Discoverer 167: new indie findings

September's arrival comes with a new round of our discoverer series with a trio of infallible Antipodean proposals, with bands and artists that have come out with some of the most exciting releases of the year so far. Long life to guitar indie-pop from down under!

School Damage. We begin our trip between Melbourne and Geelong, with this foursome formed around 2013, although initially it was the bedroom pop project of Carolyn Hawkins (member of the great Chook Race and also in Parsnip) and Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants), releasing the tape 'Deep Net' that November via Moontown Records. Then the duo expanded to its current format with the addition of Jeff Raty on drums and Dani 'Damage' Hakim on bass. After two 7", 'Break Up' in August 2014 and 'Phone Drone / Something New' in October 2016, the band came out in 2017 with their self-titled debut album, out in June 2017 thanks to Chapter Music. This year they have released another 7", 'Sings' ... Four Songs About One Cat' out via Upset! The Rhythm in May and, since this August, their sophomore album 'A To X'. Like an impossible crossover of Look Blue Go Purple, Young Marble Giants and Television Personalities, their songs are quirky and über catchy  indiepop tunes revolving around shaky keyboards and knitting bass lines. Instant crush.    

The Beths. Quick shift to Auckland, New Zealand, to meet this irresistible (damnit I missed their recent gig in Barcelona) four-piece leaded by Elizabeth Stokes (guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter). A band of longtime friends, Stokes and guitarist Jonathan Pearce attended high school together, and at the University of Auckland meet up with old mates bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Ivan Luketina-Johnston, where they studied jazz. Luckily for us, that genre has nothing to do with The Beths music, something we started to confirm in March 2016 with debut EP 'Warm Blood'. Now the band wants to hig big with first album 'Future Me Hates Me' out via Carpark Records since this August. And they should achieve that goal, because the record is a knockout collection of energetic and infectious guitar indie-rock tunes packed with bitting lyrics, joyful pop hooks and killer vocal harmonies. Heavy contender for debut album of the year.

Hatchie.  And we return to Australia to meet Harriette Pilbeam, a very young artist from Brisbane who is making a lot of "good noise" over the blogosphere thanks to her debuting EP 'Sugar & Spice', out since May. Formerly part of Blog favourites Go Violets, her current incarnation has been properly active since 2016, the 25 year-old musican's tunes are an inmediately catchy coalescence of dreampop landscapes and the poppier side of shoegaze, with a stunning knack for penning the definitive pop hook. Yeah, it might have a bit of that everywhere now 80s sound and the "sugar", or the Sky Ferreira-Carly Rae Jepsen (ugh) could easily "win" in forthcoming releases. But there's no point in creating future bad vibes as, for now, we can enjoy this addictive five tunes summoning the spirits of The Sundays of Cocteau Twins. Lot to love.

Discoverer 163: new indie findings

Past Thursday, International Women's Day, was such a historic moment we had to celebrate somehow in our discoverer series and, besides, any excuse goes when it's about promoting and showing female's neverending talent, something this Blog is quite proud to have done since its beginning. So, here it comes, another trio of stunning "girls to the front" music proposals!

Amaya Laucirica. A well established presence in the Australian musical landscape, Amaya Laucirica was born in rural South Australia, but moved to Sydney and is now based in Melbourne, where, in 2008, debuted with the folkie-tinged album 'Sugar Lights'. But it was sophomore release, 'Early Summer', appeared in October 2010, the one that "opened the floodgates" for her, gaving her the chance of touring alongside Blonde Redhead, Mark Lanegan and national rock icon Adalita. The EP 'Anywhere There's You' followed in late 2011, with third album, 'Sway' coming out in 2014. Then Laucirica moved to Berlin, returning back home  two years later to form the band who helped her to create fourth LP, 'Rituals', out just now via Opposite Number and Kasumuen Records. Pop at its dreamiest and enthralling peak, somehow encapsulating the mysterious atmospheres and blurred lines of Cocteau Twins and the pensive wide-open-spaces of Mazzy Star without losing the knack for melodies, 'Rituals' is a warm and cinematic triumph. 

Mint Field. Happy to move (first time at the Blog) to Tijuana, Mexico, in order to meet Estrella Sánchez (vocals & guitar) and Amor Amezcua (drums & synths), a very young duo responsible of the most hypnotic and intriguing sounds to date in 2018. Formed around 2014, at high school, the tandem released homemade EP 'Primeras Salidas' a year later (they were a trio back then) and, in 2016, doubled the bet with singles 'Ciudad Satélite' via French label Cranes Records, 'Nada es estático y evoluciona' and 'Viceversa', material that gave them the chance to play in Coachella, SXSW, as well as extensively through both sides of the the non-existing wall (f*** you Mr. Trump). while at the same time they were anticipating a first album that took a bit longer to see the light but, since this late February, is finally here. 'Pasar de las Luces', out via LA-based Innovative Leisure Records, is a bewitching exploration of the most spacious, eerie and organic sounds, ranging from evocative dream-pop to fuzzy shoegaze, as well as flirting with krautrock rhythms and the darker face of psychedelia, giving nods to bands like Slowdive, Cocteau Twin or Grouper. Allow yourself to get haunted!

Cozy Slippers. And we end in Seattle, Washington, to meet this three-piece formed around 2015, when Barbara Barrilleaux (drums, keyboards, and vocals) and Sarah Engel (bass and vocals) met at music workshop Ladies Rock Camp, being completed with Steven Skelton (guitar) later on. The band debuted with EP 'Late Night in Summertime' in March of 2017, which now will have a follow-up with 'Postcards' out next April via our dear friends of Jigsaw Records. Immediately catchy guitar-driven indiepop, somewhere in between Marine Girls, the Go-Gos and Chastity Girls, propelled by the straightforward dual vocals of Sara and Barbara. A lot to love here...

Discoverer 160: new indie findings

The discoverer series are also back (some wonders already listened)... but before beginning with 2018 finds, let's take a moment to look back and recover some late-2017 bands that couldn't be missed. To begin with, come "walk to the dark side" with us for a trio of post-punk sensations!

Flesh World. Hailing from San Francisco, CA, this quartet assembled in the summer of 2012, thanks to the gathering spirits of Scott Moore (Guitar, Synths) and Jess Scott (vocalist, guitarist & also part of the lovely Brilliant Colors!) who began writing tunes together and quickly recruited Andrew Luttrell on bass and Sam Lefebvre on drums. ​The fully formed combo debuted with a self-titled EP in December 2013, out via La Vida Es Un Mus Discos. Two 7” singles, 'A Line In Wet Grass' and 'Just to Tear Me Down' followed in 2014, anticipating their first album ‘The Wild Animals In My Life’ released in 2015 on Iron Lung Records. Finally, past year they signed with Dark Entries Records, releasing sophomore album ‘Into The Shroud’ in early September. A collection of eight blasting tunes, echoing Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Birthday Party, a tone of melodic hooks, razorsharp guitars and killer immediacy sunk between dark aesthetics, droning synths and a bouncy, very dynamic rhythm section, Flesh World is a knockout.

Makthaverskan. Quick jump to beloved Gothemburg, Sweden, to meet this quintet formed in 2008 and quickly pushing the engines with a collection of demos and, a year later, their debut self-titled album, out via Luxury Records. After a couple of singles, 'Makthaverskan II' appeared in March of 2013, with the band repeating the "pattern" until the arrival of 'Makthaverskan III', out last October. Extremely powerful (honouring their curious name), with the intense, dramatic vocals of Maja Milner exploding over your head once and again. Think of Blondie on steroids, or Siouxsie (again) leading and impossibly rushed version of Cocteau Twins. Pop with a punch and an edge, listening to Makthaverskan is quite a nocturnal, sort of cinematic, utterly fascinating experience.

Drahla. And we i n Leeds (and Wakefield), UK, to meet this DIY young trio, active since late 2015. First release, single ‘Fictional Decision’ surfaced in October of 2016, with two more tunes following in the form of the 7" 'Faux Text', out via Too Pure in late April of 2017. And before the year came to an end, the band put out the 'Third Article' EP. Eight tunes so far, but enough to got us completely excited. They are in a very intriguing place, somewhere in between art-rock, noise and post-punk, a version of The Fall . But there´s something raw, even menacing and, at the same time, utterly appealing, in the way the guitars attack and hide, Mike Ainsley´s drums propels, sometimes even spits, the songs tempos, and co-vocalists Rob Riggs and Luciel Brown help building the inner tension of every piece with that coldness in their vocal delivery. Eager to hear more. Band to follow closely, believe me....  

'Beautiful Noise', shoegaze me

Beautiful Noise
Beefeater In-Edit 2014, Chapter III

The third documentary seen at this year’s Beefeater In-Edit was another easy choice. To my knowledge 'Beautiful Noise' is the first-ever documentary made on shoegaze/noise-rock of the late 80s-90s. Must-watch, again.

The merits of the film are many. Eric Green has created a relevant film from ground zero, working alongside producer Sarah Ogletree during almost a decade through their company HypFilms. Considering the DIY origins of the documentary (funded by a Kickstarter campaign), it's a great achievement they managed to arrange so many interviews with very big music names. But even more important than that, they have been capable of offering us a very solid and coherent work. It's clearly a work of passion for music.

The rise-disappearance-revival of shoegaze is well documented on the rockumentary, thanks to a straightforward chronological line but, foremost, by the huge bulk of interviews. From Cocteau Twins to Chapterhouse, it's hard for me to remember who's missing in the picture (although my dearest one, the great Rachel Goswell, is not interviewed). There are in-depth cuts with Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie, The Jesus and Mary Chain's Jim Reid & Bobby Gillespie, Slowdive's Neil Halstead, Ride's Mark Gardener and Andy Bell, or My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, among many others. But there's also space for music giants like Robert Smith, Trent Reznor and Billy Corgan. Extremely impressive. The greatest moments are reserved to Reid and his controversial relation with fame/frustration for the band's lack of sales, and the unresolved war between Alan McGee, boss of Creation Records, and Kevin Shields. They were both right.     

So, the story of late century 'wall of sound' and musicians looking to their sneakers is the tale of a bunch of musicians who tried to subvert rock traditions without leaving guitars, looking for new sounds, atmospheres and introduce melody within the noise trying. Experiment and feel. They were ahead of their time, but they didn't find the success they were hoping for (Ride were the closest ones to achieve commercial support), so the pretty spontaneous movement faded away... until the digital era rescued them. 

Unfortunately, 'Beautiful Noise', except some situations like the ones referred before, lacks poignancy, debate, insight. Bands are utterly praised then simply glorified (can't put all bands in the same bag), and so is the revival (same applies). Besides, the film has too many minutes of empty visual fillers. We get it, it sort of connects with the ethereal, elusive music, but it's kind of lame. The overall feeling is that we are watching a formal, very correct but a bit monotonous documentary. The movie does makes a beautiful noise, but it's subdued.

SCORE: 6,25/10

These Go to 11: Interviewing EardrumsPop

For our third interview, we move from musicians (after Astrid Wiezell, aka Northern Spies, and Vasco Batista, aka Big Summer) to the man who started EardrumsPop.Yes, a personal music hero. These Go to 11!

Knut, EardrumsPop

Knut, indiepop superhero

How many times EardrumsPop has been featured in this blog? Did you know I run a formal petition & campaign to make the label win the Nobel Prize for their contribution to mankind's well-being & good-taste? Any indiepop lover with ears knows that each time this label announces a new EPop release great music is awaiting us. Do you want to know who started the netlabel & still runs it today along Stefan, Tim and Silja? Coming from Norway, our own Batman, making justice for indiepop on the blogosphere, is Knut B. Lindbjør, and here are his answers.
 
1. First record that you bought (be honest)

The first record I bought was actually a cassette tape, and I got it when I bought my first cassette player. The tape has indeed been a very influential one for my taste in music. It was a compilation of new wave bands, and included several songs and bands I have much love for even today. My first vinyl record was probably something by Elvis or Beatles or Kiss. I can't remember it as well as that first cassette tape. My taste in music was as varied then as it is today! In 10 years time, will you be asking people about their first mp3 or the first song they streamed on Spotify? :-)

2. First and last concert you have attended (be honest too!)

I think my first concert was an outdoor one with A-Ha in my hometown of Tromsø, Norway. Me and my friends played in synthpop-bands at the time, and I think all of us only had our eyes on the synth gear of Magne Furuholmen throughout the concert. I remember we were impressed that he seemed to play everything live, and not much seemed to be on sequencers. The last concert was last week, actually. It was an acoustic concert with the Norwegian singer/songwriter Richard Holmsen in Drammen, Norway. A wonderful night! He's good.

Explanation needed Knut!

3. Guilty pleasure (song/band you shouldn’t like but you do, yes, it’s the embarrassing question)

Not embarrassing at all! I have lots of guilty pleasures, and I am proud of them all. My daughter introduces me to all these boybands and hits of today, and I actually like One Direction. They do have some really catchy songs! I am also a part-time hiphop fan, especially when I am out walking. And Elvis is still cool. And Duran Duran and Bananarama and Bronski Beat. I could go on and on and on!

4. Most precious music item you own (collector mode on)
I am not a collector at all, but I think I must say the compilation "Shadow Factory" by Sarah Records, or the early Creation Records compilations "Doing it for the Kids" and "Doing God's Work". The reason is mainly because they had a huge influence on me at the time, and have shaped me musically.

5. Favorite lyrics (not yours)

I would have to say Kraftwerk's "Pocket Calculator" or any of Cocteau Twins' lyrics. :-)

6. Musician/s you would like to meet (should be alive, for obvious reasons, but you can choose a dead one too)
There are not many musicians that I find so interesting that I would like to meet them in person, but I think Kristin Hersh sounds like an interesting person, and maybe I would like to meet Martin Gore as well - but only if he would show me around his studio and let me watch when he makes music.

7. Favorite artwork album (not yours)
It's not easy to pick one. Impossible, I would say, but let's try. It will be "ONE OF my favourite artworks", not "THE favourite artwork". One of the artworks I have dreamt myself into the most, is probably Yo La Tengo's "And then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out". It's beautiful. I usually fall for illustration-kind of cover art, but this one is very special to me. From more modern bands, I really like the artworks on The Leisure Society's releases. The art on Golden Fable's releases are also outstanding.

8. Books or movies? Depending on your answer recommend us one (trick: you can choose both)

Books. Rob Sheffield - "Love Is a Mixtape". 

9. Song (of yours) you are most proud of
I think it has to be the "Between Two Waves" compilation. It became much bigger - and much better - than we dared to hope for. It also means a lot to me, because it was the start of the label as a team-based project, and I started working with people who mean a lot to me today, - Stefan, Tim, Leena and later Silja.

10. What’s does it mean indie for you? (yes, the “serious question”)

I hate serious questions! The word indie does not mean much to me, and I think I mainly use it as a name for a very wide genre. A long time ago, it meant "independent from the major labels", but today, - I don't know. I don't like the mentality that often goes hand in hand with the word indie. "We're indie, and we're so much better than the major-label-shit-bands". I care about good music, not where it has been released. We at EardrumsPop are probably very indie, if you use the word as "independent", but mostly because we can do whatever we want. That has kind of become an internal slogan for us. It's a creative freedom that we really appreciate. We have no deals with anyone, we are not limited by money and we don't have to please anyone other than ourselves. We hope we make a lot of our listeners happy, though!

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I am myopic. I can't see that long.

Zillion thanks Knut!

Discoverer 36: new indie findings

Back with new bands for your listening pleasure!

ExLovers. "Moth", the debut album of this London band, formed in 2008, is quickly becoming a recurrent part of the soundtrack of my summer. And with a reason. Cute boy-girl harmonies, jangly guitars, an incomparable talent for finding perfect melodies, and a ton of catchy hooks. Evocative, bittersweet, and instantly addictive, their graceful dreampop/indiepop merges the best from both sides of the Atlantic (think on Teenage Fanclub meeting Pavement, or Stars with hints of Belle and Sebastian). Out since May, "Moth" confirms the expectations of previous EP and singles (2009-2011), being a pure indie delight. 
This Love Will Lead You On by exlovers You Forget So Easily by exlovers Just A Silhouette by exlovers

Pale Sunday. Matinée Recordings strikes back! Another amazing band discovered from their great catalogue. They say they are from Brazil, but I bet you'll think this is a forgotten band from Scottish finest hour, or Sarah Records, the first time you hear their music. This is pluperfect jangly indiepop that will immediately make you nostalgic or euphoric. Its shiny, warm and addictive. "The Fake Stories About You and Me" is their latest EP, just out now, but like me, I'm sure four gorgeous tunes won't be enough,. So I have more good news for you. Check here and here. The band has been active since 2003! So many songs to enjoy!
Summertime? (2005) by palesunday

Picnic. From sunny Brazil to cold Estonia (wished trip for ages)! This trio formed in 2006 and debuted in 2010 with "Winter Honey", gathering critical praise and recognition from Shelflife records, who is (very limitedly) releasing now a wonderful double-sided single with versions of classics "We've Only Just Begun" and "Say a Little Prayer", in anticipation of their sophomore release. Unlike the covers, their music blends shoegaze and dreampop with traces of unconventional instrumentation and electronics without losing pop, melodic structures. Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star, Mum or Sigur Ros come to mind, but their sound, remains mysterious and haunting as Marjus Taukar's ethereal voice.

"The Distractions EP", vindicating Rose Elinor Dougall

The Distractions EP

"Without Why", the 2010 debut album from the ex-Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall was a fantastic work that went criminally under the radar. Let's admit it, The Pipettes were a fun, entertaining band, even a guilty pleasure with some undeniably addictive tunes, but it was hard to consider them seriously being a 60s girl-group recreation. Luckily, The Pipettes gave us something much more rewarding than some "silly" (without negative connotations) songs to dance to. They gave us Rose Elinor Dougall, a real artist, with a (I hope) career to look for.

"The Distractions EP" is a three-songs collection released for free (they are available for download at her bandcamp) in early January 2012. The tunes were recorded at the end of 2010 as rough demos with The Distractions, her backing band. On the release note, Ms Dougall stress that "this is not material off the new record, as since the time of recording, a whole new body of work has been formed that has suggested a different path to me from the one gestured towards in tracks such as these. But i really hope you enjoy it all the same"... Too bad because the three songs are great, following the path of "Without Why".

Miles away from the "doo-woop" style of her former band, Rose keeps showing a deeper, richer side, where sounds are sweeping but at the same time springy, especially on the more upbeat, song of the trio, the jangle greatness of "I've Always Known". Wistful arrangements that blend with her disarming sad voice, on which you can hear traces of Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins or The Sundays. "The Night" is epic despite its constraint, allowing the atmosphere embrace Rose's singing before reaching the end, on an instrumental crescendo. "Hanging Around"  starts in a more straightforward way, with guitars presiding the verses before the chorus turns into a jangle, more melodic tune. Morrissey would be proud of this. Overall, "The Distractions EP" is a dreamy, weightless, slightly dark but charming, sophisticated and lasting indiepop offer. Really eager to hear your next step, Rose!

SCORE: 8/10

Discoverer 33: new indie findings

Our weekend proposals are here!

Dunes. This trio from LA came to life in 2009, from the ashes of defunct punk bands, and while they were roommates. After a self-titled 12' EP, a 7' and a single during 2010-11, "Noctiluca", their debut album is out now. And what a record this is. Sounds as it was created in another world. It's dreamy, lush, atmospheric and expansive. Cocteau Twins meets "Murmur"? Guitars jangle and echo, Stephanie Chan's voice and harmonies highlights the mood, while her lyrics intrigue you. Every element relies, in a beautiful tension, on another, so the LP is an incredibly suggestive whole, a mysterious artefact that has been just revealed.
Vertical Walk

Jukebox Adieu
Tied Together

Alpaca Sports. Our second proposal hails from Gothenburg, Sweden. I was reluctant to include them, as we have only been able to hear two songs from the band, but both are so lovely that I couldn't resist it. This is the new music project of Andreas Jonsson and it has arrived to us in the form of the irresistible single "Just For Fun", out now. Two indie-pop wonders, delicate, lush (marvellous arrangements), catchy and memorable. Awww, Sweden, what would we be without you? Needless to say, we want more music from Alpaca Sports!
Just for fun by Alpaca Sports
I'll never win by Alpaca Sports

The Stammer. And our last proposal today comes from Philadelphia, USA. They recently dropped by the blog inbox, and it was a matter of seconds I realised this wasn't a "average" band. What a stormy and immediate indie-rock. Impressive. First a project by vocalist Brian Brotman, it quickly evolved into a four-piece band, and since February with a self-titled debut EP out. Four songs that serve as an infectious compendium of post-punk, with an amazing talent to combine tones, styles and melodies. Expect droning guitars, synths and buzzing vocals. Expect greatness.