On a Sunday in South Carolina.

11 Jul 2010 — NFOP

Some good news from Evan Adams aka Top Girls. Nice one:

Top Girls - Rayanne (Demo)

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Some good news from Evan Adams aka Top Girls. Nice one:

Top Girls - Rayanne (Demo)

The city of broken promises.

10 Jul 2010 — NFOP

Allister Izenberg is another young artist living in Los Angeles, and though we know now that California is situated on the best coast and living there is so much easier than, say, living in New York, apparently this fact doesn't prevent every resident from feeling a certain amount of emptiness. Izenberg seems to belong to the latter kind. He has produced an EP bluntly entitled Lonesome, and loneliness is indeed the prevailing sentiment, dripping out of almost every single note of the four song piece.

Izenberg's fragile voice, the songs' vulnerable intimacy and sparse instrumentation are actually at least a little reminiscent of Perfume Genius, though eventually not as desperate and more leaning towards an experimental approach.

You can download the whole EP here and listen to two songs below.


Allister Izenberg - Van Dyke Parks

Allister Izenberg - Allodoxaphobia

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Allister Izenberg is another young artist living in Los Angeles, and though we know now that California is situated on the best coast and living there is so much easier than, say, living in New York, apparently this fact doesn't prevent every resident from feeling a certain amount of emptiness. Izenberg seems to belong to the latter kind. He has produced an EP bluntly entitled Lonesome, and loneliness is indeed the prevailing sentiment, dripping out of almost every single note of the four song piece.

Izenberg's fragile voice, the songs' vulnerable intimacy and sparse instrumentation are actually at least a little reminiscent of Perfume Genius, though eventually not as desperate and more leaning towards an experimental approach.

You can download the whole EP here and listen to two songs below.


Allister Izenberg - Van Dyke Parks

Allister Izenberg - Allodoxaphobia

Building up anticipation.

10 Jul 2010 — NFOP

We've heard a lot about LA's Andrew Caddick aka Jeans Wilder, that he's "partly responsible" for Best Coast (don't know what that means actually, but I guess it's a good thing - I hope it doesn't mean being responsible for Bethany thinking that "Do I smell weed? Thumbs up!" could be considered a rad statement by the audience at Barcelona's Primavera Festival), that he's a more or less hopeless and inveterate stoner, and that he makes lo-fi pop gems so lush and hazy that "all the worries in the world [are] just washed right up somewhere down at Big Sur". So while we don't really care about the first two, we approve of the latter statement without reservation, and if you want to get introduced into Caddick's creative oeuvre, I'd highly recommend Relics, the double cassette that's recently been released on Bathetic Records which compiles most of the stuff that's been put out under the moniker Jeans Wilder so far and is out of print now, be it entirely self-released or on small cassette labels as splits with other artists.

Howsoever, this fall we'll see a proper LP release by Jeans Wilder, and as far as we can tell, Nice Trash is gonna be a huge leap forward for Caddick. The three album tracks posted below show an amazing amount of pop sensibility, melancholic beauties with an incredible amount of production ambition to come up with an overall fuzzy, almost shoegazey direction accompanied by lush melodies and an increased focus on the rhythm section. The tunes are tropical pop par excellence, low fidelity as a means of honest creativity without overstatement. Of course it's still only early July and we've come across a lot of amazing things so far this year, but if the rest of the album is gonna live up to Blanket Mountain, Don't Wanna Live Forever and Blonde Beach, then we've got a serious candidate here. No kidding, we're overwhelmed.

Jeans Wilder - Blanket Mountain

Jeans Wilder - Don't Wanna Live Forever

Jeans Wilder - Blonde Beach

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We've heard a lot about LA's Andrew Caddick aka Jeans Wilder, that he's "partly responsible" for Best Coast (don't know what that means actually, but I guess it's a good thing - I hope it doesn't mean being responsible for Bethany thinking that "Do I smell weed? Thumbs up!" could be considered a rad statement by the audience at Barcelona's Primavera Festival), that he's a more or less hopeless and inveterate stoner, and that he makes lo-fi pop gems so lush and hazy that "all the worries in the world [are] just washed right up somewhere down at Big Sur". So while we don't really care about the first two, we approve of the latter statement without reservation, and if you want to get introduced into Caddick's creative oeuvre, I'd highly recommend Relics, the double cassette that's recently been released on Bathetic Records which compiles most of the stuff that's been put out under the moniker Jeans Wilder so far and is out of print now, be it entirely self-released or on small cassette labels as splits with other artists.

Howsoever, this fall we'll see a proper LP release by Jeans Wilder, and as far as we can tell, Nice Trash is gonna be a huge leap forward for Caddick. The three album tracks posted below show an amazing amount of pop sensibility, melancholic beauties with an incredible amount of production ambition to come up with an overall fuzzy, almost shoegazey direction accompanied by lush melodies and an increased focus on the rhythm section. The tunes are tropical pop par excellence, low fidelity as a means of honest creativity without overstatement. Of course it's still only early July and we've come across a lot of amazing things so far this year, but if the rest of the album is gonna live up to Blanket Mountain, Don't Wanna Live Forever and Blonde Beach, then we've got a serious candidate here. No kidding, we're overwhelmed.

Jeans Wilder - Blanket Mountain

Jeans Wilder - Don't Wanna Live Forever

Jeans Wilder - Blonde Beach

Paris in the Caribbean.

09 Jul 2010 — NFOP

Before we're all about to head into a sweltering weekend (at least here in Europe), let's seize the opportunity and get a little tropical: Holy Strays is Paris based artist Sebastien Forrester who's making music under a bunch of monikers. Holy Strays is all about mesmerizing mind journeys, twisted hypnagogia made up of stunning tropical noise, artful and demanding but still quite an easy listen, it will grab your undivided attention and leave you dazzled and amazed with its blurry synth lines and an overall hazy production that perfectly fits those sticky days in crowded cities.

Holy Strays' debut tape Hyperion has just been released on LA's Not Not Fun, which is not really surprising considering their roster. Faint Beams Ceremony is taken from the cassette, while the ten minute psychedelic masterpiece Black Journey will be featured on a future release and appears exclusively on NFOP. Enjoy your trip.


Holy Strays - Faint Beams Ceremony

Holy Strays - Black Journey

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Before we're all about to head into a sweltering weekend (at least here in Europe), let's seize the opportunity and get a little tropical: Holy Strays is Paris based artist Sebastien Forrester who's making music under a bunch of monikers. Holy Strays is all about mesmerizing mind journeys, twisted hypnagogia made up of stunning tropical noise, artful and demanding but still quite an easy listen, it will grab your undivided attention and leave you dazzled and amazed with its blurry synth lines and an overall hazy production that perfectly fits those sticky days in crowded cities.

Holy Strays' debut tape Hyperion has just been released on LA's Not Not Fun, which is not really surprising considering their roster. Faint Beams Ceremony is taken from the cassette, while the ten minute psychedelic masterpiece Black Journey will be featured on a future release and appears exclusively on NFOP. Enjoy your trip.


Holy Strays - Faint Beams Ceremony

Holy Strays - Black Journey

Don’t leave us alone.

09 Jul 2010 — NFOP

Vehicle Blues is Chicago resident Gabe Holcombe, and his shoegazey bedroom dream pop is something so deep and absorbing in the most beautiful way possible it will warm your heart from first listen, an aimless lonely late night cruise to shake off the day's burdens. Behind thick layers of reverb, Gabe's quiet voice evokes feelings of loss and hope at the same time, leaving us at least a little more relieved than before.

The two brand new tunes that Gabe has most kindly sent to us will be featured on upcoming Vehicle Blues releases, the absolutely brilliant Lotto Pop Ice on the next as yet untitled album which is gonna be put out on cassette tape by our Kansas mates at Solid Melts and on compact disc by the wonderful Bridgetown Records, due this September. Elbo Lake, the ambient gem that's been spellbinding us for days will appear on the forthcoming split c16 cassette with before introduced Katrina Stonehart on A. Karina Tapes, to be released sometime this summer.

Apart from that, Vehicle Blues' first two EPs Punks on Transit and Changer, both put out earlier this year, are still available via Bridgetown and are highly recommended.



Vehicle Blues - Lotto Pop Ice

Vehicle Blues - Elbo Lake

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Vehicle Blues is Chicago resident Gabe Holcombe, and his shoegazey bedroom dream pop is something so deep and absorbing in the most beautiful way possible it will warm your heart from first listen, an aimless lonely late night cruise to shake off the day's burdens. Behind thick layers of reverb, Gabe's quiet voice evokes feelings of loss and hope at the same time, leaving us at least a little more relieved than before.

The two brand new tunes that Gabe has most kindly sent to us will be featured on upcoming Vehicle Blues releases, the absolutely brilliant Lotto Pop Ice on the next as yet untitled album which is gonna be put out on cassette tape by our Kansas mates at Solid Melts and on compact disc by the wonderful Bridgetown Records, due this September. Elbo Lake, the ambient gem that's been spellbinding us for days will appear on the forthcoming split c16 cassette with before introduced Katrina Stonehart on A. Karina Tapes, to be released sometime this summer.

Apart from that, Vehicle Blues' first two EPs Punks on Transit and Changer, both put out earlier this year, are still available via Bridgetown and are highly recommended.



Vehicle Blues - Lotto Pop Ice

Vehicle Blues - Elbo Lake

Insomniac.

09 Jul 2010 — NFOP

First, Cecil Frena's tunes had somehow gotten stuck in my inbox and I never found the time to get back to them and treat them properly, and when I had eventually pulled myself back together a couple of days ago the tracks immediately got stuck on my eardrums, and they've been there ever since, playing crazy little games with my consciousness. Sticky little bastards. Though Cecil's artistic endeavor Gobble Gobble probably already got all the buzz needed to enter the blogosphere hall of fame forever after, I irresistibly feel the urge to add that his output is without any doubt the freshest and most exciting thing in electronic music that I've come across in ages. His latest tune Becoming Legion which has now become a single over at Beko DSL is a restless opus magnum that should be kept away from your kids' ADHD support group, brilliantly frustrating all your humple expectations on sanity and rationality in music. We're breathless.

Gobble Gobble - Becoming Legion

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First, Cecil Frena's tunes had somehow gotten stuck in my inbox and I never found the time to get back to them and treat them properly, and when I had eventually pulled myself back together a couple of days ago the tracks immediately got stuck on my eardrums, and they've been there ever since, playing crazy little games with my consciousness. Sticky little bastards. Though Cecil's artistic endeavor Gobble Gobble probably already got all the buzz needed to enter the blogosphere hall of fame forever after, I irresistibly feel the urge to add that his output is without any doubt the freshest and most exciting thing in electronic music that I've come across in ages. His latest tune Becoming Legion which has now become a single over at Beko DSL is a restless opus magnum that should be kept away from your kids' ADHD support group, brilliantly frustrating all your humple expectations on sanity and rationality in music. We're breathless.

Gobble Gobble - Becoming Legion

Grab your board now.

08 Jul 2010 — NFOP

Before last week, I had never heard of the Californian trio Moonhearts which until recently went under the a little less catchy name Charlie and the Moonhearts, but thanks to constant raving by Kiss Kiss Fantastic's Rachel Levy I more or less randomly gave it a listen and was almost blown away by this fine blend of almost classic Golden State surf pop and noisier garage elements, with just the right amount of lo-fi fuzziness. Simple yet elaborate upbeat splendour made for open window cruises to your nearest beach. It's summer, folks.

Moonhearts' debut self titled debut LP is out now on Tic Tac Totally.


Moonhearts - Shine

Moonhearts - I Can Go On

Read more →
Before last week, I had never heard of the Californian trio Moonhearts which until recently went under the a little less catchy name Charlie and the Moonhearts, but thanks to constant raving by Kiss Kiss Fantastic's Rachel Levy I more or less randomly gave it a listen and was almost blown away by this fine blend of almost classic Golden State surf pop and noisier garage elements, with just the right amount of lo-fi fuzziness. Simple yet elaborate upbeat splendour made for open window cruises to your nearest beach. It's summer, folks.

Moonhearts' debut self titled debut LP is out now on Tic Tac Totally.


Moonhearts - Shine

Moonhearts - I Can Go On