The Indie Anthology 82: essential songs

Winter season (well, not so much in Barcelona, but anyway), perfect time of the year to move to sunny California in order to look back to one of the most exciting and influential bands (and records) of the so-called Paisley Underground movement in our Indie Anthology. Guitars, attitude... and a timeless tune!

Song: Tell Me When It's Over 
Artist: The Dream Syndicate 
Year: 1982

Although my favourite group from the Paisley scene might be The Rain Parade (won't be long until one of their songs ends in this section) it's hard not to consider 'The Days Of Wine and Roses' as, arguably, the most accomplished, explosive and enduring record from that period. Edgier and rockier than their Californian peers, The Dream Syndicate were not so obsessed with the sun-soaked psychdelic vibes, but instead were focused in experimenting with energy, distortion and crunching guitars. And there's not a better example of that "make no prisoners" sound than the sonic blast of single 'Tell Me When It's Over', with Karl Precoda's rattling guitar riff sounding almost like a "call to arms", being quickly joined by the rhythmic section of bass player Kendra Smith and dummer Dennis Duck, before Steve Wynn impersonates Lou Reed's vocal delivery, pointing out the obvious Velvet's reference. 'Tell Me When It's Over' is "a song of songs". You can hear the echoes of the past tunes that fuelled its existence, as well as the pieces that, going forward, pushed to create... left of the dial. "That beautiful noise", again...

The Indie Anthology 64: essential songs

Finally I'm able to go back to our anthology. A lot of things happening in my life, a new beginning, with high hopes, about to come. Strength is needed. So it's time to choose music that provides the energy, thanks to one of the best power-pop bands in history.

Song: Solar Sister
Artist: The Posies
Year: 1993

It's very easy to trace how I discovered The Posies. Probably you can easily guess too. It's all R.E.M.'s fault. Who was that guy regularly performing with my favourite band? I didn’t know about Ken Stringfellow’s main band before, but after joining the Athens’ legends live (as well as appearing on several records) The Posies’s universe quickly became familiar for me. ‘Golden Blunders’, ‘Dream All Day’, 'Flavor of the Month'... and, foremost, ‘Solar Sister’, with its irresistible combination of bursting noises and melodic bridges. American alternative rock in one of its (criminally underrated) happiest pages. On a time when grunge was quickly becoming a cliché, The Posies were penning cracking tunes after cracking tunes, witty as well as truly soulful, the spirit of Alex Chilton fuelled by distorted guitars and the voices of the leading duo Stringfellow/Auer. “And you can read, sister Carrie, read…”. If you don’t get carried by the infinite, humming chorus, there’s something wrong with you.