A big improvement over Steve's solo debut.
bedroom
Naps - You Will Live in a Cool Box EP
New TracksCommentHere's a sweet bedroom rock/pop EP from Tallahassee quartet Naps, out via Viridian Sounds. Happy listening!
Tiny Little Houses - "Soon We Won't Exist"
New TracksCommentCheck out this fuzzed-out pop rock magic from Melbourne quartet Tiny Little Houses, to land on new EP You Tore My Heart Out September 25.
Altar Eagle- "Carousel Ocean" / "Parallel Lives"
New TracksComment
When the adjective optimistic is used to describe electronic pop music, the sounds of treacly, unimaginative boy-girl duos with musical knowledge so primitive they make Beat Happening look like Beethoven in comparison often come to mind. A highly welcome change of pace, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Altar Eagle pen mature, subtle electronic pop songs with a finely honed appreciation for sounds and dynamics. A perfect example of this understanding is “Carousel Ocean,” the first song off their soon-to-be-released sophomore album. The track begins with the absolutely mesmerizing sounds of either a glass harmonica or a synthesizer emulating a glass harmonica before a simple but highly effective programmed beat and singer Eden Hemming’s wistful vocals enter. The way Altar Eagle constantly cycle their sounds, keeping certain elements while introducing new ones, gives the song a compelling sense of flux. The final clincher of the song is its charged climax featuring a tremendously fun, exceptionably fat synthesizer passionately delivering its fantastic melody.
You can stream “Carousel Ocean” along with the intoxicatingly soporific “Parallel Lives” above. Altar Eagle’s Nightrunners is slated for release in October via Digitalis Recordings (digital and vinyl) and Crash Symbols (cassette with remixes).
Chrome Sparks- "All There Is" ft. Steffaloo
New TracksCommentChrome Sparks is the solo effort of Ann Arbor twentysomething Jeremy Malvin. The Midwest music student sounds like he self-records, which is nothing new in 2011, but what's refreshing here is this guy's straightforward sound. The music isn't hidden behind effects and off mixing, and it's because there's nothing to hide, really.
On "All There Is," twinkling arpeggios and a warm bass guitar sound layer kind of elegantly over a heavy drum machine beat. It's the kind of track that sounds best on a car stereo during a July drive down to the beach. The track even picks up a feature from singer-songwriter Steffaloo--who's also worked with Blackbird Blackbird--and Chrome Sparks chops her vocal contribution up gourmet style, throwing in perfectly placed skips and pitch shifts.
She appears twice on Chrome Sparks' new EP, My <3, which can be purchased for whatever price you'd like here. And now for the cover art:
