Posted on

Estrogen Highs

I’m short. I’ve been short all of my life, so I’m pretty used to it. But, I would be lying if I said I’ve never dreamt of being taller. I’m not asking for anything extreme like 7 foot, just average, 6 foot would be perfectly acceptable. When I heard Estrogen Highs’ new single “I Wanna Be Tall”, the chorus really hit home with me. It simply states, “I wanna be tall like you”. It’s a great punk rock song that starts out slow with a warm glow of feedback and lonely guitar before it kicks into full assault of fuzzy guitar and pounding drums. Check it out below along with another track from their new album, Irrelevant Future, out now on Trouble In Mind.

Estrogen Highs – I Wanna Be Tall from Irrelevant Future (2012)

Estrogen Highs – Grass of Leaves from Irrelevant Future (2012)

Trouble In Mind

Posted on

Luke Roberts

Nashville native Luke Roberts released his sophomore album, The Iron Gates At Throop And Newport, with Thrill Jockey a little over a month ago. It’s a warm, stripped-down, folk record with most of the songs featuring only Roberts and his guitar. However, on “His Song” provided below, Roberts employs the use of drums, and some electric guitar which adds even more warm goodness. Enjoy.

Luke Roberts – His Song from The Iron Gates At Throop And Newport (2012)

Thrill Jockey

Posted on

Hollows

Hollows, a quintet (four ladies and one gentleman) out of Chicago, just released their second album Vulture with Trouble In Mind. Their musical style utilizes multiple vocal harmony layers that when mixed with jangly guitars and driving drum beats creates a killer garage pop groove. Trouble In Mind was kind enough to share a couple songs with us. Give them a try below then run out to your favorite local record store and buy this.

Hollows – V Is For Vulture from Vulture (2012)

Hollows – Golden Chain from Vulture (2012)

Hollows

Trouble In Mind

Posted on

M. Ward

M. Ward is releasing his new album, A Wasteland Companion, with Merge on April 10. The album was recorded with 18 musicians from bands like Oakley Hall, Devotchka, Sonic Youth, and Dr. Dog to name a few. Ms. Deschanel sings on a couple of tracks as well. Merge was gracious enough to send us the song “Primitive Girl” from the forthcoming album to share with you. “Primitive Girl” is in classic M. Ward form, although it’s a piano driven track with his guitar skills taking a back seat. The song moves along quickly, finishing well before you want it to. I guarantee at least two repeats. Check it out below, and make sure you get out to your favorite record store on April 10 to get yourself a copy.

M. Ward – Primitive Girl from A Wasteland Companion (2012)

M. Ward

Merge

Posted on

La Sera

La Sera is the side project of Vivian Girls’ bass player Katy Goodman. Sees The Light, her second album on Hardly Art, has a great in your face pop/rock feel to it which I really enjoy. She recorded this album with the help of Rob Barbato (The Fall, Darker My Love) who lent his guitar and production skills to the recording. The result is a great pop record, full of what great pop records are made of, songs about breakups and heartbreak. Enjoy.

La Sera – Please Be My Third Eye from Sees The Light (2012)

La Sera – Break My Heart from Sees The Light (2012)

Hardly Art

Posted on

The Spyrals

Keeping with the genre that Sean just posted, I present for your listening pleasure, The Spyrals. I stumbled upon this San Francisco trio the other night while browsing through bands on bandcamp. They play a very similar brand of 60’s lo-fi/dirty/garage rock, like the said previous post. Their music is irresistible to these ears, it’s almost like they saw me coming. They were kind enough to provide the track below. You can stream or buy their new S/T album on their bandcamp page, and I highly suggest that you do.

The Spyrals – Disguise

Posted on

Albino Father

Utah has always had a pretty cool underground music scene, and Salt Lake City’s Albino Father is just one of the bands making the scene as cool as it is. They released their debut album AGE in 2011. Their style is all over the map, mixing it up with almost every song. In an attempt to sum up their style, I would say that they play a psychedelic/garage/lo-fi/rock hybrid. Check out the tracks below, then head over to their Bandcamp page and make their music part of your collection.

Albino Father – Meth Truck from AGE (2011)

Albino Father – Gorilla Cat Lady from AGE (2011)

Albino Father – The Light from AGE (2011)

Posted on

Sonic Avenues

Sonic Avenues, a punk band out of Montreal, Quebec. Their second album, Television Youth, came out in January on Dirtnap Records. The title track, included below is a great example of their dirty, loud, lo-fi punk rock sound.

Sonic Avenues – Television Youth

Dirtnap

Sonic Avenues

Posted on

Pontiak

Pontiak is a trio out of Virginia. They are set to release their newest album Echo Ono with Thrill Jockey on February 21st. Their style is a blend of several different genres. No matter how you try to clasify them, psych, stoner rock, prog rock, they are simply a great rock band.

“Lions of Least”, the song provided below for your listening/downloading pleasure, has everything that makes a great rock ‘n’ roll song. Loud guitar, loud vocals, pounding drums, and a great driving bass line. This song is just a taste of  how good this entire album is, I highly recommend going out and picking it up.

Pontiak – Lions of Least from Echo Ono (2012)

Thrill Jockey

Pontiak

Posted on

Hospitality

Hospitality is an indie pop trio out of Brooklyn, NY. They released their first full-length, self-titled album on Merge Records last week. This album is catchy as hell, and has been on constant rotation since I received it. The two songs we’ve included below are a mere example of how good this album is. “Friends of Friends” and “Betty Wang” are pure pop gold. Full of fuzz, some surf guitar, and just the right amount of punch. But what really makes these songs stand out, and really the entire album, is Vocalist Amber Papini’s unique style. She sings with a slight English accent. According to Merge, Amber is from Kansas City and learned to sing by imitating Richard Butler on The Psychedelic Furs’ Talk Talk Talk. Enjoy.

Hospitality – Friends of Friends from S/T (2012)

Hospitality – Betty Wang from S/T (2012)

Merge