Class Actress- Oct 1st at WPU. Be there!

WPTS FM is hosting Brooklyn-based electropop trio Class Actress here at the William Pitt Union on Oct 1st. That's in a week, kids. The band is signed to Terrible Records, the personal label of Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor. Kind of a big deal in indie-world. Get your tickets at the WPU office on the main floor and we'll see you dancin' in a week!

HOLY FUCK, INDIAN JEWELRY, SOUTH SEAS SNEAK @ Brillobox

1- South Seas Sneak is a local band consistly of two dudes on drums and bass/ a weird contraption resembling the neck of a guitar that the singer called a "magnetic dildo". Not really sure on the science of that one, but these guys were noisy as hell but still melodic.


2- Indian Jewelry rocked, maybe even more than Holy Fuck did. First off, my friends and I have a total girl-crush on the two chicks in the band (banging on the drums while flipping her hair and looking hipster-bored, the other fiddled with switches n' shit). Secondly, the entire show was exactly like the (terrible) picture above- hazy, strobe-filled, perfect walls of sound.


3- Holy Fuck was excellent but man do they have a weird set up- the "singer" (if you can call him that) pulled loops of magnetic reel through a machine to make crazy effects. Tons of pedals, keyboards, and wires. The best part of the band, to me, is their ability to make crazy electronic music without the cop-out option of using a laptop to throw it all together- too often musicianship gets lost. "Latin America" and "Lovely Allen" were the highlights.

Wolves are cool too

Grinderman- Grinderman 2

The new trend in album covers= cats

Klaxons- Surfing the Void

Best Coast- Crazy for You

Wavves- King of the Beach

The Growlers

Artist- The Growlers
Album- Hot Tropics EP
Label- Everloving
Genre- Surf rock

Surf psychedelic rock with a tinge of gypsy ramshackle-ness. This is a really interesting album that yet again fits in with the current 60’s revival (Best Coast, Sonny & the Sunsets, Rebel Set). Each song is about 2.5 minutes on average, which really is the perfect length for a nice bit of sunny beachy goodness. Reverb aplenty. I wish the vocals were a bit stronger, but this is still a nice effort overall.

Superchunk

Artist- Superchunk
Album- Majesty Shredding
Label- Merge
Genre- Pop-punk

So this is Superchunk’s first album in almost a decade. Hype central. After all, Mac and bassist Laura Balance of the band members founded Merge Records in 1989 as a means of putting out their own records. Nowadays, Merge is home to Spoon, Caribou, Arcade Fire, She & Him, and more big indie names. Given all this, it’s not like Mac and Laura need to keep the band going for money.
Power-punk chords abound, and lead singer Mac McCaughan has a pretty distinctive voice. While nothing on this album comes close to reaching the awesomeness of their best track “Slack Motherfucker” from 1989, it’s nice to see these pop-punk geezers put out something new.

Chromeo

Artist- Chromeo
Album- Business Casual
Label- Atlantic
Genre- RPM, dance

Chromeo’s newest album of synth pop dance music full of 80’s nostalgia. It’s pretty excellent, but it’s also essentially the same album as 2007’s Fancy Footwork. #6 features Solange Knowles (it’s unmarked though), but it’s kind of cheesy. Album is pretty top-heavy too. So pretty much if you like dancing, songs about girls (getting with them, getting rejected by them, getting your heart broken by them), kitsch, synthesizers, or R&B, spin this shit. The other hipsters are probably too young to hear the influences, anyway. Super fun album for getting energy up.

Maximum Balloon

Artist- Maximum Balloon
Album- Maximum Balloon
Label- DGC/Interscope
Genre- Synth and funk tinged indie rock

Guitarist (of TV on the Radio) and indie super-producer (at the helm of YYYs, Foals, Liars, and TVOTR albums) Dave Sitek is offering up his first solo album. It sounds a lot like TVOTR’s 2008 Dear Science, with funky percussion and synths, little brass flourishes. Sitek barely sings, instead vocals are handled by a rotating cast included both Kyp and Tunde of TVOTR, Little Dragon, Karen O (on the softer non-punky side), and David Byrne. Sitek’s skill as a producer is evident on this album, and the sound is undeniably his own. This album is much looser and more fun than his tightly structured work with TVOTR however- blending rock and funk influences in the same way Talking Heads did years ago. Really a fun and fantastic album, like a more serious version of NASA.

Prince Rama

Artist- Prince Rama
Album- Shadow Temple
Label- Carpark
Genre- Experimental

Psychadelic Hindu-influenced music full of big thundering drums and echoing sound. Produced by Animal Collective members Avey Tare and Deakin, which helps explain the weirdness. The leader of this group was raised in a Hare Krishna community in Florida, hence the southeastern Asian sound. Wailed chants similar to Gang Gang Dance. Very ethereal. For fans of Indian Jewelry.

Chilly Gonzales

Artist- Chilly Gonzales
Album- Ivory Tower
Label- Arts & Crafts
Genre- Electropop, I suppose
You’ve probably already heard part of this album without knowing it- the jaunty, piano intro to “Never Stop”, produced by electro-stars Boys Noize, is in the most current iPad commercial. Gonzales also is best-known as the producer of Feist’s The Reminder, which earned him a Grammy nom. Most of the tracks on this album have very few vocals, but the lyrics are pretty nonsensical to begin with. “Bittersuite” is very similar to Ratatat, with a beautiful arpeggio and string swells accented by synths. Gonzales’ training as a pianist shines through on this album, but the electronic backbeats keep this interesting.

Darren Hanlon

Artist- Darren Hanlon
Album- I Will Love You At All
Label- Yep Roc
Genre- Folk indie pop

Sounds like an Australian M. Ward without the annoying dreaminess that kind of irks me about M. Ward. Middle of the road singer-songwriter fare. “Scenes from a Separation” has a nice waltzy beat and girl-boy interplay. I’m not entirely sold on this guy, but it’s nice laid back folky-pop. The lyrics are the real highlight of this album- witty like Jonathan Richman yet startling sincere (see "Scenes from a Seperation"). Give this album a chance or two.

Electric Sunset

Artist- Electric Sunset
Album- Electric Sunset
Label- K Records
Genre- Chill-wave

This album is pretty rad. It’s the debut solo effort from Nic Zwart, the singer for Desolation Wilderness (an Olympia, WA group). He’s also pretty cute if you look at the album cover. Very relaxed chillwave along the lines of Toro y Moi or Washed Out (or a less glitch-y Baths). Very “shimmery” electronic sound, a little synthy. Pleasant male vocals. Basically this is a very excellent debut album that combines elements of chillwave with catchy indie pop sensibilities. Perfect transition from summer into fall.

Lazerbeak

Artist- Lazerbeak
Album- Legend Recognize Legend
Label- Doomtree
Genre- Vaguely hip-hip, indie mostly

It’s unclear what the slant on this album is: the sticker says hip-hop, yet there’s no rapping to be found and this sounds mostly like Miike Snow with a slightly gruffer singer. Lazerbeak is part of/ a main producer for the Doomtree collective of hiphop artists- notably he helped produced the Dessa album. “Salt and Sea” is INSANELY catchy. Dessa lends some much-appreciated soothing female vocals to “Bound”, a more chill track. Opener “Dream Team” may seem a little dull at first, but the song blows up to a huge chorus with about a minute left. Blending electronic beats and typical indie-rock style, this is an intriguing effort.

Junip

Artist- Junip
Album- Fields
Label- MUTE
Genre- Electronic chill folk-pop

Truly excellent folk-electronic project from José González (famous for covering The Knife's "Heartbeats" in a Sony commercial) and 2 of his friends. This album screams “autumn” to me. It’s folky but without a lot of guitars? (Hard to explain). It’s like a less glitchy Broken Bells. Really chill, relaxed drums/percussion and smooth keys/piano complement Gonzalez’s voice (sexy, melodic, Swedish, a bit like the guy from Hot Chip without falsetto). Sounds like Gonzalez’s solo work or Air.

Olof Arnalds

Artist- Olof Arnalds
Album- Innundir Skinni
Label- One Little Indian (Bjork's label)
Genre- folky

If you’re into folk or Icelandic music, or the two combined, you’ll like this. Arnalds (a chick, btw) is a member of mum and released her first solo album about a year and half ago. Arnalds has a pleasant, soft voice and frequently she duets with a rotating casts of male vocalists. Certain songs are in English (#3) while others are in Icelandic (2). “Surrender” features Icelandic’s pop star herself, Bjork, in a nice understated acoustic track.

Grinderman

Artist- Grinderman
Album- Grinderman 2
Label- ANTI-
Genre- Blues rock, fuzzy out, Nick Cave (his own genre!)

Blues-punk outfit featuring Nick Cave that sounds like a heavier and noisier Black Keys. It rocks. The lyrics are wacky and innuendo-filled, though usually it just sounds goofy. Nick Cave does his weird warbling voice thing that’s indescribable but sick as hell (like the creepiness of Tom Waits, without the growling, plus warbling). This album is intriguing and is certainly the best effort out of a recent trend of “heavy” 70’s influenced bands (one site calls this “post-punk cock rock”). Badass, rough guitar work. Nick Cave yet again proves why he’s still kicking serious ass after 30 years in the business.