Month: October 2014

50 Great Indie Rock Halloween Songs – Radiohead, Pavement, Beck, Cults, The Kills, The Black Keys

Posted on by Max Hammer

Happy Halloscream

Over the years, IRC has put together over 20 different indie rock Halloween songs playlists, featuring hundreds of Halloween, or Halloweenish, songs.

Some songs were picked merely because the title is in some way, Halloweenish; you know, blood, ghosts, monsters, death, vampires, skeletons, darkness, and so on.

This is the ONLY Halloween Playlist Worth Streaming

NOTE: 50 has grown to almost 200! (udpated Sept 2021)

Some of The Kinks’ Early Halloweenish Songs

This mix also includes a trio of Halloweenish songs from The Kinks, dating back to their classic era (1966-1971) during which the band built a discography of amazing music that remains legendary to this day. In fact, as was the case with so many genres of music over the decades – including rock, punk, metal, new wave and pop – many of today’s indie bands are influenced by The Kinks, either directly or indirectly.

The three Halloweenish Kinks’ songs below demonstrate the band’s abilities to write about all kinds of topics, and record all types of different sounds and styles. The first track, “Wicked Annabella” is a creepy, sinister-sounding song with wicked vocals by Ray Davies and his younger brother and guitarist, Dave Davies. The song was first released way back in 1968 on The Kinks’ widely acclaimed masterpiece LP, The Village Green Preservation Society.

“Wicked Annabella“– The Kinks

The follow-up track, “Big Black Smoke,” is essentially a song about a young woman who grew tired of the country life, but her parents thought she couldn’t do any wrong, until she “walked the streets of the big, black smoke.”
In addition to the title – not so much the lyrics – the song has a kind of spooky, steady stomp, thick bass line and catchy chorus.

“Big Black Smoke“– The Kinks

The final song, “King Kong” is again menacing in the way “Wicked Annabella” is. There’s also something about the rawness of the recording itself. In fact, “Big Black Smoke” and “King Kong” were originally recorded on mono and only released on the klassic Kinks’ double-LP, The Kinks Kronikles.

“King Kong“ – The Kinks

DIY Band to Watch – Evaline

Posted on by Max Hammer

Evaline

Evaline – UK and California

With six members from California to the U.K.), indie rock band Evaline released their debut album in 2010, followed by their sophomore album, produced by Dan Austin (Doves, QOTSA, People in Planes). Since the release of their 2006 EP, Portrait of Skin, produced by The Used’s Quinn Allman, Evaline have completed two Warped Tours and a Taste of Chaos tour. The band has also performed at the coveted South by Southwest. Here’s the single, “Beneath The Fire.”

  “Beneath The Fire” – Evaline from Beneath The Fire

Artist of the Week – Baltimore’s Joy Classic

Posted on by Max Hammer

Baltimore DIY band Joy Classic pumps out catchy, feel good psych pop sounds layered with bright guitar hooks and twangs, reverb-soaked vocals, and punchy bass lines on standout songs like “Ya Know” and “Blossom.” We know when we’ve hit upon a talented, promising band when it’s difficult to pick just a couple of songs to highlight, despite the fact that their discography, thus far, is made up of only a half dozen tracks altogether.

  “Ya Know” – Joy Classic from Youth Buzz

Joy Classic’s sound is not easy to pin down, and yet they strive to pack as much intrigue into their compositions as possible, incorporating elements of 60’s-inspired California surf rock; dreamy, 70’s-style sunshine pop and crisp, melodic hooks representative of some of their top musical influences, like Tame Impala, The Strokes, and Beach Fossils.

There are even hints of east coast doo-wop and classic rock that color songs like “Saturday Night.” That track, among others available in this profile, are found on the band’s four-song debut EP, Youth Buzz. The EP was featured on Philadelphia’s XPN.org, along with various associated blogs, and received a good deal of support from Baltimore’s DIY-friendly community. The band continued to write new songs while performing concerts from Baltimore to DC, and opening for artists like Yuck, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, San Fermin, and Deleted Scenes.

  “Saturday Night” – Joy Classic from Youth Buzz

The band was originally founded by childhood friends Bob Elder and Justin Link in Portland, Oregon; however, the band moved to Baltimore to link up with Link’s former bass player, Matt Robinson, and to find a more fitting home base that allowed them to pursue their music together and still pay the monthly bills.

After countless attempts to fill an open drummer slot, Robinson’s longtime friend, Chrysta Ghent, secured the role by way of her seemingly effortless on-the-spot transition from guitar to drums. Following many hours of rehearsing and recording in a dark, graffiti-ridden warehouse, the band also released their first music video, the psychedelic-influenced , “Splash.”

  “Splash” – Joy Classic from Youth Buzz

Earlier this year, Joy Classic released “Metro,” a single from a rumored 2014 debut LP, which has yet to materialize. As Joy Classic continues to gain the attention within the Baltimore indie music scene, we can only say that we hope more music lovers from around the country recognize a band that really has something special going on.

  “Metro” – Joy Classic from Metro 7″

We’re hoping that they’ll be releasing a debut album soon before they become like too many other talented-out-of-the-gate buzz bands who make a splash and then fade from view because they don’t keep pumping out new music, or fail to properly promote themselves to sustain a key component in making it in the music business – momentum.