Find us on facebook

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Discoverer 90: new indie findings

What a trio of amazing discoveries, I 've prepared for you today, so sure you'll love them!

Fireflies. Lisle Mitnik is the one-man band behind Fireflies. Born and raised in New England but based in California, he's been around doing great music since early 2000s, solo or in delicious projects like Tiny Fireflies (check their wonderful EPs at EardrumsPop!), Very Truly Yours or Edine. As Fireflies he has released three "official albums" to date, "Goodnight Stars, Goodnight Moon" (2007); "Autumn Almanac" (2011) and the just out "In Dreams", via Jigsaw Records, a bunch of EPs (please do not miss the Covers Digital EP from 2009) and singles and four albums of home-recordings / demos. But let me go back to "In Dreams", because folks, this is one of the best records of the year. A humming, ethereal, gentle, delicate indiepop classic made in 2014 I cannot recommend you enough. Missing it should be considered a crime.
Should. Formed in Austin, Texas, initially under the name of shiFt, Marc Ostermeier together with Tanya Maus and his brother Eric debuted with EP "A Folding Sieve" in 1995'. After a 7" in 1997 came trio's first full length "Feed Like Fishes", in late 1998 via Words in Music. In 2002 the label re-released a expanded version of their debut EP, now a full album. In April 2011 arrived "Like a Fire Without Sound" while label Captured Tracks kicked off its Shoegaze Archive series reissuing again "A Folding Sieve" on its most complete version. And finally, since this March we can enjoy fourth record "The Great Pretend". Diverse and lush, dream pop, shoegaze, traces of post-punk, chiming guitars, propulsive drum beats and vocal harmonies coexist on an impeccable album full of rewards for the listener.  

The Skywriters. And we end in Philadelphia with this short -lived band now rescued from the twee-pop vaults. This quintet came out with a self released cassette tape, a CDEP, a Japanese 7” record, and a handful of compilation tracks on a career that only lasted from 1998 to 2000, with band members forming The Snow Fairies, Ex-Friends or more recently Scary Monster. But now the always reliable Jigsaw Records alongside with label Lost Sound are releasing a new compilation entitled "Skywriter Blue" that resumes the group's career. Fourteen songs of lovely twee-pop, full of the catchiest melodies, jangly guitars and adorable intertwined male/female vocals. Hard to resist.

No comments:

Post a Comment