It’s called Castlemania and will be released on In The Red on May 17!
Thee Oh Sees New Album Comin’ Soon
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
EP Review: Foster The People [2011]
Band: Foster The People
Release: 1/2011
Label: Startime International
1. “Houdini” – A
2. “Pumped Up Kicks” – B-
3. “Helena Beat” – B
Comments: Foster The People is an example of a band that is obscure enough that nobody knows who they are, but known enough that their shows easily sell out (well before performance date) at mid-size clubs. The song that brought them to the forefront of attention (college radio plays, blogs, etc) is “Pumped Up Kicks,” which sounds like a bit of a mesh of The Strokes and Cold War Kids. The vocals stand out the most while the instrumentation is relatively minimal. There’s whistling, perhaps bringing to mind (in spirit) PBJ’s whistling “Young Folks,” an ‘indie’ one-hit wonder according to many. “Houdini” is the first song I heard by the band and it really stuck out to me. It’s a bit along the lines of Passion Pit with some MGMT thrown in. I really dig the spurts of electronica. It’s a very dance-able song and one of the more complete tracks I’ve heard this year. “Helena Beat” is the most club ready offering with a solid beat and a really good second half. Foster The People will be most appreciated by people who dig fun, rhythmic tunes.
Grade: B (86)
MC Delicious + Da Wig
Black Lips #1 (WATCH): Playing Pinko at Dickies. Not to spoil, but to spoil: Joe doing Yoga, Jared prank firing his booking agent, Cole in a staring contest with a random girl, Ian taking on the name MC Delicious and free-styling behind Joe’s beats.
Black Lips #2 (WATCH): Black Lips Playing B-Ball. Cole = The Wig.
White Wires – Let’s Go The Beach (MUSIC VID)
Powerpop masters [and KLYAM favorites to boot] shot a video in SUBZERO temperatures for “Let’s Go To The Beach,” an excellent tune from my one of my top LPs of 20-10 WW2 (2010, Dirtnap).
By the way, if you haven’t heard, they are playing April 29 at the Starlab in Somerville.
Also, if you haven’t noticed, when it rains around KLYAM, it usually pours in terms of coverage of bands. I’m on a White Wires (and related bands) streak. Watch out!<
Band Recommendation: Peach Kelli Pop
A band of White Wires drummer Allie! Insta-catchy pop!
They have an LP (which sold out and is being repressed on Infinity Cat) and a cassette for your listening pleasures.
You can listen to “Doo Wah Diddy” for a little taste and also take a ride to their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=191172137584280&set=a.166487570052737.35500.166477510053743&theater
Mark Sultan Record Coming On In The Red, Touring
From Mark Sultan’s Website:
“Mark is headed to Europe for some shows (including a few with Dan Sartain, Ty Segall, as well as Dum Dum Girls). It will be his first time in Europe on tour as the one-man band ‘BBQ’ since maybe 2006 (?), and certainly his first tour there since the release of the now-out-of-print ‘$’ album.
By the end of 2011, expect to hear roughly 30 new songs. They will be released on two staggered albums by In The Red Records (Los Angeles), as well as on a few 7” records.
Among the many, many new hit originals are cover versions of songs by Ultravox, Lee Maye, Gene Vincent, The Stains and some others.
Special guest musicians include Jared Swilley and Cole Alexander of The Black Lips, King Khan, Erin from The Spits, Danny from the Gories, and some other folks.
Western Canadian and US tour dates for June to come soon.”
SOTD: Angry Angles – “Apparent Transparent”
Twitter Exchange of the Day
Hunx getting the best of P4k reviewer who said Hunx is “not exactly what you would call a classically trained singer” (NO SHIT!) and gave the latest record a 7.2.
Martin Douglas: “My review of the new Hunx and His Punx record for Pitchfork Media is pretty good, I must say.”
Hunx (Seth Bogart): “I thought it sucked, I have a beautiful voice and am at least a 9!”
Black Lips @ SXSW
Bits and pieces of:
Family Tree – NEW
Lock and Key
You Keep On Running – NEW
Dirty Hands
O Katrina
Buried Alive
Make It
Bad Kids
CD Review: What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? [2011]
Band: The Vaccines
Release: 3/2011
Label: Columbia
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1. “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra) – A-
2. “If You Wanna” – B
3. “A Lack of Understanding” – C+
4. “Blow It Up” – B
5. “Wetsuit” – C
6. “Norgaard” – A-
7. “Post Break-Up Sex” – A-
8. “Under Your Thumb” – B
9. “All In White” – B
10. “Wolf Pack” – A-
11. “Family Friend” – B
Comments: To answer the title’s question, I honestly had no expectations of the Vaccines. I heard the name, was present for the hype, and so on and so forth. I never gave their singles a healthy listen so this is a fresh start kind of review — the kind I like the best because I’m left with little bias. Anyway, it’s pretty easy to point the comparison finger to homeland counterparts Fratellis (“Wreckin’ Bar), Franz Ferdinand/Editors/Early-Mid 2000s Post-Punk Revivalists, and the like; i.e bands that were able to achieve “indie” stardom with a ‘bigger’ sound — so to speak — that was a few hair-lengths and stylistic choices from the real big name, The Killers. In the Vaccines case, it does feel quite like they are aiming (probably not true) for Killers-esque fame, instead of becoming the next Arctic Monkeys. Their descent into safe pop like “Wet Suit” just goes to show you they really don’t care about developing a Vaccines signature sound. When they speed things up to a near-garage level (“Norgaard”), they become a very fun band to listen to. Single “Post Break-Up Sex” and “Wolf Pack” combine the charisma of catchy garage pop with post-punk revival delicacy. There’s a lot to like on Vaccines, but as a fan of the heavier, louder, ‘dirtier’ stuff, there does not seem to be enough.
Grade: B (85)
