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Borrowed Beams of Light – Borrowed Beams of Light EP

Published 04/23/2010 Borrowed Beams of Light Leave a Comment
Tags: Indie Pop

Genre: Indie Pop
Year: 2010
Location: CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia
Label: Self-released
Myspace
Website

01. You Have a Sun!!!
02. Thousand Year Power-Nap
03. Party at the End of the World
04. John, at the Reception
05. Kids are Great!!!
06. Rewind

My latest artist submission comes from Borrowed Beams of Light out of Virginia, self-described themselves as “TWO DUDES, FUSED TOGETHER, IN A TOTALLY 80s WAY”. This self-released EP is chock-full of super bright indie pop created by two (hopefully) happy dudes. The singalong melodies in “You Have a Sun!!!” and the ultra-pop tune “Kids are Great!!!” are just one more reason to get pumped for summer! Check out some of their other sweet write-ups on blog friends Weekly Tape Deck and Get Off The Coast. Keep a close eyes on these kids, I have a feeling I’ll be posting more of their music in the future.

P.S. The Noise Is recently passed 100,000 hits, which is so freaking awesome I can’t even begin to say. Thanks to all of you for checking and coming back to my blog!

Bear In Heaven – Wholehearted Mess EP 12″

Published 04/21/2010 Bear In Heaven 3 Comments
Tags: Electronica, Psychedelic

Genre: Psychedelic, Electronica
Year: 2009
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Label: Hometapes
Myspace

01. Wholehearted Mess
02. Wholehearted Mess (Pink Skull remix)
03. Wholehearted Mess (Max Branslokker remix)
04. Wholehearted Mess (Arclike’s Dugout Version)

I’ve had multiple opportunities to get this 12″, but every time I pass it by. Well it looks like that’s going to change soon, because I finally heard the remixes of “Wholehearted Mess”, from 2009′s Beast Rest Forth Mouth, and they are cool as shit! The Pink Skull remix doesn’t stray too far from the tone of the album version, but cranks the reverb on the synths. The dance party starts with the B-side remix by Berlin-based DJ Max Branslokker, making Bear In Heaven boogie down with funky guitars, latin drums, and 80s-loving synth runs. Arclike’s Dugout’s version rounds out the sweet remixes with a minimalist’s view on “Wholehearted Mess”. Limited to 1000 red vinyl (as you can see), you can order a copy from Hometapes for $12 w/ shipping.

UPDATE: Since the time that I wrote this, I bought the 12″! Woohoo!

The Smith Westerns – Live at NPR SXSW Day Party @ the Parish Bootleg

Published 04/20/2010 The Smith Westerns Leave a Comment
Tags: Garage, Noise, Pop

Genre: Noise Pop, Garage
Year: 2009
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: Hozac Records
MySpace

01. My Heart
02. Boys Are Fine
03. Girls In Love
04. Tonight
05. Imagine, Pt 3
06. New Song 1
07. New Song 2
08. New Song 3
09. Be Me Girl

On April 10th of the year 2010, I had the utmost privilege of seeing the teenage Smith Westerns in concert at Schubas in Chicago. They lived up to their reputation, filling the room with girl-loving pop tunes and their laughable snottiness. Overall, it was a damn fun and enjoyable show, just a bunch of people having a good time including myself. I found this bootleg on NPR’s SXSW coverage, taken from their SXSW Day Party with some other sweet bands, including Sleigh Bells, Local Natives, and Surfer Blood. The Smith Westerns opened with album-ending “My Heart”, blazing into soft song turned heavy glam jam, “Boys Are Fine”. They played three new songs, which don’t differ too much from their songs on self-titled, but do reflect these teens getting older. If you are a Smith Westerns fan, you will enjoy listening to this. And especially hearing lead singer Cullen Omori in the beginning of “Tonight” say, “Uh can we get some fog? Yeah?” Oh these kids.

P.S. If anyone knows the name of the new songs, please comment!

Happy Record Store Day!!!

Published 04/17/2010 Beach House , Devo , Dum Dum Girls , Happy Birthday , Male Bonding , Phoenix , Record Store Day , The Soft Pack 5 Comments

Happy Record Store Day everybody! Today is a great day to celebrate all those independent bands, labels, and stores around the world! I hope most people have already been out to one today but if not, check here for venues! I’ve been in-and-out of my local record store, Von’s Records, for most of the day. I showed up early and got some really really cool stuff, and they have bands playing inside and outside all day! Here’s a quick list of my Record Store Day purchases, and I might actually go back for more. WHAT DID YOU GUYS GET??? (and I apologize for the shitty cell phone pics)

UPDATE: I uploaded most of the these releases, with the exception of the Soft Pack (it’s just their album). Just click on the record picture to get ‘em!

Phoenix – “Fences” PINK 12″

Beach House – “Zebra” 12″

Devo – “Fresh” b/w “What We Do” BLUE 12″

The Black Keys – “Tighten Up” b/w “Howlin’ For You” 12″

The Soft Pack – 7″ box set

Dum Dum Girls/Male Bonding – “Pay With Me” b/w “Before It’s Gone”

Happy Birthday – “Shampoo” b/w “Alien” 7″

Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo

Published 04/15/2010 Avi Buffalo Leave a Comment
Tags: Indie Pop, Indie Rock

Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Rock
Year: 2010
Location: Long Beach, CA
Label: Sub Pop
Myspace

01. Truth Sets In
02. What’s In It For?
03. Coaxed
04. Five Little Sluts
05. Jessica
06. Summer Cum
07. One Last
08. Can’t I Know?
09. Remember Last Time
10. Where’s Your Dirty Mind?

In the midst of a few strange events, I was able to meet the members of Avi Buffalo in a semi-flooded cavern underneath Radio Radio in Indianapolis. It would only make sense that they would tour with Japandroids, as they were a bunch of really young and nice kids. We talked about the hardships of being under 21, and then moved to discuss their upcoming debut on Seattle giant Sub Pop, which they all seemed hugely excited about. I ended up not being able to see them, thanks to being 20 years old, but I did hear really good things from my friend who did see them. Their debut, Avi Buffalo, is a meet-and-greet as singer/songwriter/frontman Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg describes it. These youngsters, barely out of high school, play ahead of their age and create warm and charming indie pop reminiscent of rootsters Band of Horses. Opening track, “Truth Sets In”, welcomes you with open arms, leading right into their sunny hit song, “What’s In It For?”. The album ends with the beautiful ballad, “Where’s Your Dirty Mind”, capping off one of the best pop debuts this year. This will be out April 27th, and you can preorder it from Sub Pop and get a CDR with four non-album tracks!

Free Energy

Published 04/14/2010 Free Energy 2 Comments
Tags: Glam, Indie Rock

Recently I was reading about the topic of free energy, and it is actually pretty interesting. In the field of thermodynamics, it refers to the amount of work that can be taken from a system, and any portion of Newton’s First-Law energy available for thermodynamic use can also be called free energy. Scientist Hermann von Helmholtz and mathematician Josiah Willard Gibbs have helped create mathematical functions for the use of free energy. I would highly recommend doing more research on the topic of Free Energy.

Sleep In – Carnival

Published 04/13/2010 Sleep In Leave a Comment
Tags: Drone, Psychedelic, Shoegaze

Genre: Shoegaze, Psychedelic, Drone
Year: 2010
Location: Australia
Label: Enemies List Recordings
MySpace

01. You Glow
02. The Woods
03. Steady
04. Back To Land
05. Amorous
06. January
07. Spared
08. Empty Space
09. I Try

At the beginning of the year, Hamish Duncan contacted me about his release Pyramid, which seemed to find its way all across the internet. In my writeup, I said to keep on a lookout for more of his project Sleep In. No more than four months later did I get his newest release, Carnival. Sleep In leaned heavy on the industrial rock side of things on Pyramid, and while it’s definitely still there for Carnival, Duncan’s lessened it to make way for a barrage of new styles. His mold of shoegaze/drone/psychedelic is not only engaging, but keeps you on your toes for each coming track. “The Woods” is a behemoth of a track, with a nasty drone that feel like it surrounds you. The unexpected surprise of “Steady” brings a solid psychedelic riff with swirling tones above. Duncan pulls out his acoustic side for a few songs, including back-to-back tracks “Back To Land” and “Amorous”, for what I guess you could call dark ballads. All roads lead to “Spared”, a tense and sporadic climax to another incredible album from Duncan. Both Pyramid and Carnival are going to be getting an official release on Enemies List Home Recordings, so make sure to keep a close eye on Sleep In.

Japandroids – No Singles

Published 04/13/2010 Japandroids 4 Comments
Tags: Garage, Indie Rock, Noise, Punk

UPDATE: FIXED IT

Genre: Noise, Garage, Indie Rock, Punk
Year: 2010
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Label: Polyvinyl
Myspace

01. Darkness on the Edge of Gastown
02. No Allegiance to the Queen
03. Sexual Aerosol
04. Lovers/Strangers
05. Lucifer’s Symphony
06. Couture Suicide
07. Avant Sleepwalk
08. Coma Complacency
09. To Hell With Good Intentions
10. Press Corps

My extreme love for Japandroids is only growing. My buddy and I drove to Champaign, IL, also the home of Polyvinyl Records, to see Japandroids with label-mates Love Is All opening (who were incredible). Of course Japandroids ruled, and I picked up a shirt and this just-picked-up-from-the-label record. So as were about to get in the car and leave, we see the guitarist Brian out near their van. My friend and I probably talked with him for about 15-20 minutes, honestly one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. So when I post this album, I expect a bunch of you guys to give back to Japandroids! If you haven’t heard about No Singles, Polyvinyl is compiling Japandroids’ first two EPs, 2007′s All Lies and 2008′s Lullaby Death Jams, into a single official release. The biggest difference between No Singles and 2009′s Post-Nothing is that Post-Nothing definitely leaned more towards a indie rock sound, and No Singles boasts a sound full and full of punk. Opener, “Darkness on the Edge of Gastown”, will tell you that in the first 20 seconds. Pre-order this from Polyvinyl Records on either white or black vinyl, and it also comes with a sweet 32-page booklet with photos from the 2006-2008 Japandroids!

No Monster Club – Tropical Decibels Volume One

Published 04/12/2010 No Monster Club Leave a Comment
Tags: Lo-fi, Pop

Genre: Lo-fi, Pop, Tropical
Year: 2010
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Label: Cass/Flick / Rack and Ruin Records
Myspace

01. Initiation Ceremony
02. Siren Song
03. Childhood Costumes
04. 2,838 KM
05. The Outsider
06. Farm Philosophy
07. Heads Are Gory
08. Danse Macabre
09. Up Sticks
10. Fanfare for Friends

It’s kind of weird that No Monster Club (aka Bobby Aherne) hails from Dublin, Ireland, It really doesn’t seem to fit all of the tropical music he makes. From the email Bobby sent to me, he described Volume One as “dark lo-fi pop”. The most arguable part of that is the “dark” part, as these tracks throw you right into the midst of a 60′s luau. The tape isn’t too long, but it’s long enough to make you feel nice and warm. For you Euros out there, Volume One and Two are being released together by Cass/Flick.

DOOMSTAR! – Rainbow Bloodsucker

Published 04/09/2010 DOOMSTAR! Leave a Comment
Tags: Garage, Pop

Genre: Pop, Garage, 60′s
Year: 2010
Location: Cambridge, MA
Label: Grandma + Grandpa Records (self-released)
Myspace

01. Handsome Man
02. Kitty Kitty
03. Lily Face
04. Rainbow Bloodsucker
05. Sharon Mitchel
06. Gimmee Some
07. Ronald Ray-Gun
08. You Can Hide

DOOMSTAR! are a rambunctious group of guys out of Cambridge, MA, and their newest EP, Rainbow Bloodsucker, throws you back to the 60′s for some fresh fun-loving garage-pop. Songs like “Kitty Kitty”, Rainbow Bloodsucker” and “Gimmee Some” keep your head nodding and will be stuck with you for days. DOOMSTAR! are no-doubt experts with those types of songs, but perhaps the best songs on this EP are the slowed-down jams. “Ronald Ray-Gun” feels like a dirtier Girls track, and the highlight, “Sharon Mitchel”, is a heavy boozed-up anthem for the ages. These guys are on a pretty lengthy tour right now, with an April 15th date in Indianapolis and 17th show in Cleveland, so go check them out! Also throw them some dollar bills on their BandCamp!

Ghost Mall – Goons EP

Published 04/08/2010 Ghost Mall 4 Comments
Tags: Garage, Lo-fi, Pop

(Not official artwork)

Genre: Lo-fi, Pop, Garage
Year: 2010
Location: New Paltz, NY
Label: Unsigned
Myspace

01. 40 Nugs
02. Senile Felines
03. Balloon Ideas
04. Young Liars
05. Johnny Appleseed

In the time that I’ve been blogging here at The Noise Is, Ghost Mall has quickly become one of the most lively and fun bands that I’ve had the pleasure to share. Beginning with their raw Demonstrations EP, then their live bootleg Smiley Art Bootleg 10.17, all leading to their first official EP, Goons. The big difference for this EP is that it was produced by DJ Teenwolf of Ninjasonik, showing true colors for these ramshackle kids. Ghost Mall show a good amount of growth and diversity, taking their nearly perfect garage formula and turning it into something special. “40 Nugs”, “Balloon Ideas”, and “Young Liars” are the kind of songs Ghost Mall specialize in, and they have never sounded better. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is the synth-heavy “Senile Felines”, which makes an argument for best track after flowing into a rightful explosive ending. There’s really no info on a release date or what it’s being released on, but I will surely keep you updated.

Fang Island Super Post!

Published 04/06/2010 Fang Island 5 Comments
Tags: Post-Rock

Day Of The Great Leap (2006)

01. Intro
02. White Widow
03. We Were Lions
04. S.S. Fort Jams
05. Meateater
06. Vlad
07. Tickle Mountain
08. The Landing

Sky Garden EP (2008)

01. Curaga
02. Absolute Place
03. Trustfall

Fang Island (2010)

01. Dreams of Dreams
02. Careful Crossers
03. Daisy
04. Life Coach
05. Sideswiper
06. The Illinois
07. Treeton
08. Davey Crockett
09. Welcome Wagon
10. Dorian

Genre: RAWK N ROLL, Instrumental, Post-Rock
Year: 2010
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Label: Sargent House
Myspace

For way too long now, one of my best friends has kept telling me, “Jeff, if you listen to Fang Island, they will become your favorite band.” I honestly slept on them for way way way too long, as they just hit me with a lightning bolt of awesomeness. Their enthusiasm-filled arena-rock mentality exploding with blasting drums, huge group vocals, and guitars from the heavens couldn’t be more perfect and/or amazing. It makes you feel like you’re at the Colosseum with 1,000 gladiators, but instead of fighting, everybody is partying, drinking a ton of beer, and having a great time! It could also be substituted for the soundtrack to Space Jam. I would point out a specific release and/or track, but I’m not kidding when I say this, every song f’ing rawks!!! But I will note that it’s only appropriate that Fang Island begins and ends with fireworks, totally not kidding. If you enjoy this music as much as I have, throw them a few bucks on their BandCamp/Digital site, it’ll help them make more music like this.

Light Pollution – Apparitions

Published 04/05/2010 Light Pollution 15 Comments
Tags: Indie Rock, Shoegaze

Genre: Indie Rock, Shoegaze
Year: 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: Carpark
Myspace

01. Good Feelings
02. Oh, Ivory!
03. Drunk Kids
04. Fever Dreams
05. Deyci, Right On
06. Bad Vibes 4
07. All Night Outside
08. Witchcraft
09. Ssslowdreamsss

It’s funny how some bands fall right back into your lap after some time. Sometime last year, I drove down to Bloomington, IN with my best buddy to go see Knoxville, TN crazies I Need Sleep. After they kicked major ass, we considered leaving, but we decided to stick around for this Chicago band Light Pollution. The crowd was quiet, the stage dimly lit, and their music enveloped us like the air itself. We were breathless to say the least. So just about two weeks ago, their newest track “Good Feelings” popped up on Pitchfork, on Forkcast and some good words on The Playlist. This all leads to their debut album, Apparitions, being released on Carpark Records. Opener, “Good Feelings”, fades in perfect balance between gloomy shoegaze and sky-high indie rock, proving to be one of the best tracks of 2010 thus far. The rest of the tracks feel like rays of bright sunshine, alongside front man James Cicero’s beautiful and provocative voice. Watch for big things for Light Pollution come June, when Apparitions gets its official release. Until then, check their Myspace for some upcoming shows with Best Coast, Delorean, Memoryhouse, Keepaway, and Tanlines.

Christmas Island – Blackout Summer

Published 04/01/2010 Christmas Island 3 Comments
Tags: Garage, Pop

Genre: Pop, Garage
Year: 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Label: In The Red
Myspace

01. Pre-Apocalyptic
02. Black Cloud
03. I Dont Care
04. Anxiety Attack
05. Egypt
06. Bed Island
07. Dinosaurs
08. Its True
09. Weird You Out
10. Doin Swell
11. My Baby
12. Blackout Summer

Blackout Summer is the debut album from San Diego trio, Christmas Island. Their sound screams garage/pop fusion, but expect some nice post-punk/bubblegum/DIY-punk surprises in the mix. A bunch of tracks stood out to me, including the near-ballad “Black Cloud”, the punky “Anxiety Attack”, and super poppy title track “Blackout Summer”. This is an easy recommendation to anyone who is a fan of Sub Pop’s Happy Birthday. You can order this album from the In The Red store on CD/LP.

Japandroids – Art Czars 7″

Published 03/31/2010 Japandroids 4 Comments
Tags: Garage, Indie Rock, Noise

Genre: Noise, Garage, Indie Rock
Year: 2010
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Label: Polyvinyl
Myspace

01. Art Czars
02. Racer-X

Japandroids have a very very busy 2010 planned, and those plans actually don’t include recording or releasing a follow-up to 2009′s Post-Nothing. But there’s no reason to be sad, Japandroids have some big reasons for you to be super happy this year. They are going to be releasing five 7″s throughout the year with a leftover Post-Nothing jam and a cover. So here is the first installment of the 7″ series, “Art Czars”, a garage-punk anthem alongside a heart-racing cover of Big Black’s “Racer-X”. You can order this 7″ over at Polyvinyl Records on sweet clear vinyl!!! But get on it quick, I hear they are close to running out.

YAWN – YAWN E.P.

Published 03/30/2010 YAWN 1 Comment
Tags: Indie Pop, Pop, Psychedelic

Genre: Pop, Indie Pop, Psychedelic, Tropical
Year: 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: Unsigned
Myspace

01. Toys
02. Kind of Guy
03. David
04. Empress
05. Midnite

YAWN are yet another glowing band out of the expansive Chicago scene. They were down at SXSW playing alongside some really cool bands including Neon Indian and Best Coast, and joined art-rockers A Lull at a Chicago showcase. Their self-titled EP is big step into some tropical psych-pop, with tasty guitar licks and blissful electro runs all around. For me, the main theme here was intense colorful fun. Hard to tell with an opening song called “Toys” right?

Cults – Go Outside 7″

Published 03/29/2010 Cults Leave a Comment
Tags: Indie Pop, Pop

Genre: Indie Pop, Pop
Year: 2010
Location: New York
Label: Forest Family Records
BandCamp

01. Go Outside
02. Most Wanted

Some big news for music blogs today! Super sweet blogs Gorilla Vs. Bear and Weekly Tape Deck announced the formation of their brand new label, Forest Family Records. The first release by the label is going to be a 7″ for “Go Outside” by the pop-band Cults. The track has been gaining a good reputation for being a perfect summer-pop jam, and I can’t disagree with that at all. You can grab this 7″ on bright yellow vinyl HERE for $8 (w/ $3 shipping). It’s a little steep for a 7″, but I’ve gotta imagine they are paying for this out of pocket, so give them some good support.

Moon Duo – Escape

Published 03/27/2010 Moon Duo Leave a Comment
Tags: Psychedelic

Genre: Psychedelic, Trance
Year: 2010
Location: San Fran, CA
Label: Woodsist
Myspace

01. Motorcycle, I Love You
02. In The Trees
03. Stumbling 22nd St.
04. Escape

Here’s some of newest material from popular lo-fi label Woodsist, except the difference here is that Moon Duo isn’t lo-fi at all. Moon Duo is the joint project of Sanae Yamada and Erik Johnson, who is also from Wooden Shjips. Escape is their debut release on Woodsist, which manages to put you in a trance and be mind-opening at the same time. The tracks mostly consists of around 7-minute jams on a singular fuzzy riff, with drug-induced solos and unrecognizable lyrics. If you’re a 60s/70s psychedelic junkie like I am, you will love this.

Wild Nothing – Cloudbusting 7″

Published 03/26/2010 Wild Nothing 1 Comment
Tags: Pop, Shoegaze

Genre: Shoegaze, Dream Pop
Year: 2010
Location: Virginia, USA
Label: Captured Tracks
Myspace

01. Cloudbusting
02. Promise

A few weeks ago, I posted the 7″ track “Summer Holiday” from one-man bedroom project Wild Nothing, and since then it hasn’t stopped spinning in my head. “Cloudbusting” is the newest 7″ from Jack Tatum, the man behind Wild Nothing, and one of the newest release for Captured Tracks. Check out his soaring rendition of Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting”, along with dreamy b-side “Promise”. Look out for a debut LP sometime this year, it should be something to be excited about.

I Need Sleep – Fun Tunnel

Published 03/25/2010 I Need Sleep Leave a Comment
Tags: Experimental, Pop

Genre: Pop, Experimental, Tropical
Year: 2010
Location: Knoxville, TN
Label: Swim Slowly / Speed Tapes
Myspace

01. Warm Milkapault
02. Shitty Knoxville Beach
03. Speed’s Skiing
04. BOOMPCHUG!
05. Whatever…
06. Bad Tunnel
07. Speed’s Last Race
08. Somebody Swimming
09. Fun Tunnel (Traveling Through Plants)

I Need Sleep, to me, has become one of those bands that you constantly check up on because just about everything they do is either fun/interesting/completely unpredictable or all of the above. With their newest adventure, Fun Tunnel finds I Need Sleep diving into the world of Speed Racer. From their BandCamp, “Inspired by hot waves and max speed. Jams that will put you behind the wheel of a T-180 and into a realm of glorious sun-bathed shores. Racing is in the blood. The blood is on the beach.” Just from that, you really can’t take any of Fun Tunnel too seriously. The music is insanely strange, as most of it sounds like they threw a bunch of gorillas tripping on acid into a tropical band room where the walls are so brightly colored, it hurts your eyes. None of this should come off as bad, just make sure you strap yourself in for the ride!

Borrowed Beams of Light – Borrowed Beams of Light EP http://goo.gl/gOFZ Bouncy summery indie pop from two dudes from Virginia 1 day ago
Hey guys! The Noise Is went over 100,000 hits today! THATS SO COOL! Thanks to all of you for reading my blog! 2 days ago
Bear In Heaven – Wholehearted Mess EP 12″ http://goo.gl/H38f The original version and three remixes of "Wholehearted Mess" from 2009's LP. 3 days ago
The Smith Westerns – Live at NPR SXSW Day Party @ the Parish Bootleg http://goo.gl/PNZw Bootleg from SXSW NPR showcase, expect snobby fun. 4 days ago
Record Store Day post UPDATED http://goo.gl/f4eW I added some links to grab some of the RSD releases I got. 5 days ago