Premiere: Pleasure Gap's Ambitious, Ranging Scatter

Manchester, NH indie rock five Pleasure Gap returns next week with its third full-length, an eight-song set impressive in its ambition and range. The collection is called Scatter, the music it contains bucks simplistic categorization, and we are pleased to premiere the entire thing for you today via the embed below.

Scatter commences with the mournful epic "Therapist," which deliberately interlaces guitar and bass lines, cycles through thoughtful tempo and rhythm changes, and detours almost too briefly for an arresting, harmonic-spangled interlude. Indeed, the compelling bones of Scatter are its complex arrangements, which eschew standard verse-chorus-verse construction in favor of rambling forays. Here and elsewhere across the album, fronter Ryan Egan's high and lonesome vocals slide around his range, sometimes depositing mumbles a la Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, and at others delivering adenoidal expostulations after the fashion of Alec Ounsworth. The result is a record with notable range, as adept at delivering the garagey, Pavement-ings of "Merkle" (that's no typographical error referencing the German Chancellor, but rather the last name of Pleasure Gap bassist and co-founder Sean Merkle), as it is the vestigially metal, melodramatic "Dumpster Dreams." But the track that shines brightest on Scatter is the smoothed-out, mid-tempo ballad "Murder Me Gently," which bobs and weaves along to prominent slide guitar, swaying gently -- as one would expect -- in subdued, heartfelt choruses that take on increasing color in the final minute via multiplying layers of moving, melodic, low-octave guitar work.

Midnight Werewolf releases Scatter March 29 as the third and final monthly installment of the label's Triple Threat series of cassette releases; it is available for pre-order now in a limited edition of 100 light pink cassettes in hand-crafted, hand-numbered cases, which come bundled with stickers and pins. Scatter will also be available as a digital download. Pleasure Gap plays on a particularly hot bill next month at O'Brien's in Boston's Allston Rock City enclave, a benefit for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The show transpires April 23 and also features hitmakers of the day and Clicky Clicky faves Funeral Advantage, Burglary Years and Kitner; full event details are right here, and Pleasure Gap's complete slate of upcoming shows is listed below. Pleasure Gap's first long-player Tropical Barn was self-released in 2013 [link]; a sophomore set Cream Wave arrived last summer [link].

Pleasure Gap: Bandcamp | Facebook



03.23 -- Manchester, NH -- Fuzz Hut
04.15 -- Providence, RI -- AS220
04.17 -- Dover, NH-- Wrong Brain HQ
04.23 -- Boston, MA -- O'Brien's
05.06 -- Portland, ME -- Geno's
05.07 -- Winooski, VT -- Waking Windows
05.08 -- Albany, NY -- The Tree House
05.09 -- Brooklyn, NY-- Palisades
05.29 -- Manchester, NH-- Fuzz Hut

Premiere: The Colonnade's Pensive Troisième Moment

Boston has long fielded strong indie pop sides, but 2016 feels like a particularly good time for indie fans who prefer their rock guitars set to "jangle." What with the recent emergence of hitmakers Du Vide and Lady Pills -- not to mention the utter brilliance of last year's long-gestated Funeral Advantage full-length debut Body Is Dead -- it's readily cognizable that some of the city's best talent is bending classic indie pop stylings to their respective wills. With that as context, we're pleased to introduce the latest entry into the city's ongoing conversation with indie pop, dreamy quartet The Colonnade's artful and oft-thrilling debut LP Femme.

More specifically, we are pleased to premiere for you the final third of Femme. The Colonnade elected to unveil its set in thirds, or, in the parlance of the band, "moments." The set's final third is replete with instrumental overtures and cinematic vignettes, and is dubbed by the band, Frenchily, Troisième Moment. Despite containing just three concrete tracks, Troisième ably showcases the range of the group's moods and modi operandi. "Abroad" touts a trebly lead riff buoyed by thick, wall-of-sound guitars and a wily vocal hook that in places echoes defunct 'gazers The Depreciation Guild. The Colonnade's "Modern Taste" at first seems a conservative play over a crisp, ride cymbal-driven beat. However, around the three-minute mark the song files a new flight plan and miraculously swells into a full-band, emo-tinged shouter that eventually, wearily peters out. "Dormancy" presents a tidy conclusion: among lazily strummed acoustic guitars and some diaphanous, clean-toned lead guitar, fronter Sean Camargo tucks into a drowsy, bed-headed vocal, a metaphoric wearied crawl to the finish after scaling a near-insurmountable peak.

The Colonnade plays a WEMF-sponsored gig at PA's Lounge in Somerville, Mass. Feb. 4, but sources tell Clicky Clicky that the act also has a record release party planned for Feb. 12 somewhere in the depths of Allston. The event is said to include song-themed specialty cocktails and French New Wave film projections, which sounds like one hell of a party. We suggest eager punters consult a counterculture enthusiast about additional show details. In the meantime, you can acquire a digital download of Femme for the nice price of $3 USD right here. Stream Troisième Moment via the embed below. -- Dillon Riley

The Colonnade: Bandcamp | Facebook

Clicky Clicky Music's Top Albums of 2015: Jay Edition

Well, here we are at the end of a terrific year in music. Seriously -- not a lot of haters hatin' right now, are there? Not that we ever countenance such nonsense. Our annual refrain is that if you didn't hear any new music that knocked your socks off in a given year, that's on you (to paraphrase Mr. Lydon). 2016 doesn't look like it will disappoint, either. Below we name 10 albums from this year that we deem indispensable. But first a brief aside: one meaningful measure of just how excellent a year it was for music is to take stock of those records that fell just short of making our list. Ten acts whose terrific records and extended plays rated very high at Clicky Clicky HQ, but which ultimately didn't garner a slot, are All Dogs, Courtney Barnett, William Basinski, Beach Slang, Bedroom Eyes, Bully, Coaches, Palehound and BandFFs Speedy Ortiz, and Thin Lips. With that as context, our 10 favorites, the anointed ones, are listed and linked below. Before you dive in, we'd like to offer sincere thanks to you and all of our readers for whiling away the hours in our electronic pages this year. And special thanks to writers Edward Charlton and Dillon Riley, champions each, who help move Clicky Clicky forward year in and year out -- thanks doods. See you all in 2016.

1. Funeral Advantage -- Body Is Dead -- The Native Sound [buy]

We often return to Carrie Brownstein's quote in this 2011 interview, in which she says "'The reason [a given band is] not The Clash is not necessarily because they're not The Clash, but because I don't need them as much as I needed Joe Strummer in 1990.' The way you need and relate to music changes." And we bring that up now because one of the primary reasons we love Funeral Advantage's flawless debut long-player Body Is Dead is that it was exactly what we needed during a particularly stressful time. This is not to discount the understated beauty that permeates every song of the record; indeed, we applauded a number of the songs from Body Is Dead here and here as the summer days waned. Body Is Dead hits an aural sweet spot first charted by New Order and then idly circled by M83. The record has an internal consistency, terrific pacing, very appealing melodies, and significant emotional weight, all of which make it the kind of record you can listen to on repeat for hours on end. Which we did.



2. Infinity Girl -- Harm -- Topshelf Records [buy]

We lived with Harm for so long before it came out that (true story) we jokingly threatened one of the band members when we learned that the album running order we had grown accustomed to would not be the running order of the commercial release. Infinity Girl from its earliest days has consistently made the kind of music to which Clicky Clicky readily and strongly bonds, and Harm is no exception. This is evidenced in part by our selection of the banger "Dirty Sun" as our top song of 2015, but the fact is Harm is so much more than that song. Every tune pulls its weight, and as a set Harm highlights the increased influence on the band of both post-punk sounds and the stronger role of lead guitarist Kyle Oppenheimer as a songwriter. The record is darker and harder than prior efforts, something its title suggests, but it is also Infinity Girl's strongest collection song for song, which renders it indispensable. We're very excited to hear what the foursome does next.



3. Spectres -- Dying -- Sonic Cathedral [buy]

We came across an adjective at some point earlier this year and grew very excited, because 1) we are nerds and 2) we realized it fit into a single word a sentiment that we usually expended many more to describe. The word is "uncompromising," and while many of our favorite records could be described as such, among our favorite albums of 2015 the descriptor best suits Spectres' dark and dense triumph Dying. The record is rife with squalling, brawling guitars that scrape against the stereo field, and the band's wanton and hedonistic embrace of noise is refreshing. But as is characteristic of the key proponents of the approach -- and we're thinking of Sonic Youth here -- it is Spectres' deft control of same that makes its music so thrilling. Dying is tidy when it needs to be, and arty when it wants to be, but never strays so far from the music's psych-blues foundation as to lose focus. The sinister record's seething and brooding so very potent, the cacophony so euphoric, and all of the above makes Dying among the best records of 2015.



4. Krill -- A Distant Fist Unclenching -- Exploding In Sound [buy]

It's hard to write about this record without a sense of disappointment; not because the promise of Krill was unfulfilled, but because fronter Jonah Furman's inward exploration was among the most meaningful exercises in indie rock; how and whether it will continue still seems undetermined (although Mr. Furman has been playing solo shows in recent months). Instead of viewing it through the lens of the threesome's dissolution, it is fairer to consider A Distant Fist Unclenching a rock record, and in that context it is very easy to celebrate, as guitarist Aaron Ratoff's imaginative arrays of notes and incisive chordal assaults, Mr. Furman's elastic and curious bass playing and Ian Becker's drumming make the trio's ensemble playing incredibly exciting. And with such terrific songs with which to work out its weirdness, A Distant Fist Unclenching is both gratifying and unstoppable. Sure, that the band perceived no next logical step beyond this one is sad. But there is something thrilling in the band's willingness to walk away without diluting its power one iota. A Distant Fist Unclenching is the straight dope.



5. Fog Lake -- Victoria Park -- Orchid Tapes [buy]

Haunting and heartbroken, Fog Lake's wondrous Victoria Park feels like standing on the shore and watching helplessly as a ship inexorably sinks below the surface. The vivid yet nostalgic long-player is the handiwork of a one-man chamber-pop project helmed by St. John's, Newfoundland's Aaron Powell. Built up from somewhat androgynous vocals, sturdy piano chords, and sweeping drones that spread across the stereo field like plush carpet, the set is wistful and dreamy and endlessly listenable. And while Orchid Tapes had an incredible year (remember that Katie Dey record?), we'd be hard pressed to rate one of its other releases higher than Fog Lake's textural and engaging tour de force.



6. Stove -- Is Stupider -- Exploding In Sound [buy]

The music of Stove so closely resembles the music we came of age with (Dinosaur Jr., Lemonheads) that we are helpless not to love it. Not that it doesn't have its own arresting personality (by which we mean mastermind Steve Harlett's personality), but even Mr. Harlett's wry and dry wit echoes that of legendary losercore proponent Lou Barlow. Even so, ultimately it is the incredible songs that kept this album in heavy, heavy rotation as soon as Is Stupider was released: not the least of which is the yearning "Wet Food," which is about as perfect a song as any guitar band released in 2015. And maybe 2014, too. Is Stupider keeps on giving, all the way across its 40 minutes. Let it.



7. Hop Along -- Painted Shut -- Saddle Creek [buy]

Hop Along's titanic sophomore set is vivid and electric, filled with spiky guitar work that colors the jagged emotions pronounced by fronter Frances Quinlan, the most captivating singer in indie rock right now. On this record the band introduces as second guitarist former Algernon Cadwallader dude Joe Reinhart (whose label Hot Green issued the first Hop Along LP), and his playing applies crucial new dimensions to Ms. Quinlan and company's music. We turned on to the record later in the year than we should have, and the more we listen the more we believe it should rate even higher on our year-end list. Painted Shut is truly special, endlessly listenable, and a sure sign that Hop Along is making epochal music.



8. Dogs On Acid -- Dogs On Acid -- Jade Tree [buy]

As with Stove's LP mentioned supra, we are extraordinarily predisposed to like this record because of the big guitars and big melodies. It doesn't hurt that this band ALSO includes former members of the mighty Algernon Cadwallader, also mentioned above. Dogs On Acid is a guitar-pop record of the first order, just terrific songwriting that is gracious with the melodies but respectful of the listener's smarts. Big primary color melodies are painted over swinging rhythms and sparkling and imaginative guitar playing, and these conspire to take what at its base is pop-punk music and elevate it to an art form. Perhaps more than any of the other releases on our list, this record is just flat-out and universally enjoyable, the kind of thing you could put in the tape deck of your parents' car with little fear of repercussions. Maybe? Change your life.



9. Colleen -- Captain Of None -- Thrill Jockey [buy]

Otherworldly, thoughtful and textured, Captain Of None overflows with an optimistic belief in the transformative power of music. The set marries mastermind Cécile Schott's adherence to electroacoustics with her deep-rooted love for dub reggae. And while the pairing might seem like a stretch, there is nothing about the mysteriously beautiful Captain Of None that feels forced or anxious. Fluid looping, pensive vocals, and patient pacing make the set the most meditative of all of our year-end favorites. We were delighted to see a follow-up was initially coming along relatively quickly, and although Ms. Schott recently shared that she has had a difficult year that slowed her process on her planned new collection, its seems a new set will be along before too long. Even so, we've still got plenty of dreams to dream along to Captain Of None before we get antsy for new sounds. Highly recommended.



10. Swings -- Sugarwater -- Exploding In Sound [buy]

The marvelous and impressionistic slowcore of the D.C.-based unit Swings is terrifically appealing; it trades in impressively controlled dynamics, rhythms that fluidly flex and contract, and slippery, indeterminate vocals that provide a foil for both. The band's sophomore set Sugarwater feels especially confident, given the performers' relative youth. There is no casting about, no stylistic shots in the dark that indicate Swings yet questions its artful approach to subdued post-punk. The confidence also manifests in nifty production choices, like the autotune on the vocals on the standout preview track "Tiles," or the delicious shell resonance on the snare drum in "Blood On Seersucker," whose title belies the carefree moments provided in the tune's verses. It is not terribly often we encounter a band so young yet so smart, and Sugarwater is all the better because of Swings' fresh approach to songwriting.

Clicky Clicky Music's Top Songs of 2015: Jay Edition

2015 was surely an incredible year for music, with each week delivering exciting new sounds from all corners. Clicky Clicky devoted most of its electronic column inches to acts hailing from the U.S. (and particularly our hometown of Boston) and the U.K., but also featured acts from Australia, France and Portugal, and probably other places we're forgetting. This year, favorite songs were a little more difficult to select than over the past decade that we've been doing this, in part because of the vast amount of great things to choose from (how is there not a Beach Slang or Stove song on this list? Shit is competitive, yo...), and also because we spent a lot of time seeking out records that don't necessarily reveal themselves all at once, records that establish and maintain their own peculiar universe of meaning. Even so, it is most often the case that our favorites immediately rise to the top, and that's true of more than half of the songs below. Some of our favorite records were sleepers, and some songs they contained were more insidious in their efforts to dominate our consciousness and subconscious.

So while the Infinity Girl track below was immediately addicting and we've listened to it scores of times, the Colleen track and others like it snuck up on us, suddenly and surprisingly dropping into our brain out of our mouth during a quiet dog walk or long commutes in the car. No matter how they got there, all 10 songs listed below are a part of us now, and we'll always associate them with 2015. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Keep an eye open for our year-end albums list, which will be along sometime in the run-up to Christmas, but in the meantime we invite you to rock out to Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Top Songs of 2015: Jay Edition, either a la carte via the individual embeds below, or via this both handy and dandy Sporkify playlist (which sadly but necessarily omits the cracking Hard Left track, which is presently unavailable via the service). We salute the bands below, and we thank you, dear reader, for passing the year with us. There's a lot coming up from Clicky Clicky in 2016, so remain vigilant.

1. Infinity Girl -- "Dirty Sun" -- Harm [buy]

"Dirty Sun" emerges from noise and feedback and then swells into shape on the back of Mitch Stewart's driving bass melody, which is truly the secret sauce of this, Infinity Girl's most potent pop moment since the towering "Please Forget" that featured on the band's 2012 debut Stop Being On My Side. "Dirty Sun" is even more vibrant, its crackling pace providing an irresistible pull that never betrays the listener. The Brooklyn foursome's characteristically colossal guitars and fronter Nolan Eley's cool vocal acquit themselves wonderfully, and it is the latter that supplies the strongest, if most understated, hook. Mr. Eley's narrative of a love going off the rails effectively captures the teetering feeling where romance goes from intoxicating to irreparable. That the band can make it all sound so arresting is a testament to the pop smarts that help make Infinity Girl one of today's most exciting indie acts.

"...you said you were OK, but I don't buy it, you used to get excited..."



2. Funeral Advantage -- "Gardensong" -- Body Is Dead [buy]

It's soothing and fantastic, and appointed with glistening guitars. It's dense but light, basks in airy reverbs and touts curiously affecting robot-voiced verses. It's "Gardensong," and it stands out like a crown jewel even on one of the year's standout records, the Boston dream-pop heroes' debut long-player. Fronter Tyler Kershaw's vocals are heavily veiled within the song's dreamy, trance-like state, but enough of them bob above the steady waves of crystalline, delayed guitars and the surprisingly crispy beat to indicate affairs of the heart are at issue. A glance at the lyrics reveals lovers at an impasse, a place where the thing that they both want is not the right thing. The still sweetness of that resignation is nearly as fetching as the song's melody, which is gently arrayed along layered guitars and bass whose sounds seem to stretch to a sunny horizon, despite Mr. Kershaw's downcast lyrics.

"...so if you’re not there then I'm not there / so just close your eyes..."



3. Dogs On Acid -- "Let The Bombs Fall Off" -- Dogs On Acid [buy]

Love can bring you down, but "Let The Bombs Off" feels like a celebration, despite the desperate times conveyed in its lyrics. Perhaps we can attribute that to the singular imaginary Philadelphia that exists in our head and heart; collectively, the city's indie rockers seem to have historically colored their lovelorn sentiments with a certain determination to live on -- it's just part and parcel of the city's DNA. Indeed, on "Let The Bombs Fall Off" Dogs On Acid fronter Peter Helmis (ex-Algernon Cadwalader) sings of wishing he was a widow ("'cause then I'd know that you're not coming back") and crashing his dream car ("just to see you shake"), but with a delivery that is more determined that dour. The song's chugging rhythm, deliciously chunky bass and bright guitar work don't take a backseat to the vocals, however. The splashes of bending guitar in the chorus recall the heyday of the absolutely brilliant Meneguar, but truly every second of the tune is paved gutter-to-gutter with hooks.

"...blowing up my whole vicinity / I'm learning to stop worrying..."



4. Fog Lake -- "Dog Years" -- Victoria Park [buy]

This song is absolutely devastating, and in our estimation is the most devastating song of 2015. "Dog Years" is a bottomlessly poignant chamber-pop ballad from Canadian outfit Fog Lake; its whispered vocals carry a patina of menace limned by droning strings that unspool across a bed of watery piano chords. The narrator sings from a place of desolation, but the song's understated but haunting melody hints at the possibility of salvation, especially as a curtain of angelic keys swallows the song. Whether or not deliverance is ever achieved is as much as mystery as how it could have been achieved, but the understated melodrama of "Dog Years" is nonetheless perfect, and makes for a terrifically affecting piece of work.

"...haven't you heard / I know everything / I've heard angels calling me..."



5. Swings -- "Tiles" -- Sugarwater [buy]

At its best the curious music of Swings presents terrifically appealing shards of forgotten dreams, and "Tiles" is certainly the D.C. trio at its best. The song feels extracted from fleeting waking moments, when your subconscious rapidly falls away just as it reveals some deeper truth with its fading mirror. At least, that's as good an explanation as any for what is going on here, as fronter Jamie Finucane's elastic vocals are notoriously unparsible, much in the way Elizabeth Fraser's were in the front end of the Cocteau Twins catalogue. The skeletal pulse of "Tiles"'s arrangement and its cycling, ascending, straightforward melody erected from bass and guitar quarter notes set a sturdy table for Mr. Finucane's lyrics, which almost wink as they don apparent (if not actual) vocoder, change shape as vampire does to bat, and flitter off into a mysterious firmament that is distinctly the band's own.

"...one hundred percentaaaaaa WHAT THE FUCK IS HE SINGING I DON'T EVEN KNOW..."



6. Hard Left -- "Kicking It Off" -- We Are Hard Left [buy]

As social challenges have mounted during this century, it has been persistently disappointing that indie rock has not responded in kind with calls to arms, with ideas, with possible leadership toward meaningful joint solutions. You might be asking, well, why should they? To which Clicky Clicky says, why shouldn't they? Instead, macro political issues were largely ignored -- and we are not the better for it. It's an idea we discussed with comrades Mike and Tim from Hard Left here last spring, around the time of the release of the Oakland-based quartet's cracking full-length debut. Album highlight "Kicking It Off" is both exhortation and affirmation, a vow to act, and we're hopeful that it can be a model to the wider independent music community, that eventually the song will be perceived as the tip of the spear. Hard Left here delivers an uplifting, energizing banger descended straight from the day of Joe Strummer and The Clash, big fuzzy guitars, vocals that testify, beats that bang. Heed the call. Start today.

"...making do with what we didn't choose..."



7. All Dogs -- "Flowers" -- Kicking Every Day [buy]

There is magic in big guitars and steady harmonies and yearning sentiments: it's an age-old recipe, to be sure, but one that still can yield spine-tingling results when applied by skilled songwriters and performers. Columbus, Ohio four All Dogs certainly capture the lightning in the bottle here with "Flowers," although it is difficult to pick just one track from the band's terrific long-playing debut Kicking Every Day. Here the band seems to strongly channel classic Superchunk, but it is fronter Maryn Jones' charming, poignant vocal that is impossible to ignore. At fewer than 140 seconds in length, this song perhaps more than any other on our list likely keeps fans' fingers poised just above the play button and ready for another go, as 5, 10 and 20 listens just isn't enough. Gold.

"...our bodies are longing for things you don't know..."



8. Colleen -- "This Hammer Breaks" -- Captain Of None [buy]

Hand percussion like heavy steady rain (perhaps struck off her favored instrument, the viola de gamba), and quietly chanted vocals that layer and diffract, render Colleen's "This Hammer Breaks" eery and enchanting, much like the rest of her excellent 2015 set Captain Of None. The record explored mastermind Cécile Schott's love of dub reggae music, which is reflected her in the delays and reverbs that push and pull on the percussion and vocals here. The second half of the composition dives deeply into a polyrhythm and cleverly leverages production elements to render something mysterious and maximal from relatively minimal instrumentation. Squeaky, spacey tones overtake the songs and pulse through the final minute of "This Hammer Breaks," and it seems as if the entire composition is sucked down a drain at its close, adding to and not detracting from a truly mesmerizing listen.

"...you never know what's in the heart..."



9. Krill -- "Phantom" -- A Distant Fist Unclenching [buy]

It turns out Krill in one very real sense is not forever. And we had a hard time choosing just which tune from its 2015 swan song represented the whole of the band for Clicky Clicky. A strong argument could be made that "It Ends" hosts a multiplicity of meanings that make it a strong proxy for the set. But Krill has always been about the investigation, and so ultimately we chose the song that opens, rather than closes, A Distant Fist Unclenching as one of our favorite songs of the year. The song's rocking middle third, with bashing percussion and fronter Jonah Furman's exercised vocal, is especially engaging, but it is the song's understated coda -- and Mr. Furman's incisive questions that plumb the parameters of one's internal and external lives -- that is startlingly thrilling in its bare truth.

"...what is the proper orientation of the world to me? and does it have to be to me..."



10. Spectres -- "Blood In The Cups" -- Dying [buy]

Albums this purposefully dark can feel campy, but there is no wink and nod to be found on Spectres' stunning full-length Dying (winks and nods seem reserved for the band's videos and social media posts, which are regularly deliciously funny and irreverent). While still boasting the Bristol, England-based foursome's characteristic, Sonic Youth-indebted aural assault, "Blood In The Cups" is among the set's most melodic compositions, and its balance of beauty and firepower is terrifically compelling. Spectres' greatest skill is conjuring visceral moodscapes with its music, and "Blood In The Cups" exemplifies this, stretching anxiously but languorously across almost eight minutes with a psych-blues derived sound that recalls LA's The Warlocks. With its pulsing bass, spectral vocals, and maelstroms of guitar, "Blood In The Cups" presents a perfect storm, while highlighting Spectres' terrific vision and control.

"...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

Today's Hotness: Funeral Advantage, Her Magic Wand, Break Up Flowers

>> We've persistently loved our idea of what M83 could be more than we actually loved M83 itself. The France-spawned but now LA-based project helmed by Anthony Gonzalez edged close to some sort of New Order-ish ideal (of an electropop band that irresistibly incorporated guitars into a dreamy sound) with its 2008 breakthrough Saturdays = Youth, and particularly its arresting single "Graveyard Girl." But Gonzalez had and has his own desires and agenda, and while these led him to great success with his succeeding albums, they never quite intersected with what we wanted the band to be. This continually crossed our mind in recent weeks as we listened obsessively to the flawless debut long-player from Boston dream-pop gigantes Funeral Advantage. The 10-song set Body Is Dead would seem to take "Graveyard Girl" as a stylistic jumping-off point to a certain extent, and the results are perfection. We discussed two preview singles, "Sisters" and "Gardensong," here in July. But the entire record is replete with dramatic and melancholy dream-pop the likes of which aptly soundtracked certain of our John Hughes-accompanied youths. Body Is Dead opens with the sparkling, perhaps Bloc Party-inspired "Equine," which whispers its secrets into delays and reverbs while a crisp beat propels the proceedings. "Should Have Just" similarly murmurs sweet nothings a la Mr. Okereke, but the tune is spangled by steady tambourine and clean, mesopheric guitar leads. The 10-minute-plus title track warrants special notice because it takes the rhythmic and melodic elements of the rest of the record -- not to mention the serene romance -- to a logical compositional terminus, successfully applying same to create a protracted, steadily spiraling composition of pop ambience worthy of the Kompakt series (someone please commission Axel Wilner for a 20-minute remix of same). Body Is Dead will rate high in our annual year-end list of best albums. The collection is available now on LP and as a digital download from The Native Sound here, and in a limited edition of 100 cassettes from Disposable America right here. Stream the entire, stellar collection via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> When we last wrote about Parisian dream-pop project Her Magic Wand here in these electronic pages in late 2014, the act had just issued "Everything At Once," a single from a planned LP. And while that LP has not yet materialized, the act is set to release later this month its Blossom EP. The short set leads with "Everything At Once," but perhaps more notably the A-side also features a remix of same executed by Grandaddy's Jason Lytle. Somewhat coincidentally, just hours after receiving an email about Blossom from Her Magic Wand mastermind Charles Braud, the Grandaddy reunion was announced; timing! Mr. Lytle's thoughtful and balanced deconstruction of the tune layers in a thin harmony vocal, a recognizable proclivity from the ol' Grandaddy tool set, and elsewhere erects tall walls of dense guitars in the mix. The final minute of the remix swells and burbles with electronic tones, elegantly interrupting the lock-step 4/4 of the original version to create something more nuanced and expansive. The b-side to Blossom features two tunes, "Draw A Line" and "Love Letters," and the entire collection will be released via Darla on 10" vinyl and as a digital download Sept. 18 in the USA (the EP will also be released in Japan and Europe via two other labels). Mr. Braud tells us a full-length is still in the offing, and will arrive Jan. 29. In the meantime, listen to both versions of "Everything At Once" via the Soundcloud embed below, and click here to purchase the collection from Darla.



>> While many in Portland hipster circles continue to champion slick "PBR&B" [Oh my god is that a thing. -- Ed.] acts and clean-cut rock outfits, the city’s DIY scene flourishes unabated in the underground. There a wealth of inventive and expressive guitar pop bands are peaking, achieving a fever-pitch of output, and drawing deserved attention within and without the scene. And there near the fore is the trio Break Up Flowers, whose seven-song, limited-edition cassette Man Made Path streeted Aug. 11 via Brooklyn's strong Mirror Universe Tapes. The matter-of-fact jam "Take Hints" was the preview single from the collection; its spare, gritty guitar and bass lines grind against a steady, tom-heavy beat as fronter Beth Wooten's calm vocals coolly warn "just give me my two cents, just take my some of my hints." Ms. Wooten's singing recalls that marking '90s greats such as Tsunami and the many projects of Mary Timony, as well as modern practitioners such as the mighty Speedy Ortiz – groups literate and thoughtful with a subtle temper and aggression that provide ready inspiration for young women rockers (and, at least in the instant case, by design: Ms. Wooten also heads Portland’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp For Girls). Further, Mac Pogue's laissez-faire production work situates listeners in the cassette's earspace like the best of the no-nonsense, realist gurus including Steve Albini. The result? Not only a promising debut from the kind of band we'd like to see more of, but also a hopeful sign of things to come as the reach of the underground extends toward the overground. Man Made Path is available from Mirror Universe now, and you can stream "Take Hints" via the embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: Benjamin Shaw, Funeral Advantage

>> Benjamin Shaw is a favorite of this blog, and longtime readers will recall that the Londoner's music can be dark and challenging, as well as stunningly beautiful. Mr. Shaw's latest release, his fifth long-player by one count, is amusingly titled Guppy, a name that suggests something cute and inconsequential, adjectives that reasonable minds will never apply to Shaw's music. Guppy presents a series of contemplative, textural compositions and recalls his two most experimental releases, 2010's sinister wonder Rumfucker and 2013's increasingly abstract Summer In The Box Room [review]. The set opens with the gloomy, doomy dirge "Pride Of Canada," a side-long wink at Shaw's Canadian roots; the feedback and throbbing parts momentarily for a couplet from Shaw, resumes, then recedes for more sly lyrics and an unsteady denouement. "Good Arrows" patiently thrums a bass line out into eternity -- through occasional clouds of spectral voices and implied, supporting chords -- and echoes the work of classic Louisville post-rockers The For Carnation. Despite Guppy's ominous opening, there are moments of uncharacteristic serenity (the first in the catalogue to our memory) in the poignant, affecting "Fishing With Dad (No Dad)." The number asserts itself mildly via impulses of piano, pizzicato strings and streaks of field recordings that conjure reveries of a long-gone dawn in a perhaps never-was great outdoors. The collection ends very strongly with the beautiful, almost benevolent droner "Not Today, Satan," whose persistent density makes for a neat bookend to a fairly magical record. Tokyo-based microlabel Kirigirisu released Guppy July 13 in a limited edition of 72 compact discs and as a digital download; the CDs are hand-numbered, packaged in a paper sleeve, and come with two stickers, which we recall is the standard deal with Kirigirisu releases. Purchase Guppy in either format right here, and stream the entire collection via the Bandcamp embed below. We feel compelled to remind readers that Shaw's There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet, released by Audio Antihero, was our third favorite record of 2011 [list]. Also worthy of note in these electronic pages is another Kirigirisu release issued July 13, Nathan Derr's Abscessant. Mr. Derr hails from Portland, Ore., home of our beloved Lubec among, of course, many others, and his new collection of nine ambient compositions is perfect for late night zones or leisurely days at the library. Abscessent is available in a limited edition of 50 CDs and you can stream the entire set via the second embed below.





>> If you don't yet know the name Funeral Advantage, and you are a reader of this blog, well, that's pretty weird. But -- to the extent they exist now that the band has been championed in the normo-o-sphere -- the young band's days of relative anonymity are numbered and grow short, as the dazzling debut long-player Body Is Dead from the dream-pop act masterminded by Tyler Kershaw is poised to break big this summer. The collection is heralded by two terrifically appealing preview tracks, "Sisters" and "Gardensong." The former is a forthright and uptempo pop gem with whispered vocals and gently stuttering guitars in the verse that blends youth and longing right there with the lightning in the proverbial bottle; its timeless chorus breathes over linear guitar leads and burbling synths, and really could go on forever with nary a complaint from the Clicky Clicky mindhive. Despite its (Cure-esque) title, "Gardensong" is less precious, but no less affecting. The dashing tune is led by bright guitars and a sturdy drum track into a palpable mist of clean reverbs. Both numbers are undeniable hits, and at the moment there is no record we are more exited to hear this year. Body Is Dead was performed, written and recorded by Mr. Kershaw, and features additional vocals from Chelsea Figuerido. The 10-song set -- which takes its name from its 10-minute-long closer -- will be released on 12" vinyl, cassette and as a digital download Aug. 28. The vinyl will be available in a limited edition of 300 pieces (200 pressed to black media, 100 pressed to "dirt maroon") from the New York-based label Native Sound; a domestic cassette release (limited to 100 pieces, 80 "red glare" and 20 "darcia?") is being handled by Boston's own Disposable America, and a cassette version will also be available in Japan via Miles Apart. Funeral Advantage previously released a number of EPs and split singles with Caténine and Former Ghost, and completists will be pleased to learn that The Native Sound has packaged all of this up into special "Starter Packs" that can be ordered in tandem with Body Is Dead right here. For those who want to try before they buy, there is a fair amount to listen to at the act's Soundcloud page right here. Stream "Sisters" and "Gardensong" via the embeds below. Watch a fairly devastating video directed by Wooden Grain Films for "Sisters" from the new record right here.