Monthly Archives: June 2014

We’re delighted to place Seattle’s Mayors of Liberty on your collective radar with the debut of their brand new video, “Unforgiven.”

“Unforgiven” was originally written by lead vocalist, Kirt Debique for another band, Smile Machine on their shared label Brick Lane Records, and has been re-interpreted by Mayors of Liberty in the vocabulary of the tracks on their own release, Dream On.

The band recently played a rooftop sunset show at Soho House in Manhattan, and while in NYC they stopped off at a Brooklyn warehouse to deliver this cut.

The premiere of the video coincides with and celebrates the online availability of the vinyl edition of Dream On. You can get your hands on the LP right here.

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Active since 1991, The Clientele didn’t cut a single until seven years later, and with 2000’s Suburban Light, a well-deserved spotlight was finally splashed upon them. A thoughtfully sequenced collection of tracks mostly culled from their inaugural spate of 45s, it transcended the potential constraints of a compilation and flowed like an especially assured debut album. Merge Records’ LP reissue comes loaded with extra insightful early material, and it reinforces Suburban Light as a masterful statement of guitar-pop purpose from an enduringly unique group.

From 1991 to the present The Clientele has featured drummer Mark Keen, bassist James Hornsey, and guitarist-vocalist-songwriter Alasdair MacLean; guitarist Innes Phillips exited in ’96, multi-instrumentalist Mel Draisey entered roughly a decade hence. Over time they’ve been quite forthcoming in relating key influences upon their collective endeavor; on the list can be found such worthies as Love, Television, Felt, and even The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.

After giving a few recent spins to the reissued Suburban Light it seems the most lingeringly illuminating citation from the group belongs to Galaxie 500, that Cambridge, MA trio breaking up the very same year The Clientele first came together in Hampshire, England (under the name The Butterfly Collectors). But it’s more than just the handing off of a creative baton; Galaxie 500 was an entity inextricably shaped by the music of the 1960s, and yet they betrayed not the slightest tendencies of throwback. And so it is with The Clientele.

From old resources a fresh sound, and if not new both acts resonated as highly individual. Once heard it would be impossible to confuse the two or for that matter to mistake either for anybody else. Suburban Light’s opener “I Had to Say This” exudes origins easy to discern, but MacLean’s soaring vocal and adept string work point the way forward, his playing tense and unpredictable long before the astoundingly non-hackneyed backwards guitar ambiance emerges.

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“The Salton Sea is not much more than abandoned houses, dead fish, and endless desert. A place where you’d dream of escape.”

“‘On Fire’ was inspired by the feeling you get when wanting to run away from it all. Either its living in small town suburbs or being the only flower in the cement.

For me and everyone who was apart of this production, it was wanting to make something real and not glamorized for a life we pretend to live. We wanted to show our love for the little things in life and how special they are to us. So we drove this rattling car out to the desert and spent the night in a tacky casino with a small child, a bag of clothes, and no plan.

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“Listening to vinyl is very inspirational for me. There’s something about looking through my collection or someone else’s and finding the right album or song for the moment.”

“A lot can be learned about yourself from listening to music this way. Sifting through records, finding the one, studying the album cover and learning the liner notes are something that’s truly exclusive to vinyl. Then once you’ve put the needle down, you’re fully invested, listening to music and being very intentional about it. I find myself paying more attention to the music when I listen on vinyl.

My parents had a pretty awesome record collection that they gave to me full of Motown 45s, Beatles LPs, and some ’60s psychedelic rock. They actually had a crazy amount of records and lost most of them in a flood when I was young.

The first album that I purchased myself was Ryan Adams and The Cardinals Easy Tiger. I bought it in Atlanta at a shop called Wax n’ Facts. It was one of the first times I had ever seen a colored vinyl record and I love Ryan Adams so I had to get it. Translucent orange vinyl with a fold out poster in a plastic see-through pouch, it was a cool album just for those reasons, not to mention the great songs on that record.

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I always imagined R. Dean Taylor, the guy who gave us 1970’s “Indiana Wants Me,” as King of The Flash in the Pans. And the epitome of the perennial second-teamer who kicks the dust of his small town off his shoes and catches the Greyhound to Record City USA, determined to become a pop star. And does, for about 10 minutes, before fading back into the obscurity from whence he came, just another one-hit wonder, like Mouth & MacNeal and Looking Glass.

Except “Indiana Wants Me” isn’t in the same league as “How Do You Do” or “Brandy.” It’s not even in the same galaxy. As far as I’m concerned, “Indiana Wants Me” is the coolest pop song ever recorded by homo sapiens, and I truly believe that listening to it thrice daily is your fastest route to Satori.

Anyway, these imaginings of mine made me think Taylor should have entitled his 1970 debut LP I Wrote ‘Indiana Wants Me’, Therefore I Am. Shows what I know. Because Taylor, far from being just another one-hit wonder at the obscure fringes of the music industry, was in fact a bona fide player, and an important cog in the mighty Motown machine. That’s right, Motown. R. Dean, who hailed from Toronto but moved to Detroit to be closer to the action, joined Motown subsidiary Rare Earth in 1964, becoming one of the label’s few white songwriters. He even became a member of Motown’s much-vaunted writing and production team, The Clan, which wrote songs for Diana Ross and The Supremes and many others.

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Press Play is our Monday morning recap of the new tracks received last week—provided here to inform your vinyl purchasing power. Click, preview, download, purchase.

The Verve Pipe – Overboard
The Broken Needles – Bound to Fade
Wildcat! Wildcat! – Please And Thank You (DONNY CARMA Remix)
Chassol – River Song
An – Ten – Nae Feat. SZA – Βαβυλών
Mike Wojniak – Stone & The Sea
Conveyor – Theme XIII (Edit)
Kodacrome – Strike The Gold (Luke Neher Remix)
Walking Bicycles – Eyesore
La Sera – Running Wild

TVD SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
FJORDS – Sulwyn (Radio Edit)

The Moles – Beauty Queen Of Watts
Speakman Sound – Survive This Dream
Tittsworth – Que Fresca Feat. DJ Blass, Jowell, Polaco, & Maicol
K Theory – The Answer Feat. Katie Sky
Psymbionic & Soulular – Silkscreen
Monomyth – Candleholder
Tinashe – 2 ON (UNiiQU3 REMIX)
St Tropez – Maybe Nothing
Split Screens – The Sinner
Johanssen – Jag Gillar

21 more FREE TRACKS on side B!

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We’re away for a week on our annual summer break. Yes, even we find it healthy to pull ourselves away from the turntable now and then.

While we’re away, why not fire up our free Record Store Locator app and visit one of your local indie record shops? Perhaps there’s an interview, review, or feature you might have missed? Catch up and we’ll see you back here on June 23.

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I arrived back in the Canyon last Sunday night. It was a long flight from NYC—over six hours into storming headwinds over the good ol’ USA. I was amused by my Jet Blue flight which was packed with an outlaw biker gang returning to Whittier from a national “gang function.”

Honestly, I’ve dreamt about being in the Hells Angels from time to time. Dennis Hopper’s role in Easy Rider was always a character I looked up to. It was exhilarating being around them and even being mistaken for one of these outlaws. Their ol’ ladies were loud and fun, proudly joking, “They must think we’re riff raff.”

These broads reminded me of those classic early ’60s girl groups—cool make up, big hair, the sounds of Spector and Shadow Morton.

But as the week unfolded, I felt the urge to clear my head—I mean, my clear my sock draw. Mercury hit retrograde on the first. It’s time to get rid of old things to make way for…whatever remains.

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After reuniting a few years ago, famed NYC quartet Dog Society seem to be chomping at the bit with an urgency to release new material. Lucky for us, since their reemergence in 2012, the band has consistently produced the best work of their career. Canine analogies aside, the band has the kind of seasoned musical chops that make current indie music sound like nursery rhymes.

Sure, they wear their influences on their sleeve; thick Beatle-esque golden tremolo complimented by Black Sabbath distortion. But didn’t that combination give rise to an entire genre of music in the 90’s? In fact Dog Society sounds a little like the love child of Gin Blossoms and Nirvana, possibly because they formed during same Grungy renaissance. But instead of disappearing in a blaze of smoke and glory like the majority of those pioneers, Dog Society disbanded to work out their personal lives, returning to the fold with a new-found sense of fellowship.

What comes across on In The Shade (their follow-up to last years’ Emerge) is a blatant display of grit and grace, announcing to the world that the band is back for good and has ultimately found their sweet spot. The track “Losing Her Again” will give you an idea of what to expect on this release; warm analog recordings, well executed and dynamic playing, deft vocal prowess by lead singer Brian Schnaak, and compelling hooks and melodies that capture the spirit of the band more than ever. The star here is the song and it is obvious that everyone involved is here to serve it.

In The Shade is a must have for your summer time playlist, and though I expect Dog Society’s well documented longevity to result in the dropping of other excellent musical gems, this release is a welcomed organic respite from the trenches of the over produced pop and indie rock that is crowding the air waves.