I like the low-fi revolution as much as the next indie-rock lemming, but to be honest, fuzz is only as good as the melody underneath. A couple bands have shown they can do it, King Khan and the BBQ Show , Jay Reatard , Wavves (occasionally), and the Chicago Based Quartet, The Smith Westerns . "Girl in Love" is the song people seem to love, and it's great, an ode to T-Rex, but I'm partial to "Tonight". Straight up distortion that you need to cut through with a knife to find the sweet little [...]
Like T-Rex recorded in a wet cardboard box in 1978. Awesome.
I'll be the first to admit I'm growing oh-so-tired of the "lo-fi" explosion currently taking over independent music. It would also be a gross understatement to say that I could go the rest of my life without reading another Wavves interview quite happily. Despite my pent up distaste for trashcan recordings with no lyrical substance, lo-fi garage misfits The Smith Westerns debut has enough charms for me to look past the, uh, shoddy recording quality. It's just messy enough without being pure-noise, unlike a lot of the lo-fi going around these days. Best of all the album has some flashes [...]
Here's a mix of some of the songs and artists I listened to a lot this month. The songs come from a diverse batch of artists, including returning indie-heroes from the 90's Polvo and Spiral Stairs, the multi-talented Mos Def, the gritty indie & folk-rock of Handsome Furs and Roadside Graves, and 3 of today's finest singer-songwriters in A.A. Bondy, J. Tillman, and Simon Joyner. Be sure to also check out upstart Zach Vinson's soaring "Christee Christee", one of the catchiest indie-pop tunes I've heard this year, and the brand spankin' new blissfully fuzzed-out garage rock of Real Estate and [...]
Jun 23, 2009, 4:14pm
MBV
Smith Westerns - "Tonight" Tonight I held your parents in grey wrinkly arms in the hand-drawn graveyard, and held my breath. Tonight, I kissed a bit of beer into your mouth. Tonight, I raked money into piles, warmed my tired feet while it burned. Tonight, gift-logic reigned supreme, saved the planet from a near-disaster. Tonight there lay candles on the runway, candles in the clothes, candles in the cameras, candles in the food. Tonight was Beast, pure Beast. Tonight forgot who it was, left the wrong mad message in the wrong damn place. I'm going out tonight, [...]
Smith Westerns - "Tonight" Tonight I held your parents in grey wrinkly arms in the hand-drawn graveyard, and held my breath. Tonight, I kissed a bit of beer into your mouth. Tonight, I raked money into piles, warmed my tired feet while it burned. Tonight, gift-logic reigned supreme, saved the planet from a near-disaster. Tonight there lay candles on the runway, candles in the clothes, candles in the cameras, candles in the food. Tonight was Beast, pure Beast. Tonight forgot who it was, left the wrong mad message in the wrong damn place. I'm going out tonight, and [...]
Not too much writing this time, I'm going to let the music do the er… singing, which is supplied from Chicago's The Smith Western s. A lot people are saying they sound like Marc Bolan, but I wouldn't know about that, so I'll plough on ignorantly. The Smith Westerns - The Glam Goddess Musically, they are yet another band producing that lo-fi high distorted sound that seems to be quite popular at the [...]
So I'm heading to Columbia today and I decided to post some groovin tunes for the ride. Hope you all enjoy. Garage pop has returned via 15 year olds. Be My Girl - The Smith Westerns The beat keeper of Fleet Foxes masters the silence between the notes. If you like The Decemberists you'll like this track. Earthly Bodies - J. Tillman ~~~~~ Oh, Florence... Whenever one heard the word "remix," one usually thinks [...]
The Smith Westerns are three super young kids from Chicago that make soulful, seemingly-ramshackle-but-not-r eally, classic-sounding garage pop that is not entirely unlike another band we've been loving immensely lately, Denton 's Fergus & Geronimo . The group's new self-titled debut full-length -- out now on vinyl on HoZac (featuring co-opted famous album cover, pictured above) -- is something like early Black Lips or Strange Boys , but with bigger/better, more infectious hooks. The kids in their hometown are apparently already into it, and it's quickly earning a spot alongside [...]
Between work and "the move", my resources have been fully obligated. The suck is now over, and I should be back on the grind. Found some rad new Fresh & Only's tunes amongst many others soaked in murky garage goodness. The Outsiders - You Mistreat Me Intelligence - Secret Signals Lenguas Largas - I Feel Rainbow Bridge - Big Wave Rider Fresh & Onlys - Happy To Be Living Fungi Girls - Crystal Roads [...]
In eager anticipation for my new Smith Westerns LP to be crammed into my mailbox, I've had their "myspace tuner" on blast at the house for a while now. Bubblegum/shit pop/buzzsaw pop/shitgaze, I'm finding myself tired of trying to keep up with all of the different "genres". Adjectives really don't do the ears justice, but we all have an imagination right? Whatever the case, this outfit from Chicago plays dirty ass garage rock that has probably been a harbinger to six or seven riots. Their newest LP is now available through Hozac Records . Get yr copy! [...]
Bad brained and buck-toothed, The Smith Westerns' romance is a roughed up one - these are drooling and delinquent, daughter-bothering barn dance burners for bad kids and house bored, book bound babes. Nicotine yellowed and up to no good, "Just Give Me Some Time" is irresistable in its fuzzy-faced brattiness. As far as chat-up lines go, the gasoline cologned lear of "I wanna take you out, come on baby let's just make out" is probably about as far from the blushing red conventional idea of glossy magazine romance as its possible to get, but there's something about [...]
The weekend! Finally!, and here's another mixtape to kick things off. I'll actually be making the long drive home this weekend, Mothers Day. Don't be an ass, send your mom a card, get her a mani/pedi, burn this mixtape for her! New tunes from Dinosaur Jr., Wavves, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Dinosaur Jr. - I Want You to Know That Ghost - Never Have Fun Micachu and the Shapes - Calculator Silent Talk - My Risionare [...]
The Singles Collection is contributor Jason Jackowiak's weekly column focusing on rare and essential 7″ releases. We gladly accept all types of 7″ for consideration. It's Easter week and we're back to business as usual 'round here at The Singles Collection. Hopefully you enjoyed last week's video sojourn into the realm of Sacred Bones , one of our favorite labels, but it's back to doing what we love around here, mainly, giving you the scoop on 45's that are currently rocking our world (and that we think will rock yours). [...]
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