video: Big Troubles "Bite Yr Tongue"

Worry


After viewing the (phenomenal) video for Jackie Chain's "Haze," Fader writer SHS wrote, "Imagine the brainstorm session. Was Jackie Chain just like, Okay so this song is about weed, so I was thinking for some of it I could be driving a car and smoking weed, and for other parts I could be smoking in a room with another dude. Then the director decided it worked perfectly, so they filmed it and went home and took a rest so we could all blog about it." That's pretty much exactly how I imagined the treatment for this Spencer Dennis directed Big Troubles video went down. Basically, these dudes love fastfood and are going to gorg themselve until...well...yeah. The environment (classic North Jersey roadside establishments) is appropriate. Sorta like how all the Further videos were filmed on the beach. (Those videos rule.)

Big Chuggles are playing tonight at Glasslands with a whole ton of bands. You probably already know that though.

PS- Props to BT for hitting up the real White Manna.

new: Velvet Davenport "When You Are Out"

Happy Ending

Velvet Davenport's latest offspring is now floating in the ether. Delivered care of Moon Glyph, the Minneapolis label spreading unparalled (and varied) psych from the land of 10K lakes, White Blue finds Parker Sprout once again channeling classic psych-pop and spinning it through a tunnel of bubbling lens filters. The effect is astonishing, especially on vignettes like "Checking Out," the tape's closer, which unravels from the shimmering "When You Are Out" and leaves you dangling, yearning for more White Blue. Luckily, VD's debut LP Warmy Girls isn't too far off in the distance.

Grip the new tape from Moon Glyph, and if your smart you'll snag the Regolith V.1 LP + Velvet Davenport's White Blue for a cool $20. Highest rec'd.

Velvet Davenport- When You Are Out

video: Ducktails on Sunday Brunch

Apple Walk

PT.2

Scorching afternoons spent inside call for Beer and a good soundtrack.

Don't kill the vbe.

Video by Ray Concepcion

video: Alex Bleeker on Sunday Brunch

Landslide Brought It Down

A few weeks back, in the midst of the World Cup, we rangled a few friends over to view the semi-finals while broadcasting Sunday Brunch on Newtown Radio live from Bobka HQ. It was hot. Very hot. Especialy since our Comfort Zone had just perished. It didn't matter much though, as Budweiser's popped and friends played songs while footballers scored 'sick' goals. The word 'sick' was thrown around a lot. It was a grand afternoon, captured by Ray Concepcion. Take a peek at Alex Bleeker's performance, with more to come very soon.

video: Ducktails "Apple Walk"

Parasails


Hot on the release of his new 7-inch on SHDWPLY (and just as a tour with Big Troubles kicks off), comes the new video from Ducktails, who is now showing signs of re-emerging into the public atmosphere after a few months of hibernating in Real Estate. While the new live incarnation of Duckies is basically straight ahead indie rock (think Real Estate w/ Big Troubles muscle), this video finds Mondanile falling back into the beach zone. It's literally an afternoon at the beach, but what else would you expect from Duckies?

D-tails playing live this Friday with Julian Lynch, Campfires and La Big Vic at Glasslands. Grab the new "Mirror Image" b/w "Apple Walk" 7-inch here. Meanwhile, peep this live video from a recent show in Portugal.

mp3: Tjutjuna "Bottle Kids"

Fire Talk
For all the talk of glistening magic, introspection and swirling dreaminess, sometimes you'd forget the dark side of psychedelia. Tjutjuna have not. Their forthcoming 12" on Fire Talk, the label run by Woodsman's Trever Peterson, is an explosive mix of progressive rock, not in a fusion or King Crimson way, but rather progressive in that it is constantly pushing forward, destroying anything in its path. It's the snowball effect, as the synth arpegiation that introduces "Mosquito Hawk" rolls ahead, gaining steam as smoldering drums as steady and resolute as a any Industrial-era machine bolster the fire. Before you know it, you can barely hear the arpegiating synthesizer, as swells of demon-crushing/anxiexty riddled guitars barnstorm the opposition, leaving little to nothing in their wake. It's forthright, and the execution is spot on. Same can be said of "Bottle Kids," which uses effected feedback and Keltner-crushing drums as the template for what is another trip through the dark side of the mind. Highly recommend pre-ordering this psychedelic beast from Fire Talk.

Tjutjuna- Bottle Kids

Tjutjuna- Mosquito Hawk

mp3: Petrifried "Thunderstorms"

"Rooted"

Lost in the foothills of the Appalachain can be taxing on the mind. The piedmont region, known for its rolling lands, is a weary place for the foot traveler, a world with no clear path in plain site. Thus, travelers must seek a different route, both parallel, and often perpendicular, to the road they wish to travel. The dark acid-folk inspired axe workouts from Virginia's Petrifried epitomize the time spent lost in the valley, searching for a path out, all while daydreaming of what Grandfather Rock looks like from the top. Of course, one could take the easy route, or the injured route, and get heli'd out of the region to a place dotted with Tastee Freeze's and Popeyes, but where is the adventure in that? Petrifried seems to understand this, as, according to the artist, these dirgey guitar drones, as heavily influenced by ragas and the occult feeling of the Electric Six Organs work, are nearing adolescene, many of them already in their 10th year of creation. Now seems like a perfect time for them to go off into the wild on their own.

Petrifried- Thunderstorms
Petrifried- Rooted

new: Spermwhales

"Hissssssy Fits"

Originally conceived as a gateway to meditation, the swirling ambiance of Spermwhales doesn't feature any nature recordings, but the natural world is most definitely present. The debut from the Maryland-based ambient artist, available on The Curatorial Club, hints at the tropi-waves ridden by Ducktails and other sea-faring experimentalists, but veers left, trading surf dotted melodies for hyper-dimensional exploration. Recorded earlier this year, The Seven Openings of the Head is I-Dosing for kids who want to seep below the "Gates of Hades" and simply zone out on the visuals in their mind. Order the cassette here.

MP3: Spermwhales- Ears, Door to the Soul

In addition to his debut tape, Spermwhales also got together with videographer Winston Case and recorded a video for "Summer Grooves" in a field of mirrors and new age diaramas.

new: Zonotope™

"Inserting the Galactic Disc"

Peering out into the solar system, one might imagine that everything is symmetical. In a kaleidoscopic spirodoodle world, this is rather easy, and the inhabitants of that realm are making it known by producing wholly subarborescen rhythms native to the parallel universe. Zonotope™ is one such creator and his Cruising Through the Hypersphere of Resonance is a full realization of how one can trap the solar energy and concentrate it in sound. Oddly enough, this 14-minute trip was recorded on Christmas Eve in the year 2012, which makes sense, especaially if you've watched 2012 and 2012: Doomsday within the past 12 hours. Highly recommend DL'ing Cruising Through the Hypersphere of Resonance, which chants in a light that Stag Hare and Sun Araw fans, as well as Joe Meek/Rodd Keith loyalists, will certainly vibe on, as will old Lemon Jelly heads looking for their fix of R. Tucker Abbot's scientific-incantations.

Download Zonotope™ Cruising Through the Hypersphere of Resonance

new: The Sandwitches Duck, Duck, Goose! 12"

Dumbo

Two labels that I've been following for a minute, but for some strange reason haven't gotten around to posting about are the Bay Area's Empty Cellar and Secret Seven Records. Their latest collaboration is a single sided 12" from SF's The Sandwitches, which finds the ladies hibernating in an aquatic cave deep in the heart of an island off the coast of California. The only way to get inside is to dive under the land mass, and squirm your way through a tiny shoot that pops out into what feels like an infinite cave. It's a dark place, dank and cold, and completely void of any light, save that from a head lamp. While the title conjurs memories of days when all one could think about was recess, the songs are far from playful and find Heidi and Grace digging deep into the Bay Area subconscious, covering Tim Cohen's "Rock of Gibralter" and "Baby Mine," from Dumbo, which may be the most devastating piece of music intended to be played for children I've ever heard. The Duck Duck Goose! 12" is currently available for pre-order.

While your at it, be sure to comb through Endless Nest store, as its ripe with gems, including, but not limited to the Joseph Childress / White White Quilt - Split 7", which was recorded live in an abandoned water tower, the Two Sides of Tim Cohen LP, and Michael Yonker's Goodby Sunball.

mp3: La Big Vic "LYNY"

Nuclear Bomb

Ever since we bombed the moon last year I've been wondering what lay below the frozen southern pole of the Moon. We know ice is prevelent, which would lead one to believe that something, of some sort, is gaining nourishment from the lunar ice. When scientists dug deeper into the surface, they noticed micro-miniature orbs mulling about the swiss cheese core. These orbs were observed producing bleeps so alien cosmonauts could only hear them when they held standard issue plungers to their ears, from whence an undulating pitter patter of sound would stir, causing molecules from the Milky Way to dance a discordinately choreographed dance around the sun. This is what comes to mind in La Big Vic's "LYNY," a track seemingly birthed in a land void of past and present, and solely focused on the future, where sound is the #1 technology used to pioneer the last great frontier.

La Big Vic- LYNY

video: Lil B "We Are The World"

"Love Means Life"


A hook like “live positive, turn that frown upside down” could sound like an insincere marketing tool to show listeners a rapper has a heart. In the case of Lil B, it only highlights his radiant honesty and ultra-violet, stream of (un)conscious word play, the likes of which sound like no one from this galaxy.

A freakishly active Internet user, Lil B is constantly uploading new material to his YouTube account. (Dig in.) One of the latest videos, "We Are The World," is a positive nod to the Farm Aid classic in name only, as in this version there is no Aqua Net over indulgence or liberal guilt involved. No clichés. No irony. Just a real dude who wants to "tell you how nice you are.”

tape: Arches C20

Unsure of what lay before them, a few young men searching for reassurance headed into a church to explore the negative space floating above. What came out of the sessions is a C20 reimagining summer as a self-reflective purgatorial state, where everything slowed to a near-pause before life once again took over. Arches have been mining this lucid reflective state for a minute, examining the ins-and-outs of everyday life like molecular biologists searching for fractal bacteria under a microscope. What emerges is a sound that feels like opening a yearbook a year after you got it, and wondering what happened to all the faces you used to see wandering the halls daily. Some are forgotten, others etched into nooks of the mind.

Arches are currently streaming the new cassette, which features 3 new songs, as well as "Comin' Back Again, on their Bandcamp. Pre-order the cassette here.

mp3: Airbird "Part of the Game"

Benny & The Jetz

Vamping chords on a piano instantly brings Elton John's smash finger jubilee to mind, however, in the case of Airbird's "Part of the Game," while the powerful, yet minimal piano riff pushes the track along, its the lean'd on vox that truly sets the tone. Syrup and slo-fu(c)(n)k are behind the wheel, swerving along by-ways parallel to Games, which makes sense considering Airbird is Joel Ford (1/2 of Games). The difference isn't necessarily the lack of Lopatin (pretty sure you can hear his Roland sparkling in the back), rather the deeper craters of sultry pop that Ford fuses together, sprinkling diamond dust on stoccato guitar lines so low in the mix they almost aren't audible, until the 3-minute mark when plink-plunk riffs kick in and orgasm-on-ecstasy vox help you "synthesize yourself into a new American alien."

Airbird- Part of the Game

video: Nothing Yet trailer (aka Frat Dad:The Movie?)

"Brosef"

Jesse Jarnow once wrote that "every generation needs its tripped out over-ambitious rock movie that doesn't make sense." Well, kids of 2k9/10/11, here's yours. (Maybe.) Directed by James Benson (Frat Dad) and Bernardo Britto, Nothing Yet follows the story of a young punk rock band from New Jersey who happens to play Frat Dad songs, however, the band IS NOT Frat Dad. Rather, dopplegangers. Fluffy Lumbers (and Frat Dad member) Sam Franklin stars in the film, alongside Frat Dad brother James Benson and Luka Usmiani, who never (to my knowledge) played in Frat Dad, though plays/has played in nearly every other conceivable 4th wave band from Bergen County. (Correction: Luka played in Frat Dad....once.) Nothing Yet, aka not Frat Dad: The Movie, features music from a host of Rock Ridge bands, including Liam the Younger, Julian Lynch and Real Estate. Look for the full-length comedic feature soon.

mp3: Pigeons "en rêve"

"Life's A Gas"


TCC006 - Pigeons C28

On the trail of their Lunettes 7-inch on Soft Abuse and barely preceeding the release of Si Faustine on OESB, this collection of songs finds Pigeons exploring their inner realm. Originally intended to be a live release, TCC006 grew to include new songs (the intoxicating allure of "en rêve" and the luminous "Masks"), as well as homages to some of their favorite songs (Mark Bolan's "Life's A Gas", Dwight Twilley's "Looking for the Magic" and Jimmy Page and Del Shannon's "In My Time of Sorrow.") The B-side is filled with a live set recorded in the dead of winter on the Lower East Side and showcases songs from the forthcoming Si Faustine. Order here.

Pigeons- en rêve

mp3: Speculator "Century Select pt.1"

Boyz II Men
Dark nights spent swilling Mtn. Dew and eating stuffed crust pizza while stuck in 16-bit coma of Sonic 3 have metamorphosized into music on the new Speculator cassette Century Select. The tape kicks off with "Century Select pt. 1," a spiraling death bomb that conjures images of Sonic the Hedgehog barrel rolling down Space Mountain before blowing up and soaking onlookers in a chemical fire.

Century Select finds Speculator roaming through various hues and fx, producing pixilated print-out like collage-pop, making good on some of his main influences: ctrl+c & ctrl+v. It's so engulfing that when a screwed (and pitched-to-the-heavens) version of Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" sails in, four guys from Philly in matching khaki's and cardigans is the furthest thing from your mind.

Speculator- Century Select Pt. 1

new: White Rainbow

Flanger Pedal

White Rainbow has been uploading new, rare and unreleased tracks to his Bandcamp site over the past couple months. First was Boring Guitar Music, which was recorded live in one afternoon under the pretenese that WR wanted to abandon synth & beat oriented tunes and simply make, you guessed it, "boring guitar music." Fans of Frippertronics and Emerald's (and surely Mark McGuire's solo work) will get down on the digital new age soundscapes Forkner crafted for this release, whose cover was designed by Megazord.

The latest addition to the White Rainbow Bandcamp is a digital version of a cassette release on Gnar tapes, as well as "Skys Position (for Tom Blood)" and "Gnar", two tracks that would've been the 3LP on New Clouds. So, I guess you can consider Sea Thru the lost surprise ending of New Clouds now available on the director's cut "name your own price (or free") digital download. Who said the new age wasn't any good?!

PS- While your at it, check out the redonk Mexi-cumbia-house-%^$? mixes he just posted on his tumblr.

mp3: Sultan

"Summer Sigh"

Light pollution is a major problem in New York City, especially for alley dwellers. Much like vampires, alley dwellers fear exposure to the sun, not because they will perish. Alley dwellers reside in the shadows to protect unknowing citizens from the evils of repitilian beasts, the sort of leeches who prey on society, causing a rupture in the pipeline of humanity. The music of Sultan is inline with the mission of the alley dwellers, to preserve and enlighten humanity, while diminishing evil. Of course, in order to accomplish this, one must live in the darkness. In this shady realm, Sultan's guitar acts more like a lightsaber and less like an axe. It cuts through hellish spirits, helping to resurrect the underworld and free unsuspecting beings from the trappings of an alien world they most likely do not know exists.

Sultan has released a couple (I think) self-released tapes, and also has a new collection, Summer Sigh (highly recommended), on her bandcamp, which you can download here. Check out the slumber filled "There Goes My Girl," featured on Blackburn Recordings Various Deficiencies Vol.1 comp below. Expect a 7-inch sometime in the future on Blackburn.

Sultan- There Goes My Girl

video: Sore Eros "Shake The Walls"

"Sweet & Milky"


Panoptic subliminal messages and disintegrated memories (seemingly spliced with an old video deck editing system) combine to form the video for the opening track off Sore Eros new LP Know Touching, due on SHDWPLY sometime this summer. A kaliedoscopic vision from Robbie Robinson, if "Shake the Walls" is any indicator, Know Touching may be a further exploration of the psychedelic sounds Sore Eros have been harvesting in Connecticut for a few years, and surely a welcome follow up to the phenomenal Second Chants. Looking forward to investing some serious mental energy into Know Touching.

mix: Spend the Night With...Games

"Squeeze Me Tight"

Every summer has its banging mix of sensual classics and 2k10's (aka SUMMRUHLUV) is brought to you by Games. Childhood homeys Dan Lopatin and Joel Ford sit back and ride a .wav of sensual soul and slo-funk, screwing everything from Enya to Mobb Deep, leaving all the shawty's in short shorts wet in the wings. Spend the Night With...is a long drawn out affair that forgoes the trappings of hi-fi blends, cross-fades and mash-ups in favor of key, beat and vibe oriented transistions, a throw back to an era where adjusting the tempo and matching the beat weren't as easy as setting a loop in Ableton. Of course, that doesn't mean that Games don't go wild on it, as evidenced by their re-edit of Cool Notes "Spend the Night", which gets minced & baked, like some dancefloor garlic bread shit (huh?). Hot shit for a hawt wknd Amerika. A full color, double C60 tape edition is available for pre-gripping right now at The Curatorial Club. Epic cover at by Megazord.

Listen to the whole 2 hr mix below.

SPEND THE NIGHT WITH GAMES - Side A by Games

SPEND THE NIGHT WITH GAMES - SIDE B by Games

SPEND THE NIGHT WITH GAMES - Side C by Games

SPEND THE NIGHT WITH GAMES - Side D by Games