Artist of the Day: Wild Nothing

Out of all of the artists with their unique 80's imitations such as Beach Fossils, DIIV, and other Captured Track's artist, Jack Tatum's Wild Nothing stands out the greatest. The ethereal bedroom pop of Virginia native Jack Tatum creates and atmosphere and vibe unique to any other artist in the shoegaze scene today.

2010's Gemini, my favorite album of that year and one of my favorites of the past ten years, is an essential listen for any fan of nostalgic lo-fi tunes. Tracks such as "Summer Holiday" and "Chinatown" are sure to capture the hearts of any early Slumberland fan. This year, Jack Tatum is returning with his sophomore effort, Nocturne, this July, one of my most anticipated releases of this year.

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Album Review: Sinforiano Diaz - The Moosup Sessions

Album Rating: A

Anybody who keeps themselves relatively informed with the modern post-hardcore/emo scene, mostly run by genre giants Run For Cover and Topshelf Records, is more than likely aware of The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die. Sinforiano Diaz is the moniker under which Thomas Diaz (lead vocalist and keyboard player of The World Is a Beautiful Place) releases brief, hauntingly beautiful tracks without the help of twinkle-daddy king Greg Horbal and company. The Moosup Sessions is a small collection of tracks that Diaz recorded in 2008, and is now seeing a proper cassette release on Broken World Media. 

Artist of the Day: it is rain in my face.

If I ever heard an artist who's sound was nearly impossible to describe, it would be the solo project of Brooklyn resident Matt Jones, it is rain in my face. You don't need to spend much time with Jones' debut self titled album to pick up on the incredibly vast range of influences that Jones expresses. There are plenty of obvious nods to electronic music in chillwave in the glitchy and twitchy beats and Jones' reverb soaked vocals, but this isn't your every day beachy, nostalgic, 80's worshiping C86 act.

On "Macknowledge," Jones' sings an incredibly tight a capella vocal segment, almost reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel, before the track picks up with a crackly and poppy beat under a subtle guitar line. "Fighter Pilot" opens up with a repetitive guitar line that could have easily been a Dodos riff, before turning a perfect 180 degrees and turning into an bedroom R&B track. I could go on about how truly brilliantly genre spanning it is rain in my face.'s debut is, but I'd certainly recommend that you listen for yourself.

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Album Review: Beach House - Bloom

Album Rating: A

I don't really know how to feel about Beach House not changing their formula at all over the six years that they have been releasing albums. After the just-noticeable-enough reinvention of their sound on 2010's masterpiece Teen Dream, I was expecting a drastic change in Beach House's sound on the next album. On the other hand, I am more than satisfied with the duo's ability to keep the same sound, making the most miniscule of tweaks in between releases, and still be able to make it sound incredibly new and refreshing. Bloom is definitely not a renovation of Beach House's signature dream pop sound, but it's better than anything they have ever done before.

Artist of the Day: Rabbit Troupe

I may be running out of fantastic local bands to write about, but I don't think I'll ever run out of things to say about such bands. Rabbit Troupe is a four piece punk outfit from somewhere in northern New Jersey. The band specializes in noisy and incredibly lo-fi catchy punk, citing artists such as Pavement, Beat Happening and Pixies amongst their influences. Just this year, they came out with their third EP, Treasures Are Miniscule, released on the band's own Beta Snake Records.

Over the past two years, Rabbit Troupe have released two EP's, two singles and a full length album, Cauldron Boy and The Nemesis, all of which contain some of the catchiest punk music I've ever heard. Rabbit Troupe is a great listen for any fan of DIY, lo-fi and overall gritty homemade rock.

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Artist of the Day: The Tallest Man On Earth

The music of Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson is the kind of music that you make hyperbolic statements of its quality, which would be completely warranted. In my eyes, Matsson is the greatest songwriter in the busienss today. There are two albums released under the Tallest Man On Earth moniker, 2008's Shallow Graves and 2010's The Wild Hunt, both of which are amongst greatest folk albums of the past five years. With a few minor exceptions, Matsson makes his craft with nothing but an acoustic guitar and his hoarse, yet elegant vocal cords.

The Tallest Man On Earth is returning this June with his third LP, entitled There's No Leaving Now. And if the latest track to be released, "1904", is any indicator, then There's No Leaving Now will certainly live up to the monstrous expectations that Matsson's first two albums have developed in fans.

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Artist Spotlight: The Beach Boys

If The Beach Boys doesn't ring a bell for you, then you probably either died before the middle of the 20th century or have just never listened to music before. The innovative genius of Brian Wilson's work with the band has spawned some of the most inspirational music of the last decade, closely rivaling with The Beatles as the greatest band of all time. Their 1966 album Pet Sounds (which I regard as the greatest album ever made) changed the shape of music forever, marking a departure of music from the generic radio-friendly format into a true art form.

Following last year's release of the half-century old, mythical project The Smile Sessions, The Beach Boys have launched a full scale reunion this year with a new album, That's Why God Made The Radio. Whether the group still has its legendary charm or not is certainly up for questioning, but the band is no less than welcome to return as a band.

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Album Retrospective: The Cure - Disintegration

Album Rating: A+

While writing on behalf of an album, I often think to myself what the purpose of reviewing music is. I usually just set my opinions to text and then publish them to the wonderful web without really taking into consideration what other people will actually do with my writing. I either equate writing a review to either simply expressing an opinion (what I usually do) or attempting to urge readers to listen to whatever it is you are writing about. I suppose in plenty of cases I've written a piece with the intention of convincing people that something is worth listening to, but I have never sat down thinking "I absolutely must make people listen to this album". It is definitely a gratifying feeling knowing that something you wrote encouraged somebody to sit down with an album that they would later on love dearly, but that isn't something I've seeked in my writing. I've thought to myself "this is an album that people must hear", but have never found it in myself to justify such a statement. As you have probably guessed what I'm getting at by now, Disintegration is an album that I truly believe that people absolutely must at least attempt to listen to. Of course I will outline why The Cure's magnum opus is essential for your listening, but I am just putting it out there right now, that as well as expressing my feelings for this music, my intention with this piece is to convince you to listen to this album.

Album Review: Death Grips - The Money Store

Album Rating: A-

To be quite honest, hip hop is not really my genre. I would be able to enjoy it in small amounts, but it was never a genre that would be able to hold up for the entire duration of an album for me. On Sacramento group Death Grips' follow up to their 2011 mixtape, Exmilitary, the group attempts to shake off the hip-hop label and create something entirely on its own level. For the most part, The Money Store definitely accomplishes what it has set out to do. Combining elements of industrial and experimental noise, Death Grips have created a compelling and immersive record that is certainly a real game-changer. 

Artist of the Day: Boards of Canada

As I discussed in a bit I wrote on ambient artist Foxes In Fiction two weeks ago, I went on a week long trip with my New Jersey school's choir to Arizona. Foxes In Fiction was one of the many artists that I anticipated would be part of my soundtrack to different events over my first flight and visit to a state outside the tri-state area. I did listen to Foxes In Fiction a great deal (as well as plenty of Sigur Ros), but the artist I turned to the most to score the beautiful scenery around me was Boards of Canada.

The Scottish electronic duo's beautiful take on IDM turned out to be the most suitable soundtrack to my trip out of anything I could think of. Listening to the standout track from 2005's The Campfire Headphase, "Dayvan Cowboy," while watching the Rocky Mountains sail by from 30 kilometers above the Earth was probably the most breathtaking experience I had ever had with music. 1998's Music Has The Right To Children felt like the soundtrack to a time-lapse covering a million years of erosion that shaped the Grand Canyon as I hiked a mile into it. "Roygbiv" was the perfect accompanyment to the sun breaking through the clouds and mountains that formed the skyline. Over my trip I learned that Boards of Canada is the perfect soundtrack for either everyday life, or anything larger than life.

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Album Review: Dinosaur Feathers - Whistle Tips

Album Rating: C

What feels worse to me than an album that is a straight up flop is an album that you love on first listen, but fails to withstand the test of time. The first handful of listens you fall head-over-heels in love with it, and after that it starts to turn sour and you only revisit it every so often. Such is the story of Dinosaur Feather's 2010 debut, Fantasy Memorial and I. The poppier take on Sung Tongs-era Animal Collective on tracks such as "Family Waves," "Teenage Whore" and "Fantasy Memorial," grabbed my heart and didn't let go until I listened to the album enough times. After that, the record wasn't nearly as good as a listen as it used to be, although it still remained as one of my favorite albums of that year.

Artist of the Day: Foxes In Fiction

In about 12 hours from the time of me writing this, I will be on my first flight ever, from New Jersey to Arizona. And of course, in the wake of such an event, there was no way that I couldn't anticipate the soundtrack to my journey. And, the first option that popped into my head was Foxes In Fiction's 2010 debut, Swung From The Branches. The lush soundscapes of Ontario resident Warren Hildebrand feel like the perfect accompanyment to watching the world fly by from the stratosphere.

Foxes In Fiction was first exposed to the world in a peculiar manner, when one of his songs "Jimi Bleachball" was retagged as a song titled "Faders", by a fictional artist named A.E. (accompanied by a cover which appeared to be a homage to Atlas Sound's Logos). After the song's true identity was revealed, the album which it hailed from, Swung From The Branches, began to garner much acclaim, and was hailed as one of the greatest ambient releases in a while.

The music of Warren Hildenbrad is extremely versatile, and has an atmosphere that could really take you somewhere else. Ambient tracks such as "Basement Window" or "Sleeping Building Unsuspecting" could put you up on a cloud and let you peacefully float thousands of feet above sea level, while poppier numbers such as "Jimi Bleachball" or "Ativan 15" could put you in the most summery of feels. Either way, I'm certainly looking forward to flying with Hildebrand.

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Artist of the Day: Japandroids

Being a musician, rock duos that consist of nothing more than a guitarist and a drummer really just don't seem fair. You could be in bands of up to five pieces and still not be getting as much sound as energy as a band with nothing more than a fuzzed out guitar and heavy drumming. Canadian rockers Japandroids are easily the best example of this archetype. Never before has there ever been so much catchiness, energy, and excitement from just two angry, sexually frustrated young boys.

After three years of touring with their explosive debut Post-Nothing, Japandroids are returning this June with their sophomore effort, entitled Celebration Rock. And if lead single "The House That Heaven Built" doesn't get you unbelievably excited for what I expect to be the greatest punk album in a very long time, then nothing will. The uplifting lyrics, the relentless drums, the gang vocal "oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh" choruses, all of it is just Brian King and David Prowse doing what they do best, and making their best track to date.

On Celebration Rock, the band stated that they wanted to replicate what the audience would be doing at their shows through their music. Which on "The House That Heaven Built," is a sound that they easily perfected. By just listening to it you can feel the room around you pounding along with the jumping and the dancing, and you can hear all 300 people packed in the venue screaming the "oh oh oh"s , bringing the overwhelming sensation that any good punk show should. And if the boys can keep that up for eight more tracks, then Celebration Rock is going to be one hell of an album.

Stream "The House That Heaven Built" here
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Album Retrospective: Math the Band - Don't Worry

Album Rating: A+

I strongly implore you to introduce yourself to Math the Band by watching a couple of videos of their live performances. Look for performances of songs such as "Hang Out/Hang Ten", "Tour de Friends", or perhaps even a cover of Andrew W.K.'s "It's Time To Party". You've got this crazy looking dude flailing his hair all over the place while bludgenoning heavily distorted chords out of his guitar, and a girl dancing all over the place while either wailing on a floor tom or pounding her fists on a keyboard while singing into an old telephone reciever. And you may think to yourself, "this is absolutely absurd". Well yes, it is.

Artist Spotlight - Beach House

By looking at a lot of artist names and album titles, the words "beach", "teen", and "dream" (chillwave artists are mainly guilty of overusing these words) seem to pop up so often that the mood that they are used to convey in accordance to the music has become so trite to me that I often completely avoid music that attempts to evoke the hazy and carefree feeling of being a teenager spending a whimsical day at the beach with your significant other. But once Beach House (possibly the most quintessential act in dream pop today) dropped their third LP, entitled Teen Dream in 2010, it came off as trying so hard that I just had to give it a listen. And of course, everything from the refreshing production to Victoria Legrand's ethereal contralto completely floored me, especially on tracks such as "Zebra" and the popular song-of-the-year contender "Norway". And now Beach House has returned with a new track, "Myth". From a mysterious news exchange between Exclaim and other publications, it is hard to judge whether the duo's alleged fourth LP, Bloom, is really coming out this May or not, but "Myth" (which appears as the opener on the tracklist that Exclaim reported) is definitely hard evidence that something is on its way. Judging from "Myth", Beach House has not deviated too far from the dream pop formula of Teen Dream. While it would be interesting to see how the duo could have progressed since their 2010 hit, more of the ethereal beauty and teenage dreaminess that the group pulled off so impeccably is certainly no less than welcome.


"Myth" can be streamed here.

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3/8 UPDATE: Pitchfork has reported that Bloom has been confirmed, as well as a spring and summer tour. It will be released May 15 on Sub Pop in the U.S. and Canada. According to a press release, the band says the album was written "between countless sound checks and myriad experiences during two years of tour". A full tracklist and tour dates can be seen here. 

Artist Spotlight: Craft Spells

Only three months into 2012, and already it is shaping up to be a pretty eventful year for Brookyln-based independent label Captured Tracks. Jack Tatum and Wild Nothing are getting ready to drop their sophomore full length, Beach Fossils is working on new material, and just yesterday, Craft Spells announced the release of a six track EP, entitled Gallery, due out May 15th. Like Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing and Dustin Payseur of Beach Fossils, Justin Vallesteros started Craft Spells within the confines of his bedroom. Vallesteros moved from California to Seattle following an overwhelmingly positive reaction to his first track, "Party Talk". In his bedroom in Seattle, with equipment borrowed from friends, Vallesteros recorded Craft Spells' debut album Idle Labor, released by Captured Tracks in March of 2011. Idle Labor was one of the strongest debuts of any act of last year, being a nearly flawless hazy barrage of catchy guitar melodies, beats, and fun, nostalgic songwriting. And now after a considerable amount of touring with his band that he formed to promote Idle Labor, Craft Spells have just released their first single following the debut, "Still Left With Me". The single features a much darker tone than the poppy whimsicality of songs such as "Scandinavian Crush" and "After the Moment", but still features a similar production to Idle Labor, despite the transition from bedroom to studio. But the change shown on the track is indeed promising, and makes Gallery easily one of my most anticipated releases of this year. "Still Left With Me" can be streamed from Captured Track's Soundcloud below:

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Artist Spotlight: Wild Nothing

Brooklyn based independent label Captured Tracks is currently the home to some of the most interesting and prominent bands in modern jangly, shoegazy whateverness. Wild Nothing, the brainchild of Virginian Jack Tatum is probably the most notable of these groups, amongst peers such as Beach Fossils and Craft Spells. The band's 2010 debut Gemini, recorded by only Tatum alone in his bedroom, was released to much critical acclaim, and is personally amongst my top favorite albums of the past five years. Tatum's catchy, nostalgic pop tunes such as "Summer Holiday" and "Chinatown" simply demanded to be played nonstop and stole the hearts of C86 fans everywhere. And now Tatum and company have returned with a new track from Wild Nothing's currently untitled sophomore effort, titled "Nowhere", accompanied by "Wait" as a b-side, to be officially released on vinyl on February 21. Listening to the two tracks makes it very apparent what changes the band has gone through. The leap from bedroom to studio was definitely more than enough to bring Wild Nothing to the next stage in their evolution, adopting a more twee sound, with the help of Twin Sister's Andrea Estrella. It sounds a lot like the music of Craft Spells and Beach Fossils has rubbed off a fair amount on the band, adopting similar production styles. It is still not entirely clear what Wild Nothing is going to pull off on their second album, but the follow up to Gemini is personally one of my most (if not my most) anticipated release of 2012.

Check out Wild Nothing on Facebook.

Album Review: Rabbit Troupe - Treasures Are Miniscule

Album Rating: A-

Lately I have come to a conclusion that there is no better genre of music than dirty, loud, and catchy punk. It can easily channel any emotion just as good as any other genre of music, so why not do it via lo-fi recording techniques and blunt yet honest and effective lyrics? There's nothing that makes recordings more human and relatable than a couple of raw, untampered with tracks recorded in somebody's basement. Everything good about punk and music in general, from songs about heartbreak to songs soundtracking a drunken escapade, is presented in the latest output from New Jersey's Rabbit Troupe, in the form of a dirty fifteen minute EP, Treasures Are Miniscule.

Artist Spotlight: The Audacity of Youth

The Audacity of Youth is the moniker of nineteen year old Indiana musician Joey Wanczyk, who will release "And I Loved You", the first single off of his upcoming album, Departed, on January 26th. Wanczyk, who cites artists such as Bjork, Kate Bush, and Current 93 as his influences, creates a unique atmosphere with his calming ambient arrangements and soft vocals. "And I Loved You" is an especially interesting track, featuring nothing but a calming drone that sounds like William Basinski meets School of Seven Bells with Wanczyk lightly chanting the songs interesting lyrics. The single comes with a similar B-side, "God, Save The Queen", which features a simple and subtle organ melody, which again is accompanied by Wanczyk alone. The Audacity of Youth also has an ep released earlier last year, entitled Fallout, which hinted at the sound that Wanczyk had been moving towards. His latest single shows much promise for Departed, which according to Wanczyk will be released towards the end of 2012. Listen to "God, Save The Queen" below.


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Album Review: Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory

Album Rating: A

Maturity is a very loosely interpreted term used in reference to music. What exactly makes a band mature? When reading criticism it is notable that maturity tends to be directly proportional to the somberness of the music. When The National released High Violet back in 2010 to shining reviews, writers threw the term 'maturity' a lot, solely because the music was significantly less upbeat than their previous efforts, almost as if the members themselves had grown up (despite most of them being in ther 40's). But when I think of a bands maturation, I think of them as finally finding their sound and defining who they are as musicians, which I think is how the term should be interpreted. In this sense, 20 year old Dylan Baldi's pop-punk outfit Cloud Nothings, hailing from nothing but a knack for catchy pop hooks and some lo-fi recording equipment and evolving into a dark, jam-prone emo powerhouse on their sophomore effort, Attack On Memory, has definitely matured in every sense of the term.