EP Grab Bag vol. 108

Another Grab Bag, I told you I had a lot of submissions to get through. Here is a pretty stellar collection of mostly returning bands. Always good to check in and hear the new stuff.

To be had here:

Unqualified Nurse - Put It On The Line (2015)

A new EP from Derby's intensely low fidelity rockers, Unqualified Nurse. The tracks are extremely short, something I've come to expect from them having shared their prior EPs and their full-length, Let Snarl. Likewise the highly blown out reverb and break-neck pace of the hollering vocals remain. Whenever I start listening to Unqualified Nurse I imagine having bitten off more lo-fi than I can chew, but it takes but one song for me to be fully hypnotized by the noisy bliss.

Ed Feels - Toast (2015)

A melancholic Virginian making fuzzy, lo-fi bedroom recordings that have qualities of emo, folk and indie pop. The songs have an unpolished, lo-fi charm that is endearing yet also unsettling in the haunting eeriness it captures. Beautifully done, I don't think I would have tried to shine it up either, great as it is. Very much recommended for those that enjoyed Joplin Rice, Tim Cushing, C. M. Slenko or the myriad of other folksy bedroom artists featured lately. This EP was released by the small NYC-based label, House Pet Records.

Goivinho - Segundo Nome (2016)

A returning Brazilian musician, formerly released music under the moniker Fogo Amigo, but now going by Giovinho. Whatever name he wants to go by is fine by me, just so long as he keeps making top notch compositions. Moreover, Segundo Nome is one of those rare time I get to write about space rock on Spacerockmoutain. All instrumental and full of bizarre electronic effects and beats these tracks live up to the otherwordliness of the genre.

Les Princes du Rock - La Tendresse (2015)

About a year ago I posted an album by the French garage rockers, the aptly named Les Princes du Rock. They're back with a fresh EP of psychedelic garage. No point is beating around the bush, I thought this was is a remarkable feat of rock and roll. Exactly the sort of fast, loud and righteous garage I've come to anticipate from France. I believe some of the very best of the genre I've heard in the last several years come from that country, and this is EP re-affirms that notion.

EP Grab Bag vol. 107

So the new computer is doing as well as I'd hoped it might. I already have to take it in for maintenance. This has made writing the blog harder, as well as just listening to music more difficult. Trying my damnest at it though. So the super full in inbox yielded these, and if your band isn't in there don't worry, I got enough for five Grab Bags. I will dole it out as I can.

To be had here:

This Heel - This Heel III (2015)

As then title of this EP indicates this is the third in a series of EPs from the Swedish outfit called This Heel, headed by one Martin M Sjöstrand. The tone of each of these EPs have varied, with the first having a garagey lo-fi feel, the second loungey pop, and finally we've arrived at psych-pop. Upbeat and quick, the third This Heel is the one that will seem the most immediately familiar to the listen of 90s indie pop. There's some truly awesome use of lyrics and building psychedelic progression, especially in songs like "Problem on Earth" and "Dragon Hiss."

indoor/indoor - one of these days (2015)

A Virginian band that makes bedroom-style indie pop. Lo-fi and not overly complex, yet markedly evocative in its upbeat expression of melancholy. They pull of that pleasant and meaningful juxtaposition of happy songs with sad meanings. The title track, "One of these Days," does stand out to me as the most exceptional of the three songs on this EP. That said, the there's not a moment I wasn't enjoying while listening to it. I hope they do make the full-length they hint on the the bandcamp page.

Engine Summer - BUZZ DRAINED (2015)

From Chicago, a band making psychedelic punk, or something they've tagged as 'groovegaze.' I gotta give them points for being the first time I've seen that genre tag used. To my hears it is somewhere between new wave, 90s noise rock, psych-pop and a touch of post-rock. I find that a compelling combination, but even if you don't just imagine a more irreverent Gang of Four. Who doesn't want to check that out? The songs are well-structured and very entertaining. These guys may be worth paying attention to.

Incesto Andar -Deusverno (2015)

A Brazilian band from the city of Sorocaba in the state of São Paulo. Not a very long affair, with only a couple of tracks. They do patch a punch however, being intense lo-fi grunge-hardcore rock, yet somehow devoid of the screaming lyrics that I would expect of a North American band playing such music. Not that they haven't got lyrics, it is just that they sing they notably well and calmer than I imagined. Both songs are stellar, worth the 10 minutes for sure. The EP was put out by the Rio de Janeiro label, Bichano Records.

EP Grab Bag vol. 106

This post has been a long time coming, I had it 65% written then things went all pear-shaped. Turns out my computer shit the bed. Blasted motherboard was fried, and there were many deliberations on how and when to acquire a new computer. Today I finally bit the bullet. I'm feeling profoundly uncomfortable with having spent so much money, as I am fundamentally a miserly man. Yet this is better than sitting around watching Quantum Leap on my smartphone and drinking cheap micheladas. Well, maybe not better as much as it's different.

Also, this means I am even more far behind on submissions that I would have been otherwise, so please bear with me.

To be had here:

Fuzz Ghost - Fuzz Ghost EP (2015)

If you've been digging on the full-length albums I've posted lately then I'm glad to say that there's plenty more garage rock piled up in the submissions, not least of which is this debut EP from Nashville's Fuzz Ghost. Surfy, psych-tinged garage rock with a light-hearted tone. The singing is a real highlight of these tracks, howling, echoey and dreamy at once.  I think it's an utterly fantastic EP, yet I had little doubt that it would be impressive. After all, it is being issued by our friend over at Ongakubaka Records.

Buzz Driver - Buzz Driver (2015)

On the other side of the equator comes more garage rock, specifically from Volta Redonda, Brazil. Heavily reverbed and stylized surf riffs can be heard in the intro, then it fades into a jumpy, fast and very distorted garage rock. Like an even more blown out version of Tokyo Sex Destruction. They've full embraced the thunderous quality of an untuned bass guitar through a wildly lo-fi set up. Whole EP is maybe 7 minutes, but some of the loudest and craziest minutes I've heard in a while.

Pulco - Found Sound (2015)

Though this EP was just released it is a recording from 2009 for a radio show called 'Garden of Earthly Delights' (a name taken from the same Hieronymus Bosch painting that is the background imagery of this very blog). If you've heard any of the other work from Pulco you'll know to expect some experimental music riddled with spoken word. This EP is neat because it sounds more raw and kinda creepy compared to the music the Welshman made later.

Kate Wakefield - Water Lungs (2015)

A rather unique EP as far as what you'll usually find on this blog. The songs are filled with operatic and classical influences from Wakefield's cello playing and her robust vocals. However, it is done in the way that is weirdly appropriate for what we do here. Her sining is phenomenal, poetic and versatile. Same goes for her cello playing, and they're both wrapped into a highly textured and layered avant-pop context. I could see her either as an indie darling or a full-blown popstar, I wouldn't mind hearing her as either really.

HIATO - HIATO (2015)

An lo-fi electronic musician from Guayaquil, Ecuador, the city that the first Scenes of a City was about. Ambient, chillwave sort of electronic music. The songs are well-fleshed out and engaging, something can sometimes be a challenge with these genres. HIATO has avoided many common pitfalls, yet still has identifiably characteristic of a bedroom electronic musician such as vocal samples and looping artificial drum beats. There's some catchy stuff on this EP, especially the final track, "Úrsula."

Rakta - S/T (2013)

I always thought it was interesting how birds are often named after their own songs. Killdeer, Godwits, Curlews, Bobwhites... the list is extensive. If bands were named after their own songs, I think G'n'R would be renamed "Eye-Eye-Eye" and Metallica would be called simply "AH!", because singer James Hetfield ends nearly every line of lyrics with a sharp blast of "-ah!" (ex. "Everywhere I roam-Ah!", "Harvester of Sorrow-AH!", etc.)

Rakta, a Brazilian band, wouldn't have to change their name at all. They have an initial sounds that encapsulates surf drum neats, the buzzing 2-chord dirge of grunge, and vocals sung from within a psychedelic cave. But as these songs progress, I would hesitate to categorize them into any new school of mishmash garage-punk-psych-surf. Their sound is just as much, if not more, an echo of early 80s UK goth rock. Siouxsie And The Banshees, Bauhaus, and New Order all come to mind.

Actually very similar to the modern UK band Savages, but without the edge-y post punk feel.

Rakta's dark streak slices down the middle of this self-titled, 6 song EP, while never dampening the energy of the music.

Rakta - S/T

EP Grab Bag vol. 105

Been meaning to get this one up for a while. Got lazy or forgetful or whatever, who cares really? It's here now. Anyhow, I am late in the sense that all the album art seems very well geared for Halloween, which I missed by a week. Oh well, better luck next year.

To be had here:

Peixefante - Lorde Pacal EP (2015)

Another EP I was sent from my Brazilian friend Barbara. Her impeccable is apparent in this awesome psychedelic indie/electronic pop outfit from Goiânia, Brazil. The songs possess a wonderful ethereal quality, just a touch spacey, but at their core they are wonderful modern psych tunes. They remind me of my favorite modern Brazilian psych-rockers, Supercordas, yet bent more toward pop music. An incredibly alluring EP, not to be missed.

Seamus O'Muineachain - Blood Apple (2015)

The songs of an Irish songwriter. Minimal in composition, ambient in tone, and folksy in style they are lovely instrumental songs. Done largely on guitar and piano they songs are a finely interwoven tapestry of those instruments, though a healthy level of percussion is used as necessary. It's as if that sort of acoustic music you've doubtlessly heard played in a coffeehouse could carry many times it's weight by utilizing more musical avenues than the bare guitar playing. So much so it is more sedimental than many lyrically based compositions.

Waylon Thornton and the Heavy Hands - Black Pudding (2015)

This Floridian outfit has routinely sent me music over the years, though I have failed to always post it. I am sloppy like that. However, I did take the time to hear this seven-track release and found myself enjoying even more than I already imagined I might. The songs are short garage rock jaunts. And I mean short, not any of them top the two minute mark. All upbeat lo-fi with howling singing reverb in the vocals and great distorted guitars. Check them out and look into their admirable catalog while you're at it.

The Dyna Jets - The Calling (2015)

Recently I posted the Fizz Pops, a garage pop band from Capetown, South Africa. Well, two members, Johnny Tex and Warren Fisher, of that band also have another project called the Dyna Jets. So here is the EP they put out this summer and I somehow missed until a couple of weeks ago. Two-piece garage rock as it should be, markedly fuzzy and playful, has a very surfy tone in the guitar playing. Four brief songs that left me eager for more. I Hope there will be more, under whatever name the choose to use next time.

Enema Noise - manual pouco prático do desapego (2014)

Back to Brazil, this time to the capital city of Brasilia. Lo-fi rock for sure, though of a more intense sort than the prior two EPs of this Grab Bag. Post-hardcore, which is a genre that is hit or miss for me overall, but there's not a doubt in my mind that Enema Noise is anything other than a hit. This release is absolutely exciting. The speed, intensity and excellent musicianship engaged me from the very start. I would love to hear them play in a dirty basement for sure.

EP Grab Bag vol. 104

I have been working on this post for a long, long minute. Sorry it took so long but I can't keep up with this shit very well anymore. It is like have bills to pay or some shit. Anyhow, this were some cool fucking EPs. I hope you like.

To be had here:

Hierofante Púrpura - Boas Bestas EP (2015)

Pilgrims, I love this band. I get they're strange, at bit hard to dig straightaway because they're conforming to much popular music conventions. It is a bit like they're scaring us away at first but if you listen further its like something of a Jad Fair and Lou Reed fusion in Portuguese. Experimental psychedelia at it's goddamned best. Also, this isn't the first time I'm posting this outfit from Mogi Das Cruzes, Brazil. Their album from last year, Sutil Arte de Esculhambar Música Alheia, is great and did not get nearly enough attention.

Exploding Clouds - Exploding Clouds EP (2015)

An incredibly well-made electronic project from a fellow based in Greenville, South Carolina. It doesn't fit a genre cleanly, like many of my favorite electronic releases. Rather is combines snyth-pop, ambient and shoegaze together in various combinations to form something unique and markedly engaging. Manages to be both retro and futuristic, like watching a sci-fi film from the 80s. Truly worth checking out by everyone, even those disinclined to listen to snyth-heavy songs, this could be the one to sway you otherwise.

Baswoon - Baswoon EP (2015)

A rather stripped down post-rock release from an Portuguese musician. Baswoon's songs are surprisingly cinematic and evocative without requiring constant shimmering guitars and methodical drums. Get me straight, I don't feel post-rock is mostly these things, but they can be over done, and yet Baswoon has an incredibly understated approach. The final track, "Embrace me, float with me" is perhaps my favorite and the most outstanding example of this understated style.

Copneconic - Never Knows Best (2014)

A new EP from the Copneconic, who hail from the "Fenton area" of Michigan. I like how they called it that, I always have to say the "Port Huron area" when I refer to where I raised (as few know where Marysville is). Anyhow, I posted a prior EP called Bein Sweet, and it sounds like they have advanced markedly in their composition and technique since. All this will having recorded the EP for a mere $100 is very impressive. Fuzzy Midwestern garage pop that's charming as fuck.

Unqualified Nurse/Azzurro Peaks - Split Single: Whatever Happened to Syd? / Dickheads Anonymous

A bit of a rare thing on this site, a split single. Two British bands, one I one for a goddamned fact I post and the other I feel like I recall listening to but I can't find evidence of posted. The first track is from the latter, an electronic rock outfit called Azzurro Peaks that is very catchy. The song bears repeated enjoyable listenings. The former made the second track, a band that specializes in being especially low-fidelity, Unqualified Nurse. Naturally I am a fan though the songs hasn't too much to it, but who said a song need much? Also hear his other stuff while your at it.

Lê Almeida - Paraleloplasmos (2015)

More Brazilian music, just can't get enough it if lately. This is another one I was turned onto by my Brazilian friend, Barbara. She knows all the good tunes and in many cases the musicians themselves. So here we are all lucky enough to benefit by getting hear this most amazing guitar rock from Rio de Janeiro.

The album is relatively minimalistic, though there's use of effects especially in the vocals and the introductory seconds of tracks that'll make it appear otherwise. Mainly, it is guitar and drums though, focusing heavily of the talented experimentations in the guitar playing. Lo-fi and fuzzy these songs very quickly won me over. They're hazy, quick, fairly simple without being dull (in fact they're rather riveting overall). The guitar playing is a combination of psychedelic, prog and surf. Flashy and impressive while not being rushed, able build a movement up, and very full of reverb. There are some absolutely outstanding tracks to be heard on Paraleloplasmos such as epic "Câncer dos Trópicos" and catchy "Ester" that it would be a shame for any pilgrim to miss.

Lê Almeida is both a music and the operator of a music label, as he runs Transfusão Records. If you've been following the blog you'll certainly recognize that name as I've posted Chapa Mamba who are on this label. Moreover, I plan to sprinkle more in, especially into upcoming Grab Bags.

To be had here:
Lê Almeida - Paraleloplasmos

Supercordas - Terceira Terra (2015)

As always the posts are infrequent and sporadic, I am accepting that this isn't gonna change despite my best intentions. However, there's nothing like the release of an album from one of my favorite bands to spur me into action. Terceira Terra is the first full-length album since 2012's A Mágica Deriva Dos Elefantes from Supercordas, the Brazil's paramount wonders of psychedelic rock.

There's no possible way I would not enjoy another new from Supercordas, so take that as the absolute preface to everything that follows. I've listening to them for the better part of a decade and I jump on each new release, and for that matter anything from the lead singer, Bonifrate. They've never failed to be uniquely mesmerizing and memorable. Terceira Terra is a mild shift in tone from their prior albums, being a bit darker and denser.

As I don't know Portuguese myself I've relied on my friend in Brazil to explain a bit more about the album. It's something of a concept album, being about a parallel world that's a utopia free of corruption, which as you can imagine isn't all that perfect after all. I'm sure there's great many meaningful references in the lyrics that I'll never known until I learn the language, and I was only able to pick on a single reference in the title of the track "Espectralismo ou Barbárie?" to the spectral technique of composition and the French socialist journal Socialisme ou Barbarie. However, I've never understood the singing before, and it won't stop me from loving this album either. By the third listen through it felt like something I'd been intimately familiar with for a long time, that it was only natural to find myself anticipating each moment of the album. Not to be missed out on by any music lover.

To be had here:
Supercordas - Terceira Terra

Novampb - Too Cool For Words (2015)

Another new artists to Spacerockmountain sent in by a returning label. This time it is the Recife, Brazil-based label, Transtorninho Records. You know, the dudes that released Lindberg Hotel, Amandinho and 151515. So you gotta bet this'll be good too.

Novampb is an electronic artist from the Brazilian coastal city of Maceió. The songs he makes are lo-fi IDM or glitch, composed with an excellent sense of dramatic timing. They come of as incredibly cinematic works on the base and then through a deft use of sampling spoken word audio he's added a feeling of disembodied otherworldliness. I'm told he's putted these clips from youtube, and sounds like a kindred soul spending too many hours listening to sounds pour out of a computer. It takes me back to when I first became familiar with lo-fi electronic music from the artists like Ocelote Rojo, Turning Torso and LAY BAC. Of course all of these have their own flavors and while it can be hard to put Novampb's style into words your ears won't have any issue identifying its unique charms. I recommend giving all of Too Cool For Words for word a listen and don't stop before the end, as the final two tracks are my favorites.

To be had here:
Novampb - Too Cool For Words

EP Grab Bag vol. 101

Back to basics with 101. One of the main things I've enjoyed about writing this blog over the years is the combination of new and returning artists that I get to experience. Hearing evolution and new beginnings all the time. So with that in mind here are a few new artists to the blog and a couple of returning favorites.

To be had here:

Lindberg Hotel - Cotton Chains (2015)

The second entry from this lo-fi band out of Curitiba, Brazil.  Do check out their prior work, but I can't imagine a better introduction to the band than this EP. Has three new songs and two covers, including an exceptionally good cover of the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror." Now, the first three tracks with you having them pegged as a power pop outfit that can do a fine cover, but listen to the final two to hear how warped and experimental they can be. A fine juxtaposition and some really really good musicianship.

Cities - Manning Alaska EP (2015)

A stunningly done post-rock experience from a Welsh band. The EP is remarkably accessible, even for the those who don't often listen to post-rock. This is because the songs are quick while being equally spacey and jazzy. The technically precision is akin to my buddy Frankacles's band Jura. I don't say this lightly, as Jura really had their ducks in a row. Not an album to be missed by most anyone, but certainly a must-hear for the post-rock fans.

Nevski - Nevski (2015)

French pop music is some of the damned best stuff ever. I always make sure there's a heathy supply of it playing at any place I work and any party where I can chose music at. That said, Nevski is not making a knock off of yé-yé from the 1960s, rather is a charming display of modern indie pop that happens to be sung in lovely French lyrics. The songs are all impeccable with some light, air musicianship and soft, sweet vocals. Really the sort of music that sells itself, just give it a listen.

Bicycle Day - City Streets (2015)

Here's a special treat, a new EP from Oakland's Bicycle Day. Some of you might recall their full-length, I Had A Place To Be, which came out July of 2014. A wonderful example of hazy garage rock causing me to eagerly look forward to hearing this new release. These four songs do nothing to disappoint, being fuzzy gems of post-punk-ish, droning rock. The track "Self-Help" has been my jam all day, and I doubt it'll stop being so quickly.

YONI YUM - Clam Glam (2015)

The second time I'm writing of this band as well. YONI YUM still very much strike me as an art rock project, albeit of an incredible self-aware and irreverent variety. The songs are catchy and the singer is remarkably talented at belting out all sorts of entertaining vocal flourishes. I listening to it while reading the Russian Futurist writings of Daniil Kharms and it was amazing how well these two different version of eccentric artistic expression gelled.

Chapa Mamba - Banda Forra (2015)

I'm acutely aware that the pace of writing has dwindled. Shit happens, people have families grow and others move around and get new jobs. What can you do about it? Nothing really. I am gonna write when I get time, maybe we'll hear from the other guys sometime, perhaps not. We ain't getting paid for this after all. Thus it's always been an as the mood strikes me affair until I figure out the next step in where to take this blog. This means submissions may languish for considerable lengths, I just haven't the hours in the week to keep up. To further gum up the works, I am super curious as to what's happening in Latin American music. It seems to be preoccupying me even since the Scenes of a City series began, so on top of trying to do some submitted material I am likely to be writing up South American music more regularly. Hence today's offering....

Don't really know much background on Chapa Mamba outside of their being a Brazilian band on the Rio De Janeiro based indie label known as Transfusão Noise Records, which was recommended for listening to me by my friend Babi. All that truly matters is how absolutely endeared I am by the music they've created for Banda Forra. It's a perfect blend of jangley indie pop reminding by of my stalwart favorites of the Elephant 6 collective, hazy Californian beach rock and, unavoidably to my American ears, the few Brazilian artists that have penetrated into the hipper crowds of these United States like Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil and the lot. Chapa Mamba's songs embrace the tropical nature of Brazil in their experimentation, utilizing ambient sounds of wildlife in the background of the psych-pop songs, while at other times they are utterly and completely a pop outfit executing at the highest level of catchiness. Every little thing they do works seamlessly together. You won't be disappointed, I am sure of it.

To be had here:
Chapa Mamba - Banda Forra

P.S. As long as we're on the topic of Brazilian music I must recommend another album I learnt of by way of Babi, the 1973 self-titled release of Secos e Molhados. A band heavily influential and famous in Brazil that's hardly recognized in North America. They played a style mixed MPB (Música Popular Brasileira), glam and the progressive rock that was all the rage at the time. However, it powerfully transcends language, time and place. Good fucking music is good anywhere and anytime.

Acessórios Essenciais - Sinais de Ocupação Humana (2015)

I love Brazilian music and if I had more time and energy I'd devote much more of this blog to writing up all the great music coming out of the Latin American powerhouse. That said, I wish I had a more expansive knowledge of Brazilian bands to reference whenever I want to share one. I can't imagine it means much to group from Rio De Janeiro to be compared to Os Mutantes or Gal Costa. That'd be like saying an English band is like the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. So I'm gonna resist the easy out, and when you're telling all your friends about this great album try to do the same. And you just might wanna do that.

Acessórios Essenciais are indeed from Rio De Janeiro. They music is acoustically based and relies heavily on dual singing from a singer of each gender. The songs are kinda strange, of the sort that if it was an North American band I'd call it freak folk or new weird america, for while the acoustic guitar and vocals are the core there's plenty of uncommon and sporadic instrumentation to be heard on Sinais de Ocupação Humana. They've sprinkled in sounds of cymbal crashing, horns murmuring, maracas and tambourines rattling along with any manner of whistling. While it can appear as a cacophonous arrangement at first, the inconsistency really makes the album more memorable and enjoyable than it'd otherwise be. Maybe my favorite song at the moment is bit more conventional "Bike da Babi" but he seems to say "welcome to Mississippi" toward the end and I found that adorable.

Thanks again to my friend Barbara for sending me this great Brazilian album, which if we're all lucky won't be the last.

To be had here:
Acessórios Essenciais - Sinais de Ocupação Humana

EP Grab Bag vol. 96

A truly varied assortment of low fidelity in this batch. Geographically ranging from the Western and Central United States to Northeastern Brazil, Sweden and the far off islands of Indonesia.

To be had here:
Napolleon - Napolleon EP (2015)

The Hong Kong indie label, Metal Postcard, has a new EP out by an Indonesian psych-rock outfit. Full of lo-fi, echoey rock this is the debut EP of the group Napolleon. The songs are trippy, fuzzy and quite simply pretty awesome. Warms my heart to know their are folks all the way around to the other side of the world in Indonesia making great lo-fi tunes. Helps me cope with the McDonald's and Tim Horton's that are all over the fucking place. Hopefully they'll produce more music and perhaps we'll get to hear more out of southeast Asia over all.

Amandinho - Coisas Novas São Assim (2015)

A new EP released via the Brazilian label Transtorninho Records. Hailing from Maceió, Alagoas the band Amandinho seemed remarkably familiar singing to my ear, and I had a suspicion that it's the same fella as 151515, another great lo-fi release from the same record label. I was confirmed by my sources in Brazil that this is indeed the case, and that this a band he's a member of. Wonderful lo-fi rock and roll, not very complex but no less lovely to behold.

San Kazakgascar - First Nation Spy 7" (2015)

From Sacramento, California comes the Mid-Eastern influenced San Kazakgascar. These two songs make use of the interesting and complex rhythmic patterns common in other parts of the world, and do a brilliant job at showing how Western bands can successfully incorporate styles into their songwriting. There mostly instrumental, and the clarinet steals the show, which is maybe the first time I've ever written that but I sure hope it won't be the last. Do recall to check out their prior work I've written up like Swimming in Begnal.


This Heel - This Heel II (2015)

The second EP from Malmö, Sweden's Martin Månsson Sjöstrand. A fine accomplishment of lo-fi indie pop. The songs are short, cheeky and lovely. He knows how to craft a nice pop tune without a doubt, even if they are strange and nonsensical at moments. Never heard to be strange in pop music though. He's also a member of the band Dog, Paper, Submarine and I've already featured his first self-tiled EP.

Husbands - GETTY // PHOENIX & GOAT // SOME SURF (2015)

A band from Oklahoma City that is putting out a series of singles and double-singles of dreamy bedroom pop tunes. They're primarily incredibly catchy pop songs, with board sound filling them up, lending some degree of shoegaze sort of wall-of-sound. Between these two double-singles was the solo track "Smoke" and if you look into all their releases on bandcamp you'll find that they're very prolific in producing songs but only release them in small batches, at most an five track EP. Maybe they'll cobble together an LP, seems they've the material and talent.

Bonifrate - Sapos alquímicos na Era Espacial (2002) [reissue]

Temperate climates are awful. Whenever it decides to get warm and then cold and warm again, which is every goddamn spring and autumn in Michigan, I get sick. On top of it even the slightest bit of my body getting out of whack results in a near constant state of mild feverishness. Not stressful as it is exhausting, so I fucked off about posted for a few days. However, I haven't been sleep all too well with this damn cold buzzing in my head, so I've been listening to my big catalog of mp3s. Realized I come back to Brazilian music all the time when I'm trying to relax. So imagine my delight when a friend from São Paulo told me that one of my favorites, Bonifrate, has reissued an older EP with additional tracks.

Sapos alquímicos na Era Espacial was originally released in 2002, and was actually something I was missing from my collection of Bonifrate's tunes. And boy howdy was I ever missing something amazing. This EP is fucking outrageously good. Soft, fuzzy psych-folk and indie pop sung in that dreamy Portuguese, only a monster wouldn't like it. Also, the very notion it is an EP at all this questionable (see the question mark in the album art?), for it's album length without the additional tracks. I'm all the more thankful for it, as I cannot get enough of this. Doing a hell of a lot better job at quelling these infernal headaches than any ibuprofen has.

To be had here:
Bonifrate - Sapos alquímicos na Era Espacial

EP Grab Bag vol. 92

So much coming in it is far to keep up with all these EPs and LPs. Yet I believe we've some real winners in this Grab Bag. Releases not to be missed and totally worth the delay in getting them up because my life is an utter mess.

To be had here:

Leggy - Nice Try (2015)

Cincinnati's Leggy has another EP out, something I am extremely excited about. In maybe a slightly more inspired fits of moping around the internet I stumbled on their first EP, Cavity Castle, and haven't been able to stop listening to ever since. And the follow-up, Nice Try, is more than the humble title would imply. The songs retain all the fuzzy, witty and completely endearing qualities that lead me to become such a devoted fan to the first EP. The track "Grrrls Like Us" is sure to be stuck in my head as nonstop as I've found "Chardonnay Summer" from Cavity Castle to be. I wish the very best for Leggy and I can only dream they play Detroit soon.

Grotto Girl - Besides, (2014)

Here's something special indeed. New Orlean's Grotto Girl makes lo-fi indie pop and rock tunes, the sort of things I have been helplessly addicted to since middle school. They tell me they're a new band, but songs on this EP such as "Liar Face" and "Teens" had me recalling many longstanding bands to which I feel they're already well on the way to equalling. "Friends" is a charming garage pop tune that packs more than the minute and half playtime would imply. The entire EP is a fuzzy bliss that I most highly recommend. A band to keep an eye on if there's ever been one.

Copneconic - Bein Sweet EP (2015)

This band is from Fenton, Michigan. Only a bit over an hour on the expressway from me, and it is a town of the same size and demographics as the one I grew up in. Just so happens Fenton has more musical history, as one can dig into with the amazing three LP set of reissued 60s Michigan garage rock called Scream Loud!!! The Fenton Story. Copneconic has kept the music making alive in Fenton with their EP here. While it has elements that're close to garage it is certainly more of a lo-fi punk band, influenced by the 90s period of post-hardcore and emo to be sure. The songs are intense and competent, bearing a perfect amount of nostalgia for a late twenty something like me.

Jardim infinito e a banda das águas - Primeiro Ato (2014)

As the quite wordy name of this band suggests, they're from Brazil. They play a sort of psychedelic folk-rock that's fully instrumental. The songs are surprisingly epic for being as short as they are. Don't even breach the four minute mark, but you'll easily find yourself lost in the complex and wandering sounds nonetheless. Almost cinematic if it wasn't for the attention they attract to themselves. Also, without a doubt the best EP of this bunch for me to play at work without upsetting anyone, which is exact what I did this morning. A true crowd pleaser, even for the old betties I have to sell shit to.

Azzuro Peaks - Skimming Surfaces, Orbiting Space (2015)

I don't feel like this is the first band I've gotten from Derby, England nor the second for that matter... gonna have to look into that place for the music seems significantly righteous. Azzuro Peaks, despite the Italian-esque name, another British band from this town. They play psychedelic folk with fast, trippy guitars and beautiful vocal work. Even with just the three tracks on the EP, a good sense of the raw talent is apparent. There are more releases on bandcamp and they should be worth checking out too.

No Crowd Surfing - Pretending I'm Not Here (2014)

I am finding myself listening to submissions late at night. Not sleeping well these days, mostly because I'm fretting over everything and in particular my shitty car. I have been shifting it by jamming my index finger into where the shifter once was and rotating the steering column with my other hand. Basically, things have been far from ideal. But the music keeps coming and so long as I can pay the phone bill I have some little access to the internet to hear it. Tonight a band that sounds incredibly familiar for it being from thousands of miles south of Hamtramck's unplowed streets.

No Crowd Surfing are from Cianorte, Brazil. This isn't where most anyone I know would have guessed first, even excepting the fact that they've never heard of this medium-sized city in the south of Brazil. Furthermore, it isn't just because they sing in English. What and how they're playing was so geographically disconnecting for me and I imagine for most North American listeners. Pretending I'm Not Here is an album that could very easily be passed off as emanating from Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, Hartford or countless other American cities. You'd be wrong though, and I only bring this up as it shows the influence of these Brazilian musicians lies heavily in the genres popular in my own adolescence here in Michigan. These are lyrically driven songs with full to bordering on cacophonous instrumentation that are the result of low fidelity recording techniques, an option made out of necessity as much as anything else. As for those lyrics, they're angsty and charged, you know, like emotional rock so thoroughly was back in the late 90s and right after the turn of the decade. No Crowd Surfing hasn't reinvented the wheel, yet they've proven themselves capable musicians and most admirably holding to an aesthetic they clearly relate to. I'd like to explain that when I was a teenager this music drove me crazy, but as I get older and see it from a more elongated view I can see the charm in it I missed as a confused, sixteen year old fan of Lou Reed and Freddie Mercury.

To be had here:
No Crowd Surfing - Pretending I'm Not Here

Fogo Amigo - Tudo o que você sempre quis ouvir, mas nunca te disseram (2015)

Here's a band that I haven't thought about for a minute or two, and not because the music wasn't fine, but because I last posted them in the 26th volume of the Grab Bag series back in 2012. Back then I thoroughly enjoyed Fogo Amigo's music and was having an excellent time reading depressing novels and drinking cheap beer while hearing them. Cut to 2015 and I am again enjoying this Brazilian post-rock with sad literature and only marginally more expensive beer. As they say, history repeats itself.

So even the Latin American post-rockers have the tendency to come up with wordy titles to albums and songs. Tudo o que você sempre quis ouvir, mas nunca te disseram translates as "Everything you always wanted to hear, but never told you." Fits right in there with titles like Ceux Qui Inventent N'ont Jamais Vécu by Fly Pan Am and Giant Surface Music Falling to Earth like Jewels from the Sky by Yume Bitsu. And yet, Fogo Amigo doesn't make post-rock like those North American acts, in fact it isn't even tagged but they aren't fooling me. I will grant them that this album more psychedelic and could be called space rock just as easily. But really, is there much of a difference? Moving past the semantics argument I've been having with myself years now, there's no denying the absolute talent that Fogo Amigo possesses. Of whatever subgenre of experimental music you wanna call it, this has gotta be the most immediately fascinating albums we've got sent in of this sort. I've been playing at work to universal praise from the coworkers and it is just the thing of staying relatively engaged and productive two beers deep, or losing track of time if there's other substances you prefer. 

To be had here:
Fogo Amigo - Tudo o que você sempre quis ouvir, mas nunca te disseram 

Lindberg Hotel - Lindberg Hotel II (2014)

Right after I write up Albino Father's II album that has a II in its title. Roman numerals must be en vogue. Also en vogue and overdue for attention is South American music. People like it and not just with the few of us that are writing this blog, but the readers seem to be reacting substantially to the Brazilian and Argentine music that's been shared here. Larry's São Paulo post is our most viewed of all the Scenes of a City features by a long way, and I still find myself listening to the bands from his first installment of the series on Guayaquil, Ecuador. I am very excited about getting to discover all these Latin American artists that if this was even 15 years ago what stand an extremely pitiful chance of ever getting such a diverse audience as this wonderful internet provides for. In this spirit I am glad to introduce you to Lindberg Hotel.

As the title suggests this is the second album by the largely solo project known as Lindberg Hotel. It is the efforts of Claudio Romanichen who resides in the Southern Brazilian city of Curitiba. Lindberg Hotel II is my first exposure to his music, and honestly with all the submissions pouring in lately I haven't got a chance to check out his first full-length as much as I'd like to. However, that's hardly a prerequisite to enjoy a musician's current work. Lindberg Hotel II is a very appealing, washed out indie pop album that has a creative melding of 1960s pop (there's a song called "Beatles Posters") and shoegaze influences. The songs are endearing and sweet and I can't even make out what he's saying, and mind you I do think he's singing in English. Has a definite romantic feeling to the songwriting, without getting sedimental or morose. While it does possess a bedroom project sound; I was informed he does play live shows in his home city with a guitarist called Eduardo Ambrosio (these names are fucking top notch). Finally, I'd like to add this is another release from young Recife-based label Transtorninho Records, who you may recall from the 151515 write up from a couple of months ago. 

Bonifrate - Museu de Arte Moderna (2013) & Toca do Cosmos EP (2014)

Bonifrate is a man who's music I cherish above many others. I have had a long history of listening to his songs, both as a solo artist and in the remarkable band Supercordas (I still pretend to be able to sing "Ruradélica" when I am alone). I originally met him through my a friend of a friend of a friend, then only in a digital interface I am sure he's long forgotten. He sings in Portuguese, of which I don't know a word, nonetheless he has utterly captivated me as I can't be bothered to care about lyrics in English most of the time. The most embarrassing part of this is that I haven't gone hardly a week since the release of 2011's Um Futuro Inteiro without playing a tracks from it, then I went to dropped the ball the 2013 album and a new EP? Today I make it right, pilgrims, and also it functions as a good addendum to Amazing Larry's excellent post on São Paulo, though Bonifrate is based in the Rio de Jarneiro area. 

Museu de Arte Moderna is Bonifrate's full-length release from 2013 that is the immediate follow up to Um Futuro Inteiro. It's a psychedelic odyssey that pulls in a stunning variety of instrumentation and borrows from genres in neat and subtle ways. With everything that happens in the songs it is easy to feel overwhelmed at first, but continued listening is rewarded as the album seems to build up and stripe away the many layers in a very intentional fashion. In fact, tracks like "Paralaxe" and "Sabe da última?" are hard to stop listening to. Moreover, "Canção de pelúcia" is one of the more beautiful, slow final songs I've heard on an album.

Toca do Cosmos is the newest of Bonifrate's releases. The EP certainly shows an shift in style and further improved songwriting skills. "Rock da paçoca" is a wonderful duet that  "The Last Time" is is not only heavy on the keyboard, in a very good way, but the only song I ever recall hearing from Bonifrate in English. It is most righteous. Both the EP and Museu de Arte Moderna were releases through the label Balaclava Records were each of them can be purchased as well.

To be had here:
Museu de Arte Moderna
&
Toca do Cosmos EP