Woah. Did Male Bonding tame a bit since Nothing Hurts? That was only a year ago, yet this sound doesn’t seem nearly as ferocious and feral as the noise-based rock from their 2010 Sub Pop debut. Listen to “Bones”, off the band’s new LP Endless Now out this coming August, next to last year’s Year’s Not Long and you’d think five years of maturity separated the two. Read More »Male Bonding: Bones (mp3)
Damnit. I knew I was going to forget a phenomenal album in my end of year list for 2010. Serial Killer, by Night Driving In Small Towns easily should have cracked the top 20. But they failed to make my list, not because they didn’t deserve it, but because I simply forgot how great it was. Last year I became obsessed with this band, relating them to Headlights. Today, however, hit the speakers and I did a double-take. Read More »Night Driving In Small Towns (Double Take)
Keith Birthday’s voice possesses a quivering vibrato that plays well with Norwegian Arms‘ lo-fi experimental folk-pop. That being said, this band features a similar uncivilized nature as that of Animal Collective and tUnE-YarDs. There’s something wild and earthly about them, organic and unrefined. And that’s what makes a band like Norwegian Arms good — they’re a bit unexpected. Read More »Feature Band: Norwegian Arms
The name Grant Olsen may not ring a bell, but mention Arthur of Arthur & Yu, and that may turn on a light or two. If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering where that band went – after all, they were the honored first release from Hardly Art. The answer is I don’t know. But the good news is that we now have Gold Leaves, which is Olsen’s (aka Arthur’s) new project. Read More »Gold Leaves: The Ornament MP3
Early in May, the girlfriend and I drove out to the Pullman/Moscow area in Eastern Washington and Western Idaho. I love this drive, as you see so many distinct types of land, and the weather was near perfect. The reason for this tirade is that we must have listened to “The Honest Truth” by Typhoon about 30 times over that weekend trip. Read More »Typhoon: Summer Home MP3
My did I love that Beach Dreams EP by Teen Daze. It perfectly encapsulated those late winter days, when we all longed for sunnier weather. Now that things are warming up, Teen Daze is back with a new EP and this time they’ve got Waaga Records behind them. The first track is “Surface” and it’s filled with mesmerizing loops and echoing instrumentation. Read More »Teen Daze: Surface MP3
I heard Brontosaurus was a band fans of Black Heart Procession might dig, and after a few listens to their LP Cold Comes to Claim, I’d say that was pretty accurate. The opening track, “Beware” has that epic post rock meets prog rock darkness Black Heart tends to employ, and Brontosaurus make it their own with haunting organs and Califone-style folk vocals. And both Nicholas Kelley and Nicholas Papaleo, the duo behind Brontosaurus, take the lead on those vocals. Read More »Brontosaurus: Beware [mp3]
Amanda Mair is the latest discovery by Swedish label Labrador Records. If you’re like us, you dig pretty much anything that comes from Labrador, and this should be no exception. “House” is part folk-pop, part Euro-dance track. Mair hails from an island outside Stockholm. And get this — she’s only 16! Read More »Amanda Mair: House [mp3]
The lovely land in the United Kingdom known as Exeter has become a hot spot for lo-fi indie pop. It is also the home of the former cult favorite Thrilled Skinny, so the subtly beautiful melodies may not be the best branding of the area’s musical taste. Most recently, however, a little group has been kicking up dust in the whiskey stained carpets of the area’s new wave influenced punk scene. Introducing: 97 Lovers. Their style is straight from the early 80’s. But, their topical take on the current state of the world is so in the now!
Read More »97 Lovers [Feature] 
Coulter‘s last LP had a few similarities to The Smiths, and those traits can also be found on his new one, Grip Fast. However, the similarities aren’t as plentiful, and Coulter Leslie is starting to create his own sound. Again, he worked with Seattle producer and mixer Erik Blood (whose work includes the same for The Moondoggies, The Lights, and The Tea Cozies to name a few).
Read More »Coulter: At The End Of The Day [mp3]
