i hate the sound of guitars

bellwire – “Waterbed” (EP)
Note: we’re not likely to make a practice of this. It’s against our charter. But the band bellwire reached out to us and invited us to listen to their music, and they made that easy and they weren’t rude about it. So we did. And it was pretty good. We decidedly liked [...]

[Read more →]

Alcest – Les Voyages de L’Âme
I’m not usually fond of post-anything genre labels. How can anything be post-rock? There’s still plenty of rock. But Alcest really is post-metal, in the sense that it used to be identifiably a metal act, and now it isn’t. This is shoegaze/dreampop for guitar tone freaks. If you’ve listened Pale [...]

[Read more →]

Every new release I listened to in November (69)

Absu – Azbu
Merrie Amtserburg – “Q Dee Rock and Soul #6″ (single)
An early Christmas present from Merrie Amsterburg and Q Division! Well, except you have to pay for it, so not exactly a present. But these mildly rocked-up versions of “We Three Kings” and “Silent Night” are [...]

[Read more →]

I bought tickets to this show assuming it would feature Tanya Donelly singing and playing guitar, which it did, and which would have been more than sufficient for me, but not necessarily assuming there would be anyone else involved. The actual cast of characters included, in alphabetical order:

Carrie Bradley, of Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, 100 Watt [...]

[Read more →]

Every new release I listened to in October (64)

BDRM Eyes – (demo tracks)
BDRM Eyes blend the pedal happiness of shoegaze with a more energetic delivery and experimental/dissonant aspects that recall indie rockers of a Sonic Youthish bent. I can’t unreservedly endorse the recording quality; the drums are distant and murky. But definitely leaves me wanting [...]

[Read more →]

Every new release I listened to in September (58)

Bangles – Sweetheart of the Sun
Bridge and Tunnel – “Bridge and Tunnel” (EP)
Bridge and Tunnel – Rebuilding Year
Brief Candles – Fractured Days
Apparently they prefer “dream-pop” and “blissrock” to “shoegaze.” Poh-TAY-toe, Poh-TAH-toe . . .
Glen Campbell – Ghost on the Canvas
I admit it. It was knowing Campbell [...]

[Read more →]

I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Frankly, the circumstances sounded a bit suspicious: reclusive artist schedules a mid-size tour after a long artistic silence and immediately prior to a career-spanning archive release. But from the first few seconds of “Oh, Comely,” it was impossible for me to see anything disingenuous in Mangum’s performance; further, [...]

[Read more →]

Every new release I listened to in August (56)

Army Coach – “Daydream” (EP)
Something about (my favorite tune) “I Am a Failure” reminds me, probably obliquely, of the Wrens, but Army Coach’s punk lineage is clearer than the Wrens’. Thermals might be a better RIYL, or ‘Chunk or even Dü (some very Greg Norton basslines, [...]

[Read more →]

The Lizard Lounge was crammed to the gills for the very welcome work-night friendly early set. Joe Pernice opened with a handful of solo songs, including the title track from Goodbye Killer and “Telescope,” a sneak peek at the in-progress Pernice Brothers album (he said it was mostly too rockin’ to translate well to an [...]

[Read more →]

Every new release I listened to in July (29)

Apollo Ghosts – “Money Has No Heart” – (EP)
Apollo Ghosts – “For What They Do, They Do” – (EP)
Army Girls – (3 singles)
Blood Stain Child – Epsilon
Bomb the Music Industry! – Vacation
Broadcaster – “Joyride” – (EP)
Delicate Cutters – Some Creatures
I like this. But it’s far milder than [...]

[Read more →]