Boston Indie Pop Favorites This Car Up Back In Service For One Night Only, Saturday Aug. 13 at Great Scott

We first began hearing about a potential This Car Up reunion show about 20 months ago, and we can exclusively reveal today that at long last it will happen, just in time -- more or less -- to mark the MySpace-era hitmakers' 10th anniversary. Believe that headline: This Car Up performs for the first time in five years at Great Scott in Allston Rock City Aug. 13, with support from Sinnet and Pale Hands. Mark it down.

Since disbanding in 2009, members of This Car Up scattered, launching or weaving themselves into a number of Boston and Brooklyn-based projects including Mean Creek, Slowdim, The Hush Now and Stereo Telescope, among others. There was a one-off reunion at Deep Heaven Now in 2011, which elicited raves from a very lucky crowd. The quintet's sole release, 2008's terrifically tuneful Smile When You're Alone, was recorded with Aloha's T.J. Lipple at the legendary Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia [watch the rockumentary]. The set garnered a Japanese distribution deal with Moorworks and the band did a respectable amount of touring, but the resulting acclaim, frankly, was not commensurate with the excellent music the album contained. Songs like "Dislocate," "Tarzan vs. Graham Chapman" and "Expect Them To Lie" are immediate and irresistible, with massive hooks tastefully downplayed among chiming guitars, blocky synth lines and urgent drumming. The tunefulness suggests an affinity for Built To Spill among many others, but folks familiar with TCU co-fronter and friend-of-the-blog Paul Sentz -- who these days leads Slowdim -- know that the man carries around in his head an encyclopedic knowledge of '80s and '90s radio hits, which he draws upon with such facility that his songs can feel like they are singing your life. Or at least that is one man's opinion.

If there's a silver lining to the This Car Up story, it is that Mr. Sentz and This Car Up co-fronter Eric Glassman contemplate working together again, although sadly it will not be in Boston. Mr. Glassman has lived in Charlottesville, Virginia for a number of years (certain readers may recall the delightful town was the first post-graduate pit stop for this blog's executive editor), and Mr. Sentz is considering relocating there as well. Sentz had previously reunited with TCU bassist Kevin MacDonald for a time in Mikey Holland's power-pop project The Dazies, and keyboard player Kurt Schneider currently holds down the bass for that act and has also found acclaim as part of Stereo Telescope. For his part, TCU drummer Barry Marino logged a lot of years with Clicky Clicky faves The Hush Now (and now plays with Brooklyn rock act Wet Leather).So while This Car Up has been gone for a while, it isn't far from the minds of many. We're eager for the show Aug. 13, so come say goodbye and hello and goodbye to some of the nicest guys to have graced the Boston scene. It will rock. In the meantime, we invite you to click play on Smile When You're Alone, which is embedded below.

This Car Up: Bandcamp | Facebook



Related Coverage:
Playlist: Great Scott, Boston, Jan. 27 | Giveaway

Guillermo Sexo, Slowdim, Lindsey Starr and Confessions | Great Scott | 15 Jan.

Just look at this bill. Just look at it. We'll give you a minute.

This is what an average Wednesday night in Boston looks like (or, more to the point, sounds like) these days, folks. But just because the scene is vibrant and strong and delivers hot bills like this with heartbeat regularity (to whit, Thursday's show with Earthquake Party and the re-Modaked Infinity Girl and Chandeliers, and let's not even start talking about next week yet, hot damn) doesn't mean we shouldn't heed the call of the rock and roll music tomorrow. Particularly what with Clicky Clicky faves Guillermo Sexo and Slowdim appearing on the same bill -- indeed, it may be an unprecedented pairing (we'll have our imaginary intern run that down. ARVIN!). Both acts featured on our lists of 2013 superlatives (!, !). The social media scuttlebutt is that Slowdim may premiere a new song, and given the furious pace with which Guillermo Sexo's Reuben Bettsak writes songs (more about that next week), we can only imagine that combo will also have something new up its proverbial sleeve.

What of the balance of the bill? It's been months since electropop duo Confessions unveiled its debut EP on Vanya Records, which we wrote about here, so we'll be interested to hear whether they've got something new in store as well. Lindsey Starr is a relatively unknown quantity to us here at Clicky Clicky HQ, but there are ample rock sounds present in this digital single released in early 2013, and folks will recognize certain names among her cohort, including former Protokoll bandmates Danny O'Neil (bass, now of Young Adults) and Ben Greenspan (guitar, engineer for hot rock bands like Young Adults). Whatever Great Scott is charging Wednesday is likely a BAH-GIN. We just checked -- 8 bucks! -- it is, indeed. In short, going to this show is like paying yourself a salary of rock music. All the details are at this Facebook event page right here. Whilst you sit back and reflect upon the good fortune that brought you to this bright moment in your life, why not stream some songs via the embeds below?

Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Top Albums Of 2013: Jay Edition

More so than in any of the 13 years in which we've devoted too much time to writing about music, it feels silly to pick the best of it for 2013. So much of what we heard this year was wonderful, and the year certainly exceeded our expectations. This despite our fervently held belief that there is *always*, every year, an abundance of excellent music waiting to be discovered; the trick is finding it. Which is kind of why this blog is here. And while we struggled with tough decisions that excluded deserving acts including Fat History Month, Heyward Howkins, It Hugs Back and Bent Shapes from the final top 10, well, dammit, rules are rules. We're going to have one more year-end list coming by the end of the week, top albums selections from our indefatigable Staff Writer Dillon Riley. Before we let you get to Executive Editor Jay's picks below, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading Clicky Clicky Music Blog. We try to do things a bit differently here, by offering more insight and analysis, more background and context. We hope the quality of the product makes reading about music here something you value. And another quick thanks for everyone, both bands and fans, who supported the Lilys comp And I Forgot A Long Time Ago How You Feel, as well as the Community Servings benefit show we presented last month. Music is important; we believe that with every fiber of our being. It matters. Below is a list of the albums that, in Jay's estimation, mattered the most in 2013.

1. Speedy Ortiz -- Major Arcana -- Carpark Records

While success outside the four corners of the record sleeve isn't something our year-end lists take into consideration, it's hard to draw any conclusions other than 2013 was owned by Speedy Ortiz, one of the hardest-working rock bands in the rock music-making business. Within the four corners of the record, it is easy to hear why: Speedy Ortiz makes the sophisticated sort of guitar music we want to listen to a lot. Indeed, Major Arcana, with its full-frontal guitars, churning rhythm section and engaging articulations of frustration and decathection, is immediate and gratifying. To paraphrase a singer from a different band discussed below, there ain't a stinker on it. We reviewed Major Arcana for Vanyaland right here in July; buy it from Carpark Records here.





2. Krill -- Lucky Leaves -- Self-Released

"Just go ahead, climb into my head," is what Lucky Leaves seems to say, leaning down and tipping its comically over-sized cranium toward you, snapping the clamps behind the ears upwards and open, and lifting off the top. "It's kinda weird in here," it goes on, although it is kind of hard to tell whether the record is talking to you or itself when it says that. "Never mind the other dude in there, he's harmless. He's actually got a pretty good band, you should check them out... though he said something about them breaking up? Half the time I don't know what he's on about." We reviewed Lucky Leaves here in June; buy it here (and tick-tock: we're given to understand there are fewer than 40 copies of the first vinyl pressing left for sale).



3. Veronica Falls -- Waiting For Something To Happen -- Slumberland

This was our go-to record for the first half of 2013, and we continue to put it on often. Eminently listenable British guitar pop. The songwriting on the album is so strong that the album feels like a singles compilation. What's more, Waiting For Something To Happen features one of the very best songs of the year, the wistful ode to young love "Teenager." The nagging question of seeing this record at number three on the list is whether that placement, ultimately, can be traced to the enjoyment we got seeing or otherwise interacting with the members of the bands mentioned above. Whatever the reason, the aggregate play counts across ITunes, etc., don't lie. This record is so good even Clicky Clicky Mom liked it when it was played during her visits to HQ; a fairly rare feat, this liking (it was accomplished previously by two admittedly amazing records, Okay Paddy's The Cactus Has A Point -- link -- and Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga). Buy Waiting For Something To Happen from Slumberland right here.





4. My Bloody Valentine -- mbv -- Self-Released

We recently discussed mbv with a friend, specifically its surprise release -- and everyone's mad dash to the My Bloody Valentine web site to purchase and listen to this tremendous new collection -- and how that release has been one of the very few communally shared experiences in modern indie rock. That pulse-pounding excitement was totally appropriate, especially given how great mbv is, and the dissonance of that excitement butting up against such a serene-sounding album opener, "She Found Now," perhaps only heightened the experience. My Bloody Valentine's follow-up to its legendary Loveless is terrific, offering not only familiarity (with its cooed vocals and bending guitars), but also an explanation of sorts ("In Another Way" manifests Kevin Shields' purported fixation with jungle, albeit years and years and years after that fixation was a topic of conversation). As gratifying as mbv is, perhaps most gratifying of all is Mr. Shields' uncompromising approach to the business of music; we'd say "outspokenness" if perhaps he spoke more often, although the interviews he's given over the past year are all amazing. Shields' is a singular sonic vision, and hopefully one that will be as inspiring to bands as Loveless has been. This 2013 collection extends and burnishes the deep MBV legacy; buy it here.



5. Los Campesinos! -- No Blues -- Wichita/Turnstyle

Big, bold and beautiful is what this is. While we are still unsettled by the revelation that No Blues was almost not made (the band had apparently considered hanging up its boots), that doesn't in any way diminish how enjoyable it is. Indeed, it's as accomplished a collection as Cardiff-based Los Campesinos! has made. The singles still punch hard, the album cuts are just as rich and soundly conceived. Fronter Gareth Campesinos' lyrics remain sharp and affecting, a feat all the more impressive given his stated practice of writing them as late as possible into the recording process. Let us not overlook just how neat a trick it is that so many of the lyrics center around football, yet still communicate as strongly as when he addresses affairs of the heart (perhaps it is no trick: football -- that's soccer to you, Yank -- is an affair of the heart to Gareth). The single "Avocado, Baby," with is ridiculously catchy chant, just missed our year-end songs list, and other album highlights include "Cemetery Gaits" and "What Death Leaves Behind." We reviewed No Blues here last month; buy it from the band right here. Los Camp play a rare Boston date next month.





6. Radiator Hospital -- Something Wild -- Salinas

Now that we have published our year-end songs list, wherein we disclosed that we favored this collection over even the dynamite releases by scenemates Swearin' and Waxahatchee, it's probably little surprise to find Radiator Hospital sitting here. Call it pop-punk, call it emo, it doesn't matter: Something Wild is fun and emotional and engaging (not that those aforementioned collections from the respective bands of the sisters Crutchfield aren't these things; we just listened to Something Wild more, and math counts). Our own Dillon Riley reviewed the set right here in July; buy it from Salinas records here.



7. Calories -- III -- Self-Released

Here is the third of three self-released records on our year-end list, which, of course, says something about the Music Industry of Today. However, this is not the place for a dissection of the challenges faced by bands trying to sell music. Even so, when something as objectively super and as wildly ambitious as Calories' III isn't the subject of a label bidding war, we start to wonder what the hell is wrong with the world. III is the foursome's most confident and rewarding to date, building up from the stoney foundations of the monolithic post-punk of its early years to embrace looser structures and more varied aural topographies. Somewhere along the way Calories started to sound haunted; at the same time the band started to engage a yen to fluidly jam across larger and larger stretches of time. Now vocals are subdued, guitars are just as likely to be acoustic as electric, but the potency of Calories music is not diluted. The greatest cut from III, the amazing, 10-minute closer "Tropics," is almost an album unto itself. The tune commences with broad distorted chords, crashing symbols and forefronted oohs, shifts into a steady four-four rocker for a minute, and then transforms into a spiraling, poignant final movement that stretches across almost eight minutes. That tune in and of itself is worth about 10 bucks, but you can download III from Bandcamp here in exchange for as much money as you care to pay for it.



8. Ovlov -- am -- Exploding In Sound

The conventional wisdom among the indiescienti is that -- from a label standpoint -- 2013 belonged to Exploding In Sound Records, who issued not only Ovlov's am, but also Fat History Month's blindingly brilliant Bad History Month, and Kal Mark's Life Is Murder, among other fine sound recordings. Ovlov's noisy hooks on am are undenible, despite the aural sludge in which the Connecticut trio encases them on belters like "Nu Punk" and the cataclysmic opener "Grapes." Vintage Dinosaur Jr. is a popularly applied reference, but Ovlov's vibe is less backwoods goth and more conventional (the opener's melody, reinforced by backing vocals from Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis, echoes great tunes by more pop-leaning Clicky Clicky faves The Wannadies and Projekt A-ko). The music on am shakes and shudders with desperate energy, fuzz flies off the guitars and cymbals, and the whole waxy ball of wax is anchored to punishing snare hits and fronter Steve Hartlett's Mascis-esque yowl. All of which makes the record endlessly listenable. Buy am from Exploding In Sound right here.



9. Guillermo Sexo -- Dark Spring -- Midriff Records

Diving deeper within to explore sounds and textures in the studio, Boston psych-rock unit Guillermo Sexo yet maintain an admirable level of focus, which is brought to bear on the urgent and dreamy material on its fifth long player Dark Spring. The remarkably varied album touts two seven-minute-plus opuses (inluding "Meow Metal," which was recognized in our year-end, best songs list) that speak to the band's confidence and willingness to stretch out and chase ambitious ideas. The set's first third, however, features a slate of immediate and more concise rockers. The collection has a classic '70s feel, adventurous and with an almost narrative quality, making it perhaps the most "albumy" album on this year-end list. We reviewed Dark Spring right here in September; buy it from Midriff right here.



10. Joey Sweeney -- Long Hair -- La Société Expéditionnaire

Long Hair is like an old friend, almost literally: Joey Sweeney's only other solo set, the excellent Heartache Baseball, was released in 1995. That's basically a lifetime ago, during a figurative pause between his most well-known bands Barnabys and The Trouble With Sweeney, the latter of which released its final recording almost a decade ago. This new and fresh solo collection has shed the youthful confusion, dyspeptic romances and coffee nerves that concerned Mr. Sweeney as a younger songwriter. Long Hair, instead, is confident and amused by life, and only a little world-weary. The well-measured, nicely orchestrated set distills decades of Philadelphia's rock and pop into nine songs that feel like a memoir: here is the park where the toughs trashed Sweeney for having new wave hair; there is the bar where the sweetest romantic conquest lifted a heavy heart. The record is highlighted by what might be the most direct piece of songwriting on the set, "Records And Coffee," Sweeney's ode to reliable comforts -- which is what Long Hair turns out to be. Stream selections from the record below, or the entire shebang gratis via this link to Emusic.com. Buy Long Hair here.

Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Top Songs Of 2013

So, songs. Songs out of context, for the most part, if you adhere to the belief that the album is, to bastardize The Bard, the thing. And though we cling to the primacy of the album as an Art Form -- admittedly probably out of a nostalgia for the linear listening of our youth -- we can't ignore our fixation with the song. Which, now that we think about it, is sort of a life-long pursuit. Countless are the hours we've spent across more than three decades BUTNOTFOURYETSHUTUP picking the hits, either by making mix tapes (dicatphonin' The Beatles LPs off the record player, tapin' off the radio, yo) or sequencing DJ sets, and of course there's this here blog. Clicky Clicky's entire premise is picking the hits, at least as we hear them, and under cover of this overlong and unnecessary paragraph we bring you our favorite 10 songs released in the calendar year 2013. Now sounds all, but as we think about the selections below it occurs to us that we like many of these "now sounds" for some wispy connection they give us to things we've loved in (or about) the past. The rush of adolescent infatuation as portrayed by Veronica Falls' "Teenage," the boundless psychedelic reach of Guillermo Sexo's guitar-heavy head piece "Meow Metal," and everything in between -- each one connects strongly with us, and we hope you will consider these songs, and perhaps find a favorite among them you've not encountered previously. Our albums list will follow later this week. Thanks for reading Clicky Clicky in 2013; you're all stars.

1. Veronica Falls -- "Teenage" -- Waiting For Something To Happen

Sing now, muse, of the innocence, mystery, freedom and longing of adolescence, and the safe little bubble that it all transpires within. From behind a coy fringe of hair Veronica Falls' Roxanne Clifford earnestly delivers the lyrics to "Teenage" -- which charm us more and more with each listen -- and memorably harmonizes with co-fronter and guitarist James Hoare. With its indelible melodies, big guitars, noodly leads and a simple, steady rhythm, "Teenage" is quintessential indie rock, a timeless single, and our favorite song of the year. Buy Waiting For Something To Happen from the consistently amazing Slumberland Records right here.

"...driving late at night, I'll let you listen to the music you like..."



2. Radiator Hospital -- "Our Song" -- Something Wild

We suppose this is the flip-side of the coin vis a vis the idealized teenage love story conveyed in our selection above. But damn it if it doesn't have pep and charm, despite its vivid recounting of a relationship coming apart. Folks looking for some representation of the crucial West Philly scene in this year's list (you know, Swearin', Waxahatchee) will have to just accept that we listened to the Radiator Hospital record more [we reviewed it here], as great as Surfing Strange and Cerulean Salt are. Some of that has to do with timing, of course: as stated in years past, our year-end lists are heavily weighted toward aggregate play counts for current-year releases. So, albums that come out earlier in the year are rewarded if they've got staying power, which we think counter-balances a temptation to be totally high on the latest thing at the end of the year, to the detriment of the early releases. But discussion of that hokum obscures just how memorable and accomplished Something Wild and, in particular, "Our Song" are. Go ahead, try to listen to it just once. Buy Something Wild right here.

"...sometimes I hear you crying alone in the shower, and I don't make a sound..."



3. Krill -- "Theme From Krill" -- Lucky Leaves

As we've said in prior years, a lot of the entries on our year-end songs list get there because they are songs that we couldn't stop singing to ourself while doing all manner of mundane things, changing diapers, walking dogs, retrieving the car after a long day in the office. And while there are probably very few Krill fans in the high-rise office building that contains the door upon the back of which we hang our coat each morning, we heard more than a few folks from "the scene" singing "Krill, Krill, Krill forever" to themselves this year. It's a bizarre -- and bizarrely catchy -- anthem about the division of the self, the thinking behind which fronter Jonah Furman has explained here and elsewhere. We'd say something here about the difficulty and rarity of catching that sort of musical lightning in a bottle, but most Clicky Clicky readers have already heard the new Krill single, which is strong evidence that the band's facility for writing hooks around engaging ideas and concepts thrives. But the one in "Theme From Krill" will likely not be forgotten any time soon. Stream it below, and buy Lucky Leaves right here.

"...and I got sick of him, and he got sick of me..."



4. Speedy Ortiz -- "No Below" -- Major Arcana

We pegged this loping waltz, which ended up being the second single from Major Arcana, as a favorite during our very first listen to the pre-release promotional copy of Speedy's brilliant full-length debut (which debut has sparked the quartet's meteoric rise into the national consciousness, tours with The Breeders, Los Campesinos!, Stephen Malkmus and the like). "No Below" is not as gnarly and confident as "Tiger Tank," not as unhinged and exciting as the final chaotic moments of the album closer "MKVI." Instead, it's got a lot of patience. And a lot of space that leaves room for fronter Sadie Dupuis' vocal -- so small in that first verse, with the slightest vibrato to her elongated vowels -- to draw you into her confidence and then bore right into your soul. It's a(n apparently) confessional, outsider ballad. The final minute bursts open with several bars of big guitars and then a few more quiet lines from Dupuis before the song winks shut. Perfect song-writing, memorializing some little moments, dynamiting others. Buy Major Arcana from Carpark right here.

"...spent the summer on crutches, and everybody teased..."



5. My Bloody Valentine -- "She Found Now" -- mbv

The opening moments of this tune are tattooed on the minds of the long-suffering and totally amazed My Bloody Valentine fans, a vast international horde that early this year shared in a too-rare Internet-age communal experience: the shock and awe of the surprise release in February of the London act's 22-years-in-the-making sequel to its legendary Loveless LP. After clawing and scratching our way onto a web site crumbling under the fan demand, the first of the spoils was the beautiful "She Found Now." The tune whispers reassurance to us as the soft fuzz of the bass wraps listeners in a warm embrace, chiming guitars arcing, bending and layering. One of the larger tragedies for young people is the realization that people we love inevitably change; whatever the reason ultimately was, My Bloody Valentine didn't evolve in any sort of jarring manner, delivering a sublime set of recordings, "She Found Now" included. Buy the record from the band right here.

"...you could be the one..."



6. Fleeting Joys -- "Kiss A Girl In Black" -- digital single

For the last seven years the one shoegaze act that consistently filled that My Bloody Valentine-shaped hole in our heart was Fleeting Joys. And as none of us knew at the onset of 2013 that MBV was preparing its surprise release, we were relieved when Fleeting Joys issued this new single in the first week of January. The intoxicating "Kiss A Girl In Black," all buzz-saw, bending guitars and murmured vocals, raised our hopes for yet more music from FJ with the indication at Bandcamp that it was taken from the band's forthcoming third long-player. Just about a year later we are still waiting (sound familiar) for that third LP, but that wait has been tempered by dozens upon dozens of listens to the stunning "Kiss A Girl In Black," which is embedded for streaming below. Click through the purchase the track.

"...suicide...believing..."



7. Karl Marks -- "Out In The Deep" -- Life Is Murder

Karl Shane's acoustic performance of this number at Great Scott in July at the Major Arcana record release show was riveting. The song, a spare and gothic lament, is mournful yet electrifying. And when Mr. Shane goes for those desperate final lines after fomenting a storm of grungy guitar and exploding drums, the hair stands up on the back of our neck, every time. In his review, our scribe Dillon Riley highlighted the fact that there is a fair amount of humor to be found in the LP this song arrived on, but we don't hear any of that on "Out In The Deep." Gripping and dramatic, the song is the closer on Kal Marks' 2013 collection Life Is Murder; buy it right here.

"...and I will fall from a great height..."



8. Hallelujah The Hills -- "Honey, Don't It All Seem So Phony" -- Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can

Historically, we think we can all agree that new material worked up to make an odds 'n' sods compilation more attractive to the music consumer often tends to be nice but not completely remarkable. Remember that relatively recent 'Mats song "Message To The Boys?" It's good, right? But it probably is the last thing to come to mind when you think of The Replacements. Well, by way of contrast, this Hallelujah The Hills track, which made its first appearance on just such a compilation released in May, is a three-alarm fire of what fronter Ryan Walsh calls "chord-based cosmic Americana." Lines of smart lyrics levied rapid-fire over top strident strummery, "Honey, Don't It All Seem So Phony" wins with its witty recitation of failures, foibles and, sort of hidden right there in plain sight, some true unvarnished sentiment. Mr. Walsh takes the song out with a soaring call to arms, but at that point he doesn't have to sell hard: he had us from the first line. Buy Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can right here.

"...I saw you breaking down in a magazine, and I never told a soul what it meant to me, now I'm on a mission fueled by LSD, trying to break these patterns..."



9. Slowdim -- "Up Stream" -- Slowdim

Another tune with a hook that just won't leave us. We probably could have mastered a foreign language if we had otherwise used the time we spent this year just singing to ourselves the line from the pre-chorus of "Up Stream," "it's OK if you can't remember." The song is a big, bright rocker with great vocal harmonies and clever composition, showcasing what many around these parts know well: Slowdim fronter Paul Sentz is a crazy talented songwritin' mofo. "Up Stream" opened the band's self-titled full-length debut, which was released in March. Buy Slowdim right here.

"... it's ok if you can't remember your name..."



10. Guillermo Sexo -- "Meow Metal" -- Dark Spring

Our year-end list this year has leaned hard toward songs with hooks versus songs with an intense vibe. Well, here's your intense vibe. An other-worldly, epic prog-influenced rocker, a headphones-required exploration of the places that only the veteran Boston-based psych-pop juggernaut Guillermo Sexo can take you. We've never taken steps to confirm or deny that this tune is just about living with a spooky cat, probably because we're afraid knowing one way or the other might somehow diminish the beautiful mystery painted here with Reuben Bettsak's 10 million guitars and singer/keyboardist/birthday girl Noell Dorsey's entrancing vocals. Despite being more than seven minutes in length, "Meow Metal" is not the longest tune on Dark Spring, but it is perhaps the best at capturing the zeitgeist of what Guillermo Sexo was about in 2013. Dark Spring was released by Midriff in September; buy it right here.

"...I saw you first, I have no idea what you see..."

Today's Hotness: Slowdim, Julius Earthling, Pinact

>> Attentive readers may recall our preview piece for the Ash Gray Proclamation's summer blowout Summer Fades, which featured among others Boston power-pop luminaries Slowdim. When we checked in with Slowdim's Paul Sentz he disclosed that he and bassist Ana Karina DaCosta were writing material for a possible EP and were also contemplating recording a washed out, slowed-down version of their tune "Wishing Well," complete with mandolin. Well, the duo has delivered, and in a big way. The new recording touts a very cool, icy drone that plays against the usual "down-home" sound of a mandolin; indeed, it goes nicely with the cooler, autumn weather. Mr. Sentz' lead vocal when separated from the denser, punchier context of the original iteration of the song is revealed to be gentler, sweeter, a bit forlorn, even. And the delay on the electric guitar as the new version fades softly acknowledges Sentz's affinity for the guitar work of David Howell Evans. We are very pleased to be able to premiere the song for you here via the Bandcamp embed below. The original version of "Wishing Well" shines brightly in the second slot of this year's debut full-length Slowdim, which was released in March and which we reviewed right here. That self-titled effort is slated to pop up on ITunes soon, although if you've been waiting for the record to appear on ITunes before you purchase it, well, you've got issues that we can't even begin to know how to address.



>> We've got a small circle of solid sources who regularly recommend stuff to our attention, something Clicky Clicky is grateful for, and, frankly, thrives on. We were pleased to get a good tip from friend-of-the-blog Jeff Breeze (he of Pipeline! fame) recently, which tip pointed us in the direction of relatively new Jamaica Plain-based noise-pop trio Julius Earthling. The threesome are poised to release Nov. 1 on Allston's New Neighbor Records a five-song cassette EP titled For. There's little to be learned out on the wider Internets about Julius Earthling, but we expect that is a situation that won't persist, as the title track to the forthcoming EP is a barn-burner that will certainly garner attention. The waltz-timed tune is centered around a tumbling cycle of scritchy chords, a shouty vocal and an unhinged lead guitar, which taken in sum suggests a keen ear for the finer sounds of the contemporary underground as well as, perhaps, an appreciation for old Flaming Lips sides. The EP was recorded by Bradford Krieger at Hanging Horse Studios in Norwood, Mass. last spring, and Mr. Krieger also mixed, mastered and takes a production credit on the recording. Check out "For" for yourself via the Bandcamp embed below, and be prepared to see these guys drill up into the underground like a triumvirate of amped Dig-Dugs, because they've got something going on that people are going to be stoked about.



>> Sticking with new noise but jumping continents, upstart Aberdeen, Scotland-based indie label/events concern Cool Your Jets issued in mid-September a bracing first split-single featuring tunes by acts Pinact and Min Diesel. We're particularly taken with Glasgow-based duo Pinact's nice pair on the A-side, "Beauty Freak" and "Yusef." Each one is a rough-hewn guitar anthem that echoes the hyper-kinetic sound of indie legends Husker Du or, say, notable contemporaries No Age. "Beauty Freak" commences with a few moments of rising amp noise before popping off into a heavy boogie groove, where as "Yusef" slows the pace and intensifies the beat to cultivate more of a head-banging, fist-banging mania. Pinact have two prior releases under their belt, one a somewhat more emo, three-song 'zine/EP highlighted by the chaotic rocker "Flake" (and with art by Clicky Clicky fave Joey Fourr) issued in February of this year, and the other a 2012 EP titled Spill Your Guts, Let Out Some Noise that is also filled to the brim with melodic bangers. Fans who purchase the Cool Yr Jets split on vinyl will receive the music as a digital download that includes three additional numbers: "Squeak" and "I Don't Think You'll Ever Know" from Pinact and "Celery" from Min Diesel. Stream the A- and B-sides below, and click through for an opportunity to hand over whatever your equivalent of four British pounds plus shipping is in order to obtain the physical item.

Summer Fades Featuring The New Highway Hymnal, Eldridge Rodriguez, Slowdim | New World Tavern, Plymouth | 1 Sept.

Sure, the last thing we need now is a reminder that summer will leave us, as she always leaves us, packing her stuff into the station wagon, pointing her pony tail north and her car south, and heading out of town. But leave it to our bloggers-in-arms over at The Ash Gray Proclamation to turn the annual indignity into a cause for celebration, an excuse to bring -- for what may be the very first time -- an indie rock show to a place called the New World Tavern in Plymouth, Mass., a tavern which, based on a glance at Google Maps, is pretty much a stone's throw from where this blog's executive editor's umpteen-times-over grandfather bumbled his way into establishing a colony. But that's all ancient history -- the important thing is rock 'n' roll music, and the AGP is bringing that in spades Sunday. We are given to understand the event kicks off with a world premiere of Dark Spring, the terrific, forthcoming full-length from Boston psych-rock veterans Guillermo Sexo. We've heard the record, it slays, you'll want to make sure you get thee to Plymouth to hear it (especially the epic one-two punch of the songs "Carried A Golden Heart" and "Meow Metal"). Thereafter, there will be sets of rock music from a trio of leading Boston rock acts: power-pop champs Slowdim; noise-pop goliaths Eldridge Rodriguez and acid-groove lords The New Highway Hymnal. All of this kicks off early, AGP helmer Bryan Hamill told us last week, with the album premiere beginning around 7PM, so you'll need to find a shirt and your car keys late that afternoon in order to make the scene at a useful hour. All the details are at this Facebook event page.

What of these bands, you may be wondering? Well, topliners The New Highway Hymnal are very close to dropping a new single if these two Facebook updates (1, 2) are to be believed, and the trio has been steadily gigging around town all summer. We touched base with Eldridge Rodriguez for an update, and he told us -- among other things -- that he and his present band (Midriff New York honcho Clayton Keiber, and brothers Dennis and Dave Grabowski) are at work on a new record that will feature "tons of noise, tons of pop." The band will help kick off the week-long TT The Bear's 40th anniversary celebration next month, to boot. We also checked in with Paul Sentz from Slowdim for the latest and greatest. His band delivered a long-awaited, self-titled debut long-player at the front-end of the year [review], a record packed with big ideas and bigger hooks. These days, according to Mr. Sentz, Slowdim is developing new material for a potential EP, and is chewing over an idea for a new slower, washed out take on the album cut "Wishing Well" that will hopefully be realized soon. All of the above suggests to us Sunday night in Plymouth is going to be a winner. So come on, come help AGP chase the season out of town... until next year.

Today's Hotness: Speedy Ortiz, Winter, New Dog



>> Vanyaland Friday afternoon posted our review of this summer's "it" record, Speedy Ortiz's terrific debut long-player Major Arcana. In the piece we bemoaned the lack of critical engagement with Speedy's music, and specifically the crush of lazy writing that reduced discussion of the Western Mass.-based quartet's many talents to formulaic comparisons to classic '90s bands. Are those comparisons valid, or useful? Sure, sometimes they are. But we felt that they were the only story being told, and that writers -- we're guessing the young ones that weren't a witness to the amazing sounds of the early '90s in the first place -- were spending more time coming up with purported referents than they were actually describing what Speedy Ortiz does when it picks up its instruments. One angle we ultimately cut from the piece was -- and this is pure conjecture -- how such reductive thinking about the Northampton quartet was potentially a big disappointment to Speedy fronter Sadie Dupuis. It's no secret that she spends a good portion of her non-rock band time in a creative writing MFA program, and our undergraduate experience allows us to assume with a high degree of confidence that Ms. Dupuis therefore probably spends a lot of her academic time analyzing and interpreting creative works. In that context, we'd expect it'd be a pretty big bummer to have something to which one devotes a large amount of creative energy given what appears to be minimal mental consideration. We dunno, maybe Dupuis' attitude is it's only rock 'n' roll, yadda yadda. We'll ask her about it sometime. In the meantime, head over to Vanyaland to read our review of Major Arcana. It's a tremendous indie rock record, and one that is going to stick with people for a very long time. Major Arcana has been streaming at NPR's First Listen for the past week, but that stream will go dark in the next few days, so instead check out the three singles from the record via the Soundcloud embeds below.







>> We made a brief reference to this at our Facebook page Tuesday, but we want to circle back around to the terrific digital single issued this week by upstart Boston dream-pop foursome Winter. The act, fronted by Samira Winter and featuring also Nolan Eley and Kyle Oppenheimer from local shoegaze heroes Infinity Girl and Ana Karina DaCosta from power-pop leading lights Slowdim, haven't released new music since its late 2012 entry, the Daydreaming EP, which we wrote about here in January. There is an immediately perceptible difference to the new Winter single, which is titled "The View." Namely, it sounds as if the lead vocal -- while it is obscured under the band's characteristic sonic gauze -- is largely being handled by Mr. Eley. Ms. Winter is also credited, and listeners can find her voice tucked into one of the many layers of sound within Eley's production. "The View" is held aloft by a clean, twinkling lead guitar melody, which serves as clothespins to fix in place billowing layers of processed guitar, cello and violin and Mr. Oppenheimer's bass work. Somewhere in all of the silky proceedings you will hear the suggestion -- just the faintest suggestion -- of the "James Bond" theme, making the soft-focus jam just slightly mysterious. It's a grand single, and we're hopeful the band is already writing for another larger set of songs (at the same time, we're also hoping Infinity Girl is looking toward the return of drummer Sebastian Modek, who has been out of the country since the beginning of the year). Winter released its first video, for Daydreaming's "Bedroom Philosophies," in May, and at that time expected to be making a return to local stages sometime this month. According to the band's tumblr, its next local gig is actually not until early Autumn, when it will perform at the Allston Street Fair. However, we'll keep an eye out for additional dates. In the meantime, stream "The View" via the embed below, and click through for the download.



>> We were sorry to hear about the dissolution of local slow-core luminaries Travels, who we've followed pretty closely here at the blog. In the wake of the break we've enjoyed the few tunes we've heard from Mona Elliot, and we see now that they have been gathered together along with a fourth and packaged as the River Song EP, which we highly recommend to your attention. However, it wasn't until early this week that we had heard anything new from the other principal member of Travels, Anar Badalov. Mr. Badalov -- who our most devoted readers will recall first came across our radar in 2006 when he was performing as part of the Baltimore duo Metal Hearts -- now has a solo project called New Dog. New Dog is preparing to release a full-length later this year tentatively titled Lost Weekend, and there are already a few demos available to stream on the Internerds. "Smoking In The Living Room" weaves finger-picked guitar, a simple metronomic beat and tinkling piano into a soft tapestry of sounds that dissipates as quickly as it takes shape. "Slow Drifting" bounces around a pokey rhythm with a playing style more attuned to acoustic blues before coalescing around some big melodic chords in the song's final minute. The three tunes together evidence that Badalov still possesses great facility in building music centered around an entrancing, meditative core, and we look forward to hearing Lost Weekend in its entirety. Stream the demos via the Bandcamp embed below.

Premiere: Winter's Dreamy, Innocent "Bedroom Philosophies"

It seems like it was just 120 days ago, give or take, that we were writing about the excellent debut EP from upstart Boston dream pop outfit Winter. Since the formation of the band late last year, it has expanded from simply a duo comprised of fronter Samira Winter and guitarist/producer Nolan Eley to a quartet that now counts among its number Mr. Eley's Infinity Girl bandmate Kyle Oppenheimer on bass and Slowdim's Ana Karina DaCosta behind the kit. And so it has come to pass that the foursome has created an alluring pastels-and-shadows video for "Bedroom Philosophies," a key track from Winter's late 2012 entry, the Daydreaming EP (which you can still download right here). The truth is we jumped at the opportunity to premiere the clip because the stills we'd seen within our social networks were so pretty and arresting. We are not familiar with contemporary video directors in the least (well, save for our dog Jeff Stern), but the production marshaled here by director Joseph Holcomb is very impressive, as the soft lighting and loose vibe of the talent on-screen jibes perfectly with Winter's sugary amalgamation of '60s girl group and modern dream-pop sounds. Like the duality inherent in the fabled McDonald's McDLT sandwich, a strong part of Winter's allure is the juxtaposition of fun and cool, the former being very strongly visually represented in the video by Ms. Winter and Ms. DaCosta, while Mssrs. Eley and Oppenheimer and their quiet, focused performances bring to bear the latter. We suppose the video clip for "Bedroom Philosophies" is all the more impressive because Mr. Holcomb is still a student, presumably at Emerson College, where the clip was filmed on the sound stage in recent weeks. So what's next for the quartet? Ms. Winter tells Clicky Clicky that the band is preparing to release a single of the song "The View," and that the band will be back playing shows starting at the end of the July with dates planned throughout the end of the summer. We can't wait to hear new music from the act and to finally see them perform live, but in the meantime, settle in to a dreamy Wednesday afternoon with the video embedded above.

Winter: http://daydreamingwinter.com/ | Bandcamp | Twitter

Review: Slowdim | Slowdim

Given the slow, incremental progress that brought Slowdim to this point, the Boston indie pop quartet's sparkling, self-titled debut full-length evinces a remarkable degree of carefree ease that almost certainly belies the sweat and hours ploughed into it. Indeed, Slowdim streets this week as an exclamation point at the tail-end of a series of digital singles, compilation tracks and EPs, a tour de force of bright, melodic guitar pop that situates songwriters Paul Sentz (formerly of This Car Up, who we wrote about here in 2009) and Eric Ryrie (ex-The Shills) at the peak of their powers (sorry, boys, it's all downhill from hereLOLZ -- Ed.). The giddy momentum of opener "Up Stream" and the equally buoyant follow-on "Wishing Well" propel the collection with such energy that its spiraling final number, "Leave Our Names," comes too soon every time.

Certain of the music on the new record will be familiar to fans. Slowdim issued the ridiculously catchy album track "Money" as a single in Feb. 2012, and a year earlier the quartet released the Spirals EP (which now appears to be something of a rarity, as it has been removed from Slowdim's Bandcamp page). The EP featured early versions of "Don't Cough Me Out" and "Wishing Well," and the impressive evolution of the former song -- from a welterweight, hook-laden chant to full-blown, arena-ready rocker with ripping guitar solos -- illustrates the power and payoff of the quartet's wood-shedding over the last few years. Indeed, there is nary a songwriting misstep on Slowdim.

But while its songs are worked over, they are not overworked. To be sure, there is plenty of flourish -- the swoony "ooohs" complementing Eric Ryrie's reedy tenor on the sweet ballad "Can't Stop Falling;" the glimmering guitar appointing the verses of "Wishing Well" and "Birds" -- but there is nothing superfluous. Even when Slowdim stretches out, which they do ably during their shoegazing epic "Uh Oh," layering guitar upon guitar upon guitar to form a curtain of dense melody and noise, the record does not meander long, as the uptempo strummer "Laid Flat" immediately puts the record back on pace. Bassist Ana Karina Da Costa's voice plays a strong role backing up and harmonizing with those of Mssrs. Sentz and Mr. Ryrie, and is crucial to the overall sound in the same way as Phoebe Summersquash's was for Small Factory (or, for you Philly old-timers, Kara Lafty's was to Moped).

Slowdim surpasses the quartet's prior efforts by every metric, but its ultimate success manifests in the same way: listeners are left wanting still more music. While rock and roll inevitably suffers when we try to assign to it didactic intent, the lesson of Slowdim's long-awaited LP clearly is take the time to do it right. Two tracks, the aforementioned "Up Stream" and "Leave Our Names," are currently previewing on Bandcamp; stream them via the embeds below. The foursome plays a record release show at Great Scott Thursday with support from Night Fruit and Fedavees; all the details are at this Facebook event page, and hopefully the band will have product on-hand as there is no way to pre-order Slowdim as of yet.

Slowdim: Facebook | Twitterz | Bandcamp