Vol. 5 Episode 44

You can now remix the OK Go track called I Won't Let You Down from their new album Hungry Ghosts over on Blend. You do have to have an account and software to handle the stems. There is freeware out there if you really want to mess with the music.

Weird Al Yankovic has a cute cut up interview with prince from the 80s. Check it out, it is very funny.

Jonsi has updated his Spotify play list with new songs if your interested in that.

OK Go's lead singer, Damian, has a track by track commentary if your interested in that as well over at PureVolume.

Here we go with another singles post...

We Are Scientists/Surfer Blood – Tour Split 7”

This is a 7” that will be sold only on the tour that is happening right now. It is on clear vinyl and comes with a download code. The record also comes with a tour poster. The two songs that are on the single are both new/have never been released prior to this release. I picked this up when the tour came through St Paul MN. You can read about my experience at the concert in Vol. 5 Episode 43.5.

The A side is from We Are Scientists. The song is called Distillery. I don’t have much history with WAS. I knew just the few songs that The Current played and those tracks didn’t really impact me and I have never taken time to get into them. I did take some time to watch some videos that they had put out on YouTube after the concert. They still don’t interest me enough to pick up some music from them. That being said, the song on this record is really good. It is slow but the bass lead track is heavy and mellow. The bass has slight muddy distortion that reminds me of a warm rain. The guitar is only on the chorus and is kind of playful like jumping in puddles in that warm rain. The vocals are comforting even if they are talking about being far away. I like this track it doesn’t seem to be anything like their popular singles though.

The B side is from Surfer Blood. This song is called NW Passage. The song sounds like it was recorded on a 4-track recorder. I can look past this as this is a group that I really like so they get a sort of free pass on things like that. This song is good but isn’t as catchy as some of their other singles. There just isn’t that something that grabs me and pulls me into the song. It is good and I am glad to have it in my collection of Surfer Blood music but it isn’t that song that stands above the rest.

Week Of Wonders – Piggybacks

This is a single released in mid February of 2013. I got this as a freebie from Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records with my order of the Trust Fund/Joanna Gruesome split EP. I hadn’t heard anything from them before this record. They kind of remind me of Surfer Blood vocally but musically remind me of Vampire Weekend. It is a great combination of styles I think.

The A side track is called Piggybacks. The bass has a fun stutter walk with this song. It is also clean sounding. This is kind of refreshing with the popularity of using pedals on the bass guitar. The electric guitar is also clean sounding, maybe some reverb to give it some bounce. The vocals use some super bouncy reverb though. It seems to work incredibly well on this track though.

The B side is called The End of The Day. It is a slower track only by a few BPM from the A side. It is a good B side track because it is only just a bit slower than the A side. I really like the arpeggios played on the guitar with this track. I am not sure that I like the bouncy reverb on the vocals as much with this track but it is still good.

This is surprisingly one of my favorite singles that I have received for free. I am actually going to get their EP based on this single.

June Brides – She Seems Quite Free

This is a new three track single from June Brides. It was released through Slumberland Records and Occulation Recordings on the first of September. It is supposed to have come with a full color insert and a badge. My copy did not come with a badge. I am not actually disappointed about this though. I would rather have the music anyway. This is another unexpected release from The June Brides. Maybe we will see a full album in the future?

The first song is called Being There. This song is sung by Phil Wilson. The song is fast and jangly, pulling from their past and making the music current. I am still not a big fan of the muted horn in the music but it at least seams to work well in the songs here. The walking bass lines are fun and the jangly guitar playing brings me back to the late 80s/early 90s R.E.M sounds. I like this track a lot.

The second track is the title track, She Seems Quite Free. This track is also very quick paced and uses that muted horn but sparingly. There is an odd static thing that happens in the dead spots. This seems to only be in the chorus though. I am not sure if it is there on purpose or not though. It is slightly annoying for me because I end up listening for it and not listening to the song. I like the song with the exception of that one distraction.

The last track is called I’m Undone and is sung by guitarist Simon Beesley. This is a good driving song. Not driving a car song but there seems to be a driving force behind the music or the music is a driving force. It is another fast paced song that is very fun. The problem that I have with the song is that the vocalist seems to be flat through 50% of the song. I don’t really want to hear the song very much because of this even if the music is good.

If you need some jangle in your life then get this record. If you want some different jangle than you are use to this is your 7” record.

Joanna Gruesome/Trust Fund – Split EP

This is a split EP between these two bands. The EP has no actual title. It was released on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records at the end of September 2014. I had no idea what to expect from Trust Fund as I had never heard anything from them before but bought the EP based on my interest in Joanna Gruesome. I am happy to get anything from them really. I am still waiting for Slumberland Records to release the split single from Joanna Gruesome and Perfect Pussy. This EP has three songs from each group. I thought it was interesting that the A side of the record has Trust Fund but the download has the Janna Gruesome tracks first.

The first track from Trust Fund is called Reading TheWrappers. It kind of reminds me of the late 90s alternative music with the lead singer of Passion Pit singing the vocals. Not only that but there is also a female vocalist that adds to the picture. I really like this feel. This song starts off with some clean guitars and then half way through the guitars get all dirty with distortion. It is super fun and hits on the good points of that late 90s sound.

The second track is called Scared. This one starts off with bass and vocals. The guitar is distorted but played mainly in the higher registers to match the vocals. The bass is super fun but very simple and the guitar is used mainly after the vocal lines and is cool and complex. The chorus sees the guitar in a lower register and heavily distorted. It is awesome and easy to bop along to.

The last song from Trust Fund is called No Pressure. It is a slower song that makes me think of songs from the 50s but with a modern twist because of the vocals. They talk about today rather than the things from the 50s if that makes any sense at all. I guess they couldn’t do three fast songs. That would be to much to expect.

The first song from Joanna Gruesome is called Jerome (Liar). I get the feeling that they are honing their craft with this track. They are singing lyrics in a controlled fashon and don’t do much screaming with the exception of a few words after the chorus. This is the best fast paced song that I have heard them create to date. They just keep getting better and better.

The second track is called Satan (Desire Edition). This is a slower track and I like it. There is no screaming on the track but there is some distortion on the vocals at the high point in the song. This song is slowly picked and almost brings some emotion out from me. It is sweet, slow and moving.

The last track is called Coffee Implosion. It is another slower song but this one has some moderate screaming but still limited. The track also employees an organ sound through the chorus. This isn’t unheard of but is somewhat rare for the group. This is a moderate rocker that is just a good jam.

I will be looking into what else Trust Fund have released. I am also excited for that Joanna Gruesome/Perfect Pussy split still yet to be released. Come on Slumberland, what’s the hold up?

That is all for now...