Amazing Larry's top 10 of 2014

Just a quick disclaimer, not everything listed was released in 2014, just posted to the blog in 2014.

What a big year for Spacerockmountain:

-We saw the introduction of the Spacerockmountain podcast, which has progressed from tired and drunk ramblings to sober and thoughtful interviews with some of our favorite artists as well as reviews of movies.

-The Scenes of a City series where we profile fantastic releases from artists all over the word.

-And probably the most prolific posting in general thanks to the blog founder Antarktikos. Seriously, near daily posts thanks to that busy motherfucker.

That said, it's been a challenge for myself to listen to everything on the blog. I'd ideally like to do a top 10 of everything posted, but since I'm most familiar with what I wrote about, here's a top 10 from my own posts over the year, in order from best to bestest:

10. Leptospirose - Tatuagem de Coqueiro

This is crossover thrash band from Sao Paulo, Brazil proves that it's not all about psychedelic, lo-fi, garage rock.... there's much appeal in that which is fast and furious. 

9. The Sin Veldt - S/T

The Sin Veldt are like 70's Rocky Erikson meets The Stooges. It's blues-influenced psych garage from NYC that's got more blood, grit and piss than Jack White's latest kidney stone... or record... or whatever.

8. Toads And Mice - S/T

This Dayton, Ohio-based band blew my mind when I stumbled across them this year. Having first learned to be a ravenous music listener in the 1990's, it always surprises me when I hear newer music reminiscent of that time. The meandering and melodic guitar lines, the crystalline and poetic vocal delivery ...this band and this record set a unique mood that harkens to a time when indie bands weren't afraid to get a little moody and add some interesting architecture to their songs. 

7. Underground River - Endless Air; the Other Side of Happenings

Largely the solo project of Hunter Davidsohn, Underground River is music for a rainy day. I mentioned in my original post that it reminded me of coffee shop music. It still does, but like the fucking best possible coffee shop music. Like you went down to the cafe to read a book and drink an espresso but then this amazing songwriter starts playing on the pseudo stage and both your espresso and your blood go cold.

6. Zageron - S/T

Didn't think it possible to love music like this at this point in my life. This band I first wrote about in my Scenes of a City post on the Lithuanian city of Vilnius. Zageron are just ridiculously enjoyable to listen to. I'm pretty sure the singer is Satan or at least Satan's first cousin. And I just love how the drums aren't blown out or ridiculously beefed up in the production like so many other death metal. And this drummer. Fucking shit. I love the drumming on this record.

5. Jesuslesfilles - Une Belle Table

Great Montreal rock band, I still stand by them being the perfect mix of The Strokes and Blonde Redhead. Great stuff that promises much more greatness in the future. 

4. The Salad Boys - S/T

A New Zealander by the name of Joe Sampson who may or may not run Melted Ice Cream Records is one of three behind this excellent self-titled by ChristChurch's Salad Boys. A rough diamond in the crown of that country's long history of pristine and clean indie rock purity. So damn good.

3. Small Teeth - Small Teeth Tape

Yet another Montreal band that shook my world, Small Teeth bring something unique to their sound. It's mostly song structure, because the instrumentation is conventional rock band. But the band also stands our with vocal delivery. I'm pulling my hair out waiting for more recordings from this fine band. Please hurry the fuck up, Small Teeth.

2. Roselit Bone - Blacken & Curl

I used to see these guys live as a 2 piece and they were amazing then. Now they have over 5 members and they are killing it. If out of town guests come to Portland, take them to Multnomah Falls, eat at a food cart, and take them to a Roselit Bone show. You can't lose.

1. Grime Kings - Honeymooning

There's no question in my mind which record is my favorite of 2014. Yet another fantastic release from eastern Canada, this time Grime Kings from Ottawa, just a short drive from Montreal. The recording project of Callum Runciman, a prolific and exceedingly talented songwriter and musician. It's rock music for those bored of rock music. Multilayered and strange, it's offers something new with each listen. If I had a record label and some money, I would throw it all at this guy.

Salad Boys - S/T (2013)

My new long term goal is to go to grad school, then get a job I can stomach and that I know will pay well. I will then run a record label on weekends, getting bands like Salad Boys, with their wonderful lo-fi indie rock, to let me press 7" records for them. After years of investing tens of thousands of dollars in awesome little bands and not making any profit, my wife will burn all my books and clothing and leave me for another man with un-squandered money. I will lose my well paying job due to depression and have to move into a storage facility with all the boxes of records I couldn't sell. Starving, I will resort to letting teenagers beat me up for money. After many years and many many beatings, I will use this money to buy a shitty little bar. I will acquire a 7" playing jukebox and fill it with all the records I pressed years earlier. Then I will sit in my bar and drink all the beer therein while listening to the infectious melancholic pop of the Salad Boys song "Best Kept Secret".

I will probably then piss myself and die.

8 songs.

Salad Boys - S/T

The Woolen Men - S/T (2012)

Here's the new release from Portland's hardest working band, The Woolen Men. A few months back I posted their first tape, Pavilion, which came out in 2009. Three years later, they're up to their 6th or 7th tape, I think. This is definitely the second one to drop in 2012.

That's a lot of numbers.

They are simply a great band interested only in writing some of the catchiest pop songs possible. Their songs are well-crafted and reminiscent of The Kinks, Guided By Voices, The Clean, and Camper Van Beethoven.

This release comes as the band readies themselves for a small west coast tour. It's "name your price" for the month of August only, so grab it for free or toss them some coinage.

And if they come to your town, get off your ass and go see them, for chrisakes. Tour dates below.

The Woolen Men - S/T

August 15 - Portland @ Holocene w/ Wymond Miles (of Fresh and Onlys)
August 16 - Eugene @ Wandering Goat w/ Autumn's Done Come, Father Figure
August 17 - Oakland @ TBA
August 18 - San Diego @ TBA w/ Mad Kiwi, Lame Drivers
August 19 - LA @ TBA w/ Corners, Buffalo Eye, Radios, Lame Drivers
August 20 - SF @ the Knockout w/ Lame Drivers
August 21 - Sacto @ Luigi's Fungarden & Slice w/ Charles Albright, Apache Dropout, Lame Drivers
August 23 - Portland @ Record Room w/ the Bugs, Lame Drivers

The Woolen Men - Pavilion (2009)

There's no debate that a tomato straight off the vine tastes monumentally better than those from the supermarket produce aisle. In the same vain, music straight from the "bedroom" carries with it something you can't get from mainstream music. There's an intimacy that escapes the refined output from major label studios... low budget recordings are more authentic. It's easier to attach humanness to it and, for that reason, it's more palpable. You can close your eyes while listening to a Guided By Voices record and almost smell the musty basement they recorded it in, because you've been in basements before. Few of us have ever been in a recording studio... who knows what one smells like? 

The Woolen Men are a prolific Portland 3-piece whose lo-fi recordings are all recorded live. They've been around for about four years and, during that time, have played over 70 shows and released 5 cassettes, most of which have been released through member Raf Spielman's well-established tape/vinyl label, Eggy Records. Each member takes turns writing songs and singing, akin to Sebadoh, but here the end product sounds like power-pop meets garage. Guided By Voices comes to mind, as does Camper Van Beethoven. In interviews the band sites the 80's-90's New Zealand band, The Clean, as being a big influence... which is evident in the immediate appeal of their songs. David Kilgour's pop prowess isn't lost on The Woolen Men, and you can be sure that the songs on this, their first tape, will get you hooked.


"Land of Laughs" and "Today" sound like power-pop classics from some band that time forgot. 

This video is for a great cut from a later release.


Music straight off the vine ...probably my favorite band in Portland right now. If you like what you hear, be sure to visit Eggy Records or their bandcamp page and toss them a few dollars. Three songwriters who share that knack for writing melodies that make you immediately nostalgic for certain times, places, and/or people.


The Woolen Men - Pavilion