APPARITONS I-IIII inhabits the space between "Shoegaze" "Shimmer" and "Funeral Metal", where Grief turns into Beauty and Absence becomes its own kind of presence. 

4. IIII

Known for their compelling song-writing and excruciatingly long breaks between albums, The Laurels are back with ‘Monkey On My Back’, the first single to be lifted from their forthcoming and highly anticipated third record.

‘Monkey On My Back’ combines raw guitars and layered harmonies that are driven by a soulful rhythm section. The track sees the band regain the energy they captured on Mesozoic, the pop sensibilities displayed on Plains, and the hip-hop production aesthetic developed on Sonicology.

Monkey On My Back by The Laurels

Lake Ruth was formed in 2015 by multi-instrumentalist Hewson Chen of The New Lines, drummer Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck, Enon, SAVAK) and vocalist Allison Brice (The Eighteenth Day of May, The Silver Abduction). Their expanded live line-up includes René Dennis (The New Lines), James Canty (The Make-up, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists), and David Mason (Listening Center).
 
Inspired by 1960's sonic experimentation, baroque psychedelia, library obscurities, vintage pop noir, Giallo soundtracks, kraut and jazz, Lake Ruth creates intriguing and unique music rich with multilayered instrumentation, propulsive rhythms and atmospheric vocals.

Following up two excellent albums and several singles, "Extended Leave" is their latest music and perhaps the sharpest, most incisive example of their deep, thought-provoking pop yet. Mysterious and melodic, both sides of this double-A side single ably demonstrate why Lake Ruth are one of the most interesting bands out there today. Part of the SLR30 Singles Series.

Extended Leave

Lake Ruth - Strange Interiors

Head Sport Full Face

'About a Girl / Turn to Hate' (Release Date: May 13, 2020) 
Order Now - Sub Pop Mega Mart: https://megamart.subpop.com/releases/bully/about_a_girl

Bully: http://www.bullythemusic.com/
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Bully - About a Girl

Be My Friend

Los Angeles' Smokescreens are a group of friends who bonded through a love for New Zealand's Flying Nun label, as well as shared inspirations such as The Velvet Underground, The Go-Betweens, The Television Personalities and of course indie pop of all flavors. Their self-titled debut was released to wide acclaim in 2017, and was quickly followed-up with the excellent "Used To Yesterday" in 2018.

Since then they've toured a bit, written a bunch and made some great friends along the way. One new friend and fan is David Kilgour from legendary New Zealand band The Clean, who came to LA to produce Smokescreens' new record "A Strange Dream." Recorded with trusted engineer Kyle Mullarky, this terrific album exhibits a band at the very height of their powers, combining their collective talents into a potent set of songs that's been superbly captured by the team of Kilgour and Mullarky.

From the jaunty pop of opener "Fork In The Road" to the rocking "Streets of Despair" and the dreamy "On and On" this is a record that clearly shows a band that knows it's way around a timeless guitar riff and aching pop melody. Gorgeous ballads like "Nighttime Skies" and "I Love Only You" add a new depth to Smokescreens' sound, and the cover of Scrotum Poles' DIY classic "Pick The Cats Eyes Out" is perfect, and perfectly fun. Add in an evocative cover painting from Mr. Kilgour and you have a record looks as good as it sounds, and will prove to be compulsive listening for any savvy pop fan.

A Strange Dream

Smokescreens - Working Title

Following up their well-received 2018 album "Used To Yesterday," LA's Smokecreens are back with the excellent new record "A Strange Dream." Produced by David Kilgour from NZ legends The Clean, "A Strange Dream" shows a band at the peak of it's talents, ably blending influences like The Go-Betweens, UK DIY indie and pop, and of course Flying Nun into a compelling, compulsive album. From the jaunty pop of opener "Fork In The Road" to the rocking "Streets of Despair" and the dreamy "On and On" this is a record that clearly shows a band that knows it's way around a timeless guitar riff and aching pop melody. Gorgeous ballads like "Nighttime Skies" and "I Love Only You" add a new depth to Smokescreens' sound, and the cover of Scrotum Poles' DIY classic "Pick The Cats Eyes Out" is perfect, and perfectly fun. A future classic.

Pre-order

Smokescreens - Fork In the Road

"This Is Not the Indie Rock I Signed Up For" can be heard on Girl Friday's 2020 album Androgynous Mary smarturl.it/girlfriday_AM

Follow Girl Friday on Twitter: https://twitter.com/girlfridaytm
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Androgynous Mary

Girl Friday - "This Is Not the Indie Rock I Signed Up For"

'Atlas Vending' (Release date: October 09, 2020)

Spotify: https://u.subpop.com/2Oqo7Yg
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Order Now - Sub Pop Mega Mart https://megamart.subpop.com/releases/metz/atlas_vending

METZ: http://www.metzztem.com/
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METZ - A Boat to Drown In

Legal Ghost / Heaven

Legal Ghost

Limited Ed 7"/Digital

Tropical Fuck Storm - Legal Ghost

We're not the best, but we're pretty good.