Though we've known about beachy indie rockers Fort Lean for a little while , the group made a major splash at CMJ thanks to glowing praise from outlets like The New York Times . Before that, though, I saw somebody I followed on Twitter thank Fort Lean's Zach Fried for his help in finding an apartment in East Williamsburg. This gesture, of course, set off a Quit Your Day Job siren. So, I reached out to Zach who then supplied some other crucial information; not only was he a licensed real estate broker [...]
Over the past three years, the great Huntsville, Alabama rap duo G-Side have released three full albums, with another, Island, coming in November. And even more impressive: They've done all this while working full-time at two not-exactly-glamorous jobs. ST 2 Lettaz shoots low-budget music videos now, but he only recently left his job at a gas station. Meanwhile, his partner Yung Clova throws parties and has a clothing line called Purple Tyrant , but cutting hair in a barbershop takes up most of his time. We caught up with both rappers to talk over email about the advantages and [...]
If your longing for bands like Ramones and Dead Kennedys, that could play through their entire discography within a very short span of time, you've come to the right place. Quit Your Dayjob' s new album "Word Domination" contains 16 songs which they get through in about 24 minutes. It's their third album since they started out in Malmö in 2000, and the first one in four years. And punk it is, but also Devo-inspired synths and provoking humour plus some metal and a bunch of surf guitars. It's direct, different, playful and with lyrics [...]
i wanna f*ck the sunshine ♫ Quit Your Dayjob - Environmental The lyrics say it all in this 90 second blast of spazzy rock music. Quit Your Day Job want to get it on and they want to do it with the original MILF: Mother Nature. It's hard to argue with a sentiment this concisely put. The jangly guitar, bass, and drums just drive the point home even nicer. This Swedish band has been around since 2000 and their goal is to sound "like an unholy cross between Kraftwerk and Sex Pistols with [...]
Goodbye, April. Hello, May! Welcome back, Ramblings and Considerations! In this edition: We're digging Myra Lee and In Golden Tears, Weekly Considerations, and Videos! Introducing: Myra Lee photo credit: Tom Chabbat To many indie music fans, Myra Lee refers to the title of a 1996 Cat Power album . It is also the nom de plume of a French [...]
Brooklyn-based Das Racist-associated pop crew Tony Castles recently released the No Service EP, a five song collection featuring a track called "Dream Job" - though not all the work the "freak funk" trio are here to discuss sounds especially dreamy. Guitarist/keyboardist Willie Miesmer is employed by WNYC and drives a truck for an antique furniture company, drummer Gabriel Wurzel works on a coffee truck, and until a few months ago vocalist/bassist Paul Sicilian did analysis of TV programs for advertising companies. Read More...
The Austin garage trio Woven Bones make dark, fuzzed, primitive, foot-stomping garage rockabilly shot through with J&MC, VU, and the Damned. (And you can extend that list to include a number of "the" bands: the Gun Club, the Troggs, the Cramps, etc.) I say trio, but right now guitarist/vocalist Andrew Burr and bassist Matty Nichols are the only permanent members until they nail down a steady drummer. They're here today because Andrew does freelance design work and Matty's been waiting tables at the same Austin Italian restaurant for five years. When not working, they're in the midst of recording their [...]
Reyna Kay is one half of Blessure Grave, the gothy Hellhammer-referencing South California death rock band and one-time Outsiders you should expect big things from in 2010. (Well, amongst those of us who listen to Swans, Cocteau Twins, KUKL, and old Siouxsie & the Banshees and feel our hearts skip a beat.) When I approached them about doing a Day Job piece, T. Grave told me Reyna's employed by the school district and as an ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) Therapist. When I followed up with Reyna, she confirmed it. That, and she's putting in 60-hour work weeks. I [...]
San Francisco's the Fresh & Onlys make for great autumn listening. There's something gothy about their psychedelic rock 'n' roll swing, but the sort of vintage wind-blown vibe that's more internal than dyed hair or eyeliner. That atmosphere was definitely there on " Invisible Forces " and " Dude's Got A Tender Heart ." You know, a sort of refined Gun Club garage thing (they still do mention Buzzcocks, Mekons, and Country Joe and the Fish as favorites). As far as their employment info, bassist Shayde Sartin explained: I'm the only one currently with a full-time job. I [...]
A couple of months ago, we posted Bear In Heaven's " Lovesick Teenagers " in the midst of the deaths of John Hughes and Patrick Swayze. It colored the song then and has provided me a framework that still affects me when I hear it. The Jon Philpot-fronted Brooklyn (via Georgia and Alabama) quartet offer a number of darkly triumphant dispatches on their ambitious second proper full-length Beast Rest Forth Mouth . Philbot says it was "a ton of work," obviously, which is why he's currently between jobs and trying to get his life back together. (He usually does [...]
When we called recent Philadelphia/New York crew Cold Cave a Band To Watch last December, we mentioned Heartworm Press , which frontman Wesley Eisold runs with the writer, curator, and now-again Cold Cave member Max G. Morton (who shows up candleside in the video for " Love Comes Close "). Heartworm released the first Cold Cave collection Coma Potion , the Electronic Dreams cassette, and eventually Loves Comes Close before Matador reissued it, along with books by Mark McCoy, Boyd Rice, Jonathan Shaw, Chris Leo, Morton, Dominick Fernow, etc. Speaking of Fernow, [...]
The sunny psychedelic pop housed on LAKE's Let's Build A Roof deepens and interestingly darkens the Olympia group's previous output. The dozen songs were produced by Karl Blau, someone who clearly has a knack for adding layers without losing a creaky, natural spaciousness (and someone they tour with in October/November). A ways back I mentioned " Madagascar "'s island feel. The group digs into shimmery horn-lined dream pop on the anthemic "Don't Give Up" and gets increasingly frantic on the swooning "Gravel," an exhilarating Let's Build A Roof standout that debuts after my conversation [...]
The sunny psychedelic pop housed on LAKE's Let's Build A Roof deepens and interestingly darkens the Olympia group's previous output. The dozen songs were produced by Karl Blau, someone who clearly has a knack for adding layers without losing a creaky, natural spaciousness (and someone they tour with in October/November). A ways back I mentioned "<a href=" http://stereogum.com/archives/ mp3/new-lake-madagascar_081981 .html"Madagascar "'s island feel. The group digs into shimmery horn-lined dream pop on the anthemic "Don't Give Up" and gets increasingly frantic on the swooning "Gravel," an exhilarating Let's Build A Roof standout that debuts after my [...]
When we spoke with Matt Popieluch about non-album track " Wander Aimlessly ," the Foreign Born vocalist/guitarist/"lo-fi renaissance man" mentioned that the song was partially inspired while he was driving to "a shitty temp job." A few days later I asked him about his current employment situation and it turns out he works for the environmental non-profit TreePeople. As he noted: I am a grounds-keeper in Coldwater Canyon Park, where they are based. I am at times a glorified, outdoor janitor, sometimes architect/handy man and street-sweeper (those dudes with orange vests). I catch run-away dogs and occasionally run [...]
At the beginning of the year, we said UK trio the Rayographs were a band worth watching . As mentioned then, guitarist/vocalist Astrud Steehouder, a compelling frontwoman, conjures Grace Slick (or, to get more contemporary, Mira Billotte working with the Breeders) amid the band's dark psychedelia. They had a great first 7" then. There's a great second 7" out shortly. (Speaking of which, that first "Hidden Doors"/"Gold Light" single is up on iTunes as an EP with an extra track, "The Sea.") We'll have to wait a bit longer for a full-length debut -- they're recording it this summer [...]
Lately Brooklyn's the Antlers have been the topic of more (and more) conversations. Yesterday we posted a track from the icily anthemic trio's self-released and emotionally drained/draining Hospice , which is about to be re-released via Frenchkiss. (If you haven't heard it, as mentioned previously, it's currently streaming at Spinner .) The band's here today because frontman Peter Silberman works as a graphic designer at (Le) Poisson Rouge, drummer Michael Lerner's part of the family real estate business, and multi-instrumentalist Darby Cicci has experience as a freelance art handler, installer and gallery assistant. [...]
Lately Brooklyn's the Antlers have been the topic of more (and more) conversations. Yesterday we posted a track from the icily anthemic trio's self-released and emotionally drained/draining Hospice , which is about to be re-released via Frenchkiss. (If you haven't heard it, as mentioned previously, it's currently streaming at Spinner .) The band's here today because frontman Peter Silberman works as a graphic designer at (Le) Poisson Rouge, drummer Michael Lerner's part of the family real estate business, and multi-instrumentalist Darby Cicci has experience as a freelance art handler, installer and gallery assistant. [...]
So far the group-chanting Brooklyn BTW Suckers are best known for their outfits, a self-titled EP produced by Yeasayer's Anand Wilder and Chris Moore (TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), and a lineup featuring fellow BTW Quinn Walker. That, and a "2080"-style, occasionally dub-y sound constructed from joyful synth-and-percussion combos. Now maybe they'll be known, too, for their various (and varied) day jobs. Multi-instrumental songwriter Quinn does double time as a doorman at Glasslands and a bartender at Arrow Bar (and, maybe, a male escort). Drummer/keyboardist Brian Aiken is an ex-Ross Stores Data enterer currently [...]
Despite the comparisons (blame the one sheet), Olympia's Gun Outfit sound much more like Some Velvet Sidewalk (or, really, King Kong) than Dinosaur: Their straight-ahead, bass-free punk-inflected rock is definitely old-school sounding, which is maybe why folks are fond of referencing SST, but the fit's not quite right. The trio's debut, out now on Dean Spunt's PPM label, is a batch of 11 spare, intense compositions that immediately conjure the Pacific Northwest. When not digging into their streamlined hooks -- live, the guitar interplay comes off especially intricate, and even catchier -- the band members hold down day [...]
Stereogum
Meadow Music
The Burning Ear
The Dadada
Absolut Noise
Video: 2:54 - "Creeping"
Sleeve: “1991″ by Azealia Banks
Tango In the Attic: "Sellotape"
Sleeve: “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey
