Melenas are back with a magnificent new album titled Ahora. This quartet out of Pamplona, Spain have it all dialed in – I’m talking jangly guitars, pulsing synths, fuzz, gaze, gauze, noise, you name it, it’s probably in there.
Ahora is (as I said in a previous post) 10 tracks of kraut-meets-Stereolab, electro-pop goodness. Check out “Bang” below; it’s so rad, I find myself humming or whistling it all day.
Advertisement, a six-piece band from Seattle, just put out their newest album through Feel It Records – a favorite label of ours. On this release, Escorts, the band brings together a mix of garage rock, Americana, and groovy pop sensibilities. It’s an eclectic record that gives you a good range of style but also feels very cohesive.
My favorite tracks include “Eat Your Heart Out,” a country/western influenced track that makes you want to drive down a desert highway, “Eyes Of The Night,” which is a nice slow burning track that ends with a bang, and “Nobody’s Cop,” another groovy western-influenced track with some killer slide guitar.
There are some really badass moments on this record and the band gives the listener a lot to appreciate with all the layers and instrumentation going on throughout the track list. This record feels like it should be listened to at night, but I’ve been playing it all day every day, so you need to go do yourself a favor and check it out!
Escorts is available at our store or on Bandcamp or wherever else you stream your music.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret (for now, at least). Mango Star are a trio from Detroit. Their self-released debut checks all the boxes. Quirky synths & heavenly harmonies like The Rentals, gauzy atmospherics a la vintage Slowdive, and just a touch of optimism. Hard to believe they aren’t signed to Slumberland (for now, at least – are you reading this, Mike?). Their music is only available in digital form (for now, at least) which you can consume below.
Wasted Daydream is available on their Bandcamp page.
Body of Leaves are a 4-piece band out of Salt Lake City. They self-released their debut (I believe) album, Hell Nightmare, back in May. It’s 8 tracks of really well done post-punk-dark-wave goodness delivered through driving/pounding bass and drums, piercing synths and some amazing wall of sound guitar work. It’s really damn good.
I slept on this album WAY too long, but was shown the light last night seeing them open for Sweeping Promises. Don’t repeat my mistake, check out “Follow”, “Disclosure” and “Such a Gift” below. Do it! This is the good stuff.
Hell Nightmare is out now via their Bandcamp page. Enjoy.
We are so excited for the new Melenas album that we are sharing their latest single “K2” ahead of our review of their upcoming LP Ahora.
“K2” is a synth driven, bouncy, kraut-meets-Stereolab, electro-pop tune that sticks to your brain like pine tar. This is the best kind of earworm. Check out the stream and video below.
Ahora is out on September 29 via Trouble In Mind and judging from the three available singles, it will be on lots of year end lists. Enjoy.
We are pleased to have the opportunity to announce the new album At The After Party and debut the single “Hairbrush” by DTJ, the newest project from the versatile Dylan Tidyman-Jones of Polytherian, FRONDS, Sonny & The Sunsets and The Mallard fame.
“Hairbrush” (below), DTJ’s debut single, is a grove-filled, lo-fi, bedroom pop track and a solid introduction to the album. At The After Party comes out on September 15, 2023 on vinyl and digitally via Echo Plasm Records and you can preorder it here. Enjoy.
Let’s just get my biases out of the way. I am a huge fan of Feel It Records. I listen to everything they put out and buy about 95% of their releases. When I got the promo email for the new LP from The Cowboys and saw the album cover for Sultan of Squat, I knew immediately that I was going to love this album. I wasn’t wrong.
From go, on first single and album opener, “The Sultan of Squat” (below), I was hooked. It’s a bouncy garage-pop track with a kind of “doo-wop-like” chorus that’s just candy to the ears. Their second single, “She’s Not Your Baby Anymore” (also below), sounds like it was recorded during The Byrds’ sessions for Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.
Sultan of Squat is just killer from start to finish. It sounds like they were listening to lots of and being influenced by the likes of Buddy Holly, Elvis Costello, The Kinks, and The Byrds going into the recording of it. I am completely twitter-pated by it. Please listen to the tracks below; they will put a smile on your face, and we all need more reasons for smiles to be on our faces.
Ramona Lisa is the side project/alter ego of Caroline Polachek. Being influenced by the film soundtracks of horror director Dario Argento, Polachek assumed the darker persona of Ramona Lisa.
Polachek recorded most of the album on a laptop using MIDI instrumentation. She released her debut — Arcadia — as Ramona Lisa in 2014 on Terrible Records. It is being reissued today through Polachek’s Perpetual Novice.
Check out “ Izzit True What They Tell Me” below and while you’re listening you can pick up a copy of it here.
KAZIMI’s latest single “River Run” (below) — and title track from forthcoming LP — is a soothing, groove-filled, indie-pop (with folk tendencies) track that calms the nerves and gets the old noggin nodding. Enjoy.
We are stoked to bring you the premier of Wilmington, North Carolina quintet Kicking Bird’s latest single “Just To Be Here With You”; a 4 minute dreamy pop track, packed with infectious guitar melodies and vocal harmonies from Shaylah Paul and her husband Shaun Paul.
Kicking Bird’s debut LP Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is out in May via Fort Lowell Records. Enjoy.
