(Originally published on Tympanogram.com on February 20, 2012)

Out here, on the West Coast that is, the weather is always sunny. No matter what anyone tells you. There is no rain, no clouds, no smog, just sunshine and music festivals. As for music festivals, I’m positive that you, dear reader, have already taken the time to get excited about the Coachella lineup. As the hours went by and the publicity grew, so did others’ resentment at ticket prices and how the lineup seems to be the same every year. That all seems like eons ago, in internet time.

Coachella is not the only festival the West Coast has to offer, for there’s also Sasquatch and Noise Pop, the latter of which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. From Tuesday, February 21st through the 26th, San Francisco hosted tons of bands including The Flaming Lips, Cursive, Atlas Sound, Disappears (that boasts Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley), Fresh and Onlys, as well as Churches.

Churches’ music hearkens back to the days of 120 Minutes, when MTV used to actually play videos. Big fuzzed out guitars and heartfelt vocals that are deeply moving while being alternately sad or celebratory, and sometimes even a seemingly incongruous mix of the two. In their own words Churches is “loud, melodic power-pop, rooted in teen angst nostalgia and heavily reflecting its influences – Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., the Pixies. Churches is salvation through distortion for the disaffected small-town weirdo in everyone – a sonic cathedral of symbols and guitars for the modern outcast.” They have made available a new single, “Feel Alright,” ahead of their Noise Pop Fest debut on their soundcloud and bandcamp pages, and it is certainly worth checking out and downloading. Additionally, Churches is recording a special Noise Pop Daytrotter session.

[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CHURCHES-Feel-Alright.mp3]

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