Tag Archives: austin

2014, albums, Bandcamp, Fleeting Youth, music

Stream: Fleeting Youth Records + r/cassetteculture – “Blooming”

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I mean, how could you even go wrong? Fleeting Youth Records, one of our favorites and based out of Austin, Texas, has put together a compilation of 33 bands that clocks in at over 90+ minutes. Every single song is a noisy, feedback and fuzz soaked garage-rock stomper ready and waiting to be loaded up onto your tape deck and blared until the speakers add yet another layer of distortion.

It’s hard to tell even where to begin. Covering such a substantial paean to garage rock is not something that can be taken down track for track. A (relatively) random sampling is going to have to suffice.

First off, true to it’s name this compilation truly is “fuzz-fucked.” Every track seems to be following the same production standard of no production standards. Appropriately, the opening track, “Vent” by the band Weak Nerves, comes screaming out of the gate with a few squeals of feedback before introducing some super crunchy and fuzzed out riff-rock. There is a mix of garage-rock noise with groundswells of shoegaze awe. Somehow Weak Nerves are able to float between these two worlds, creating a really interesting and expansive sound that adds significant depth beyond just fuzzed out noise.

I’m also happy to see Chat Logs getting some space here. They had a pretty exciting release on Already Dead tapes a while ago that I still enjoy. Their jittery, aggressive approach with Earth-shaking low end violently contrasted by screeching guitars fits perfectly amongst the garage-rockers and punks that fill out the rest of the album.

There really isn’t a bad track across this collection. It’s all just perfectly amped up rock. Post-Child’s “Stop What You’re Doing to Me” cuts the noise with pop hooks and bouncy synth sounds, while Goners intone their teenage depression before cutting into an extended guitar solo; and toward the end of the album The Void bring us back to the mid-90’s with the fuzzed out, Smashing Pumpkins-esque bliss of “Summer.”

I could probably just go on all day, moving through each track one at a time, but instead I’ll leave you to it. Start with these tracks and just keep listening from there. While you’re at it, grab a copy. Limited run blue cassette with full-color 3-panel j-card featuring amazing hand drawn art from Valentino Tettamanti.  Head over to the Fleeting Youth bandcamp to pick one up, and to listen to the compilation in its entirety.

2014, albums, Bandcamp, music, songs

Stream: Balue – “Quiet Dreamer”

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It’s June already, and that means more summertime tunes. Here’s another one coming at us from Fleeting Youth records. This time they’re giving up some tunes that fit somewhere in the chillwave genre, but more it’s really more guitar driven than synth driven. Imagine Washed Out mixed with a bit of Mac Demarco. The harmonies are lush and benefitting from the tape recording, while the vocals are clear, and sung by a highly unique voice.

“Still don’t wanna grow up. That’s never gonna change. Still don’t wanna grow up. That’s never gonna change.”

Those lyrics ring out as the focal point of “Grow Up.” It seems appropriate that those words are delivered in a laid back (way back) manner, over soft hand percussion and a guitar line that’s gently plucked out and pushed ever so subtly back. The song paints a picture of someone staring up at the clouds, daydreaming. And it seems that this one-man band from New Mexico –Balue, aka Eli Thomas– is trying to get across more than anything a very specific mood. The inside cover of the limited edition (only 50 copies) cassette reads “Grab some headphones, dim the lights & relax. Close your eyes; walk down the stairs to the basement of your mind. Take a deep breath, press play & enter my dreams. Music is the best drug of all.”

Meanwhile “Charming Flow” drives a little bit harder, with punchy guitars and comparatively aggressive vocal delivery. Less daydreamy, but not any less moving. The change-up in sound is pretty refreshing to hear. Thomas’ pop sensibilities are strong as is his ability to pen a catchy hook. The song is really good, even if it does hint at a contradiction in that he’s “got more charm than a hundred bill, hundred dollar bill rolled up in your nose.”

You can pre-order the tape from Fleeting Youth right now. And you can also download these two tracks for the price of name-your-own-price right now from their bandcamp page. Eleven tracks of dreamy pop await you.

2014, albums, Bandcamp, music, reviews, songs, Soundcloud

Stream tracks from new Le Rug compilation “Press Start: The Collection”

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Le Rug has got pretty good timing, coming at us with a track like “Jailbait,” just in time for the Summer. This track is sure to end up on more than a few playlists designed to accompany roadtrips down a sunny highway to nowhere in particular in the coming months. It’s just one of those carefree and energetic rockers that’s catchy as hell from start to finish.

Of course, being that it is only one track from a 32 track compilation that spans several years, it is by no means representative. “Harold Camping” is a bit more varied in its approach, with the same wild vocal but a guitar sound that is more restrained. Each song throughout the compilation sounds new and familiar at the same time, and though I usually prohibit myself from saying such meaningless-sounding wordfiller type things, it’s really true. Though “Godstar” reminds me of maybe The Burdocks, in the sound of the vocals, and some of the melodies. The rhythms here are less angular, that is for sure, but the melodic sensibility is pretty similar.

Other tracks, like “Get it Over With” and “Dead in a Hole” explore a synthier side that isn’t necessarily any colder timbrally than the other guitar driven tracks, but certainly explore a whole other sound in general. The guitar is ever present, at varying levels of grit. The songs always have the ability to soar and find a way to pull the listener in.

The good news is that there is a whole lot more where this came from. These songs are coming off a 32 track compilation that is set for release June 17th, and can be pre-ordered right now on cassette (recommended) or as a download from Austin’s Fleeting Youth records. According to the press release:
Press Start: The Collection features 5 magnetic and pulsing post-punk releases from Brooklyn’s Le Rug (32 tracks overall)– 3 albums from when Le Rug was more active years ago and 2 new recent EPs released earlier this year.
For now though you can download the tracks above for free. Take some time to ruminate with them. No doubt you will find yourself wanting to listen more and more.

Fleeting Youth//Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//Soundcloud//

 

2014, music, reviews

Stream: Abram Shook – “Sun Marquee”

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I find it really hard to believe that, according to last.fm, Abram Shook has fewer than 500 plays, with only 171 people (including myself) having scrobbled at least one of his tracks. His album “Sun Marquee” is full of laid back, sunny tunes that any listener would find impossible to resist. With his laid back delivery and lush production this is the kind of album that deserves to be in heavy rotation, and might even help to quell the depression that usually sets in this deep into the winter.

Saying that his delivery is laid back might be somewhat misleading, as his delivery isn’t anything less than earnest, but one can be earnest and delicate at the same time, can’t they? The delicate delivery, and the precision of the guitar line, not to mention the production on tracks like “Taken” bring to mind Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s sound-world. But in there, amongst the swirl of guitars and the hushed vocals is a bass-groove that eases its way to the fore with flashes of grooving virtuosity. Take “Hangover,” a song that is, at least instrumentally speaking, completely driven by the bass. While the guitar and voice work together to create layers of melody and harmony until they mix together in an ethereal wash of sound, the bass envelops that entire sound and takes the lead. And “Distance,” from above, is much the same way with an effortless bass-line taking hold, sounding like Nate Brenner (tUnE-yArDs) is laying it down.

Every single track opens up new possibilities. Following “Hangover” is “Coastal,” where we find Shook’s voice moving from Washed Out territory to that of Mark Bolan. The falsetto is the same, but the overall timbre, and the doubling, bring out some previously hidden, rougher, attributes.

Throughout “Sun Marquee” a jazz influence is right out front, and when you take the mastery of an instrument that is required for playing that repertoire, combine it with a little rock and chillwave production, then the resultant sound is pretty captivating to say the least. It’s a complex collage that is impossible to pinpoint exactly. With all the comparisons listed above, we can add that “Black Submarine” adds a little Dave Longstreth to the vocals, and even to the guitar playing, with playing that takes sudden dramatic and unexpected shifts like one would expect from Dirty Projectors.

“Sun Marquee” is out now via Western Vinyl as a CD or LP that includes a digital download. Check out the tracks above and click the links below to learn more.

Western Vinyl//Facebook//Twitter//

2012, albums, music, news, reviews

New Release: Divine Fits – "A Thing Called Divine Fits"

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Divine Fits - "A Thing Called Divine Fits"
Divine Fits – “A Thing Called Divine Fits”

Here I am, waiting for a new Spoon album, and Britt Daniel decides to throw a bit of a curveball. No new Spoon album this year. Instead we get an album by Divine Fits, featuring not only Daniel, but also Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Sam Brown from New Bomb Turks.

Of course there are going to be plenty of comparisons to Spoon’s material as this album starts to make its way out into the world, and there are some obvious similarities. Britt’s voice is unmistakable, as is the kraut-rock staccato pulse of “Flaggin a Ride”, the periodic echo on his vocals in “Would That Not Be Nice”, and in general the clarity of the mix throughout the album.

The strength of this album is in its expansive sound, partially due to sharing vocal duties, but with that comes different moods, textures and harmonic directions. Opening track “My Love is Real” is straight up danceable with low-end saw synths and electronic beats. Later in the track some other synth patches add to the texture, but the kraut-rock persistence is traded for heartfelt legato melodies and repeated hooks. The former motorik elements have gone through a transformation, moving them more towards a new wave pop sound.

These elements aren’t consistently played against each other from track to track either. “Civilian Stripes” combines a folkier guitar style with a hint of syncopated piano strains peaking through in the chorus. Likewise the sound of “Like Ice Cream” features Daniel’s voice over a chord progression that would fit on any of the past few Spoon releases, but a delayed guitar track crackles just below the surface, dirtying up the mix a bit, and the repetitious structure allows the band to stretch out, where Spoon would likely remain bound to a single idea.

All in all it’s an album worth spending some time with. “The Salton Sea” is like the album opener with fat synth sounds and electronic beat that brings Divine Fits pretty close to treading into Kraftwerk waters, where “Shivers” provides the greatest contrast with bleak lyrics, and a dark spacious sound of gently strummed guitar.

They are currently on tour in the U.S. through October. Check dates at the site below, and check the other links for any other information you could possibly want. You can listen to the album on their official site, or check out a track below. You can also head to their webstore to purchase the album.

Divine Fits: Web | Soundcloud | Twitter