Discoverer 168: new indie findings

This week we triple the ante. Our latest installment in our discoverer series comes in the form of a trio of indie-rock bands. Because guitar rock is not dead. GUITAR ROCK is not dead. GUITAR ROCK IS NOT DEAD!

Woolen Men. We begin in Portland, Oregon, to meet the trio of Alex Geddes, Lawton Browning and Raf Spielman, who assembled around a decade ago after their members, intrinsic part of the Portland DIY punk community who had played in multiple bands (sometimes together), coalesced in their current outfit. A pretty active combo, they quickly began releasing a series of EPs and tapes (including the compilation album 'Dog Years'), with self-titled debut album arriving in 2012, initially self-released, but happily rescued by Woodsist label next year. Another string of releases followed until September 2015 marked the arrival of sophomore LP 'Temporary Monument'. Another round of EPs, 7" and their second compilation album, 'Lucky Box' (everything is available at their bandcamp, quite a feast for the listener) anticipated 'Post', their flamboyant new album, out this September 1st via their own label, Dog's Table. College rock in the XXI century? Woolen Men (sometimes with the The) sounds like the killer, idiosyncratic combination of The Feelies, The Clean, R.E.M., The Fall, Mission of Burma and several beloved acts from the 80s. There's a tension, a pulse, a sense of adventure and exploration without loosing the knack for the melody or a lyric with a bite in their blend of indie-rock and post-punk that sounds genuine and much needed today. Late to the party, we know, but folks, what a discovery!

Bad Sav. Big jump to our beloved Dunedin, New Zealand, in order to meet our second trio of the day, this time composed by "familiar names", as vocalist/guitarist Hope Robertson and bassist/vocalist Lucinda King are members of the highly recommendable Death and the Maiden, while drummer Mike McLeod also plays guitar with the great The Shifting Sands. They've been around for nearly 10 years, but the lack of releases, with an early song included on the Radio One compilation album 'A Century of Seasons' and four songs surfacing on their Bandcamp in 2014, was just appalling. Not anymore, as this September they finally unveil their self-titled debut album, out via our dear Fishrider Records (Occultation Records for our European needs). Shoegaze for David Lynch fans, turmoiled, disturbing guitar-pop, dark, intriguing psychedelia, Bad Sav sound stormy, nocturnal and cinematic... a lost soundtrack for the 'Twilight Zone'. Music to take a leap and dive in... 

Fontaines D.C..And we finish our trip in Dublin, Ireland, with this young quintet that met in college and assembled after their members had played individually in different outfits, bonded over their love for the same artists and poets (yes, another band with meaningful lyrics, there's still hope!). They have released three double A sided singles to date via Trigger Party Records, debuting with 'Liberty Bell/Rocket to Russia' in June of 2017, followed 'Hurricane Laughter/Winter in the Sun' that October, and 'Boys in the Better Land/Chequeless Reckless' on February 2018. Summoning the spirits of Mark E. Smith, Shane McGowan and Iggy Pop, these six tunes are raw, exciting, knockout slices of indie-rock flirting with punk and post-punk, infused with an undeniable Irish scent (that drawl from vocalist Grian Chatten, to begin with) and an "in-your-face" attitude that takes no prisoners. Instantly hooked by the soul, the swagger, the power. The promise... Press repeat!

Discoverer 157: new indie findings

Last round of our happily recovered discoverer series before our holiday break! Guitar driven pop in all sorts of moods: sunny & expansive, but also gloomy & reflective. Three proposals to make your summer soundtrack exciting. Check them out!

Zebra Hunt. We begin in Seattle, Washington, with this quartet formed in 2012, initially as the trio composed of drummer Mitch Leffler, bassist Erik Bennett and singer/guitarist Robert Mercer, quickly delivering their debut EP, ‘Beaches’, out via Manic Pop in 2013. The single ‘Only Way Out’/ 'Get Along' followed that same year, being the first partnership with the always reliable Spanish label Tenorio Cotobade. Tours supporting superb bands as Twerps, Allo Darlin’ or Eternal Summers came before the group released first LP, 'City Sighs' in 2015. In that subsequent tour Zebra Hunt added Aaron Sheedy to the line-up as guitarist and keyboard player, entering the studio a year later with this new formation. The result is 'In Phrases', out since this May, a stunning and hyper-addictive sophomore album, in where jangle-pop meets the immediacy of garage pop, and where you can hear the echoes of our much beloved Antipodean psych-pop, as well as their closer Paisley Underground moods. Melodies, guitars, energy and good deeds. One straight for the 'Best of year lists' folks...

Stutter Steps. Quick jump to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to meet Ben Harrison and his musical project. In the Fall of 2012 Harrison, who works as as the curator for performing arts at The Andy Warhol Museum, decided he wanted to pen his own record after some DIY recordings in the past (he was part of the short-lived indie-pop trio Tourister during early 00's). Inspired by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, with whom he collaborated in the multi-media adventure the '13 Most Beautiful Project', he assembled a group of local musician friends the following year, locked in an isolated cabin in the woods. along with stellar guests like Wareham or Jeff Baron of Ladybug Transistor. The result, a self-titled album out via Blue Arrow, was a hidden gem of 2015 and happily, now has a follow-up in 'Floored', an EP of six delicious jangle-pop tunes, with inviting warm guitars, flowing vocal harmonies and genuine knack for melodies in the vein of Luna, The Feelies or the quietest moments of my dear The Bats. Not stutter at all, this are giant pop steps...

Agent Blå. And we cross continents to end in Gothenburg, Sweden, in order to meet this extremely young quintet (all teenagers!) formed around 2015 after a Joy Division competition mic night (do not tell me that Sweden is different... for all the good reasons). The terrific debut 7″ 'Strand' appeared that December in their country, and since this June we can enjoy their self-titled debut album via Luxuy (they are in a roll lately) and Kanine Records (always reliable). And what a blast of an LP this is! Unstoppable post-punk with hints of goth-rock and dream-pop, fuelled by urgency and intensity, and propelled by the fierce vocals of Emilie Alatalo. It's been a while since a debut record on the dark side of indiepop got me that excited. Surrender to the agent blue...

The Bloodbuzzed Jukebox Week 137

Welcome to the psychedelic & jangle week! We have an antidote (at least, temporary) to this world full of chaos, surrealistic situations and, let's be clear, stupid thoughts. A nice dose of new exciting music in our latest  TOP TEN JUKEBOX , full of surprises and diverse sounds, as well as the promising returns of The Feelies, The Mountain Goats, WALL, or Hoops. Overall, a much needed help to keep our sanity. Have a really nice weekend and remember, all songs are available at our Soundcloud page (Join Us!).

Direct links to 2017 Jukebox playlists

Week 126  Week 127  Week 128  Week 129  Week 130  Week 131 Week 132  Week 133
Week 134  Week 135  Week 136

Discoverer 123: new indie findings

Destination New Zealand & Sweden, two realms of indiepop, in our today's discoveries series!

Salad Boys. Back to my dear New Zealand, this time to Christchuch, to meet this band formed by Joe Sampson (12-string guitar/vocals), Ben Odering (bass) & Jim Nothing (drums) at the end of 2012. Leaded by Sampson's ideas and his initiative co-running independent label/music collective Melted Ice Cream, they came out with self-titled mini-album released on cassette in 2013, creating instant buzz out there locally,propelled with their live reputation engaging them in gigs with Sebadoh, The Bats, Parquet Courts as well as being David Kilgour's backing band. Now the trio has just released 'Metalmania' on Trouble in Mind Records. A debut album of instantly catchy, floating, carefree, rural, DIY jangle-pop, somewhere in between The Feelies (band's name comes from a laughable misheard from song 'Fa Cé La'), early R.E.M. and their NZ legendary predecessors. Too much to resist!

The Sun Days. Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, this young quintet has been on my radar since their first songs surfaced the Internet around the end of 2013. Tunes like 'You can't make up my mind', 'Don't need to be them', '(Get him) off your mind', or 'Busy people', all points out here is a band with an incredible knack for penning perfect pop songs, something debut LP, entitled 'Album' and out since June proves magnificently. Eight tunes summoning the melancholy, bittersweet and enduring qualities of The Smiths or The Sundays (obviously), leaded by ice-melting vocals of Elsa Fredriksson. Bright days ahead, indeed.

Don't Cry Shopgirl. And we end in lovely Stockholm to unveil the parallel project of our beloved Astrid Wiezell from Northern Spies alongside John Svensson. They have been playing since 2013, starting to offer their tunes with three singles called 'What You Could Have Been to Me', 'Bring Me Home' and 'Boy You Can Tell Me'. Now you can pre-order the Don’t Cry Shopgirl 7″ at wise Cloudberry Records website. Four tunes, that judging from the first tastes showed are going to be unmissable. Blissful indie-pop of delightful vocals with an upbeat heart and keyboards providing melodies penned to stick with you forever.

The Indie Anthology 59: essential songs

A shift from shoegaze today, moving back to our dear, warm, eternal jangle-pop in our anthology. Although this time comes from a quite unusual place, Haledon, New Jersey. Impossible guitars!

Song: Higher Ground
Artist: The Feelies
Year: 1988

I got into The Feelies because of R.E.M., which I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone. Everything I readed could resemble or recall to the Athens legend it was automatically checked by me, expecting to find more glimpses of that unmatched, glorious beauty & mystery. But to be honest, 'Crazy Rhythms' didn't click with me at first. Glenn Mercer's voice paled in comparison with Stipe's (well, as 99% of voices do, as a matter of fact) and in several tunes, guitars were too repetitive, building up tempos that seemed to develop into tranced-out rock. But then I listened 'Only Life', their third album, and the floodgates opened. Leaded by the immense 'Higher Ground', this is jangle-rock unafraid of going further, with dreamy lead guitars, quietly, confidently thrilling, with Mercer and Million inviting us to listen to their guitar dialogue: chiming riffs, controlled distortion, tension, clarity, pace. Higher grounds, indeed.

Primavera Sound 2014 in brief, day 1

As you probably now, this is the Primavera Sound 2014' week so, which explains the lack of updates on the blog this week: yes, I'm abducted. But like we did on previous editions, here I'm going to start our quick chronicles of each day of the 2014 Festival. To begin with, our particular opening day!

The Good

Esther Margarit, the "Queen Bee"
Photo: Bloodbuzzed

La Castanya's pop vibes: One of my favourite national indie labels, on Wednesday 28th they gathered a wonderful trio of their impressive roster for a special showcase at Primavera Sound:Aries (look for her on the Spanish discoveries section very soon), Beach Beach, and my beloved Me and the Bees.Three ways of understanding pop. Three bands (and a label) to follow closely!
New records: The three bands have a pretty busy 2014 ahead. Aries is already on tour presenting her highly recommendable 'Mermelada Dorada'. My dear Bees just released their second album 'Mundo Fatal' that I reviewed at Indienauta on Thursday and YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING RIGHT NOW! And Beach Beach already unveiled their new single, advancing the new album. 2014 looks for a great year at La Castanya!

The Bad

Vocals: Regrettably, this is not the first time I write this with regards to La [2] de Apolo. Again, sound was so-so, and in particular, it affected the vocal performances of the three acts. Didn't ruin the shows, but it was frustrating to see (and not hear) the three bands suffering the same problem.

The Queen

Beach Beach under the guitar waves
Photo: Bloodbuzzed

Beach Beach: Missed them playing at Primavera Sound 2012, soon after discovering them. But not anymore. Put The Feelies, Teenage Fanclub (they played with Gerard Love at Primera Persona), or any of your favourite 80s-90s indie rock guitar bands in the cocktail shaker and shake with some surf-tinged Mediterranean vibes. Even despite the aforementioned sound issues, at La [2] de Apolo they delivered a flawless show. Intense, joyous, full of guitar lines (seriously impressed with Pau Riutort) to explode in your head. Ace, ace band. Eagerly awaiting for their forthcoming sophomore album.

Brief of the first "big day" of the PS14, Thursday 29th, coming very soon here!