(Ed: I earlier made a mistake that Summer Cannibals is from Portland on New Moss Records, but this is in fact a different band by the same name. I’m sorry for any confusion.)
One of the last albums that I found myself really getting into toward the end of the year was Foxygen’s “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic.” The thing that had me so enthralled was the way that they straddled worlds of early classic rock and combined it with the aesthetic of current trends in indie rock. I mean, that isn’t something that is too hard to come by these days, but when it’s done well it’s just great. Some of those songs are the catchiest and brightest sounding tracks to be released.
As I continue sifting endlessly through the piles of music that are dumped onto Soundcloud every minute of every day I have come across a band that I thought would be great for people that are fans of Foxygen’s sound. This track comes to us from Burger Records. The band is Outrageous Cherry, and they end up sounding like more like The Mama’s and The Papas than Foxygen’s Rolling Stones/Beatles, ultimately capturing the sound of the late 60s in San Francisco, and doing it really well. I have to keep checking the page to make sure that this track didn’t actually come out recently. Well, I shouldn’t let those harmonies deceive me, because the track is from a recently released retrospective of Detroit bands from 1993 to 2000. Imagine my surprise after realizing that this was a band from Detroit. I’m pleasantly surprised that something like this was and/or is coming out of someplace that isn’t on either of the coasts. You can check out “Saturday Afternoon” at the top of this post.
It’s a little poppy, a little jangly, and a lot post-modern-y. Next up is a song that is similarly laid back and poppy: “My Tears” by Summer Cannibals, a track that is a bit pulled back from Outrageous Cherry in that there is primarily just an acoustic guitar and vocals. Simple and effortless high harmonies are, for me, the highlight, and they really are what gives it that late 60s San Francisco sound. Another track on their soundcloud page, “Here Comes Trouble” tries its hand a little more at recreating a ‘wall of sound’ type production aesthetic. And, an aside, to me the female vocal on this track reminds me a lot of Cassie Berman of Silver Jews fame. The guitar, on the other hand, reminds me a lot of Real Estate.
Take a listen to both tracks and then head over to Burger Records and Souncdloud for more.
