Tim Presley spent four years composing I Have To Feed Larry's Hawk. In the past he has created a trait d’union with musicians like Ty Segall and Cate Le Bon, creating projects like Drinks. Time passed is a pot in which to find the basis for a sound search, which in this case has turned on and come to life in the new and beautiful album.
Second single “Someday” is a song that contemplates the changes we all face as we get older and friendships fade but never disappear. It’s a (dare I say) radio friendly rocker… if the radio still played “rockers” and there’s more than a couple of blistering solos cut between the bouncing punk bass line.
Tørsö is a classically-styled hardcore band out of the Bay Area and Build and Break is their latest foray into fury. Each of the four tracks serves as a cohesive yet timeless statement. There is no sense of era – it sounds like the late-80s youth crew sound pioneered by bands like Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits as much as it does recent breakouts like Candy and Gouge Away.
The band will release Leaves on February 15th via Tell ‘Em Tapes, a collect of sunken sentiment and somber reflections bolstered by a rhythm section that slowly slinks toward the void… with an emphasis on slowly. The band moves at the speed of depression, lingering around in no particular rush or motivation.
This composition is the hero’s journey made audible; conflict and resolution in a delightful two act play; a spirited take on structure that wants to push you away as desperately as it wants your attention. The intro is so jarring I suspect most people will feel bamboozled and unable to continue, but I assure you, you absolutely should.
Arriving in the wake of “Cemetery Surf” and “A Passing Piece,” two twitchy, whirring pieces of dazzling shoegaze pop, Cathedral Bells keep up the hazy pace with “Time Capsule.” The track’s nostalgia-washed production lands somewhere between Day Wave’s detached effervescence and DIIV’s driving punk swell.
Introducing (or re-introducing) Community College, a brilliant lo-fi collective led by Horse Jumper of Love’s own John Margaris. Joined by his brother, Dan Margaris and Dimitri Giannopolous (also of HJOL), Community College occupies a similar space as their main act, offering warped to perfection pop songs with surreal yet relatable lyrics and earworm melodies tucked just under the fuzzy presence of the room.
Pet Town is the band’s latest, marking a newfound sense of comfort and clarity that reflects Marina Tadic’s hermetic songwriting and recording process. With the help of Jasper Verhulst and Jeroen de Heuvel, Pet Town was crafted in three separate locations and patched together through Tadic’s quietly psychedelic vision of solitude and introspection.
Portland’s Mo Troper has released three full length records over the past three years, earning a reputation for clever songwriting that lends itself to power-pop, emo, and twee art-pop. Moreover (Demos 2015-2017) offers a peak behind that curtain, a collection of sketches and demos that form the basis of his most beloved songs.
