61.MY ...

61.

"My vocation is loving you - I'm not a painter, I'm a lover."

{Honoré de Balzac, The Unknown Masterpiece}

60. BEAT CONNECTION "SILVER SCREEN"

when it rains it pours, here is some more great music from Seattle, it's a track that's been around a while but has just been given another lease of life with the release of a new EP, Silver Screen, from talented Seattle electro-pop/chillwave duo Beat Connection {Jordan Koplowitz & Reed Juenger} from the "Silver Screen" EP (2011).

Silver Screen is a carefree, euphoric, sundazed electro-pop track, it's like a blissful day at the beach, not a cloud in the perfect azure sky, the sun glistening on the glassy, gently undulating ocean, you run full-speed down the beach to the water et do an improvised somersault, crashing into a breaking wave, what could be better than this, perhaps it's all a fanciful, fleeting daydream, but who cares, just enjoy it while it lasts!

faux pan pipes tottle away cheerfully, as a driving, thumping, house-y, bass slowly builds, continuing to pump blood into the track, while a myriad of savvy, pitch-shifted synths play delightfully vibrant melodies, plinky, bell riffs et electro blips all commingle ecstatically et swim around us, the tracks highlight is the super catchy, carefree, soulful Peter Gabriel-esque vocals et warm Beach Boys harmonies, which wash over us like a refreshing ocean spray.


MP3: Silver Screen

here are a couple more gloriously sundazed electro-pop tracks, with a splash of tropicana from the "Surf Noir" EP:

MP3: Sunburn

MP3: In the Water

et here is the new fuzzed-out, kaleidoscopic, retro music video for Silver Screen created/mashed up by Dumb Eyes.



also check out this great backyard, live performance video of Silver Screen by Alex Kummerow for Camp Revival:


you should definitely get your hands on the Beat Connection debut "Surf Noir" EP (2010), it will be re-released officially on Tender Age, april 11th, while the "Silver Screen" EP is out now on itunes.

check out Beat Connection here: myspace | lastfm | bandcamp | tenderage

60. FINALLY ...

60.

Finally, we shall imagine 

our own imaginations - we are

snakes who swallow our tails.

{Meg Campbell, Fish}

59. BOBBY "SORE SPORES"

MISSING:  

Have you seen this boy? His name is Bobby.

beware, this next track is incredibly catchy et contains tonnes of swagger, Sore Spores, from Montague, Massachusetts based avant-/rock outfit Bobby off their forthcoming self-titled debut album "Bobby" (2011).

Sore Spores features the sublime et versatile vocal stylings of Molly Sarle {of Mountain Men fame}, her lush, soaring, lyrical harmonies are contrasted with her fluid, zesty, hip-hop-like drawl delivery on the verses, Sarle's delicious vocals are nicely counterpointed with low, rich, mellow male crooning, the female/male vocals contrast et blend together perfectly to enrich this hazy track.

an infectious acoustic guitar riff kicks things off, mixed with warm rhythmic strumming et the gentle plucking et jangle of an electric guitar, simple, funked-out bassline, stripped-back percussion et a slow, lethargic, muted staccato drum beat round out the laid-back, hypnotic sound, while a curious squealing, spacey, theremin-like synth effect whistles its way intermittently through the track.

for the entertaining et insightful backstory/legend of Bobby go here.


MP3: Sore Spores

the "Bobby" LP is due out June 21st on Partisan Records.

you can check out Bobby here: myspace | facebook | partisanrecords | bobby

59. LANGUAGE ...

59.

Language bears the meaning of thought as a footprint

signifies the movement and effort of a body.

{Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Essays on Painting}

58. NICK FIORETTI "HIBERNATION"

here's a blissed-out, lyrical track, Hibernation from Seattle, Washington bedroom/synth-pop producer Nick Fioretti off his debut "Wait A Minute" EP (2010).

putting the whole grunge scene aside et a certain Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan movie, i must admit my image of Seattle, Washington was largely shaped by listening to fellow bedroom pop producer Owen Ashworth aka Casiotone for the Painfully Alone's Seattle Washington track over et over again* which illustrates the outsider's idea of the city with these poignant lines: "Sometimes I think about moving up north, where rent is cheaper, I can have a house and a porch, to watch the rain, walk out in the rain, stand under the rain, and let Seattle wash me."

with this sentiment in mind, when Fioretti delivers the lines: "and it's going to be a long cold winter", i shudder with a sense of sympathy, it is late summer here in the southern hemisphere, et the prospect of a cold, wet winter is not so appealing. Hibernation simultaneously captures a sense of isolation et longing, warmth et drowsiness, it exists in that state of sleep just before you awaken, caught between conscious et unconscious/ness, in that timeless, in-between zone, where everything is slightly blurry et in a constant state of flux, a place where anything is seemingly possible.

Hibernation plays out as a constant struggle between dream et reality, between euphoria et melancholy, the refrain is like free-falling in slow-motion from an unfathomable height et releasing a cathartic scream into the ionosphere. this is an achingly beautiful et entrancing synth-pop anthem, filled with an intricate tableaux of astutely arranged et processed synths, wonky, pitch-shifted synths bubble et pulse away, a soft, hazy, atmospheric wash blends with faint dreamy harmonies, floating off in the distance, joined by a sparse, icy piano melody that tinkles away, inducing a sense of longing et nostalgia, while a deceptively simple, yet effective syncopated drum-machine beat pounds away methodically.

although there is a chilly breeze prevailing through Hibernation, it is a deeply uplifting track, at times Fioretti's soft, dreamy voice soars, fighting against the somber, wintry lethargy, he leaves behind his earthly confines et floats high above the world, weightless, swimming in the deep azure sky, his euphoric vocals echoing back to earth, the warm sonic waves begin to melt the icy thaw that has a grip on the sleepy earth below, everyone begins to awaken, as if from a hundred year long slumber, thankfully for some, another winter has come to an end.

i'm really looking forward to hearing more from Nick Fioretti, he's let on that with his new music he is incorporating more diverse instruments like the mandolin, trumpet, harmonica, and ukulele into the mix, i'm eager to hear this new direction.


MP3: Hibernation

like what you hear? you can currently stream/download the "Wait A Minute" EP from soundcloud for free, go et check it out!

you can check out Nick Fioretti here: soundcloud | facebook


* also the fantastic et epic cover of Seattle, WA by The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up, from the Split CD with Xiu Xiu {2003}.

58. THAT ...

58.

"That the birds of worry and care fly about your head, 

this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair,

that you can prevent."

{Lorae Parry, Eugenia}

57. ECHO LAKE "YOUNG SILENCE"

next up is the gorgeous, fuzzed-out, spacey title-track, Young Silence from London-based shoegazey "swoon-pop" outfit Echo Lake off their recently released debut "Young Silence" EP (2011).

Young Silence exists in a weightless, timeless, murky vacuum. fluid, glowing sounds cascade into the space, ethereal, ghostly voices, jangly, wailing guitars, splashing drums all blend et smear together, the music swirls dizzily around us, this is nostalgic, hypnotic, fuzzy, dream-pop, drowning in a roily, foggy ocean of reverb, echoing into the endless abyss ... there is no shore to return to ... lie back et embrace the unfathomable ...

after hearing Young Silence you are left slightly bewildered, wondering whether it was all just a dream, a fanciful imagining, or hallucinogenic apparition. Echo Lakes' music has a fleeting, cloudy, vaporish quality, evoking My Bloody Valentine, coming into being with an explosion of light, flooding over us with a swirling, hazy wall-of-noise, affording us a dim glimpse into another time et place, but it quickly evaporates before it is ever fully formed, leaving you wanting another glance, maybe next time it will become clearer.


MP3: Young Silence

here is the brilliant new music video for Young Silence directed by Dan Nixon. this hi/lo-tech performance clip completely captures/renders the fuzzy, dream-like quality of the song perfectly.

Echo Lake - Young Silence

if you like what you hear then i would recommend getting a hold of the spaced-out, dreamy "Young Silence" EP, it is available online from No Pain In Pop or itunes.

you can check Echo Lake here: myspace | lastfm | echolakeband

57. AND ...

57.

And without her all the varicoloured sumptuousness

seemed useless to me, wasted.

{Italo Calvino, The Complete Cosmicomics}

56. PSYCHIC REALITY "META/META-PRAYER"

i recently became aware of the awesome LA record label Not Not Fun, et have been making my way through their impressive lineup of female artists, here's a deliriously nihilistic track, from ex-San Fran/NYC no-fi, noise-pop artist Psychic Reality {Leyna Noel} off the stunning "Psychic Reality/LA Vampires" split 12" (2010).

META/Meta-Prayer is a haunting, euphoric hymn to digital delay et distortion. Noel's psyched-out wailing, shrieking vocals are primal, raw et cathartic, at times other-worldly et ethereal, other times regressive, vulnerable et childlike. multiple lyrical layers fade in-et-out, merging, then drifting apart again, like restless spirits wandering aimlessly through a desolate landscape, trying to find some resemblance of the past. from time to time Noel unleashes a devastating, reverberating sonic maelstrom that crescendos into the void only to be subsumed by the nothingness. a deep, low-end, muffled, pulsing sub continues to throb away hypnotically, like a homing beacon, transmitting a signal out into the ether, for whom or what, it is unknown, should we be afraid? perhaps ...

this arresting split EP is definitely recommended for fans of Tickley Feather, Pocahaunted, U.S. Girls, Julianna Barwick et Pink Floyd ...


MP3: META/Meta-Prayer

her's the fantastic music video for Fruit, which is off Psychic Reality's brilliant new album "Vibrant New Age" (2011) . directed by Ben Shearn.

the "Psychic Reality/LA Vampires" split EP is available online from itunes et boomkat.

check out Psychic Reality here: myspace | lastfm | notnotfun

AWESOME NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR RAINBOW ARABIA'S "WITHOUT YOU"

i've just posted the stunning new music video for Without You by Rainbow Arabia under my original post for the track, you will find it here.

enjoy!

56. IT ...

56.

It is said that the poor, the sick, the dreamers

and the fools always go into exile.

{Josefina Baez, Dominicanish}

55. CULTS "GO OUTSIDE"

if you're feeling blue et in desperate need of something light, fluffy et heartwarming then look no further, next up is a great bubblegum-pop track that i heard a while back but didn't get round to posting, Go Outside is the breakout single from NY indie-pop duo Cults {Brian Oblivion & Madeline Follin} off their self-titled "Cults" 7" (2010).

Go Outside is a jingly, 60s-tinged, indie pop day-dream, a saccharine glockenspiel melody tinkles away, evoking a woebegone vision of snow slowly falling outside a window, the sound of a television can be heard in the background, it is filtered out, our day-dream begins as we are engulfed with euphoric, sundazed, reverb-laden girl/boy harmonies, transporting us to our happy warm place, the smooth bassline hook grooves away, sounding like it was right out of a Motown recording, gentle tapping, clapping, brushing percussion fleshes-out the track nicely before the child-like glockenspiel melody returns, bringing us slowly out of our warm, nostalgic reverie, the snow still falls outside, but it's ok, the song is on repeat!

does this track remind anyone else of Time Is On My Side?

interestingly the sample at the beginning of the song is taken from the "Death Tape" or FBI's "Q042" file, the last recording of Jim Jones as he speaks to the members/residents of Jonestown before the infamous mass "revolutionary suicide"/murder, the knowledge of this fact changes the reading of the track completely et gives it an eerie et haunting, 70s cultish vibe, which aptly explains the bands name. it also shows that there is a dark et twisted core lurking under the sweet exterior of these pop songs.

MP3: Go Outside

et here is another dose of melodious 60s-inflected sunshine pop:

MP3: Most Wanted

whatever you do, stay well clear of the music video for Go Outside, it's a complete abomination, et yet another uber-lame Godard rip-off video {see also the new Paris Wells "Let's Get It Started" video}! arrrgh! i get totally enraged by clueless music video directors blindly decimating Godard's iconic 60s films et rendering them into cringy, superficial, sentimental trash! hey, let's all film our "model" girlfriends with super 8 cameras! it's so nouvelle vague! merde!!!

the Cults debut album is currently in the works, et should be out around May.

for now you can check out Cults here: myspace | cultscultscults | bandcamp | lastfm

55. SOUNDS ...

55.

Sounds of cities, in the evening and

in the sun and always.

{Arthur Rimbaud, Departure}