These Go to 11: interviewing Pale Spectres

More interviews! After closing April with The Treasures of Mexico, today we have the pleasure to fuel the section with more pluperfect janglepop, thanks to Thomas Guilcher from Pale Spectres (among other projects) answering our questionnaire. Enlightening pop from the 'City of Light'. Lots of familiar names on his answers. These Go to 11!

Pale Spectres, delicatessen at pop's supermarket

Thomas Guilcher, Pale Spectres
Hailing from Paris, they are Jean-François, Rafael, Stéphane and Thomas. and we met them in 2012, thanks to the song 'Better than Love', included on a compilation record from Cloudberry Records. One year later, they released debut EP 'Helen of Troy', four slices of hipnotic janglepop, via our beloved label Little Treasure Records. Now, after three years of waiting, during which Thomas got involved in several projects, like his one-man-band Tomiji, or collaborating with Blog dear friends Jeremy 'The Very Most' Jensen and Adriano 'Postal Blue' Ribeiro (wishing Les Coquelicots keep writing music together), our favourite ghosts are back with their "magic touch" intact, judging from the double A side amazing single 'Your Boyfriend's Girlfriend / Time to move on', out just now. Unmissable. Here we go! 

1.First record that you bought (be honest)
The very first record I bought might be 'Missing' by Everything But The Girl. I was probably 10 and it was a CD single. I remember cutting the cardboad cover to turn it into a sleeve for a jewel case. That was stupid, wasn't it ?

Brother in Law: La Famiglia shoegaze 

2. First and last concert you have attended (be honest too!)
The first concert I attended was actually a big festival nearby my parents' called Les Terres Neuvas. It doesn't exist anymore. I mostly remember seeing a French rap band called Saian Supa Crew. The last one was Brothers In Law a few days ago in Paris. It really was a great show. They're from Italy and their music could be described as 'shoegazy pop'.

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

My latest guilty pleasure was probably Lana Del Rey. I even created my own best of compilation of her songs to listen to in the metro on my way to and back from work. I just love her music and I can't really explain why.

Gainsbourg meets Verlaine: a poets affaire

4. Most precious music item you own (collector mode on)

It probably is my Sarah Records vinyl collection. I own around 50 releases of the label and they're all very precious to me.

5. Favorite lyrics (not yours)

To be honest, I don't pay that much -or enough- attention to lyrics. I'm more sensitive to people's vocals and the way they use them. It's music after all. However, Serge Gainsbourg's lyrics for 'Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'En Vais', for example, are excellent. They're a fantastic tribute to one of Paul Verlaine's most famous poems.

Adriano Ribeiro: glorious indiepop goes transnational

6. Musician/s you would like to meet (should be alive, for obvious reasons, but you can choose a dead one too)
I would certainly love to meet Adriano from Postal Blue; not only because he's a wonderful musician but also because he's become a great friend. As he lives in Brasilia and me in Paris, we both know it would be complicated but you never know...

7. Favorite artwork album (not yours)
It may sound obvious but I'd say it's hard to top artworks such as Andy Warhol's banana for The Velvet Underground & Nico's self titled album or Peter Saville's waves for Joy Division's 'Unknown Pleasures'... They're both so beautiful and iconic.

A Belgian film! Recommendation taken

8. Books or movies? Depending on your answer recommend us one (trick: you can choose both) 
One of my many problems is I don't read enough. I would therefore have to say movies. If I had to recommend you one, I'd choose 'C'est Arrivé Près de Chez Vous'. The film is a Belgian masterpiece of extremely dark humor.

9. Release (of yours) you are most proud of
This is a trick question and proud is a big word. As far as I'm concerned, I noticed that the latest things you've created tend to be the ones you usually like the most. At the moment, my answer would then be a brand new song called 'The End' that we composed altogether from total scratch during a band practice. I really like collaborative compositions and I hope there will be more of them in Pale Spectres' future.

10. What does it mean indie for you? (yes, the “serious question”)
I feel like indie has just become a random word for a broad kind of pop or even music. I would sadly tend to think it no longer has anything to do with independance. It now relies more on a type of aesthetics.

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 
I have absolutely no idea... I certainly have dreams but I'm mostly focusing on enjoying life day by day. To be honest, as I'm an optimistic person, I don't really care or think about that.    

 Zillion thanks Thomas!

Discoverer 55: new indie findings

If facebook allows me (what a couple of weeks in that sense), here's another dose of new music proposals for you!

Daughter. This London-based trio began their career in 2010 as the solo project of Elena Tonra. After recording a ‘Demos EP’, she joined forces with guitarist & music classmate Igor Haefeli. A self-released four-track EP, "His Young Heart", came out in April 2011, with drummer Remi Aguilella completing the band soon after. Later this year "The Wild Youth" EP was released, transforming the buzz into an unstoppable "band on ascent". Something that "If You Leave", Daughter’s debut album out now, is going to confirm. Atmospheric, depth folk-rock with a fire-powered rhythm section that embraces Elena's fragile voice, Daughter is cathartic music fated for greatness.

Slowness. Formed in San Francisco in 2008 by Julie Lynn and Geoffrey Scott, the band had their first proper release in late 2010, with the EP "Hopeless but Otherwise". After touring the States, the duo became a trio with Scott Putnam on drums. Then the three gathered on studio to compose their debut album, "For Those Who Wish to See the Glass Half Full", out now on Blue Aurora Audio. Eight tunes that resist labelling. Indiepop with knock-out melodies infused on drones, shoegaze always aiming for the light, atmospheres full of harmonies... Mind-blowing music.   

Pale Spectres. Thanks to the wonderful from Little Treasure Records I have had the pleasure to find this indiepop band from Paris. The quartet became known on the blogosphere past year with their song  "Better Than Love" included on a compilation record from Cloudberry Records. Now they are ready to confirm the blasting impression with their debut EP "Helen Of Troy", just out now. What a little collection of gems, four jangle pop wonders with crystalline guitars and delicious melodies. Among the best heard so far on this 2013.

A Little Treasure: The Very Most

Look what I finally received yesterday at my mailbox! The Very Most latest EP, "Ununiversalizable Us" courtesy of Little Treasure Records. Beautiful, isn't it?

"Ununiversalizable Us", under The Very Most charms

Ununiversalizable Us EP

We have had an EP from The Hermit Crabs and another one from Baffin Island this year. So there was one missing. I'm referring, of course, to a new work from our beloved friend Jeremy Jensen, leader of The Very Most. "Ununiversalizable Us", out yesterday (released on a Spanish label, Little Treasure Records, there's still hope for us!), completes that triumvirate of releases, and does it so offering some unexpected fresh, adventurous new forms. At least in half of this four songs.

"Ununiversalizable Us", the song that also gives the title to the EP, is a very ambitious tune. Initially built on relentless synths that creates a mysterious melody and a simple but insidious percussion, then flourishes into an elaborated composition where guitars offer a radical departure from the way the song begun. There are cymbals and bells chiming, colliding in an explosive chorus where sweet female vocals appear. And sorry, but I have to write it down in capital letters, a MIND-BLOWING FLUTE! Not enough? There's more: a darker side, an edge that you can grasp in the lyrics, which makes the song even more haunting. You don't have to believe my words, just the check the beautiful and very blue new website of TVM and illustrate yourself. All in all, an outstanding song, from now on one of my favourites from the band.

"There's Nothing Missing" is a far more recognisable TVM tune, but I'm afraid it suffers from being next to such a fantastic previous tune, full of novelties. The slowest number on the EP, it is mellow and atmospheric. It's easy to imagine yourself on a quiet and crystalline beach as the sunset falls, warm and welcoming. The Boise, Idaho band has that trademark talent to capture a melody and provide an envelope of lushness and closeness to the listener, but the song doesn't arrive much further from that comfort zone.    

"Changed Me", despite being slightly more upbeat, seems to follow close in terms of atmosphere and sounding. But this time it is hard not to fall in front of its many charms. A graceful female-male duet, smooths, oceanic notes that seem to vanish slowly, carrying us to that unexpected inner burst that ends in a smooth but heavenly epic jam.

And finally, we have "Let Her Dance" a cover from Bobby Fuller that sounds cheerful and vibrant, a rush of vitality were intertwined male-female vocals shine again. The straightest tune of the lot, sure, but by the time the guitar solo appears... you know it's going to be in your head. For a long time. That's, at the end, the major strength of (good) pop music. Great tunes remain with you, grow on you, stuck on you. To find that sort of tunes is hard. Thankfully, we have bands like The Very Most. They have plenty of them. Like these new, very strong, ones. In all modesty, I won't give up in my attempt of "universalizing" their music as much as I can. They deserve it.

SCORE: 7,5/10

Discoverer 30: new indie findings

Town Hall. Thanks to eardrumsmusic.com (again) I discovered this indie-folk trio from NY City, who just released their debut-EP “Sticky Notes and Paper Scraps“, that you can get via bandcamp for the price you want. Do it, because it's hard to find a more haunting and loveable sound, a flawless collection of songs The wonderful vocals of Phoebe Ryan’s (strikingly beautiful when she is the lead singer) and Stefan Weiner, their harmonies, and the delicate and rich instrumentation adds an unusual depth to the EP. Gorgeous little work, that can only be praised. More soon please!

Cassolette. This 6-piece band come from Sarasota, FL. After a few demos, the great folks at Cloudberry Records, asked the band to contribute a song to a special 3-inch CD-R compilation that made some European twee labels, French's Anorak Records and Spanish's Little Treasure Records to release an EP. Three labels with a good ear to recognise the contagious music of Cassolette, upbeat and hyper-catchy twee-pop that recalls Go Sailor, propelled by singers (and band founders) Ciera Galbraith and Jesse Coleman. Quintessential jangly and  bouncy pop, for your listening pleasure.

Утро. I'm a bit dubious this can be technically considered a new discovery, because behind this Russian name (that seems to mean "morning") there's a well-known band, favourite of this blog: Motorama. The post-punk masters now have added side-project, Утро, in which they use their Russian language to become even more fascinating and powerfully mysterious to our ears (sorry I can't understand Russian). It's Joy Division's again the name that inevitably comes to mind, but in their darkest, abysmal and intriguing hour. As with Motorama, the album is available for free at their website. That is, if you are able to find it... But sometimes is worth getting completely lost.