Our latest episode explodes the wide world of music festivals. With SXSW quickly approaching we talk about memories from other festivals, though oddly don’t talk about SXSW at all. There’s some good stories and chatter, plus even better new music from Big Business, Shady Bug, Parsnip, Buck Gooter, and Grim Streaker.
Come Back to Life is the debut solo venture from Dan Francia, but by far from his first appearance in the ‘indie rock’ universe as he’s had a hand in some very good records over the past few years. Francia has enlisted a bunch of musicians from those bands he’s worked with on this record and has managed to blend all the elements into something exciting and very alive.
“Naps” is a single from Moon, the follow up to the recent The Sun Shines From Very Far Away. “Naps” begins with echoes of Modest Mouse with its slightly off kilter vocals, banjo and pinging guitar, but veers completely into the nonsensical melody realm of Jack Stauber in the second half of the short song.
Set to release their debut single Do Yeah on February 15th, their sound is a psychedelic trip down the rabbit hole, a vision of the past swirling in every direction. Melbourne’s Bananagun (featuring members of Parnsip and Frowning Clouds) let it rip with a freaky groove from the start, there’s a hit of the gong and it’s all hypnotic from there.
Boon’s art-pop sound is in fine form on the kaleidoscopic “Jasmine Seeds,” a deeply layered effort that plays with repetition and looped vocals just beneath the song’s concurrent verses. It’s psychedelic pop with a lot to take in, but an easy atmosphere in which to do so, the effect nearly sounding like two songs played together in unison.
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.
