Jangly, worldly guitar, chanty vocals, and all 'tribal' sampled drum patterns makes up the bedroom-recorded discordant pop sounds of Florida-based musician Gabriel Berrios aka Tree Hopping. Formally part of the now-defunct Totally Nebular, Gabriel has put out a steady stream of impressive releases for a good few months, the latest being Tree Hopping Dance Band, via bandcamp, which sees Gabriel successfully edging further into electronic sounds. Check out stuff from a range of his releases below, or hear and download more over at bandcamp.
Given the amount of lo-fi guitar-led bedroom recordings knocking around over the last few months and years, I could understand if news of a new one didn't get you overly excited but one listen to the work of Adam Taylor Young and your mind might be changed. The singer of Rodeo Church, you kinda wonder why he works with anyone at all give the strength of his 'solo' stuff. Seriously impressive. Listen below or to a whole load more stuff over on SoundCloud.
Since our competition for Asobi Seksu tickets, Basement Fever and Brighton label and promoters One Inch Badge decided that they wanted to be e-buddies. So here we are, a few months down the line, our relationship blossoming, and our tree of e-love bearing new fruit: two tickets to see American psych-folk act Six Organs Of Admittance at Komedia on June 11 (two weeks today!).
Musically active for over 10 years, Six Organs Of Admittance is primarily the project of Ben Chasny, who also plays in projects Magik Markers and Comets On Fire. To call Ben 'prolific' would be an understatement, having released over a dozen albums under Six Organs Of Admittance alone, with the latest release being described by The Quietus as "43 minutes of highly creative and often beautiful music".
To have a chance of winning, email the correct answer to the question below before June 4 to basementcompetitions at gmail dot com.
What is the name of the latest album release of Six Organs Of Admittance?
a) Asleep On The Floodplain
b) Six Organs Of Admittance
c) Six Awakening Organs On The Admitting Floodplain
This is an 18+ event. Strictly one entry per person. Prize draw will take place on June 4. Winners will be contacted by email. For help with the answer, check The Quietus review here.
PLEASE BE SURE THAT YOU CAN MAKE IT TO THE SHOW IN BRIGHTON ON JUNE 11 BEFORE ENTERING.
Sorry for shouting. Listen to a track taken from their latest release below.
Part of the draw of trawling bandcamp for music is that most of the time you know absolutely nothing about the band whose page you are on. As difficult as this can make finding more information on the bands, it does make stumbling upon something you like it all the more exciting and rewarding. Stuff just like this split 7" from Bloomington, USA (according to their bandcamp tags at least) bands Night Janitors and Dream Popsicle. Both woozy and fuzzy and yet both distinctly different, it's like a 7" made in dreamy pop heaven. Decide for yourself below or download all 4 tracks at bandcamp.
I'm a rubbish blogger, this is good music, recommended to me by the folk behind Hear Hums. Not especially new (the Diamond Man Travels EP was up on bandcamp from last October), but even less known it would seem, the sound of Diamond Man is swirling, kaleidoscopic electronics, guitar noises, and samples all worked together into one semi-coherent full wholly enjoyable sound. See for yourself below or download the full EP for free at bandcamp.
Podcast number 3 is here. Rejoice rejoice. Some of the best new music I've heard in the past few weeks, some I've blogged about, some I haven't, some I might still. Download, share, tell all your friends.
Tracklisting:
1. Secret Diaries - Islands | Bandcamp
2. Husband - Love Song | Facebook
3. Golden Grrrls - Wrld Peace | Bandcamp
4. Nullifier - Burn Up On Re-entry | MySpace
5. Us Baby Bear Bones - Encore To A Fictonal Idea | Bandcamp
6. It Is Rain In My Face - Vine Vine | SoundCloud
7. Lunch - Turn Around | Bandcamp
8. Cruiser - Home Turf | Bandcamp
9. Castor - Watcher Buckles | SoundCloud
Have listened to this for approximately 10 minutes at time of writing so apologies if these words are a bit weak, but I like this too much not to share it straight away. Exciting, vibrant pop music from Toronto's Art Imperial, with equally brilliant (and brilliantly blatant) nods to Best Coast and surfy influences. This will be on Pitchfork in a few weeks if it isn't already. I am excited, happy and looking forward to listening again. Grab stuff below or a full EP at bandcamp.
You can never really go wrong with a Daniel Johnston cover, as backed up by Cardiff's Yajé with their version of 'True Love Will Find You In The End' on their upcoming cassette. It's not their only trick, though - the release is five tracks of impressive guitar-drum noisy lo-fi jams deeming Yajé well worth to keep an eye on, and the tape well worth a few quid. You can grab it when they support Islet at Undertone in Cardiff if you're there. Oh, and it's pronounced "ya-hey" in-case you were wondering.
Stream the whole cassette at Soundcloud or listen to some below.
It's increasingly difficult to make truly original music, as more and more potential artistic avenues are explored by different bands and movements as years pass. A band stumbling upon an entirely unique sound would obviously be welcome, but when bands such as Bewilder come along with excellent nods to and twists of sounds from the past they are equally as welcomed.
Merging math-y guitar tap-and-slide guitar lines with a post-rock chilled out vibe, and sucking all the potential pretense out of both the sometimes-pretentious genres along the way, the Southampton band stumbled upon a sound that is actually somewhat their own on their 6-track This Isn't Life, It's Just Stuff EP release through excellent south-west label Art Is Hard. Topped off with calming vocal work, deft drum patterns and the odd bit of electronic and glockenspiel toe-dipping, this is a release truly to be enjoyed - especially given that it is housed in beautiful looking hand-made envelopes and accompanied by a band-made zine.
"Sometimes it's afreedom to forget about songs lyrics & structures and just do noises" say Brighton's Luckyhorse on their bandcamp page, and I think that's about all you need to know.
It doesn't break any boundaries, but it's fun, enjoyable and something a little different. The kinda music that should soundtrack either some cutesey indie film, or the next Toy Story. I'll be interested to see where this goes. Oh, and going by images alone, I have a feeling this is linked to our good and worldly friend World Map. Could be wrong though.
Ignore the frankly rubbish name, ignore the slightly below par performance at Great Escape, and simply pay attention to the noisy, fuzzy pop recording of Tug by new London band The History Of Apple Pie. The NME love them and it wouldn't surprise me if they turn a little bit rubbish, but this one track makes all the negatives seem pretty insignificant.
Good news! Everyone's favourite weirdos BAANEEX return with some new tracks and news of a cassette release.
It's called Ewan H and will be out in around a month through their own Intenstines label. There will be only 25 of them, so don't hang about. Hear a track from it - 'Ewan H 2' - exclusively below and have a re-listen to some of their equally ace earlier material. Suitably weird, I think you'll agree. Can't wait to hear the full tape.
Let's pretend that this here is anything other than a personal note to remember which bands to see. Obviously that is what it is really, but let's just pretend this has some kind of selfless motivation behind it. Which it doesn't. These are some bands that are playing Great Escape that attendees of said three-day, multi-venue Brighton-based festival that is occurring next week would probably be pleased to have seen live come the end of the festival. Yeah.
BRAIDS
Exciting new group from Canada quickly gaining wide critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork , Drowned In Sound, and The Line Of Best Fit. It's understandable, too, taking influence from early(ish) Animal Collective, sometimes sticking an electro beat on it, and singing with all their brilliant female might.
Playing: Saturday - upstairs of Komedia, 15:15 / Horatios, 19:45.
Mazes
Bit of a tricky one, given that Mazes play at the same time as bands like Art Brut, White Denim, and Yuck but if you don't see any of them, definitely come see these. A Manchester/London/bit of everywhere band who released their debut album A Thousand Heys not too long back. I rated it five stars out of five for a magazine - top blend of lo-fi indie rock and 60s pop vibes.
Playing: Saturday - Green Door Store, 21:50.
Mazes - Most Days
Gallops
Possibly my favourite live band, Wrexham four-piece Gallops make math-y post-rock with an almighty thud. Expect to see me stomping my feet at the front like a twat, but expect to follow suit pretty quickly.
Playing: Friday - Prince Albert, 15:00. Saturday - Green Door Store, 15:00
Fear Of Men
My prediction is that Fear Of Men will be the band everyone leaves Great Escape talking about. A new band from Brighton, they've already put a cassette out on the brilliant label Sex Is Disgusting and are being increasingly hyped in the blog world. It's female fronted, it's lo-fi, it's fashionable, it's excellent.
Playing: Saturday - Shipwrights Yard, 12:15 / Green Door Store, 19:10.
Milk Maid
The dude behind Milk Maid both has a very big beard and used to be in Nine Blacks Alps, but neither of these things are very important. What's more important is that this music is good, backed up by having released on the brilliant Suffering Jukebox. For fans of Lovvers, Mazes, Spectrals, Kurt Vile etc - expect lo-fi 'indie rock' kinda stuff.
Playing: Saturday - Green Door Store, 20:30
Milk Maid - Can't You See
Us Baby Bear Bones
Brighton female-led band making stripped back folk-y ish sounds. Hairs on the back of your neck kind of stuff.
Playing: Saturday - Life, 20:00
The Joy Formidable
Expect big sounds (and lots of bass drum) from Wales' noisy, shoegazy, female-fronted indie rock threesome. Certainly worth trying to squeeze into a small room to see, as anyone who's listened to their Atlantic Records released debut The Big Roar will agree.
Playing: Thursday - Hectors House, 22:30
The Joy Formidable - Austere
Cults
Certainly one of the most hyped bands of 2011 so far and understandaly so, California two-piece Cults make cutesy indie pop. If you want to see these, get there early. This will be busy.
Playing: Thursday - Horatios, 22:15
Mammal Club
As boring as this type of comparison is, anyone who likes fast-paced, psych-y experimentla pop along Everything Everything or Man Man lines will like this Newcastle four-piece.
Playing: Saturday - Queens Hotel, 13:45
Mammal Club - Otter
Still Corners
Certainly one of the bands I am most looking forward to seeing, London's Still Corners make intelligent, haunting pop music. Every time I've tried to see them live in the past they have managed to evade me. Hopefully Great Escape is my time!
Playing: Friday - Audio, 20:45.
D/R/U/G/S
Manchester might be ebst know for Oasis twatty lad rock, but acts like D/R/U/G/S/ are helping to change that perception. Expect exciting, intelligent electronica. And maybe some e.
The Victorian English Gentlemans Club
Cardiff arty rock two/three/four-piece. They've got a new record out on This Is Fake DIY Records soon, so expect lots of new material as well as the older, dark-pop classics.
Playing: Friday - Pav Tav (downstairs), 22:00
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - Parrot
Obviously there are tonnes of other bands playing. Stuff like Art Brut, Yuck, PS I Love You, Idiot Glee, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Seams, Echo Lake, Christian AIDS, and Suuns. Some of them probably go without saying. Still, to see the festival's full line-up (and to check that I have written all the times and venues correctly), head here.
So I've taken a step back into the good old days of posting about bands after a good deal of people already know about them. As well as the good old days of not posting new bands for an age. Blame a lack of self control, motivation, and general ability to be a useful human being. I am sorry. But if you don't know of Sumsun - WOOHOO.
Sumsun is looping, psychedelic, 'tropical' electro sounds coming from Florida, apparently. That's about all you really need to know. Oh, and it's good. Oh, and insert some cheesy line about the summer. Oh, and if you liked Mozam Beaks a few weeks back you'll like this. Oh, and if you like this and you don't know of Mozam Beaks, check them out.
Say 'hello' to podcast number 2. Minimal preparation is still the name of the game, but hopefully you'll enjoy it. Maybe. Who knows? Listen or download and find out.
You know when you're not sure if something's good or maybe even a joke but you just like it anyway? This is how I feel about Josep.
From the surely-self-aware image to the 'cringeably' titled Stand Up Against Heart Crime to the fact that he goes by first name alone, Josep might be a joke on us all - but it's one that I'm not embarrassed to say I'm enjoying. Okay, not too embarrassed. Check out the bedroom synth pop below (or over at bandcamp) and let me know if I'm missing something here.
