Kelly Stoltz is a bit of a garage-rock svengali for the SF scene that’s popped up the last few years. That’s why it’s been strange that he’s been silent since he put out Double Exposure on Jack White’s Third Man label in 2013. Now we know why: Stoltz has three(!) releases planned for the upcoming months. Of the three, the 4 New Cuts EP is the most classically Stoltzian. “Redirected” is off that release, due out October 30th on Stroll On.
Music
It’d be fairly easy for the vocal sample that rings in “Stockholm” to veer into corny territory, but Youngblood quickly tempers things with a lovely harp sample, and I’m already won over by the time the bass kick comes in just after a minute into the song.
I assume all of you want to keep up on what all of the ex-members of Orchid and Ampere are up to today, so I present to you “Tarnished” by Longings.
Yeah, i’m really liking this sort of screamo emo post-rock from Fist Benders. They had a new release out in May as well, but this song from a 2013 release was all over my brain this morning.
We’ve all been there, Hearts of Animals, but thank you for embracing it.
What? New Bikini Kill? Well, yeah basically. Bikini Kill is re-releasing their album Revolution Girl Style Now! and it will include a couple of previously unreleased songs. Ocean Song being one of them. So watch the re-release teaser and listen to Ocean Song and then pre-order the record at bikinikill.com.
Some laid back electronic stuff for your labor day, care of The Horrors’ Tom Furse.
Girl Band’s upcoming album Holding Hands with Jamie is shaping up to be a real banger. Everything I’ve heard so far sounds like early Health run through a Jesus Lizard filter. It’s out 9/25 on Rough Trade.
Irish shoe gazers Tuath with a non-album track. They are new to me and I really like this. No time for a rabbit hole today, but here is a track for yinz.
Give Beach House credit for one thing: They know exactly how to sound like Beach House. Depression Cherry is the fifth album from the band in about a decade, and they stay firmly in the pocket throughout its nine tracks. The formula is a simple one: Sparse drum loops, droning keys, reverby guitar leads, and one single voice over top of everything. But oh man, that voice. Victoria Legrand can belt out vocals as well as anybody. Beyond that, though, she knows how to set a mood.
It’s that abstract moodiness that lets Beach House headline festivals while still occupying the same sonic territory they started exploring as far back as 2008’s Devotion. Every guitar slide and modulated organ chord that survived the final studio cut serve to establish a sound that is as equally somber as it is triumphant. Alex Scally might be one of the most understated lead guitarists in popular music. He’s like an indie rock middle reliever: the better he does his job, the less noticeable he seems. It’s not an easy trick to pull off, and that’s one of the main reasons BH are playing Sunday main stage slots while a dozen bands emulating them are barely visible at the bottom of Coachella’s lineup poster.
Just like its predecessors Bloom and Teen Dream, Depression Cherry leans on this atmosphere as a sort of third band member. In theory, it’d be easy to paste the dream-pop label on this review and call it a day. Hell, lead single “Sparks” takes that idea and pushes it about as far into shoegaze territory as Legrand and Scally have ever ventured. But there’s a smokey blanket draped over the proceedings that lends a cinematic feel to everything. Standout tracks like “Space Song”, “10:37”, “PPP”, and “Wildflower” all sound like chamber-pop on quaaludes, despite the sparse instrumentation throughout.
Repeated listens reveal a bit of experimentation. Drummer Chris Bear (of Grizzly Bear fame) adds some extra muscle to a few of the tracks, and a church choir rings in album closer “Days of Candy”. There’s small details like those throughout the album, but ultimately these songs sound like they were designed to stand alone with as little clutter as possible. Minimalism is the name of the game on Cherry, and it works more often than not. While nothing soars to the heights of Bloom‘s “Irene” (and really, not many songs do), the valleys here are still perched far above sea level.