Some noteworthy inside-baseball for you: A Classic Education, an Italian act who, in “Gone To Sea,” recycles the best bits of U.K. post-punk with an added smear of slacker misanthropy, is having Force Field PR handle its press. As curators, Force Field is as influential and taste-oriented as any label these days, and probably more than most: this is why half the rock bands you’ve been listening to since SXSW seem like they’re stealing Felt and Orange Juice’s guitar tones. (Hey Beach Fossils, I see you!) Within this ultra-specific moment in ’80s revivalism, though, “Gone to Sea” is one of the more worthy offspring — its reverb-soaked instruments feel cosmic, not caved in, and while the vocals aren’t far from the Ariel Pink (another Force Fielder) school of numb-tongued disinterest, the melody’s clear and strident enough to keep A Classic Education at the head of the class. (Related: This weekend’s FYF Fest [which looks awesome, and I would be attending if I didn't have pneumonia] which Force Field is doing press for, could’ve easily been called FF Fest: At least five of the company’s acts are on the bill. The more you know...)
The music of Seapony’s not exactly nautical — more The Pains of Being from Seattle — but the twee trio may leave your eyes a little wet. On the Seapony EP, they share coy female vocals, major-key lead guitar lines, “Be My Little Baby” two-and-one drumming and just enough reverb-soaked distortion. It’s hardly a shocker in this year of jangly dreamers, but each of Seapony’s four tracks is humbly essential. And also free! Download the whole thing below.
Remember these guys? Because they don’t. Watch the “My First Kiss” video after the jump, or do yourself a favor and don’t — shit’s depressing. In it, 3OH!3 (with help from parental nightmare/endearing self-parody Ke$ha) wear “cool” clothes, ride an aggro-yet-Gaga-esque electro beat and generally evoke the moment in blink-182′s career when dudes realized they had to follow up a surprise hit album with a non-surprise hit album and gave themselves a PG rating. It’s a far cry from the band I saw on a side stage at Bamboozle Left just two years ago, the duo that dressed in Winnie the Pooh and Hamburglar outfits (pictured, awesomely) and spilled out f-bombs like BP oil. At the time, 3OH!3 reminded me of a young Beastie Boys — snarling, funny and intensely charismatic. Is this subversion of the highest order or just selling out? Either way, I can’t totally begrudge them the move toward pop stupidity — that new pool’s not going to pay for itself. Read the rest of this entry »
Meeting of Important People may not be as major as their name implies just yet, but they certainly play like it — the Quit Music EP offers quiet/loud guitar deliveries straight from Tommy-era The Who, filtered through classic indie rock shyness. You can download the set for free from the band’s Bandcamp, but start with the yearning “They Love Me In The City,” a song that feels less like a declaration and more like false hope. (And also feels a lot like Manic Street Preachers.)
Meeting of Important People – “They Love Me In The City”: mp3
Oh hey, what’s up, new 60-minute Sufjan Stevens EP that we can buy for $5 and stream on Bandcamp? Update: The title track is an epic Scott Walker-esque homage to Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence.” And it rules.
Garage rock retro Best Coast “Be My Little Baby” Dum Dum Girls SXSW lo-fi Beck 2.0 Bandcamp Altered Zones Hype Machine blogosphere CMJ guitar tones Brooklyn sunglasses Twitter cute lead singer Time magazine Gorilla Vs. Bear
Dirty Projectors are in that glorious mid-career period of being able to do no wrong. “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” is the latest turn on their victory lap — less dissonant than their Bjork team-up EP from earlier this year, more strummy than 2009′s Bitte Orca. It’s a Bob Dylan cover, so the band’s forgiven for making it sound like one. Would’ve been a nice fit on the I’m Not There soundtrack right next to Wilco, but it’s for Levi’s Pioneer Sessions: My 511s endorse this.
Dirty Projectors – “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” (Bob Dylan cover):mp3
A frosty new one from electro-man-about-town Baths, who joins the five other artists on this free, fresh EP for an L.A. show on Tuesday. As we’ve discussed, dude can play live. More details here.
The music of Seapony’s not exactly nautical — more The Pains of Being from Seattle — but the twee trio may leave your eyes a little wet. On the Seapony EP, they share coy female vocals, major-key lead guitar lines, “Be My Little Baby” two-and-one drumming and just enough reverb-soaked distortion. It’s hardly a shocker in this year of jangly dreamers, but each of Seapony’s four tracks is humbly essential. And also free! Download the whole thing below.
Meeting of Important People may not be as major as their name implies just yet, but they certainly play like it — the Quit Music EP offers quiet/loud guitar deliveries straight from Tommy-era The Who, filtered through classic indie rock shyness. You can download the set for free from the band’s Bandcamp, but start with the yearning “They Love Me In The City,” a song that feels less like a declaration and more like false hope. (And also feels a lot like Manic Street Preachers.)
Garage rock retro Best Coast “Be My Little Baby” Dum Dum Girls SXSW lo-fi Beck 2.0 Bandcamp Altered Zones Hype Machine blogosphere CMJ guitar tones Brooklyn sunglasses Twitter cute lead singer Time magazine Gorilla Vs. Bear
