Sunday, October 30, 2016
Discoverer 150: new indie findings
It's been a little while (not much time for updates), but our discoverer series is back with an incredible trio of guitar-driven pop bands! No fillers, just killers!
Real Numbers. Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, this now quartet, started to show around 2008 as a trio, releasing several singles, an EP, two 12" via Three Dimensional Records, and some appearances on cassettes from Forged Artifacts and No Problem (best way to check their exciting earlier stuff is to search for the 'What Was & What Is' compilation album) until 2015. But now the band lead by Eli Hansen returns with their first proper full length 'Wordless Wonder', out now through the infallible Slumberland Records. And what a release this is! Instantly addictive, channeling the spirit of C86, summoning Television Personalities as well as garage-pop from 50-60s, but with a fuller sound where guitars are chiming all over. Not even 25 minutes of pure, upbeat, straightforward indie-punk-pop joy. A killer!
Young Scum. We move to Richmond, VA, to meet Chris Smith and his bedroom pop project that, luckily, evolved into a proper and irresistible indiepop band with the help of local musicians Taylor Haag, Ben Medcalf, and Brian Dove. Since 2014 they have released the EP 'Autumn August' and two split EPs with bands Shrunk and Reporters, the latest released by our friends at Dufflecoat. And since July of 2016 we can enjoy 'Zona', a five-song EP that, let me get this straight, contains some of the best indiepop tunes of the year. Out on tape via Citrus City Records and our beloved Pretty Olivia Records on vinyl through their amazing 12" Club, this is summery, melancholic, bouncy and dreamy jangle-pop, filled with a tone of hooks and honey-drenched vocals (thanks to Ali Mislowsky's backing vocals). Look for Young Scum among the best EPs (very high) on the end-of-year-lists of this humble Blog.
Hoops. And we end in Bloomington, Indiana, with another solo project, the one lead by frontman Drew Auscherman, that developed into a full quartet in 2014, although their first tunes didn't surface until recently, with Tapes #1-3 coming out at their bandcamp from late 2015 to early summer of 2016. Now they have their first official release in the form of self-titled EP out since late August via the mighty Fat Possum Records. anticipating a debut album currently in the works. It's a great taster of what's to be expected with such a promising band. Recalling the moodier moments of DIIV and ambiences of Wild Nothing while adding a notch of "that English melancholy", Hoops' guitars seem to be drowning on deep waters, yet at the same time the sun seems able to light up, elegantly and quietly, any room. A band to get excited with...
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