oh, we’re all so new to it

I don’t know what it is about all these sun-drenched bands lately (Tennis, Seapony, etc.), but I’m loving them. Beach Fossils is no exception with their waves-ready EP What a Pleasure. Maybe it’s because I’m in Wisconsin and there is snow in the forecast despite it being the end of March and albums like this remind me that things like sunshine and warm breezes and water in its liquid phase exist.

Cascading drum fills and dreamy guitars on “Moments” entice me to wade in, and by the end of “What a Pleasure” I’ve been pulled under. Top down, wind in my hair, and Wayfarers, please – sooner rather than later.

Wild Nothing‘s Jack Tatum lends himself to “Out In the Way”, and the entire album has a touch of 80s-by-way-of-Less Than Zero sadness about it. It’s part of what makes What a Pleasure so appealing to my Midwestern heart – emotional stoicism and long gray days will forever keep me with one foot rooted, never quite able to skip off into the carefree sunset that most beach records conjure up. Beach Fossils, though, I can fully get behind. I’ll do it again. I’ll fall right in.

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What a Pleasure dropped 03.08.11.
Click to download “Calyer“.

it’s true i don’t talk too much

On October 8th, 2010, Wild Nothing opened for Stars at the Barrymore Theater in Madison, Wisconsin. Not allowing themselves to get swallowed by the massive stage, Wild Nothing filled the room with an sound bigger than their slight, hunched frames belied. While the recorded material is relaxed and expansive, the addition of three musicians to Jack Tatum’s one-man band generates a live energy that tape and microphones just can’t capture. Tatum’s sweetly-toned vocals hovered over songs that should have been written by a California native instead of a Virginian. Despite evoking thoughts of the Sunshine State, the songs all had a smooth, sad quality, similar to the feeling of riding the bus alone on a rainy day or watching the sun fail to break through the clouds after a storm. Don’t be fooled though: Wild Nothing’s performance will leave listeners anything but empty. Satisfying and leaving an afterglow, theirs is a set to catch.

Click the photo below to see more shots from the night.

august mp3 roundup

Here are the mp3s we posted via Twitter for the month of August.

Deer Tick – Piece By Piece, Frame by Frame
Dominant Legs – About My Girls
Lazertag – Buildings of a Former Century
Lazertag – Bring Us Back to Life
Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger! – Whispers
Filligar – Gray Area
Light Pollution – Magic Kingdoms Kick My Teeth In
Wild Nothing – Golden Haze
Cloud Nothings – Hey Cool Kid
Avi Buffalo – What’s It In For?
Blitzen Trapper – Dragon’s Song
Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore – Dear Companion
Jaill – The Stroller
Male Bonding – Year’s Not Long
Kelley Stoltz – I Don’t Get That
Superchunk – Skip Steps 1 & 3
Ducktails – Hamilton Road
Woods – I Was Gone
Dominant Legs – Clawing Out at the Walls
Lower Dens – Hospice Gates
Lower Dens – Tealights
Screaming Females – I Don’t Mind It
Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms (Apache Beat Remix)
Paleo – World’s Smallest Violin
Wavves – Post Acid
Woven Bones – I’ve Gotta Get