible, but it's the bridge that really makes the song -- who doesn't love well executed overlapping vocals? Exactly. Check it out. By the way, B-side "Culver City" is pretty damn awesome, too. Just not quite as awesome.

[MP3]: Yellow Fever :: Joe Brown (Super Incredibly Recommended!!!)

The record will be limited to 500 copies only, so keep an eye on the Hugpatch website so you don't miss out once it's up for purchase! While your there, copies of the Besties and Nosotrash 7"s are still available. I'd highly recommend both of them.

Yellow Fever on MySpace

OH WAIT! LOOK AT THIS BABY PANDA! HOLY CRAP CUTE OVERLOAD!

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The Essential Pam Berry Compilation

The (Unofficial) Essential Pam Berry Compilation

I've been meaning to make this for a while now, and I finally remembered to get it together this past weekend and yesterday. To many, Pam Berry is a legend. To some, Pam Berry is just the name of of a Shins song (In her honor, of course), and to others, the name means nothing at all. Sad, too, considering that if there had been a royal court of American indiepop in 90s, Ms. Berry would surely have been the queen.

Overtime she has lent her dreamy vocal prowess the following bands: Glo-Worm, Black Tambourine, The Castaway Stones, The Shapiros, Belmondo, The Seashell Sea, Veronica Lake, The Pines, and Bright Coloured Lights; as well as also being a co-founder of the legendary Chickfactor zine, and doing many other cool things, like living in DC. I have some favorites, for sure, but to be quite honest, just about everything she's ever done is completely excellent by me. If you've heard some Pam Berry before, then hopefully there's some stuff on here that's new to you. If you've never heard Pam Berry before, then hopefully you find something to love on here. I love it all, and I hope that you do, too! P.S. Like always, it's tagged with artwork and as a compilation for ease of use :D

[ZIP]: The Essential Pam Berry Compilation (12 MP3s, 51mb) NEW LINK! 12/12/09

Tracklist:
01. Black Tambourine :: Throw Aggi Off The Bridge
02. The Shapiros :: Cry For A Shadow
03. Belmondo :: Sleepwatch
04. The Pines :: Milk Bar
05. Glo-Worm :: Wishing Well
06. Bright Coloured Lights :: Open Your Eyes
07. The Castaway Stones :: Sunday Came And Went
08. The Pines :: Aurora (The Cat's Miaow cover)
09. The Shapiros :: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (Shirelles cover)
10. Glo-Worm :: Downtown (Petula Clark cover)
11. Belmondo :: We'll Never Get To Paris Now
12. Black Tambourine :: By Tomorrow

Enjoy!

Other good things:
A Personal Affair With: Pam Berry
Interview in Tasty Fanzine

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Black Kids: "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You"

Black Kids

From Jacksonville, FL come the Black Kids! I regrettably wasn't there, but apparently they were THE sensation of the Athens Popfest this year. These four kids make what would be best described as jangly electro dance pop, and they do it really, really well. Dual keyboards, courtesy of the band's two ladies, buzz and beep around each other creating ultra-catchy melodies that most of their songs tend to rely on. But right when you think it's just some 80s synth gimmick, there's some jangy guitar (though it could/should be brought up in the mix a bit), and excting enough drumming to round it out into what's really a great, fairly fresh sound -- especially when you throw in the fact that lead singer/guitarist sounds like a less morose Robert Smith. I've read in several reviews of their performance at Popfest that the recordings floating around don't even begin to touch their live sound, and in some respects, actually degrade it. I'm still totally in love with this song though, and I can't wait to hear it live sometime.

[MP3]: Black Kids :: I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (Really, Really Recommended!!!)

Black Kids on MySpace
Thanks to Elizabeth for the tip!

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Brown Recluse Sings: "Night Train"

Brown Recluse Sings

Philadelphia's Brown Recluse Sings have been on a roll since releasing their debut Black Sunday EP last year and they've already got some new stuff on the way! I heard the brand new song "Night Train" a week or so back and it's been stuck in my head so I figured I better share it with you. I believe this will be on the upcoming record, The Soft Skin, but more details on that later. For now, check out "Night Train".

[MP3]: Brown Recluse Sings :: Night Train (Highly Rec'd!!)
I loved everything on the Black Sunday EP, but I think this song has gotta be my favorite BRS track to date. It's got a much more "poppier" feel to it than most of their previous material, and I'm really digging it. I'd say if I had to offer up some sort of blatant comparison, I'd say it's sounds like what I think James Mercer fronting Saturday Looks Good To Me would sound. The bright, poppy keyboards and the horns mesh perfectly, creating a nice, lush melody that, well, get's stuck in your head pretty quick.

Check out BRS on MySpace

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Shoegaze Mélange Two!

Having a mélange on a Friday? I must be out of our minds!

I said I wanted to post some more, and since I wasn't lying, here's some more. These five that I've chosen span the entire genre of shoegaze pretty well. I wanted to throw in some Pale Saints, too, but I ended up running out of space, or well, the will to post six songs instead of five. For those of you who've never heard Stereolab's "Jenny Ondioline", it's really awesome, but long as hell, so there's a warning for you. It's like 18ish minutes. All songs are obviously highly recommended, folks!

[MP3]: Blindside :: Anvil
from the Teenage Goth Suicide Cult EP [Summershine Records, 1993]

[MP3]: Jane From Occupied Europe :: Mourning Glass
from the Coloursound LP [Seven Percent Records, 1991]

[MP3]: Swervedriver :: Last Train To Satansville
from the Mezcalhead LP [Creation Records, 1993]

[MP3]: Stereolab :: Jenny Ondioline
from the Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements LP [Elektra Records, 1993]

[MP3]: Black Tambourine :: Black Car
from the Complete Recordings LP [Slumberland Records, 1999]

Bye! Enjoy! Etc!

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"Let go of the precious, so sweet"

Integretron's excellent artwork by Nando Costa

After a handful of repeated delays and push-backs, the Vells' second full-length record, Integretron, now roughly two years in the making, is finally set for a definite release. What's more is that Imputor? Records have declared it to be "Vellsmas" and are making the entire record available for download for a limited time. Tracks 1-7 have already been posted up, but they won't be up forever, so you beter get over there fast because Integretron is going to be one of the best records you hear all year. The first track, "Precious Sweet" is the perfect opener, allowing Tristan Marcum's dark and dusty vocals -- clearly the band's finest instrument -- to sink in immediately, rubbing up against only a sparse acoustic guitar. Give it a listen, then go grab more HERE!

[MP3]: Vells :: Precious Sweet (Highly Recommended!!)
Imputor? will also be posting the lyrics for all of the songs, and for good reason too, as Tristan not only has an amazing voice, but as you'll soon find, he's also a brilliant lyricist:

"Shown to me through the curtain
two at sitting, pouring wine
glasses fill, then the empty
dirty certain outlines mime
in the bloom find the phrases
hear their tremors give away
all the weight they are throwing
amounts to nothing, the grander play"
- "Precious Sweet"

Also, as a bonus, for those of you new to the Vells, here's my all-time favorite song of theirs, from their 2004 record, Flight From Echo Falls.

[MP3]: Vells :: In My Paradise (Highly Recommended!!!)

You can now preorder Integretron from Imputor?'s webshop. Preorder soon and receive a limited 11"x17" Integretron poster designed by Nando Costa.

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The Doane Givvashittz

Hello I'm back! Moving went well, thanks for asking, I like my new place and everything is going gangbusters! So, uh, let's get back into this blogging thing.

So back July I came upon this new totally awesome band that I would like to tell YOU about! The Doane Givvashittz, comprised of Mat (The Lil Hospital, The Specific Heats, etc) and Leah, sound like an indiepop band raised on surf rock, left alone in it's teens and destined to never venture outside the family garage. The music is rough, dirty, and like i said before, totally awesome. If you live in or around brooklyn maybe you can see them play sometime, if not, you'll just have to listen to these sweet sweet jams and hope that one day, just maybe, you'll be able to live the dream.

[MP3]: The Doane Givvashittz :: Totally Freaking Out (Highly Recommended!)
[MP3]: The Doane Givvashittz :: The Day I Was A Horse (Vaselines cover)

The Doane Givvashittz on MySpace!

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A Wee Break

Hello. I'm in the process of moving away to school -- only an hour and a half away in Towson, MD, but still -- and I'll be busy and stressed out about that for the next week probably so I probably won't devoting much time here until I'm well settled in and such. Anyway, yeah. I've lived in the same place for over twenty years and I'm quite sad to leave it all, and for some reason my love for this song has recently been revived and listening to it really takes me back and makes me even sadder. See you soon from a new home, folks.

[MP3]: The Smashing Pumpkins :: Mayonaise

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Wednesday Shoegaze Mélange

Mmmmmm Wednesday.

Hello hello! This post, like the others, is a quick five-song mix of random songs that I love a lot. However, today there's a theme, which unless you're blind, you should be fairly aware of already. Anyway, I don't have too much to say, except that if you've never heard some of these before, I would urge you to do so, cause you might just fall in love. It's hard not too, sometimes.

[MP3]: Slowdive :: Alison
from the Souvlaki LP [Creation Records, 1993]

[MP3]: Secret Shine :: Temporal
from the Untouched LP [Sarah Records, 1993]

[MP3]: My Bloody Valentine :: Cigarette In Your Bed
from the You Made Me Realise EP [Creation Records, 1988]

[MP3]: Eternal :: Sleep
from the Breathe 7" [Sarah Records, 1991]

[MP3]: Ride :: Like A Day Dream
from the Play EP [Creation Records, 1990]

Well! Okay! Bye! Also, I may do a part two of this sometime cause as I was picking songs, I ran across a lot more than five that I wanted to post, and I'd like to post them sometime. So yeah, awesome.

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Best Fwends: "Skate or Live"

Hello Folksies! I love Best Fwends a lot, and I can't wait to dance my ass off to them with Mika Miko and The Death Set on the 19th! Best Fwends make some of the weirdest, most retarded pop music in Texas that you can dance to in any state you want. You should really really really be there if you can. If you really need convincing, then watch this video for "Skate and Live" from their recently released record, Alphabetically Aranged on the UK label, Moshi Moshi Records.



And for a bonus fun time times a million billion, listen to this remix of their song "Aaww-some" by Johnny Sierra, one half of The Death Set, and owner of what is potentially the best tropical-dwelling action hero name in the world. Anyway...

[MP3]: Best Fwends :: Aaww-some (Johnny Sierra Remix) (Highly Rec'd!!)

Best Fwends on MySpace!

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Tyvek live for Viva Radio

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. TYVEK ARE AWESOME. Here's Matt and Kevin playing "Future Junk" on guitar and a cardboard box in the middle of American Apparel for Viva Radio. The whole interview and the rest of the performance should be up at viva-radio.com soon. Also, I'd like to encourage you to go buy the shit out of their new 2x7" Summer Burns on NYC's What's Your Rupture?. BUY BUY BUY $$$ $$$ $$$

Okay, watch!

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Mika Miko, TheDeathSet, and Others

If you can be there, BE THERE! BE THERE x 1,000,000!

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The Good Grief: "Pages"

Here's a secret: I barely read any of my email. It doesn't really matter though, about 98% of it wouldn't interest me in a million years anyway. The only problem is that, I imagine, there's probably a few things I've missed that I actually might have liked -- that was almost the case with The Good Grief. The Good Grief are a wonderful pop band from Santa Cruz, California comprised of three folks: Alisha, Dylan, and Dan. I was immediately in love with there songs "Pages" and "Mannequin", and the rest of their EP is constantly growing on me. Alisha's vocals remind me a lot of some band that I still haven't been able to place and it's really been bugging me. I also think they remind me of Sleater-Kinney, but like, more indiepop and less riot grrrrl (and also only on the songs where Alisha is singing). The chorus in "Pages" will be stuck in your head for a couple days, I guarantee it.

[MP3]: The Good Grief :: Pages (Highly Recommended!!!)
[MP3]: The Good Grief :: Mannequin (Highly Recommended, too!!)

The Good Grief on MySpace!

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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, indeed.

I meant to mention these guys quite a while ago, in fact I would have had I actually gotten through all the NYC Popfest acts that I said I was going to cover. Oh well, yknow? Quite alright though, as now's a better time to talk about NYC's The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, anyway. The gloriously noisy indiepop three-piece are getting ready to release their debut EP, on their own Painbow label. The songs on the self-titled debut are brilliant pop gems, every last one of them. The catchy boy/gurl harmonies of Kip Berman and Peggy Wang-East are cast upon a background of simple driving basslines, mechanical drums, keyboards and of course, a wash of ringing guitar distortion, creating a sound not too far off from 90s indiepop heroes, Black Tambourine or early MBV. Long sentences aside, this really is a fantastic EP, and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are becoming one of my favorite US indiepop bands out there right now. Both song songs below come extremely recommended!!!

[MP3]: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart :: This Love Is Fucking Right!
[MP3]: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart :: Orchard Of My Eye
Right out of the gate the EP starts off with the super solid TVPs-esque "This Love Is Fucking Right!". I say TVPs-esque because it reminds me quite a lot of their song "This Time There's No Happy Ending", which I'd like to note, is NOT bad thing, as it's probably my favorite TVPs song ever. "Orchard Of My Eye" however, seems to move at a more graceful pace. Probably the "prettiest" track on the EP, highlighted my the excellent echoing harmonies in each chorus. Boy, it's just all so so good.

You can preorder the EP on Insound right now! Also, if you happen to be in New York on August 7th head down to the Cake Shop for their CD release show! More details on their Myyyyyyyyspace.

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