February 23, 2016 — “A Hundred Ropes” by Minor Victories

Minor Victories

If you only watch one music video today, make it “A Hundred Ropes” by Minor Victories (2016, from the forthcoming album Minor Victories).

Minor Victories is a UK indie rock supergroup formed by Rachel Goswell out of Slowdive and Mojave 3 (vocals), Stuart Braithwaite out of Mogwai (guitar), Justin Lockey out of Editors (guitar, electronics), and filmmaker James Lockey. The two Lockey boys formed a film/video production company called Hand Held Cine Club. They’ve made a lot of music videos. Back in October, I shared a video of “Faultlines” by Lanterns on The Lake. That’s a Hand Held Cine Club production. They’ve also worked with Frightened Rabbit a bunch of times, The Twilight Sad, and many others.

The supergroup formed late last year, and yesterday they released details about their forthcoming album. There’ll be ten songs and the self-titled album will be out on June 3 via Fat Possum. Braithwaite said somewhere (I’ll apologize for not providing a source) that if you follow the bands that the individual members are in, you won’t be surprised at all by what the supergroup sounds like. Today’s song certainly sounds like Mogwai and Slowdive mushed together. One of the album’s ten songs features The Twilight Sad vocalist James Graham, while another will feature Mark Kozelek out of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon. I’ll leave my commentary about Mark Kozelek out of this conversation other than to say that he and Goswell have teamed up together to do a magnificent cover of John Denver’s “Around and Around”. I wrote about that here.

As far as this Minor Victories album goes, I’ve only heard this one song, and I love it. I’m predicting that the album will land somewhere in the top ten of my year-end list. For now, this is that song. Or at least that video.

“A Hundred Ropes” by Minor Victories

Warriors charging into the fray. Super-slow motion. Monochrome. A lot of Hand Held Cine videos use some elements of slow motion, and a lot of them also use muted colors or monochrome. A lot of them are also dark both in hue and in theme. There’s certainly all of that going on. I read that this was done in one shot, and that it’s only ten seconds of real time. Lockey’s making a bit of a statement with videos like this. This and the others are sort of “anti-videos”. Most music videos are so bright and vibrant. Most are cut so many times so people can have their sensory overload and not get bored by watching the same thing for more than three seconds. He’s making videos that are completely opposite that. Read the Pitchfork article for more on that.

I love the pace and the rhythm of the song. Rachel’s vocals are perfect, and I don’t know what else to say. Play this a lot and play it LOUD.

The album releases on June 3, and you can pre-order it via the Minor Victories store here.

February 22, 2016 — “Arizona” by Memoryhouse

Memoryhouse

If you only listen to one song today, make it “Arizona” by Memoryhouse (2016, from the album Soft Hate).

Memoryhouse is a dream pop duo from Guelph, Ontario. They released their debut album The Slideshow Effect in February of 2012, and that album ended up being my #13 album of that year. That record was released by Sub Pop, and they made a really big deal about it. They did a lot of promotion for it, and they did a presale with loads of bundle options. It was crazy to see that for an unknown band. I think Sub Pop really wanted them to become the next Beach House, and they did their best to will it into happening. While on tour with that album, the band had a bunch of gear stolen from their van, and they used a successful crowdfunding effort to get back on their feet.

I really liked that album, and I didn’t hear anything new from them, so I sort of assumed that they were just another of many to make one really good record and then disappear. I was really happy when the new album appeared on my radar late last year, and even more happy when I finally heard it. The album was self-released on February 9, and this is one of my favorite songs from it. Even though this is only my third favorite Canadian new album from February, I’ve still got this penciled in somewhere in my year-end top 20. That’s written in pencil, and it may slide up or down the list. This year is already shaping up to be almost as good for new releases as 2015 was, so I’m certain that my year-end countdown will have at least 50 albums. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, this is that song.

“Arizona” by Memoryhouse

Sure, it starts off all dreamy and all that, but I love the moment at 0:36 when it suddenly gets really noisy. The guitar, the bass, and the drums all come in pretty hot, and the rhythm is infectious, almost “funky” even. There’s a brief moment in there that reminds me of the first Hooverphonic record. The unusual heaviness of the music and the delay on Denise Nouvion’s vocals add together to make me think of Hooverphonic. I say “unusual heaviness” because even though the new record is generally speaking much noisier than the first, this song is even noisier than the rest of the album. The album is still basically dream pop, but there’s just quite a bit more noise. And we like that.

There’s no Bandcamp on this, but you can buy a download via iTunes, or you can get it from Amazon here. Annoyingly, the only physical format on this right now is cassette, which can buy that via the Memoryhouse website/store here. It looks like they’ve arranged something with the French label Beko Disques to do a small run of CDs, but there’s been no word about the possibility of releasing this on vinyl. Because Denise Nouvion is a photographer first and a singer second, there’s also a very nice-looking photo booklet for sale via the Memoryhouse store. It’s limited to 200 signed copies. I know from getting a physical copy of The Slideshow Effect that her photography is pretty damn good, so it’s worth looking into.

This is That Song Update

Things have been quiet on the blog lately, and I feel like I have some explaining to do.

I’ve been busy. Really busy.

My role at work has changed. With that change, I’m there earlier in the morning than I used to be. I’m there later in the afternoon than I used to be. For now, I’m working seven days a week. Some days are shorter than others, but I don’t have as much free time as I used to. I’m also taking a couple of programming classes at night. Between my clogged work schedule, the nights that I have to actually go to school, and the nights that I have to do reading and homework, I have very, very little free time.

I’ve fallen way behind on reading my emails, and I’ve fallen a little behind on my new music acquisitions, but I’m still listening to lots of new releases and I’m still falling in love with new stuff.

For at least a few more weeks, things will continue to be quiet around here, but I’m still hoping to write. It might be once or twice a week as opposed to six or seven times a week, and I might have to start doing some very early morning writing, and I might make my writing much more terse than it usually is, but I will do my best to keep this thing going and to make it healthier than it is right now.

As winter turns to spring, I’ll get a little of my free time back, and when spring turns to summer, I’ll get a lot more. I can promise that I’ll devote more time to the blog as those developments unfold. For now, I can’t make any other promises.

February 18, 2016 — “Softly” by Crescendo

Crescendo

If you only listen to one song today, make it “Softly” by Crescendo (2016, from the forthcoming album Unless).

Crescendo is a dreamgaze quintet from Los Angeles. I really don’t know anything about this band, but even though there are five members, every picture I’ve seen of them has only the three. I heard a different one of their songs in my Soundcloud feed and I became quite interested. They’re also part of the We Were Never Being Boring collective, which is another thing that always piques my interest.

The band released their debut —Lost Thoughts— in 2014, and their sophomore long player will be out tomorrow.

You can hear a lot of 1990s dreamgaze influence on some songs, and some 1980s indie pop influence on others. I haven’t heard the entire album, but I really like what I’ve heard, including this:

“Softly” by Crescendo

I really like everything about this. While I’m usually a sucker for coed vocal harmonies, what they’re doing is a bit different. At least on the songs I’ve heard, it’s like they focus less on harmonies and more on simply sharing the vocal duties. Gregory Cole sings part of the song while Olive Kimoto sings a different part. It’s quite nice, actually. I don’t know whether it’s Kimoto’s voice, or the miles of delay on it, or some other vocal effect, but the parts that she sings really remind me of something that I can’t lay a finger on right now. Something much more contemporary than the 80s indie pop and 90s dreamgaze that I talked about. Anyway, I really like this song, and I like the other songs that I’ve heard. I don’t have the album yet, but I will soon, and I’ll probably have it in heavy rotation in my car and on my iPod.

In the US, you can order the album now via Bandcamp here. Fans in the EU can pre-order here.

February 15, 2016 — “Doing The Right Thing” by Daughter

Daughter

If you only watch one music video tonight, make it “Doing The Right Thing” by Daughter (2016, from the album Not To Disappear).

Daughter is an indie-folk/electronica trio from London. The band is centered around Londoner Elena Tonra (vocals/guitar/bass), and also features the Swiss-born Igor Haefeli (guitar/bass) and the Frenchman Remi Aguilella (drums). Since 2010, they’ve released a few singles, four EPs, and two full-length albums. They’ve achieved some mainstream success, and I knew their name, but I had never listened to them until I got a copy of their new album a couple of weeks ago. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to like it very much, but within a few moments, those low expectations were shattered. As a bit of trivia, the sophomore album Not To Disapear came out on January 15 of this year, which was Tonra’s 26th birthday.

The band is signed to 4AD, which isn’t the same shoegaze/dreampop-centric label that it was 20 years ago, but it’s still something to write home about. With some trepidation, I downloaded the album and clicked “play”. As I said, it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with this album. I haven’t been writing much lately, but I have been listening to a lot of stuff, and this is one that’s been in very heavy rotation for the last two weeks. Even with the highly anticipated new release from Basia Bulat (which I freakin’ LOVE, by the way), this is one that I can’t stay away from.

I’m reminded a bit of what made me fall in love with Sharon Van Etten a few years back (her newest record notwithstanding). But this is bigger, bolder, brighter, and sexier than even the best of SVE. In combination with that, I’m also reminded of the sexiness of The XX. And while I don’t normally care to share things that have had some mainstream success, this is one that I highly recommend. I love every song on the album, and it’s gotten multiple dozens of plays around here just in the last two weeks.

Tonight’s song is in the form of a video, which was directed by the pair of Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. They’ve made one feature film, a load of short films, and a bunch of music videos. They’ve worked with Nick Cave, Scott Walker, Gil Scott-Heron and many others.

This is that song and video:
“Doing The Right Thing” by Daughter

You can buy Not To Disappear just about anywhere, and you should look for them on a North American tour this spring.

February 10,2016 — “Icing Sugar” by Keiandra

Keiandra

If you only listen to one song tonight, make it “Icing Sugar” by Keiandra (2016, from the forthcoming EP Empty Palaces).

Keiandra is a dreampop/indie-folk singer/songwriter from Newcastle Upon Tyne. She’s just 18 years of age, and she’s set to release her debut EP in March. A couple of days ago, I got something in the mailbag promoting the EP, and specifically tonight’s song. She released a single called “Wanted” a couple of months ago, and the single for “Icing Sugar” will be out on Friday. According to her blog, the EP should have been out in September of 2015, but we don’t really know anything other than what the email says. The EP will be out on March 11. Whatever the case, this is a really impressive tune from the youngster, and I’m really looking forward to hearing more from her.

No matter, here’s tonight’s stellar song:

“Icing Sugar” by Keiandra

It’s hard to say that this sounds “like” anything, but it’s easy to say that it sounds good. Really the only thin I know is that she lists Daughter as one of her influences. By the way, I haven’t spent very much time with the brand new Daughter album Not to Disappear, but I do like it, and it’s going to end up near the top of a lot of year-end lists.

Tonight’s song is dreamy and beautiful and it’s got me knocked over. If this song and the other song I’ve heard indicate anything, this young woman should make a pretty big impact both in the UK and here in the US.

February 3, 2016 — “True Kindness” by Savage Sister

Savage Sister

If you only listen to one song today, make it “True Kindness” by Savage Sister (2016, from the album Speechless).

Savage Sister is a dream pop/darkwave/shoegaze band from Chicago. The band is fronted by multi-instrumentalist Michael Tenzer, who is really busy with this project as well as Lazy Legs and Eyes Behind the Veil. Savage Sister has been around since 2012, and they’ve released a couple of EPs, a couple of 7″ records, and one other album. This album was supposed to come out in early 2015, and I actually wrote about it last January. Unfortunately, the release kept getting delayed, but it finally came out yesterday.

Tenzer is a huge fan of Scott Cortez, who is the genius behind the super-ambient and super fuzzy projects lovesliescrushing and astrobrite, and who incidentally also lives in Chicago at the moment. Although this isn’t as fuzzy as those, Tenzer’s interest in and influence by those projects is very evident.

It’s a really dreamy and beautiful record that carries the listener off to a really safe and warm place. As always, Tenzer’s composition sparkles. As always, Chloe Lundgren’s soft, sweet vocals soar.

“True Kindness” by Savage Sister

I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, but because it got pushed by an entire year, I almost forgot about it. I got a notice about it yesterday, and although real life has been kicking me in the pants, that news really cheered me up. I immediately bought a download and spent some quality time with it last night, even while I was doing some other writing. I absolutely love this album, and I’ve penciled it in to the top 15 of my year-end list. I’m expecting that list to be 50 again this year, and I also expect to have another extensive “honorable mention” list this year. I know it’s crazily early to start those talks, but I know what I like. For the record, I know that this won’t be my favorite February release, and I’ll have a lot to write about that matter next week. Still, though, you can count on this being very near the top of the final list.

You can buy Speechless in digital download format via Bandcamp here.

February 2, 2016 — “Snow” by Charlie Hilton

Charlie Hilton

If you only listen to one song tonight, make it “Snow” by Charlie Hilton (2016, from the album Palana).

Charlie Hilton is the eponymous Portland, Oregon electro/indie/dream pop solo project of the lead singer out of Blouse. Blouse’s self-titled debut record was my eighth favorite non-Canadian record of 2011. You know, way back in the day before I started this music blog. Back when I published two year-end lists every year. For the record, there are more than a few albums from that countdown that I haven’t listened to since 2012. But that’s neither here nor there.

Blouse released a second album in 2013, and it wasn’t quite the dream pop delight that Blouse was. They experimented with a different style and used different instruments. I never even got that album. At some point, that band decided to take a break, and during the hiatus, Charlie Hilton got to work on her solo debut. I started getting notes about it late last year, but I didn’t even realize the connection to Blouse until just a few weeks ago. The album finally released on January 22 via Captured Tracks, and I like it quite a bit.

Hilton paired up with Mac DeMarco on “100 Million”, which is also from the solo debut, and it’s a great song, but it’s not why we’re here tonight.

On tonight’s song, and on a couple of others, there’s some saxophone. Truth told, I’m not a fan of saxophone, even when you’re talking about Colin Stetson. Somehow, though, it really works here. This is that song.

“Snow” by Charlie Hilton

There’s something really intoxicating about the rhythm. There’s something about the keys and heavy drum beat that reminds me of Bowery Electric. Hilton’s quiet vocals soar over the dimly lit wide-open space. And that weird saxophone in the darkened corners. More like free-form noodling than playing. All of it pieces together really nicely, and I’ve listened to this album a bunch of times. I think it’ll end up in the top half of my year-end list.

You can buy Palana as a download via Bandcamp here, or you can buy it in LP/CD/cassette format here.