With a name like Surf City, it’s only natural for one to assume that the band’s songs will be upbeat and celebratory, or, as the chillwave revolution has determined, lazy, hazy psychedelic pop awash in layers of synth, echo-laden vocals and lyrics with themes like heat waves, day-dreaming, sun burns, beach parties, vacation getaways, and beautiful girls (and guys).
Surf City may not fit the ideal image conjured up by their namesake, but the guitars are blazing, the choruses are sunny, and the bass line thumps along quite nicely on the title track from the band’s debut album, Kudos, out now via Fire Records. We also think Surf City will be a band to watch in 2011.
“Kudos” – Surf City from Kudos
just added (12/2/10):
“Crazy Rulers of the World” – Surf City from Kudos
The band Sleeping In The Aviary just came on to our radar today thanks to Seattle‘s KEXP-FM. SITA pump out straight up post punk style rock with a hard romp, reverb-heavy female lead vocals, hard-hitting tambourines and slick surf-like guitar licks on the lead track “You Don’t Have To Drive”. We’re looking forward to listening to the other tracks on their debut LP, Great Vacation!, out today on the Science of Sound label.
“You Don’t Have To Drive” – Sleeping In The Aviary from Great Vacation!
Jenocide‘s lead track, “Beachball,” from the newly release EP, Knee Deep, has the swirling synths layered with heavy bass change-ups, dance-induced drum beats, romping keys and the vocals of Halifax, N.S. singer-songwriter electro-pop musician Willow Bell.
“Beachball” – Jenocide from Knee Deep EP
Summer-sounding tracks seem to be a dominant theme in this week’s music releases, even though it will officially be winter in a couple of weeks. While listening to Zac Crouse‘s new single, “Waiting on the Wind”, you can almost picture a sailboat on the ocean on a calm day just waiting for some wind to move it along.
The lyrics are ambiguous enough to suggest that the song is really just a metaphor for yearning and love. His soft, melodic vocals paired with bongo drum beats and an acoustic guitar are soon joined by an electric guitar and bass while Crouse repeats the chorus: “I need you now/I need you now/waiting on the wind.”
“Waiting on the Wind” – Zac Crouse from s/t debut
There’s a conglomerate of styles – from shoegaze and post punk to psychedelic and rock – employed by Steve Wynn & The Miracles‘ songs on their new release, Northern Aggression. The lead track “Resolve” will sound particularly familiar to fans of Iggy Pop and The Stooges (esp. compared to the punk favorite “I Wanna Be your Dog”). However, it’s ok; one, because it’s a good song overall, and two, it copy-cats the Stooges with a sense of respect. Steven Wynn is a long-time musician who is probably best known for his previous bands, Gutterball and Dream Syndicate.
“Resolve” – Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 from Northern Aggression
One of the newest bands on our radar is the unsigned Brooklyn post-punk trio Mr. Dream. While Stereogum had the band in its sights before just about anyone else, we only learned of Mr. Dream after one of its members sent us the latest single, “Learn The Language” from their new album, Never Elaborate.
Earlier this year, Stereogum premiered the band’s first single, “Scarred for Life”, and also listed Mr. Dream on their “40 Best New Bands of 2010” post. The band have opened for big indie artists like Sleigh Bells and Harlem Shakes, and not surprisingly (once you hear the singles) consider their biggest musical influences to be Pixies, Nirvana, and Guided by Voices.
“Learn The Language” – Mr. Dream from Never Elaborate
“Scarred For Life” – Mr. Dream from Never Elaborate
This next instrumental track, “Gallinas Y Lagartos”, from the Italian band El Santo Nada, sounds like a perfect track for Kill Bill Vol. 3, if Quentin makes it (please do). The song is mysterious and enchanting with a style reminiscent of the exotic instrumentals that peppered the spaghetti western B flicks of the 1960s.
And of course it wasn’t an accident. The band members met in 2007, and immediately forged an eclectic identity of common interest in the iconic Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti western soundtracks, combined with Mexican traditional music, the instrumental and surf rock of the late 1950s and early 1960s, italian and balcanic popular music. The band is located in Abruzzo, about 50 miles east of Rome, a region where a number of Italian spaghetti westerns of yesteryear were filmed.
El Santo Nada have opened for Damo Suzuki, Gang Of Four, and Stan Ridgway, among others, and their musical influences include Ennio Morricone, Santo&Johnny, Ry Cooder, Marc Ribot, Calexico, Earth, and Wall Of Voodoo.
“Gallinas Y Lagartos” – El Santo Nada from Tuco
Other new singles you might like:
“Raise Your Gaze” – Tristeza from Paisajes
“Louder Than Dreams – Abby Gogo from Abby Gogo
“Friendly Fires” – Aidan Knight from Friendly Fires EP
Forgive Yr. Blood – Solvents from Forgive Yr. Blood