After listening to The Atom Age's newest disc Kill Surf City , I immediately thought of Operation Ivy so it was no surprise to find that The Atom Age is from Berkeley. The band is led by Ryan Perras (aka x-Queers drummer Ryan Kwon Doe) and the music is aggressive, high-energy garage punk. The Atom Age wears its ska influences proudly but the saxophone and drum/bass rhythms aren't the centerpiece of the music as it was with many of the third-wave ska bands. There are a lot of different elements that are in play on this [...]
CMJ is here once again! With a sigh of simultaneous excitement and premature exhaustion, we begin our festival week. We've outlined some of our most anticipated acts below. Read, listen and then get away from the computer and go see some amazing artists. Pete and the Pirates We put this dynamic and endearing band from Reading, UK under our spotlight a little over a year ago and interviewed them right before their BBC Electric Proms 2008 gig. They've been to SXSW but [...]
Surf City - Dickshakers Union Lo-fi garage revivalism seems to be making for an overcrowded sub-scene within indie at the moment. But during my stint in New Zealand, checking out lots of local bands, nothing made an impression on me as much as this Animal Collective-inspired outfit. Their promising self-titled EP is out now on Morr Music. Video below. MySpace Buy Photo by emmacook [...]
Like I mentioned above, I'm doing a little housekeeping tonight, so enjoy the "classic" Drake's Takes for now. -ed. Drake's Take: New Releases 11.18.08-11.25.08 Once again, releases are in holiday mode, so 'new' releases are sparse (hence the combining of weeks). On Monday, I profiled the new albums from Kanye West , The Killers and Tom Jones , and besides that there's releases from the Paul McCartney project The Fireman, Anathallo, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Femi Kuti, Ludacris and Momus. [...]
Platz 42 Deerhoof Offend Maggie (CD-Version) Wie bei Xiu Xiu erwarte ich an diesem Punkt nicht mehr dass Deerhoof schlechte Alben machen können. Allerdings hat mich Offend Maggie wieder angenehm überrascht, mit dem Kunststück irgendwie gleichzeitig mehr Kanten als Friend Opportunity zu haben und doch noch leichterer, verspielter, müheloser rumzurocken. Mit Ed Rodriguez, der die Band wieder zum Quartett macht, gibt es interessantere zweite-Gitarre-Dynamiken, gleichzeitig sind Deerhoof so weit von bierernstem Muckertum entfernt wie eh und je, da braucht der Cheerleader-Nonsens von Basketball [...]
"Headin' Inside" - Surf City Fingertips doesn't much traffic in genres and here's a great example of why: if asked, I would not claim surf rock as a particular favorite, or garage rock, or anything that sounds lo-fi or DIY-ish. "Headin' Inside" is pretty much a blend of all three, and this--go figure--I pretty much love. So, look: it's not about the genre, people. It's about the music. If "melodic, spirited, intelligent pop" were a genre, then maybe I'd sign up as a fan. Meantime, "Headin' Inside": this [...]
I've been slammed busy for the past couple of weeks but now with nothing, really, to do except keep myself busy with various projects I want to do (as opposed to have-to-do) we're back. As Mike Turner would say, this is an announcement of an announcement. Around his time of year, every year, without fail, everyone makes up "best of" lists which tend to be more of a shopping guide than any real critical assessment of the records from the past 12 months. Because I'm cranky and tend to fall regularly into [...]
I'm way behind on these things - still trying to get my best of lists together, but trying to get up to date on these weekly updates first. Records Released on 11/25/08: Records I've Heard: Surf City : Surf City EP (Morr Music) – A relatively new noise-pop band out of New Zealand. They were originally named after a Jesus & Mary Chain song ("Kill Surf City") and hired Pavement's artist, Steve Keene, to do their [...]
I went skiing this weekend, a rare occurrence for me despite living in Colorado. My body doth protest heartily today, after using muscles near-forgotten. I am a novice skier but by the end of the day Saturday I was hitting a stride where I wasn't fighting against the giant contraptions buckled to my feet and I could just glide down the mountain (almost) naturally. It felt at times like flying, silently. It was a gorgeous day and occasionally the sun would break through the clouds and shimmer across Lake Dillon in the distance. Even though I was listening [...]
1. Lioness - "You're My Heart" 2 . Fugitive Kind - "Break Now"3. Umphrey McGee - "Made to Measure"4. The Japanese Popstars - "Electronic Poet"5. The Real Tuesday Weld - "Kix" Remix6. Sariah - "All I Want for Christmas is You"7. Sariah - "This Christmas"8. Surf City - "Headin' Inside"9. Jihae - "Best Thing"10. Honey Claws - "Words" ** BONUS **Ravonettes - "Come On Santa"The Show is The Rainbow
Please forgive us (oh, such self-delusional comfort in the plural) if we don't fiddle with thematic groupings and such in this post. Just call it a loose concatenation of songs we're enjoying and hoping you will, too. Setting Sun - They're Calling mp3 - from the Hudson Valley/Catskills cats' EP, Children of the Remix - Thanks to Fanatic.Built By Snow - Everything in 3D mp3 - from the Austin
![Surf City: Surf City [EP]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1385399_lg.jpg)
Surf City Surf City [EP] Morr Music [2008] Fire Drills Review: What do you get when you mix a little surf and feedback? Well it might come out something like New Zealand's Surf City debut EP. The band is full of spunk and crank through six songs in twenty minutes, which is a lo-fi fuzz filled thrill ride. What is exciting about Surf City is that their record is a true mix of old [...]
Formerly known as Kill Surf City, New Zealand's Surf City have a killer new EP on Morr Music that is essential to the rockness of the day. With a mix of sounds that recall Jesus & Mary Chain, Dick Dale, VU and Flying Nun legends The Clean all whipped into a frenzy with the urgency of that early U2 stuff, Surf City are throwing down the manic pop thrills indeed! Headin' Inside - Surf City
Download: Surf City - "Headin' Inside" Surf City, a trio from New Zealand, begin their first single, "Headin' Inside", with the kind of treble-y guitar riff one would expect a group with the word "surf" to have in their music. But instead of going on a Dale-esque trip to "Miserlou", the band settles into a hyper-catchy, melodious style of punk that bands like No Age and Titus Andronicus. The band's nods to The Clash suggest that their more the peers of the latter rather than the former, and, as such, "Headin' Inside" makes for better-than-average, [...]
Sure all the food may have been consumed and the football watched, but that doesn't mean we can't give you one more Thanksgiving treat. Plus, in this season of giving, the free things are always the best. As is the case every Friday, below you'll find the best mix of new singles, remixes, and covers along with mp3s from some up-and-comers you might just want to check out. Enjoy...and happy Black Friday!!! NEW Singles: "Ricky" by Heroes of the Dancefloor "Nothing Too [...]
Every Friday we bring you our weekly batch of uploads. Download all the songs that went up the week of 11/24-11/28 right here, right now. [ play ] | [ download mp3 ] Deastro - Michael, The Lone Archer of the North Shore [ play ] | [ download mp3 ] Women - Group Transport Hall [ play ] | [ download mp3 ] War On Drugs - Taking The Farm [ play ] | [ [...]
Once again, releases are in holiday mode, so 'new' releases are sparse (hence the combining of weeks). On Monday, I profiled the new albums from Kanye West , The Killers and Tom Jones , and besides that there's releases from the Paul McCartney project The Fireman, Anathallo, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Femi Kuti, Ludacris and Momus. ( Chinese Democracy is a Best Buy only, so I'll happily ignore.) Special EP's from Coldplay, The Raveonettes, Feist, Sixx:AM and Surf City litter the landscape as well along with compilations from post-punk faves Magazine [...]
Twin Cities News: - MN Daily interviews Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles . - The Daily also runs down a list of some of the TC's "best" indie labels . - How Was The Show interviews Ed Ackerson . - Duluth's Trampled By Turtles are hittin' the road . - Both Calexico and Sebastien Grainger stopped by The Current recently, playing studio sessions. - Culture Bully on Facebook - think outside the bun! [...]
Most Likely To: be the fastest way to spend twenty minutes. Kiwi quartet Surf City are a palimpsest who peel off layers of culture like paint and leave only a subtle brilliance that belies their songs' simplicity. Originally named "Kill Surf City" after the Jesus and Mary Chain song, the band dropped the "Kill" and revealed another layer of meaning with a nod to the Jan and Dean classic, which was penned by Brian Wilson and subsequently covered by the Ramones. "Two Girls for Every Boy!" Not surprisingly, Surf City circa '08 [...]
Formerly known as Kill Surf City, New Zealand's Surf City have a killer new EP on Morr Music that is essential to the rockness of the day. With a mix of sounds that recall Jesus & Mary Chain, Dick Dale, VU and Flying Nun legends The Clean all whipped into a frenzy with the urgency of that early U2 stuff, Surf City are throwing down the manic pop thrills indeed! Headin' Inside - Surf City
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I’ll Just Leave This Here #161
Antony and the Johnsons - "Rise"
Video: Dreamers - "Appaloosa"
