Built on a Weak Spot

Had I known this record was coming out I probably would have been a bit excited for it. Back in 2007 or so the Dunedin, NZ trio Die! Die! Die! released their second record Promises, Promises, that I enjoyed to a pretty high degree. But as with most things in my life, maybe more so with music, things get lost in the shuffle and I kind of lost track as to what these guys were up to (I’m sorry guys, please don’t hold it against me). Apparently they’ve been at work on their third album titled Form, which was just released in their homeland through the amazing Flying Nun. Wasn’t really sure what to expect with Form, as the jump from their self-titled debut to Promises, Promises was a bit of a change of pace even then for the band. Seeing them go from their rougher cut and jab style of post-punk to a bit of a cleaned up approach but keeping the bounce and remaining every bit as challenging. So I had to go into Form thinking that this was in fact a possibility once again.

Pretty much from the opening track “Caseman” I realized that this was indeed going to be another step in the bands continuing evolution, being different already in a lot of ways to their previous material. However, as soon as Form moves into the next couple tracks “Lil Ships” and the fantastically catchy “Howye” it’s even more apparent what Die! Die! Die! are aiming for here and where Form is likely heading. Much of the discordant beginnings and nature of the band are gone on the record in favor of a much more melodically focused sound that often finds it tapping into some shoegazey moments of humming distortion. Combined with their post-punk background, their sound has flourished into something much larger and immediate on Form. It still contains enough bite here and there that it doesn’t feel like the band has turned a new leaf; the record still has a darker underlying vibe to it despite the shift in sound here. It seems almost as if they’ve followed a progression that is similar to that of Love of Diagrams and their record last year, which I absolutely loved. I don’t know if that’s fair or that accurate really, but when I listen to Form and relate it to their previous material…it seems similar in both where the bands began and where they are now musically. No matter though, Form has vaulted itself up there as far as favorite records from this year go. It’s undeniably catchy from start to finish thanks to fantastic writing.

Die! Die! Die! – Howye (stream)

I know this record is rather expensive for those of us in the states to obtain right now…however that will change come late October when it should see a USA release, but if you can’t wait and wish to pick it up on either CD or LP it’s available through Flying Nun. If you’re more so interested in digital files, well they have you covered too for a bit cheaper of a price. In the meantime, enjoy!

Keith Canisius has been a regular favorite on this blog pretty much since its inception back in ’06. Starting with his work in shoegaze/dream-poppers Rumskib and then quickly moving on to his solo work, which to this point has seen the release of two pretty solid albums in Ferris Wheel Makeout and Waves. In keeping with his feverish pace, Canisius has been hard at work on a third album that I believe is still scheduled for a release this year in September through Darla. However, during the process these four songs that make up this recently released EP were created with the full intention of them being a part of said third album. It turned out though that the songs had taken on a bit of a different creative turn and found themselves without a place, and thus Openness is Dreaminess & Everything in Between was created in a roundabout way.

Things like that make EP’s a bit more interesting to me, although I realize that not all bands or artists use the format as such, I do think it’s fairly neat when they use it in a way that displays a side that maybe fans haven’t necessarily seen or heard before. Canisius doesn’t get too wild here on Openness is Dreaminess & Everything in Between, but each song featured here does represent a bit of a different direction than what maybe people have come to expect from him. Opening track “Okay Then Copenhagen” starts off with a familiar sound but then takes a sharp turn and heads for some nostalgia styled psych-pop that wouldn’t bee too dissimilar to something like Black Moth Super Rainbow. The title track is quite possibly my favorite from the release, which may or may not be because it somewhat reminds me of Formula era O.L.D. and its industrialized slicker sound. Kind of interesting, but in the end is very much Keith Canisius doing what he does best in pushing dream-pop forward. The EP closes on an ambient track that serves well as a final track to a variety filled release. This certainly gets me excited for his third album, which will hopefully be out in September according to Darla.

Keith Canisius – Openness is Dreaminess & Everything in Between (stream)

The EP is available for pre-order though Darla, it comes with a digital download for those that are interested. Definitely pick this up if you like what you hear.

I really don’t think I’ve stumbled across as much great, interesting, and quality rock coming out of Australia as I have this year. I’ve had my ears open to what the underground had been producing out of the country, but it really seems like they have a fairly special thing going on particularly right now. I could be wrong, maybe it’s a coincidence…I somehow doubt it however…but if it is it’s a coincidence that I am certainly thankful for. The latest in musical discoveries is coming from the Melbourne area and is a monster of sound called ZOND. The band has just recently issued their self-titled debut through R.I.P. Society and I’d have to say it’s nothing short of spectacular.

It’s actually quite difficult to put this record into words, as it challenges you to try and describe it in a way that doesn’t come off as being as just a blanket of noise. The problem being that it most certainly is, but defies the whole noise label in a manner that bands like My Bloody Valentine, Goslings, and maybe a handful of others have over the years. There is just as much melody and beauty to uncover when all of the feedback collides to form the immense and powerful sound that ZOND creates. I’ve listened to this record a handful of times through now and the amount of different sounds and directions the instruments take on throughout the disc are impossible to count. Vocals are hardly represented here, but rest assured that they are in fact here as faint echoes of voices fade in and out, never quite being able to make out what exactly they are saying. It’s a bit chilling in a way as they sound trapped underneath the overwhelming density of the bands sound, almost on the verge of just giving up hope of being found altogether. And really, I think that’s one of the difference makers in ZOND’s approach. They tread the fine line between triumphant and hopelessness in a way that somehow loses no energy.

ZOND – Stupid Gods [MP3]

Not really sure of where this one is available other than hitting up R.I.P. Society for a copy. Regardless, I definitely recommend it. This album is up there as far this year goes, no doubt.

Edit: The LP is currently in stock at Goner Records for those wishing to pick this up in the US. They should be popping up in other distros as well rather soon. Jump on this or keep your eye out!

This cassette from The Only Ghost in Town was originally something that I decided to throw in on a whim when making a purchase for the Dude Japan Simple Living CD-R that recently came out on Rok Lok. Label owner Mike Andriani wrote a bunch of glowing things about it on the Rok Lok site, which is not surprising since it is his label releasing it and all, but it was certainly passionate enough to get me to throw it in for five bucks. Why not ya know? Anyway, it probably didn’t hurt that Only Ghost in Town main man Dan Saraceni (By Surprise) has a rather high appreciation for early/mid 90’s lo-fi rockers Further…enough that one of the songs on this cassette is in fact a Further cover. A great band to draw influence from and one that is highly recognizable here on The Summer Was Over Before it Began. The entire thing sort of dances back and forth between solidly crafted lo-fi pop to fairly fuzzed out shoegaze, however all keeping a sort of awkward warbling that gives it a bit of a special charm in the end. It’s certainly a nice and welcome sound to these ears for something that was picked up on a flier.

The Only Ghost in Town – Like Candy [MP3]

Anyone interested in picking this up can do so by heading over to Rok Lok. Definitely worth the five dollars PPD, so give it a shot if you enjoy what you hear.

Looking back it’s a bit surprising to see that it’s already been three years since the last full-length release from Ceremony. For whatever reason their previous album Disappear seems much more recent than that. That aside, they’ve just released their newest album Rocket Fire through Killer Pimp and it delivers on a set of ten swift shoegaze influenced pop songs.

The background of the band is largely the reason I was interested in them in first place some odd years ago, with members Paul Baker and John Fedowitz playing in the long since defunct Skywave. It didn’t, and still doesn’t, come as much of a shock that a large part of Skywave’s sound carried over to Ceremony. Where Skywave was notoriously loud and more so focused on the noisier aspects of their sound, Ceremony works in slightly more melodic grounds while still remaining quite abrasive at times via heaps of distortion. By the sound of it, Ceremony have somewhat crawled out from beneath that gloomy black cloud here on Rocket Fire, leaving behind a portion of the darker imagery and sound on Disappear. And while I was I pretty big fan of that album, I believe the upbeat nature of Rocket Fire has really allowed them to open up things a bit and develop a sound that is more pop structured and reminiscent to some of the more amazing noise-pop bands around in the late 80’s/early 90’s. In short, I think there is a nicer variance here. And while many may frown upon the whole shoegaze revival wave of bands out there these days, Ceremony is not one to pass up or simply disregard. Mr. Baker and Mr. Fedowitz have been doing this far longer than any sort of “revivalist” movement may have started and it shines through greatly in Ceremony’s music.

Ceremony – Someday [MP3]

For those looking to pick up Rocket Fire, it is available through Killer Pimp both on CD/LP. In the meantime, enjoy!

Wasting no time after the release and positive response to their demo tape, California’s Whirl have just recently put a seven song EP up for download, of the free variety, called Distressor. To those that have heard the demo, then you probably already know to grab this EP. If not, then definitely do because it’s just some really nicely done shoegaze that completely immerses itself in the sounds of some of the upper echelon of the early 90’s wave of groups. That thankfully means that this EP is absolutely loaded with thick sweeping waves of melody/distortion that the band rides hard from start to finish. Just the type of beautiful sounding noise that got me hooked in the first place. Whirl is worth your attention if you have some time to spare, so please check it out below…

Whirl – Blue [MP3]

If you like that tune, then you can download Distressor in its entirety (in high quality FLAC no less!) for free over at the bands website. Quality stuff. Enjoy!

I can’t for the life of me remember what led me to end up sifting through the Triple Down Records website, home of Me You Us Them. All I can recall is that it most definitely was not because of these guys, but eventually I ended up getting hooked on a couple samples from them. One being “Iron Tongue” from their EP in 08, however I’ve come to realize how inferior that song is when stacked up against practically everything contained on their debut LP Post-Data, which has just recently come out

My initial impression of Me You Us Them was that there were certainly some elements of Polvo like tone mangling here, however upon repeated listens of Post-Data it becomes clearer that the band is more so fixated on the queasy guitar warbling notorious within the shoegaze set. They’ve also intertwined this with a bit of a technology or digital age theme it appears. They further on that idea a bit by packaging the album in a hand silk screened floppy disk (remember those?). And while I didn’t expect something that borrows so heavily from what is often a saturated genre reaching for ideas, Post-Data sounds incredibly fresh with more catchy tones and flourishes than I am able to count. Occasionally it reminds me of what many Japanese bands have been producing and working with in terms of merging the lush guitar tones of shoegaze with electronic “high tech” imagery and sounds. But enough with that, hear it for yourself…

Me You Us Them – Any Time [MP3]

The album is currently available through Triple Down Records both physically and digitally for those concerned about that. I would definitely recommend picking it up if you enjoy what you hear above.

Brooklyn’s The Men were undoubtedly one of the best musical discoveries that I came across last year. Their self-released We are the Men 12” EP put out during that time was four songs of ripping blown out post-punk that ended up being more than enough to help top out my year end list for ’09. They followed that with a cassette split with Nomos that, as you might have guessed, rocked pretty hard as well. Now however, the band has just recently laid upon us their first proper full-length album Immaculada, and it’s quite the curveball…possibly a wicked 12 to 6.

All corny baseball references aside though, Immaculada is a far different listening experience than I had planned for. Had I had the chance to see these guys live a time or two, I might have been a bit more privy to what they had been up to, however living in the Midwest comes with the disadvantage of often not being able to see many acts of interest. But anyway, the album is 8 tracks where practically every one of them has the band exploring a different sound. Really the only thing that they all have in common is that they are drenched in plenty of fuzz. It’s certainly not what I was expecting, but in the end Immaculada is most definitely all the better for it. The Men have opened up a wide range of possibilities here, and whether or not I hear more tracks like the shoegaze inspired “Lazurus” or the stoner riff heavy “Madonna, The Star of the Sea” is ultimately up in the air, however I can feel assured that whatever they end up attempting that it will be top notch as evidenced throughout the handful of tracks here.

The Men – Lazarus [MP3]

It appears Immaculada is still for sale from the band via their website, however there very few copies remaining as of this writing. Good news is that the band will have a second pressing for those that aren’t able to grab a copy now. In the meantime, you can download the whole album from the excellent icoulddietomorrow blog. Be on the lookout for a third LP come this fall as well! In the meantime however, enjoy!

Soundpool is certainly no stranger to these pages, as their first two albums have both popped up here at some point or another in the past. It seems like months ago, maybe because it was, that they were already moving forward with putting out a third album. However it wasn’t until earlier this year that the band put out their first single for it, “But It’s So” through the Killer Pimp label…grabbing my attention once again.

While the band has always incorporated a great deal of dance/electronic elements to their sound it’s clearly much more of fixture here on their new album Mirrors In Your Eyes. While it may or may not be their intention, even the title kind of gives allusion to stepping out on the dance floor and being covered by the reflecting spinning light of your typical club setting. Some may be asking thinking “dance?”, and yeah I would honestly be doing the same if I were reading this, however Soundpool combine this with the ethereal and occasionally space-like sounds of shoegaze to create something that has been fairly interesting and quite enjoyable to listen to over the span of their two previous albums On High and Dichotomies & Dreamland respectively. Their latest album continues this bit of experimentation and has come out with what seems to be the bands most balanced and arguably strongest release. If there was one gripe about their previous material, it was that there was really very little differentiation between the two earlier albums. Mirrors in Your Eyes goes a long way to move forward, by shifting the danceable elements of the bands sound to the forefront and omitting the ambient segues that were found before on earlier material. It works, as it turns out the be a wonderfully executed mixture of pulsing beats and dreamy fuzz.

Soundpool – But It’s So [MP3]

For those interested in picking up Mirrors In Your Eyes, then head over Killer Pimp to grab yourself a copy of the disc. Recommended for sure.

I’ll come right out and say that this may not be for everyone, especially those who frequent the blog in hopes of hearing the more abrasive/ugly side of things. Apologies if that’s the case, but I’ve had the newest album from The Depreciation Guild playing pretty consistently for the past couple weeks and I honestly can’t deny it space on here after enjoying it so much. That just wouldn’t be right. Anyway, before I ended up starting to type all of this I don’t think I’d ever heard anything described as “chiptune”. Apparently that has something to do with incorporating elements of video game styled music into your very own material. Had no idea, and especially didn’t realize that was part of Depreciation Guild’s deal, in which they use an old NES chip to dish out some of the sounds you hear sporadically throughout their new album Spirit Youth. Honestly whenever I was around my brother more often, who is a very diehard videogame player, I would always call the stuff he listened to “video game music”. Never knew there was a nifty little name for it. Now I can feel hip whenever I talk to him again I suppose.

Anyway, I originally stumbled upon these guys when I heard their single for “Dream About Me” on Kanine Records a year ago. At that time my impression was quite positive, with their highly energetic and upbeat brand of dream-pop. I mean this stuff could kill you with its “all smiles and sunshine” vibe and really Spirit Youth just amps that up another notch. The beginning 8-bit sounds of album opener “My Chariot” about had me turning it off from the instant I heard it, but once the chorus kicked in you could practically consider me a goner at that point as it had me completely hooked. Incredibly catchy and when you combine that with the sort of oddness/beauty in the area of some of those late 80’s & early 90’s dream-pop/shoegaze acts, then I’ll bite and probably bite hard. The Depreciation Guild pretty much pull all the punches here with track after track of upbeat sugary pop and it’s really really good. Even the Nintendo retro beat shit is used in a relatively unobtrusive way that, honestly, had I never ran across articles explaining the whole “scene” behind this I wouldn’t have even noticed or known. So I guess that’s a win. Anyway, I suggest checking this out if you’re into dream-pop/shoegaze type material.

The Depreciation Guild – Crucify You [MP3]

Anyone interested in picking this up can do so by heading over to Kanine Records. Definitely recommended if you’re enjoying the tune above, much more where that came from.