Athenian's torn between the alterna rock of REM, the blissful psychedelics of Elephant Six, and the Pacific Northwest in the mid-90s? riot grrrl, c-86, post punk enthusiasts? A band that is truly schooled in everything you love. Get Up: full hearts can't loose. Tunabunny , a name you will remember forever, have cobbled together your deepest crushes from the 90s, turned the guitars up, and put the women in the front. Channeling the terrifying wisdom of their local Georgia Guide Stones giving rock music a new principles to live by. It's one of [...]
![Tunabunny: I Miss You (You Miss Me Yes) [Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2960249_lg.jpg)
They call it transcendental dance pop, which sounds pretty good to me. I'd add in hints of punk and plenty of noise to that description, though. Tunabunny is the latest great thing to come out of Athens, Georgia, a place that needs no introduction when it comes to great independent music. And their new self-titled LP is on Happy Happy Birthday To Me, a label that should also need no introduction. Tunabunny is a little different for the HHBTM folks, but I can easily see what drew their attention. [...]
![Baby Calendar: Gingerbread Dog [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2391173_lg.jpg)
Gingerbread Dog is the debut release on HHBTM for this Florida trio. Baby Calendar has released before, but it was all DIY. And while I have yet to crack the past album, Fifteen Year Old Sneakers , I must say that what I've heard on Gingerbread Dog is on the verge of brilliance. To quote their biography, Baby Calendar is "not completely pop or twee, not completely punk or rock." Instead, they contain all four elements. At the most [...]
![Sourpatch [Feature]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2362527_lg.jpg)
Bouncy, 90s-influenced, female-fronted pop band Sourpatch recently released a new album, Crushin' on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records . It's your standard HHBTM release, filled with pop music created by bands that have affections toward a similar, 90s era punk-pop (when punk-pop was actually good ). These songs hint of a time when sloppy playing was a virtue - technical ability wasn't needed in your parents garage, and it merely enhanced the sometimes cheesy songs about [...]
![Keith John Adams: Unclever [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2310398_lg.jpg)
In the grunge music of the 90s we saw the mass standardization of the head-bang. For you young ones, that's when you take your nasty, long, greasy, unwashed hair and whip it from back to front and front to back in rapid motions. The result, obviously, is brain damage. That's what rock-n-roll will do for ya. Pop, on the other hand, takes that motion and reduces it to a quick nod. The good news is that you have more brain cells to kill with vices such as alcohol. The music of [...]
After a couple days in a row of melancholy Holiday Dick offerings, we need to get upbeat in a hurry. And what makes for a more upbeat wintry day than one that has just been called off by a school superintendent for excessive snowfall? (This, of course, does not take into consideration the POV of the parents involved, but we are concerned with the rock, not the cradle on this here blog.) Fortunately for us, one of the bands that has already garnered high marks from us for their recent full-length release also has the perfect [...]
The first three tracks of Parade provide the perfect introduction to Afternoon Naps , a rust belt pop band that has been bringing sunshine pop to their gloomy post-industrial climes since 2006. "Plum City Fight Song," the band's homage to their hometown, begins the album with a healthy dose of guitarist Tom Dechristofaro's Moz-lite vocals, while the third tune, "The Day We Started," provides a crash course in the moonstruck glee of keyboardist Leia Hohenfeld. Sandwiched between these songs, "Beach Bums" finds the duo sharing the vocal burden more equally, a combination as blissful as it is [...]
![Hotpants Romance: It's A Heatwave [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2003982_lg.jpg)
Hotpants Romance are so perfectly strange they're almost hard to comprehend. They boast their work as "three girls, three years, three chords". They really are as simple as that on the surface. Yet, there are so many things from their album It's A Heatwave that are shiny, bright, and utterly complicated in the most splendid of ways. Laura, Lowri, and Kate seem to enjoy the frame of mind and sound they have developed by the large amount of energy they exude through each track. It is [...]
![Afternoon Naps: Parade [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2001234_lg.jpg)
This may come as a surprise: Ohio is a hot spot for up-and-coming indie pop artists. There's Pomegranates out of Cincinnati and Bears in Cleveland. Rounding out the power trio is Cleveland's Afternoon Naps . Catchy melodies and memorable vocal hooks can be found throughout their sophomore release, Parades . But there's much more behind the music of Afternoon Naps that makes them one of the most promising pop bands around. The guitars are fairly standard, but have just the right amount of jangle in songs like [...]
![Eux Autres: Cold City [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1823255_lg.jpg)
Cold City finds the Larimer siblings that make up Eux Autres maturing as musicians and songwriters. Where Hell Is Eux Autres included many viable tracks, the recordings were stiff. Still, despite the slightly lower production value, many of those older songs remain true favorites; and Cold City packs in several new favorites as well. Included in this mix are "Molly" and "When I'm Up". The first has catchy hooks in the chorus and includes a heavy reverb in vocals. The latter sees [...]
![Fishboy: Nom [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1805894_lg.jpg)
In retrospect, Fishboy 's Albatross should have garnered my #1 album slot for 2007. Seriously: the album remains one of the most-listened-to albums even today. The oft dubbed Twee Rock Opera was a truly brilliant concoction. And, as front-man Eric Michener quietly hints at a follow-up, he releases Nom , a nine-song EP consisting of rejects from the original concept album. If you find Albatross to be an interesting concept, Nom will follow suit. Fishboy sent the songs to [...]
Part of me really wanted to hate It's A Heatwave by Hotpants Romance. What's to like about the messiest, sloppiest kind of garage pop by three girls who can hardly sing? A lot actually. I mean on first listen you might be mortified, but Kate Armitage, Laura Skilbeck and Lowri Evans have so much charm and a "fuck it" kind of attitude I really started to almost love this record. The opener "Hotpants No Chance" is a ridiculously brash, obnoxious, sweet and clever combo that really optimizes everything I love and hate about this [...]
Hey folks, sorry about the mini-disappearing act, I've been busy with my potential career as filmmaker, but I am back as far as I know. Anyway onward with The Smittens! Vermont's most beloved band The Smittens has released a new album, much to the joy of lovers of Indie-Pop and Twee music, actually, much to the joy of everyone really. I usually am one to say critical writing can be done about anything, but with The Smittens' The Coolest Thing About Love , I don't know, I guess I'm having too [...]
Initially I was turned off by Cars Can Be Blue's new record Doubly Unbeatable (Their second record on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records). The bitterness displayed in this collection of songs is so palpable you feel like you're trekking through a swamp. Luckily Cars Can Be Blue gives you a speedboat of garage band rocking and razor sharp melodies to hurl you through the muck. The first six tracks of Doubly Unbeatable are a near flawless display of Pop and Rock music in ultimate synergy. Did I mention that these songs are fueled [...]
Eux Autres Genre: Psychedelic / Indie / Showtunes From: San Francisco, United States While researching the background of The Smittens ( I'm In Love With... ) I stumbled upon fellow Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records label mates, Eux Autres (The Others for those [...]
The Smittens Genre: Indie / Pop From: Burlington, Vermont, United States Cute, nice, sweet, innocent, honest, twee; all words that todays music journalists tend to deploy as terms of abuse rather than endearment. Reading a review in 2008 that describes a band as cute or sweet is just about as damning as faint praise gets. Well then The Smittens, ( not to be confused with Aussie folksters The Smitten ) the name does [...]
I admit I've been dragging my feet. After some international delays in receiving Bearsuit's Oh:lo from Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records all I heard was just pink noise. I stated in a review last week of the Spring Forward compilation and its songs sights set on kill, well, with Oh:lo Bearsuit aim to not only kill you but mutilate you and piss on your grave as well. Oh:lo is frighteningly busy on half of the songs and destroys any of this UK band's attempt at melody. I [...]
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