No Age

Artist- No Age
Album- Everything In Between
Label- Sub Pop
Genre- Noise pop at its finest

No Age is a destructive duo that knows how to do noise rock in an appealing and catchy way, without losing the skull-crushing fun that noise can bring. While many may not know the name No Age, I have faith most have heard their single which debuted in 2008, Eraser. If you know this song, or better yet the band, this album will not disappoint you. No Age still delivers with their well known heavy distortions and catchy beats, but I feel they have added a new element to this album. To me, on this album, No Age finds not only a way to capitalize on fast and catchy noise beats, but also slower, more provocative sounds. One will find many songs that will intensely sweep you up in a blaze of noise and fast beats, while other songs take a more paced approach utilizing on noises ability to make something very intense. In general, the album has a good balance, and for me, I got everything I expected and then more. So, I would say to those with history with the band that will be impressed at their ability to continue providing on their signature sound, while still growing, and for those new to the band I doubt that they will be disappointed if they are looking for something fun and catchy, but that still has a little bite to it.
-Matthew James Anderson

Dead Leaf Echo

Artist- Dead Leaf Echo
Album- Truth
Label- 2&1 Records
Genre- Shoegaze

Shoegaze along the lines of Slowdive or Ride. “Half-Truth” is a gorgeous opening track driven by gunfire-quick drumming, dreamy vocals and lovely guitarwork. “Act of Truth” is another stunner driven by female backing vocals. This album is neither revolutionary nor bad- it’s a nice EP for people who wanna hear dreamy shoegaze music.

Carnivores

Artist- Carnivores
Album- If I'm Ancient
Label- Double Phantom
Genre- Tropical punkiness

6 months after cranking out an excellent debut album, this Atlanta-based quartet is back with another homerun of 60’s psychedelic punk. These kids managed to get a stellar write-up in the New York Times yet none of the huge music blogs have caught on yet. Vocals alternate between Caitlin Lang providing either shrieked punk goddess noise (#2) or melodic backing “oooohs” (#3) and Nathaniel Higgins. All the songs are just about 2 minutes long and I never want them to end. The tropical mood of early Abe Vigoda is mixed in quite well too. Carnivores’ unique take on 60’s psychadelia, surf, and punk is what sets them apart from other bands trying to capitalize on the success of lo-fi nowadays. Every track on this album is a winner and is sure to please fans of 60’s revival sound as well as those seeking noisier punkish fare.

Megafaun

Artist- Megafaun
Album- Heretofore EP
Label- Hometapes
Genre- Folk

This indie-folk EP was actually pretty likeable- a tough feat since I despite all things folk. At times it’s a little experimental and there’s always a psychedelic undercurrent throughout. “Carolina Days” is the most upbeat (and shortest) track, carried by acoustic chords (and a cute guitar solo late in the track) and sweet vocal melodies that’s great roadtrip music (lyrically and metaphorically). Great Americana music that should please most folks.

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.