Permanent

Fawns of Love

Permanent

(Test Pattern)

Sacramento based label Test Pattern Records is on fire!  I swear I’ve amassed just about every record they’ve released over the last several years, but this new one, may already be the record of 2019 and we’re just getting started.  I had not previously heard of Fawns of Love until their beautiful, wistful, and lush single “Zine Days” early last year, but it made me an instant fan.  However, much like label mates, Soft Science and their incredible album Maps from last summer, this new release takes all of the band’s best elements and presents them in a wide open clear and concise space.  All of the songs sound huge and vibrant.

Fawns of Love are Jenny and Joseph Andreotti, and Permanent sounds like they snuck into New Order’s recording studio in 1986, right after they recorded “Bizarre Love Triangle,” borrowed their equipment, and laid down a bunch of brilliant songs.  Please don’t misunderstand this.  It is meant as the highest praise.  I cut my musical teeth on that 12” single as a young teenager and vividly remember the day (before weeks passed like days) I purchased it and rushed home to listen to it over and over.  I love the heavy prominent dance beats and that mid-range bass as melodic lead and never tire of it.  The major difference here is that Jenny’s vocals mix with washes of dreamy atmospherics giving this entire album a sincere reflective feel that takes things to another level. 

The album opens with the single they shared late last year, “Someday,” which floats atop a wash of keyboards, a sharp dance beat, and some great percussion.  This is maybe what it would sound like if Julee Cruise release a dance single (I don’t know, maybe she has).  Similarly, “December” continues this thread.  That insistent beat combined with strong atmospherics.  Perhaps the best of the pre-LP singles is “Mournful Eyes,” which builds an incredible amount of jittery anticipation leading up to the warm sing-along multi-tracked vocal of the chorus. 

My early favorite songs (I can’t decide on one) include the majestic sounding “Horoscope,” which reminds me of all-time favorite New Order song “Your Silent Face,” if it had been graced by a vocal from Elizabeth Frazier, along with the sheer catchiness of the title track, “Permanent” (I cannot stop humming the ooohs from the chorus), and I cannot leave out the stunning “Divine,” which is so pleasantly dream-like that it is a shame when it ends.  Every song is fantastic and though there isn’t a huge variety here, the album works very well as a whole and its 30 minutes or so keeps any fatigue from setting in.

In my tiny circle, Fawns of Love are getting a lot of well-deserved attention.  I hope that it continues to grow.  This is magical music that needs to be heard.  The vinyl is limited, so please pick up a copy while you can! 

(https://fawnsoflove.bandcamp.com/album/permanent)

Fawns of Love "Mournful Eyes"

Red Returns

Desario

Red Returns EP

(Test Pattern)

I’ve not yet had the privilege to see Sacramento four-piece Desario live, but with this terrific new EP, I feel like I’ve been transported into a small dark club hunkered down near the stage completely entranced by their exciting sound.  I’ve already loved their first two albums for some time now and their tight detailed twin guitar interplay has continued to grow on me, but these four new songs feel a little different - a little more urgent and alive.  Where those first two LPs (2009’s Zero Point Zero and 2012’s Mixer) were very cleanly recorded, this recording is grittier.  It’s a mild change up, as they have not lost their knack for stellar guitar melodies from John Conley and Michael Yoas, but now new drummer’s Kirklyn Cox’s pounding is more dynamic and upfront, and the bass-lines crackle like you’re seeing Mike Carr pluck the strings in person.

The EP opens with the timeless sounding “Fallen,” whose chorus, rides atop a burbling bass-line, feels like it’s been a part of my list of favorite all-time songs for years.  Conley’s, always calm and friendly vocals do not betray the turmoil and increasing intensity that the music describes.  It’s a wonderful combination.  Meanwhile, “Capture” opens with a wistful and longing guitar line that harkens back to The Ocean Blue’s incredible “Drifting, Falling.”  The upbeat “Down Among Them” may be Desario’s shortest and most direct song, and much like “Fallen,” the song increases in density and urgency as it progresses.  Finally, the closing, “Red Returns” stretches out a bit, as it details the desire to rid oneself of all memories, contact and feelings of a former or about to be former love (“erase me from you”).  The pounding bass drum beats like a broken heart fighting to go on, as Yoas and Conley exorcise demons and jam out between verses. 

Desario have managed to subtlety tighten their already solid foundation and release their best collection yet.  I sure hope that there is a full length album on the horizon, because I cannot recommend this enough. 

(https://testpatternrecords.bandcamp.com/album/red-returns)

Weekend

As the year has progressed, several great singles and EPs have been released for which I have written reviews or should have written reviews.  I’ve waited for many of these bands to go ahead and release new full length albums before offering my thoughts, but several have not yet materialized.  So, over the next week or two, I hope to share my enthusiasm for some great singles that have come along during 2014 that I’ve neglected to share.

Arts & Leisure

“Weekend” 7”

(TestPattern)

Every time a new record is released on Sacramento label Test Pattern Records, I get the sense that I need to at least visit that city, if not move there.  I see the wonderful John Conley (Holiday Flyer, California Oranges, Desario) designed record sleeves and hear the great music coming out of that city and see show lineups to die for listed on social media and I think to myself – “What’s happening down there?” 

“Weekend” is a perfect little 7” single to follow-up last year’s Arts & Leisure debut LP ChooseYour Adventure (my #27 pick for 2013).  Arts & Leisure rose quickly from the end of veteran band Baby Grand, whom I had just learned of a few years back and was just getting involved with their cool, breezy sound.  Now they’ve got a very basic old-fashioned straight-forward pop sound and it proves that if done right, it can sound fresh every time.

The A-side, “Weekend,” is as straight-forward musically as a band can get with its simple mid-tempo drum pattern and walking bass line, buzzing twin guitars and Gerri White’s breathy voice enhanced by Becky Cale’s harmonies.  There’s nothing that stands out to describe about the song except that it sounds great, is memorable, and reminds of sunshine.  Maybe the fact that the lyrics tend more towards something from The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Darklands than a California beach party is a cool unexpected twist.  I’m a sucker for the girl groups and rainy day bleakness, so this will win out every time!

Likewise, the B-side, “Over You,” cruises along with a similar vibe.  The vocals are more emphatic, as the killer chorus lets us know that they are “done crying over you.”  If one is to be dumped, there’s worse ways to be let go than by a catchy tune.

This is a nice introduction to the band, but don’t let their debut go by the wayside – go out and get that one too!

(facebook.com/arts.leisure.music)