New M. Pyres: Mountain Pacific.

29 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

Our favorite dude from the terrific Denver/Fort Collins, Colorado music scene Matt Sage aka M. Pyres has finally released one of his highly anticipated new EPs. Mountain Pacific, recorded together with The Season Creeps, namely Joseph Yonker on bass and guitar and drummer Erik Wangsvick, collects five songs that were newly written or rewritten for the release and recorded in Fort Collins between spring and summer 2010. Concord is a typical M. Pyres song, featuring roughly distorted guitar washes and Sage's signature raw voice, as usual slightly mixed into the background. On the other hand, the EP's strongest track Japanese Milk Truck heads into a more ambient direction as known from earlier M. Pyres efforts such as DSMMR or Museums, though this new instrumental is more thoroughly based on actual song structures. Most remarkably, it features Julian Lynch on bass clarinet, making the song sound like it would not have been out of place on Lynch's very own, beautiful album Mare.

Download the whole EP over here.

M. Pyres & The Season Creeps - Japanese Milk Truck (w/ Julian Lynch)

M. Pyres & The Season Creeps - Concord

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Our favorite dude from the terrific Denver/Fort Collins, Colorado music scene Matt Sage aka M. Pyres has finally released one of his highly anticipated new EPs. Mountain Pacific, recorded together with The Season Creeps, namely Joseph Yonker on bass and guitar and drummer Erik Wangsvick, collects five songs that were newly written or rewritten for the release and recorded in Fort Collins between spring and summer 2010. Concord is a typical M. Pyres song, featuring roughly distorted guitar washes and Sage's signature raw voice, as usual slightly mixed into the background. On the other hand, the EP's strongest track Japanese Milk Truck heads into a more ambient direction as known from earlier M. Pyres efforts such as DSMMR or Museums, though this new instrumental is more thoroughly based on actual song structures. Most remarkably, it features Julian Lynch on bass clarinet, making the song sound like it would not have been out of place on Lynch's very own, beautiful album Mare.

Download the whole EP over here.

M. Pyres & The Season Creeps - Japanese Milk Truck (w/ Julian Lynch)

M. Pyres & The Season Creeps - Concord

Now that’s what I call mixtape

29 Oct 2010 — Tonje Thilesen

As Krista (Krista and the Whale) wrote today in her guest post on Head Underwater, today is a special day — and indeed it is, being blessed with so many splendid gems from her Now that's what I call Krista and the Whale: Volume 1 mix. Kiss Kiss Fantastic, Coma Cinema, Kohwi, Steffaloo, Mutual Benefit, The Townhouses and of course unouomedude are just a few of the names featured on the mixtape. In fact, we'll let the girl speak for herself: "I decided to compile a 90’s mix. I was a kid in the 90’s. I listened to all the cool 90’s jams. I decided to bring my past back to life. In doing do, I asked some of my favorite favorite favorite musicians and friends to cover a 90’s tune". Read more → As Krista (Krista and the Whale) wrote today in her guest post on Head Underwater, today is a special day — and indeed it is, being blessed with so many splendid gems from her Now that's what I call Krista and the Whale: Volume 1 mix. Kiss Kiss Fantastic, Coma Cinema, Kohwi, Steffaloo, Mutual Benefit, The Townhouses and of course unouomedude are just a few of the names featured on the mixtape. In fact, we'll let the girl speak for herself: "I decided to compile a 90’s mix. I was a kid in the 90’s. I listened to all the cool 90’s jams. I decided to bring my past back to life. In doing do, I asked some of my favorite favorite favorite musicians and friends to cover a 90’s tune".

Cosmic Consciousness.

28 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

Get in contact with Tom Hamill's literally spaced-out ambient tunes, heavily Boards Of Canada influenced gems recorded with 80s synthesizers and some guitar works, finished with samples from old UFO documentaries. The music is quite an easy listen, slowly floating along while indeed evoking images of old movies with more or less friendly, more or less intelligent beings from galaxies beyond human reach. Download the whole digital record Cosmic Consciousness for free over at Hamill's bandcamp.

Tom Hamill - Unknown Observer

Tom Hamill - SETI

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Get in contact with Tom Hamill's literally spaced-out ambient tunes, heavily Boards Of Canada influenced gems recorded with 80s synthesizers and some guitar works, finished with samples from old UFO documentaries. The music is quite an easy listen, slowly floating along while indeed evoking images of old movies with more or less friendly, more or less intelligent beings from galaxies beyond human reach. Download the whole digital record Cosmic Consciousness for free over at Hamill's bandcamp.

Tom Hamill - Unknown Observer

Tom Hamill - SETI

Regional Music.

28 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

California citizen Daniel Trudeau makes some incredibly sophisticated, loop-driven folk pop under the moniker Pregnant, music that is at times pretty reminiscent of the works of Daniel Rossen's Department of Eagles and the more experimental endeavors of Justin Vernon; in particular, Trudeau's voice is in very similar falsetto levels, which works very well for his songs. Pregnant's splendid 12 inch Regional Music is out on Irvine, California's Life's Blood Recordings.



Pregnant - Wiff of Father

Pregnant - Selling Records

Pregnant - Lip Beings

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California citizen Daniel Trudeau makes some incredibly sophisticated, loop-driven folk pop under the moniker Pregnant, music that is at times pretty reminiscent of the works of Daniel Rossen's Department of Eagles and the more experimental endeavors of Justin Vernon; in particular, Trudeau's voice is in very similar falsetto levels, which works very well for his songs. Pregnant's splendid 12 inch Regional Music is out on Irvine, California's Life's Blood Recordings.



Pregnant - Wiff of Father

Pregnant - Selling Records

Pregnant - Lip Beings

Animals in the Attic.

26 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

Lotus Feet is the recording moniker of Bay Area resident Kris Lorenz. He has written a bunch of songs mostly all by himself for a period of roughly three months and put them up on his bandcamp a while back. Now, apparently Lorenz has decided to consider Child's Play his debut effort's "single", and what a neat choice this was: The song is a wonderfully easy lullaby, beautifully meandering through your head like a sparklingly clear river running towards the blue Californian sea, an almost perfect pop song with rich, dreamy harmonies and a very sophisticated yet unobtrusive production. But it's actually not only this tune, the whole album Animals in the Attic is pretty terrific for a first, entirely self-produced record, so make sure to download and cherish the entire thing.

Lotus Feet - Child's Play

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Lotus Feet is the recording moniker of Bay Area resident Kris Lorenz. He has written a bunch of songs mostly all by himself for a period of roughly three months and put them up on his bandcamp a while back. Now, apparently Lorenz has decided to consider Child's Play his debut effort's "single", and what a neat choice this was: The song is a wonderfully easy lullaby, beautifully meandering through your head like a sparklingly clear river running towards the blue Californian sea, an almost perfect pop song with rich, dreamy harmonies and a very sophisticated yet unobtrusive production. But it's actually not only this tune, the whole album Animals in the Attic is pretty terrific for a first, entirely self-produced record, so make sure to download and cherish the entire thing.

Lotus Feet - Child's Play

Spring Break.

26 Oct 2010 — Tonje Thilesen

Since our radars are already put Vancouver (see: yesterday), the experimental/electronic two-piece Spring Break is yet another example of why we have declared our love for this very city. While Heatwave has that hot and summer-y, feel, their most recent stuff such as Stephenie Meyer's 115th Dream (below) might be better fitting not that's Halloween is coming up and all. Check out their Bandcamp site for some free downloads, or head over to their blog to get a hold of some sweet remixes. Read more → Since our radars are already put Vancouver (see: yesterday), the experimental/electronic two-piece Spring Break is yet another example of why we have declared our love for this very city. While Heatwave has that hot and summer-y, feel, their most recent stuff such as Stephenie Meyer's 115th Dream (below) might be better fitting not that's Halloween is coming up and all. Check out their Bandcamp site for some free downloads, or head over to their blog to get a hold of some sweet remixes.

Let It Be Me.

25 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

I'm sure that by now you've already read a line or two about the, well, shimmering retro pop of British Columbia's Shimmering Stars, but a short while ago I was hit up with the announcement of the band's 7 inch release of East Van Girls / I'm Gonna Try on Almost Musique, and along with it came this simply otherworldly beautiful cover of the Everly Brothers' Let It Be Me, a song that perfectly fits the Shimmering Stars' take on fifties to sixties-inspired, melancholy-drenched indie pop. Order the limited, four track debuting 7 inch here and make sure you don't miss the new, heartbreaking video for I'm Gonna Try below.



Shimmering Stars - Let It Be Me

Read more →
I'm sure that by now you've already read a line or two about the, well, shimmering retro pop of British Columbia's Shimmering Stars, but a short while ago I was hit up with the announcement of the band's 7 inch release of East Van Girls / I'm Gonna Try on Almost Musique, and along with it came this simply otherworldly beautiful cover of the Everly Brothers' Let It Be Me, a song that perfectly fits the Shimmering Stars' take on fifties to sixties-inspired, melancholy-drenched indie pop. Order the limited, four track debuting 7 inch here and make sure you don't miss the new, heartbreaking video for I'm Gonna Try below.



Shimmering Stars - Let It Be Me