Discoverer 96: new indie findings

Three wonders in the next round of our new music proposals series. A lot to enjoy!

Blooper. Based in Seattle, USA, Adriano Santi began Blooper as his solo, homemade project in 2011, which crystallised that summer in the 'Ballard Avenue' EP. But Santi wanted to have a proper band and, with the help of Darrin Ruder on bass & Chris Quirk on drums, the now trio came out with self-released EP 'Go Away' in May 2012. A year later, the band joined the sadly now defunct label Manic Pop Records to release the 7" 'Long Distance'. With Chris Mac replacing Ruder on bass, Blooper has just presented their latest work, the EP 'So Very Small' out now in Jigsaw Records. Power-pop, surf, garage, 60's vibe, British invasion, you name it. All the means fuzzy and upbeat, hyper-addictive and guitar-driven unmissable pop fits them. Fun and extremely contagious music.

Tashaki Miyaki. This L.A. based trio, named after a mispronunciation of film director Tashaki Miike, started in 2011 initially as a duo, Lucy "Miyaki" on vocals and drums with Rocky "Tashaki" on guitar, while Dora 'Lil D' joined later as bassist and additional vocalist. First songs appeared digitally later that year, with first physical, very much limited releases arrived in 2012 in the form of a limited 7" covering The Everly Brothers and a full cover album (including Roxette, INXS, The Troggs or Father John Misty). Their proper, official debut, though was the 7" AA single 'Best Friend / Tonight' that came out that in Luvluvuv Records. A self-titled EP on Burger Records followed in March 2013 and since February 2014, anticipating a full album soon to see the light of day, you can enjoy the wonder 'Cool Runnings / There Was a Light' 7" single, via their own label Blonde Dog. Lo-fi & dream pop, with hints of psychedelia and shoegaze, they rightfully self-defined as “dreamy, syrupy, and easy listening”. They should have added haunting to the list of adjectives.

Mermaidens. (Gladly) Back down under again. Hailing from Wellington, NZ, this trio began their career in 2012, uploading initial demos (all their music so far is 'name-your-price' available at their Bandcamp) July. In 2013 they started to appear playing live, with the song 'The Bay' arriving in April. But seems the sirens where awaiting 2014 to abandon the seas & reach solid ground with two EPs, 'Bones EP', released in February, and the enigmatically titled 'O', out since June. Hypnotic and obscure psych-pop in the vein of early Warpaint, with the vocals and dreamy guitar lines of Lily Paris West & Gussie Larkin inviting you to surrender, while Abe Hollingsworth's feral drums adding a sense of mystery and menace. Hard not to fall after hearing the Mermaidens' call.