I’m writing this up on New Year’s Eve Eve, which (I think) means I can start ramping up into party mode. This is a good start. Off of a collection of remixes Blue Hawaii threw up on Soundcloud a few weeks ago.
Archives
All posts for the month December, 2014
This will be my last song post of 2014. Once things settle down, I will get rolling with new posts on a daily basis. Don’t expect that for a couple of weeks though. For now, my last song of 2014, will be “Last Song” by Silian Rail. An awesome experimental duo. Happy New Year everyone!
Happy Holidays peeps. I’m going to be infrequently posting for a bit. Going in for surgery next week. Matt will hold down the fort. But here is a Christmas song from Saint Seneca for you. It’s a free download, so follow the link and grab that free shit.
St. Vincent’s + 3 EP
Washing Machine-era Sonic Youthy vibes from Melbourne.
Another of the seemingly infinite incredible psych bands coming out of Australia lately. RIYL Thee Oh Sees.
Demo & Barn 7″s
Cairo
VU inspired jangly pop tunes from Madrid. The pessimist might say they’ve only released four songs, but I’d point out they’re still batting 1.000.
Soundcloud: “Castigadas en el Granero”
Live in San Francisco
Castle Face
Proof that this band really needs to be experienced live to be fully appreciated.
Soundcloud: “If the Shit Fits”
Are We There Yet?
Jagjaguwar
van Etten is nothing if not consistent, and her newest LP is the best in an already stellar catalog.
Youtube: “Every Time the Sun Comes Up”
More noisy, groovy rock from the Pittsburghers in the form of a tour promo 7″. A-side is a surprisingly straightforward Buddy Holly cover.
Pains have dialed back their JAMC influences more present on their self-titled debut, but the songwriting is still great. Maybe my favorite indie-pop release this year.
Technically came out last year, I think, but got rereleased in July. It’s too good not to include, anyways. Features ex-members of Women and sounds like a pretty logical progression from Public Strain.
Truth be told, I never got around to listening to the comp that this song came out on, but Superchunk’s Ryan Adams cover is absolutely spot on.
Seventeen Forever EP
Photobooth
Caught these Baltimore shoegazers playing with Priests at Roboto this year and certainly didn’t leave disappointed.
Bandcamp: “Seventeen”
Female Fantasy
Ex-Harlem member Michael Coomers settles down just a bit on his solo project. Hooks for days.
Youtube: “The Fly”
Jagjaguwar
Though her voice is still Olsen’s weapon of choice, some of the songs on this album come dangerously close to rocking.
Chambers
Captcha
Screaming, larger than life psych from Mexico complete with Seinfeld references, what’s not to like?
Youtube: “What’s Holding You?”
Slumberland
London-via-Australia twee pop complete with heart on sleeve lyrics and ukelele. This sounds like an adult version of Rilo Kiley.
Content Nausea sees Parkay Quarts wearing their Pavement and VU influences on their sleeves, and everything comes to a head on album’s final song, where they channel their inner Dylan and knock it completely out of the park.
Soundcloud: “Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth”
This is what Lana Del Ray would sound like if somebody injected some serotonin into her brain.
Released as part of Adult Swim’s single series, proof that last year’s claustrophobic noise psych clusterfuck of Deep Trip was no accident.
Real Estate do the Feelies-inspired laid back beach pop thing better than just about everybody else. Bonus points for snagging Andy Daly to be in their video.
Reminds me of Le Tigre if Kathleen Hanna was still in full-on Bikini Kill rowdy mode.
Takes you back to 60’s girl groups and simpler times when Phil Spector was “genius” crazy instead of “criminal” crazy.
METZ didn’t release anything new this year, so have some Pampers instead.
Three Love Songs
Orchid Tapes
This sounds like a mix of the instrumental tracks on Deerhunter’s Cryptograms and a more ambient version of Atlas Sound’s Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel. If you’re feeling a bit down, this is some great music to be bummed out to.
Bandcamp: “I Can Hear the Heart Breaking As One”
The almighty Black Lips put out a pretty decent LP this year, but this song held my attention much longer than most of Underneath the Rainbow. It got cut from the recording sessions, but sounds like it would’ve fit right in on 2011’s Arabia Mountain.
n—–s on the moon
Harvest
Death Grips (not unpredictably) burnt out and broke up this year, but not before abruptly releasing yet another in a line of free albums.
Soundcloud: “Have a Sad Cum”
Remember what I said earlier about the endless supply of psych bands coming out of Australia? Dick Diver fall on the janglier side of things, but support my thesis nonetheless.
More Pittsburgh rock! The Gotobeds blew the hell up this year, even getting featured on NPR, and deserved every second of attention they got.
If there were any justice in the world, Ty would be on the cover of Rolling Stone and have his own show on HBO, and Dave Grohl would just silently cash his Nirvana royalty checks without inflicting upon us all another album’s worth of minivan rock.
White Women
Atlantic
It’s got to be funky. Picked up major Steve Miller vibes at times during this album.
Soundcloud: “Fall Back 2U”
Overnight Motorcycle Music
Geographic North
It wouldn’t be my year end list without some Deerhunter-affiliated project present. For 2014, it’s guitarist Lockett Pundt’s Overnight Motorcycle Music, two tracks and about twenty minute’s worth of improved guitar work.
Soundcloud: “Indian Paintbrush”
Home Everywhere
Captured Tracks
Long doomed to be your favorite band’s favorite band, not one nobody else had ever heard of, Medicine reunited a few years ago and have already released two stellar LP’s that stand right alongside their earlier output.
Soundcloud: “Move Along – Down the Road”
I can be as smarmy as anybody else about Froggy-sponsored pop-country and the suburban dregs that Keith Urban and the like drag out from under their rocks to Heinz Field to embarrass the city of Pittsburgh a few times annually, but Sturgill Simpson is a great reminder of how powerful a well-written country song can really be.
Yumi Zouma had shown hints in the past that they had a song like “Alena” in them, but this is the first time they’ve gone full on into transcendent pop mode. Cascine is really beginning to remind me of Sincerely Yours in their heyday.
Take every single Nick Cave song ever written, from The Birthday Party to The Bad Seeds to Grinderman, and combine them all into one. That’s The Amazing Snakeheads.
Sometimes you just gotta dance, ya know?
Some nice krauty psychedelia from Australia, of course.
Anybody still mourning the loss of The Vivian Girls would be well advised to pick up a copy of this.
Ryan DeRobertis emerges from the bedroom and goes full on disco for his best release yet, though his Gin City EP came out earlier this year and is worth your time, too.
I have absolutely zero issues with “beer commercial lead guitars” when they’re played this well.
Look, I dunno if Panda Bear will ever top Person Pitch, but “Mr. Noah” is about as close as he’s come. At the very least, I’m far more exited for his LP due out early next year than I was before listening to this.
I just love this song. And it doesn’t really relate at all, but i’m hospital bound today for testing so I just keep thinking of that reference.
I actually worked this into conversation the other day. And yes, it was pretty creepy. So, here it is.