2013 – Page 3 – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Artist of the Week – Los Angeles Songwriter, Producer, Vocalist and Multi-Instrumentalist Taiwo Heard

Posted on 07/17/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Dabbling with elements of 70’s R&B soul, grunge, electropop, and rock since high school in his home town of Washington, D.C., relocated Los Angeles songwriter and musician Taiwo Heard knew since he was a young teen that making music was going to be his future. One of the most important milestones in pursuit of that dream happened last February when Heard released his debut solo record, Frontier To Eternity. The EP is a five-song celebration of indie rock and electro-pop, featuring infusions of new wave and dance beats, as songs like “Eternal Night” and “Front Page” demonstrate. Heard weaves together experimental and traditional compositions that draw from a remarkably diverse repertoire of his musical heroes like David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Muse, Bjork and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The xx, among others.

After graduating from the respected Berklee College of Music in 2005, Heard immediately moved to LA to pursue his musical ambitions. Right away he reconnected with long-time friend and collaborator Eddie Robinson to form the electro pop band, Swivel. In addition to performing and laying down the vocals, Heard wrote and produced the band’s first album, Landing. The reception by the music press, fans and bloggers was immediate, which led to numerous domestic and international festival tour dates and a nationally televised music video. However, for a variety of reasons, Swivel disbanded two years later, but not without first providing Heard with the all important credibility and contacts in the upper tiers of the fiercely competitive, nearly impregnable L.A. music business.

Less than a year after Swivel’s break up, Heard joined forces with Los Angeles rock band Surface To Air as lead vocalist and guitarist. Not long after that, the trio were performing regular gigs at some of L.A.’s most famed Sunset Strip music venues, like the Viper Room, The Rainbow Room, and the legendary House of Blues.

Heard’s latest EP, Frontier To Eternity, is available as a free download via Noisetrade; however, tips via Noisetrade are encouraged for such a talented artist.

“Eternal Night” – Taiwo Heard from Frontier To Eternity

“Front Page” – Taiwo Heard from Frontier To Eternity

Taiwo Heard on Facebook

“Indie Rock is any guitar based music that doesn’t strive to become part of the mainstream sound. It is the sonic representation of free thought and free will.” – Taiwo Heard

Recent Releases We Almost Missed, Vol. XXII – Smith Westerns, Bass Drum of Death, Rose Windows, Palms, Light Heat, Escort

Posted on 07/15/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

There’s never been an edition of the Recent Releases We Almost Missed that covered one specific week of releases; at least not until today. Due to many things happening all at once, we did not previously have enough time (it takes many hours of work to review and put together a week’s worth of new releases) to properly review the Best New Music Releases for the week of June 25th. So, it’s time to play catch up.

The week of June 25th offered many standout LP and EP releases, including Smith Westerns‘ third album, Soft Will, highlighted by the bliss-tinged single, “Varsity.” If you’re a fan of previous Smith Westerns’ releases, you’re probably going to love Soft Will – it’s a good album for kicking back on a late summer afternoon and chilling, reading or browsing the web.

Next, the morbidly-named band Bass Drum of Death officially released their self-titled sophomore LP this week as the follow-up to their 2011 debut album, GB City, which put BDOD on the indie rock radar. The new single, “Shattered Me,” is a fast-moving surf-rock/psych-pop thriller embellished with hardy beats, distorted guitars, hip-shaking rhythms, robust, melodic keys and reverb-heavy vocals. Bass Drum of Death is the creation of Oxford, Mississippi musician John Barrett, who pretty much does it all – composes, plays all of the instruments, records, mixes and produces. “Shattered Me” is a perfect track to follow the more tame, but equally infectious, single from Smith Westerns, “Varsity.”

The new-to-us Seattle band, Rose Windows, sound like Jane’s Addiction playing psychedelic rock on the single, “Native Dreams,” from Rose Windows’ debut album, The Sun Dogs. The album was initially self-released earlier this year, but it drew such a big following, Sub Pop signed the band to re-release it. A band to watch in 2013, The Orwells, from the UK, are a young and gritty indie rock band that dropped their debut EP, Other Voices, in the last week of June. Also, check out the lead single from musician Jay Arner‘s self-titled debut.

“Varsity” – Smith Westerns from Soft Will via Mom+Pop Records

“Shattered Me” – Bass Drum of Death from Bass Drum of Death on Innovative Leisure

“Native Dreams” – Rose Windows from The Sun Dogs on Sub Pop

“Other Voices” – The Orwells from Other Voices EP on Canvasback

“Don’t Remind Me” – Jay Arner from Jay Arner on Mint Records

“Sirens” – The-Drum from Contact on Audraglint

“Universe Is Blessed” – Wise Blood from id on Dovecote Records

The Story of Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

The trailer above is from the film Nothing Can Hurt Me, the story of Big Star, a 70’s glam-rock band that had a huge and lasting impact on pop music, but have only been truly credited for their contributions and influence during the past two decades. Today, Big Star’s identity is that of one of the most over-looked bands of the 70’s, even though their debut album reached No. 1 in the U.S. and around the world. We can’t wait to see this film because the story of Big Star is truly an amazing American story about the highs and lows of rock and roll stardom.

“Thirteen” – Big Star from #1 Record & Radio City (two albums in one – remastered)

Noteworthy Singles from Statistics, Transplants, David Yow & Booker T.*

In addition to our top recommendations for the Week of June 25th, the following are singles from new-to-us artists and bands that we think are noteworthy enough to throw into the mix for consideration based on the single from the artists’ new albums. We have not listened to the albums, just the singles, from Statistics, Transplants and David Yow‘s (Jesus Lizard), who just released a new solo album. Plus, check out the jazzy funk jam-o-rillo by Booker T. without The MG’s (i.e. “Green Onion”); the instrumental legend from the 60’s is still kicking it!

“Nineteen Ninety Nine” – Statistics from Peninsula on Afternoon Records

“Fun” – Booker T. from Sound The Alarm on Stax Records/Concord Music Group

“Come Around” – Transplants from In a Warzone on Epitaph Records

“Thee Itch” – David Yow from Tonight You Look Like a Spider on Joyful Noise Recordings

Album Review: Robert Pollard’s ‘Honey Locust Honky Tonk’

Posted on 07/13/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

by Devin William Daniels

Robert Pollard is a busy man. Two solo albums a year from 2006 to 2012. Three post-reunion Guided by Voices‘ albums in 2012. A fourth, possibly the band’s last, earlier this year. And now another solo record, Honey Locust Honky Tonk. I’m not sure anyone holds a candle to Pollard in terms of sheer productivity. Regardless of what you think of his music, you have the respect the fact that he is not resting on his laurels. It helps that the music is good and at times fantastic, though.

Honey Locust Honky Tonk gets off to a bit of a slow start, though the opener, “He Requested Things,” is a pretty good song. It is slightly more indulgent than we’ve come to expect from Pollard, and is one of the longer tracks on the album at 2:38, but that length helps to establish the mood before we’re thrown into the chaotic tiltawhirl of bite-sized pop perfection that is a Pollard-penned record. The production of “He Requested Things” is of a higher fidelity than the classic Guided By Voices’ albums, but in terms of songwriting, we’re dealing with essentially the same approach: songs that are capsules – not fully developed, but full of potential. Ideally, the songs are buried deep in the listener’s brain where they slowly grow, while still remaining provocative and elusive because that which is suggested is never realized in the physical world.

“Circus Green Machine,” includes lines of acoustic guitar that emerge from nowhere in the midst of a fuzzy rock song, reminiscent of the techniques you’ll hear on Bee Thousand. Pollard understands that the acoustic guitar (or any other instrument) can pop in and out of a song at will, a concept lost on a lot of rock records (especially those being produced within the band concept) that operate under the logic that the second guitar has to have something to do the whole time. It doesn’t. Pollard might be making simple, short indie rock pieces, but he does it on a craft level. He’s less a songwriter, to me, and more a composer.

“Circus Green Machine” – Robert Pollard from Honey Locust Honky Tonk

Thus, he employs precisely varied instrumentation, with an incredible care over the tones of each instrument (including his voice, which is processed differently throughout the album). He has a great ear for tone and, while he rarely engages in lush arrangements (choosing instead to imply), his arrangements are deceptively complex due to the exactness of each part and how it is played and sounds. “Strange and Pretty Day” is a very simple song, but the distinct keyboard sound Pollard has chosen to pair with his voice shows his extreme attention to how these songs are constructed. A “fast and easy” musician would have just played the song on whatever guitar was lying around, but while Pollard is fast, he’s not easy. He clearly searches for specific timbres for each song that realizes the sounds in his head. It’s a reminder that music can be meticulously constructed without being ostentatious and stripped-down without being lazy.

Of course, with 17 songs (some as short as 43 seconds) there’s some forgettable material. I’m not sure if the album really gets going until eight tracks in. It seems absurd to call a good album’s first seven tracks a slow start, but this is Robert Pollard we’re talking about, so that’s really only 13 minutes. And while the album meanders a bit during those 13 minutes, there’s plenty of good material and nothing I’d call bad. A song like “Who Buries the Undertaker” is very listenable but a little stale, which is how I feel about several of the songs in this first section of the album. A certain sameness in feel is forgivable for such an established figure, but sometimes it’s simply that the melodies aren’t that good. Pollard can clearly churn out an insane amount of songs per year, but should he? Perhaps less than two-plus releases per year would be okay if he condensed the best songs onto one release.

However, almost everything from “She Hides in Black” to the end of the record is very good. “Her Eyes Play Tricks on the Camera” is one of the most developed songs on the album, and possibly its best. It doesn’t feel overwrought at all, in spite of going beyond Pollard’s normal structure, even including an awesome and intense organ intro. “Real Fun Is No One’s Monopoly” sounds downright epic, which seems weird to say about a two and a half minute number. The riff and hook are anthemic, the arrangement is chaotic, and with Pollard’s disinterest in turning his ideas into six-minute packages, there’s never a disappointing breakdown or verse – the build just keeps going until it stops. We’re left wanting more.

In spite of a somewhat weak start, this superior middle and end remind us that part of the enjoyment and the shtick of Pollard/GBV records is the almost hilarious amount of songs, the absurdity that a single mind could be pumping out this many tracks, all of which are listenable at worst and brilliant at best. Whereas the fourth track, the 50-second “Suit Minus the Middle” doesn’t really capture the wonder and allure of other supershort Pollard songs (“Pimple Zoo” was always my personal favorite), the 43-second “I Have to Drink” is a pretty great blast of rock music, which is ultimately what makes this album (and Pollard in general) a great listen. It’s an unrelenting rush of ideas. There’s no dwelling or brooding. It’s hit after hit, and even if one of the punches is weak you don’t have much time to think about it before four-more have clocked you – and Robert Pollard very rarely goes that long without nailing you right between the eyes.

Good stuff.

Score: 9.0/10

Devin William Daniels is a writer and musician from Allentown, Pennsylvania. He lives and teaches in Seoul, South Korea. See his other work via his Negative Sound Tumblr blog.

Best New Music Releases, Week of July 2nd – A Grave With No Name, The Fall, Zomby, The Garifuna Collective, TRAAMS

Posted on 07/08/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

We’re back from the Fourth of July holiday and there is much to catch up on. Firstly, last week’s collection of new album releases – the first set of new releases for the second half of 2013. (We’ll be posting this week’s new indie releases in the next few days). Historically, record labels hold back many releases during a week that has a major holiday, especially one as busy as The Fourth of July. Because it is also the height of the summer season, many people, even the most ardent music enthusiasts among us, are naturally extra busy with the Fourth of July holiday and other summertime activities like outdoor recreation, vacations, and most importantly last week, celebrating American independence with red, white and blue fireworks, parties, concerts, barbecues, and parades.

That said, there are still releases from last week that you should know about and that run the gamut from must-have releases to new-to-us artists that are just beginning to get the recognition they deserve. Some of you may be aware that we usually do not bother including releases that we don’t recommend. Why waste precious time reviewing something we don’t enjoy when there is already so much amazing music to post? The love of music is a never-ending tale of new discoveries, especially with the musical universe ever-expanding.

The lead for the week in review goes to the new album, Whirlpool, from U.K. shoegaze band A Grave With No Name and the tantalizing single, “Aurora.” The single is comprised of a driving beat, rumbling bass, sharp but infrequent guitar riffs, grinding synths and hushed vocals. It’s this signature sound that has feed the band’s popularity since their 2010 debut, Mountain Debris, and which has resulted in a dedicated network of fans in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe. In fact, A Grave With No Name are regularly cited when music geeks are referring to the shoegaze, or ‘nu-gaze’, revival of recent years. Other bands that fit the bill include The xx, Banjo or Freakout, Atlas Sound and The Big Pink, to name just a few of the more popular artists of the genre.

Drawing from influences such as The Microphones, My Bloody Valentine and Guided By Voices, AGWNN’s sophomore album has been warmly welcomed by fans, bloggers and critics. Founder of AGWNN, Alexander Shields, wrote on the band’s official Facebook page that AGWNN “mine their own distinctive vein of haunted, freaked art rock, tracing delicate fissures in the emotional radiography of loss and longing to spellbinding effect.” It’s hard to disagree with that after listening to Whirlpool, and the band’s previous releases, all of which are available to stream via A Grave With No Name’s Spotify profile.

“Aurora” – A Grave With No Name from Whirlpool on Lefse Records

England’s Legendary Post-Punk Band The Fall Celebrate A Remarkable Milestone

The album release that stands out the most aside from AGWNN is the latest LP release from The Fall – the legendary post-punk rockers’ 30th album release – Re-Mit. It’s a solid return to form considering the band’s 29th release, 2011’s Ersatz GB, was not as highly regarded, which even the band ‘s frontman, Mark Smith, acknowledged was “not very good.” Re-Mit‘s lead single is the mini rock drama track, “Hittite Man.” The perfect follow-up to The Fall is a new gritty R&B single, “Dirt In The Ground,” from Portland indie rock band, The Builders and The Butchers (“one day soon/you’ll be the dirt in the ground”), a band that IRC originally tagged as a ‘band to watch’ back in 2010.

Singer/songwriter and musician Grant Olney‘s new album, Hypnosis for Happiness, features the mellow acoustic single, “Not From Body,” that, like so many songs in all forms of music, is ultimately about love. With this release, Olney has established himself as a songwriter worthy of the praise he has been receiving recently. Changing things up quite a bit is the next single, “Around The Block,” from Pretty Lights‘ self-released album, A Color Map of the Sun, is a compelling track that has a strong foundation of R&B mixed with funk and then infused with elements of hip-hop and injections of rock, not the least with predictably accomplished guest vocals by Talib Kweli. There are so many moving parts and styles wrapped up in this one song that it’s almost impossible to categorize it. That said, Pretty Lights, have built their following on never falling prey to mediocrity.

“Hittite Man” – The Fall from Re-Mit on Cherry Red

“Dirt in the Ground” – The Builders and the Butchers from Western Medicine on Badman Records

“Not From Body” – Grant Olney from Hypnosis for Happiness (self-released)

“Around The Block” – Pretty Lights with Talib Kweli from A Color Map of the Sun (self-released)

Beginning Of A New Era: The Garifuna Collective from Belize

Danny Michael fills the gap left by the late Andy Palacio on the latest album from the Belize-based institution, The Garifuna Collective. Instrumentally, the band continues to explore and expand, combining African-influenced beats, hypnotic chants and much more, via the Soundcloud album samples in the stream from Blackbirds Are Dancing Over Me – one of two new works released by the band this week. The second is the new release, Ayo, featuring the worldly single, “Ubou,” aka, “the world.” Fans of The Garifuna Collective should be encouraged that the remaining band members have not forgot Palacio’s contribution, but they are also moving forward to continue the work that they say Palacio would have wanted them to.

“Blackbirds Are Dancing Over Me” – Danny Michel with The Garifuna Collective from Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me on Stonetree / Cumbancha

“Ubóu (The World)” – The Garifuna Collective from Ayó on Stonetree / Cumbancha

New Works from Brit Artists Zomby and TRAAMS

Other albums of interest from last week’s batch of new releases include the third album from British producer Zomby whose new LP, With Love, is trodden in dark, textured soundscapes driven by heavy beats, ominous synths, and a blend of genres that include hip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass, dubstep and rock. Following right behind are fellow Brits known as TRAAMS‘ and their newest album that includes the terrific single, “Low.” The single represents the Chichester trio’s ability to break out of the box and create melodic hooks where guitars fall silent and drums prevail and interweaving peaks and valleys of volume and distortion controls to give the track a unique garage rock sound that sets them a bit apart from their peers.

“With Love” – Zomby from With Love on 4AD

“Low” – TRAAMS from Ladders EP on FatCat Records

Fresh Releases from The Toxic Avengers and Shortcircles

To close out our review of last week’s releases are the lead singles from new albums by The Toxic Avengers and Shortcircles. The former artist’s single is available only as a .WAV file, and will still play in any supported browser. These tracks placement at the end of this review is in no way reflective of their individual achievements; in fact, the quick listens we’ve had to other songs on both artists’ albums indicate that there could be a number of tracks that were released as singles, which is almost always a sign that the albums are worth further listening. Who needs television when there is so much great music to listen to.

“Romance & Cigarettes” – The Toxic Avenger from Romance & Cigarettes EP on Roy Music

“All I Can Be For You” – Shortcircles from Between Waves on Plug Research Music

5 DIY Bands to Watch, Vol. VI – Jim Platt’s Rhythm Innovation, Controller, The Gallery, Daybreak Gentlemen, False Pterodactyl

Posted on 07/03/201301/09/2020 by Max Hammer

The 5 DIY Bands to Watch series has had a pretty solid response from readers and listeners, so we’re going to keep rolling them out. These are bands that we have picked up on somewhere or another (usually from music submissions), and that we’ve been listening to more than a couple of times, and each time we do, the more convinced we have become that they should be included in this DIY Bands to Watch series.

In fact, almost all of the bands in the 5 DIY Bands to Watch series are otherwise pretty much unknown (even to indie music enthusiasts), ‘under the radar,’ and most have never been featured on a major indie rock blog or website, which makes them all that more appealing to us as well as many of our regular readers who return to IRC again and again – some since we started in 2008 – exactly for that reason: to hear great songs from artists and bands that they’ve never heard of before and will unlikely hear of anywhere else.

Jim Platt’s Rhythm Innovation – Greensburg, Pennsylvania

It’s almost hard to believe that a band with such a well-honed, mature sound as that of Greensburg, Pennsylvania DIY band Jim Platt’s Rhythm Innovation only officially formed last year. Last summer, singer/songwriter Jim Platt‘s collaborator and guitarist Scott Ruffner brought in a studio drummer and bass player to help them record a batch of songs Platt had been working on for months. They quickly decided on a band name, and immediately began bringing Platt’s songs to live for the debut EP, Moving Through The Ages, officially released last November. Ever since we started listening to the EP in early May, we knew they were going to be one of our DIY Bands to Watch in 2013.

Platt’s keen pop sensibilities in his songwriting style and the quirky nature of his lyrics and themes are brought to life wonderfully thanks to his impressive made-to-sing vocals and the professional interpretations of his band mates, who master their instruments in one song after another. In fact, we like every track on Platt’s EP, and posthumously, Moving Through The Ages is one of our favorite DIY EP’s of 2012.

From the sense of isolation and irony of “All Alone in My Dreams,” to the radio-ready 70s pop zeal of “Cherry Blossom Girl,” to the off-colored silliness of “Drama Queen,” Jim Platt and the Rhythm Innovation show great promise for fans of finely structured music that mixes elements of pop, rock and folk with a range of themes that give the music a light-hearted quality about it. Platt named The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, The Who, and Oasis as major musical influences, which is completely apparent in his songs.

In reference to the genre of indie rock, which allows artists to explore so many types of sounds and styles in their own unique way, Platt said that indie rock is “music that is better then the mainstream music of now – [it has] more feeling, more heart, more soul; something current music lacks.” It’s amazing how many definitions of indie rock are appropriate, which is what allows it to be the genre of just about anything that is not on the Billboard Top 10 or MTV.

“All Alone In My Dreams” – Jim Platt’s Rhythm Innovation from Moving Through The Ages

“Cherry Blossom Girl” – Jim Platt’s Rhythm Innovation from Moving Through The Ages

“Drama Queen” – Jim Platt’s Rhythm Innovation from Moving Through The Ages

Jim Platt’s Rhythm Innovation official website

Controller – Brooklyn, New York

Controller is a new four piece band from Brooklyn that delivers propulsive pop rock songs with new wave tendencies via densely layered guitars, impassioned post-punk rhythms and catchy melodic hooks, generating a sound designed for maximum impact on stage and on record. Vocalist Jonathan Bellinger, guitarist Josh Shabtai, bassist Brian Dell and drummer Keith Gordon have each spent years separately writing and performing in different bands that spanned the spectrum of genres from punk, country, pop, metal, and rock.

In 2012, these four musician friends decided to meld their disparate influences to counter what they perceive to be a “lack of real feeling and passion” in mainstream pop music and the NYC indie rock scene (one exception being a recent IRC Artist of the Week from NYC, The Rotaries). From their earliest rehearsals in a storage space in Queens, Controller honed a massive sound, focused around anthemic, surging songs designed to be played for live audiences. Their live shows are sweaty, ferocious affairs, where the band plays with fearless conviction and total commitment.

Earlier this year, the band took to the studio to capture the frenzied energy of their live shows on a three-song, self-titled debut EP. The band has previously opened for No TV Tonight and Nude Beach, among others, and their top musical influences are Wire, Buzzcocks, Nirvana, Katy Perry, Scott Walker, David Bowie, and Louder Than War.

“Kicking and Screaming” – Controller from Controller EP – Feb. 2nd

“Make it Up” – Controller from Controller EP

Check out Controller’s Facebook page

“Indie rock isn’t just a style of music or production or band or business. Every band has, at some point, been an indie band. Bands that stay indie bands are the ones that focus on their relationships with their audiences above all other parties (e.g., labels, lawyers, brands, etc.)” – Jonathan Bellinger, Controller

The Gallery – Los Angeles, California

Originally formed in 2008, The Gallery is an up-and-coming unsigned band based in Los Angeles whose music can be described as a modern take on classic rock with Top 40 hooks and melodies. In fact, the band, originally from Massachusetts (a continent away from California) was selected in 2012 as contestants for a high visibility contest, ‘Do You Wanna Be A Rock N Roll Star?’, by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine. The special edition’s goal was to pick a promising, unsigned band to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. While they did not win the contest, just having been considered by the editors of America’s premiere rock magazine is a huge compliment for any band or artist, let alone an unsigned band that most people have never heard of.

The band features Brendan Cooney (vocals/guitar), Ben Lozano (guitar), Dave Mozdzanowski (bass, vocals), and Ryan Cooney (drums). The band released their new album, Restless, in February. The album was recorded with producer Warren Huart (Augustana, The Fray, Aerosmith), who also produced the band’s 2011 EP, Come Alive. That’s a damn big score for the band to work with a producer of that caliber, not once, but twice! The Gallery has toured throughout the U.S., performing in more than 30 states.

“Restless Soul” – The Gallery from Restless – Feb. 26th

“Catalyst” – The Gallery from Restless

The Gallery have opened for artists such as Minus The Bear, Rooney and Sam Roberts, to name a few, and consider among their top musical influences Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Oasis, and Coldplay. Get more info at The Gallery’s official website.

Daybreak Gentlemen – Toronto, Canada

After two years of highs and lows since forming in 2011, Toronto unsigned indie rock band Daybreak Gentlemen have established themselves in the city’s music scene and are now poised to go nationwide. The band’s new release, The Beachwood Demos, dropped back in February, and the band’s energetic live shows, have helped fuel the band’s popularity, lead by the lively, Strokes-sounding single, “Dead Teenagers,” complete with catchy guitar hooks and great vocals. Local radio station 102.1 FM, nicked-named, “The Edge Toronto,” tagged the band as “one of the top indie bands to watch” following the release of Daybreak Gentlemen’s 2012 self-titled debut EP.

The band is made up of brothers Josh Niven and Zack Niven, Ryan Fyfe, Ryan Salvatore, and “the enigmatic” Bingo Pyjama. The Niven brothers’ vocals split between Josh’s cool and collective style, and Zack’s more brash and chaotic delivery. The band has played all over Toronto during the past 18 months, and also performed buzz-worthy sets at the NXNE and KOI music festivals last summer.

Now that their most recent tour has ended, Zack and Bingo are writing new material and vetting it with the other band members. They plan to start recording a new master tape this fall. Josh said that the band will evolve their sound, and are currently writing songs using primarily synthesizers as an attempt to move away from their mostly guitar-driven songs. We’d recommend, based on songs like “Dead Teenagers” and “Belles,” that they don’t give up too much on their guitar sound. The band elaborates by describing their music this way: “Indie dance rock to the U.K. romantic era with infectious melodies, heavily layered guitar riffs, and fun ‘dancey synth’ elements tightly intertwined. Our ‘mid-fi’ approach, allows for a professional sound with the tie loosened.”

Daybreak Gentlemen has opened for bands like July Talk, Beliefs, Decades, Secret Broadcast, and The Danger Bees, and their major music influences include The Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Foals, and MGMT.

“Dead Teenagers” – Daybreak Gentlemen from The Beechwood Demos – Feb. 12th

“Belles” – Daybreak Gentlemen from The Beechwood Demos

The Daybreak Gentlemen Official website

“Indie rock to us, is simply music without limitation. It it the freedom and ability to create music that is not polished, or set to fit a specific model. It is music that plays off raw emotion and real feelings, it fosters artistic honesty, love, and creativeness.” – Josh Niven, guitarist

False Pterodactyl – Morgantown, West Virginia

False Pterodactyl was incarnated in 2012 following a jam session in Flatwoods, West Virginia among friends and musicians John Jacob and Josh Ratliff. Soon after, Jacob moved to Ratliff’s homebase of Morgantown, WV last summer, and the newly-formed duo began working tirelessly on songs for their debut EP, Shanghaied, released on January 20th.

Jacob is the duo’s multi-instrumentalist, playing baritone, acoustic and electric guitar, harmonica, drums and vocals, with Ratliff on drums and guitar. According to Jacob the duo write “lean songs with a focus on rhythm, groove, and melody.” We were immediately won-over after listening to the blistering rocker, “Heavy Bop,” and the more chill “Hi-Top Fade” a few times back-to-back, making False Pterodactyl not only a band that rocks, but also a duo to watch in 2013 and beyond. Their musical influences include the Pixies, Nirvana, Flat Duo Jets, Drive By Truckers, The Stooges, and Nicki Minaj.

“Heavy Bop” – False Pterodactyl from Shanghaied EP – Jan. 20th

“Hi-Top Fade” – False Pterodactyl from Shanghaied EP

Artist of the Week – Chicago’s Sonia Khaleel Mixes It Up on Her Debut Album, ‘SHARK’

Posted on 07/01/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Chicago pop/rock artist Sonia Khaleel mixes 50’s doo-wop, 80’s rock and early 90’s ska with pop and indie elements to create a unique pop sound. In May, she dropped her debut album, SHARK, featuring 14 terrific songs that demonstrate not only her appreciation of various musical styles, but also her solid songwriting skills that are apparent in her lyrics. Plus, her sultry voice coos, jabs and soars across the tracks on Shark, proving to the world that she can write terrific compositions and lyrics, as well as perform and sing impressively.

Originally a native of Detroit, Khaleel has been involved with music since she was 8 years old performing in orchestras, jazz choirs, bell choirs and theatre troupes. As a young girl, Khaleel had a penchant for performance, singing into microphones and recording, playing the tapes over again and again until she felt the takes were spot on. As she matured, Khaleel spent more and more of her time studying classical, opera and jazz music – all of which are evident on SHARK. Her love for jazz music was enhanced greatly after she spent time in New Orleans volunteering after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The resulting floods from the storm destroyed the homes, as well as the instruments and equipment, of many of the city’s musicians.

“Wick” – Sonia Khaleel from SHARK

Khaleel’s education in music was further enhanced by her travels around the world. As a teenager, she travelled to Spain, Italy, Switzerland and France, singing in church choirs. As an adult, Khaleel travelled to Ghana and fell in love with Ghanian highlife and hiplife music – another musical education that helped inform the songs she wrote for Shark, a fantastic album that intelligently and entertainingly depicts her broad musical background and the diversity of influences, cultures and time periods in history.

“Come Over” – Sonia Khaleel from SHARK

Khaleel also traveled to India to study Carnatic music in her mother’s hometown of Chennai. While there, Khaleel also wrote for a music magazine in her father’s hometown of Bangalore. Upon her return, she moved to Chicago to perform as the lead singer for the R&B/soul band, Pasquale; her work is featured on the band’s 2010 EP, Cardiology.

“Spring” – Sonia Khaleel from SHARK

Khaleel first began writing songs for her debut solo album in 2010. Khaleel is also an avid painter and created all of the album art for SHARK. Veteran sound engineer David Elliot Johnson of Tricycle Sound Recording Studio produced the album. Khaleel said that she is working on four new music videos of her songs; at this time, her YouTube page includes a number of covers.

Visit Khaleel’s website; ‘Like’ her on Facebook; and get a copy of her amazing debut album.

7 Overseas Artists You’ve Gotta Hear, Vol. V – Metaform, Matt Churchill, James Kerr, Flat Ed, Reebosound, Heifervescent, Lillian Todd-Jones

Posted on 06/27/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Today’s post containing selected artist and their music is the first edition of the ‘7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear‘ series that features overseas artists. This post begins with an incredibly diverse and talented artist, Justice Aaron, better known as Metaform. Other artists featured below include James Kerr of London; Matt Churchill of London; Heifervescent of Lancashire, England; Flat Ed of Carcassonne, France; Lillian Todd-Jones of Oxford, England; and Reebosound of Hannover, Germany.

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Metaform – Tokyo, Japan

Metaform is the DIY music project, launched in 2005, of Tokyo-via-Los Angeles music producer and songwriter Justice Aaron. Metaform’s music has been compared to artists like Massive Attack and Tears for Fears, even though to his earlier fans he is considered to be a hip-hop artist. Aaron’s musical influences include Neil Young, Deftones and DJ Shadow. He’s also been featured in Remix and DJ magazines, among others. In 2008, he released his debut album, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, constructed entirely from dusted off vinyl samples. The album spent an entire month on the College Music Journal’s Top 20 and Alternative Press Magazine listed it as one of the Top 10 records of 2008, calling it “one of the best instrumental hip-hop records in years.”

Two years later, Metaform released the highly controversial album, The Electric Mist, which isolated a big portion of the fans he made from his debut because the newer album was largely synth-based. While he isolated many of his early fans with the release of The Electric Mist, he also picked up a whole new group of fans who praised the album’s dark and sexy electro-pop sound. Interestingly, the album was one of the most popular music torrents on the site Demonoid, where it remained in the Top 10 music torrents list for two years with a total of more than 300,000 downloads. Earlier this month, Metaform released Act 1 of his sci-fi opera trilogy, The Midnight Machine, that had been in the works since 2009.

“Winter City” – Metaform from The Midnight Machine – June 4th

Metaform’s Official Website

Matt Churchill – London, England

Originally from Watford, Matt Churchill is a singer/songwriter based in London and a former member of the band Cedar. On May 6th, Churchill released his first EP, Cause/Affect. The EP contains three songs, two of them included below, which demonstrate Churchill’s accomplishments as an acoustic folk musician and a songwriter. He shared two of the songs with us, the EP’s title track and “Of My Time.” The EP is also available in a limited edition cut cover package, available via his website. Produced, mixed and mastered by Hyperlion from Pariis Opera House, the three tracks are layered with dreamy vocals and intricate counter melodies. His musical influences include Nick Drake, Buffalo Springfield, Elbow, Neil Young, and Beth Orton.

“Cause/Affect” – Matt Churchill from Cause/Affect EP

“Of My Time” – Matt Churchill from Cause/Affect EP

James Kerr – London, England

London singer/songwriter James Kerr (not the Jim Kerr of 80’s super band Simple Minds) played in various bands over the years and opened for artists like The Bluetones, The Feeling, The Paddingtons, Wendy James (Transvision Camp), and Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols). But a couple of years ago, Kerr decided to strike out on this own, stating: “I’ve decided to go it alone and do everything myself, thus, removing the need to argue or get annoyed with anyone other than myself. I can cope much better this way.”

Last spring, Kerr released his debut album, from which we have two impressive singles, including the touching, rhythmic song of longing, “When We Were Young,” complete with hand-claps, a thumping bass, and a catchy, sing-a-long chorus. The second single, “The Ship,” has a dreamy, peaceful quality to it, and is more stripped down than the first single, consisting only of Kerr’s agreeable vocals and an acoustic guitar, with a brief infusion of an electric guitar solo and sparsely planted xylophone keys. His musical influences range from Bach to The Beatles and Jefferson Airplane to Jeff Buckley. We can only hope that more people will see the talent and potential that we do in Kerr’s solo project. We’re keeping our ears open for the next release from Kerr.

“When We Were Young” – James Kerr from James Kerr

“The Ship” – James Kerr from James Kerr

Heifervescent – Lancashire, England

Heifervescent is the Lancashire, England musical project of artist Andy Doran, who wrote, performed and produced each track from the May release of the album, Sheepyhead. Heifervescent’s songs are highly-charged pop rock tracks that overflow with electronic-influenced melodies and bright guitar hooks with moments of ambient string arrangements – all accompanying Doran’s fine vocal work. Long before he set out on his own to create Heifervescent, Doran was a singer/songwriter with Monkeyland, a fairly popular four- piece indie guitar band. In fact, Monkeyland, during the 1990’s BritPop craze, played alongside UK bands like Shed Seven, The House of Love, Power of Dreams and The Railway Children. However, when the decade came to an end, Monkeyland disbanded. Doran lists his major musical influences to be the Eels, Elbow, Doves, The Pale Saints, Susanne Sündfor and The Beatles.

In response to our question, ‘what is indie?,’ Doran wrote: “Music that retains all the original sentiments of the artist, in the recording, the mix and the presentation, with nothing taken out or added by corporate bystanders. Music that hasn’t perverted the course of justice.”

“Liberty Girl” – Heifervescent from Wake Up Sheepyhead – May 1st

“Try Again” – Heifervescent from Wake Up Sheepyhead

Heifervescent’s Official Website

Flat Ed – Carcassonne, France

Flat Ed is the one man band project of musician Stephane Iserable from Carcassonne, France. On June 21st, Flat Ed released his DIY debut album, Clapped Out, even though he began recording in 1995, releasing his first solo cassette that year. In addition to creating experimental and interesting pop, electro, folk and rock-inspired songs, Iserable has recorded and performed with various artists, and undertaken engineering, production and mixing for a variety of artists and bands for more than a decade. Clapped Out was recorded in France, England and Wales during an eight-year period that stretched from 2005 to 2013. With a couple of minor exceptions, Flat Ed played all of the instruments and did all of the vocals. “There’s a lot of care put into the words as well as trying to always get a unique and different sound for each track. I try to never repeat myself, if I do, I don’t release those tracks.”

“Late Autumn Walk” – Flat Ed from Clapped Out

“24 Hours” Flat Ed from Clapped Out

Check out Flat Ed’s website and Bandcamp page

Lillian Todd-Jones – Oxford, England

Lillian Todd-Jones is an unsigned indie solo artist from Oxford, England who made a little splash on some indie blogs recently with her single, “Butter Soul,” that highlights her haunting vocals and demonstrates her skills as a talented songwriter. She has also been working closely during the past year with producer Gordon Mills Jr. (Ed Sheerhan, Newton Faulkner) since launching her music career late in 2011. Of this partnership, she commented: “It has been an amazing experience working with Gordon. When working together in his studio, the world seems to disappear, when it returns… there’s a new song.” The video for “Butter Soul” was shot by director Garry Wood in a dilapidated mansion and sees Lillian in various montages, mostly bedraggled in her own nightmare.

“Butter Soul” – Lillian Todd Jones

Lillian Todd Jones Official Website

Reebosound – Hannover, Germany

John Reebo, a musician from Hannover, Germany, who has recorded under the moniker, Reebosound, for the past seven years, dropped his third album, Juicy Black, back in October, which also features a few of Reebo’s favorite guest musicians. Here are two tracks from the album that we think more people will want to hear. Reebo listed his biggest musical influences as the Eels, The Melvins, The Flaming Lips, David Bowie and Tribe of Noise.

“Lick My Blood” – Reebosound from Juicy Black

“The Ocean” – Reebosound from Juicy Black

Band Watch: Leeds, England Indie Rock Quartet China Rats

Posted on 06/24/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

China Rats are a four-piece indie rock band from Leeds, England, that the U.K. press has been hailing as the next Arctic Monkeys, even though they haven’t released a debut album yet. What they have released is a three-song EP and a single; what little they have released is creating quite a buzz in the U.K. The young, edgy lads of China Rats know how to write, create and record good music that gets people’s attention. The band members are inspired by a mutual love for songs that use elements of punk, rock, 50’s pop and British Invasion classic rock of the 60’s. Their sound feels like a wedding of The Kinks‘ early day panache with a Ramones-era anarchy, topped off by a good dose of Cheap Trick‘s legendary sassiness. China Rats’ sound has also been compared to bands ranging from The Beatles to the Buzzcocks to Oasis and the most recent wave of garage rock-influenced bands.

The band’s fast and furious pace is tied together by jangly guitar hooks and bombastic drumming. The band only formed two years ago, but got a good deal of positive press last summer when they filled in for Bat For Lashes when Natasha Khan and company were unable to make it to a U.K. music festival. The members of China Rats are Graeme Thompson (lead vocals/guitar), Luke Smith (lead guitar/vocals), Jedidiah Allcock (bass/vocals) and George Riley (drums). The following track, “She Never,” is one of the band’s few released tracks; it’s a hook-heavy, melodic rocker with a catchy riff, swaying rhythm and rambunctious vocals.

“She Never” – China Rats from To Be Like I EP

A newer single, “Nip It in the Bud,” is an energetic, fast rocker with crunchy guitar riffs. “We wanted it to sound like The Sonics or something, rough around the edges,” vocalist Thompson said. “It’s got a bit of a groove to it – I’d like to think people could jive to it in a club or before they go out.” The band’s latest single from the Leeds UK band, was produced with help from Hugh Worskett (Boxer Rebellion, Crystal Fighters) and mixing by Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, the Pixies).

“To Be Like I” – China Rats from To Be Like I EP

“Take No Prisoners” – China Rats from To Be Like I EP

Best New Music Releases, Week of June 18th – Sigur Ros, Austra, Beach Day, Mark Mulcahy, Primal Scream, EOTS, Said The Whale

Posted on 06/23/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

The long-awaited new album, Kveikur, from Sigur Ros dropped this week to wide praise and excitement from fans and critics alike. Spin magazine said the following of Kveikur, “It’s initially unnerving to witness indie’s most celebrated airy faeries butch it up, but the result ultimately satisfies their what-the-the-hell-do-we-do-next dilemma better than any record single Agaetis Byrjun.” Amen.

Sigur Ros fans have largely embraced the band’s maturation in recent years, as was evident with last year’s album, Valtari, which turned out to be a calmer and more placid play on the band’s unique ambient post-rock sound. This time around, however, the band leans more on the rock and less on the ambience, demonstrating once again that no matter what stylistic change-ups they ultimately produce, they can still create the dreamy sonic landscapes of yesteryear while forging ahead to express more aggressive tendencies with a rock swagger in a way that only Sigur Ros can do, blending, as Don Yates of KEXP, said: “an ominous blend of rumbling electric guitars, atmospheric synths, mournful strings, fuzzy bass and clattering drums accompanying Jonsi’s ethereal vocals.”

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“Brennisteinn” – Sigur Rós from Kveikur on XL Recordings

Austra’s New New Wave and Beach Day Summery Sounds

Austra get the blood flowing on their single, “Painful Lake,” from the album Olympia. The track has a definite influence of 80’s new wave mixed with techno and house dance beats, frigid synth notes and the Bjork-like vocals of Katie Stelmanis. The band Beach Day echo the sounds of fuzzy guitars and sunny rhythms of Phil Spector-like 60’s surf pop/garage rock in the song, “Stay.”

“Painful Like” – Austra from Olympia on Domino Record Co.

“Stay” – Beach Day from Trip Trap Attack on Kanine Records

Mark Mulcahy Strikes Again; Empire of the Sun is ‘Alive’ and Kicking

The bluesy, folk rock track, “Let The Fireflies Fly Away,” by Mark Mulcahy reminded us a lot of Rodriguez, the long forgotten, but then rediscovered, singer/songwriter and guitarist from Detroit who was the focus of the 2012 Oscar winning documentary, Searching For Sugarman (a great documentary if you haven’t seen it). But Mulcahy definitely has a stye all of his own. As the former frontman for the group Miracle Legion in the 1990’s, Mulcahy has been praised by artists like Michael Stipe, Dinosaur Jr., Thom Yorke, The National and others. Empire of the Sun new album, Ice On The Dune, includes the hypnotic single, “Alive.”

“Let the Fireflies Fly Away” – Mark Mulcahy from Dear Mark J Mulcahy, I Love You on Mezzotint

“Alive” – Empire Of The Sun from Ice On The Dune on Astralwerks

Primal Scream Drops No. 10; Said The Whale’s Self-Release

Long-time hard rockers out of Scotland, Primal Scream, return with their 10th album full of politically dense songs that blend dance-pop, psych-rock, dub, jazz, and blues. Said The Whale dropped a new EP this week, simply titled, I Love You. he band self-released the EP and offered up the title track as the EP’s single. The song is not a dreamy, mushy ballad as the title might suggest, but instead a fast, upbeat, incredibly catchy pop-rock track filled with melodic guitar hooks, 80’s like new wave keyboard riffs, and double-dipped vocals. It’s difficult to miss, however, the similarities of “I Love You” with The Knack‘s hit song, “My Sharona,” that was one of the biggest radio songs of 1979 (and of all time), not just in the U.S. where it was a #1 gold record, but around the world. Despite the obvious influence of The Knack, Said the Whale managed to make “I Love You” a great song largely on its own merit.

“Invisible City” – Primal Scream from More Light on First International

“I Love You” – Said The Whale from I Love You EP (self-released)

Rising Artist Natasha Kmeto and the Brillance of Lemuria

With a wall of guitars, upbeat rhythm, melodic change-ups, choruses dripping with harmonies, and the lovely voice of Natasha Kmeto on her new single, “Idiot Proof,” it’s not a stretch to say that Kmeto is one of the newer indie female vocalists that is catching the attention of music lovers everywhere.
At about the 1:20 mark on “Idiot Proof” the sound changes up to more of a techno dance track, but Kmeto’s vocals dominate through each new transition; there really is a lot of music experimentation, beats, samples, effects, synths, dubs, double-tracking, hi-fi reverb and theatrics packed into the four minutes and five seconds of “Idiot Proof.” Kmeto’s new album, Crisis, is available now via Dropping Gems Records. Following Kmeto is the blissful indie pop/rock song, “Brilliant Dancer” from the band Lemuria, from the album, The Distance Is So Big via Bridge Nine Records.

“Idiot Proof” – Natasha Kmeto from Crisis on Dropping Gems

“Brilliant Dancer” – Lemuria from The Distance Is So Big on Bridge Nine

The Mantles Folk Garage Pop and Tunng’s Genre Blending

San Francisco Bay Area band The Mantles have been blazing an interesting path through the Bay Area’s storied indie pop circles – indirectly aligning with artists like Ty Segall, Mikel Cronin and White Fence – since their humble beginning five years ago. The band’s folk pop tendencies are found through their new album, Long Enough to Leave, and evident in lo-fi garage pop tracks like “Hello,” with it’s unabashed quirky, yet charming, presence. By foregoing the theater of retro psychedelia, The Mantles end up innovating in an area of guitar music where many bands get lost fawning over fashions, styles and trends. Tunng offers an understated upbeat single, “The Village,” that sounds like a mash of 60’s-tinged pop with elements of dance and psych; the lead single from their new album, Turbines, released via Full Time Hobby Records.

“Hello” – The Mantles from Long Enough to Leave on Slumberland Records – upload song to BNMR-June2013

“The Village” – Tunng from Turbines on Full Time Hobby

The Spectrals ‘Sob Story,’ Slaid Cleaves’ ‘Still Fighting The War’

The Spectrals dive into the slow-poke country rock spectral with the twangy, melancholic single “Sob Story,” from the album of the same name. The song is one that you’d expect to hear playing over the loud speakers of an interstate truck stop in Texas country. But in the reality is that nowadays you could also hear it playing in a bar in New York City. It’s unmistakeable how popular country music has become in the past 30 years. Austin artist Slaid Cleaves turns in another solid performance of heart-felt, finely crafted art folk-rock on the new album, Still Fighting The War, with the title track as the LP’s lead single. We thought of Gin Blossoms with more of a country twang when listening to the single.

The Purrs jump in the mix with their latest indie rock single, “Rotting on the Vine” from the uniquely storied title of The Boy With Astronaut Eyes. Los Angeles rock band Crash Kings scored a spot on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in November of 2009 after sending out the single to radio stations across the U.S. thanks to the release of the single, “Mountain Man,” from their self-titled debut album released earlier that spring. The band is known for using analog keyboards such as the Clavinet with distortion effects and a whammy bar in place of a typical lead guitar.

“Sob Story” – Spectrals from Sob Story on Slumberland Records

“Still Fighting the War” – Slaid Cleaves from Still Fighting the War on Music Road

“Rotting on the Vine” – The Purrs from The Boy With Astronaut Eyes on Fin Records

Crash Kings “Hot Fire”

Los Angeles rock band Crash Kings scored a spot on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in November of 2009 after sending out the single to radio stations across the U.S. thanks to the release of the single, “Mountain Man,” from their self-titled debut album released earlier that spring. The band is known for using analog keyboards such as the Clavinet with distortion effects and a whammy bar in place of a typical lead guitar. Crash Kings new single is “Hot Fire.”

“Hot Fire” – Crash Kings from Dark of the Daylight

Album Review: Heliotropes’ Debut LP, ‘A Constant Sea’

Posted on 06/21/201307/22/2021 by Max Hammer

by Aaron Rajala

Edgy might be a word that some people equate with aging hipsters on the fringe of becoming old enough to be considered cool. However, it also happens to be the most appropriate way to describe the all-girl Brooklyn-based fuzz rock quartet Heliotropes. In a modern indie format largely dominated by harmonies and excessive electronic effects, Heliotropes is a throwback to 1990’s sludge/psychadelia that manages to express a unique style and refuses to stagnate.

On Tuesday, the band dropped the debut LP, A Constant Sea, an album that is anything but constant. Throughout the 16-track presentation is a varied collection of heavily distorted, bluesy rock instrumentals backed by a raw, teeth-gnashing vocal styling. Reminiscent of female-dominated psych-rockers Dum Dum Girls, and indie rocker legends, Sleater-Kinney, Heliotropes provides a generous mix of droning, crooning, fuzz, power chord progression, and visceral lyrical content throughout the album.

Opening with an assault of distorted vamping guitar, the tracks “Early in the Morning” and “Psalms” is just a taste of the variety and range of A Constant Sea. A testament to its ability to beckon emotions of all types, the following track titled Everyone Else is an honest, heartfelt reprieve from the indie/blues bombardment. Middle tracks such as “Good and Evil” and “Ribbons and The Dove” provide the meat of the heavy blues presence in A Constant Sea. Fluctuating from a groove to a wail and back again, the progression of the album is one that builds mood and leads listeners into the darkness and back into the light.

“Psalms” – Heliotropes from A Constant Sea

In appropriate fashion, the latter tracks of the album are pure serenity. Beautiful chord progressions and airy vocals provide a peaceful send off, and are essential in creating the balance that makes A Constant Sea such a well-rounded release. All three tracks that bring the album to a close (“Unadorned,” “Awake,” and “Christine”) have their own style of beauty and rhetoric that drive at separate areas of pain and triumph.

“Early In The Morning” – Heliotropes from A Constant Sea

Although it’s a psychedelic blues album at heart, A Constant Sea provides enough musical divergence to encompass a variety of genres. The album stands out as a collection of tracks, both ugly and pretty, in perfect cohesion. You’ve heard bands like Heliotropes, but in no way is their style copied, contrived, or antiquated. A Constant Sea is the essential album for any listener that longs for the heavy distortion and bittersweet joy found in of indie rock of yesteryear.

Rating: 8

Aaron Rajala is a full-time indie music blogger from Portland. His blog is IndieWireTap.com

Artist of the Week – Fiction 20 Down

Posted on 06/20/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Baltimore band Fiction 20 Down is not any ordinary indie band. Rather they push the envelope, and do so successfully, by blending various genres like rock, pop, hip-hop and reggae, and together with their energetic live performances, the band has built a growing fan base from the northeast to the southern tip of Florida, and increasingly, across the United States.

With the recent completion of the “ideal band line-up,” and the success of their debut album, Where’s The Levity, dropped on April 30th, the stage has been set for F20D’s 15-city tour that kicks off at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey today, June 20th. The five-week tour will take the band as far south as Florida for a series of shows through the end of July. If you happen to be in Vero Beach for the Fourth of July, don’t miss the band’s electrifying performance at Filthy McNasty’s.

Following a string of shows throughout south Florida, from June 28th to July 9th, and a show on July 10th at Bourbon Street in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the band will take a week off before setting out to perform another series of shows in the mid-Atlantic states of Maryland and Virginia starting on July 17th. F20D will wrap up their five-week tour on July 26th with an appearance at Bill Bateman’s in Perry Hall, Maryland.

The band’s sound has been compared to popular 90’s groups like Sublime and 311, but Fiction 20 Down, are unlike any band you’ve ever heard. They take their art form a step further with a more pronounced infusion of genre-mixing, compelling songwriting, clever instrumentations, and enticing vocalizations, creating an overall original sound that is unmistakably all their own.

Front man and singer/songwriter, Jordan Lally, says that F20D aims to be more artistic, fresh and original than “just another indie band.” This sentiment is evident on Where’s The Levity. The album’s lead single, “Down Like Hip Hop,” is a perfect example of the band’s experimentation with incorporating hip-hop and other genres together not as a gimmick, but as an exploration of a new musical style. The song, which is a favorite amongst Fiction 20 Down’s growing fan base, and a crowd pleaser at live shows, was a Song of the Day last month via our Twitter feed.

“Down Like Hip-Hop” – Fiction 20 Down from Where’s The Levity – April 30th

Lally said that Where’s The Levity is the first time he has incorporated “sampled drum loops, aka, hip hop beats,” as part of the songwriting process, and infused them into songs such as “Down Like Hip-Hop,” “Money Come, Money Go,” and “Lead On Me.” Lally said that the band plans to expand even more on infusing hip-hop into their live shows.

“For the shows on the upcoming tour,” Lally said, “we plan to use a backing drum track from some of those songs and allow Dre (drummer Andre “Dre” Toney) to come out from behind the drum kit to show off his MC skills displayed on the new LP and bring a fresh and interesting edge to the live show.”

Lally’s own vocal transitions, which range from pop-influenced crooning to rhythmic emcee-style singing, are complimented by Dre’s soulful harmonies and deep vocals to create a perfect balance in the band’s overall sound that comes across nicely on their recordings and in their live performances. With the added skills of Wes Anderson‘s brilliant guitar riffs and the groove-rich bass playing of D.J. Frtizges, F20D have emerged as a band to watch in 2013.

“The band members get along great,” Lally said. “We have the same priorities, objectives, lack of ego and work ethic. We don’t have the problems that plague some other bands as far as egos, fights, drinking and drugs.”

Lally brings a unique perspective to music as a former professional producer and engineer. When he opened his own studio some years ago to work with independent bands, he had a nagging desire.

“The more I produced and engineered for bands,” Lally said, “the more I wanted to be on the other side of the glass. So, I started playing the guitar and wrote a few acoustic-based albums with a friend who was a session guitarist. And things just evolved from there.” In 2008 and 2009, Lally recorded a couple of acoustic albums, but he considers the real beginning of F20D to have started with the 2010 release of the debut EP, Let It Ride, followed a year later by their second EP, Do Not Feed The Radio.

“Say So Long” – Fiction 20 Down from Do Not Feed The Radio

Since the release this past April of Where’s The Levity, the debut LP has been warmly welcomed by the band’s loyal following of fans, and also hailed by the music press. Skope Magazine called the band’s sound “an incredibly cool brand of music” and Indie Music Review dubbed it a “delightful, upbeat rock fusion mix with pop, hip-hop, reggae, and pure rock.”

Currently, F20D are in the process of creating a number of new music videos. The music video for the crowd-pleasing “Down Like Hip-Hop,” directed by Rod Lopez of New Style Independent Pictures, was released in April to coincide with the release of the band’s debut LP. Plus, F20D are set to release another music video next month for their second single, “My Prisoner,” and are also currently in pre-production on yet another music video with Lopez for the track, “Mr. Sunshine.” The band’s second EP, Do Not Feed The Radio features the single, “Say So Long.” The music video (above) for the single has had over 165,000 views on YouTube.

“Some Beautiful Days” – Fiction 20 Down from Where’s The Levity

For music lovers craving original and unique music that combines pop and rock and reggae and hip-hop, and that is well-written, fresh, exciting, and superbly executed, Baltimore’s indie quartet Fiction 20 Down is a band that achieves all of that and more.

Download Where’s The Levity for free (until July 17th) from F20D’s official website and connect with the band on Facebook.

F20D’s Summer 2013 Tour Schedule

6/20 – Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ w/ Loose Fit
6/21 – Sunset Grill, Ocean City, MD
6/22 – Irish Eyes, Lewes, DE
6/28 – Al’s Landing, Tavares, FL
6/29 – Jake’s Tavern, Sarasota, FL w/ Crazy Carls
7/4 – Filthy McNasty’s, Vero Beach, FL
7/5 – Debaucher, Melbourne, FL
7/6 – ER Bradley’s Saloon, West Palm Beach, FL
7/9 – Ocean Deck, Daytona Beach, FL
7/10 – Bourbon Street, Myrtle Beach, FL
7/17 – Federal House, Annapolis, MD
7/18 – Looney’s North, Bel Air, MD
7/19 – Tortoise & Hare, Arlington, VA
7/25 – Angel’s Rockbar, Baltimore, MD
7/26 – Bill Bateman’s – Perry Hall, MD

View the full interactive tour schedule here.

Album Review: Boards of Canada’s ‘Tomorrow’s Harvest’

Posted on 06/19/201312/18/2019 by Max Hammer

by J. Hubner

From the opening horns of “Gemini” to the fading strands of the album’s closer, “Semena Mertvykh,” there isn’t a moment on Boards of Canada’s Tomorrow’s Harvest where you wonder who the artist is. There has been a veritable silence from the direction of Scottish brothers Marcus Eoin and Mike Sandison since the 2006 EP, Trans Canada Highway. The silence has ended and we are all the better for it.

Tomorrow’s Harvest isn’t a rebuild from the ground up; nor is it a retread of past glories. This is an album showing artists being true to themselves and not being anything but what they’ve always been. What’s that? Purveyors of the past and sound tweakers of the future. For a lot of folks the feeling you get listening to a Boards of Canada album is nostalgia. It’s the sound of Juno Synths, Yamaha DX-7s, distorted breakbeats, and a childhood set to repeat play on a Quasar Hi-Fi VCR.

With masterpieces like Music Has The Right To Children, Geogaddi, and The Campfire Headphase, Boards of Canada had a main line into childhood – not a Disney childhood, or an ABC Afterschool Special childhood. Rather, a ‘latch key kid’ childhood. A darkened living room with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a can of New Coke, watching something you shouldn’t on The Movie Channel because your Mom forgot to lock the channel. It’s a childhood of wonder, but with dark spots that could lead to something darker. Tomorrow’s Harvest is the soundtrack to a Choose Your Own Adventures book, a walk home from the city park late at night, or a car ride to the roller skating rink.

“Telepath” is a perfect example of what Boards of Canada do so well. The sound of a man talking and counting would be harmless enough, but it’s what they do to it: they process it, taint it, make it into almost something Orwellian and create something dark out of it. Synths float in the background as the counting becomes more drawn out and more unintelligible. Next, they lead us right into “Cold Earth” with a swath of warm keys and a big beat that brings to mind some sort of futuristic scene. The soundtrack to a new installment of Ice Age, perhaps.

Lead single, “Reach For The Dead,” permeates with a menace via an analog hiss as if a record needs to be flipped. Then a theme emerges through the noise – something resembling a past life soaking in through the present one. It took a few listens, but this song is nearly transcendent in how it works its magic on you. “New Seeds” brings a pep in Boards of Canada’s step not heard in earlier tracks. There seems to be less of the media clips from earlier albums and more of Marcus and Mike’s own magic used to create those lonely days of childhood where you were left to fend for yourself. Another track, “Come To Dust,” is a sci-fi dream, floating in the ether.

“Reach For The Dead” – Boards of Canada from Tomorrow’s Harvest on Warp Records

I’ve had to sit with this album for a week before I could attempt to put my feelings about it into words. Even now, I’m not sure I can do this album justice. Tomorrow’s Harvest doesn’t change up or replicate Boards of Canada’s past. What it does is refine their sound to its essence. They make the synthetic seem organic. That’s been their gift since the beginning. Tomorrow’s Harvest ranks as one of their finest achievements, and one of the best albums of the year so far. Good to be back in Boards of Canada’s head space; or head phase.

Rating: 9.5

J. Hubner is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to Indie Rock Cafe.