Lines

 

Soft Science

Lines

(Shelflife)

Ever since I was lucky enough to find Soft Science’s debut album, High and Lows, in 2011, I have been unabashedly in love.  Their fourth album, Lines, has now been out for about a month and it only affirms my continuing passion for their music.  The occasion has also provided me with the unnecessary excuse to go back and listen closely to their previous offerings.  What I’ve learned with this re-discovery tour is that they are actually better than I remembered, and that what I wrote about their second LP, 2014’s Detour: “in a subtle way they have tightened all the unnoticed loose screws and polished the surface,” amazingly holds true!  They continue to refine.

Lines plays like a legendary band’s best of/singles collection.  Their dreamy songs here lean more towards radio ready pop singles (is that a thing anymore?), and personally, I think that’s their biggest strength.  With their urgent and endlessly catchy song “Still,” my favorite song from their 2018 third album, Maps, Soft Science found the key to what sounds like effortless greatness. 

The melodic lead guitar line to “Grip,” along with the insistent bassline and Katie Haley’s perfect vocals, get me wanting to dance and completely lose myself in the amazing sounds.  It continues on from there.  “Deceiver” is like a favorite single I swear I already knew upon first listen (is that a cowbell?).  All three pre-LP singles are here: the buzzing “Sadness,” the rumbling, almost House of Love-like (Butterfly cover) “Kerosene,” and my early favorite “True,” with its words of betrayal.

With each album, Soft Science have included more keyboards which, instead of distracting or compromising their sound, has emphasized and enhanced what they already do well.  Somehow it has made their sound both more spacious and dense at the same time.  Songs like the heavy opener “Low” and its matching bookending closer “Polar,” along with the almost atonal saturation of “Stuck” and the dreamscape of “Zeros,” all remind me a little bit of excellent Spanish indie poppers Linda Guilala and their psychedelic overloads.

It is incredibly satisfying to see Soft Science getting so much attention for their new album!  Sadly, in this day and age, I don’t really know what that means.  We can all create our own little media focus, so I fully realize that I see Soft Science news, and most people likely do not.  I hope this changes.  I wish them great success and encouragement to keep our lives filled with their great music.  If you are not familiar with Soft Science and their lovable music, I strongly urge you to check them out for yourself.  All of their albums are a great place to start. 

 (https://softscienceband.bandcamp.com/)

Soft Science "True"

Nothing Happens Here

Soft Blue Shimmer

Nothing Happens Here ep

(Disposable America)

I’ve been procrastinating writing this forever.  I think it’s because of my constant self-doubt about why I write about my favorite music.  It all feels so useless, especially since I’m not very eloquent, and as has been said before “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.”  In other words, it’s difficult to explain the sound of a song, especially without relying too much on pigeonholing artists by comparing them to others.  I generally attempt to describe the music’s impact on me personally, in hopes of enticing the one person who might read far enough to think “hey, this seems like something worth listening to!”  Unfortunately, despite being really excited about a lot of the new music I’ve been encountering, it has not translated into words that I feel do these fine artists justice.  But, I can’t seem to help myself.  As I’ve said elsewhere, when I hear great music, I want to shout out my love of it to the world!  I want to play it loud enough for everyone to hear and get the same kind of magic out of it that I do.  Sometimes I think that perhaps I should simply write my record synopses with simple phrases like: “This rocks!” and leave it at that.

Nothing Happens Here is the debut EP from the L.A. band Soft Blue Shimmer and I absolutely love it!!  There you go.  This is where I should stop, but I won’t.  These five songs are so magically tuneful and enticing that I cannot stop listening to them.  Like the chorus from the wonderful “Fruitcake,” my advice is to let each song dreamily work its way into your subconscious – “crushing like a wave.”  Lyrically, the songs all tie together with a theme of missing a partner who has departed and our narrator pining over their memory.  The languid “Dream Beam Supreme” presents the battle to fall asleep when the mind won’t stop ruminating over that certain lost someone, so, vocalist Meredith invites that person to join her in her evasive dreams to dance.  Next up is the upbeat blast of energy that is “Shinji.”  This song really gets me going.  There’s something about Meredith’s calm vocals (I’ve been deliberately repeating “I’ve been feeling more” over and over in my head lately during stressful parts of the day), juxtaposed with the crashing cymbals and twin guitar drive of the music that is stunning.  Back on the unbelievably perfect pop song that is “Fruitcake,” we find Meredith in fear of dwelling on the sadness of losing her former partner and trying to avoid being alone with those thoughts.  A feeling I’m sure a lot of us can relate with – at least I sure can.  In this case though, it all goes down easier with such a spectacularly hummable song.  “Chamoy” also mines this territory beautifully, as the memories linger (like chamoy sauce?) dangerously and with a healthy bit of bitterness (“I thought I would miss that / the feeling of missing / of something I thought I knew / but I’ll never miss that / the feeling of leaving / or the scent of you in my room”).  The dramatic closing song, “Happier Than Mitsuru,” finds us getting a little fed up with these memories, and possibly ready to try to move forward (“try to remember / but I / often forget that / I can’t / keep seeking people from the past”).

These five songs are loaded with sadness, but are so damn enjoyable to listen to!  I cannot decide which song is my favorite, so I have to play the entire thing from start to finish, and then, I have to play them all over again.  This young band has completely caught my attention.  I cannot wait to hear more! 

(https://softblueshimmer.bandcamp.com/releases)

Soft Blue Shimmer "Fruitcake"

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)

Trees Touch Skies

The Icicles “Trees Touch Skies” EP (Microindie)

After releasing an unusually dark, yet spectacular, album with 2012’s Renegade Parade (my #7 pick for best of 2012 – see here), the Icicles return with an EP that we were all hoping would be an LP.  Luckily, the wait for new music from them was worth it, as these new songs are all outstanding!  They’ve managed to capture the more nuanced and melancholy feel of Renegade, but with more of their previous pop song appeal.

The opening song, “Phrases,” has a guitar melody that sounds straight out of Will Sargeant’s cannon (Echo and the Bunnymen) best creations, and then we are welcomed by band leader Gretchen DeVault’s friendly voice and some fantastic backing vocal harmonies.  Then we go right into this collection’s title and highlight song, “Trees Touch Skies.”  I hate to pull out more comparisons, but this song sounds like a lost single from the Pale Saints’ amazing In Ribbons album. Another brilliant guitar lead from Rebecca Rodriguez, and beautiful keyboard washes make this uplifting song so memorable and stunning.  “Think About” arrives with a smooth shuffle beat, some creepy sounding keyboards and someone spurned and not yet ready to let go of the anger – reminding of the underrated Heart Throbs, until the unexpected trumpet solo near the song’s end.  The EP sort of concludes with the aggressive “Outside In,” which I would imagine could be a great show stopper in a live setting.

There is an additional demo included (“Steal the Covers”), as well as 

a radio broadcast with a brief band interview and the new songs played acoustically, which are very nice, but it’s the core four songs that have my hopes up for more new music on the horizon and forces me to recommend that you give this EP a listen.

(http://www.theicicles.com/)

Arizona (redo)

Tracy Shedd

Arizona    

(New Granada 2013)

Back on January 15^th of this year, I posted a “review” of Tracy Shedd’s fifth album Arizona, which was released in November of last year.  I put “review” in quotes, because it was really some kind of attempt to capture the feel of the album without the usual rundown of hyperbole.  It was framed as a letter to a long lost flame from a long time ago, who, rumor had it, was struggling with debilitating depression.  It was part album review, part letter in earnest, and part fiction.  It felt wrong the moment I posted it, but decided to stick with it hoping that it would seem better in retrospect (you can see the mess here).  But, as I listen to this album for about the 3,000^th time right now, after contemplating my favorite records of the year (see here), I thought I’d revisit and try to correct – or maybe make things worse.

This 2013 album turned out to be my favorite album of 2014.  This is in large part due to the fact that it speaks to me in a deeply personal way.  These songs are about a good many things, but I have tended to decipher the bulk of these as a message of support to someone in crisis.  The song “Control” addresses suicide directly.  Shedd pleas to a person on the verge by simply saying to them “don’t end it all tonight.”  It doesn’t get more direct than that, nor does it ever fail to send shivers down my spine.  This direct communication may be part of why this album has been so powerful for me.  Shedd conveys a comfortable environment that’s about appreciating those we love around us (“and I’ll miss you when you’re gone” – “Take a Ride”), and the memories that can carry us through the worst of times (“Boats,” “Million Pictures”), and by giving a genuine heart to heart plea to someone to not throw all of these things away, as in “Control” and “You’re No Fool,” her music and lyrics act as a guiding light to those of us who are genuinely in dark places.  She says the things that need to be heard – the things that more often than not are not ever conveyed.  How does one broach the subject of depression to their friends and family?  How does one ask for help?  How does one help someone in need?  It’s not as easy as it seems like it should be.

This record is not only lyrically direct, but also musically.  These songs are stripped down to mainly the twin acoustic guitars of Tracy Shedd and her husband James Tritten.  Their interplay is seamless.  Tritten plucks out clear, memorable, and fully realized guitar melodies – making the spare arrangements seem greater than the sum of their parts, yet not so much so that the personal nature of Shedd’s lyrics gets buried in the mix.  This album feels and sounds like a few really talented friends gathered right in front of you playing amazing songs.  Her choice of covers (The Magnetic Field’s early classic “Candy” and Sonic Youth’s breakthrough steamroller “Teenage Riot”) is remarkable as well.  These are songs that have always resonated with me and have provided strong memories, yet framed in this sparse environment “Teenage Riot” is like a brand new song. 

The quiet solitude of the opening “Sweet Talking” is a concise love song that covers the joy of being with a loved one and the hope for it to continue all the way till death in a meager two and a half minutes.  Likewise, the beautiful “Sing to Me” balances between both the closeness needed in life and the despair of death.  This dichotomy continues on “Friday Night at Einstein’s” – a story about losing oneself on the dance floor (reminding thematically of The Sundays’ flowing “She”) that is both life-affirming and lonely.  Elsewhere the lighter touch of the duet “All the Little Things” brightens the overall feel of the record, as does the chorus of the soul searching “Million Pictures,” and the summery and hummable “Broken Arrows,” who’s mantra of “you can die trying / or you can die with a broken heart” is still a rallying cry that resonates and reminds to keep on giving this shit show an effort.

This redo plus the strange letter review from January may together make this review a little more complete, but I’m afraid I’m still missing the mark (part of the reason in general why I may give this writing about music hobby a permanent rest).  Simply put, and probably all I’ve needed to say is: Arizona is an album that is humble and subtle, but one of great magnitude and impact.  I cannot recommend this with any greater enthusiasm.

(tracyshedd.com)

 

Tracy Shedd "Broken Arrows"

 

Top 20 Albums of 2014

This year I have finally chosen not to rank my favorite albums of the year, but instead present them in alphabetical order.  Consider this a 20-way tie for #1.  As always, I’d love to hear what everyone else was listening to for the past year.  Feel free to share your picks in the comments section below. 

Happy New Year!

Allo Darlin’ We Come From the Same Place (Slumberland)

BNLX Produit Collecté (Susstones) 2013

Cheatahs Cheatahs (Wichita)

Dum Dum Girls Too True (Sub Pop)

Pete Fij / Terry Bickers Broken Heart Surgery (Broadcast)

Gold-Bears Dalliance (Slumberland)

The Heart Wants All I Remember is Waiting (Junefourth)

The History of Apple Pie Feel Something (Marshall Teller)

Honeyblood Honeyblood (Fatcat)

The Lawrence Arms Metropole (Epitaph)

The Luxembourg Signal The Luxembourg Signal (Shelflife)

Bob Mould Beauty and Ruin (Merge)

The Popguns Pop Fiction ((Matinée)

Tracy Shedd Arizona (New Granada) 2013

Should The Great Pretend (Words on Music)

Slowness How to Keep From Falling Off A Mountain (Blue Aurora)

Soft Science Detour (Test Pattern)

Spotlight Kid Ten Thousand Hours (Saint Marie)

The Twilight Sad Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave (Fatcat)

We Were Promised Jetpacks Unravelling (Fatcat)

Water

China Drum

“Water” 7”

(Too Pure)

Oh my, did I love China Drum from the mid-90s or so until they disappeared from view a few years later!  All of their incredible singles and EPs leading up to their 1996 debut Goosefair were so stuffed with energy, excitement, and unstoppable hooks!  Don’t even get me started on their frantic and absolutely electric second album Self Made Maniac, where the songs all flowed into one another – turning it into an album that could not be turned off.  Doing so was a massive crime (there was a third album under the moniker The Drum, which I missed entirely).  The 90s was when the UK punk scene exploded with amazing bands like China Drum, Midway Still, Leatherface, Mega City Four, and Compulsion and unlike here in the US, they were all unique in their own ways – avoiding the sameness of the punk-pop Warped Tour sound that wore out its welcome the second the Warped Tour was conceived.  These UK bands were heavier, more substantive and gifted with better songs.  But this isn’t about who was better, this is about the fact that Midway Still rejoined the fold a few years back with new material, and now, 25 years after they began kicking ass, China Drum have graced us once again with some new music – this simple limited edition two song 7” single.

The original trio is back, but now bolstered with a second guitarist and a new drummer to allow singer Adam Lee to be out in front (I don’t know how Lee sang and played those frantic songs live, even though I witnessed it once at the Satyricon here in Portland).  “Water” kicks in with some muscular mid tempo drums and serious power chords letting us know that they are back to rock.  Each verse grinds along open and spacious, before the huge chorus kicks in with buzzing guitars and even some female background vocals from Kate Stephenson, the new drummer.  This is the “sound of water rushing past your ears” – refreshing as it washes over you.

On the flip, “Kitty’s Burn” returns the band to their speedier selves and another one of those killer sing-along choruses.  For a three minute song, it manages to be both hyper catchy, off-kilter with stuttering drum fills between lines during each verse, and dynamic with a tempo changing bridge. 

This is a solid reintroduction to a much missed band.  Now let’s see what happens next.  I sure hope this means they will continue to offer us new material.  Now, I’ve gotta go crank up the old collection and jump around the room.  Excuse me.

(chinadrum.co.uk)

When I Fall in Love

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.

The School

“When I Fall in Love” 7”

(WIAIWYA)

The 7777777 7” singles club on the mouthful Where It’s At Is Where You Are Records has provided several excellent records in just a few short years.  That small UK label was already making a name for itself in the indie circles, but now with these 7 annual singles being released each year as limited edition picture discs and a high quality variety of artists such This Wreckage favorites as Allo Darlin,’ Eux Autres, Standard Fare, and My Favorite, I think I have been remiss in not yet signing up.

Unfortunately, I am not a subscriber and was too slow to pick up The School’s entry into the 7777777 scene, but luckily, all of this great music is available via download.  If anyone actually reads these music reviews I write, they’ll know that I love me some 60s girl group styled pop!  And The School has been perfecting this sound for several years now.  Their second album, 2012’s Reading Too Much Into Things Like Everything, was my #36 pick for best records of the year.  Liz Hunt’s naïve and plaintive, yet sweet vocals and words evoke simple times from our younger days, when worries were about crushes and who’s seeing who. 

The formula has not changed one iota here, but this versatile and oddly huge band (eight piece last I checked) makes simple pop music that is so spot on perfect, it could be direct from an early 60s date night movie.  The A-side, “When I Fall in Love,” begins with acoustic guitar strums, Hunt’s voice and tambourine splashes, before jumping jauntily into handclaps and a super catchy song espouses her determination that today is the day that she will fall in love and it will be eternal.  Wouldn’t that be nice?  Well, here it is.  Excellent!

The B-side gives us a flowing melancholic song guided by organs, strings, and an excellent trumpet solo, as Liz begs to be with her guy through troubled times.  This band’s strength is their simplicity and versatility.  They seem to be able to pull off any kind of instrumentation flawlessly, without ever overwhelming the song itself.  Now, does this mean there’s a new album coming soon?

(theschoolband.blogspot.com)

The School "When I Fall in Love"

 

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)

Each Time

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.

Secret Shine

“Each Time” 7”

(Dreams Never End)

When bands began reforming after several years away, there were always prominent cries of “sellout” and a strange disdain cast upon them for giving their music another go.  What about bands that never really drew a huge audience?  What would be the explanation for a band reforming and enduring another possible round of being ignored, other than a pure love of the art?  Of course, there have been so many bands that have reformed over the last fifteen years that it’s no longer even an issue, but what I find surprising, is that there have been a handful of bands that have not only recaptured their original spark, but surpassed it.  For me, Secret Shine is one of those bands.

Secret Shine existed during the early 90s on the vaunted Sarah Records label, and I was familiar with them via the many excellent label compilations that I devoured back then.  Secret Shine was about as “shoegaze” as that label ever got, and though they were intriguing to me, they never connected enough to get me to pursue their records.  Yet, ever since their reformation back in 2006, they’ve been steadily improving and a band that I look forward to hearing from and will make every effort to secure their latest offerings.  Their last album, The Beginningand the End, brought an urgency and passion that they had never showed before (and was my #5 pick for best album of the year!).

It’s been some time since that great album, but while they commence work on a new album, they have offered up a very nice single as a teaser.  Luckily, this record is right on par with the best of their most recent work.  The A-Side, “Each Time,” burns with desperation and that urgency that drove much of their last LP.  They get compared a lot to Slowdive (also recently reformed) with their airy atmospheric sound derived from buzzing feedback, but that band never let loose with this kind of drive before - like having the beat go double time during the exciting chorus.

Over on the flip side, is the dreamier “Anything About Me,” a song that drifts along with a beautiful quiet melancholy and a rumbling beat, which builds the tension towards what looks like trouble ahead.  The feeling of being marginalized and taken for granted in a relationship is explored in the sparest of words, but the simple repeated line “You don’t know / you don’t know / you don’t know / anything about me” gives us a strong clue as to what is happening.

If these two songs are a sign of what’s to come, the next Secret Shine album will be an incredible highlight of 2015.

(secretshine.bandcamp.com)

 

Mocking Love Out of Nothing at All

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.

Gentlemen Rogues

“Mocking Love Out of Nothing at All” 7”

(Shifting Sounds)

Here’s an Austin, Texas four piece that I was introduced to earlier this year via their bassist, Brandon Tucker, who is also a member of Magnet School, who I raved about last year with their digital single “Fur & Velvet” – a Swervedriver-esque massive rocker (#26 pick for 2013).  Gentlemen Rogues is an entirely different beast, but one that is equally intriguing.  Instead of bringing back fond memories of the UK bands from the early 90s, on this single the Rogues bring back the fiery yet thoughtful US styled power pop much like the band they cover on this singles’ B-side, Buffalo Tom.

First of all, I do have to lodge a small complaint; the A-side original here is titled “Mocking Love Out of Nothing at All,” presumably a take off on the horrific Air Supply song from the early 80s.  This is a road that should not be explored.  However, having said that, the song itself is excellent!  It is absolutely jammed with vibrant energy and big twists and turns that carry us on an exciting rollercoaster, much like the tumultuous Get Up Kids single “10 Minutes” on Sub Pop Records a long time ago.  The mid-tempo power chords that open the song belie the surge that comes, as the song seems to step up the intensity as the song progresses.  Plus the chorus is a wide open pay off that feels like a breath of fresh air.  And, I have to say that hearing this kind of music again - good old fashioned “college rock” – is fun, because for some reason it fell by the wayside for some time, despite being pretty universally easy to like.

As mentioned earlier, the B-side is a very straight forward cover of Buffalo Tom’s 1992 song “Mountains of Your Head” (from their amazing third and probably their best LP Let Me Come Over), but somehow infused with just a little bit extra noise and speed - just enough, that is, to make this a worthy cover.

It looks like the Gentlemen Rogues are soon set to release their debut album, so we can only hope that this single is a sneak peek into what kind of goodness is to come.

(gentlemenroguesmusic.com)

 

Runaround

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.

The Fireworks

“Runaround” 7” EP 2013

(Shelflife)

Here’s a record from late last year that I feel remiss about not sharing sooner, but it still seems like a good time, because The Fireworks just recently revealed plans for the release of their first album in early 2015, as well as issuing a little preview.  This little slab of red vinyl certainly got a lot of play around my place all year long, so it’s not as though I wasn’t aware of this record. 

The Fireworks bring the pop and the buzz in full force and this shit never gets old.  As long as I’ve been smitten with buying records, there has always been a lot of room for catchy two minute pop songs that are invigorated by sing-along melodies, limitless energy, fast drums and a healthy dose of feedback.  With “The Runaround,” The Fireworks evoke the best moments of The Primitives late 80s heyday, or perhaps Australia’s Hummingbirds.  The bulk of the song is really just a blistering fuzzy mess of buzzing guitars barely contained by vocalist Emma and the steady drums.  However, once the chorus comes along, everything blossoms, as the guitars begin to chime and some background “oohs” and “aahs” bolster the song and push it to a serious need for repeated listens.

The Fireworks "Runaround"

The first song on the flip side similarly speeds along for less than two minutes like a long lost Primitives great.  Shaun’s frantic drum work on “With My Heart” gives the guitars a bit of a reprieve until the bridge, but its Emma’s commanding vocals that make this song so great.

Lastly, this short and sweet EP closes with the lovely viola adorned “Asleep.”  This song reminds of early Creation Records bands like The Razorcuts or Emily, as well as the softest acoustic moments of The Field Mice, as guitarist Matthew sings a fragile song filled with self-sabotage as he watches his significant other drift off to sleep and wonders if they are dreaming of someone else. 

Oh, this is so damn good.  I cannot wait to hear what they have in store for us with their debut album.  Go ahead and check out their sneak peek “On and On.”

(thefireworksgopop.bandcamp.com)