NEW Mercury Rev!

Break out your favorite graphic design program: Yep Roc Records and Mercury Rev want you to design a poster for the band!

The poster will be printed and distributed to everyone who pre-orders the CD or LP version of Snowflake Midnight, the latest album from Mercury Rev to be released 9/30, from the Yep Roc Web Shop.

To submit your designs, just reply to this blog post on Mercury Rev’s MySpace page with the image embedded in the comment or with a link to where the image can be viewed.

**Note: Please submit 5" x 5" minimum, 72 dpi, rgb jpgs for proofing.**

The winner, chosen by the band, will win the glory of having their work printed and distributed to people across the United States!

Contest ends 8/18. So get crackin! Oh and check out the NEW NEW NEW Mercury Rev track below.

Download: Senses on Fire

My Milky Way Arms

What would happen if the Beach Boys were stranded in space on a spaceship made out of synthesizers? My Milky Way Arms might have an idea as they're pretty much are making the kind of music that the Space Shuttle crew takes along with them in orbit.

My Milky Way Arms EP, My Milky Way Arms is a dreamy head trip of intergalactic travel that's like post shoegazing for the nu-rave generation. The songs on My Milky Way Arms are airy, wispy, and barely there. Drenched in harmonies from the heavens each of the five songs here are lush and palatial with a mellow vibe that feels as big as the galaxy.

From the Brian Wilson inspired, "Unbearable Lightness of Being," to the nearly ambient rays of, "Sunshine," My Milky Way Arms is an absolutely fantastic record of serene spatial pop that sounds like the best record Slowdive never recorded.

Epic and as vast as the Milk Way itself, My Milky Way Arms is music for aliens created by a duo of musicians who might not just be from around these parts to begin with. Seriously short and sweet at but completely awesome stuff that will make you look towards the heavens.

Download: Magneto (AAAAHHHH!!!!)
Download: Unbearable Lightness of Being
Download: Sunshine

The Summer of Twee presses on!

This Is Ivy League is a bit of an alter identity for it's members. You see, the two members of This Is Ivy League, Alex Suarez and Ryland Blackinton, have a day job with super emo stars Cobra Starship. When they're not receiving 10,000,000 Myspace plays on their page, they're not holed up somewhere not playing with their hair, but instead writing pop music that would make most emo kids question why they're hung up on being so miserable.

This Is Ivy League's album, This Is Ivy League is a masterful whirl of sugary twee pop perfection. It's as if Alex and Ryland were possessed by an AM Radio and forced to write jangly pop ditties about love and erm the weather. About the easiest comparison would be to say This Is Ivy League sounds as though Belle and Sebastian had American accents, listened to a lot of Matinee Records, and figured that every song must be happy.

The eleven songs on This Is Ivy League are just about perfect in every way and sound as if they were hidden away in an attic for 30 years and found by the band purely by accident. The first three songs alone are so incredibly good that they could very well be singles of the year; if it were 1974 they would be giving the Carpenters a run for their money.

Truly the definition of pop perfection, This Is Ivy League is a stunning record of happy go lucky music that's in such a good mood, it's infectious. The songs on This Is Ivy League are crisp and springy and overjoyed that you're listening to them and after one listen you'll find yourself just as elated.

They might be emo stars during the day, but you get the sense after listening to This Is Ivy League that the members of This Is Ivy League truly love making music of this nature far more than they do for their day job. Whether they do or don't is unknown but here's hoping that they continue to make records as This Is Ivy League for many years.

Download: The Richest Kids
Download: London Bridges
Download: You Me and the Moon (Magnetic Fields cover)

XX Teens Take Over

Having already released their album in the UK, XX Teens will release their debut album Welcome To Goon Island through Mute on September 30, 2008.

The 11-track album - produced by Sheffield’s Ross Orton (MIA, Fat Truckers, Bromheads Jacket) - features the single "Darlin'" which will be available digitally later this year. The NME calls "Darlin'" "A berserk swamp-rock thriller… scary and brilliant, like a ghost that tosses you off as you sleep."

Welcome To Goon Island is born from the great British Art School tradition, the core of the band having met at art school in Southend. Vivid and expansive, the album is political, innovative, and joyous – it rumbles, rolls & swings coming to an end with the swirling psychedelia of "Sun Comes Up" and a moving eulogy from British peace activist Brian Haw.

Check out the bizarre video for Darlin then download it...



Download: Darlin

This Ain't Your Brothers Blood Brothers...

Jaguar Love features Johnny Whitney (vocals, piano) and Cody Votolato (guitar, bass) both formerly of The Blood Brothers, and J Clark (drums, bass, keyboards) who used to play guitar for Pretty Girls Make Graves. They've played a string of west coast dates opening for Queens of The Stone Age, and Matador put out their debut self titled EP this past June.

Their record Take Me To The Sea comes out on August 19th and it's a shambolic shuffly jumpy rock and roll affair that's so far away from being anything related to any of their former bands you'd never know these guys all used to be maniacs...well maybe not J Clark but PGMG's is still a bit different than Jaguar Love.

Anyway, check out the tunes...

Download: Highways of Gold
Download: Bats Over The Pacific Ocean

Holy Sons O' Musicians

Aside from recording and touring with his other critically acclaimed bands OM (Sub Pop / Southern Lord) and Grails (Important Records/ Temporary Residence/Neurot Recordings), Emil Amos also records and tours under the name Holy Sons. On September 23, 2008 Partisan Records will be releasing an expanded release of Holy Sons apocalyptic masterpiece Decline of the West.

Decline of the West represents a vital intersection of style and method in Amos songwriting and production, combining his genre-hopping tendencies and no-rules mixing methods with the more hook-driven, straight-to-the-jugular phrasing that he has been honing for the last 15 years.

Amos musical resume reads like a dream wish list for most musicians. Outside of Holy Sons, Amos is the new member in the globally renowned Om and a producer/songwriter of his other band Grails. He has performed both on stage and collaboratively with the likes of Daniel Johnston, Will Oldham, Damo Suzuki, Jandek, J Mascis, Smog, Polvo, Quasi, Sir Richard Bishop, Scout Niblett, Six Organs, Devendra Banhart, and Mark Kozelek.

Decline of the West is named after and conceptually began with Oswald Spengler's pessimistic assessment that the Western culture is revealing the classic signs of a society's decay and end. The record was recorded at Amos' home studio in late-night recording sessions that stretched over three years, during which he played every instrument and then mixed and re-mixed each track. Decline of the West is his most stylistically varied effort to date, and a linchpin of Amos' catalogue.

Download: Gnostic Device
Download: I'm Healed
Download: Things You Do While Waiting For The Apocalypse

Chaos!

Spencer Seim is a busy man, when he's not abusing guitars for Hella, he's the drummer for The Advantage and now when he's not doing either of those bands he's now his own musical adventure known as sBACH.

sBACH sounds like Pat Metheny on acid hanging out with Mr. Bungle and John Zorn in a strip club doing even more drugs and then taking unicycles to a recording studio to lay down some tracks. It's insane metallic instrumental mayhem that's so quick the songs don't even have titles.

sBACH is the sound of metal mayhem that shreds all it sees. If you're left standing after listening to this record in its entirety then consider yourself lucky. If you've got padding in your room or enjoy being torn to bits than I suggest you download the song below and when the album comes out on August 19th buy it with extreme caution; you might just shuffle off your mortal coil from holding it in your hands.

Download: Three

Local Girl Makes Good...Again

For those of you who have been around for a while in Jacksonville, you'll know doubt know who Tracy Shedd is. Tracy has been playing stuff in Jacksonville for as long as I've been here and that's been nearly a decade, so she's kind of a familiar name.

After a while of being here and doing just about everything there was to do here in Jacksonville she got picked up by the rather brilliant Teenbeat label. After two albums on Teenbeat, one for Devil in the Woods, and more tours than you can shake a stick at, she kind of slowed down to the point where I'm not sure what happened.

As fate would have it, she's back and as it happens, with a new record. Cigarettes & Smoke Machines brings Shedd back home and is now her third album for Teenbeat. Shedd’s place on the Teenbeat roster has obviously grown stronger throughout the years and it’s an immense pleasure to see that at a time when the record industry is in a state of “huh?” a record as worthwhile as Cigarettes & Smoke Machines can appear on a label as true to itself as Teenbeat.

Download: Whatever It Takes

Always In The Mood

The Mood was first formed in late 2005 in Florida by singer/songwriter Marco Argiro. After relocating to NYC in 2006, Marco joined forces with his cousin Corinne Callen and began working on material with longtime friend, Kenton Langstroth. The band released their Two Night Stand EP on vinyl in July 2006.

Two years later, they're on their second CD and it's a doozy. Called, Synaethesia, it's the sort of record that has Summer written all over it. It's a pogotastic, power pop treat that's slightly twee and ridiculously addictive, it's the sort of thing that could make even the angriest hardcore kid crack a smile.

It's hard to believe that Synaethesia is from a New York band because The Mood sound so UN-New York. I mean when you think of shiny sunny jangly pop you don't think of NYC. It must be a shock to unsuspecting New Yorkers that this band is just so damn upbeat.

Check them out for yourself and get in the erm...mood. (I HAD to write that)

Download: Masquerade
Download: Eskimo Scientist

Where the Hell Have You Been?

Ok, so it's been nearly a week since I've posted anything but I have a good reason. You see I went to Chicago for Pitchfork Fest this past weekend. To say Chicago is an amazing town is an understatement.

There's a pace there that is absolutely awesome and the city is alive with activity and a kill or be killed attitude and I LOVE it. Surprisingly, there are nice people downtown and they were actually more than nice enough to give directions. It's nice to have my urban edge back after being stuck here in Jacksonville for over 10 months.

As for the festival, it was absolutely unbelievable. Aside from seeing more American Apparel than anyone has ever seen before, the festival itself was awesome (you know hipsters...you can wear other kinds of clothes other than screen printed, day glo, OVERPRICED t-shirts with girls jeans and or leggings and fake Ray Ban Wayfarers) . Here's a quick run down of some of the things I remember.

Best Beer: Goose Island or 312 (Goose Island also makes a heck of good Root Beer and Orange Cream soda)

Best Tent: The Incase Spray Paint Shirt Tent. (Stencils, tons of spray paint and free t-shirts = amazing customized Pitchfork souvenir plus the best conversation about Drum and Bass I've had in the last 5 years.)

Best Way to Part With Cash: TIE 1) Record Fair area 2) Flatstock Poster Fair

Best Performance: TIE 1) Les Savy Fav (FOUR costume changes including mud = absolutely mind boggling live show...this could very well have been better when he mooned us in St. Augustine) 2) Jarvis Cocker (He may not have Pulp behind him anymore, but he's still pervy and cool as fuck PLUS he was doing acid house covers for his encore)

Best Lashing Out : Spiritualized (When the sound cut out during the last song Jason Pierce saw fit to hit shit with his guitar and then throw it toward the drummer and walk off stage. The crowd went ape shit.)

Best Crowd: Cut Copy (They showed up WAY late, only played about 30 minutes but blew the proverbial roof off the fucking joint...the crowd was jumping up and down, throwing their hands during every build up, dancing, and singing every word to every song...meanwhile 200 feet away Spoon lulled everyone else to sleep with another set that was the aural equivalent of lithium)

Most Boring Band: Spoon. (Seriously guys...when there are 4000 people there to see you, DON'T do down tempo songs, you could hear Cut Copy over their drone and people started sprinting toward them)

Who The Fuck Signed/Booked These Guys? Bon Iver (Over hyped band with crap songs that's total blogosphere WANK. If you chin stroke then you probably love these guys, if you're 'avin it, you think they should have been pummeled with rocks. I think Cut Copy who followed them, packed them in their travel cases and sent them somewhere no one could hear them ever again.)

So there you go. That's my excuse...I was having too much fun in the sun! That was the best $50 bucks I've spent in a long time and I can't wait til next year. Do yourself a favor and go to this festival in 2009. New bands and cool shit were everywhere and you can't beat that.

Now on to regular posts. Seriously....

Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhh!

We Vs. Shark played here in Jacksonville last week and unfortunately I missed them and if you missed them on their recent tour than we should commisserate together becuase we pretty much fucked up.

You see, WVS are insane and nothing says a fun show like pure, unbridled insanity. Imagine a dirty rock and roll version of Thunderbirds Are Now meets the Death Set on 30 bottles of Jack Daniels and you might be able to figure out what We Vs. Shark sound like.

Their album, Dirty Visions was recorded intensely over two whole days. Amazingly no one died. But the sheer energy captured during the recording session and laid onto tape is a sense of what it was like last Sunday.

Surprisingly, both the band and the club are still around but WVS' legacy will live on forever.

Download: Mr. Ego Death
Download: Hello Blood

Dead Heart and Bloom!

According to their bio, New York City-based Dead Heart Bloom was formed by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Boris Skalsky in 2005. The band has gained a sturdy fan base since then, receiving comparisons to the "eclectic eccentricity of Beck" and the "dramatics of Bowie". Reviewers have also named Mark Kozelek, Jeff Buckley and even "Pet Sounds"-era Beach Boys as comparisons.

Now while I'm not too sure of the Beach Boys comparisons, about five seconds after hearing any track DHB does you'll realize the Bowie comparison is spot on and for you older erm, gothier types out there, there is even a bit of Peter Murphy in there as well. Skalsky definitely has that kind of a voice and his stuff is just moody enough to easily spot the similarities.

Following the eponymous self-titled debut album and elegant, understated Chelsea Diaries (both Shortlist Prize nominees), Dead Heart Bloom returns with a new collection of songs in the form of Fall In. A five-song EP, the latest material leans heavily towards well-crafted guitar pop and late night atmosphere; immediately launching into churning overdrives, spaced out melodies and lyrics that explore both the highs and lows of love, life and faith (and often a lack of the latter). The band continues to explore the parameters of rock music, though, anchored by vocalist Boris Skalsky's smoky baritone, always sounding uniquely Dead Heart Bloom.

Download: Out Last Martyr
Download: Fall In EP (yep the whole damn thing!)

Take Out The Trash!

I'm not really sure what else to say about Taylor Hollingsworth except to say that he plays some damn fine trashy rock and roll. You know the kind of stuff that the MC5 and New York Dolls used to play.

As to how some kid who looks like he's 12 got his start it kind of goes something like this...Taylor Hollingsworth and his father, Wesley, would trek all over the South in a beat-up VW van, with the riffs of Tom Petty and Jerry Lee Lewis scratching out of cheap speakers as they hunted hang-gliding hot spots.

"I think I got the bug for traveling from him," says Hollingsworth, who's prone to hitting the road on a moment's notice. After having played as a lead guitarist in multiple US and European tours, Hollingsworth feels more at home in a van than he does in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. That's not to say Birmingham hasn't had its pull on Hollingsworth. Listen closely and you can hear the gritty echoes of the South's greatest musicians in his guitar. Aside from his Southern influences, Taylor bleeds the snarling disposition of Black Francis, while his sneering bravado and riff-happy outlook can be attributed to the aforementioned New York Dolls and MC5. With glam/psychedelia flourishes, but the lo-fi immediacy of The Stooges, Taylor's vocals cut through the riffs of his songs like piano wire through a hunk of SPAM. In other words, Taylor has developed his own version of dirty, white trash rock that reflects a wealth of experience accumulated by a life in the blues.

Taylor Hollingsworth will release his new record, Bad Little Kitty, on July 29th. A sideman for Maria Taylor and Conor Oberst (Taylor played guitar on Oberst's forthcoming Merge solo debut), he recalls a Johnny Thunders-styled throwback or a Dexter Romweber-esque shredder. Armed with an arsenal of guitar slinging and grisly, thought-provoking songwriting, this boy-faced wonder echoes the gritty gist of some of the South’s greatest musical traditions.

Download: Damn Boy (What's Wrong With You?)
Download: Shout It Out
Download: Hard Headed Woman

Go West...To the Great Northwest

We're all directionally challenged this week. From the Great White North to the Great Northwest, if it's north of Florida and it's Great we're writing about it!

Anyway, musician, Brian Coates moved to New York in 2004 where the music/art project that would become The Great Northwest commenced. The band in a short period of time grew to involve over 20 people including Portland ex-pats Noah and Nathan Rice (the Christopher Twins), Josh Kalberg, and Dale Winston.

After a year+ in NYC, Brian's wanderlust led him west to California. At his friend Armando's house in Fresno, a musical beacon was sounded. Joe Kaczmarerk, Brent Fellows, Courtney Taylor Taylor, Brent DeBoer, Ray Gordon, Sean "Gothman" Addams, Poopy Simons, Louise Fenton, and a load of new friends converge for a blowout of a party. Brian Richburg, owner of Studio 9 in Fresno made them a deal for studio time and recordings of a whole stack of tracks are made. More than an album's worth, in fact.

Brian, now working with Dead Meadow, ends up in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of our nation's capital in 2006. Douglas and Mike from Kora meet up with him at a bar in their mutual 'hood to hear some unmixed MP3s on his laptop, leave awe-struck and sign him straight away to put out an LP. During a summer pit stop in Portland, with longtime band mate Randall Crush, the songs receive mixing treatment at The Dandy Warhols' Odditorium.

The 13 track album brims over with lush soundscapes and ambient modulations. Pop melodies and slowcore pacing coalesce seamlessly throughout the record. Lavish and haunting vocals woven with Brian's savvy wordplay complete the sonically induced mind altering experience. After the mixing session, Coates said tenderly, "there's guitar, there's bass, there's drums, there's trombone, there's Leslie speakers, practice amps, Jew's Harps, drum loops, tambourines, ebows, harmonicas and pie tins. There's thought... there's love."

Check it out for yourself.

Download: Chief John

It's Not the Mendoza Line, But It's Close.

Shannon McArdle releases her debut solo album, Summer of the Whore, through Bar-None Records on August 19, 2008. This is the first recording by McArdle since the Mendoza Line disbanded in 2007. Collaborating on arrangements with former Mendoza Line alum Adam D Gold, her album is a sparse, haunted affair that delivers a wide variety of moods and textures.

After four albums with the Mendoza Line and another project with Bracy called Slow Dazzle, Shannon McArdle is heading out on her own with an unflinching report from the frontlines of divorce.

Summer of the Whore is a unique, fearless view of her life from the summer of 2007, finally ready for delivery in the summer of 2008.

Shannon explains, "It's very strange going back and listening to the record. When I wrote and recorded the songs last summer, my emotions were completely exposed. I had no interest in veiling them in any way. Subtlety was not something that appealed to me at the time. I'm glad for that."

Summer of the Whore (as the name might hint) is not the feel-good album of the year, but it is an honest, singular work, rich in melody and the occasional bitter smile. Sometimes a season seems to last a very long time, but soon the air and the trees change and maybe we change as well without effort. Fortunately for her listeners, McArdle captured the Summer of the Whore before it passed her by.

Download: Poison My Cup

I've Become a Mute.

Video time again.

This time I've taken a block of videos from Mute Records for your enjoyment. No MP3's to download, but some really funny, quirky, and cool videos to sit back and watch.

Have fun...

St. Nick (fittingly in a burlesque club)


Goldfrapp


Moby


Forward Russia

Take Off! To The Great White North.

Who knows what they put in the water up in Canada but whatever it is, it has this ability to make frickin' awesome bands. The latest one to come my way is the strangely named Plajia.

Hailing from Montreal, Plajia actually sound like they're from outer space as opposed to the largest French speaking city outside of France.

As for the band their this pretty much sums it up, "From gripping beginning to grandiose end, their voyages through time and space transport us in an impressionist soundscape, where unbridled imagination, open emotion and gleeful sarcasm colour an ethereal and melodious music."

In other words imagine something like the Cocteau Twins meets Spiritualized meets Verve and oh what the heck Radiohead and you kind of have an idea where Plajia are coming from most of the time. They do occasionally get chipper and then put the ethereal stuff on hold and get all jangly in a 60's Beach Boys/indie pop sort of way. Either way, in space or at the beach, the band do a pretty good job of making some pretty decent pop.

They just released their debut album up north and while I'm not sure where you'd find it here in the states, you can visit HERE and buy it without even leaving this page.

In the meantime check out the tracks below, tune in, and drop out.

Download: God's Waiting In Line
Download: Is That The End
Download: Beautiful Explosion

This Week (July 3rd) at POP! at Eclipse

So this week, we've got the first show ever by Kuwait. This is a local superstar sort of band with members of Crash the Satellites and Tracy Shedd in it. I haven't heard them yet, in fact, I guess no one has actually heard them, but with members coming from some of the better bands in town, it should be damn fine rock and roll!

In addition to Kuwait (who will be on early...think 10ish), We'll be giving away copies of the new Sam Sparro album Sam Sparro. It's planetary funk to make you shake your junk. He's gotten all sorts of press and hype from the UK press and his debut album charted in the Top 5, somewhere near the Ting Tings I would imagine. There are CD's and vinyl to be had and all you have to is ask for it.

Anyway, what a better way to celebrate the Fourth with a band named after a foreign country and a British artist who's burning up dancefloors.

The show costs $3 and it all starts at 10pm

Come out and hang out.

Download: Sam Sparro - Black and Gold

Make Up Break Up

The origin of MakeUpBreakUp can be traced back to the winter of 2006 and illicit phone conversations between Alexander Laorenza and Michael Lamantia, Jr. (aka Mikeylams,) both founding members of post-punk-indie-sex-pots A Trillion Barnacle Lapse. These prophetic diatribes took place during Laorenza’s Los Angeles days, where he made cash writing for a hip hop website and played with a myriad of musicians in desperate need of rehab.

Over on the East Coast, fresh out of Brooklyn’s mean streets and a stint with New York based band Rockethouse (Kanine Records), Mikeylams was back in Providence, writing and recording the tracks that would be the foundation of the eclectic electronic sound of MakeUpBreakUp. Laorenza was set to move back within a few months. The two planned a triumphant return, with a band that would honor their past while at the same time achieving the kind of sound they have always strove for.

Short demos recorded by Mikeylams were sent through the wires across the USA; enthusiasm abounded; band names were strewn about in a ludicrous fashion. By late spring of 2007, Laorenza and his Ford Escort made it back to Rhode Island after braving the buffalo depositories and murky cops in off-road vehicles of the Midwest. He and Mikeylams immediately started collaborating on the tracks, and started playing out live. Providence, Brooklyn, and Boston caught a glimpse of MakeUpBreakUp’s live act in the Summer of 2007.

Holed up in a practice space riddled with potential health hazards, the duo wrote and recorded the songs which have now come to be known as their We Prefer Not To... EP. Prelude to a debut full length, We Prefer Not To..., mastered by Jonathan Wyner (David Bowie, Devo, Nirvana), shares equally with the experimental post punk of A Trillion Barnacle Lapse as it does with the surefire electronic sensibilities of Depeche Mode, She Wants Revenge, New Order and Fischerspooner. With a few labels interested in doing a release, MakeUpBreakUp happily signed to S.A.F. Records in the early winter of 2007 which will be release the EP on August 18, 2008, with multiple tours to follow.

Download: Jungle City

I Want My erm MTV

Ok...MTV sucks ass, that much we know. Even MTV2 which used to be frickin' amazing sucks now. How many times do we really need to see the same 3 videos in a day? Unless you live on a few privileged universities that broadcast MTVU, you're pretty much screwed as far as actual TV viewing is concerned. Thank god for You Tube.

Well if you're here downloading stuff, why not have a look at some of these videos that I've posted. There's nothing to download, but hey if you're at work why not hog up some bandwidth and watch the following...

Grizzly Bear


Black Ghosts
(quite possibly on of the coolest videos in a while from one of the best albums of the year)


Quitzow


Fookin' Paul Weller mate


Mystery Jets

Say a Prayer

Daniel Ahearn, of the electro-acoustic folk rock band Ill Lit, released his solo EP, Pray For Me By Name, this week on Riparian Records. Late in 2007, Daniel was robbed. His electronics, his boom box, keyboards, and pedals—all stolen. As are result, all the songs on his new EP, Pray For Me By Name, were written to be songs that Daniel felt like he could play with just an acoustic guitar and his singing.

He's done a good job of it too. There's just something about the song "Down for the Count," that's ridiculously good. It's light and breezy sense of rhythm kind of rides this little wave of pop that makes it click. It's something that you shouldn't think is good because its kind of MOR, but it just hits the right way at the right time.

Pray For Me By Name was recorded between two houses, one in Malibu and one in the Valley. Daniel recorded enough material to also release a full-length album by the end of 2008. These songs are about traffic, drugs, hookers, the gymnastics of relationships and a fascination with the West Coast. Every one of them is a love song.
Check out the video for "Down for the Count,"


Download: Down for the Count

It's A Revolt

Channeling the sounds of Bob Pollard, The Grifters, and Superchunk isn't exactly the easiest thing to do, but for Athens' own Mass Solo Revolt that's exactly what they've done. The results of this supernatural musical intervention can be heard on their album, Easy Mark.

It's pretty good stuff in that classic American indie-rock sort of vein. It's a record that's all about loud guitars, loud vocals, and songs that are catchy despite being able to blow your eardrums out. Or as they say in professional like manner its about bringing rock back to pop.

But their quest to do that might not have ever happened if Ian Mackaye wouldn't have heard heard their song "Hostage Taker" blaring out from the studio. As the story goes, MacKaye couldn't get the song "Hostage Taker" out of his head. He suggested to Silver Sonya Studios owner Chad Clark (member of Beauty Pill who recorded and engineered The Dismemberment Plan's Emergency & I) that Mass Solo Revolt would be an interesting project for him. Chad agreed and invited Martin Brummler up to record. Over the course of a year, the Easy Mark record was made with Martin playing all the instruments save the drums, which were played by Andrew Becker (Medications). The record caught the attention of several labels and created quite a buzz for the select few that heard it. In fact, these sessions went well enough for Clark to invite Brummeler to join as a business partner in Silver Sonya, which he did, holding off on releasing Easy Mark until he was settled and had a band together in D.C. But that partnership dissolved and Brummler moved back to Athens and self release Easy Mark, which he as since done.

Download: The Site
Download: Hoka Blast

Take A Bath

The Boy Bathing is an independent rock band from New York City (yet another one). Their music focuses on prolific lyricism, extravagant arrangements and dramatic live performances. The band is fundamentally comprised of four members who use a variety of sounds to create micro-worlds out of the story or imagery of each song. Their first full-length record, A Fire To Make Preparations, is releasing this Summer!

Judging by the two tracks below it's going to be a fantastic record. It's kind of strummy, twee, ethereal and spacey with just enough of a pop sensibility to allow them to eat your brain away after a couple of listens.

If you ever loved a Matinee or March record you'll love The Boy Bathing. The Summer of Twee continues!

Download: The Beaches Meet The Sea
Download: A Fire