SUMMER LAKE

(photo via)

I was randomly sent this jam from who I assume is Thee Fair Ohs, since the song is a Thee Fair Ohs song, and its certainly rad, a vibrant way to shake off this unwelcome late-August chill. Dudes didn't get back to me, except for this single image, which actually sums up everything quite well:



Overall jubilant and jangly, "Summer Lake" abides by the rules of summer n Paul Simon n Black Flag, one of four tracks on a new 7" out soon on Sex Is Disgusting. It also features "Almost Island" which you can stream from Weekly Tape Deck and Myspace. The 'doods' are Eddy, Joe and Matt. They had one cassette out on Suplex Cassettes, but it is sold out. Check out "Summer Lake," grab the 7" once its available and, oh yeah, they're on a GG Allin covers split 7" with Male Bonding, Graffiti Island and Pens, out soon on Italian Beach Babes.




Thee Fair Ohs - Summer Lake




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VIBEZ4LIFE

Neon Pulse guy has this blog, VIBES4LIFE, where I have found many a rad music over the past week or so, and his own sounds ain't bad neither. Pulsating zone-outs to put ya to sleep (in a good way), more extended and droning than, say, Forest Swords, which could be construed as less exciting, but it seems its for a different purpose - a deeper, cosmic lava flow trip beyond life and friends.





Neon Pulse - Scruffy Ears EP

THEY DON'T CALL THEM LOVERS

This is one of my new favorite blogs. It's just pictures, lots of nudes and big fish and buildings. Mostly beautiful shit. Check it out:




THEY DON'T CALL THEM LOVERS IN HIGH SCHOOL, LEELAND















She also does this.

UPCOMING SHOWS

So last night I took it upon myself to compile a list of shows coming up in the Western Mass/Central Mass/Eastern Mass/Capital Region NY/Southern VT etc etc area in the next couple months. Chances are I will attend most of these. Chances are some will fall by the wayside.






Juliana Barwick - October 15 - Vassar College

Atlas Sound/Broadcast - October 22 - The Paradise

Mt. Eerie + No Kids - October 27 - somewhere in Palmer, MA (EDIT: at Diamond Junction Bowling Lanes)

Wooden Shjips October 28 - The Elevens

King Khan & BBQ Show/Dum Dum Girls - October 28 - Pearl Street

Javelin/Ecstatic Sunshine/Silk Flowers - October 29 - University of Hartford

Saul Williams - October 31 - Pearl Street

Fuck Buttons/Growing - November 1 - Pearl Street

The Very Best/Javelin/Many Mansions - November 1 - Great Scott

Fiery Furnaces/Cryptacize/Dent May - November 5 - Pearl Street

Girls/Real Estate - November 7 - Great Scott

Dan Deacon - November 10 - Pearl Street, November 13 - EMPAC at RPI, November 14 - Clark University

James Ferraro - November 15 - THE SMOG @ Bard College

PURE ECSTASY COVER TOOTS & THE MAYTALS

Pure Ecstasy, the trio that recently brought you the sweet sounds of "You're In It Now," sent over their cover of one of Toots & the Maytals' best and most classic songs, "Pressure Drop." Theirs is a slower, more gospel-tinged and rootsy take on the upbeat reggae version, certainly a quality tribute. You can find the cut on Pure Ecstasy's SEVN DAZE cassette (BUY by emailing Nate) and also look out for the track on Volume 2 of the Friendship Bracelet Club compilation series, dropping in a bit over a month and still accepting submissions.



Pure Ecstasy - Pressure Drop (Toots & the Maytals cover)

Toots & the Maytals - Pressure Drop (original)



Previously:



Pure Ecstasy - You're In It Now

ANOTHER MOTHERFUCKIN SOUTHSIDER

Damn, new Weezy mixtape is somethin tight - very few DJ drops/watermarks, few repeat tracks (and the ones repeated are ill ones anyway so it's cool) and the shit that's new? Tons of killer beats, stupid-dumb verses, baller guest-spots and of course some of the most ridiculous one-liners you could ever dream up. And that's just the thing, you can't dream this shit up - Wayne's so on and so nuts it's hard to imagine a human came up with this stuff.

My favorite tracks so far are the heaviest, each with a great guest, Drake/Young Jeezy and Juelz Santana respectively. "Harder Than Ever" was called "I'm Going In" on the Public Enemy mixtape, and still features one of the most crazy ways to begin a track I've ever heard. Drake proceeds to absolutely kill his verse, culminating in a tried and true kick:

"21 years and I ain't never met a good cop"

"Ride and Roll" continues to impress more me every single listen ("I'm the shit - I'm funky like I never bathe"), like I said, filthy verses over a huge rumbling heavy beat. Download the mixtape after peepin' these tracks, burn it to a CD, ride around in yer car with this shit and freak out some squares.




Lil Wayne + Drake + Young Jeezy - Harder Than Ever

Lil Wayne + Juelz Santana - Ride and Roll



Lil Wayne - Official White Label mixtape

BEE EYES

I caught this Bee Eyes track on Transparent a week ago or whatever, apparently the only Bee Eyes song currently available, and it's killer. "Who Does" channels the current wave of sludgy garage grit matched up with a superb sing-songy vocal melody easily reminiscent of Vivian Girls or Grass Widow harmonies, which is repeated so many times over the course of the two minutes it's just impossible not to hum even after the first listen. This is one of those tracks that once you taste you can't quit, pounding in all the right ways and supremely infectious. They're recording a full-length currently so watch for that, and check their blog, overflowing with Youtubes.




Bee Eyes - Who Does




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WHITE DRUGS

I'm on em so this shit's soundin reeal good, but it'd probably sound rad otherwise too. New Dem Hunger mix is on some space flight/boogie down/click clack shit, gettin real groovy at times, gettin real head-melting at times. Control freaks beware: this shit don't wait up for ya. Eat it up.






Dem Hunger - White Drugs






(via SHELLEY DUVALL of course)

"GIRLS SUCKIN DOWN DEATH LIKE ALL NIGHT BEERS"

BEEN HURTIN

I been hurtin the past few days real hard. Fortunately there's been many things keepin me from going completely nuts including 1960s Japan.



Awesome clip from the film Rio No Wakadaishou (1968) with 'performance' by Yuzo Kayama & the Launchers, some shred-zone psychedelic organ/surf guitar shit, with that awesome trippy paint waterfall thing goin on in the background. Everything goes smooth until they forget to turn off the backing track. Oops. Thanks to Dave/An Uncontrollable Urge for turning me on to this (he also posted an awesome Black Randy track about doing laundry recently).


A quick Google search yielded a few downloads from Garage Hangover, which you can snatch up HERE. Goes pretty well with that Takeshi Terauchi & the Bunnys shit McGregor posted recently at Chocolate Bobka, which makes sense cos apparently Kayama was Terauchi's rival. I recommend "Los Angeles no Nisei Matsuri" and "Black Sand Beach."

I DON'T WANA LIVE. I DON'T WANA DIE.

Pure Ecstasy is Nate, Jesse and Austin (+ friends) from, well, Austin. Not exactly sure how I came across their Myspace, probably through Leftist Nautical Antiques, a.k.a. the dudes who are set to bring you Forest Swords' Glory Gongs cassette.

LNA will be releasing Pure Ecstasy's Future Nostalgia 7" on cassette sometime in the near future, which is a good thing since the 7" is super-limited to a run of 50 with spray painted covers. Paypal thesilverpines@gmail.com for your copy, though I've no idea how many are left.

Pure Ecstasy tows the line between the golden shimmers of current heads Real Estate and Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, but with more vocal reverb, almost reminding me of It Still Moves-era My Morning Jacket in its warm echo slack, which is saying something since It Still Moves was one of my favorite records at one point.

However, Pure Ecstasy stays away from the whole down-home Kentucky country thing in favor of a more muffled and less technical vibe. These sounds should soundtrack roadtrips. Not the beginning or end of roadtrips, but the hearty portion of middle America one must pass through to get from one side to the other. This is waiting music for those who like to hit the snooze button, those who enjoy limbo rather than certainty, those who would rather be in it than at the end of it. Forget the beach. Summer's almost over. Time to cruise through the farmland, the endless waves of cultivated soil, cattle, silos, lone powerlines, sun-soaked and sun-baked cornfields.

Check out "You're In It Now," one of three tracks from the 7"/potential cassette below, then look out for their cassette release and future sounds.




Pure Ecstasy - You're In It Now




EDIT:

Oops, the upcoming Forest Swords cassette is actually out soon on Woven Tones, not Leftist Nautical Antiques, who put out Forest Swords' Miarches cassette.

CAT KILLER

I mean, people been postin bout Cat Killer for a bit now and all's you gotta do is message him for a free EP. However, why cost the man the shipping? You can just head over to BxF, download the mediafire file and enjoy.

(AND PRINT OUT YOUR VERY OWN COVER ART IF YA WANA)

I've played the four-track EP many times through. Very bouncy stuff, never too heavy, some sort of muddled bedroom pop for those interested in this whole noodly guitar loops thing. "Tree Limbs Together" could be another Bradford Cox + Noah Lennox collab, "You'll Never Be On Time" could be found right next to Ducktails + Rangers on another 'hypnagogic' Olde English Spelling Bee cut and parts of "Word to Remember" totally remind me of some Paul Simon jam.

UNDERWATER SWEATFEST

The Underwater Peoples Showcase Saturday night at the Market Hotel was an absolute blast: bands, beers, bodies, smoke, sweat... The AC was working and the fans were on, but if you weren't standing right next to them it didn't matter - sweat poured down arms, legs, throats, chests, cheeks. No particular highlights, as everything was of high quality, though Andrew Cedermark was particularly exciting in what he said was just his second solo show, Big Troubles' first ever live set was great in an incomprehensibly loud way and Alex Bleeker & the Freaks owned the weed + cigarette mist vibe. Family Portrait was killer as well, Fluffy Lumbers covered the Cranberries again and Pill Wonder covered a Julian Lynch Wild Animal Kingdom contribution. Oh, and to end their set, the final set, Real Estate half-assed its way through "Sweater Song."

Here's some underwater photos to accompany such underwater sounds.

Big Troubles

Big Troubles

Dana Jewell

Ducktails

Ducktails

Frat Dad

Frat Dad

Liam the Younger

Beach Fossils

Julian Lynch via webcam + projector

Fluffy Lumbers

Fluffy Lumbers

Andrew Cedermark

Andrew Cedermark

Alex Bleeker & the Freaks

Alex Bleeker & the Freaks

Family Portrait

Family Portrait

Family Portrait

Pill Wonder

Real Estate

Real Estate

Real Estate

WEED DIAMOND

Transparent posted "Let's Burn One Down" by Weed Diamond today and I was instantly thrilled. Weed Diamond, a.k.a. Tim from Denver, was super quick to respond to mine inquiries and shot his demo over at blazing speeds thru the intra-waves. Already enamored, I couldn't stop listening, with each song as homespun, heartwarming and effortless as the next. I suppose weed-as-influence isn't a new thing (ain't a bad thing neither), but the headier Tim's jams get, the more they resonate. Beneath billowing plumes of exhalation, one finds the same falsetto-laced psychedelic paths tread by the likes of Woods, nostalgic Doo-wop twangs that could've been snatched straight from The Sandlot and of course all that gritty fuzz errbody's ears must be accustomed to by now. Get over to Transparent for sure and check "Let's Burn One Down" HERE, then indulge in a couple more:





Weed Diamond - WAAAAY Too Much Purple

Weed Diamond - Nothing to Write Home About





Also, watch out for Weed Diamond on the Friendship Bracelet Club Vol. 2.




EDIT:

In fact, Tim has been kind enough to offer up his entire demo for sharing and caring. Let's go crazy:




Weed Diamond - Demo




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AND if by some crazy chance you haven't gotten the message, Underwater Peoples' SUMMER SHOWCASE is happening tomorrow afternoon/evening at the Market Hotel on Myrtle Street in Brooklyn. If you're around hit it up, it's only $5 for a ton of bands that will surely kick.

Line-up goes like this:

5:00 – Big Troubles
5:30 – Dana Jewell
6:00 – Ducktails
6:30 – Frat Dad
7:00 – Liam The Younger
7:30 – Beach Fossils
8:15 – Fluffy Lumbers
8:50 – Andrew Cedermark
9:25 – Alex Bleeker & The Freaks
10:00 – Family Portrait
10:35 – Pill Wonder
11:10 – Air Waves
11:45 – Real Estate

JIMMY JAMS

Gettin raunchy and rude this humid early afternoon. Like I'd have it any other way.




Kind of forgot about Javelin after checkin dem out like a month ago. Grooved to "Vibrationz" over at P4K, babed out to "Lindsay Brohan" at Weekly Tape Deck, and retro babe grooved to "Tell Me, What Will It Be? (Take Two)" at Fluxblog. After a little Google searching I came across their entire Jamz n Jemz album in the comments section of a Javelin post at Test Pilots.

Jamz n Jemz is essentially a huge beat tape, 25 tracks of eccentric samples, radical beats and goofy track titles (see: "Africadabra," "Doug Flutey," "Lindsay Brohan"), rarely venturing beyond the couple minutes mark. Sometimes it's like you're watching classic Price Is Right on a day where you didn't do your homework so you told your mom you puked so you could lay on the couch all day, drink ginger ale and eat saltines. Other times it's like yer tryna sweet on a mystery lady in a too-dark club. It's all good, even the silly STD rap ("I'm reppin B-More but I don't like crabs THAT much").

Take a listen, then BUY the CDR from Golden Age HERE.





Javelin - Jamz n Jemz

(via Test Pilots)





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ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER COVER GROUPER

The other day I posted a few intergalactic synth swells from Oneohtrix Point Never. Today I came across OPN covering one of last year's most generally blabbed about tracks, "Heavy Water" by Grouper. This version takes the beautiful vocal melody and wraps it in all sorts of healthy pulses, rainbow prism lightshaft gleams, shooting stars and various otherworldly tones.

The track is streaming from the Upstairs CDR Myspace. Upstairs CDR will be releasing a compilation next month titled Radio Scenic Dip Vol. 1 and will feature rad dudes Julian Lynch, Nonhorse (Lucas Crane of Woods), Alice Cohen and OPN's Grouper cover, among others. Stay tuned for more info on the comp and keep yourself busy with the "Heavy Water" cover, as well as chillzone tracks from Julian Lynch and Nonhorse AT MYSPACE.

BYRDS OF PARADISE, DC

Kenny Brown's Byrds of Paradise project just added a second full-time member, singer Jared Jones of The Dustheads, as well as a bassist (still looking for a drummer).

They've got a new song "Paradise, DC," which I caught wind of via Twitter. We begin jangly, as prescribed, before moving into a slightly denser second half. Tight and melodic and bouncy, the track's a solid couple minutes of Suburban pop gold. Burn a mix CD with this on it, pop it in your sedan and cruise around under streetlights.

He'll be hawking his demo at the Underwater Peoples Showcase Saturday so be sure to grab a copy for the very doable price of "like a buck." Also of note, I'm very happy to confirm that you'll be able to find music from Byrds of Paradise on Volume Two of the Friendship Bracelet Club series, which is in the works and will see the light of day sometime in September or October.





Byrds of Paradise - Paradise, DC




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CHILLERS

Yes, some jams to melt into when yer on as much Vicodin as I am currently. It's a weird thing warding off pain while at the same time verging on a weird pseudo-trip. In other news I can finally feel all of my face.

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Annu


Dude's solid Dream Runner EP is rad, all six tracks goopy n drippy n shimmery, really reminds me of that eLan shit I was diggin recently.



Annu - Dream Runner EP



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Dolphins Into the Future


So far I've only heard this Dolphins Into the Future record, out on Not Not Fun, entitled ...On Sea-Faring Isolation. There is a bunch more listed at Cetacean Nation Communication, but for now the NNF shit must do. First started diggin after CHOCOLATE BOBKA posted "On the High Seas," a.k.a. an excerpt from the record's A-side, back in July.

All sounds on Sea-Faring recall water in one sense or another: waves, bubbles, whale songs, echo-location squeal-clicks, repetition, rotation, tidal pulsations. The endless cycle. A Google search yields in the first result the entire album, since I can't suggest anywhere to find it on the internets (though I saw they had a copy at Weirdo Records in Cambridge last week...).




Dolphins Into the Future - ...On Sea-Faring Islands

(via Google search)

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Also I've listened to this new Byrds of Paradise track "Paradise, DC" a couple times after Kenny Brown alerted to its completion via @KennethBrown. Quick n gentle, bounce n jangle. Never been to DC but reminds me of suburban night driving.