Name: Dirty Beaches - Sweet 17 by iameuanmackay
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Description: Think Taiwanese Canadian and what sound do you hear? Well scrap that and have a listen to Dirty Beaches instead. Rough, scratchy and unkempt. Oh Ad dark, very dark. Love this a lot.

Following on from their great EP on Woodsist and a summer of packed shows and increasing anticipation, we are very proud to bring you "Alight of Night," an album that more than delivers on the promise of their early singles. So what's it like, you ask? There is a definite flavor of Velvet Underground to be had, but Crystal Stilts' spectral avant-garage also takes in such far-flung references as: the spooked 60s Texas psych of 13th Floor Elevators and Red Crayola, the gothic blues/punk howl of Gun Club, the dark, experimental DIYism of early Flying Nun/Xpressway groups Pin Group and Plagal Grind, and a post-punk minimalism that brings to mind early Rough Trade and Factory releases. There is definitely a strong pop element as well, with the buzzsaw bubblegum of early Mary Chain b-sides and Meat Whiplash coming to mind.

These are all just rough points of reference, though -- "Alight of Night" is far more than just the sum of the bands influences. From the twang 'n' echo of "Crystal Stilts" to the primal pop stomp of "Prismatic Room" and the lovely jangle of "Shattered Shine," the band always adds something extra and unique to the mix, whether it's a fleeting dash of harmonica, a hypnotic organ line or just an amazing guitar sound. There is a unity of purpose at work here, a special mood conjured by the sounds, production and sequence of songs that lifts this album into the realm of the classics, and reveals new twists and turns on each listen.

Like all great albums, every piece just sits in exactly the right place, each song builds on the last and by the end you couldn't imagine changing anything about it at all. Eerily familiar but totally now, "Alight of Night" is a brilliantly haunting slice of rock primitivism.

Crystal Stilts - Crystal Stilts

Wand - Take Me Back To The Void

SOKO "Girls On Film" (August 12th, 2014; MODERN) taken from the LP 'Making Patterns Rhyme: a tribute to DURAN DURAN' for the benefit of Amnesty, curated by MANIMAL. Limited CD + Vinyl versions coming via RANDM Records.

SOKO - "Girls On Film"

Another Green World - Memorial

Through 12 -- דרך12
חזרה : בבית - טיסר
עריכה קולית - נבו remix

תמימותי הרוב

Fuzz Club 10" split single no 6

A Place To Bury Strangers - Down The Stairs
The Telescopes - I Wanna Be Your Dog


A Place To Bury Strangers- Down The Stairs

Think Taiwanese Canadian and what sound do you hear? Well scrap that and have a listen to Dirty Beaches instead. Rough, scratchy and unkempt. Oh Ad dark, very dark. Love this a lot.

Dirty Beaches - Sweet 17

Cover Art by Ethan McGinnis

Lyrics:
He would walk into a room
and the room changed
I saw him smoke and tie his shoe
He called my name
I am so in love with him
I can feel the weight

Dirty Beaches - Sweet 17

iameuanmackay

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