Sleater-Kinney Finds No Cities To Love

Just when everyone was growing used to the idea that Sleater-Kinney was on a permanent hiatus, leaving room for Corin Tucker;s eponymously-titled band to release 1,000 Years, the peerless and cohesiveness of Janet Weiss (drums), Carrie Brownstein (vocals/guitar), and Tucker (vocals/guitar) are back. No Cities To Love is the long-awaited triumphant return of S-K.

The whole of it includes 32 minutes of punk-tinged rock with sneers, jeers, and masterful songwriting with dramatic shifts, hairpin changeups, and a harmonic cohesiveness that defies conventional composition with its oft staccato delivery. No Cities To Love is one of those rare albums that allows listeners to discover new depths with each pass, opening the complex brevity of each track like a rare and exotic blossom.

No Cities To Love is a triumph return for a timeless favorite.

Conjuring the image of a flower, however, is not meant to suggest that No Cities To Love is delicate. It's anything but. The first outing in a decade from this acclaimed trio sets new sights for the punk’s political insight and emotional impact. The 90s riot grrrl scene that was sparked out of the Pacific Northwest suddenly sounds relevant not because this is a revival but because it is a reinvention.

"We sound possessed on these songs," says guitarist/vocalist Brownstein about the band's eighth studio album. "Willing it all — the entire weight of the band and what it means to us — back into existence."

The separation of Brownstein and Tucker has clearly brought the two artists closer together, writing songs that are more self-aware than the band's once disruptive nature. Instead the band brings together something significantly more modern, crisp, and clear.


Take a track like A New Wave that the band played on Letterman. It very clearly is a track that tugs on where the band sees itself artistically today. One of the lines even jumps out, declaring that they are "inventing their own kind of obscurity." The lyrics are very telling in that S-K no longer wails against not understanding where society is but rather they understand it all too well and realize it is sometimes better to rise above it (or be amused by it) because it's almost impossible to change it.

In some sense that is the theme of the title track, No Love For Cities, too. The song itself tackles how people identify with cities even if cities are mostly the same. Sometimes the weather or the landmarks or the people might be a bit different. But aside from those elements, they're not different at all.

Price Tag is very much like that too. It indicts the 9-to-5 drudgery of civilization, but doesn't call for any change or disruption like they might have done in the past. Instead, they serve it up as how it is.

Following Price Tag, S-K becomes a little more complacent in its production of Fangless. While not nearly as sharp as the songwriting throughout the rest of the album, the lyrical work demonstrates a certain sophistication they strive for, alluding to the rise and fall of fatherly failure.

No Anthems attempts to ward away the mediocrity of fame, with the band recognizing that they were once trying to be something monolithic but nowadays they mostly want to avoid it. They might not be able to, but even that accomplishes their objective to cover topics without any apparent exit.

"The three of us want the same thing," says Weiss. "We want the songs to be daunting."

No Cities To Love By Sleater-Kinney Strikes Hot At 7.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

No Cities To Love will not disappoint anyone as there are ample standout tracks, including the dueling vocals of Bury Our Friends, brilliantly upbeat but aggressive chorus of Hey Darling, and down tempo closer Fade. The latter might lack the finesse of the rest of the album, but it succeeds in bringing in some experimentation on an album that feels more back to basics than inventive.

You can find No Cities To Love (Deluxe Edition) (Limited Edition, 2-LP, White Vinyl, Includes Download Card) on Amazon or download it from iTunes. You can also find No Cities To Love and the entire library of Sleater-Kinney on independent reseller F.Y.E. For upcoming shows and tour information, visit them on Facebook.

J Mascis Is Tied To A Star

The resurrection of Dinosaur Jr. with I Bet On Sky sparked some speculation whether or not Joseph Donald Mascis a.k.a. J Mascis would ever get around to producing another solo album. Tied To A Star puts that question to rest with even more contemplative confidence from the soft-spoken artist.

Building upon Several Shades Of Why, his solid solo debut with Subpop Records three years ago, Tied To A Star is an intimate revision of his quieter side with 10 tracks that have all the heart of just happening to be around when Mascis picks up a guitar. Half the songs sound so spontaneous that you can almost imagine him smiling, "Hey, listen to this. It's something I've been working on ..."

It could be said that the album was almost approached this way. It was recorded and produced by Mascis and mixed by John Agnello at Bisquiteen in Amherst, Massachusetts. Some of his friends who turned out to make guest appearances include musicians Ken Maiuri (Young@Heart Chorus), Pall Jenkins (Black Heart Procession), Mark Mulcahy (Miracle Legion) and Chan Marshall (Cat Power).

Tied To A Star captures the quiet contemplation of J Mascis.

Don't expect too much roar from his guitar, drums and vocals on this album. While his brilliance shines through, almost all of it is handled as delicately as his interviews. The lyrics are laconic, the tone is soft and precise, the treatment is heartfelt and dreamy.

The lead track, Every Morning, recently appeared on Funny Or Die as a video featuring Mascis as a cult leader named Space Angel. The cast includes some great guest appearances too, including James Mercer, Peter Holmstrom, and Fred Armisen.


Although Every Morning has an upbeat tempo and crisp guitar work that stands out like a second chorus, the lyrics are not especially cheerful. In short, Mascis makes the case that it's a struggle to make it through the morning. Wide Awake, which was also released in advance of the album, is much more cheerful.

It opens with some amazingly gentle guitar work right out of the gate. The track paints the picture of Mascis waking up ahead of his partner and wondering about their life together. He's eventually answered by Marshall with a response that merely echoes him as the song matures into a duet. It's treated as a tender, private moment that Mascis compresses into the confines of a few minutes.

Much like both tracks allude to, Mascis has abandoned much of the minimalist nature of Several Shades Of Why and expanded his solo compositions to include texture. His guitar work remains the cornerstone of this album throughout. His tender and restrained vocals only lend a distant and often lonely uniqueness in comparison.

Heal The Star is probably the best track on the album, with both a signature strum and strained falsetto until the uptick toward the end. The instrumental Drifter captures what some mistake as a slacker sensibility. And Then and Trailing Off are relaxed indie rock numbers that will remind some people of Several Shades Of Why, except with much more musical depth than an acoustic alone.

There are some instrumental shifts and surprises on both tracks before Mascis eases into his closers. Come Down an Better Plane are thoughtful pieces, with the former being modestly hopeful.

Tied To A Star By J Mascis Rounds Out 7.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Tied To A Star is exactly what someone might expect from a J Mascis solo album. It's not groundbreaking as much as it is a glimpse at his mastery of music. Anyone who appreciates his work will fall for this one.

You can find Tied to a Star [+digital booklet] by J Mascis on Amazon or download the album from iTunes. The vinyl edition of Tied To A Star is listed on Barnes & Noble. J Mascis is touring to support the album. For tour dates and venues, visit him on Facebook.

Afghan Whigs Do It To The Beast

Rick McCollum may no longer be part of the Afghan Whigs, but singer-songwriter Greg Dulli still managed to pull off the improbable. With a little help from Dave Rosser, Jon Skibic and Mark McGuire on guitars, Dulli and bassist John Curley made the first Afghan Whigs album since 1998.

The album was largely unexpected only because Dulli does  fine with his abundance of side projects, most notably The Twilight Singers, which he has manned with a rotating stable of musicians like Mark Lanegan, Ani DiFranco, and Nick McCabe. But like many reunited lineups it seems, the Afghan Whigs couldn't confine themselves to a handful of shows in 2012. They kept playing.

In fact, it was during a post-show dinner that Dulli and Curley discussed the possibility of making another record. They started working on it two months later. They wrapped it all in December.

Do To The Beast breaks a different Afghan Whigs. 

News of the album might not have made it out so far in advance, but Bob Odenkirk broke the story on Twitter as soon as he found out about it. Dulli was playing golf with Odenkirk and his long-time friend Mike Brillstein, who mentioned mixing a track for the album. That's all it took.

Dulli had asked him not to tell anyone, but the deed was done. As soon as the label learned the news, Sub Pop Records stepped up on the first video in support the album, Algiers.



The video, of course, is an homage to High Plains Drifter. The idea of a spaghetti Western came to him almost immediately after he finished the track. The video matches the song's sense of melodrama.

Among the tracks, Algiers probably comes closest to sounding like a close cousin to The Twilight Singers. Most of the other tracks do not, building largely on where the Afghan Whigs left off years ago. The Afghan Whigs are a rock band whereas The Twilight Singers were created in response to the Afghan Whigs. Do To The Beast is almost a response to The Twilight Singers, full circle.

The opener Parked Outside is one of the hardest rocking songs ever recorded by the Afghan Whigs. It is propelled by a driving riff that clearly casts the album as less of a homecoming and more as of a evolution. Dulli proves that he is open to making this a restart with some equally savage moments.

But that is not to say he isn't open to other ideas. The wildly composed disco-infused and oddly sinister nomadic undertones capture his inventive nature on Matamoros. Listen to the track a few times because it is easy to dislike it on the first pass but relish it by the third.

More palatable on an immediate uptake is It Kills. The standout moment in the song, of course, is in the Huff-style orchestration with Van Hunt lending a howl to the song after Dulli asked him to do anything he wanted but without words. The howl isn't lost in the diversity of the album.

Lost In the Woods is a haunting centerpiece. The Lottery returns to the band's rock-centric roots. Can Rova comes across like an atmospheric dream. Royal Cream and I Am Fire also lend something to vital to the album when played in entirety.

Along with Curley, multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson, and the guitarists mentioned earlier, Cully Symington delivers some standout moments on drums. There are also several dozen cameos too, everyone from Dave Catching and Patrick Keeler to Ben Daughtrey and Alain Johannes.

Do To The Beast By The Afghan Whigs Hits 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Almost more than the Afghan Whigs, anyone who has an appreciation for Dulli will love this album. There are moments when all anyone can do is stare slack-jawed while taking in everything he manages to meld together.

Do To the Beast by the Afghan Whigs is available on Amazon or you can download it from iTunes. The vinyl release of Do To The Beast by the Afghan Whigs can be found at Barnes & Noble. The full tour schedule of the timeless Cincinnati-based band can be found on Facebook.

Dum Dum Girls And The End Of Daze

It's easy to categorize End Of Daze as an evolution of Dum Dum Girls given the fuller sound across all five tracks. But this EP is something different with two new songs alongside two B-sides and a cover.

It doesn't make the EP any less of a bright spot in music this year. Kristin Gundred a.k.a. Dee Dee Penny sounds great, even as she breaks from the fuzzy garage noise pop that struck me last year on He Gets Me High. Since then, Penny has alluded to a darker album, making this a placeholder.

There is something bright within a darkness. 

Mine Tonight opens the EP with an ominous but much more somber and purposeful approach than some of her previous outings. The deep throated guitar and bass chug along, creating a contrast with her light, confessional vocals. And yet, it's not a light song at all. It's more like a dark lullaby.

The lyrics have a heaviness about them as she sings about loss and the feeling of being lost that comes with it. After a brief instrumental chorus, she returns to the effect. There's recognition that you may never be the same person person again, even when you're looking in the mirror.



I Got Nothing wakes things up a bit, bringing in more pop sensibilities and sounding like a lost track from He Gets Me High. She pushes the monotone and minimalist boundaries, revealing some of her power while never letting it out. The texture fits the words, a numbness over lost love and a joy over starting again from a blank slate.

Like the first track, she recorded I Got Nothing last year. And along with those, she also put down the cover Trees And Flowers. Originally recorded in 1983 by Strawberry Switchblades, Penny easily makes the song her own. She brings a sadness to it that the original purposefully never realized.

"Dawn cracks the dark ... and it breaks the silence ... of my many waking hours ... and my heartbeat's license."

Penny draws out every line, stretching the song by only a few seconds and yet making it feel impossibly long. It's haunting. It also provides the perfect bridge to the songs she recorded this year.

Reflection and regret peppered Lord Knows. Equally slow and somber, she gives up on love as a preventative against causing even more hurt and pain. But from the opening you understand it. She wants to set her course in a new direction. It's not the recently rerecorded Shivers, but there may be a hint of influence.



The last song, easily the highlight on album, brings up the pace and adds more dynamics. Props to reviewer Adrian Agacer for finding a thread from the song to Arthur Rimbaud's poem "A Season in Hell." You can decide for yourself whether or not it was an overreach, but it's worth mentioning even if I'm a bit more bullish on the EP.

Season In Hell is the redemptive track on the End Of Daze, coming across with much more polish. The chorus is a startling optimistic break from the dread in much of the album. And while I get the point that it cancels out any relentlessness some people experience, I don't expect she's playing it safe.

More likely is the ideal that Penny didn't know what to feel. When there is an absence in the heart, emptiness bends itself into a nihilism. All there is left to do is to will your head up and see any brightness that might end the daze. And in that song, Penny does that while making us wonder where she'll end up next.

End Of Daze Is A Haze Over 6.3 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

While not nearly as addictive or brassy as her last EP on its own, End Of Daze delivers something better in the context of her career. This one will be remembered. It's the kind of music you want to put on when when you're lost or losing yourself. The first four will do it, but the it's the fifth that saves you from simply drifting in the abyss.

End Of Daze by Dum Dum Girls is available on Amazon. You can also find the vinyl edition there, which comes with an MP3 code. You can also download End Of Daze from iTunes or order the CD from Barnes & Noble. You can keep up with Penny and the rest of the band on Facebook.

The Obits Dream If They Want To

Brooklyn-based indie rockers Obits may have been busy trekking across Europe in May, but the band still found time to cut two cover songs for a new 7" single put out by SubPop during their tour. Both songs are perfect fits for the band, showing off some snarly punk stylings in their interpretations.

At the same time, the single also revives some interest in the singer-songwriter who put the original tracks down: Willy DeVille of the legendary Mink DeVille.

If you've never heard the name, Mink DeVille was a long-time favorite house band at CGBG in New York City and Willy Deville a remarkable talent who helped rev up punk, rhythm and blues, roots rock, and the Brill Building sound (best described as a blend of rhythm and blues and Latin music) over two decades. DeVille's song, Let Me Dream If I Want To, is almost always among the top 100 standards that made 1970s punk rock.

Let Me Dream If I Want To rises up and out of the crypt.

The front track being selected is no doubt a nod to the special history it has from the crypt of Willy DeVille. It's the same song he opened with at CGBG when A&Rs Ben Edmonds happened to be in the house. Edmonds set to the sign the band that night, immediately pairing them with the legendary Jack Nitzche.

Despite this status, the song is largely considered a rarity. It's nearly impossible to find a sampling online. But for anyone who knows, although the Obits scrubbed the alternative title of the song, the meaning and lyrics remain intact. Let Me Dream If I Want To was sometimes referred to as Amphetamine Blues.




Singer/songwriter Rick Forberg does a brilliant job snarling through the lyrics. It's an especially good accompaniment to take on tour because the band's last album, Moody, Standard And Poor, was a little more restrained than their debut. Adding the cover to their touring track list no doubt livens up the presence.

What also makes it a bit unexpected is that Forberg was trying to tone down the screams because it hurt his throat. Maybe that doesn't matter as much as long as he doesn't do it in big doses.

The B-side is a bit tamer, but not much. This City Is Dead is a amazing punk-infused roots rocks track. The vibe is perfectly matched to Let Me Dream If I Want To, with its buzzing repetitive riffs and angst riddled lyrics. Simple, but insanely addictive as it pines away at boredom.




Neither song really showcases the true crackpot anglings and run amok creativity that has made the band a staple on the indie rock scene. Neither is as challenging for Sohrab Habibion (guitar), Greg Simpson (bass), or Scott Gursky (drums) as the Obits's original original material. And neither really makes us forget about the songwriting ability of Forberg, which is always missed on covers.

Maybe DeVille was right about how things might play out.

If you are a band like the Obits and you're going to cover someone, then it makes sense to turn to an underplayed New York punk and roots rock legend like Willy DeVille. And in covering a pair of underplayed songs, the Obits do a superb job making their take fit seamlessly into their road show (they could have had bonus tracks on the last album) while still paying homage to a career cut short.

"I have a theory," DeVille once said. "I know that I'll sell much more records when I'm dead. It isn't very pleasant, but I have to get used to this idea."

With these two new covers by the Obits, DeVille might have proven himself right. These are two of the most significant revivals of DeVille work since Quentin Tarantino droped It's So Easy on the soundtrack of Death Proof, which was part of the ready-made Grindhouse double-feature.

Let Me Dream If I Want To By The Obits Orbits 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

After their European tour comes to an end in Barcelona this June, expect the Obits to take a month-long break before returning to the road in the United States. The first venues to host them in August include the Red 7 in Austin and Marquis Theater in Denver. You can find four playable tracks from their website.

For the Let Me Dream If I Want To single, head over to iTunes. You can also find Let Me Dream If I Want To b/w The City Is Dead at Amazon. For anyone equally interested in sampling some early work by Mink DeVille, the best album to start with is Cabretta. What you'll hear is an amazing blend of roots rock, punk, and blues.

Father John Misty Discovers Fear Fun

Fear Fun is the debut album from Father John Misty on Sub Pop! If you don't know the name, Father John Misty is also known as Josh Tillman and J. Tillman. And Tillman, of course, is the former drummer for Fleet Foxes.

He unexpectedly quit the band just as they were ascending higher in terms of success and popularity. Or maybe he didn't. Even though Tillman was part of the band for three years, he always saw himself as a solo artist. He already has a handful of solo albums as J. Tillman to his credit.

Fear Fun trades drum kit for spotlight.

Listening to Tillman talk about it, he relished the opportunity to step from behind the relative security of his drum kit and into the spotlight again. As for Fear Fun and the Father John Misty persona? Those were born from a lot of pain, soul searching, and introspection.

“I lost all interest in writing music or identifying as a songwriter. I got into my van with enough mushrooms to choke a horse and started driving down the coast with nowhere to go,” said Tillman. “After a few weeks, I was writing a novel, which is where I finally found my narrative voice. The voice that is actually useful.”

After Tillman left Seattle and found himself in Los Angeles’ fabled Laurel Canyon, former hotbed of activity in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the hallowed ground where much of the best music of these decades has its roots. It is here where he crafted a new musical persona.



“It was a while before that voice started manifesting in a musical way, but once I settled in the Laurel Canyon spider-shack where I’m living now, I spent months demoing all these weird-ass songs about weird-ass experiences almost in real-time, and kind of had this musical ‘Oh-there-I-am’ moment, identical to how I felt when I was writing the book,” explains Tillman. “It was unbelievably liberating. I knew there was never any going back to the place I was writing from before, which was a huge relief. The monkey got banished off my back.”

Tillman took his demos to co-producer Jonathan Wilson (Bonnie ‘Prince” Billy). The idea was to recreate Tillman’s rough demos in a home studio with only Tillman playing all of the instruments. But in Los Angeles, it’s not unusual for talented musicians to wander in and out of any studio and lay down a few tracks, and ultimately Tillman was okay with that. The album was mixed by Phil Ek (Modest Mouse and Fleet Foxes).

Fear Fun is melancholy Americana.

The resulting 12 tracks might be considered somewhat of a downer as Tillman’s work has always been painfully introspective and melancholy. Perhaps it can be best described as eclectic Americana. Yet, some of the clean harmonies are reminiscent of Fleet Foxes.

It seems like Tillman has reinvented himself as a reconceived Laurel Canyon compatriot, circa early 1970s. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, my personal favorite track on the album, reads like 70s-era Neil Young. Here it is being performed live at SXWS 2012, at The Beauty Bar in Austin, Texas.



While most of the tunes are sad, there is one that certainly is not. I’m Writing A Novel is perhaps the most joyful and ebullient track of all, filled with hope and promise. But it's on Only Son Of A Ladies Man where Tillman plays the Father John Misty role to perfection.

Another standout track is Nancy From Now On, fueled by an official video directed by Tillman and Amy Cargill. Those who check it out and are confounded should consider Tillman's hint: find the ring in all three scenes.

Fear Fun By Father John Misty Rolls In With 6.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Father John Misty followed up a May 1 Late Night With David Letterman performance with a May 3 engagement on Last Call With Carson Daly. It remains to be seen if the masses get the joke. If you missed it, Tillman writes about himself in a straightforward way, but calls it something else.

Fear Fun by Father John Misty is available on iTunes. Barnes & Noble carries the album, along with the vinyl LP version. Fear Fun is also on Amazon and Father John Misty is currently on tour in North America.

Circle By J Mascis Completes Shades

Ever since Joseph Donald Mascis a.k.a. J Mascis covered the song Circle by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians for Kevin Cole with KEXP Seattle, some people have been asking Sub Pop Records to put it out as a single. Mascis also plays it at live solo shows.

The cover was originally included as a bonus track of his album Several Shades Of Why, released last March, but only as a bonus on the Japanese version. The video with KEXP is especially great because Cole is authentically perplexed to hear it, even asking Mascis "That's not on the new album … what is that song?" Mascis laughs "...it's on the Japanese version."

Circle is an important missing link to Several Shades Of Why.

Covering Circle was one of several ideas Megan Jasper with Sub Pop came up with after convincing Mascis to make a solo album. While the cover doesn't eclipse the original by Brickell, it's a fitting compliment to the composition and seems to capture the soft-spoken off-stage side of Mascis, known for answering interview questions in ten carefully chosen words or less. 

Music has always been his first language, whether he sings, plays guitar, or sits behind the drums. With Circle, he hits everything right even if the layered vocals don't play as well as they do when he is live and straightforward like he played it for KEXP. 

Releasing Circle was clearly a smart choice by Sub Pop, along with I've Been Thinking on the b-side. The release breathes new life into Several Shades Of Why, which garnered positive reviews but not nearly the level of fan support one might have anticipated, especially with support from such talents as Kurt Vile, Ben Bridwell, and Sophie Trudeau. 

The reason for some fans holding out support is misguided but understandable. J Mascis wasn't looking to make a Dinosaur Jr. album and his decision to make it an acoustic album, without drums, drove the entire project in a different direction. Regardless, for people who know music, Several Shades Of Why was Mascis' best compilation of new, old, and covered songs in a long time. 

More often, he is content to engage in side projects and collaborations when it feels right. It doesn't always matter whether it feels right for everyone. Anyone who wishes more of Witch would have sounded like the opening song Seer knows what I mean. But no matter, Witch not lasting opened the doors for Farm or Beyond from Dinosaur Jr. and possibly his first full-length solo. 

Maybe some will reconsider him with the release of Circle. For those unfamiliar with it, Circle was one of Brickell's defining songs as a singer-songwriter. It represents a sound several people, myself included, wishes she would return to. Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars is still worth a spin.

But maybe that's the point. As much as anyone could make a case for Mascis to stick to his phenomenal guitar work and beautifully rasping vocals, Brickell can chart her own course. Much like the song says, "nothing's good enough for anybody else, it seems." But then again, maybe that's why Mascis' rendition is such a compliment. Brickell was almost pained in the original where Mascis wears it like a second skin.

Circle By J Mascis Runs Around At 6.9 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Circle is certainly a must-have, especially for anyone who appreciated Several Shades Of Why. For anyone else, it serves up a gentle reminder why the solo album deserves a second listen. Tracks that merit ample attention include: Listen To Me, Not Enough, It Is Done, Where You Are, and What Happened. By the way, if you ever wondered, Mascis goes by "J" because he was Joseph Jr. 

You can pick up Circle by J Mascis on iTunes, and listen to a few tracks from Several Shades Of Why.   You can also find the original version by Brickell there. Circle b/w I've Been Thinking by J Mascis can also be found on Amazon. Barnes & Noble carries a vinyl release of Several Shades Of Why, but it does not include the single.

Male Bonding Makes Endless Now

Not everyone is going to love Endless Now from Male Bonding, the latter day lo-fi rockers who helped create a sound revival of sorts in London. The sophomore album replaces some of their scrappiness with a smoothness that almost sounds like a debut from someone else. And that's okay.

Male Bonding told Pitchfork that they wanted to break out of the lo-fi pigeonhole. They want a little more freedom, which will require listeners to have an open mind. It's bigger, cleaner, and crisper. It sounds great, even if it isn't as restless.

Endless Now doesn't lose confusion in the polish.

Settling into a sound that doesn't qualify it as pop-punk requires a certain sense of bravery by the band. John Arthur Webb (guitar and vocals), Kevin Hendrick (bass and vocals), Robin Silas Christian (drums) and guest Nathan Hewitt (guitar) all know it. All bands lose a few fans with a significant change up. But here, you have to have a tin ear not to hear the lurking fierceness.

It has only been a year since the band (founded in 2008) released their debut album, Nothing Hurts. And it's amazing that they ever got it off the ground, given their tightly packed tour schedule last year. They wrote almost everything on the road, and some of those in the know will recognize those that Webb and company road tested.

At the same time, it's safe to assume the road-tested fare might hit differently when they are not bookended by Nothing Hurts tracks. You tell me.


What's The Scene is one of several essential tracks from the album. If it doesn't capture any interest after a listen or two, then you won't find the album as infectious as it ought to be. It's awash with pure noise pop, and a nice grungy center and bittersweet song reminding someone that they aren't all that.

Add Mysteries Compete and Before It's Gone to the mix. Both tracks were initial picks before committing to review the album. Like many of the tracks, both songs bring Webb into the forefront, dreamy vocals against the frantic pace of guitars and sticks.

Channeling Your Fears is also worth play time, with its conflicting lyrical and instrumental arrangements that remind you these guys seldom write love songs. Surprisingly, I can't say the same for the opener Tame The Sun. It's one of a few tracks that lay there like the fortunately short song The Saddle and not-short enough Dig You Out.

Back on the plus, expect to hear plenty about Bones and Carryings. Bones because it's a great long play song that never gets tired. Carrying because it's one of the songs Webb has singled out. He wrote it on a plane back to London, finishing it as soon as he hit the hotel room.

That's not where they were recorded, of course. The sophomore album was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studio in Woodstock, NY, and produced by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Thurston Moore, Dinosaur Jr.). It was mixed at Headgear Recording.

Male Bonding Makes Endless Now Timeless At 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

More often than not, I have reservations any time I hear that a band wants to strive for a cleaner sound. But Male Bonding makes Endless Now work on its own terms. Without the grit, there seems to be room for more guitars and vocals, along with piano in parts. It's a solid 36 minutes that takes the band several steps forward without losing some of their roots. Not bad for a band that put out their own record and had SubPop approach them for repress in America.

Endless Now by Male Bonding is available on iTunes. A vinyl release can be found at Barnes & Noble. Endless Now can also be download from Amazon.

25 With Sebadoh; 17 With Bakesale

Arguably the finest release by Massachusetts lo-fi pioneers Sebadoh, Bakesale has been reissued as a deluxe remastered edition. Deluxe is an understatement. The album sounds as fresh as it did 17 years ago, and with plenty of extras.

Looking back, it's almost hard to believe. What began as little more than a side project for one-time Dinosaur Jr. bassist Lou Barlow way back in the 1980s has become a timeless and influential masterwork. The cost, his his spot with Dinosaur Jr., was worth it.

There is no doubt today that his firing turned out to be a good thing. It freed him to focus on what would become the slow burn success of Sebadoh; Barlow composing and recording tracks with guitarist Eric Gaffney and drummer Russell Pollard. Three years later (five years from the unofficial forming), Sebadoh III and a full-time tour schedule with fIREHOUSE helped them all earn a solid reputation in rock circles.

The early years were especially pained for Barlow, with side projects not nearly as common as they are today. And despite being a talented songwriter, he could never put these songs out with Dinosaur Jr. because he preferred deference to J. Mascis.

Bakesale turned Barlow's lo-fi side project into a band.

There isn't any question that Bakesale marked a change of pace from the Sebadoh's earlier lo-fi releases. The album included several unpolished and beautifully noisy rockers, most under 3 minutes.

Sebadoh purists (at the time) were less receptive. Some blamed the sudden shift on the departure of Gaffney. Others blamed the addition of drummer Bob Fay. Little did anyone know that "blame" was the wrong kind of word.

As much the sound marked a change in the lineup, it also indicated that Barlow's side project had become a band. Along with Fay and Barlow, Jason Loewenstein brought his considerable talents on bass, guitar, and vocals.

His fingerprints are all over the album. In fact, Loewenstein’s contributions musically and lyrically are just as strong as any made by Barlow. It may even be that the combination of these two talents (Loewenstein and Barlow) is what brought everything together.


As mentioned, Bakesale isn't just a reissue. It feature 25 bonus tracks (one for each year), consisting of B-sides, four-track demos, and acoustics. Barlow originally gave fans a heads up with a handwritten note, posted on his website.

As a refresher for those who never heard the album, Not Too Amused builds its way up to something sonic while Drama Mine (dramamine as it was called as a demo) boasts riveting bass and guitar. Magnet’s Coil is propelled by a driving beat, but the standout has always been License to Confuse.

The plaintive lyrics scream: “I'm not attractive today, I'm not a sight for sore eyes. I'm not an Adam or Eve, I'm just a nervous young thing.”

Hearing the album again is a treat. But it's everything else that makes the deluxe remastered reissue a true gem. The bare bones versions of Not A Friend and Mystery Man notwithstanding, there are a few odd mishmashes that will be endearing to anyone who loves Barlow and company.

Bakesale by Sebadoh Cooks Up 8.7 on the Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The original Sebadoh lineup (sans Fay, plus Gaffney) has reunited for a tour and all the reviews are solid. They will have three dates in Australia this September before taking some time off. After that, Sebadoh will head back out for the Weezer Cruise on the Carnival Cruise Line “Destiny” in Florida. An odd venue, but strangely it works.

The reissue helmed by SubPop is one of the best music deals this year. Sebadoh released it for a regular price even though the a wealth of tracks and includes a digital booklet. Bakesale by Sebadoh is on iTunes. The Bakesale CD is at Barnes & Noble. Bakesale (Deluxe Edition) is also on Amazon.

Handsome Furs Rips From Reality

When it comes to coloring outside the lines, Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) and his wife Alexei Perry have always done so in big bold and meaty strokes. Their new LP, Sound Kapital, pushes outside even further with its electronic leanings and provocative content.

Most people will probably miss the guitar emphasis that became part of the Handsome Furs videos at first. It's still there in smaller doses, sometimes as white noise, with the whole of the album serving as a reminder that Boeckner appreciates playing to the unpredictability of his craft. You won't miss the guitar for long.

There is a refinement here moves even further away from Boeckner and the rattling indie sound of Wolf Parade. Some of the album can even be called subdued or restrained but no less urgent. What About Us? is even trending with a video that prompted SubPop Records to release a censored and uncensored version.

Kapital Sounds has urgent meanderings and a smooth finish.

The supportive role of the guitar is sometimes diminished to a distorted undertow with Perry's keys and synth taking on a prominent role, second only to the lyrics. It's the lyrics where Boeckner puts all of his focus, creating a restrained urgency. It also reinforces how much of his talent and genius come from being a confident and convicted songwriter.



According to SubPop Records, it's all by design. Boeckner wanted to prove once again that electronic isn't detached from the human experience. (They even conjure images of Wendy Carlos accompanied Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian vision of A Clockwork Orange.) And, on Sound Kapital, they reject the myth with every fiber of their beings.

The ten-track bonus album (the tenth track Agony is a must have) is a fully engaged and fresh expression for the duo. It also allowed Boeckner to write on the road, fitting all of their compact gear into a subcompact or less before exploring the world.

The deliberatecy of the human experience.

Case in point: Damage incorporates samples of radio broadcasts concerning a Hong Kong hostage situation not because the Handsome Furs had something to say about it but because they were in the Philippines while it unfolded. It is part of the inspiration behind the album. Boeckner and Perry both wanted to learn something about bands that didn't want to escape to sun-drenched paradises to write material.

So where did they go? Repatriated and Cheap Music were inspired by repressed regions like Myanmar and the city of Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province. Their journey also included stops in South America, the Far East, and Eastern Europe. They visited crowded, pulsing cities in China and Korea. And they welcomed it all as blank slates wanting to better understand the world.

The cleaner sound can be attributed to the compositions as well as the mile deep team behind it. It was recorded in Montreal, preserved at Hotel2Tango, mixed at Kaiku Studios, and mastered back home in Montreal. Howard Bilerman, Arlen Thompson, Antti Joas, Jonas Verwijnen, and Harris Newman all had their hands on this one.

The best tracks include Serve The People, Repatriated, Bury Me Standing, No Feelings, and What About Us? If anyone hears hints of a retro vibe, the biggest throwback would probably be the bonus track. And personally, that one is my favorite on the album.

Sound Kapital By The Handsome Furs Rips Reality At 8.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

There is undoubtedly a lot of ugliness within the album, but not in the arrangements. The album is easily more mature, deliberate, and dark. It may even be named after photographer Matthew Neiderhauser's book Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground.

Sound Kapital is readily available at iTunes or you can download the Sound Kapital album from Amazon. Barnes & Noble has the CD and a vinyl edition. You can also sign up for a free download of Repatriated and What About Us? on the SubPop Records Handsome Furs page. Enjoy.

Papercuts Lands With Fading Parade

There is an old saying that if you want something done right, do it yourself. But the truth is that sometimes it works. And sometimes it's not such a great idea.

Case in point: Jason Robert Quever always recorded and produced his own work at his home studio, Pan American Recording Studio. This is where his band Papercuts produced three solid releases since 2000. He got attention for his work on 2004's Mockingbird, 2007's Can't Go Back, and 2009's you Can Have What You Want.

But there is something decidedly different about his fourth album. That's because Quever wanted something different. Something bigger.

“I just knew that we wanted a big sound, like drums that really rang out a long time,” said Quever. I’d been playing more with a band, so I just thought about trying to get it as dynamic as possible, in a way that’s hard to do recording at home.”

He reached out to producer Thom Monahan (Beachwood Sparks), and recorded what would become Fading Parade at The Hangar in Sacramento. Some tracks were still recorded at home for posterity, of course. The result is Papercuts’ finest release to date. It features a virtual wall of sound that evokes a 60s cool Phil Spector and a touch of nostalgia.


Do What You Will is one of several standouts from the album. What is unique about all of the tracks is that Papercuts weaves in Moogs, Mellotron, strings, and even the autoharp. The recording methods vary from digital and analog.

And all of it, from beginning to end, is unexpected, unconventional, and unlike anything else. Enough so that one of our reviewers told me singer Mary Lou Lord said she wanted to know more about Papercuts.

Papercuts uncovers haunting melodies within a bigger production.

Although he is comfortable recording on his own, Quever admits that working with Monahan was a relief because it enabled him to focus more in his songwriting. This is a good thing. Fading Parade has Quever cranking out songs that offer up a more grown up writing style, and this puts Papercuts over the top.

To round out the band, Quever tapped musicians he knows. They have been playing as Papercuts' live band for the past two years, even if Papercuts is primarily Quever. His new bandmates include David Enos (keyboard and autoharp), Graham Hill (drums), and Frankie Koeller (bass). All of them lend strong chops to the proceedings.

If you want to know what to watch for, listen to the piano heavy Winter Daze and the brooding I’ll See You Later, I Guess. Of course, the jangly Do You Really Wanna Know features some cool Mellotron and Moog; and you can hear Enos on the autoharp in Do What You Will, which adds an unexpected element that works.

Fading Parade By Papercuts Whips In With A 6.5 On the Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

All of the songs are tied together by their finely layered melodies, sometimes whispered and sometimes pained or world weary. The band's new label, Sub Pop, describes it as dream pop. I hear it more as adventurous, wistful, sophisticated, and nostalgic.

The band just played a show in their home base of San Francisco and has plans to head out on the road in the near future. Something tells me they won't be touring alone, but they will be touring and we're anxious to see some dates.

Fading Parade by Papercuts is on iTunes. You can also find Fading Parade on Amazon or look for the CD or vinyl edition at Barnes & Noble.

Obits Ramp Moody, Standard And Poor

Coming together in Brooklyn following the breakup of Hot Snakes in 2006, singer/songwriter Rick Froberg, drummer Scott Gursky, and guitarist Sohrab Habibion had something pleasantly addictive right out of the gate. Add in bassist Greg Simpson for their 2008 debut and there isn't any wonder why Sub Pop snapped them up.

The bootleg recording that leaked from the Cake Shop on New York's Lower East Side underscored the urgency of the garage punk indie rockers who were both veterans and reinvented into something new. The Obits' new album — Moody, Standard And Poor — is everything you want in stripped down, sometimes surf-infused and stirring indie.

Moody, Standard And Poor drifts, seethes, and whirls.

Recorded at Brooklyn’s Saltlands Studio by Eli Janney and Geoff Sanoff, the sophomore record is a bit more restrained than the debut but with no less bite. Sub Pop mused that Froberg doesn't like to yell anymore because it hurts his throat and makes him feel uncomfortable. That is not to mean Froberg isn't excitable.

The 12-track lineup opens with You Gotta Lose and has enough angst to garner attention. It sets the tone. And although there isn't a theme behind the record, Froberg did tell Vish Khanna that there is some semblance of powerlessness throughout.

"The margins have narrowed, generally, but I don't think 'marginalization' is the right word," he said. "There's a certain poverty of inspiration and energy and things are going to shit. It's really hard to explain what I mean. If I was better at it, I'd do a speaking tour or something."

Or maybe, who knows, he would sing upside down while wearing paper eyeballs on his chin. Oh wait, that was for the last album.


While we're still waiting for the new video installation (check out You Gotta Lose, live), Pine On remains a classic ultra-low budget video like only Sub Pop can present. This time around, the Obits patiently deliver a double guitar attack with more sharpness and technical skill.

It's difficult to pick a starting place. Killer, Beggin' Dogs, Naked To The World, and No Fly List are all worthy for their exquisite driving guitars and relentlessness. And then there are New August, Standards, and Shift Operator, which have a different vibe with Habibion picking up the vocals on the latter two.

I Blame Myself is an especially trippy, mood-setting instrumental that flows along for three minutes and wraps the album. But if I had to pick a favorite, Everything Looks Better In The Sun is one of those songs that just sounds better with every play. Play it loud. It never gets old.

Moody, Standard And Poor By The Obits Revolves Around 6.7 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Froberg says that the band is still too new to tell if this is the one he wants to grow old into the music. We think it might be. The band is currently touring the U. S. Midwest and East Coast. In May, they head off to Europe, playing Belgium, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Moody, Standard And Poor by The Obits is ready to download on iTunes. Moody, Standard & Poor is also available on Amazon and on CD from Barnes & Noble.

Dum Dum Girls Get High With You

With the band name that plays homage to The Vaselines and Iggy Pop, what began as a solo project for singer-drummer Kristin Gundred a.k.a. Dee Dee Penny continues to find a fuzzy garage noise pop following since Penny expanded the band in 2008. She picked the right ones.

Right on the heals of the successful 11-track LP with Jules (guitar, vocals), Bambi (bass), and Frankie Rose (drums) who left last June, Sub Pop dropped another 4-track EP with the band's new drummer Sandy a.k.a. Raveonettes vet Sandra Vu. The EP, He Gets Me High, includes three new tracks and a twangy higher tempo cover of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths.

The new EP was produced by Penny, Richard Gottehrer, and Sune Rose Wagner (Raveonettes). It sounds great despite knowing that it will mark the end of the early chapter in the band's career. The Dum Dum Girls' tour was interrupted last year after Penny's mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. What's ahead will be different than what some expect.

"The songs on the EP were the last songs that I had that weren't affected by [losing her mom]," Penny has said. "[The next album is] going to be a pretty dark, sad record. The tone of it is pretty intense."

As the one goes, so goes the band. Even with the change on drums, the band is known for its tightly knit sound. It's easy to see in their live performances, like this solid fan capture of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out cover. (Penny's notes also pick up lower tones in live sessions.)


Almost everyone says the same thing about the cover. They don't expect to like it, but the Dum Dum Girls do an amazing job honoring the way The Smiths' played it while making it their own. It's gold.

So are all of the other tracks. Wrong Feels Right is as strong as anything put out on last year's I Will Be. Take Care Of My Baby drops down the tempo into a deliberate, languishing ballad. And, my favorite, the driving melodic and psychedelic He Gets Me High. The throwback, modernized sound demonstrates the increasing depth of a band that Penny never meant to be a band.

You would never know it based on their stage presence. As soon as they take the stage, it's like somebody hits a switch. You can tell Gottehrer has some influence on the on stage performances as he does in the studio. The strident energy they bring to the stage reminds everyone why they are sudden but deserving Los Angeles-based headliners.

He Gets Me High By The Dum Dum Girls Ratchets Up At 7.5 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Sometimes living in Los Angeles has its privileges. One of them is catching bands before they hit an upward climb. The Dum Dum Girls are much like that for me, knowing they can hypnotize everyone standing in front of the stage with their rhythmically forceful performances.

Right now the Dum Dum Girls are on tour in the southern states and swinging up Florida before heading abroad. Expect big buzz in Europe. He Gets Me High is available on iTunes. You can also find He Gets Me High on Amazon, which also carries vinyl. The Dum Dum Girls' EP is also at Barnes & Noble.

Twilight Singers Take Dynamite Steps

Singer/songwriter Greg Dulli, former frontman for the Afghan Whigs, loves side projects. His pairing with longtime pal, singer Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age), put him under the Gutter Twins banner. But then there's The Twilight Singers.

The Twilight Singers is a band with a rotating roster of members who perform with Dulli. You would never know it. It has just as much cohesion as any band out there.

The newest release is Dynamite Steps, the fifth album since the Twilight Singers first made an appearance in 2000 with the CD Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers. What makes Dynamite Steps especially worthwhile is that it looks like Dulli's side project will become his primary focus.

The lineup is hot. Released by Sub Pop Records, the guest list includes appearances by Lanegan, Ani DiFranco, and Nick McCabe (The Verve). It was produced by Dulli.

Dynamite Steps is a dark album, rife with dark tales, and equally dark music.

The new album is indicative of everything that happened since the band's last release, Powder Burns, in 2006. Powder Burns almost paid homage to excess. But the new darkness makes Dynamite Steps arguably Dulli’s best work to date.

He’s just as charismatic and literate, and his pained, yet seductive voice is sublime. He takes listeners through songs that “explore the thin line between life and death, mortality and immortality, resignation and celebration.” On the Corner is one of them.


On The Corner, with its driving piano, isn't the only winner. Most of the songs on the album are quiet, stripped down, yet soulful.

Two other tunes that stand out are Blackbird And The Fox, an excellent duet with DiFranco; and Get Lucky, a confessional that is as close to a power ballad as the Twilight Singers get. Be Invited is not to be missed either. It's a duet with Lanegan, which would have fit perfectly on the Gutter Twins’ acclaimed Saturnalia CD. But I'm glad it's here.

In all, Dynamite Steps includes an 11-song journey of highs and lows, but all of it is filled with passion and redemption. It's a journey well worth taking. And it might even make the Twilight Singers a more permanent attraction to look forward to.

Dynamite Steps By The Twilight Singers Hits With An 8.5 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The Twilight Singers world tour begins in March 2011 with concerts scheduled throughout Europe and the United States. Touring with Dulli will be special guests Margo & The Nuclear So & So's, a riveting band in their own right. You can track them on Facebook.

Dynamite Steps by The Twilight Singers is on iTunes. You can also find Dynamite Steps on Amazon. There is also a limited vinyl edition.

No Age Shreds Everything In Between

When Wives, the hardcore punk trio from Los Angeles split, Randy Randall (guitar) and Dean Spunt (drummer/vocals) were hardly done. No Age immediately formed and was signed with Seattle-based Sub Pop. Several EPs and albums later, Randall and Spunt are on an evolution binge.

Everything In Between is stocked with surprises. The punk noise that the duo is known for has been refined into a collection of 13 tracks that ranges from trash rockers to electronic experimentation. All of them are oddly addictive, even if the entire ecstatic mix breaks every rule with only the constant hum of distortion and flashes of feedback providing a thread.

Everything In Between is still brutally stripped bare by Randall and Spunt.

Clearly, Everything In Between moves away from the free spirited veracity of their previous albums and toward a more deliberate dialogue for the everyday schmuck with a schedule. It's not a complete departure from their original sound as much as it is noticeable that their abstractions have more uplifts and their presentations more clarity.

The album was originally released a few months ago, but the arrival of a new visually muted and offbeat video has unexpectedly revived the entire set. The resurgence convinced us to give it another spin without the crowded field we found last September. It immediately gave us something to let smolder for awhile.

The video that resparked the release is campy and deep, enough that some fans feel the need to explain the concept, pointing out that everything in between the frame is the universe. Anything inside the frame gets squeezed and everything that falls outside the frame gets shredded. The album was made much the same way, with 25 tracks cut almost in half.


The video was shot by Patrick Daughters, who originally broke into the music video business after filming the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in 2003. This is his first music video after spending most of last year on commercial shoots. The real beauty here is that it almost plays like an anti-music video. Sub Pop also released a short "making of" clip.

It also captures the appeal of Everything In Between. No Age retains its minimal sound and deconstructs the stuff that you'd expect from straightforward punk or rock or pop noise.

While Fever Dreaming is an easily familiar punk favorite, the rest of the album has bite. Life Prowler opens on a relentless steadiness until it drifts into a bigger sound. Glitter laces together a stylish melody over electronic noise. Depletion is a lo-fi rocker, often called the highlight of the album.

Everything In Between By No Age Shreds A 4.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

When you spend some time listening to the lyrics, you might even come away with the notion that No Age has infused some unpredictable pop stylings into the mix. This might even be why the album sounds more cohesive. Definitely wear your headphones, especially if you purchase the album and enjoy the drifting dizziness that accompanies Dusted.

Everything In Between by No Age is available on iTunes, with the bonus track Inflorescence. On Amazon, you can download Everything In Between MP3s or purchase the CD, but neither have the bonus track. You can also keep up with the band's schedule on MySpace. They play the Rickshaw Shop in San Francisco at the end of the month.

The Vaselines Put The X In Sex This September

Mark your calendars. The Vaselines are releasing their second album, Sex With An X, in September. You might say it has been a very, very long time coming for the Scottish duo. Their debut was two decades ago.

In anticipation of the new sound and to introduce themselves to new fans (and reacquaint them with existing fans), the band is giving listeners a chance to download their new single, I Hate the '80s, for free. But before you do, you might want to know a little more about their eclectic brilliance.

Who Are The Vaselines?

As the legend goes, couple Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee formed a quirky garage pop band, released a groundbreaking album and then split as a band just as quickly. Two years later, they split as a couple too. And that was that.

It might have been, but Kurt Cobain was a big fan of their work, so much so that he deemed them his favorite songwriters. And so Nirvana covered three of their songs (most notably Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam; Cobain-ized to Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For a Sunbeam), putting the band back on the radar and providing an interesting listen for the newly hooked.


Yes, I Said With An X.

In keeping true to their original form, Sex With An X was produced Jamie Watson (who also produced their first album) in just under two weeks with a host of musicians sitting in, including members of Belle & Sebastian. McKee and Kelly never considered themselves musicians, and still don't. They are, however, more than competent and smart enough to surround themselves with the right people.

In many ways it sounds like Sex With An X was recorded just a year or two after Dum Dum. The 20-year lapse in time hasn’t dulled the Vaselines in any way nor tarnished the lovable, strangely trippy sound that made them so unique in the ‘80s. There is a childlike quality to the lyrics, the vocals, and the wonderful simplicity of the songs themselves.

Last year, perhaps in anticipation of Sex With an X, Sub Pop! released a deluxe edition of 1992’s The Way Of the Vaselines, called Enter The Vaselines. It’s basically their first release (Dum Dum), plus two EPs and a whole bunch of remastered versions of their better known songs, as well as live recordings of Rory Rides Me Raw (which is not about what you think it is….Rory is a bike), Son of a Gun, and Sex Sux.

This is worth checking out if you want to explore the band further. If you do, you’ll quickly discover why Cobain thought they were such a rare find: untarnished, a bit raw (like Rory), and completely unique. Unlike many bands, the Vaselines sound just as great live as they do on vinyl.

Sex With An X is a welcome return for the Vaselines. The band picks up right where they left off 20 years ago without missing a beat. I, for one, am quite glad they are back.

The Vaselines' Sex With An X Scores 7.7 on the Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The Vaselines will be touring to support Sex With An X all fall, starting Sept. 15 in Edinburgh and winding through the United Kingdom and back to Glasgow on Sept. 24. On Oct. 2, they’ll embark on an ambitious tour of North America. You can purchase tickets for just about any show directly from the band’s Website.

If you want to check out the new tracks with free downloads, visit The Vaselines. If you want to become familiar with their unexpectedly influential history, start with Enter The Vaselines.

Jaill Breaks Out With That's How They Burn

There are countless faceless and nameless bands playing away, most of which will never get a break, never mind a record deal. Jaill, replete with extraneous L, was one of those bands up until July 27 with the release of That's How We Burn.

The Wisconsin-based self-described psych-pop combo’s second full-length CD was just released thanks to the Sub Pop! label, giving the band just enough juice to make a go of it. The cover says it all: it features a woman wearing a silly dolphin hat, standing by the water's edge.

I’m guessing the water in question is Lake Michigan since the boys are a tad far from the coast. It's out there. So is the video (below) with their leading single The Stroller. That campy craziness would please the B-52’s, but maybe even Dick Dale and Captain Picard too. The "water" in the video is not Lake Michigan, of course.

That’s How We Burn features the band’s guitar-driven, surfy sound, amped up, and jangly.

The garagey feel is the band’s biggest strength. That and the straightforward delivery and clever lyrics of Vincent Kircher (who also plays guitar).

Along with bandmates Austin Dutmer (drums), Andrew Harris (bass) and Ryan Adams (guitar), Jaill is just a bunch of average guys from the Midwest who probably played in someone’s mom’s garage or basement. Their demo CD was recorded in an attic.

The reverb heavy album gets off on the right foot with the anthemic The Stroller. It's followed up by Everyone's Hip. The relentless Snake Shakes and hooks mixed with ampy guitar of Demon work too. It feels fun and effortless, the way rock and roll is supposed to be.

How effortless? Close your eyes if you prefer no distractions. Open them for the full psych-pop experience.


Jaill is touring to support That’s How We Burn. They will be working their way through the Pacific Northwest after a record release show in Milwaukee. They will also pick up California cities like Chico, Costa Mesa, Santa Barbara, and Pomona before heading back to the Midwest in September.

Jaill Breaks Out With A 6.5 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

You can find That's How We Burn by Jaill on iTunes. On Amazon, you'll find That's How We Burn and There's No Sky (Oh My My), which was released before Sub Pop! picked them up.

The band also has fun on Facebook, bantering back and forth with fans. They do the same on Twitter and their site as well, ending with ... "WHATEVER! remember: We can only ignore you for so long. Love to hear from you! LATERS!!"