The Intelligence | the finest kiss

21 for 21 – 7″ Singles of the Year

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Toby

You likely noticed there ain’t much music blogging going on around here lately. Life moves pretty fast and finding time and motivation to write about music has been a challenge. I find that sitting in front of a screen after sitting in front of screen for a full work day is less exciting than it used to be. I still love listening to records every chance I get though, so I’ve brushed off the cobwebs that have been collecting in this space for a year end list or two. First up, are 21 of my favorite 7″ singles of the past 12 months.

wetleg
1. Wet Leg – Chaise Longue (Domino)
Single of the year that seemed to pop up in random places in my somewhat isolated 2021. On the radio, in a grocery store, on my phone and finally on my turntable. Chaise Longue was so catchy and its quippiy lyrics so funny and its ability to percolate into multiple strata of society isn’t that surprising. Like Blur’s Song 2 in its immediacy (and hopefully soon a stadium staple like that one) but far sharper. Chaise Longue’s dry sense of humor didn’t so much drip, but evaporate into you. It was exciting to hear it every time I heard it and after 100 listens I’m still not sick of it.

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2. The Bug Club – Checkmate (Bingo)

Wales band that seems to be flying under the radar for now, but this single along with their LP this year should hopefully change that. Sharp lyrics and manic riffs on Checkmate make this white hot. You get three more songs with this tiny piece of wax and all are great. It’s what I imagine a garage band would sound like if Kevin Ayres had been born in 2000 and met a bunch of ex-Johanna Gruesome kids and started a band.

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3. CDG – Unconditional EP (Domestic Departure)

Coming out of Portland, Oregon, CDG aka Conditioner Disco Group revel in early the early 80’s post punk sound. J. Nickel who is the main conditioner also has allegiances with other Portland post punk notables Collate and the Bedrooms. CDB lean heavily towards the Fall, PIL, and Gang of Four. The best of this five song lot is Remove Officer with its funky groove and effeminate accent is difficult to ignore and bound to get stuck into a repeat listening loop on your device.

4. Horsegirl – Ballroom Dance (Sonic Cathedral)
These Chicago youngsters seemingly appeared out nowhere this summer. Fully formed and moody, Ballroom Dance sounds like it was written by a group that has been worn down by the world and nostalgic for a better time. I guess we all are these days no matter how old we are. A brilliant shooting star of a song. Here’s hoping there’s more where this came from.

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5. The Smog – Set In Stone (Going Underground)

The Smog are from Japan. This is their third single (the first two are OOP but free downloads). I can’t tell you if it’s their best, but I can tell you its raw punk energy is infectous. Both Set In Stone and Lost My Mind are top notch punk songs, injecting full doses of bands like Wire, early Cure, Minor Threat and the Damned. Lost My Mind may be slightly better with it’s riff and great chorus. I can only hope that they won’t stop after only three singles.

friendlybfriend
6. Friendly Boyfriend – Pick Up! (Happiest Place)

I remember hearing Gone for a Time, the lead track here, for the first time and getting swept up with its weirdly warped guitars and prominent bass riff. It was odd, but good. Sorta reminding me of the lo-fi Swirlies trying to do MBV but with a weird Swedish pop sensibility. I bought the single right away. Record arrives a few weeks later, I put it on and track two is a cover of the Clean’s Beatnik. I think this could be start of a beautiful relationship.

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7. Pale Blue Eyes – Motionless (Broadcast)
The first single from this trio from the UK hinterlands blends two of my favorite styles of rock n’ roll – hypnotic motorik grooves and waves of brilliant shoegaze guitar. Motionless floats with the ease of a group that are firing on all cylinders or maybe a fully charged battery as I’d like try to make more carbon neutral analogies. No matter your preferred mode of motorized transport, this soundtrack will do nicely as the mile markers fly by.

8. Delivery – Floored (Spoilsport)

Another Australian band in the countdown, Delivery slot themselves in closer to the rowdier post punk Australian crowd like Ausmuteants and Eddy Current Suppression Ring. There isn’t a bad move in any of the four songs on this single. Floored is a caffeine fueled beauty, the Explainer sounds like they borrowed an Intelligence riff from Icky Baby and Rubber sounds like they may have been listening to some Sauna Youth. Delivery’s tasteful influences and inspirations keep the arty post punk flame burning in my record collection.

harelem
9. The Harlem Gospel Travelers – Nothing But His Love (Colemine)

The Harlem Gospel Travelers followed up their 2019 LP with two singles in 2021. The group started and mentored by Eli Paperboy Reid continues its singles winning streak with the spirited Nothing But his Love. It’s got an innate sweetness that takes hold and carries you with it.

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10. Of Tropique – Woo (Electric Cowbell)

The second Japanese group in this year’s list, Of Tropique’s Woooo is an energetic instrumental that blends The Beat’s March of the Swivleheads with Esquivel eccentricities. Endlessly fun, and I can only imagine that the clarinet player needs a break after playing this one.

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11. The Catenary Wires – Mirrorball (Shelflife)
The single from Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey’s follow a long line female-male duos like Lee and Nancy, Sonny and Cher, Kenny and Dolly, and erm…Jason and Kylie who’s electric chemistry combine to ignite a great pop song. Under the Mirrorball is a nostalgic trip to the disco and discovered appreciation for music discounted in past. Accompanied by a great horn part, this indie song about disco is pretty darn great.

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12. Stephen’s Shore – Brisbane Radio (Meritorio)

A Swedish group with a penchant for jangly pop influenced by the Byrds singing about Australian radio pulls together some seemingly disparate threads. All of that aside, the twangy pop of Brisbane Radio is so well done and infectious you’ll be checking the back of this to see if it really isn’t a reissue from the summer of love or the paisley underground.

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13. Partner Look – Geelong (I Heard a Whisper)

This Australian group features two German sisters based in Melbourne and their partners (hence the name I suppose). Geelong nestled on the water southwest of the much larger Melbourne seems to have been a satellite base for many recent bands in the Melbourne scene. Partner Look’s song of the same name is an obvious ode to this small town on the bay. “Close to Melbourne, close to the sea close to you, close to me. Everybody moves… ” A little like a post card from Geelong. Makes me want to book a trip and soak up the sun and sounds.

14. Habibi – Somewhere They Cant Find Us (Kill Rock Stars)

These Brooklyn based ladies haven’t exactly been prolific with only two albums in the past seven years, but this single follows last year’s Anywhere But Here LP, so it could be the start of a quicker pace for the band. Both songs have a little bit of Luscious Jackson/Breeders spin-off group Kostars and ESG style funky post punk dance groove. Loads of with style, attitude and a low key sense of humor make this a very solid effort.

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15. Uni Boys – Long Time No See (Curation)

This Orange County, California band started in their teens and has already released two download only albums. This is their first single for Curation (sounds like Creation) the label started by the the Beachwood Sparks Brent Rademaker. Uni Boys have and old school power pop rock and roll sound. Both side of this single are worthy of comparisons with late 70’s groups like the Nerves, the Shoe and the Low Numbers.

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16. The Tubs – Names EP (Trouble In Mind)

More goodness from the Tubs (last year at this same #16 with I Don’t Know How It Works. Uncanny!). This four song single sees the group expanding their sound with better production and better songs. Singer Owen Williams, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, sounds like a cool mesh of Dave Wakeling and Lou Barlow. There isn’t a clunker in the bunch, all sporting fun, catchy guitar riffs and memorable melodies. Crystal Ball, the final song is sort of fun curve ball too, going for an obvious Felt sound and succeeding there as well.

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17. The Intelligence – Celebration Ratio (Leisure World)

You might think that the seven inch vinyl single is an outmoded format. Well, the Intelligence and the Leisure World records have one for ya. How about a record that bends? Fold it up and put it in your pocket. Nearly as light as an mp3 or a stream, but you can hold it in your hands. Celebration Ratio seems to find inspiration in the fidelity and recording style of older Intelligence LP’s like Deuteronomy and Fake Surfers while still keeping it fresh and smart. The Intelligence keep going, consistently putting out great records, even one’s that bend.

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18. Lady Wray – Through It All (Big Crown)

The beginning of Through It All threatens to go off the rails right from the start. Nicole Wray’s, aka Lady Wray voice gets synthesized into some high pitched ear worm that at first feels like a fly buzzing around your ear. Almost like a minor annoyance to get your attention. Then you hear the rock steady beat, backing singers and the warm, sweet unsynthesized croon of Wray. Pretty soon you can’t get Through It All out of your head.

typicalgirls
19. Typical Girls – Miata (Kanine)

Another repeat from last year and at the same spot too. I swear I didn’t intend it. Typical Girls’ follow up single to last year’s debut 7-inch is a double A side. The flip Nice Boys is my favorite here, combining some of the Radio Dept’s more melancholy synth tendencies with Taken by Trees own brand of melancholy. They throw in a dance beat to brighten it up a tad and voila, something their own that is worthy of its inspirations.

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20. Youth Valley – Young Sad Lovers (Make Me Happy)
Youth Valley’s Young Sad Lovers with its subtle motorik groove, guitars that evoke big wide open wintry landscapes and slightly fey vocals could be mistaken for a Swedish guitar group from the early 00’s like the Mary Onettes or even 80’s UK indie band like the Field Mice. This Greek duo pack two winners onto the vinyl version of this single and slip in a bonus track into the digital version. All three cut from the same cloth and all three increasing my hopes that an LP or another single is on the way in 2022.

shopwindoe
21. The Shop Window – Out of Reach (Spinout Nuggets)
Out of Reach has the ring of classic UK indie guitar pop. Ringing guitars and a driving beat topped off with an anthemic melody and chorus. The song is seemingly inspired by the isolation and lost days of the global pandemic. I imagine it would be great to hear live with its Mighty Lemon Drops meets Chameleons sound. Here’s to better days ahead and maybe a chance from folks to hear it live.

22. Eggs – Greatest Hits Ep (Perfect)
23. Floating Room – Shima (Famous Class)
24. Sundae Painters – Aversion (Leather Jacket)
25. Collate – Medicine (Domestic Departure)
26. The Smashing Times – Dreams on Union (Painter Man)
27. BOAT – My Haunted Friend (Magic Marker)
28. Swansea Sound – Indies of the World (HHBTM)
29. Lavender Blush – Sundays (Blue Aurora Audio)
30. Ghost Woman – Lost Echo’s (Full Time Hobby)
31. Telephone Numbers – Leviathan (Fruits & Flowers)
32. Tough Age/Dumb – Pizza Punks (Mint)
33. Mandarinaduck – Super Long Life (Box Bedroom Rebels)
34. The Harlem Gospel Travelers – Fight On! (Colemine)
35. Chubby & the Gang – Lightning Don’t Strike Twice (Partisan)

Nearly Half Past Half Past

Posted on August 6, 2019 by Toby

This list of mid year notable albums was supposed to done a month ago, but things move slowly when you’re slow. Here are a bunch of records I like from the fist half of this year in no particular order. Not a definitive list but more of a sign post so I can look back and see where I was in the middle of 2019.

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Daisies – Daisies (Perennial Death)
When you think Olympia, Washington you think the Capitol of Washington state, or K records and DIY indie rock. I would wager that St. Etienne and Shortwave Set don’t immediately come to mind. Thanks to the CCFX-CC DUST-TransFX folks this left field beauty that melds psychedelia and dancy synths into something unexpected.

Jeanines- Jeanines (Slumberland)
Some folks would call this a quintessential and classic Slumberland record. Some would scratch their heads and wonder what that even means. Translation, autumnal jangle pop that is as economical as Guided By Voices and hauntingly bittersweet as the Mama’s and the Papas.

holidayghosts
Holiday Ghosts – West Bay Playroom (PNK SLM)
Album number two from these Modern Lovers meets Pastels beatniks sees them still flying under the radar. Not sure how accurate internet radar is for this sort of thing these days, but I love rollicking ramshackle rock and roll like this.

joshua
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society – Mandatory Reality (Eremite)
This is considered jazz or experimental tonal jazz or some other mumbo jumbo. This is hypnotic, trance inducing music that you shouldn’t listen to while operating heavy machinery. There should be a warning sticker on the cover about the dangers of listening to it and ending up somewhere and not knowing how you got there. Better than drugs.

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Patio – Essentials (Fire Talk)
Every time a song from Essentials pops up on shuffle play I think it’s a 90’s indie rock like Helium or Scrawl. This Brooklyn trio nods to the 90’s with their angular hooks and minimal pop but adds an airy sophistication to the update that sound for the new millennium.

trade desires
Zebra Hunt – Trade Desire (Tenorio Cotobade)
Seattle’s Zebra Hunt keep going as the world swirls around them, releasing a solid LP ever few years. The fact that their label is in Spain and they’ve toured that country more extensively than their own speaks volumes about the discerning tastes of the record buying public on the Iberian peninsula and how too many hometown folks don’t appreciate what’s in their own back yard.

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Vanishing Twin – The Age of Immunology (Fire)
Fire records, Vanishing Twin’s record label has got a lock on Broadcast inspired bands with this, Death & Vanilla and Jane Weaver. This mines similar territory to my favorite Broadcast album The Noise Made By People. Yes, points off for not being original, but they add enough nuance to it to make it easy to ignore where it came from and just appreciate where it is.

mcfarlin
J. McFarlane’s Reality Guest – Ta Da (Hobbies Galore)
Unbeknownst to me, the Twerps were a band with an amorous couple at its core and that couple decided to call it quits thus dissolving one of my favorite Australian bands of the past five years. Martin Frawley and Julia McFarlane have both released albums this year, but McFarlane’s is the one that wormed its quirky head into my list of favorites. Minimalist and quirky, this not what you would probably expect from one half of the Twerps, but welcome nonetheless.

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The BV’s – Cartography (Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten)
This English-German duo excell at moody, atmospheric pop that may remind more than a few folks of one or two bands on Sarah records or even the Durutti Column. Some might call it dreampop, but these guys are too darn moody for a tag like that. Cartography has couple immediate songs and some that meander and others that will take a few listens to really appreciate. This one grows on you and peels away its layers on repeated listening. Worth it!

The Intelligence – Un-Psychedelic In Peavey City (Vapid Moonlighting)
I have no idea what the title to the Intelligence’s latest album alludes to. This former Seattle relocated to the fake surfing environs of So-Cal a few years back to continue their warped Ventures inspired glue sniffing weirdness. Hive minded Lars Finberg appears to be on the wagon, but there is no discernible drop off in quality here. Perhaps this is really what he’s like? I hope so.

sacred
Sacred Paws – Run Around the Sun (Merge)
Golden Grrls offshoot/continuation second album is brighter and richer sounding to my ears than their debut. Rachel Aggs’ (also of Shopping & Trash Kit) guitar playing is a perfect mix of indie jangle and afro-pop rhythm. The vocal interplay between her and Eilidh Rodgers is life-affirming. Add in some horn parts and you’ve got this really exiting record.

Phillipi & Rodrigo – Paciencia (DeeWee)
If you recall and appreciate the excellent Bungalow Record label that was based out of Berlin in late 90’s and early 2000’s and their penchant for quirky electronic based pop like Czerkisky, Le Hammond Inferno and Ladytron, then DeeWee is a label you should follow. Phillipi & Rodrigo are a Brazillian duo that would have fit in perfectly on Bungalow with their soundtrack inspired dance music.

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French Vanilla – How Am I Not Myself? (Danger Collective)
Funny how 80’s inspired music and movies have not gone out of style. I wonder if it registers with the young ones when movies like Spiderman loosely ape John Hughes’ teen movies like Ferris Bueller and Pretty In Pink in theme and soundtrack? Weird Science was a super hero movie after all, wasn’t it? Instead of Oingo Boing or Romeo Void, movie soundtrack folks might consider Los Angeles’s French Vanilla to fill out the soundtrack for the next teen inspired comedy super hero film. Danny Elfman, if you’re listening…

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Olden Yolk – Living Theatre (Trouble In Mind)
Living Theatre is album number two from the former Quilt guy Shane Butler. and continues to mine the rich pastoral inspired folky motorik vein of the their debut. It’s a sweet spot that is often better described as psychedelic folk music. This album is like an herbal soothing of the Free Design and Stereolab blended with the swirling pastoral vibes of a band like the Essex Green. Lovely stuff.

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Cate Le Bon – Reward (Mexican Summer)
Cate Le Bon’s DRINKS collaboration with Tim Presley has the minimal with a disregard for pop hooks. She seems to have taken that DRINKS minimal and inserted the missing pop hooks for fifth album. Reward rewards with minimalist pop perfection.

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Winona Forever – Feelgood (Kingfisher Bluez)
Feelgood is the second album by these Canadian coastal transfers (Vancouver to Montreal) with a soft spot for ill-considered tatoos and yacht rock. The warbly, jazz-influenced guitars remind me a little of Mac Demarco, Crystal Skulls and Mild High Club, but they have smooth pop intuition that smooths over any quirky edges.

cowgirl
Cowgirl In Sweden – S/T (Courtesan Music)
A Mysterious record that seems like it just wasn’t made for these times. It’s title is a wink and nod to the great Lee Hazlewood. With an eye to the past and the obscure, these misty eyed songs that are steeped in nostalgia right down to the limited pressing of 300 and no digital version to be had.

The Neutrals – Kebab Disco (Emotional Response)
2017’s Motorcycle Cop put this San Francisco band on my radar. Their debut keeps them firmly planted in my sights. like Art Brute and This Many Boyfriends, Scotish transplant Allan McNaughton has an infectious fandom for indie rock and music culture and a sense of humor to go along with it.

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Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising (Sub Pop)
The United States is so far removed from the hyperinflation, gasoline lines and presidential impeachment of the 1970’s that it is surprising that an album like this could be so popular. I think that previous sentence contained a little too much irony, sorry. Titanic Rising is a fantastical record that is parts Elton John, Carpenters and Joni Mitchel. Natalie Mering has conjured up quite a record with her melodramatic vocals that crescendo on nearly ever song. Dramatic stuff that feels like a child of the 70’s looking for her divorced parents.

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Rozi Plain – What a Boost (Memphis Industries)
Spare and spatiatous songs swirl and intertwin themselves into you consious, like a minimalist Juana Molina. Rozi Plain blends folk with electronic sounds that sounds like Sea and Cake deconstruced bossa nova post rock. What a Boost is her second album and the perfect soundtrack for a gray and overcast day.

Piroshka – Brickbat (4AD)
Piroshka seemed to garner a lot of attention for being a band that counted as members folks formerly of Lush, Moose, Modern English and Elastica. Sure Berenyi’s voice is hard not to associate with Lush, and you may recognize a Moose guitar flourish here and there but right from the album’s start you realize this group aren’t looking toward the past.

The Concerns – County Blue (War Hen)
Eternal Summers drummer Daniel Cundiff strikes out on his own for an album with some helpf from the Young Sinclairs’ Sam Lunsford and John Thompson. It’s steeped in 80’s alternative like REM, the Railway Children and a touch of Prefab Sprout. Cundiff doesn’t have a domineering voice, but he can deliver a hushed hook and with the jangly guitars, flourishes of synthesizers, and a few well placed horns makes County Blue an understaded winner.

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Edwyn Collins – Badbea (AED)
This is his best record since he had the stroke. Opener It’s All About You has the energy and spite of Georgeous George opener the Campaign for Real Rock. Hell, the entire album has that driving northern soul element that most of Collins best records always had. The guy sounds like he’s rejuvinated and ready to keep making more beauties like this.

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Robert Forster – Inferno (Tapete)
Robert Forster albums aren’t quite as rare as the return of the Locusts, and I look forward to them more than a swarm of insects. Inferno follows 2015’s Songs to Play which is only fours years and a short spell. Inferno teams him with producer Victor Von Vugt who also produced his first solo album Danger In the Past 29 years ago. The former Go-Between still has a knack for putting a song together. No Fame is pure Go-Betweens brilliance and Life Has Turned a Page ranks up there with Darlinghurst Nights as one of his better nostalgia tinged semi-autobigraphical ramblers.

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Kiwi Jr – Football Money (Mint)
More great Canadian pop in the mid-year list. Toronto’s Kiwi Jr fit somewhere between Sloan, Pavement, Beuhlah and Parquet Courts and seem cool with being uncool. By uncool, I mean cool in certain circles that are uncool from the outside looking in. They march to their own beat, sing odes to Burt Bacharach and Brian Jones and are more fun than 90% of the records in my house.

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Durand Jones and the Indications – American Love Call (Colemine)
No retro soul album could ever be considered groundbreaking, but then when did the last groundbreaking record come out. American Love Call one thing and it does it very well. The retro soul on album number two is a little more toned down and smoother sounding than the debut. It’s Heavy on the strings and romancing and sounds as smooth as silk.

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Le Superhommard – Meadow Lane Park (Elefant)
This year has seen no shortage of records influenced by Stereolab and Broadcast which is fine by me. Le Superhommard lean more towards the Stereolab side of the teeter-totter with their ping-pong synths and bouncy melodies. Meadow Lane Park is not just one or two good songs and rest filler, it’s packed full of beauties.

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Marble Arch – Children of the Slump (Géographie)
The second album from this Parisian band is more of a full band affair but keeps some of its predecessor’s bedroom pop ideas, just fleshes them out with a fuller sound. Children of the Slump with its driving bass, flourishes of synthesizers and gangling guitars is dreamy, atmospheric and aching. Old folks will think Low-Life era New Order, younger ones might think Craft Spells or Wild Nothing.

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Dumb Things – S/T (Bobo Integral)
This record was digitally released in 2018, but got a vinyl release early this year so slips in on the technicality that I missed it the first time around. Hailing from Brisbane, the hometown of the Go-Betweens and possibly named after a Paul Kelly song gets my attention. Kindred spirits of the Twerps, Feelies and Zebra Hunt their self-titled debut is a worthy and good company of all of the above.

The Specials – Encore (Island)
The name the Specials carries a lot of weight in certain circles and it’s a questionable call naming this a Specials album (They could have gone with Fun Boy Three), but this is probably as close to a real Specials reunion album we’re ever going to get and I’ll take it. With Terry Hall in the fold it would be hard to go wrong, add in some quality Lynval Golding songs and you’ve got pretty good record.

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Here are a few more notables, that didn’t quite make the first cut, but worth checking into.

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Rose Elinor Dougall – A New Illusion (Vermilion)

Sleaford Mods – Eton Alive (Extreme Eating)

The Stroppies – Whoosh (Tough Love)

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Uranium Club – The Cosmo Cleaners(Static Shock/Fashionable Idiots)

homecurrent
The Home Current – Civilian Leather (Castles In Space)

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Steve Gunn – The Unseen In Between (Matador)

hobbies
Possible Humans – Everybody Split (Hobbies Galore)

Patience – Dizzy Spells (Winona)

tacocat
Tacocat – This Mess Is a Place (Sub Pop)

ffc
Flying Fish Cove – At Moonset (Help Yourself)

Pip Blom – Boat (Heavenly)

November Roundup

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Toby

Item number one in the November roundup is a complaint about how bands and labels sell their records on bandcamp. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love bandcamp. Who wouldn’t? You buy the record and you immediately get to download it. Hell, you can even listen to the entire thing before you buy it. The problem arises in the business model when you decide you actually want to buy the vinyl version of a record. More often than not it’s a pre-order with a release date that’s off in the not too distant future, but you figure it’s ok, because you get the immediate download, so waiting for the actual record to arrive in a few weeks is no sweat. Fast forward six weeks and you’re brushing your teeth in the morning and the record comes up on shuffle and you suddenly realize you never actually got the record you ordered. You give the band the benefit of the doubt and decide to wait another week. Still nothing. You contact them through their bandcamp page asking them if the record was ever sent. Usually you get a response saying the record was delayed or there was some problem with coordinating the vinyl with the sleeves or some other logistical problem. Fine, you say. You’re an understanding kind of person. At least you know that your order wasn’t forgotten or lost in the mail.

My complaint is that why didn’t the band email the good people that bought their record and are anxiously waiting to see it in their mailbox to let them know that there was delay? Especially since there’s an explicit date your bandcamp page that said the record would be sent at a specific date. How hard is it to send a mass email to the 50, 100 or 500 people that bought the record letting them know there’s been a delay? Is the band or label embarrassed? Does the band or label not know how to use BCC when sending emails? the band/lable set up a bandcamp page, uploaded the album and made a record so they must be somewhat literate with communication and the internet. Send an email to the fine folks who are giving you money to hear your music. It’s not hard. People will like your band if you write great songs, but they’ll love you even more for your great customer service!

Now, on with the November round up.

Patsy’s Rats are a Portland band. Their Is It Alright single is pure pop to the jugular. Reminds me of Let’s Active with the boy-girl choruses and jangly nature. If you don’t like singles, this is also on the compilation of singles the band just released on Bachelor records.

Faux-Discx-SAD-1100
November saw the end of UK label Faux Discx. A sad thing. The label was run by Dan Reeves. His two bands, Soft Walls and Cold Pumas I assume are still going. Faux Discx put out some great records. Reeves had great taste, and records like Omi Palone, Vison Fortune, Cold Pumas and Rips regularly appeared on this blog and many others with discerning taste. The label is having a huge sale, so if you’ve been eying something now’s the time to pull the trigger.

Sad news from Seattle as the city slowly disintegrates into a shell of its former being, Posse decided add to the ash pile and call it quits. The trio gifted to the world their final album Horse Blanket and leave the city to contemplate what life will be like when all that’s left for bands in the city are high school jazz combos. You can get a free download of the Horse Blanket from their Bandcamp, and be sure to head over to their web site to grab the accompanying comic book.

Lars Finberg got out of Seattle a long time ago. Escaped down to LA and then back to his hometown of Bakersfield. His first solo album could easily have been released under the moniker of his band the Intelligence. Since it really always was him. Now, I guess he’s hanging out with Ty Segall and entertaining fantasies of being Dean Martin. Instead of serenading PBR guzzling kids down at local hole int he wall, he’s moved up to the seedy red pleather booths of the forlorn diner at the edge of town near the freeway exit. If you are in or around Seattle, he plays the Highline on Capitol Hill this Friday, December 8th.

In keeping with the downer mood of this month’s round up. The Too Pure singles club has decided to call it a day. Not surprising, since the 7-inch single seems to be dying a slow agonizing death. I subscribed to it a couple years, but when they began to allow you to order individual singles I let my subscription lapse. This year’s batch has some gems worth hearing including Family Scraps, Bruising and Seize the Chair.

You should know about this album by Pamplona’s Melenas. Snooping the Bandcamp blog posted about them a few days ago and their excellent debut album has been on repeat for days since. Jangly goodness that answers the question, what if Look Blue Go Purple had been Spanish.

I find myself getting more excited about bands from Portland than those from Seattle these days. Probably because there are more of them to be excited about. Mo Tropper apparently is both a person and a band. His/Their new album combines psychedelia and power pop in a similar way that jellyfish did. I am also reminded of the Return of the Frog Queen by Jeremy Enigk, Cardinal, Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground and the Beach Boys. This album is in technicolor.

Just last month I was reminiscing about speeding motorcycles and the Pastels because of the Neutrals’ song Motorcycle Cop. Now I’m reminiscing about motorcycle cops and the Neutrals because of Flat Worms’s song Motorbike. If you haven’t figured it out yet, things don’t change very much around here. Flat Worms’ debut which rocks out like old Wire and A-Frames records is out on Castle Face, and features members of Thee Oh Sees, Dream Boys and the Babies.

It wouldn’t be a post if we didn’t include something about an Australian band. Vacant Smiles’ new single brings on heavy Hoodoo Gurus like vibrations. Anyone remember classics like Bittersweet, I Was a Kamikaze Pilot and Good Times? Messin’ Around fits nicely in that breadbasket of surfy goodness.

Life is a Lion’s Den

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Toby

lions-den

I never thought I would hear a band that combined the spazzy pop bliss of Neil Armstrong with the primal pop eccentricities of the Intelligence. Where would I actually look for something like this? The internet of course. Sweden’s Lion’s Den could more succinctly be described as garage pop but that’s too easy. The songs on the trio’s self-titled debut LP seem to have a dry take on the mundane and acidic world (“Waking up is the bitter side of life” and “Denial is my therapy”), but they’re so darn catchy that they still make you feel like a 100 bucks.

It’s got some surfy sounding bits, some rockin’ ones, a few eccentricities and lots of adrenaline. And at ten songs in about 20 minutes it’s a perfect record for these anxiety laden and distraction filled times. Put it on and let it take you for a spin. You’ll be back in 20 minutes, in time for whatever is you didn’t really need to do.

The album is out on Lazy Ocotopus.

Best of Something

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Toby

I hope you looking for a few more records to buy before the wave of 2016 releases hits I didn’t count them and they’re in no particular order but each album won in its own unique category. I don’t have any small statuettes to hand out, but I gave each of my favorite albums an award.

Places To Hide – Strange Lyfe (Irrelevant)
Best Posthumous Album: This Atlanta band broke up before releasing their second album. Great punk and post punk anthems in the vein of X, Versus and Seam.

The Intelligence – Vintage Future (In the Red)
Best Album by an Ex-Seattle Band: I say this about every Intelligence album, but it was their best record yet.

King Cyst – King of New York (Underwater Peoples)
Best Canterbury Scene Influenced Album: The Brooklyn group’s second album had me checking the release date on this whimsical beauty.

Protomartyr – The Agent Intellect (Hardly Art)
Best Post-Punk Rust Belt Album: The third LP by this Detroit band continues the upward trajectory initialized by last year’s Under Color of Official Right.

Wildhoney – Sleep Through It (Topshelf)
Best Shoegaze Album: Shoegaze has officially become a genre of music, but so few bands in the genre understand that you still need to write great songs to accompany the tremelo bar and effects pedals. That’s not a problem for Wildhoney.

The Chills – Silver Bullets (Fire)
Best Comeback Album: After years of personal struggles, Martin Phillips finally reinitialized the Chills and created masterpiece that sounds like he hadn’t been out of the game over 20 years.

Helen – The Original Faces (Kranky)
Best Album That Sounds Like It Was Mastered from a Cassette: Liz Harris aka Grouper goes down the Black Tambourine / Vivian Girls rabbit hole and emerges from a mountain top.

Shopping – Why Choose (FatCat)
Best ESG-Gang of Four Inspired Album: The London band’s second album is not vastly different from their debut except that the songs are bigger, better more tightly wound.

Mammoth Penguins – Hide and Seek (Fortuna Pop!)
Best Album by Large Flightless Birds: Standard Fare’s Emma Kupa switched from bass to guitar in her new band and comes up with a more rawkus but no less poignant record.

Cold Beat – Into the Air (Crime On the Moon)
Best Polar Ice Cap Melting Album: Former Grass Widow bassist Hannah Lew immerses her band into an 1980’s inspired synth pop sound that on the surface sounds cold, but has a warmth and playfullness on its underbelly that could be blamed for contributing to global warming.

Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit (Mom + Pop)
Best Stream of Conscious Album: I was surprised at how polarizing this record was, it seemed like you either loved it or hated it. I was a fan of how Courtney Barnett innately was able to make her stream of conscious lyrics make sense over some incredible hooks.

Die Verboten – Die Verboten 2007 (Deewee)
Best Album from 2007: Recorded eight years ago, the Belgian Krautrock influenced collective finally got around to releasing their debut this year. As you might have guessed it sounds timeless.

Downtown Boys – Full Communism (Don Giovanni)
Best Timely Punk Album: It seemed like this Providence, Rhode Island band hit on all the top issues in America (Police Killings, Black Lives, and the 1% to name a few) on Full Communism. Add in a twin saxophone bed of chaos and you have the best pure punk record I’ve heard in a long time.

Finnmark! – Things Always Change (Beko)
Best Indiepop Album by English People Masquerading as Scandinavians: Part Cats on Fire and part Lucksmiths this erudite record caught my indiepop fancy.

Girls Names – Arms Around a Vision (Tough Love)
Best Album by a Former Slumberland and Captured Tracks Band: Girls Names slightly reinvent themselves on their third LP. It’s darker, colder bleaker and better than anything they’ve ever done.

Hooton Tennis Club – Highest Point In Cliff Town (Heavenly)
Best Album of Shambolic Anthems: Hooton Tennis Club sound like they’ve got a Pavement attitude and the pop licks of Teenage Fanclub. Formidable attributes that they employ to precise effect.

Eternal Summers – Gold and Stone (Kanine)
Best Comeback Album by a Band the Never Went Away: Roanoke, Virginia’s Eternal Summers never went away, in fact they’ve been consistently putting out records. Gold and Stone sees them taking a great leap in consistency and quality to make their best album since their debut.

Grubs – It Must Be Grubs (Tuff Enuff)
Best Album by a Joanna Gruesome Spin-off: Grubs also get an award for the shortest album of the year. These 11 songs fly by in about 20 minutes but leave a lasting impression thanks to singer Roxy Brennan sweet voice.

Hierophants – Parallax Error (Goner)
Best Devo Inspired Album: Australia’s Hierophants debut channels Chuck Berry, Beach Boys but mostly Devo to jarring effect. Disconcerting, discombobulated and disgreat.

Robert Forster – Songs to Play (Tapete)
Best Album that References Twitter: When artists incorporate references to the internet I usually cringe, but Robert Forster does it in smile inducing way on Let Me Imagine You. It was good to have one of the masters back.

Nick Hessler – Soft Connections (Captured Tracks)
Best Album by a Yay! Records Alumni: Formerly playing under the Catwalk moniker Nick Hessler decided to ‘solo’ on his debut LP. Soft Connections is a brilliant slice of Aztec Camera inspired pop.

Best Friends – Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane. (FatCat)
Best Garage Rock Inspired by Orange Juice: Best Friends’ debut isn’t groundbreaking, earth shattering or revolutionary. It’s just plain fun.

Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators – Happiness In Every Style (Timmion)
Best Helsinki Soul Album: Brooklyn born Willis and her Finish Soul Investigators made one of my favorite soul revival records of the year.

Day Ravies – Liminal Zones (Sonic Masala)
Best Album by a Fake Kinks Revival Band: On their second LP, Sydny’s Day Ravies shed any hint of shoegaze and go for a raw psychedelic sound and prove that they’re good at that too.

Expert Alterations – You Can’t Always Be Right (Kanine)
Best Jangle Pop Album: You can’t always be right, but at least you can sound good even if you favor sonically dissonant pop. If this is album is wrong, I don’t want to be right

Outfit – Slowness (Memphis Industries)
Best Mark Hollis Revival Album: The sophomore album from Liverpool’s Outfit was entrancing. It contained no obvious hits, but it was a record that easily commanded my interest listen after listen.

Knife Pleats – Hat Bark Beach (Lost Sound)
Best West Coast 90’s Indiepop Album: Rose Melberg finally decides to revisit her Tiger Trap and Go Sailor roots with her new band and proceeds to satisfy the soul.

The Fireworks – Switch Me On (Shelflife)
Best Buzzy Noise Pop Album: An intensely energetic debut based on a Jesus & Mary Chain, Shop Assistants and the Razorcuts. This one was right in my wheelhouse!

Sauna Youth – Distractions (Upset the Rhythm)
Best Album by a band With an Alter Ego: No their not Sonic Youth’s alter ego, Sauna Youth moonlight as Monotony. Distractions was tour de force of frantic noisy anthems influenced by the Fall and Wire.

Primitive Parts – Primitive Parts (Trouble In Mind)
Best Blur Album This Year: Male Bounding and Sauna Youth members team up for a straightforward maelstrom of sharp guitar focused punkish pop.

Valet – Nature (Kranky)
Best Cocteau Twins Impersonation: This Portland group start anew on Nature and thanks to Honey Owens ethereal voice aim for the stars.

Traams – Modern Dancing (FatCat)
Best Krauty-Shouty Album: I really liked Traams’ debut album, but Traams fine tuned their sound into controlled chaos to take Modern Dancing to the next level.

Kitchen’s Floor – Battle of Brisbane (Bruit Direct)
Best Dissonant Brutalist Album: Battle of Brisbane has topical similarities with Woolen Men’s Temporary Monument, but Matt Kennedy’s Kitchen’s Floor sounds angrier and ready for a fight.

Terrible Truths – Terrible Truths (Bedroom Suck)
Best Intensely Laid-back Album: This album had some similarities with the Shopping LP, but Terrible Truths somehow accomplish the trick of sounding tightly wound and laid back at once.

Woolen Men – Temporary Monument (Woodsist)
Best Monument to the Have Nots: Portland’s Woolen Men combine elements of Wire, the Wipers and REM to create a passionate document berating the new rich and lingering recession.

Saun & Starr – Look Closer (Daptone)
Best Surprise Album by Back-up Singers: Starr Duncan Lowe and Saundra Williams were backup singers for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. I think they will have their own permanent gig after this stellar debut.

Jessica Pratt – On Your Own Love Again (Drag City)
Best Album to Listen to Under a Pink Moon: If you didn’t know better, you would assume that this album is 50 years old and was produced by Joe Boyd. Out of time and otherworldly.

Twerps – Range Anxiety (Merge)
Best Australian Album to Sound like It’s from New Zealand: No sophomore slump problems from this Melbourne band, in fact they appear to be a bottomless well of pop goodness.

Viet Cong – Viet Cong (JagJaguwar)
Best Ballsy album by a band with no Balls: This Canadian band take their sound from many brave sounding bans like Gang of Four, the Comsat Angels and the Chameleons. Too bad they’re waffling under pressure to change their name.

Frankie & the Witch Fingers – Frankie & the Witch Fingers (Permanent)
Best Garage Rock Album: This album made me appreciate the saturated garage rock genre again.

Thee Oh Sees – Mutilator Defeated At Last (Castle Face)
Best John Dwyer Album of the Year: The most varied and consistent album yet from this perennial favorite.

Sheer Agony – Masterpiece (Couple Skate)
Smartest Canadian Rock Album With an Old Guy on the Cover: How smart? How about combining mod era Lilys with the skewed pop of the Shins to come up with an endlessly interesting and engaging LP. This Montreal group seem to already have mastered everything on their debut.

Willie Weird – The Scuzzy Inputs Of Willie Weird (Stroll On)
Best Album to Go Off the Deep End: Kelley Stolz’s alter ego comes up with a fractured pop gem

Joanna Gruesome – Peanut Butter (Slumberland)
Best Album to Supply a Vegetarian Source of Protein: The second album of jarring pop from this Cardiff group really sticks to your ribs.

Tam Vantage – Life in High Definition (Lost and Lonesome)
Best Album by a Pop Single: The debut solo album from former Pop Singles front man is a complex and accomplished record.

The Shifters – The Shifters (Comfort 35)
Best Hex Enduction Album: This was the first time I can ever remember not buying the new Fall album. I smartly spent my money on the Shifters’ cassette instead.

In the Art House

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Toby

The Intelligence at the Frye Art Museum, Seattle | 15 November 2015

Why are rock shows always at night and in some beer soaked hall filled with annoying inebriated people? Why can’t they be on sunny Sunday afternoons in a friendly warm room with works of art hanging on the walls and children running around instead? The fine folks at the Frye Art Museum must have wondered this as well and they decided to do something about it by inviting the Intelligence to play their Museum. The Frye is one of the few museums in Seattle to allow free admittance and they extended their gratis support of the arts by putting on this free afternoon show as part of their ongoing Genius / 21 Century / Seattle exhibition. Apparently quite a few other folks are down with this idea too, because the show’s pre-registration was full and there was quite a lengthy stand-by line of people hoping to get in. I was one of them on line and luckily I think we all made it in.

If you haven’t heard, the Intelligence have a new album called Vintage Future. It’s their eighth LP and is easily their best sounding and best recorded one. The band have been increasing their sonic fidelity with each release, though they seem to maintain the same bent humor and attitude that front-man Lars Finberg exhibited since the very first Intelligence 7-inch Boyfriends and Girlfriends back in 2000. Fifteen years is a long time to try and hold your interest, but the intelligence have continued to metamorphosize into a better and better band. As they state on the new record, they refuse to pay the dues, but they also refuse to stay the same which makes a new Intelligence album something I always look forward to.

You may also know that the band no longer call Seattle home since front man Lars Finberg moved down to Los Angeles so this show was something of a homecoming for the band. In their best museum attire (Finberg was sporting some leopard print shades and smart blue blazer that gave him the air of a Hollywood mogul), the Intelligence ripped through about 15 songs that featured many highlights from the new album as well as few classics like Dating Cops, Estate Sales and Back of the Galaxy. The set started with the moody Cleaning Lady that allowed the band to warm up the room with it’s obsessive compulsive refrain of “It’s clean, but it’s not that clean to me.” Parents immediately grabbed their kids to insert earplugs into their little ears.

The new album has a sort of morbid jauntiness to it that is interspersed with aggressive forays of punk rock. Finberg continues his deliver from his deep well of sharp self-deprecating one liners and observations of the absurd (“I’m tired of people who like me”, “I want true love that I can step out on and that I can still count on while she waits with a warm plate”, “Shitty guitars, touring in cars”). Closing the set with Romans another song from the new album, the song’s sinewy guitar rif and patience was the Intelligence at full power. It’s one of those songs that could double in length and continue to please, but they kept to its abridged form. I wonder what the people who were at he Frye to take in the art on the walls thought while the cacophony of the Intelligence bounced into them from around an unseen corner? At least the the band and its audience enjoyed this afternoon dalliance in the museum.

Vintage Future is out now on In the Red Records.

The Inaugural Monthly Top Ten List

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Toby

You may have noticed that I’ve been struggling to keep up around here: fewer and fewer posts, overflowing in box, long beard and unclipped nails. In an effort to get back on track and clean myself up I’m going to try and start doing a top ten list for each month of things that I’ve neglected to post about in the past month. Well, I’m already behind seeing as it’s October and I’m doing a top ten for September. Before it gets any later, here are ten things from the last month that merit some recognition.

1. The Aislers Set at Neumos

The Aislers Set breifly reunited for the Chickfactor 20th anniversary shows back in 2012. I saw that show and it was good, but seeing them a couple weeks ago in Seattle was even better. This was a brief West coast tour celebrating the reissue of all three of their LP’s from the 90’s (Slumberland & Suicide Squeeze). Linton and company were in top form this night performing their glistening pop that never got old.

2. The Intelligence at Lo-Fi

Sadly the Intelligence are no longer based in Seattle, so the opportunities to see them live have greatly decreased since Lars Finberg’s migration to L.A. Other things have changed as well, This is not your kid brother’s Intelligence. Although this was a release party for reissue of their first LP Boredom and Terror (In the Red), they played a bunch of new songs that featured a powerful rhythm section and meaty jam sections to them. A far cry from the bedroom tape hiss of that first record. No, they haven’t turned into Phish, but they’ve evolved into something even more formidable than before. Can’t wait to hear the new album!

3. Fresh Hop Beer

It’s harvest time and up here in the pacific NW, and that means hops. Fresh hop beer is made with hops just picked off the vine and when it’s done right, it’s a fruity mouthful of flavorful beer. You have to be quick though, because it’s made in limited quantities and it goes fast. Recommended ones that I’ve tasted this year include Fremont’s Cowiche Canyon, Fort George Fresh IPA and Schooner Exact’s Amarillo Fresh Hop. Still hoping to get a taste of Bale Breaker’s Piled High!

4. Erik Blood – Cannons Vol. 1
Erik Blood, the guy that made a shoegaze record about porn has switched gears slightly into electronics and motorik beats. His new four song EP (free to download at his bandcamp) features Mahogany’s Andrew Prinz and Shabazz Palaces’ Ishmael Butler.

5. Fat White Family – I Am Mark E Smith
I was nonplussed over Fat White Family’s debut album last year, but this new single has got my attention. They may be claiming to be the Fall front man, but they sound like they’ve been hanging out with David J and Daniel Ash.

6. Primitives – Spin-o-Rama 7″
The Primitives have a perfect pop single in Spin-o-Rama. It’s Bright and sunny. It’s got hand claps. It’s under three minutes and leaves you wanting more. You hear it once and you can immediately sing it. I defy you to to find a more immediately infectious song that’s come out this year.

7. Go-Betweens Box Set – G Stands for Go-Betweens (Domino)

Just the other day I was pining for someone to reissue the Go-Betweens catalog on vinyl, since I never see them in the used bins. I should have been more specific in my wishing and added that they be individually released and affordable. Domino announced last week that they are planning a box set containing the first four Go-Be’s LP’s and four CD’s of rare stuff. It’s due to be released in January of 2015 and it’s only $160. Looks like I’ll still be scouring the used bins. Oh well.

8. Tacocat – Bridge To Hawaii (Hardly Art)
In between listening to and singing songs from Frozen my daughter will sing or play Tacocat’s Bridge to Hawaii. The first time this happened I did a double take and couldn’t figure out where she heard it. I like to think she heard it from me, but with kids these day’s you don’t want to ruin it for them by letting them know you like it too.

9. Butter the Children – True Crime
When Brooklyn’s Sweet Bulbs split up after releasing one stellar self-titled LP, two bands immediately emerged from their ashes. The Butter the Children sect (Heaven’s Gate is the other sect) continue the warbly, spazzed-out guitar attack of Sweet Bulbs and feature Sweet Bulbs singer Inna but she’s more forward in the mix which I think makes for a unique and better combination. The band put up their album on bandcamp as a free download. I don’t know if this means they gave up trying to get it released by a label, broke up, or are simply a benevolent noise pop band.

10. Flowers – Do What You Want To, It’s What You Should Do (Kanine)
I wasn’t sure after the first few listens to Flowers‘ debut album. They seemed to have toned down the noise for something more subtle. Recording with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler the London trio won me over with their minimalist approach that evokes the sparseness of Young Marble Giants, the smart intensity of the Spinnanes and the melancholy melodies of Everything But the Girl.

Universe People In a Pin Ball Brawl

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Toby

[youtube http://youtu.be/vEiuqWIB-QM]

Last year Seattle’s Universe People released the very high quality Go To the Sun. Since then Universe leader Jo Claxton has seen her entire rhythm section change. In this new space time continuum Universe People feature drummer Min Yee (Dreamsalon, and A-Frames) and bassist Kimberly Morrisson (Dutchess and the Duke). Their second album is called Universe People Are Coming To the Dance.

Above is the premier of the video for The Modern Girl. It is directed and edited by Claxton and filmed by Kelly Burton who worked with the band on their two previous clips Vampire Prison and Druids. The Modern Girl a clinic in how to do minimal sharp pop right with dissonant elements of early Fall and the Intelligence but with always an eye towards melody. Claxton writes sparse angular songs that will elbow you in the ribs with their sharp riffs, and then continue to keep you off balance with their wry humor. The video is a pin-ball epic in which Claxton attacks Yee and brawls with Morrison. Thankfully they both survive which is more than I can say for former bassist Kellie Payne who was killed in the Vampire Prison video.

Universe People’s second album Are Coming To the Dance is available now digitally on bandcamp. For you vinyl enthusiasts, there are plans for a vinyl version on Dragnet Records later this summer. You can also catch them live next month in Seattle, and Portland.

7/10 Sunset Tavern w/ Amen Dunes
7/19 Foggy Notion (Portland) w/ Appendixes
7/22 Chop Suey w/ Magik Markers

To Thine Own Self Be Weird

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Toby

I like weird and I like good and Cheveu fits that description. The French band has just released it’s fourth album titled Bum and it just might be their best and weirdest record yet. How could they surpass their cover of Vanilla Ice‘s Ice Ice Baby in terms or strangeness you ask? Ok, maybe Bum isn’t their overtly strangest album. Actually they dial down one kind of weird and dial up another kind. Before they came off as arty punks willing to graffiti over anything, on Bum they are more into a prog rock otherworldly weirdness. They take elements from bands like Hawkwind, Wall of Voodoo, the Intelligence, Brainiac and Devo and come up with something all their own.

You can stream/buy/download the record from Born Bad Records’ bandcamp page.
stream: Cheveu – Juan In a Million

Out of Evening Meetings and into the Dreamsalon

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Toby

When we last checked in on Seattle’s Dreamsalon, they were calling themselves Evening Meetings. After Erin Sullivan left, the remaining three Min Yee, Craig Chambers and Matthew Ford rechristened their pop noise machine Dreamsalon.

It’s a different name but Dreamsalon’s new album Thirteen Nights is essentially the band’s second album as it is forged in the same post-punk furnace as the Evening Meetings album. Thirteen Nights is tight and intense. The songs are sparse, built around a solid rhythm of Ford’s drumming and Yee’s bass. Chambers fills out the songs by raining sparks sparks down with both his guitar and roughhewn voice.

It’s fairly obvious listening to Dreamsalon that they were influenced by the Fall and the Fall of course are still around and making records, but they don’t make them like this anymore.

You can stream and buy the digital version of Thirteen Nights at Dreamsalon’s bandcamp page. A vinyl release is planned soon on Captcha Records.