skatterbrain!

The Interest Group is the new project of Philadelphia’s...

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:04:00 -0400

The Interest Group is the new project of Philadelphia’s bonkers Yohsuke Araki (BAnanas Symphony, Blackhawks) and to call their new single, “The Passenger,” gorgeous would probably still be underselling it by miles. Both this track and “The Boy and The Girls” (the other of two singles on their bandcamp page at the moment) would fit quite nicely between some Margo Guryan and The Free Design, I’d say. So hey world, if there’s any justice out there, let’s see an Interest Group/New Lines split 12” real soon, okay? OKAY?! Now go listen to this gem.

I’m not entirely sure whether or not I’m late to the...

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:38:00 -0400

I’m not entirely sure whether or not I’m late to the game on Toronto’s Actual Water or not, but I can pretty much guarantee that their new-ish ‘Paisley Orchard’ LP (out on Unfamiliar Records) won’t be far from me all Summer long. The record opens on a wildly high note with a choice Bill Cosby sample and moves through 13 tracks of classic warm and trebly janglepop. My ears have yet to really find a disappointing moment and so far it’s still pretty tough pick a favorite! But I GUESS if I had to pick one it would be “Dandelion Sun”. Its “There She Goes”-like riff brings such a sunny optimism that this Tuesday almost feels more like the weekend. Thanks much to Krister for the tip!

A Monthly Mix: May 2012!

Tue, 01 May 2012 21:41:11 -0400

Happy May! In the interest of getting this posted on the first, I’m gonna be posting it late, as in, RIGHT NOW! This months theme was just 100% fun and enthusiasm and kind of a desire to cram as many different types of songs that I love on to one mix while still retaining a nice cohesiveness! It think it’s potentially a success? The Mice into The Ropers?! Ruth Miller driving through a Zombies cover splendidly? A Sonic Avenues/Names/Hefner One-Two-Three punch? It’s all here! Does it work? MAYBE. I sure hope so. I had a lto fo fun making it and listening to it so that might be a good sign. New tracks this month from Dee and the Warlocks, Fluffer (ex-Sweet Bulbs), Hollows, and Blooper! Download and enjoy! Happy May!!!

DOWNLOAD AWAY!!!

Tracklist:

The Mice “More Than I Can Think About”
The Ropers “Transparent Day” (West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band cover)
Dee and the Warlocks “Jupiter Flower”
Fluffer “Flesh Wound In Ithaca”
Skywave “Baby It’s Just You”
The Happy Birthdays “I’m Still Not As Happy…”
The Black Tambourines “Bad Days”
Ruth’s Refrigerator “She’s Not There (Zombies cover)
Hollows “Oh Why”
The Dentists “You Make Me Say It Somehow”
Speedmarket Avenue “I Can Tell By Her Eyes”
Saturn V “Skyfall”
Sonic Avenues “Waste Away Alone”
The Names “Floating World”
Hefner “The Sad Witch”
#Poundsign# “The Almondy Many”
Blooper “Secret Song”
Section 25 “Conquer Me”

Grass Widow 'Internal Logic' LP Trailer

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:55:57 -0400

In anticipation of what is sure to be one of the finest, greatest, most fantastic records of this year, Grass Widow have created a video trailer for their upcoming LP, ‘Internal Logic’. The video showcases snippets of some really great new songs while the band runs amok through Rainbo Records’ pressing plant leaving a whirlwind of shenanigans in their wake. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS RECORD, YOU GUYS!

May 29th! HLR Records! Be there or be square!

Sea Pinks "Staycation" Video

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:10:05 -0400

“Staycation” is a utterly fantastic new (old) song from Belfast’s brilliant Sea Pinks that will be appearing on ‘The Flip Side”, their new cassette on CF Records! ‘The Flip Side’ pulls together 11 previously unreleased songs recorded during and in between sessions for the first two albums—’Youth is Wasted’ and ‘Dead Seas’. If the other ten tracks pack as much jangling wonderfulness as “Staycation” then I’d say this is a pretty NEED TO OWN record. Or casette, whatever. While we’re talking about things that you need to own, those two previously mentioned albums would most certainly fall into that category, too. Watch/listen! ‘The Flip Side’ is super limited (100 tapes total, first 25 are neon green!) so don’t sleep!

Apologies for the lack of regular posts lately. Things piled up...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:26:00 -0400

Apologies for the lack of regular posts lately. Things piled up and other things got away from me, but here we are again! There’s a few handfuls of new stuff I want to share and we’ll start off with one of my favorite new records from Chicago’s Hollows!

‘Vulture’ is their debut LP for brilliant Chicago label Trouble In Mind and its summery, garage-y guitar lines and humming organ have been putting a pretty big smile on my face for the past few weeks! Listen to my current on-repeat-all-day-long favorite “Strange Effect”! It’s got bonkers great vocal harmonies and fantastic, fantastic guitar line that brings to mind label-mates The Wrong Words! Good things!

A Monthly Mix: April 2012!

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:35:34 -0400

Greetings! It’s monthly mix time again and it’s a big, sunny, 20-song blast this month! I’d considered doing a Chickfactor-themed mix, but I decided instead to just pack it full of songs that have been filling my squinty-eyed walks home these past couple weeks. As always, there are a few new favorites tucked away in the tracklist—Outer Minds, Grass Widow, Creakies, and Sourpatch, to name a few! Have a listen and have a blast!

DOWNLOAD LINK!!!

Tracklist:

New Radiant Storm King “Happy For The First Time In Weeks”
The Creakies “Arnold’s Song”
Velvet Crush “Drive Me Down”
The Cannanes “Screaming”
The Wedding Present “Kennedy”
Grass Widow “Goldilocks Zone”
Dawn Chorus “I’m Going Down” (Springsteen cover)
The Orchids “Apologies”
Joanna Gruesome “Sugarcrush”
Sourpatch “What You Already Know”
McCarthy “Governing Takes Brains”
Wire “The 15th”
The Motifs “Diagonal”
Pants Yell! “The Not-So City Life”
Estrogen Highs “I Wanna Be Tall”
Jad Fair & Teenage Fanclub “Near To You”
Young Prisms “Gone”
Serfs “Spaces”
Outer Minds “Footsteps”
Lunchbox “Still Life”

Skatterbrain may appear to be an indiepop blog—and really, it...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:11:00 -0400

Skatterbrain may appear to be an indiepop blog—and really, it mostly is—but for me, there will always be something really nice about being completely swallowed by a blurry fog of cymbals and wheezing guitar fuzz. Enter Broken Water. They’re one of my favorite new bands of the past couple years and also, in my opinion, heads and shoulders above the rest of the Dinosaur Youth worship that seems to be quite on the rise as of late. Not that Broken Water are merely an imprint of a decade past, but, YOU KNOW. “Drown” comes from their forthcoming ‘Tempest’ LP, out in late May on Hardly Art! It’s awesome. It’s just really, really awesome.

What a day! First there was new Just Joans and we’ve got a...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:56:00 -0400

What a day! First there was new Just Joans and we’ve got a BRILLIANT new single from the lovely Standard Fare, whom are very much loved around these parts, let me just say! “Girlfriend” is going to be part of WIAIWYA’s 2012 singles series ‘7777777’ and it should be out in June? Yes?! Anyway, check it out! Check it out twice times and then again.

After a few years now, WeePOP! Records are finally releasing...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:04:00 -0400

After a few years now, WeePOP! Records are finally releasing their first 12” LP—and what a fine record it looks to be! ‘Buckfast Bottles In The Rain’ is also kiiiiind of, sort of The Just Joans’ first proper LP! Quite a few of the songs here have appeared on a previous JJs record, but they’ve been beautifully reworked to tell a new story, one set in late 90s Scotland. YAY. You, as I did, may also recognize ‘Buckfast Bottles In The Rain’ as a line from The Just Joans song “What Do We Do Now?” (fyi, my favorite of theirs)! Have a listen to “Friday Afternoons (Down The Union)”! It feels kind of perfect to me on this foggy Spring morning.

Oh my! Could there have been a more perfect day (in...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:14:00 -0400

Oh my! Could there have been a more perfect day (in Philadelphia, at least) for sunny, springtime indiepoppers The School to drop a new single into our laps?! I’ll be honest and say it’s not quite the breezy pop rush that was “All I Wanna Do”, but I think we can all agree that “Never Thought I’d See The Day” pairs quite well the cloudless skies and squinty eyes that are just now upon us! Anyway, it’s the lead single from their upcoming EP of the same name and I can’t wait to hear the rest!

Pavement "I Love Perth"

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:10:00 -0400

We interrupt our regular programming to post this youtube clip of a 65 second Pavement song that would probably keep me happy for the rest of my life if I needed it to. As I’ve mentioned previously, this is the perfect musical incarnation of a pixy stick. That’s all. Run along, now.

Some mighty fine GBV/Further worship from Merry Christmas that...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:01:00 -0500

Some mighty fine GBV/Further worship from Merry Christmas that is hitting all the right spots while I currently sit here daydreaming of Spring and Summer. Grab the whole EP on bandcamp for a $1! Why not?! Happy Friday!

A Monthly Mix: March 2012!

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:19:00 -0500

Hey gals and pals, it’s monthly mix time again! And only a few days late!

As some may know, Winter is usually my absolute favorite season of the year, but this year it was the PITS! It was so pits that pits might not even be a strong enough term for the disappointment I felt during these cold-less and snow-less months. So I’m over Winter and my mind is set on Spring and Summer—and that’s what this mix is all about! Dig in and shake off those Winter blues. It won’t be hard. INDIEPOPSPRING2012, YOU GUYS, GET READY!

DOWNLOAD FIESTA!!!

Tracklist:
01. Airport Girl “The Foolishness We Create Through Love…”
02. Stereolab “The Light That Will Cease To Fail”
03. La Sera “Break My Heart”
04. Saturday Looks Good To Me “Underwater Heartbeat”
05. The Manhattan Love Suicides “Suzy Jones”
06. Juniper “Summer On My Mind”
07. Honeybunch “Hey Blue Sky!”
08. Peach Kelli Pop “Doo Wah Diddy”
09. Boyracer “Nothing Left”
10. Jupiter Sun “Blow Up”
11. Star Horse “How To Fall”
12. Detective Agency “Daggers”
13. Eux Autres “Broken Record”
14. The Long Blondes “Once And Never Again”
15. This Poison! “Question Mark”
16. The Flatmates “So In Love With You”
17. Even As We Speak “Swimming Song”
18. The Sweetest Ache “Sickening”
19. The Hummingbirds “Tuesday”
20. Minisnap “In My Pocket”

Hey guys, Australia’s Royal Headache are awesome....

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:26:00 -0500

Hey guys, Australia’s Royal Headache are awesome. “Girls” comes from their upcoming record on What’s Your Rupture? and it’s make-you-wanna-drop-everything-and-start-a-band good. There’s enough soul crammed into every pore of this pop song to fall in love forever. And listen, I don’t even know what that means. The S/T LP will be out May 8! Don’t sleep!

Sourpatch: "Things You Say" Video

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:36:59 -0500

I meant to post a while back because IT’S AWESOME and SOURPATCH ARE AWESOME, but I forgot! So I’m posting it now! Listen and listen again because this is pop for the NOW! I have no shortage of great things to say about this band and this song and their new record ‘Stagger And Fade’. It’s fun, creative, and infectious—like, plaque-infectious AND and and it’s such a wonderous leap in songwriting from their last record. So yes, get it soon! Or now, even! It’s out care of the lovely Happy Happy Birthday To Me and you can preorder it HERE!

Sourpatch are real nice, be their friend.

To steal a recent line from a popular television show and place...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:34:00 -0500

To steal a recent line from a popular television show and place it out of context, this song from Craft Spells’ upcoming ‘Gallery’ EP sounds a bit like “a dream wrapped in a wish.” Really though! Kind of? Right? So it’s way dreamy, yes, but unlike some of their more unfortunate contemporaries, Craft Spells pay as close attention to melody as they do their bleary-eyed atmospheres. ‘Gallery’ is out May 15 via the wonderful Captured Tracks!

Burning Hearts: "Modern Times" Video

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:09:00 -0500

Here is a brand new video from Burning Hearts for this gentle tuesday! I couldn’t be more pleased with their amazing new record and I’m doubly excited that they’ve now made a video for my favorite song off of it! Fall in love.

Again, if you haven’t yet, grab ‘Extinctions’ from Shelflife!

Modern Charms "When We Get There"

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:22:00 -0500

Well, shit. It’s barely 10am on Monday and I’m pretty sure I’ve already heard the best thing I’ll hear all week. With all of the 90s indierock/shoegaze revivalist bands popping up in the past few years, San Francisco’s Modern Charms are a BIG standout for me. Why? Oh, maybe because they sound like some perfect marriage of Drop Nineteens/Swirlies and I can hardly stop grinning about it. We all know what’s happening here, and yes, it’s unabashedly derivative, but “When We Get There” is just so damn good that I could really care less. More more more, please!

Here another song from the forthcoming record on their Bandcamp!

I really DO try to not get overly excited and praise-crazy about...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:33:00 -0500

I really DO try to not get overly excited and praise-crazy about bands after hearing just one song or whatever, but as anyone who’s read Skatterbrain a few times would be aware, this effort usually proves to be laughably futile. Such is the case with with Novella and their new EP and the new track from it that I just heard for the first time today! I am instantly smitten—infatuated, even—and I’d guess that you might be, too! “Don’t Believe Ayn Rand”, despite it’s display of fuzz and reverb, is an elegant swan of a popsong with echoes of Lush and other dreamy 4AD-esque noisemakers of yore. The memorable chorus melody of “Oh no, she’s lost control” packs the catchiness of “Hypocrite” set against a back drop of something a bit more ‘Spooky.’ Gross. Sorry about that. I am just too excited. And I just can’t hide it. Sorry.

Preorder the EP from Italian Beach Babes now! I don’t expect it to last long!