Posted by Erik Barns

Stream: Unknown Mortal Orchestra- II

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On February 5th, Unknown Mortal Orchestra will be releasing their sophomore record II. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is a three piece American/New Zealand indie rock band formed by Ruban Nielson in 2010.  With the release of their first track “Ffunny Ffriends” they created mass amounts of buzz throughout the indie scene, everyone wanted to know who was behind this lo-fi/psychedelic single.  II is a wonderfully breezy, psychedelic record. It’s full of poppy guitar riffs that blend well with the soft and mysterious falsetto vocals. Tracks like “The Opposite Afternoon” and “From the Sun” are some of my favorites and relate to some of R. Stevie  Moore’s work, but with a more well rounded sound. The record flows very nicely and is full of tracks that don’t disappoint.

Their new record II, is available for streaming exclusively through NPR and can be preordered from their website. They begin touring February 2nd, all of their February dates are available below, the dates to the rest of their tour are also available on their website.

Tour Dates:
Feb  02 – Zepp Divercity (Tokyo, Japan)

Feb 06 – Trix Club (Antwerp, Belgium)

Feb 07 – Paradiso (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Feb 08 – Prince Charles (Berlin, Germany)

Feb 13 – Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA)

Feb 14 – Constellation Room (Santa Ana, CA)

Feb 15 – Echoplex (Los Angeles, CA)

Feb 16 – Beauty Bar (Las Vegas, NV)

Feb 18 – Lowbrow Palace (El Paso, TX)

Feb 19 – The Korova (San Antonio, TX)

Feb 20 – The Mohawk (Austin, TX)

Feb 21 – Fitzgerald’s (Houston, TX)

Feb 22 – One Eyed Jacks (New Orleans, LA)

Feb 23 – 529 (Atlanta, GA)

Feb 27 – Rock & Roll Hotel (Washington, DC)

Feb 28 – Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY)

Mar 01 – First Unitarian Church (Phildelphia, PA)

 

 

Listen: Pill Friends – “Forgetting You”

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Next week Pill Friends will release their EP Murder Me For My Sins. Pill Friends is a three piece lo-fi band out of Philadelphia, incorporating cello, drums and guitar. While their number of releases are limited, their style varies greatly from song to song. They recently released Forgetting You, one of the featured tracks on the new EP. The track has a very ambient feel to it, which is a completely different direction compared to songs like Bummertime and Pillspillspills. Despite lack of a completeness factor to each release, Pill Friends are admirably something different to add to your music library. The punk/lo-fi feeling is energizing and catchy. Stream or download Forgetting You below and be sure to check out the full EP sometime next week and download their previous EP for free on their Bandcamp.

Review: Beach Fossils – Clash The Truth

 Beach Fossils – Clash The Truth

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Released: February 19, 2013
Label: Captured Tracks

 

Beach Fossils sophomore record Clash The Truth is set to be released on February 19, 2013. Following their self titled release in 2010, Beach Fossils became well known for their catchy Jingle Jangle styled guitar riffs in songs like “Sometimes” as well as their electrifying stage presence. After several members moved on to side projects, Dustin Payseur began writing Clash The Truth  “determined to capture the urgency, human flow and spontaneity of the live performance.” This goal for the record  has shown to be a trouble for many bedroom recording styled bands. Many lo-fi bands have spectacular albums, but the dreamy and somber melodies don’t  always translate to a live show.  Yet with this presence of urgency, Clash The Truth doesn’t lack in energy throughout every track.  The excitement in the tracks give off a punk rock experience with a shoe-gaze styling.

The progression of Beach Fossils sound in Clash The Truth is near perfect, they translated the lo-fi bedroom recording style to a well tuned studio project. I initially had some fear that their highly praised vibes would lose their originality, yet the album beautifully captures Dustin’s vision. Clash The Truth is much more instrumentally complex than the records before; with each track standing out more individually, yet still creating one complete record. This is most prevalent in songs like “Sleep Apnea” that bring in a more acoustic presence whereas “Caustic Cross” has  more energy and power in the guitar. Another great addition to the album is the development of the drums. The drums are much more established in the album, “the drums were recorded live in a room with Dustin on bass to give the album a driving and energetic force.” In previous records the drums have a presence but appeared to be very simple,  I never found myself mesmerized by the beat.

While this album is one of my favorites, and well deserving of a listen, there are some weaker points to the album. Oddly enough, I felt the title track along with the previously released track “Shallow” didn’t live up to the rest of the album. When Shallow was first released a year ago, it wasn’t as enchanting as songs like “What A Pleasure”. It generated no anticipation or excitement for the rest of the album. The title track is a nice melody that eases into the rapid pace of the album, yet I felt a lack of connection with the song. It has a catchy aspect to it, yet that wasn’t a highlight for me.

Following the release of Clash The Truth, Beach Fossils will begin touring through the US and Canada. All of the tour dates can be found on their Facebook Page. The song “Careless” is available for free Stream or Download below.

8.0

Standout Tracks: “Sleep Apnea”, “Crashed Out”, “Generational Synthetic”

Tracklisting:
1. Clash the Truth
2. Generational Synthetic
3. Sleep Apnea
4. Careless
5. Modern Holiday
6. Taking Off
7. Shallow
8. Burn You Down
9. Birthday
10. In Vertigo [ft. Kazu Makino]
11. Brighter
12. Caustic Cross
13. Ascension
14. Crashed Out

Listen: Lord Huron – “Ends Of The Earth”

Lord Huron is a folk/rock band from Michigan. Their songs are filled with smooth dreamy vocals and sweet acoustic melodies. While their albums are full of emotionally deep and soothing tunes, these guys can get incredibly loud and intense live. When I saw them at Lollapalooza in 2011, I stood front row and watched their nice folk sound transform into a rock concert with such natural flow. The music is crafted beautifully with such attention to various kinds of instruments.

On October 9th, Lord Huron released their first LP, Lonesome Dreams. The first two tracks to their new release can be streamed below. Also, check out their Fall U.S tour dates.

Lonesome Dreams

  1. Ends of the Earth
  2. Time to Run
  3. Lonesome Dreams
  4. The Ghost on the Shore
  5. She Lit a Fire
  6. I Will Be Back One Day
  7. The Man Who Lives Forever
  8. Lullaby
  9. Brother (Last Ride)
  10. In the Wind

Fall U.S Tour
10/08 Philadelphia, PA @ KungFu Necktie
10/09 New York, NY @Mercury Lounge
10/11 Allston, MA @ Great Scott
10/12 Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands Gallery
10/13 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
10/15 Chicago, IL @ Schubas
10/16 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
10/18 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
10/19 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/20 Boise, ID @ Neurolux
10/21 Seattle, WA @ Barboza
10/22 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
10/24 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
11/01 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
11/02 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo

Watch: Kent State – “Behind Closed Doors”

Psychedelic-pop band Kent State recently released their latest EP Behind Closed Doors through Rok Lok Records, which is currently available for free on their Bandcamp page. I interviewed Nicholas Vance of Kent State earlier in the year which can be found here.

Behind Closed Doors creates a great medium between lo-fi and punk. It has the real “head-nod” quality of punk with a great range in the guitar but the catchy vocals that are softly drowning in reverb. The EP sounds a lot cleaner and tightened up.

On Oct. 10 they released the official video for their EP’s title track. Kent State paired up with some of their friends at Pumpkin Morgue Paranormal Investigators to make the video. All of the side clips in the music video are from Pumpkin Morgue Paranormals ghost hunting mockumentary tv show. Check out the video below.