Forget Our Earthly Cares

Glyn Hyde - Burned Out 2022

'Ines de Castro' is the first single from David Vassalotti's Broken Rope LP on on 2/12/2016.  Order your copy here - http://wharfcatrecords.com/store/david-vassalotti-broken-rope-lp

Order from Apple Music here - https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/broken-rope/id1074173803

As modern life spirals further into chaos and confusion, David Vassalotti’s newest album Broken Rope, a follow-up to his revered out-of-print 2011 LP Book of Ghosts, presents itself as a soundtrack for the tumult
.
Vassalotti, a Florida-based songwriter and performer for critically acclaimed 4AD signees Merchandise (amongst numerous other projects), has used this record as an opportunity to delve further into his own diverse world of personal interests. Broken Rope is a passion project, with Vassalotti handling all of the writing, performing, recording, production, and art design.

From lo-fi guitar pop sounds (a la Flying Nun staples like The Clean and The Verlaines), to elements harsh industrial noise and musique concrete, Vassalotti weaves together a wide array of musical influences with a steady hand. Similarly, the album’s lyrics draw from literary references as far- reaching as Portuguese history, Russian folklore, and Spanish poetry.

Ambitious as it may be to cover so much ground, there is a rational flow and unity that ties the record together. In the chaotic globalism of the 21st century Broken Rope may not be the compass that helps us find our orientation, but it can still serve as a mirror to help shape our concept of where we fit into the fray. This is an adventurous album for uncertain times.

PITCHFORK: D. Vassalotti "Swallow My Pride"
“Tampa's Merchandise have a decade of artful hardcore and experimental pop under their belts-- but the devastating solo output of guitarist Dave Vassalotti is their best kept secret”

David Vassalotti - Ines De Castro

Ryley Walker - "Telluride Speed" from 'Deafman Glance' out May 18, 2018 on Dead Oceans

Download / stream: http://ryleywalker.ffm.to/deafmanglance

Ryley Walker - Telluride Speed

New EP 'Heads West' out now! Limited run of cassettes available here: https://thedeathofpop.bandcamp.com/album/heads-west

Produced by the Death of Pop

released March 16, 2018 
Leisure Records
Artwork by George Abram

Ready For Us

Flowers in the Spring: http://smarturl.it/flowersinthespring


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(c) 2018 Innovative Leisure

The Molochs - Too Lost In Love

Peel Dream Magazine is the musical vehicle for NYC's Joe Stevens, who launched the band in 2018 with the critically acclaimed album "Modern Meta Physic." With it Stevens created a mysterious, liminal tribute to the hazy end of ‘90s dream-pop – a masterful mix of first-class songwriting precision and train-window sonic impressionism that duly found its place on numerous "Best of 2018" lists.

After 18 months of writing and live shows with a shifting cast of band members, Peel Dream are back with "Agitprop Alterna," an album that pushes the group's dreamy, motorik-heavy sound to a deeply melodic and beautifully discordant place. The album pays homage to a strain of mod-ish U.K. pop that spans early My Bloody Valentine and Talulah Gosh, up through early Stereolab, Belle & Sebastian, and even Broadcast. It's also indebted to stateside pop bands that were cut from a similar cloth -- Rocketship, Lilys, Yo La Tengo, and even "Nevermind"-era Nirvana.

Where the creation of "Modern Meta Physic" was a solitary pursuit, "Agitprop Alterna" found Stevens channeling the collaborative spirit of the band's ever-rotating live incarnation in the studio. The album is ultimately defined by the tension of difference: between itself and its predecessor; intertwined male-female vocals; the music's languid dreaminess and concrete sonic immediacy.

Deeply rooted in the Brechtian ideas of art as a tool to spur action, "Agitprop Alterna" deepens the connection between the existential and the interpretive first explored on "Modern Meta Physic," giving the listener space to find their own meaning in shimmering guitars, fuzzed-out synths, and buzzing organ drones. It is a rejection of manipulation in all its forms and a buzzsaw against complacency – soft-focus pop whose clear-cut message is that you get to decide the message. It's a rare trick to agitate without being obvious: perhaps that makes "Agitprop Alterna" the most Peel Dream Magazine-like statement yet.

Agitprop Alterna

Agitprop Altern

Peel Dream Magazine - Emotional Devotion Creator

Lunchbox's Tim Brown and Donna McKean have been making records in their Oakland, California basement for two decades, inspired by 1960s/70s AM-radio pop and TV show theme music, punk, C86, and mod à la the Creation and the Jam. From the sonically-inventive indiepop of "The Magic of Sound" (1999) to the dub-influenced psychedelia of "Evolver" (2001) to the critically-acclaimed bubblegum of "Lunchbox Loves You" (2013), the couple have established a sound all their own.

Their new album for Slumberland, "After School Special," finds them at the height of their powers of songcraft and performance. Donna's bass playing stakes out stylistic territory somewhere between Carol Kaye and John Entwhistle while Tim's guitar is equal parts 12-string jangle and clipped Orange Juice-esque funk. Horns by Gary Olson (Ladybug Transistor) and longtime collaborator Jeremy Goody drive the record from beginning to end. Evelyn Davis' delay-drenched keyboards combine with whispers of analog tape feedback to give the record an otherworldly vibe in keeping with its lyrical themes.

There, favorite seasons (autumn) and animals (cats), appear alongside love and death, ghosts and reincarnation. From the shimmering opener "Dream Parade" to the horn-driven mod-pop of "Hide and Seek," the groovy sixties R&B vibe of "I Really Wanna Know" and the haunting male-female vocal stylings of the  album-closing title track, the textures shift while the unity of artistic vision remains. Catchy as hell and beautifully packaged, "After School Special" is Lunchbox at their very best.

After School Special

Lunchbox - Dream Parade

Polytherian is a sacred space, generated for playful metamorphoses, in search of radical self-knowledge - and the project name of songwriter Dylan Tidyman-Jones (formerly FRONDS). The debut album, Role Play, approaches themes of performance, self-discovery, & transformation with candor and awareness. It's a haunting introspective trip, drawing on a broad range of musical styles - from dream pop & Canterbury Prog, to Tropicalia, bedroom pop, and the quieter side of glam.

Order the limited edition 12" on milky clear vinyl here:
https://goldrobotrecords.bigcartel.com/product/polytherian-role-play-12

Role Play

Cliff Walking

Polytherian - Cliff Walking

Track written by EggS. 

Mixed by  Guillaume Siracusa (Gravity Music) 
Artwork:  Stage Reconstruction of the comedy play "Santa Claus Is a Stinker"

EggS - Old Fashioned Virtue

An independent record label, born in the Bay Area and based in Boston. We adore vinyl and creative people.

Polytherian - Cliff Walking

Gold Robot Records

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