Discoverer 92: new indie findings

A guitar-driven Sunday today on our music proposals, hope you enjoy!

Burnt Palms. Back to Calfornia. From Seaside comes this trio, formed by Christina Riley and Clara Enkel with the help of Brian Dela Cruz, which in September of 2012 put out an extremely addictive self-titled record (distributed by Very Gun Records as a 12" or by our friends We Were Never Being Boring digitally) despite its short length (not even 20 minutes). While they announce the arrival of their sophomore album, they have just released a split tape with German punk band Gurr. A ridiculously lively collection of tunes, where pop meets punk, garage intensity coexists with shiny vocals, and grunge riffs share space with instant killer melodies. Addictive, addictive, addictive...
Ginnels. Let's move to our beloved Dublin to meet Mark Chester's (Grand Pocket Orchestra & No Monster Club guitarist/bassist) solo project, who is helped on stage by friends Paddy Hanna, Bobby Aherne, Roy Duffy and Ruan Van Vliet. In 2011 arrived their first releases with S/T LP "Ginnels" and the mini-album "Mountbatten Class" via Long Lost Records. A year later Chester recorded "Crowns", a 20-song double album, released on double cassette by Popical Island. The bold statement gave Chester a much deserved attention, fuelled in 2013 when Spanish label Tenorio Cotobade compiled "Plumes", 14 tunes from his previous 3 records plus several online exclusives on vinyl. Now Chester is back with "A Country Life", out since March. Defined as a more focused, less lo-fi, "pure-pop" LP, this is engaging music that combines jangle-pop irresistible melodies with the joyful chaos of Pavement or Elephant 6 bands. Pop jams & brightly loose indiepop.

Expert Alterations. And we end in Baltimore, Maryland, to introduce you to this exciting band formed in 2013, kind enough to approach me to show me their music (member Paul Krolian happens to be Baltimore Popfest's curator, so we love the guy already). They have a phenomenal S/T debut cassette out since February, five tunes where indiepop wonders are delivered with an immediacy & conviction you might think this is a forgotten band from the Flying Nun era. I even hear echoes of early R.E.M. so imagine how excited I am! The band is going on tour supporting The Flatmates and split releases with Wildhoney and Literature are in the works, so... this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Discoverer 60: new indie findings

The 2013' harvest is being amazing so far. Here's another round of great findings!

Legs. We start in Oakland, CA, with Jeffrey Harland and Matt Bullimore beginning a personal recording project in the winter of 2011. But the batch of finished songs keep growing and with the help of friends and the addition of vocalist Amelia Adams, the quintet was born and an amazing debut album got its final shape. "Pass the Ringo", out since April, is a ridiculously solid collection of jangly guitar pop tunes drenched in reverb, so full of sun-soaked harmonies and hooks as armed with tones of vintage sounds and hazy layers that will keep you smiling all summer. What a shimmery, pleasant indiepop record. Immediate love.   

The Airplanes. Second discovery comes thank to the wise people at Indie Pop Saved My Life (to put it simply: they are infallible). This band is the work of Joshua Vest, who hails from Fayetteville, Arkansas. In October 2012 they released their self-titled debut EP (name your price download here) with a second feature, "The Jingle Jangle" EP, out since April on the great Manic Pop Records. Vest music has an irresistible, contagious vibe. Upbeat, catchy and carefree tunes. Straightforward, infectious indiepop that can be the ideal soundtrack for the summer.

Skelocrats. And our third proposal comes thanks to a classic on this blog: EardrumsPop and their wonderful free EPs. On ePop034 they introduce us to this band from Dublin, active since 2012, and members of the Popical Island collective. With three releases to date, two EPs, "Whip Crack Away" and "Hot Yoga", also available together on the exhaustive collection "The Complete Skelocrats", plus now the trio of blissful tunes courtesy of EardrumsPop (including a version of French standard "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son") we can already make a solemn statement: this folks know how to make a pop tune. A burst of brisk and addictive indiepop to your ears.