Nate Henricks - NEON FOR NO ONE (2014)

Nate Henricks is back with a new album for us all to bask in. I've written this guy up a couple of time previously, with the release of 2011's Horse Carrot//Lemonade Guarantee and 2012's NTH MERIDIAN. I apologize to everyone for missing his 2013 album HORSERADISH, which keeps up the amazing string of albums from this experimental bedroom pop musician. The music has elements of some many things that I enjoy it is hard to know where to begin. As usual it reminds me of Elephant 6 psych pop, especially the wilder songs of Olivia Tremor Control and Major Organ and the Adding Machine. I really don't want to reduce this fella to a reference though, he is the motehrfucking bee's knees with his lo-fi DIY recordings. The songs are funny, charming and addictive once heard. I cannot stop listening to "Sometimes I Die" and "Stuck Inside the Frame" as they are pretty much prefect expressions of what I want bedroom pop to sound like.

To be had here:
Nate Henricks - NEON FOR NO ONE

Mirror Mirror - Segments (2012)

Rock n' Roll isn't always a party. To reach the existential, meditative portions of our mind, the music may need to be made equally as remote. Mirror Mirror from Spokane, Washington have taken this musical mindset to its logical conclusion and produced a very fine record titled Segments. There are elements of surf, 60's, and psychedelia but it is all smothered under deep baritone vocals and 8 pounds of reverb. Just listen to The Undivine and Locked from the Inside, two of my favorite tracks off the record. The pop elements are there, but the band has bigger aims than a bobbing head at a local house party. Taking the listener to new heights and distant universes requires a different approach.

Get it here:
Mirror Mirror - Segments (2012)

Assorted Spilts

I've gotten enough split EPs in lately I've decided to make them into a post of their own instead of throwing them into the EP Grab Bag (cause even at my ideal bimonthly rate there's more than I can reasonably post). So here three release with six bands, like a bunch of double barrel shotguns staring you in the face.

To be had here:
War Party/Doom Ghost - Lo-Life Recordings: Love at First Fight vol. 1 (2012)


This spilt put out by the small label Lo-Life Recordings features two lo-fi rock acts with sinister names. The first three tracks are by War Party, whose sound is somewhere between shoegaze and pop-rock. Makes me think of another submitted act, Fun Guns, which is good for I've really been digging those cats still. Second three are from Doom Ghost and are more eclectic. Starts with a garage rock song, a British-esque rock number (think Follying Molly), and one's a shimmery lo-fi pop ditty that invokes the Beat Happening. Must admit both bands are impressive and a finely complimenting spilt.

Mother Night/Dropouts - Garbage Fire Spilt (2012)

More from the several times featured band, Mother Night, but this time with friends sharing the bill. The two bands contrast more strongly than the previous spilt. Mother Night plays their finely done math rock, especially well on "Uprising of the Beast." The Dropouts on the other hand are some intense, abrasive metal that'll packed to the gills with powerful guitar and hollering vocals. A palate cleanser for sure, yet enjoyed by even a non-metal fan such as myself.

The Top Grossing Films of 1984/Nate Henricks - Hang Out Lay Low (2012)

Another returning artist, Nate Henricks, shares more of his E6-style lo-fi psych-pop. This time with an epic track that exceeds 15 minutes. The Top Grossing Films of 1984, other than bearing a lengthy name, are a minimalistic lo-fi psych-folk that has qualities of Weird America stuff. For whatever reason the split this release into their respective bandcamp pages so to get it all you've got to go to each, so just click on each name to get there.

The Inclined Plane - The Backwards Frontier (2012)

Exciting news, pilgrims. New album out by those Connecticut dwellers, the Inclined Plane. My pal Johnny, who's a member of this outfit, kindly sent me this album a few days ago and I gave it several listens over the weekend. It is a wonderful collection of lo-fi indie pop songs. These guys have mastered the lightly hazy, psych-pop I so commonly associate with Elephant 6 bands but are much more than a reconstituted version of E6 themes. Tracks like "Marble Slab" and "New Wave Prison Break" are instantly enthralling with their distorted guitars and charming vocals. Compared to their previous album, I Am Pants, the songwriting feels more considered and elaborately paced. Well, I greatly enjoyed I Am Pants this is like more evolved version of that style. I am sure that the album being mastered by Todd Tobias of Guided by Voices aided in that. To sum it up, The Backwards Frontier is a great sign this band is just getting better and better.

To be had here:

The Inclined Plane - The Backwards Frontier [320 kbps]

EP Grab Bag vol. 9

Trying to keep on top of things. Damned cold makes me less eager to get to the library. Along with listening to the back catalog of Thrilling Adventure Hour podcasts eating into my leisure time. However, I have got a chance to hear these mostly sumbitted EPs, so a new grab bag is born.

To be had here:

Bonnet People - Demo(n) (2011)

The is a debut EP by Floridian band, specifically Fort Lauderdale. Jazzy, psychedelic, rock experimentation may be a good way to put it. Despite the large degree of dissonance to be heard on in these tracks, I really liked to listen to this while I worked away at reading a novel. Possesses a kind of lovely sedative effect. The sort that allows one to relax and enjoy noises or written words in my case at least.



The Heatheners - Slow Lineage EP (2011)

Out of Portland, The Heatheners are making some dreamy pop music that has a dark, romantic tone. Just a bit gothic, they've got it tagged darkwave, but I'm not to familiar with what that term means. I do know that I found it pleasant (as much as gloom should be) and well-produced. Moreover, they actually released two EPs this month, so check out the Nocturnes EP as well.




Spectrals - A Spectrals Extended Play (2010) [224 VBR kbps]

This one I uploaded myself, but I will admit I found it on another blog months ago, forgotten which exactly. Basically, a one-man band from England with noise pop/garage tendencies. Somewhat employees wall of sound, but really just the guitar is what I liked, especially the jingle that serves for the final track.





Narrow Sparrow - Snythworks (2011)

Hailing from Chicago, Narrow Sparrow sent me this EP because my posting Elephant 6 albums, namely my recent Apples in Stereo post. Therefore, I might not be off base in saying this band sounds like they're quite directly influenced by E6-style psychpop. They're otherworldly sweet and heavy on the snyth (if the title didn't give that away). Plus vocal effects out the wazoo. Happy to have had this send me way.

Apples in Stereo - Fun Trick Noisemaker (1995)

I've posted many Elephant 6 bands on the blog, and it shouldn't be any news that I remain an unabashed fan of nearly every project connected to the collective. The real question is how the blog went this long without my posting this founding band. The force behind Apples in Stereo, Robert Schneider was a fulcrum upon which much of the begins of the collective were balanced along with the label that at one time existed. He grew up on Ruston, Louisiana along with many other E6 musicians I've posted, like Jeff Mangum, Bill Doss, and William Cullen Hart. Beyond this group he was involved in producing Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel albums. As for Fun Trick Noisemaker in particular, it was the full-length debut of Schneider's band and can still be considered one of the best albums to ever come out of the whole mess of E6. Incredibly lighthearted and charming, every song on this album is fantastic psych-pop gems. If my arm was twisted I'd say "Glowworm" and "Green Machine" are likely my very favorites, but any time I've gotten a chance to sit down and heard the whole album it's been a treat.

To be had here:
Apples in Stereo - Fun Trick Noisemaker [160 kbps]

Nate Henricks - Horse Carrot//Lemonade Guarantee (2011)

A submitted album from Denver. Nate Henricks has made some bizarre psychedelic pop music. It really has that charming bedroom pop vibe, a mixture of acoustic guitar, garageband effects, sampling and sweet-sounding vocals. The album reminds me of Pill Wonder, Leafes and Lou Breed, which is a backward way of saying it has Elephant 6 psychpop features as well. While I can listen to many types of music for days of end, really only lo-fi garage rock and this kind of strange pop have the ability to cheer me up in any real way. The simplistic nature but fullness of sound are held in common between them and I bet is what I fancy. Nate Henricks has made a release that I'll surely be adding to my rotation of music to hear on otherwise boring days to improve my mood. What more could one ask for from musicians?

To be had here:
Nate Henricks - Horse Carrot//Lemonade Guarantee

Ryan Trott - Wild Wonder (2011)

A submission that came with good timing. As the post on Elf Power might suggest I've had a hankering for some psychedelic pop music. Ryan Trott has released this album on bandcamp (not for free, mind you, sorry about that jazz) riddled with a mess of sweet ditties of Elephant 6-esque lo-fi pop. Perhaps most like The Sixth Great Lake or The Sunshine Fix's A Spiraling World of Pop because of the acoustic element to his songs. However, I don't have to portray Trott as any carbon copy of E6 or other previous acts. He's definitely got his own voice and style that does well by incorporating good influences. Sure they songs aren't wildly unique, but they're well written and refreshing. I found them acutely charming in fact. Gave the whole thing two complete listens in a row I liked it enough.

To be had here:
Ryan Trott - Wild Wonder

Ganglians - Still Living (2011)

I've been looking forward to this release for since I got my hands on Monster Head Room and Woodsist 12' in 2009. Ganglians had that updated psychedelic-era Beach Boys sound down impressively, and Still Living continues to deliver on that premise. However, the band isn't rehashing anything with the new album. The songs feel bolder, like the band was trying to expand their dreamy, psych rock and make something hazy yet fuller. The result is something with a popper edge that shouldn't offend the sensibilities of fans of their previous releases. Monster Head Room has hardly left my iPhone since it came out, and it makes regular rotation at work and in the car, and I'll say that Still Living is seeming going to get the same treatment.

To be had here:
Ganglians - Still Living [320 kbps]

EP Grab Bag vol. 2

Another series of EPs I was sent (for the most part). All these are to be had for free on bandcamp so let's do it to do then, pilgrims.

To be had here:

Moon/Ruin - Ocean (2011)

A lovely psychedelic pop EP coming out of Austin, if the tag on bandcamp is to be believed. The guy that submitted it was also in Liquid Skulls but this is a different beast. The psychpop nature of this makes it irrestable for me not to make an E6 reference, but they're certainly doing their own thing here. Very nice.






The Post Riot Era - On Zero Sum Living (2011)

This is some really chill ambient music. Minimal, experimental and quite atmospheric. Easy to lose track of oneself while listening. Interesting and worth the download for sure.








Seabuckthorn - In Nightfall (2011) [320 kbps]

This was sent in by Bookmaker Records, the folks that released Henryspenncer. However, the UK's Seabuckthorn is of another variety of music. In Nightfall is a 23-minute exploration of instrumental psych-folk. Real mellow and melodious. Give this guys a go and support the label should you like what you hear.







Grandpa Was A Lion - Archaic EP (2011)
or Download via mediafire

This one I found on my own just knocking about bandcamp. Pretty decent glo-fi/dream pop. Very soft and sleepy making it rather suitable for a good evening listen. Like let's say get hit by a bus and you're now among the cloud folk, you might hear something like this.

Bonifrate - Um Futuro Inteiro (2011)

My pal just sent me the link of this yesterday and I was jazzed as all hell to see it. Bonifrate is a Brazilian musician that outside of his solo work is in the outstanding band Supercordas. Admittedly I do vaguely know Bonifrate from years ago downloading music over p2p. However, I am never unbiased on this blog, so it hardly makes a difference if he is an acquaintance. Um Futuro Inteiro is one stellar example of lo-fi psychedelic pop. It is completely in Portuguese but not understanding lyrics has never diminished the enjoyment of an album for me in the past and this remains true when I hear Bonifrate's beautiful vocals. Truly an exceedingly skillfully crafted album that really shows how great stripped down psych-pop can be. I'm raving for a reason, pilgrims, for it is so fine.

To be had here:
Bonifrate - Um Futuro Inteiro [320 kbps]

The Voyage Limpid Sound - Electronically Enhanced Dream (2000)

Now I've sat on this album for years. Occasionally I'd go back and give it a listen, and every time I am reminded of how pleasant it truly is. There isn't too much information on The Voyage Limpid Sound floating about, but seemingly it was the brainchild young Greek man. Heavily influenced by 60s psychedelia it has a very Pink Floyd, Beach Boys, Kinks vibe to it all. You know, shit like organs and harmonious vocals. Meanders about more or less yet it maintains a glowing warm feeling throughout. Could just as easily imagine it coming out of Athens, Georgia scene as Athens, Greece. I do believe they released a follow-up album, but for whatever reason I've yet to hunt it down. However, time for dilly-dallying on this one certainly passed a while ago.

To be had here:
The Voyage Limpid Sound - Electronically Enhanced Dream [160 VBR kbps]

Dressy Bessy

Lately I've been entertaining some retrospective sentiments in my music listening. Hunting through my collection I've taken to marking some of the albums for sharing here. Some of these bands I really thought were the bee's knees and the ones that are actually making it on here I still think hold considerable merit. Dressy Bessy is a great example of a group that resisted my constant reassessing and devaluing of my opinions. One of many bands that are connected in some way to the sprawling Elephant 6 collective, most directly via the guitarist John Hill who also plays in Apples in Stereo. However, it was formed by the singer/guitarist Tammy Ealom, who played with the Minders, and Darren Albert and Rob Greene serving as drummer and bassist respectively. The music they made some lighthearted indie pop that often incorporated much fuzzy guitar and cheery singing. Although they haven't released anything in a few years, they were rather productive through the late 90s to 2008 when they're last LP came out. Personally, I feel their best work is to be heard on the earlier albums Pink Hearts Yellow Moons and Sound Go Round but none of them are duds and if you like their sound it is pretty consistent.

To be had here:




Pink Hearts Yellow Moons (1999) [192 kbps]












California EP (2000) [128 kbps]












Sound Go Round (2002) [192 kbps]













Little Music: Singles 1997-2002 (2003) [192 VBR kbps]












Dressy Bessy (2003) [192 kbps]












Electrified (2005) [224 VBR kbps]











HOLLERandSTOMP (2008) [256 VBR kbps]