This video is very relaxing. And worthy.
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OK, we’ve focused a lot on physical releases thus far. But sometimes a great EP comes out digitally that’s great too. And so tonight I want to highlight a brand new digital release from Brooklyn’s Shady Hawkins. This 5 song EP was released last Friday and features 5 great tracks.
Debutante opens the show with a catchy rock tune that reminds me a bit of the Runaways. I guess I feel that it has a classic sound to it; and the vocals are solid in that Joan Jett kind of way where they are almost flat, but in a good way.
XOXO crashes out like something from Downtown Boys. All in on the punk stylings here for one exact minute. Buried (and highly affected) vocals with occasional screams and fast and hard instrumentation.
This album diverges in a consistent way. Next up we get State of Emergency. This has a touch of Kleenex / Liliput influence on it. It repetitively cascades a lot with some high pitched guitar and blunt vocals. Then some start and stop instrumentation into the escalating bridge. And the song never lets up over it’s 3+ minutes. Damn, I like this song.
Do I dare? takes a bit to get into. The first minute is establishing the base which ultimately escalates in a satisfying way. But it does take a minute to get there. Veneer has some seriously reverb heavy vocals. I think the reverb can be a bit lighter but I really like the guitar , bass and drumming on this. It’s a good, perhaps more standard rock tune.
Suzy X’s vocals certainly stand apart and overshadow the instruments at times on this EP. She has a great voice. She can elevate but can also do a more flat effective rock’n roll thing. But a lot of this was in the mix which, like many mixes, elevated the vocals on most tracks. I really liked XOXO a lot for how the vocals are a bit more buried. That’s a bit of a personal preference with most music, but I think they could have been buried a little more on Veneer to make for a stronger melding there. All of this because I think Matt Presto, Sabrina Elba, and Mike Funk are delivering and can get a little more attention in the mix.
In any case, this is a fantastic EP. It’s free (or cheap for the kind at heart) on bandcamp right now. Just follow the links below.
I had e-mailed myself the link for this song months ago with the idea of posting it to the blog. It got lost in the ether, but here it is. Disco DOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM…
I was originally going to profile this single last week. But for some reason I bumped it. The Chorusgirl single I profiled last week was certainly worthy.
Moon By You is a sort of psychedelic doo-wop band out of Portland, Oregon. So it’s something different than much of what we post here. The single was released by K Records earlier this year and even features an appearance from Calvin Johnson (as if this is a rare thing).
The A-side features Got My People, which carries more of a classic soul sound. It’s very straight up with a strong chorus. This song is short and sweet. It’s a good catchy ditty and can carry a single on it’s own.
But I’m a B-side kind of guy so it’s not surprising that I really, really like the flip side song Let You Down. This is classic doo-wop style. The vocals from Sarah Q. on this are just fantastic. I could listen to her all day. Her voice has a similar power to Aly Spaltro of Lady Lamb semi-fame. And it sure sounds like Calvin Johnson in the background towards the end.
I played Let You Down on the radio show on Sunday and sitting in the studio with the speakers turned up a bit I realized just how much I loved this song. Matt completely reinforced this when he walked out of the record library to see what I was playing. That’s generally a good sign when we achieve collective enjoyment of a tune.
This record is available from K Records. Or you can but a digital copy via the bandcamp link below.
This surprised me, for some odd reason, with how good it was. I really like the video too.
Another week, another radio show(er). Some math rock from Copenhagen (Town Portal), Field Music, and K-Records doo wop (Moon by You). More on that Moon by You tomorrow. Here is our playlist from last night.
| Artist | Album | Song |
| Iris | Vents of the Ocean Floor | Statements by Scientists |
| Supermoon | Comet Lovejoy | Powersuits |
| Eskimeaux | O.K. | A Hug Too Long |
| Gunk | Sugarsoap | Horsies |
| Vacation | Vacation | Cop Knock |
| Francine | Forty on a Fall Day | Set of Dune |
| Snapline | 7″ | Paper General |
| bloodpheasant | traum | the drought |
| Westkust | Last Forever | Dishwasher |
| Self-evident | The Traveler | A New Way |
| Slum of legs | Doll Like 7″ | Half Day Closing |
| Town Portal | The Occident | K. |
| White Reaper | White Reaper Does It Again | Last Fourth of July |
| The Concretes | The Concretes | This One’s for You |
| The Chills | Kaleidoscope World | Pink Frost |
| Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Multi-Love | Can’t Keep Checking My Phone |
| Tinariwen | Aman Iman: Water is Life | Toumast |
| The Cure | The Head on the Door | In Between Days |
| God Bullies | Dog Show | Shallow Grave |
| Roy Montgomery | Temple IV | The Passage of Forms |
| Palma Violets | Danger in the Club | English Tongue |
| Field Music | Measure | Them That Do Nothing |
| Criaturas | Espiritu de Libertad | Lobos en la noche |
| Rough Blush | Consequence Demo | Inverse |
| Grass is Green | Vacation Vinny | Vacation 2.0 |
| Church Girls | Church Girls EP | Powder Keg |
| moon by you | got my people 7″ | Let you Down |
| Slouch | split w/ all dogs | kansas |
| Slouch | Toxic Bitch | Filth |
| Christi | 7″ | Cry |
| Astro Chldren | Proteus | Eden |
| Jim Carroll | Runaway | Run Away (Del Shannon cover) |
| Hop Along | Painted Shut | I Saw My Twin |
| New Order | Live @ The BBC | Sister Ray |
| Japandroids | Celebration Rock | The House That Heaven Built |
| Icky Blossoms | Mask | Wait |
| Beauty Pageant | torso | Superplasticizer |
| Beagle Brothers | Dancers of the Drunken Two Step/Architects of the Bloomfield Sound | I Found Heaven in a Gram Parsons Song |
| Freakwater | Old Paint | Waitress Song |
| Cursive | Cursive’s Domestica | The Martyr |
| Men Oh Pause | Pulse Check | Sapphire and Steel |
| Dinged Up | Low Bow / Dinged Up split | Big Red |
| Built to Spill | Untethered Moon | C.R.F.B. |
| Ourself Beside Me | Ourself Beside Me | Sunday Girl |
| Unrest | Imperial F.F.R.R. | Cherry Cream On |
I’m sure to be sleeping after another late radio show. So, posting this one early. I don’t think i’ve ever watched an Of Montreal video before. I’ve always had some appreciation for their emphasis on visual arts. But seeing them live put me over the edge. Such a brilliant visual performance. So, of course, a new video from Of Montreal caught my attention. And here it is…
We are on the air. You can listen via 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh. You can stream via wrct.org. Show goes until midnight, US eastern time.
How about some live Built to Spill. Doug Martsch even breaks a string. Warm yourselves up. The Interstellar Radio Shower happens tonight! 9pm to midnight, WRCT 88.3 FM.
Welcome to another edition of the Interstellar Radio Shower Week in Review. Here in we pick the favorite song posted by the other (ie. Jim picks his favorite Matt song, and Matt his favorite Jim song) and we say why it’s our fav. Also, quick summaries of our other long posts for the week. Basically, herein we navel gaze.
Jim Picks a Matt Song
Another good mix from Matt this week. I really like Woodsman but my favorite selection came down to Ghetto Ghouls or Dilly Dally. We’ll say Dilly Dally because it’s really quite epic.
Matt Picks a Jim Song
Woo boy, things sure did get loud there towards the middle of the week, didn’t they? Jim’s one-two punch of Foot Hair and The Beverley’s really struck a chord with me, but I’ll give the nod to the former based solely on terrible/awesome band name recognition.
Read more below the fold…
7″ Highlight – Chorusgirl
This week’s 7″ highlight focused on indie pop done the right way with Chorusgirl via Odd Box Records. Read the full review here or listen below.
LP Highlight – Deaf Wish’s Pain
Tons of great records are coming out this month. Deaf Wish’s Pain LP is definitely one of the highlights. You can check out our full post on this record or listen below.
International Radio Shower – Greece Edition Part II (εἰρκτή compilation)
This week’s episode of International Radio Shower features a compilation from Greek record label εἰρκτή. Check out the post for the full details. You can listen to the first part of the compilation below as well.
Sunday, August 2nd Radio Show Playlist
Matt was traveling so you can blame Jim for what transpired. This week’s show featured some weirdness from Indonesian avant-garde act Senyawa, some rock’n roll goodness from Ex Hex, and the poppy shoegaze of Westkust. Check out the full playlist in our post here. You can also check out any of our playlists anytime on the WRCT website.