Back in April, I wrote this about Big Dipper:
But if they pull a “Mission of Burma”-style return to active duty (and I hope they do), I would love to see/hear them again when they have another few shows under their belt, hopefully in a better-sounding room, and when I’ve had a chance to rein in […]
Entries Tagged as 'indie rock'
Boston Spaceships/Big Dipper, 30 Sep 2008
30 Sep 2008 · No Comments
Tags: the paradise lounge · live · 2008 · indie rock · b
Manhattan Love Suicides - Burnt Out Landscapes
01 Aug 2008 · No Comments
Breaking all kindsa rules: I haven’t even listened to this record all the way through once, and it’s already one of my favorites of the year. It’s got me bouncing around in my seat so much, I just have to tell someone about it right now!!! Manhattan Love Suicides (from Leeds; the name is […]
Tags: magic marker · shoegaze · 2008 · indie rock · m
Simulacra - Simulacra
18 Jul 2008 · No Comments
I got Simulacra via eMusic, which meant I first heard this as a weird record, not as a novelty record. It was an arresting mixture for sure, blending the everything-distorted-all-the-time aesthetic of Parts & Labor/Times New Viking et al; a slow-tempoed, heavy, King Crimsonish vibe; and deep-buried, high-pitched female vocals a bit like Melt Banana, […]
Tags: experimental · indie rock · s
Big Dipper/Great Plains, 26 April 2008
21 May 2008 · No Comments
Great Plains is the band that ruined my life. You might know their signature “Letter to a Fanzine” as the “Why do punk rock guys go out with new wave girls?” song. But I know it as the Song of the Big Lie:
You like everything that comes out on SST
You like everything that comes out […]
Tags: live · the middle east · 2008 · indie rock · g · b
act in haste or repent at leisure
04 May 2008 · No Comments
You’ve got just about a month left to place an order from Asaurus Records, the micro-indie label that releases beautiful hand-packaged CDRs from the likes of Pants Yell!, Colin Cleary, The Mathletes, and many more. There’s a very generous selection of free tracks to download, too. Among the “I Hate the Sound of Guitars”-endorsed discs […]
Tags: indie pop · lo-fi · asaurus · 2007 · 2006 · n · indie rock · c
new england digital music bonanza
03 May 2008 · 2 Comments
I’m going to link MySpace pages in this post. I feel like it’s a little irresponsible to do that without mentioning a more-or-less safe way to follow the links. Here’s what I recommend for visiting MySpace:
Set up a browser (or browser profile) to delete all cookies on exitI like to configure Opera up for […]
Tags: lo-fi · 2008 · punk · indie rock · d · h · c
Smokers Die Younger - X Wants the Meat
14 Feb 2008 · No Comments
There’s basically nothing I don’t love about Smokers Die Younger’s X Wants the Meat.
I love the cheap-sounding keyboards (Casio? I can live in hope). I love the also cheap-sounding and frequently fuzzed-out guitar and bass (Slates amps and Skinny Rat guitars? Sounds like they could be), the determinedly plonky single-note guitar lines they play, and […]
Tags: experimental · thee sheffield phonographic corporation · lo-fi · 2006 · indie rock · s
Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday
08 Feb 2008 · 1 Comment
I really should have found the time to write about this album two days ago, but oh well, life is full of missed opportunities. I also missed my opportunities to hear Ash Wednesday in the year of its release, else it would’ve been shortlisted for the best-of set.
I try to avoid Neutral Milk Hotel as […]
Tags: folk · xl recordings · acoustic · 2007 · p · indie rock · alphabetical
The Capstan Shafts - Consumption Violets, A Brace for Hephaestus, Kid Butane Goes to Greenland
12 Nov 2007 · No Comments
Here are some things that Dean Edward Wells, a.k.a. The Capstan Shafts, doesn’t have:
Fancy recording equipment
A rock-solid sense of timing
Rabid perfectionism about the recording process
Long songs
Here are some things that Dean Edward Wells does have:
A prodigious bounty of catchy melodies and riffs
A bevvy of quirky lyrics set to the former
A pretty good singing voice
A modicum […]
Tags: lo-fi · indie pop · 2007 · indie rock · c
Eisenhower Field Day - Let’s Not Tell Lies
16 Sep 2007 · No Comments
Indie-rock trio Eisenhower Field Day dish up textbook-perfect indie rock on this LP (a 2003 EP is appended to the current release). Guitarist/lead vocalist Noah Butler has a slightly yelpy tenor to which bassist Holly Butler’s harmonies provide welcome sweetening. They play with conviction and the songs are are full of interesting dynamic and textural […]
Tags: lesser note · 2006 · indie rock · e