2014 (II)

LiStening Now // May 5th

May '14

Guitars and scratchy things

Tycho "Awake" LP on Ghostly International
Release date: MARCH 18, 2014

Purchase "Awake": shop.iso50.com/collections/awake

formats:
CD/LP/DIGITAL

artwork by:
ISO50

For nearly a decade, Tycho has been known as the musical alias of Scott Hansen, but with the release of Awake – his second LP for Ghostly International – the solo project has evolved into a three-piece band. Relating closer to post-rock than ambient soundscapes, the record is situated in the present, sounding more like Hansen than drawing from his influences. “This is, in many ways, the first true Tycho record.”

Following 2011’s Dive LP, the San Francisco-based designer toured extensively, and with a full band on stage, his sound coalesced into a percussive, organic whole. Zac Brown (guitars, bass) rejoined Scott on the road for this tour, but it was the particular addition of Rory O’Connor’s live drumming that ultimately sent Hansen back to the studio with a more precise vision. “After the tour, I decided that I wanted to capture the more energetic, driven sound of the live show on the next album,” Hansen recalls. Bringing musicians into Tycho’s creative process was a step towards expanding his own songwriting and advancing the project beyond its current sound.

In a cabin near Tahoe last winter, Zac and Scott began fleshing out the structure of the new record, but it wasn’t until they set up shop in the hills of Santa Cruz with Rory that it all fell into place. “It crystallized the vision of how the drums would come to the forefront on this record,” says Hansen. The sound was much more stripped-down and concise with more organic instruments in the fold. Songs like “Montana” and “Awake” are a departure from Tycho’s previous material – unique to the group effort poured into the songs on the new record – while “See” and “Dye” echo ideas from previous works, bridging a middle ground between the old and new. Working with Count Eldridge, who also engineered Dive, the team could fixate on the pulses that Tycho might previously layer under synthesizers and exhume them with distinct bass and guitar patterns.

Also known for his design work as ISO50, Hansen’s visual and sonic efforts have dovetailed throughout the course of his career. “This is the first time in my life I've dropped everything to focus on one artistic pursuit,” notes Hansen. Previous Tycho releases came to fruition when an amalgam of songs were nearing completion, but Awake is where music becomes the focus and true expression becomes the result.

WEB - www.tychomusic.com 
TWITTER - www.twitter.com/iso50 
FB - www.facebook.com/tychomusic 
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/iso50 
INSTAGRAM - @iso50

Awake

Artist: School of Language
Track: Dress Up
Label: Memphis Industries

From the album Old Fears
(p) and (c) Memphis Industries Ltd 2014

http://smarturl.it/oldfearsitunes
http://smarturl.it/oldfearsamazon

School of Language - Dress Up

Palehound will release the Kitchen 7" on February 25th via Exploding In Sound Records. Recorded by Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez at Gravesend Recordings (at The Silent Barn). Mastered by Josh Bonati. Artwork by Andrew Marathas.

Kitchen 7" marks the first recordings of Palehound as a full band...
Ellen Kempner (vox/guitar)
Ben Scherer (guitar)
Thom Lombardi (bass)
Max Kupperberg (drums)

Palehound are going on tour this Spring including a stop at SXSW. Get in touch with the band at ellen.kempner@gmail.com with any show requests.

Palehound - Pay No Mind

"Mr. President" is the first single from Geronimo!'s third full length LP, Cheap Trick. The album is due out May 13th via Exploding In Sound Records. PRE-ORDER at www.thegeronimoband.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-trick

Geronimo! is:
Ben Grigg - keys
Kelly Johnson - vocals/guitars
Matt Schwerin - drums

Engineered and mixed by Daniel Good at Chrome Attic. 
Mastered by Sam John at Precise Mastering.

www.thegeronimoband.com
www.facebook.com/thegeronimoband
www.twitter.com/thegeronimoband
www.thegeronimoband.bandcamp.com
www.geronimochicago.tumblr.com

For advance copies, please email dan@explodinginsound.com.

Geronimo! - Mr. President

From the upcoming Little Big League / Ovlov Split 7" out August 2014 on Tiny Engines

Pre-Order now: http://tnyn.gs/lbl-ovlov

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/16919-year-of-the-sunhouse/

Little Big League - Year Of The Sunhouse

Flesh War

"Crystal Key" is the second single to be taken from PONY BONES II, the sophomore EP from PONY BONES (feat. members of Speedy Ortiz, Graph, Kendra, etc). The EP will be released on cassette via Exploding In Sound Records on April 29th, 2014. 

PRE-ORDER the tape at www.bonypones.bandcamp.com

Download last year's debut for FREE on Bandcamp too.

PONY BONES are:
Kate Hanlon (drums)
Matt Robidoux (guitar/vocals/tape/keys)

recorded in 2013 at:
Kate's House (Somerville, MA)
King St. Manor (Northampton, MA)

produced by Pony Bones and Robert Macdonald
mastered by Carl Saff

EIS020

Pony Bones - Crystal Key

"1000 Realities" is the second single from Geronimo!'s third full length LP, Cheap Trick. The album is due out May 13th via Exploding In Sound Records. PRE-ORDER at www.thegeronimoband.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-trick

Geronimo! is:
Ben Grigg - keys
Kelly Johnson - vocals/guitars
Matt Schwerin - drums

Engineered and mixed by Daniel Good at Chrome Attic.
Mastered by Sam John at Precise Mastering.

www.thegeronimoband.com
www.facebook.com/thegeronimoband
www.twitter.com/thegeronimoband
www.thegeronimoband.bandcamp.com
www.geronimochicago.tumblr.com

For advance copies, please email dan@explodinginsound.com.

Geronimo! - 1000 Realities

From the upcoming self-titled debut album.

Phosphenes

Pre-order from iTunes: http://smarturl.it/tpo-wh-itunes

Slumberland Records is pleased to announce the signing of London-based neo-psychedelic pop group The Proper Ornaments. Mining the rich territories of The Velvet Underground and The Beach Boys, their debut album proper "Wooden Head" features fourteen thrillingly taut and melodic pop songs with a deep, dark undercurrent. Comprised of Argentinian Max Claps and James Hoare (also of Veronica Falls) – who both sing and write the songs – and joined by Daniel Nellis (bass) and Robert Syme (drums), the band have already shared stages with the likes of Real Estate, Woods, Crystal Stilts, Toy and Metronomy.

Maximo Claps arrived in London in 2008 on a one-way ticket from Buenos Aires, aided by former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Oldham had produced a record by Claps' Argentinian band of the time but the group had fallen apart in a mess of drugs and acrimony and Claps' family were attempting to intervene by sending him to a mental hospital. The only option seemed to be to flee the country. As Claps recalls, "The day before flying to the UK I got run over by a car and had to escape hospital in order to make it so I arrived with bandages and my head all stitched up."

A few weeks later Max walked into the vintage clothes shop where James Hoare sat behind the counter reading a book on The Velvet Underground, and attempted to cause a diversion while his kleptomaniac girlfriend stole a pair of boots. “She didn't steal them in the end,” says Max. “They weren't her size”. However, the shop assistant and the would-be accomplice bonded over a mutual love of the Velvets, Love, Felt and West Coast pop and began writing together, taking their name from a song by the pioneering soft psych band The Free Design. In 2010 they released their first single, "Recalling", following it up with a five-song EP for London label No Pain in Pop. In 2013 Lo Recordings released all their output to date on a collection titled "Waiting for the Summer", followed by the single “First Step Out” in February 2014.

Their new album was recorded at a studio in Hackney, as well as at home in their old flat in Whitechapel on a broken 8-track reel-to-reel bought off eBay from an angry guy who threatened to shoot them and chop off their balls when they attempted to return it - a terrifying experience for a pair of skinny indie boys. Taking inspiration from Berlin-era Lou Reed, Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Darklands”, The Television Personalities and West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, the songs are breezy and easy on the ear, with sublime harmonies and chiming Byrdsian guitar, but with a darker twist and a pervasive air of melancholy. Stand-out tracks include the beautiful but sad “Summer’s Gone” (about mental illness), “Magazine” (an upbeat number written from the perspective of a bullet in the barrel of a gun) and “You’ll See” (about how when you die you’ll see everyone you know, all there lined up in a row).

With "Wooden Head", The Proper Ornaments prove that it is still possible to create an album of pure pop perfection. Max's girlfriend may not have stolen the boots, but The Proper Ornaments are about to steal your heart.

“The joint project of James and Max, through romantic drama that borders on that of The Libertines. And when you hear The Proper Ornaments you’ll see why it’s all worth it. It’s like they’re meant for each other, like Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts” - Loud & Quiet


The Proper Ornaments - Summer's Gone

ON THE RUN

Geronimo! - Spitting In The Ocean

Lost Boy ? - Wasted

Mastodon's new album Once More 'Round The Sun is available now at http://smarturl.it/omrts

High Road

DOWNLOAD

Street Fighter Intro

Produced by Allie X
Additional Prod by J Gramm Beats

COLLXTION I

BITCH

Merchandise - "No You And Me"

Listen to Simple Things EP on spotify
https://play.spotify.com/album/71ZfdT1Fd9y3uVGWmNP8eu

Buy EP on iTunes

Simple Things

Stream 'Elder Island EP' now on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/ELStream

Elder Island's Debut EP is out now via @fourthieves

Vinyl EP: smarturl.it/VinylDirect
Digital EP: smarturl.it/ElderiDigi

Elder Island - What It's Worth

Released August 5, 2014.

Digital: bit.ly/1mYsqJ2 
Physical: https://www.omnianmusicgroup.com/products/television-man

Geronimo! - Spitting In The Ocean

explodinginsoundrecords