Sweet Bulbs

Sweet Bulbs

I've a huger than huge crush on Brooklyn's noisy Sweet Bulbs. Whenever someone asks me to describe what my favorite music sounds like, I'm normally left scrambling words together, getting nowhere fast. What I think my brain is normally desperately trying to describe is exactly what Sweet Bulbs sound like. Strep-contagious female vocal melodies paired with screaming guitar-mess and catchy, driving basslines. It's the quickest way to my metaphorical music-heart. The most exciting thing about Sweet Bulbs though, is that they seem to nail it everytime. As of right now I've still only heard a few songs, but they've done more than enough to make me enormously impatient to hear the whole of Sweet Bulbs' debut LP, Cybergaze. Listen to "Kissing Clouds" (from the upcoming Cybergaze) and perhaps you'll understand my excitement.

[MP3]: Sweet Bulbs "Kissing Clouds"
(There is no adjective strong enough to clearly stress my recommendation of this song!)

Sweet Bulbs on MySpace!

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June

Chapel Hill's June

Though it wasn't all that long ago, I've already forgotten where I heard of June in the first place, but I'm so glad glad I took the chance and downloaded their singles. I'm typically sold on "90s Chapel Hill" anyway, but reviews and descriptions only made them sound even sweeter. June don't sound all that sweet, though. Amongst the woven guitar lines and bursts of fuzz and distortion, Kat Cook's vocal harmonies still manage to steal the show in most of June's recordings. Way up front and mostly bereft of reverb or any other kind of effects, her voice ends up playing a very powerful role and the lines stick to you like glue almost immediately. They released three singles—one of which produced by Mr. Mitch Easter—and one one album in 1996 before breaking up nearly a month after. I've still yet to hear the full-length, but the three singles have been hogging most of my ear-time lately. Listen to "Stripteaser", the A-side from their second single in 1993 of the same name.

[MP3]: June "Stripteaser" (Highly Recommended!)

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A monthly mix: September 2010!

Fall is almost here!

I love Fall. This really shouldn't be any kind of secret to anyone that even knows me in the very most remote way. The connection between so much of the music I love and the many smells and sensations of this upcoming season is kind of uncanny, but it's something I've come to truly look forward to every year. There's nothing like putting on the perfect record and going for a walk or even a drive outside in that crispier than crisp air. Anyway, the mix. Well here it is. Take it out for a ride! It would be a little better if it weren't still 90 degrees during the day, but what can you do?

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Tracklist:
01. Cinema Red & Blue "Ballad Of A Bus Stop"
02. Felt "My Face Is On Fire"
03. Cold Cold Hearts "Broken Teeth"
04. Ruby Falls "I Knew You When"
05. The Birthday Machine "Direction & Destination"
06. The Spinanes "Rummy"
07. Lilys "Elizabeth Colour Wheel"
08. The Pines "Kisses And Fog"
09. The Airfields "The Long Way Home"
10. Boyracer "My Town"
11. The Fauns "1991"
12. Scrawl "Disappear Without A Trace"
13. Henry's Dress "Zero Zero Zero"
14. The Lucksmiths "If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now"

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A monthly mix: August! 2010!

This month's mix marks a farewell to a Summer that I've been eager to see the end of ever since it began. I'm not sure if that emotion shows through in the mix itself, but there's a good chance it's there somewhere. Despite my personally lackluster experiences the past several months, music has been very good to me and I feel like there are quite a lot of new things to be excited about! Opening the mix is Swimsuit. I mentioned them just a post ago, so you go find out a bit more there! The Best Coast and Wild Nothing records have both been soundtracking my Summer quite well and I still can't manage to put them down! Then, in terms of new stuff, there's the new Sky Larkin album! I cannot recommend it enough — it's a perfect slice of 90s indierock and it's been on repeat since I got my 90s-loving hands on it. The rest of the mix goes on in particular Skatterbrain mix fashion and I'm sure you'll see some familiar faces along the way. I really hope you enjoy this one! Have an awesome August!

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Tracklist:
01. Swimsuit "Evaporation"
02. Best Coast "When The Sun Don't Shine"
03. East Village "Strawberry Window"
04. Ultra Vivid Scene "Special One" (ft. Kim Deal)
05. The Arrogants "It's All A Dream (Nightmare Version)"
06. Wild Nothing "Our Composition Book"
07. Helium "Honeycomb"
08. Sky Larkin "Still Windmills"
09. The Autocollants "Beyond The Reef"
10. Camera Obscura "A Sister's Social Agony"
11. The Cave Weddings "Never Never Know"
12. Tuscadero "Mt. Pleasant"
13. Big Troubles "Freudian Slips"
14. Moped "Keep In Touch"

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Swimsuit!!!

Ypsilanti's own, Swimsuit!

Not since getting ahold of the Weed Hounds demo last year, have I been so excited and blown away by the first listen of demo. The band is Swimsuit and they're from Ypsilanti, MI! They're relatively fresh out of the over and are not to be slept on! Fred Thomas of the amazing, incredible, best ever Saturday Looks Good To Me teamed up with friends Shelley, Dina (of Secret Twins), and Amber to form Swimsuit back sometime around the beginning of the year. They've since released a Demo EP, Life Like, and since hearing it, oh, just about an hour ago, I've fallen madly in love. The melodies are surfy and as catchy as I could have hoped for (and frankly I do believe I could have guessed Fred was involved even if no one told me). The vocals, which I believe come from Dina — who lent her vocal chords to Stuart Murdoch's God Help The Girl project — are also pretty to die for. Listen to "Evaporation" below! If you love it as much as I do you'll definitely want to download the Life Like HERE.

[MP3]: Swimsuit :: Evaporation (SO, SO Rec'd!)

Swimsuit on MySpace!

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I've got a passion for water

Liechtenstein are back!

Following their fantastic debut LP, Liechtenstein are back with a new single on, you guessed it, Fraction Discs! The single's three tracks represent the sound of Liechtenstein we've all come to love, but the songs just seem to keep better and better. A-side "Passion For Water" sounds as if it were nicked from some lost El Records compilation. Like the rest of the single, it remains catchy and very danceable — just like I like my Liechtenstein to be! Have a listen to "Passion For Water" and keep your eyes peeled over at Fraction Discs, as it should be ready to order soon!

[MP3]: Liechtenstein :: Passion For Water

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A monthly mix: July!

A need to be on a rollercoaster asap.

Hey! Time for another monthly mix! The past month or so has yielded too many awesome records I've barely been able to keep up! Ideally I would get to separate posts for every single one of them, but if I don't have time for all of that, at least you'll be getting familiar with most of them on this new mix! There are a few personal Summer stardards on here — Dressy Bessy, The Cat's Miaow, True Love Always — that I hope you'll love, too! I'd really recommend popping this in and driving aimlessly into the sweltering Summer afternoon. You'll be sweaty, but you'll feel awesome! I'm sure of it! Let me know if you're curious about anything you hear!

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Tracklist:
01. Club 8 "Shape Up!"
02. Ivy "This Is The Day"
03. Gold-Bears "Tally"
04. The Mantles "Situations"
05. Dressy Bessy "Maybe Laughter"
06. Hexicon "Annie Oh!"
07. World Atlas "Saint Mary"
08. Allo, Darlin' "My Heart Is A Drummer"
09. Grass Widow "Shadow"
10. The Procedure Club "Vermont"
11. Neverever "Coconut Shampoo"
12. Seeland "Local Park"
13. The Cat's Miaow "I Really Don't Know"
14. Ampersand "I'm Still Waiting"
15. True Love Always "Sheets"

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Reprobate!

I cannot resist one second of the new Serena-Maneesh album. SM-2 is full of sounds and melodies that I've mostly heard before, but the thing is, those are some of my favorite kinds of sounds and melodies, so I'll never say no. I'm pretty much in agreement with how Eric at Marathon Packs so perfectly put it: "Seriously, music: if you keep recycling the basic Lush formula and stirring in different elements/theme variations, I’ll keep buying (into) it." This live video makes me love this song/album even more than I already do. I urge you, please indulge.

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I'm gonna be the one on the morning train

The Blanche Hudson Weekend, like the late MLS, seem to never stop releasing records. Not so far off the heels of their last EP, comes a new one called Hate Is A Loaded Gun. A new track from the EP titled "Let Me Go" is up streaming on Drowned In Sound right now, so you should go check it out post haste! It's a bit more upbeat than anything on the last EP, and I think it might just be my favorite BHW song yet.

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New Pains Video: "Say No To Love"

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's new sun-soaked video for their new single "Say No To Love" has just (well, two days ago) been released and it does just what a video should: it makes the song even more infectious than it already was. Watch it!

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