Echoes/Ephemera

New jam by one of my favorite shoegazey grunge pop bands in Brooklyn, Night Manager. Also worth listening to on repeat is their December 2011 Ghost EP. File under “bands I really want to book in Boston” and “bands from whom I am anxiously awaiting a full length”. (I guess these two tags apply to a lot of bands I know/like in Bklyn.)

/edit/ Oh right I forgot, I did just book them in Boston. Friday June 15 at Ted Saunders (basement in Allston) with Total Slacker and Speedy Ortiz. Ask if you need the address or any other info. xo

Recommended if you are looking for a catchy minimal pop song with fuzzy guitars and a big hook to sing along to in your head all day. Oh that’s always what you’re looking for? Ooooh word. Kewl. Listen to Dott then. They are from Galway and affiliated with the Irish indie pop collective Popical Island.

Tacocat from Seattle.

On October 15th I woke up half drunk and blasted Tacocat for hours. Joe Steinhardt (of Don Giovanni Recs.) had put one of their songs on a mixtape he made for Pellytwins.Blogspot.com and I was going through a week of “I’m obsessed with this band, you have to hear this song”, listening to nothing but “partytrap” by Tacocat on repeat for days, etc. Anyway that particular morning was the morning after throwing a housewarming party at Dreamhouse. We called it #OCCUPY DREAMHOUSE because using “Occupy” in that sort of context was still a novelty. Pretty much every person who came to that party was someone who I’d started hanging out with just a month or two prior, a lot of them are my good friends now. Later that day I went to  my first Occupy-related march and I think it was actually my first time ever covering any march, ever. This is what I think about when I think about Tacocat — feeling excited about new things happening, wanting to scream about stuff, beginnings, etc.

The cops came and ended the show at my house on Wednesday night right after Hear Hums (from Gainesville, FL) played. I keep telling everyone that it’s a bummer that we are “on the BPD’s radar” now (in terms of party/show houses/etc) but totally worth it because I got to see these songs performed in my own home. This band is really great live, see them when you can. They are also super chill and fun to chat with; in Florida they are involved in Food Not Bombs and Occupy Gainesville and rad stuff like that.

If you aren’t listening to these songs regularly already, you should be. Speedy Ortiz is from Northampton and plays around Boston/Allston regularly. They are definitely one of the best bands in Massachusetts right now. Loud/heavy 90s-inspired pop songs that sound very “Massachusetts” i.e. Dino Jr/Sebadoh inspired.

Moody noise pop vibes via ex-Sweet Bulbs members. They’re called Heaven’s Gate. File under “bands I am anxiously awaiting a full-length from” and “bands I want to book in Boston”.

Sweet new band from Philly. Sounds like FM radio circa 1995 meets late 80s twee/indie pop. Thanks Chris Zak for sending me this.

Stuck in my head 24/7 since Mutual Benefit played in my living room on Wednesday evening with Hear Hums. Wasn’t sure what it was called so I listened to every song on Jordan’s Bandcamp to find it. It’s from his 2010 Drifting EP.