Dunes, Cold Showers & Stephanie Somewhere In Seattle

July 27, 2011 at 10:03 pm | Posted in DIY, Gigs, Music, Seattle | 2 Comments
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As I mentioned last week, I went to the Capitol Hill Block Party on Friday, but my weary bones failed to make a reappearance. Maybe it was age. Maybe it was not wanting to stand inside a dark, hot Neumo’s on a beautiful day. Maybe it was my lack of tattoos.  (Capsule Review: I loved the Fresh & Onlys set, but wish is was outside. Thurston Moore played the longest note of the day. I think he and his band held a single note for at least a minute and a half. People went wild for Fucked Up while they played the same song for 45 minutes. It was all I could do to stay for all of Yuck which was not all their fault. I was beaten by the Block Part.) By Sunday I had recharged enough to head down to a venue that shall remain nameless for a DIY show. A couple LA bands (Dunes and Cold Showers) along with a couple Seattle bands (Stephanie and Mountainns) played what amounted to a loft show next to a freeway that bookmakers and seismologists say will collapse the next time the earth quakes.

I think this may have been a quasi secret show as both Dunes and Cold Showers played at the Block Party earlier in the day, but as discussed earlier there wasn’t a chance in hell that I was going to make a second appearance at. In this world there are two kinds of concert goers. There is the type that go for the spectacle and bragging rights of it and there are those that go for the music.  It’s pretty safe to say that everyone in the loft Sunday night were there for the music. Why else would you choose to be someone’s sweat box of a living room with 30 other people who may or may not have showered that day?  I arrived in time to see Stephanie. I own their GGNZLA EP, but I don’t remember them sounding like Boy era U2 if it had been produced by Martin Hannett (yeah, I know Hannett produced 11 O’Clock Tick Tock). Their singer has a big melodramatic voice while the rest of the band have obviously studied their Joy Division and New Order records.

Both Dunes and Cold Showers are progeny of the defunct Mika Miko. Cold Showers who are the newer band, have just a single single which is out on the Mexican Summer label. Speaking of Mexican Summers, the venue was as hot as a Mexican summer and I’m talking about one on the coast. Heat aside, Cold Showers features former Mika Miko bassist Jessie Clavin and she is their secret weapon;  Shredding on guitar full time and doing part time vocal duties. They have a dark sound that pulls in influences from their hometown like X and Gun Club and mixes them with the likes of Bauhaus and Joy Division. The majority of the vocals are handled by bassist Jonathan Weinberg who has a deadpan barritone. The ringing guitars, Weinberg’s deadpan vocals juxtaposed with Clavin’s gritty angelic ones made for a killer sound. It may have been someone’s living room but they still easily made the music soar. Dunes Drummer Kate Hall joined them for their final song bringing a two drum attack as well as reuniting 1/2 Mika Miko on stage, or living room rather.

mp3: Cold Showers – I Don’t Mind (from their Mexican Summer single)


On record Dunes evoke the ethereal playfulness of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Their songs rely on shimmering guitars and echoed vocals to create their empyrean sound.    Maybe it was the DIY space, or maybe they just can’t quite pull off the task of equalling their records, but the trio of drums and two guitars (no bass) didn’t quite reach the celestial sounding heights of their records.  Former Talbot Tagora guitarist/singer Mark Greshowak took the vocal reigns for one song momentarily making Dunes sound slightly like his old band.  Otherwise Stephanie Chan handled the singing of which she is more than capable of doing, only her voice just didn’t strike me as much as it does on the records. Dunes were just OK live. Maybe it was the heat or the venue. They were too rough around the edges whereas I wanted  them to explore more of their subtle and pristine side which I think is the best part of them.

mp3: Dunes – Tied Together (from the brand new single just out on Teenage Teardrops)

Massive Music News Update

July 21, 2011 at 11:22 am | Posted in Music, News | Leave a comment
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I have been amassing a ton information that has come to the tipping point where I have to let it out.  Some of this may have been tweeted, but who remembers anything they read on Twitter? You possibly have heard half of it, but then maybe you haven’t. Here’s the mid-summer digest of the finest kiss music news.

Allo Darlin’ set to release new single

Last week Allo Darlin’ announced the release of a brand new single due in August. You can hear it and pre-order it over at their bandcamp. It’s a picture disc and contains one song about former Hefner frontman Darren Hayman and one song about the Wu Tang Clan which is a cover of another Hayman band the French. How’s that for confusing?

Art Museums Break Up

After a short but fruitful run San Francisco’s Art Museums have said their splitting up. According to their Facebook page, they just couldn’t handle it anymore. They had recently released two 7 inch singles one on Slumberland and another on Yakamashi. I don’t know about you, but I could have handled a few more records from them. So long Art Museums. See you in the funny papers.

mp3: Art Museums – Dancing With a Hole In Your Heart (from the Slumberland single)

Portland band Blouse played the Crocodile

I stopped by the Crocodile the other night to see Blouse. So far the Portland new wavers have released singles on Captured Tracks and Sub Pop with an album due this fall on CT. Their singer was totally going for the 80′s vibe with her poofy feathered hair and white pleated slacks. Their short set (25 minutes) much better than their fashion sense, playing light airy sounds accented with muscular Cure-like bass lines.


Chicago band has a Brain Idea, Sound Like the Clean, Name Their EP after CCR

I’m kind of possessed this week by the new EP from Brain Idea on Mexican Summer. It’s part Clean, part Kraut, of course the Clean always have had a Kraut element to their sound so maybe it’s all Clean. Whatever, it’s good. I just ordered their first album that came out on Permanent last year.

mp3: Brain Idea – Oh I’m Free (Earn Your Card) (Out now on Mexican Summer)

It Was Only a Matter of Time: Flexis Are Back


Castle Face the San Francisco label part-run by Thee Oh Sees’ John Dwyer have just unleashed a book of flexis. Bare Wires, Blasted Canyons, Thee Ohs Sees, The Fresh & Onlys and Ty Segall &  Mikal Cronin each contribute a song spread across Five 7 inch flexis discs. It comes packaged in a ringed notebook and it ain’t cheap at $30. I thought flexies were supposed to be cheap. They use to come stapled inside of magazines and sounded like crap on your turntable.  I’m assuming the quality of these is slightly better.

mp3: Bare Wires – Wanna Fight (You can order one from Midheaven. Mp3 swiped from RSTB)

Detroit Deadbeat Beat

Another band on Twitter hips me to another new cool band. Seattle’s TacocaT tweeted the other night how Detroit’s Deadbeat Beat are their new favorite band. A couple clicks later, they’re mine too.

Felt: Gone But Not Yet Forgotten

Felt have been defunct for 22 years now, but way down in the depths of the internet they never went away. A couple years ago the San Francisco band Girls interviewed Lawrence for Magicrpm and just recently the Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess was interviewed over at The Quietus about them. I didn’t know that Burgess was such a superfan. He drops a few debatable nuggets like the idea that She Lives By The Castle was written about St. Etienne‘s Sarah Cracknell. If you are a Felt superfan you probably already know about the book written by JC Brouchard called Felt : Ballad of the Fan.

Fine Arts Showcase’s Gustaf Kjellvander Dies


Sad news from Sweden a few weeks ago, when Gustaf Kjellvander died unexpectedly in his sleep. He was only 31 years old. Kjellvander lived in Seattle until he was 15 when his family moved back to Sweden. He made some great albums as the Fine Arts Showcase. My two favorites were Radiola and his Rough Bunnies covers album Sings Rough Bunnies.

Green Pajamas Go To Green Pajama Country

Seattle’s Green Pajamas are back with album number…I lost count. No matter, this time they claim to have gone country. The first song from the record, Pass Me Another Whiskey doesn’t sound particularly country. It just sounds good.

Hausu Continue the Northwest’s Flirtation With British New Wave

Led by former Seattleite and underage organizer Ben Funkhouser and his Edwyn Collins-esque croon, Portland band Hausu‘s ringing guitars and smart sound bring to mind Collin’s former band. They also claim to be influenced by Bruce Springsteen, but what red-blooded Amercian isn’t (whether you want to be or not)?

Australian Record Label Presents Two New Records From Two Old-Timers

Lost and Lonesome has just put out two records, one by former Lucksmith Mark Monnone who is going by the moniker Monnone Alone called Pink Earrings. Not surprisingly it sounds kinda like the Lucksmiths, expect Monnnone sings.  While you’re checking that out, be sure to consider the latest from Bart and Friends. Bart Cummings of Cat’s Miaow and the Shapiros ended his long silence last year with Make You Blush is back again with a 10 inch EP called Stories With the Endings Changed.

Get Your Medical Records

Much has been written about Medical Records here in Seattle, but I’m not sure if the word has gotten out beyond Seattle and in the know circles of  ”classic synth, cosmic disco, wave (cold/new), and future music” aficionados. So far, the Seattle label specializing in reissuing nearly forgotten synth records, has released eight albums by Guyer’s Connection, OGI, Der Plan, Chrisma, Deutsche Wertarbeit, and  Alexander Robotnick.  All the records are limited to around 500 copies, and come in some very pretty shades of vinyl. Many are already sold out so head on over, have a listen and see what’s left.

Geoffrey O’Connor Comes Out of the Crayon Fields

Crayon Fields frontman Geoffrey O’Connor takes a break from his band to cut loose and get icy cold and synthy. The first song is a study in cool, suave and sophisticated. Can’t wait to hear the whole album. It’s called Vanity Is Forever and is out in September.

mp3: Geoffrey O’Connor – Now and Then (from Vanity is Forever on Chapter Music)

Fests and Parties

The Capitol Hill Block Party is this weekend in Seattle. It’s three days beginning this Friday. I’m heading up on Friday for sure, and may go Saturday (the afore mentioned Hausu play Saturday) as well depending on my ability to tolerate large festivals. A festival more my size is the third annual Pizza Fest which takes place Funhouse August 4-6. The line-up is pretty sweet if you’re into garage, punk and fun. Not sure if they’re having a pizza eating contest like last year, but I’m sure you’ll be able to get a slice along with a Rainier and some ringing ears.

Servants Are Served Up Again

Captured Tracks has a pretty relentless release schedule so keeping up can be a chore. Glad to see the label doing god’s work in releasing long lost gems from years ago in addition to the many new bands they release. The Servants ran with the C-86 crowd and actually were on that now legendary cassette.  The band’s Cherry Red compilation has been long out of print, so Captured Tracks has picked up the slack and  just released a record that collects the majority of  their recorded output. It’s called Youth Club Disco.

mp3: The Servants – The Sun, A Small Star (from Youth Club Disco on Captured Tracks)

Get Your Swimsuit

Michigan’s Swimsuit have just released their debut album. Besides having my favorite cover of any record this year, it contains some pretty good songs as well. Yeah, reverb heavy surf inspired music is kinda played out, but give them a break, you can only surf on a great lake if there’s a big storm.

Tiny Microphone Finally Gets a Non-Cassette Release. Still Wait For Vinyl

You may remember Tiny Microphone from a few years ago when we did the One Last Kiss redo.  Tiny Microphone is Kristine Capua (also of Very Truly Yours). Tiny Microphone are like twee-shoegaze and I mean that in the best way. Up until now you could only get her Home album on cassette from Italian label Best Kept Secret, but now Japanese label Happy Prince has released it on CD. Expect a vinyl version to come along in another three years…

The Wild Swans Come Back In From the Cold

July 17, 2011 at 10:15 pm | Posted in Liverpool, Music, Nostalgia | Leave a comment
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Creation Records’ Alan McGee is quoted as saying, “Liverpool in the ’80s was like Hollywood to me. The Wild Swans were part of the greatness of that city.”  The Wild Swans released one single in 1982 with the help of Echo & the Bunnymen’s drummer Pete de Freitas who not only played drums on The Revolutionary Spirit, but also put up the money for the recording studio. The Wild Swans were the brainchild of former Teardrop Explodes keyboard player Paul Simpson. That first legendary single was nearly the end of the Wild Swans even though it was universally acclaimed. The band fell apart around the time their label Zoo ceased.

Simpson reformed the Wild Swans in the late 80′s with a new line-up, signed to Sire Records in the US and had a few minor college hits with Young Manhood and Melting Blue Delicious. After two albums, once again Simpson saw his band disintegrate around him. Both times Simpson was  not ready for it to be over. He still had some kind of burning desire. He felt as though he had not yet done what he had set out to accomplish, but it seemed as if the Wild Swans tale had come to and end, until four years ago when Simpson declared on the Wild Swans mySpace:

“This unhappy band has been unfinished business for me for over 20 years, haunting my days and nights, obsessing my thoughts at the expense of my health and sanity. I never got over the sudden implosion of the first incarnation and was devastated by the crash and burn of the second. In returning from the ambient wilderness I am not trying to recreate the unique sound of any of the former members, how could I? It is the original spirit of the group I am after, the original blueprint for an English electric brotherhood. I formed and named the band shortly after leaving The Teardrop Explodes back in 1980, individually recruiting the members and establishing both the look and the compass direction. I lived and breathed The Wild Swans Mk. I and was traumatised to see it seized and taken from me, so this shouldn’t be viewed as a reformation or even an exorcism, it is a continuum; different but the same”

Over the last four years a new Wild Swans has taken form. Unbeknownst to most of us, Simpson hand picked his band, tapping  former Echo and the Bunnymen bassist Les Pattinson, Ricky Maymi of Brian Jonestown Massacre, Mike Mooney of Spiritualized and Steve Beswick formerly of the Heart Throbs. Simpson has taken his time with Wild Swans mark III, but his methodical, deliberate approach has paid off with the best record of his career.

The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years is an album that plays like a nostalgic love letter to his home town of Liverpool. The record begins with Falling to Bits begins which acts as both a roll call and a wake up call, “This town is falling to bits and I don’t like it” Simpson sings. His blood is boiling, but he’s older and wiser. Wise enough to know that if he’s got the pop hooks, you will pay attention. The next song Liquid Mercury swoops in and feels like your at the pub recalling old times with Pattinson’s throbbing bass in background.  Chloroform goes further back in time with Simpson recalling stories of his grandfather in WW I, his father in WW II, and himself buying old army boots from the vintage shop. Simpson has an axe to grind with the present, alluding to the fact that we’ve never known hardship and how everything is cheapened and taken for granted because we’ve never suffered or sacrificed. He pines for an English Electric Brotherhood, but his land is infected as he sings in English Electric Lightening.

When Time Stood Still sees Simpsons speeding back to his boyhood home, hoping he can make it back home with bald tires and burnt out break light. He’s aging and wonders if he can ever get back to the time of his childhood feeling as though he’s missed his chance to spark this Electric Brootherhood himself. You get the feeling he’s doomed to nothing but futile sadness in his endeavor and the music’s ringing guitars evoke a happy sadness that comes with all this nostalgia and missed opportunity.

But wait, it’s not all depressing and hopeless. The song Underwater comes along midway with its beautiful and silvery guitars to buoy our spirits even though Simpson feels like he’s drowning underwater. It’s a weird respite to the album, because although he sings about drowning, he’s telling us about amazing stingrays, coral, octopi, and a girl that saved him from the depths. Does he still have hope for the future, or just hope for himself?  Intravenous continues the respite from the concept album. Love has temporarily distracted him from his dourness.

Like all loves though, you eventually settle into day to day life and the romance that temporarily took you over subsides into day to day life, and your concerns and worries trickle back into your conscious.  Glow In the Dark is that song, and it’s sinewy guitars evoke those feelings exactly. After the transition, we return to present day reality with My Town. Simpson sings, “My town use to fill my head with wonder, now it fills me with disgust…like Sleeping Gas and Do It Clean.  It’s dead, it’s over now.” referring to the halcyon days of Teardrop Explodes and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Can it ever come back, or are we on a slow decline to a vapid society? Will the forests and flowers that once flourished where shopping centers and airports currently exist ever return? Simpson holds out hope as quintilian of atoms cluster and collide on The Bluebell Wood. The album closes with a second glimmer of hope. A short classical epilogue that conjures an image of a butterfly coming out of it’s cocoon.

Bands reform these days on regular basis, but few reform with something to say. The Wild Swans most definitely have something to say, and they say it such an elegant engaging manner. They never had the fan-base to make reforming a money making endeavor, they did it because they had some some unfinished business, something to say. A hungry band in the autumn of their years, making the best album of their career.


mp3: The Wild Swans – Underwater (from The Coldest Winter In a Hundred Years)

More Epic Sounds from White Laces

July 13, 2011 at 10:20 pm | Posted in Music, Old Dominioin, Prog, Shoegaze | 2 Comments
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photo from Travis Curry Photography

Richmond, Virginia’s White Laces are back with a storming 7-inch to follow up the towering 12-inch EP they unleashed earlier this year. The new single is a one-two punch that will have you turning your cheek for more. The guitars ring, the drums pummel and melodies soar. This band is truly worthy of walking in the shoes of forebears like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel and Levitation. White Laces continue to combine their big guitar sound with elements of prog rock while not forgetting the essential pop hooks making them a band to be reckoned with, and this new single sees them honing their powers.
The menacing Bastard’s Dead is on one side. It begins in a tenuous restraint with big gothic drums pounding, finally the hammer comes crashing down with the big chorus and ringing guitars. If you turn it up loud enough it will leave you breathless. The flip side lightens things up a little. Hands in Mexico has a pop vein running through it a mile deep that leaves you satiated for the moment, but with the White Laces firing on all cylinders like this you can’t wait for the next installment!

mp3: White Laces – Hands In Mexico (White Laces at Bandcamp)

If you find yourself on the east coast in one of these cities on one of these dates be sure to see White Laces in the flesh.

7/13 – Muthership w/Arches, Jamaica Plain, MA
7/14 – Shea Stadium w/Arches & Celestial Shore, Brooklyn, NY
7/15 – Moontower w/Arches, New Brunswick, NJ
7/16 – Johnny Brenda’s w/Arches, Gracie, & Holy Spirits, Philadelphia, PA
7/17 – KA-CHUNK Records w/Arches, Annapolis, MD
7/17 – TBA w/Arches, Baltimore, MD
7/22 – Death by Audio, Brooklyn, NY
7/23 – The Beach House w/Fossil Eyes, Pittsburgh, PA
8/18 – Bella, Washington, DC
8/19 – Bruar Falls, Brooklyn, NY
8/20 – Danger Danger Anniversary Show, Philadelphia, PA
8/27 – The Jewish Mother w/TLVS & Long Division, Virginia Beach, VA

Tunabunny’s Heat Up (and Cool Down)

July 12, 2011 at 10:10 pm | Posted in Music, Vinyl, 7 inch | 2 Comments
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Tunabunny are back with with a big slice of summer pop for you. Their new single which just came out on HHBTM has a hot and cool side, as all quality summer singles should have. The hot side  contains (Song for My) Solar Sister, possibly the most straightforward pop song the band has recorded to date. It starts with a riff that immediately gets your attention and then adds haunting vocals and some nice bass that reminds me of both Pod era Breeders and early Helium singles. The B-side cools things down. Airport is droning groove number that hums along. It’s all melody, bass and weird theremin-like keyboard. It may not be a good indicator, but I have always found myself judging bands on the quality of their B-sides. Bands that use them to try new things, push the envelope, or just slap an amazing song on the back side because they can always have ranked as some of my favorite bands. With this new single Tunnabunny are edging themselves into my favorites category. Look for album number two this fall.

mp3: Tunabunny – (Song for My) Solar Sister (Order the single from HHBTM)

The Weekend Wayback Machine

July 10, 2011 at 8:01 pm | Posted in Powerpop, Punk Rock, Punks, Seattle | 1 Comment
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Whether by coincidence, folly or serendipity this weekend brought two classic acts to Seattle.  Both west coast micro phenomenons from way back, one wonders would they get any attention given today’s clogged internet arteries of bands. Like elephants, old people never forget, and they tell the youngsters about how the music from back in the day was so much better. Some of the youngster must actually listen to their elders, or maybe they just find out for themselves?

It had been ten years since Seattle’s very own Fastbacks called it a day. They were not only one of the first purveyors of punk rock in the jet city, but they also outlived all of their contemporaries (not that they had many).   By some stroke of good fortune, the West Seattle Summer Fest organizers convinced the band to reunite. Kurt Bloch, Kim Warnick, Lulu Gargiulo along with drummer Mike Mussburger decked out in a clown costume hit the stage a little older, but no less enthusiastic. The crowd was mostly older and enthusiastic too. There were lots of old timers in attendance. Many of them sporting Fastbacks t-shirts and kids.

It’s two days later and I’m still kind of buzzing from this show. It was like a peak back into Seattle’s storied rock past through nostalgia tinged glasses. Yeah, some of the singing was a little off, but the Fastbacks pushed so many of the right buttons that it didn’t matter. Hearing those song after such a long time was such a blast you could overlook the little things.  Bloch looked a little weathered, but he was a madman, running around the stage, poggoing while playing guitar, posing with is rock-star poses, and generally hamming it up. He ribbed Lulu about the state of her battered guitar that he remembered picking up in Buffalo for $3.98. Warnick’s red and white bass was not weathered Brand new more like, as she thanked the maker during her previous set with  her new band the Cali Giraffes.  Not being in our prime anymore either, the crowd seemed to take a little time to get into it, but finally near the end of the set with They Don’t Care, K Street and Set Me Free it got rowdy. A mini-mosh pit developed right beside me and some old crazy drunk guy in a Damned shirt tried to kiss me. It was a time.

mp3: Fastbacks – Set Me Free (from …and His Orchestra)

Formed a year or two earlier than the Fastbacks and out of the ashes of the Nerves and the Breakwawys, the Beat and later the Paul Collins Beat released their first self-titled album in 1979. It’s a classic powerpop record and seems to have garnered more respect in the day than it ever got when it came out 32 years ago (Current fans can be heard on Under the Covers Vol. 2, A Tribute to Paul Collins, Peter Case and Jack Lee record). Fans old and new turned out to the Funhouse Saturday night to hear some classic powerpop from Paul Collins, and Collins did not disappoint.

In recent years Collins returned to his powerpop roots after a temporary sojourn  into alt-country during part of the 90′s. He recently released a new album called the King of Powerpop of new material, making no bones about how he sees himself in a historical context.  He played a handful of songs from King but the meat of the set was the classic Nerves/Beat material.  Collin’s voice is a little worse for wear, scratchy and rough where it used to glide, but the songs are timeless and he and his band more than delivered. They were loud and on it. They played all the best ones from the first Beat record and saved the really classic Nerves songs to the very end. Working Too Hard and Hanging on a Telephone Wire were delivered for the encore and then just when you thought they couldn’t play anything else they pulled out Paper Doll at the very end.  I should have felt really old this weekend seeing and hearing all this ‘classic rock’, but it was just the opposite. It felt vital and timeless, especially knowing that bands still look to their elders for inspiration.

mp3: Paul Collins Beat – Walking Out On Love (from The Beat)

Florida’s Garbo’s Daughter opened for Collins. Their take on the classic powerpop of days gone by sounded great, and Collins is an unabashed fan. He ran up on stage to egg them on to play one more song at the end of their set not wanting it to end. Thankfully, it never does.

People, People, the Small Reactions

July 6, 2011 at 9:48 pm | Posted in Music, mp3, 7 inch | 7 Comments
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About a week ago Atlanta’s Gold-Bears let it be known via their Twitter feed that people should check out fellow Atlantans Small Reactions. I follow Gold Bears for a reason, so I clicked the link. Cue cracking songs with buzzing guitars and big hooks (I’m such a sucker for this kind of thing). I’m hooked and a nascent super-fan after one song.

Small Reactions have been around for a few years but only released their first single (self-released) late last year which you can download for free over at their Bandcamp. Single number two is set to be unleashed in August and it’s another corker. The A-side, Nerve Pop starts surfy and then gives way to jangle and then to a big payoff chorus. There’s no mistake, this is pop done right. On the B-side they let loose, starting out in a noisy maelstrom that morphs into a groove that would make the Eddy Current Suppression Ring sweat. Wow these guys can bring it. Line up at you local record shop (if you still have one) for this one.

mp3: Small Reactions – Nerve Pop

Singles Going Steady

July 4, 2011 at 10:17 pm | Posted in Music, Vinyl, Singles, 7 inch | 3 Comments
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It’s been a busy few weeks out here in the upper left-hand corner of the United States. The singles have been coming in at a relentless pace. It was a long holiday weekend, so what better thing to do than to get caught up on listening to them. Here’s the low-down on the batch that were burning up my turntable this weekend.

Persian Rugs – Always All (Cloudberry)

Toronto’s Persian Rugs make up one of two singles from Cloudberry in this round-up. The A-side Always All has been swimming around the internet for a while. It has a seafaring keyboard intro that gives way to a simple guitar rif and a catchy chorus which of course, all singles should have. Though they don’t exactly sound like Ivy, that New York band does comes to mind here. The B-side is a slightly more country tinged affair but good as well. Buying the single gets you a download containing a total of five songs, three more than on the record itself.

mp3: Persian Rugs – Always All

Caucus – Wondering Ones (Cloudberry)

Caucus come from Japan, but you wouldn’t know it from hearing them as there is no detectable accent and they sound a little like early Pains of Being Pure at Heart or if you’re old like me, Poole who were on SpinArt back in the 90′s. Wondering Ones has breathy vocals and fuzzy guitars. Proving their appreciation and knowledge of their lineage, they choose to cover Rocketship‘s Love You Like the Way That I Used To Do on the B-side.

mp3: Caucus Wondering Ones

Odd Box Singles Club (Odd Box)

The first three singles from the Odd Box Singles Club arrived a couple weeks ago and they were worth the wait. Each single is a split between two bands. Blanche HudsonWeekend and Horowitz share the first one with their noisier, guitar drenched sounds.  Single number two gives us the bratpunk sounds of the Give It Ups. The first song is shouted versus traded with sung choruses. The second asks the question, what kind of guy dates a girl named Knives? The Santa Monica Swim and Dive Club on the flip is a spin-off project of Saturday Looks Good To Me. False Start, My Heart is ok, but maybe a little to middle of the road indiepop for my tastes. My favorite of the first three goes to the Humms/One Fathom Down split. One Fathom Down do rowdy-surf inspired instrumentals. Nothing new, but both their songs shred. The Humms’ Jupiter is a perfect slice of acoustic British invasion pop. I believe that you can still subscribe to the singles club, just click on the link above.


Zebras/Motifs Split (Knock Yr Socks Off)

Speaking of the Rocketship, the Zebras evoke the Sacramento band’s sound a little on their split with the Motifs. The Zebras are from Australia and have released a couple albums on Lost and Lonesome. Desert Island shows them to be in fine form and making me hope for album number three from them. Sharing this tiny slab of wax is fellow Melbourne band, the Motifs.  Words is a sugared up two minute hyper swirling pop song. No caffeine needed here. Can’t decide which side is better…

Devon Williams – Your Sympathy (Slumberland)

Los Angeles songsmith Devon Williams is about to release his second album, but before that he’s got this 7″ single for you. Your Sympathy starts out with a big sounding Icicle Works Whisper To a Scream sounding intro. Williams doesn’t let it get out of hand though as he has a way of putting you at ease with his heart-aching voice which has this tendency to remind me of East River Pipe.

mp3: Devon Williams – Your Sympathy

Caged Animals – Girls On Medication (Lucky Numbers)

Another Brooklyn band? Shrug. Caged Animals‘ song Girls on Medication made me sit up instead of shrug. Lazy, druggy dreampop with a killer hook. The B-side and the other songs they have on bandcamp are more electronic and less enticing, leading me to believe that this is either a fluke or a new direction for them. Hoping it’s the later.

mp3: Caged Animals – Girls On Medication

Grass Widow – Milo Minute (HLR)

Grass Widow have been quiet for a little while. The silence is ended with this self-released single. First off, I love the art on the sleeve. It looks like a the doodles of a clothing designer who likes guitars. The songs live up to the cover. Milo Minute may be the catchiest song Grass Widow have written to date and it benefits from having its volume turned way up. The flip side serves up two covers, one from the Neo Boys and the other being Wire‘s Mannequin. Mannequin is probably the second most covered Wire song (the first has to be Outdoor Miner). It’s no reinvention, but it differs with it’s harmonies and echoed vocals. Worthwhile!

mp3: Grass Widow – Milo Minutes

Tony Castles – Juice (Famous Class)

Bill over at Sound Bites had the Tony Castles EP on one of his year end lists last year, describing it as Prefab Sprout-esque. Those two words are all I needed. This new single from the Brooklyn band has more of a post-rock sound to it evoking Field Music a little. Juice has a funky 80′s vibe and is quite good, but I think I like the pillowy downbeat B-side Heart In the Pipes better.

mp3: Tony Castles – Heart In the Pipes

McDonalds – Name Names (State Capital)

The last time at the drive-thru we were sorted for e’s and wiz listening to McDonalds‘s debut single. Single number two is upon us and without he help of Factory or Martin Hannett. Amazing. This nderachiever, ramshackle rock is for fans of German Measles who like to dance.

mp3: McDonalds – Name Names

Sonny and the Sunsets at the Funhouse

July 2, 2011 at 9:52 am | Posted in Funhouse, Gigs, Music, Seattle | Leave a comment
Tags: , ,

Sonny and the Sunsets, The Sandwiches and Seapony at the Funhouse, Seattle | 28 June 2011

I’m not sure if it was the music or the people, the Funhouse last Tuesday night was steamy as San Francisco’s Sonny and the Sunsets blew through their Buddy Holly/Everly Brothers/Modern Lovers inspired set. On record the songs are more subtle and less rocking, but live the band are downright rollicking. This came as a surprise when I first saw them a year and half ago, but I was ready for their power-pop alter ego’s this time. The guitars and bass are turned up causing you not to hear some of Tahlia Harbour’s harmonies but when you’re in a dive bar swilling Rainier tallboys, harmonies are not foremost in your head.
The band were tight. Sonny Smith, looking a little like Lars Finberg’s older brother, with his hollow-body guitar dealt out the riffs and the words. The rhythm section was solid. Kelley Stoltz on a break from making his own records played drums and made goofy faces. Smith is prolific songwriter having done a music/art exhibit he called 100 Records which he wrote and recorded 100 songs. So they had a lot of material to choose from, but the latest album Hit After Hit got the most attention. Smith’s amiable stage presence and solid band  made for a lot of fun, although the Sunsets may have been having the most fun. Their encore, which almost wasn’t until Stoltz coaxed Sonny back out, was lengthy. They played for another 20 minutes nearly clearing out the Funhouse as a lot of us had to get up Wedneday morning for our day jobs.

mp3: Sonny and the Sunsets – Home and Exile (from Hit After Hit on Fat Possum)

Fellow Bay area band the Sandwiches accompanied Sonny and the Sunsets up to Emerald city. They had a really cool look about them and their sound is definitely unique. I’m still not sure what I think of their album Mr. Jones Cookies, sometimes it tickles and other times it scratches. I couldn’t stop thinking they sounded like an Appalachian soul band if there were such a thing. Seattle’s Seapony also played and it’s always a pleasure seeing them. Their twee sounded good in Funhouse punk environs.

mp3: The Sandwiches – In the Garden (from Mrs. Jones’ Cookies on Empty Cellar)

Here are the remaining Sonny and Sunsets summer tour dates:

July 7, 2011 Soda Bar San Diego, CA w/ Wounded Lion*
July 8, 2011 Echo Los Angeles, CA w/ Wounded Lion*
July 22, 2011 The Empty Bottle Chicago, IL
July 23, 2011 Pike Room Pontiac, MI
July 24, 2011 Sneaky Dees Toronto, ON, Canada
July 26, 2011 Divan Orange Montreal, QC, Canada
July 27, 2011 North Star Bar Philadelphia, PA
July 28, 2011 DC9 Washington, DC
July 29, 2011 Mercury Lounge New York, NY
July 30, 2011 Tix Glasslands Gallery Brooklyn, NY
August 5, 2011 Pickathon Roots Musicfest Happy Valley, OR

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