The Amphibious Man – Spit Globs (2013)

At least once a month, I find myself crawling through the woods, drunk off my ass and covered in someone else’s blood. That’s the kind of experience most of the living world never goes through, but it seems to be a consistent occurrence in my existence. I often don’t have a music device when I am doing so (or pants for that matter), but last night I heard the new Amphibious Man songs in my head as I scrambled to figure out if I were the hunter or the hunted.

See, I feel a kindred bond with this Brooklyn band (update: who happen to really be from Connecticut). Clearly, they are made up of like-minded psychopaths that have too much time and audio tape on their hands. I played the 7 inch backwards, and a message about disposing of corpses was exposed. Twisted? You bet. But just the kind of music you need to scare your parents when they no longer fear rappers.

Get it here:
The Amphibious Man – Spit Globs (2013)

Weather Balloons - Ape The Greats "to scare the spooks" (2011)

One of my favorite things, while flying into or out of a city at night, is imagining all the music being made down there. At that exact moment, while flying out of New York or Seattle or wherever, is music being recorded that I'll hear at some point over the course of my life. It's pointless to think about really, because there's nothing on the back of a record that says "recorded during that one time you flew over Austin on your way to Thanksgiving with the parents" that can remind you of those mid-flight musings. It's just one of those things I find myself doing ...lights on buildings that could be music clubs, street lamps under which musicians could be drumming on buckets, dim lights in apartment buildings where someone could be laboring over a 4-track and a drum machine... cities are like giant, electric english muffins, where in every nook and cranny is a light where someone is making or listening to music.

In one cranny of Brooklyn is a guy writing and recording music under the moniker Weather Balloons. The music is lo-fi twee punk with flares of indie, garage, and psychedelia all making appearances. Super catchy stuff. It's almost like a pop-punk Guided By Voices with vocals that, at times, remind me of Art Mitchell from the cartoon-punk band, Supernova. Also reminds me a little of another lo-fi Brooklyn band, who I think there's connection to, called Shark? (I'm not asking, that's the band's name). Interesting to note, looking over the Weather Balloons bandcamp page, you'll find a humor-meets-conspiracy-theory theme running throughout much of the design... firstly with the choice of Weather Balloons for the project's name... and then with titles like "JFKFC" and "Modern Warfare Is Free Marketing", a nod to hedonistic mystic Aleister Crowley's "The Book of The Law"(here retitled "The Book of The RAW"), and a faux JFK Jr. quote on his Facebook page that reads "George Bush Jr had nothing to do with my death." You get the picture.  I think his music is appealing enough without the touches of absurdity, but also do enjoy the unique twist.

12 songs, free from the artist.

Weather Balloons - Ape The Greats "to scare the spooks"

Steel Phantoms - Forer EP (2011)

Hello and word to all the readers of Spacerockmountain. I've been invited by the gracious Antarktikos to contribute to the blog so, formalities aside, let's get on with it.

For my first post I'd like to draw your attention to a Brooklyn band that is bound to make the Pitchfork nation cream their collective pants. I speak of Steel Phantoms… a three piece with just the sort of jangly pop sentiment that pervades much of the current indie rock sound. Now, if you're at all like me, mere mention of the word "jangly" is enough to make you raise your hackles and spit venom in a baby's eyes. That said, Steel Phantoms offer more heart and imagination to their brand of music: there's no ivy league Kwassa Kwassa here, just the authenticity of music lovers making music they love.

While influences don't stand out and bite you, there's a bit of a nod to bands of the 80's. Imagine Men At Work taking turns with Jesus and Mary Chain in Isaac Brock's recording studio and you're in the ballpark.

Singing and songwriting are shared duties between two of the band's members. Drummer Aaron Harris, formerly of the band Islands, has a higher voice and writes spritely, anthemic songs while keyboardist Yos Munro sings with a lower, unique timbre… like the voice of a sad giant. The duality works for this band, much as it did for The Halo Benders. The high and low registers compliment each other well, as do the songs on this EP as a whole.

Seriously catchy stuff. 6 songs free for download.

Steel Phantoms - Forer EP