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Turnover: sweet ear treats

Felipe — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 13:00:25 +0000

2016 might be their year. One convert at a time, Turnover is becoming a band that whoever listens, keeps listening. A super great break out album, Peripheral Vision. Adoration by genre-crossing fans. Sharp and resonant lyrics. An easy going vibe conducive to repeat listens. And a great label full of killer up-and-coming bands: Run For Cover Records (Pinegrove, The Sun Days, Pity Sex). They are currently on a Europe and UK tour with four previously shared FSL bands: Moose Blood, PUP, and Boston Manor (sweet new tunes out recently). Without terrible success their first few years of existence, and nonstop touring taking its toll, the band decided if something didn’t change, they’d cut back and make this more of a “hobby-based thing.” That allowed them to take some risks (if you can call it that) and make some changes to their sound, just do whatever they wanted without the fear established bands have of pissing off their fan-base (as reported from last night’s Cymbals Eat Guitars show in Brooklyn). The risks have paid off, and this year “has definitely been the coolest and best year,” taking them to Europe, Japan and Australia. The real question now becomes, so what’s next? Do they take more risks and mix it up again? Hang tight to what’s paying the bills? People hate on bands selling out, but usually selling out goes hand in hand with gettin’ paid son ($$)… so who are we corporate sell outs to judge?

Speaking of hanging on to things, here’s an older track from a few years back. The EP came about when they mixed up their lineup and brought Eric Soucy in for guitar and back up vocals, initiating the transformation to their current sound. This song’s about the fallout with that person you kinda hung on to, who was always around, but never “the” person. You never meant to hurt anyone, or yourself. You both knew the deal. Still didn’t change the way things ended up.

Feli Says Listen to Peripheral Vision on repeat

Grow up and Be Surf Dads

Felipe — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 20:13:11 +0000

Regina, Saskatchewan [SK is one of the giant provinces – in Canada – just north of Montana and North Dakota, in between Alberta (where Calgary is) and Manitoba (where Winnipeg is, like the Winnipeg Jets)] is the home town of dynamic duo Surf Dads, who have a new 4 track EP out called Summer Vacation. Throughout their new EP, Surf Dads echo little bits of Wavves (“Found Yourself in Thailand”), Japandroids (“The Way She Does”), and other genre stalwarts like Local H and Weezer. Regina (blossoming population of 250k) is an odd place to find your love of surf, but with one member living in Cali, and the other with his feet firmly rooted in the Canuck life, they’ve managed to pump out three EPs while basically not living even remotely near one other, let alone practicing, or anything – kinda like The Postal Service, except not famous, and with real instruments. Maybe one of them is the “surf” and the other is the “dads”…? Beats me. Or maybe they are the co-presidents of the Greater Regina Surfing Club and organize yearly trips to different locales like Costa Rica to catch waves, kinda like how Florida has so many snow ski club while being a zombie and gator infested swampland. With little to no info available I can invent just about whatever I want, but I bet one of those is pretty close to being right. Here are all four tracks from the Surf Dads EP Summer Vacation ripe for outside summertimeyness.

Feli Listens to all

The Sun Days on Mondays

Felipe — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:00:39 +0000

Why do we call it “Sunday Scaries”? I’ve heard folks use that term to describe the looming fear of the ever fast approaching Monday work day; which it then should be called the Monday Scaries… Right? Or am I missing something? You’re “scared” of Monday. Then again, I’ve also heard it described as the sort of Sunday hangover shakes from boozing all weekend and foggily recounting your last 36 hours of mistakes (where did these pro-Trump texts from someone named Frank come from/why is the Chinese food delivery guy asleep on my couch/why do my heels have no heels/this isn’t my shirt), while realizing you are indeed a tax paying adult with responsibilities and employees to manage in a few short hours. That sounds terrible. But I still don’t get the “scaries” part :-/. Either way, next time the Sunday scaries come a’creepin, you can find relief in The Sun Days – who are none of the above things – (and who may or may not have essentially copied another band’s name), providing breezy Cali-inspired beach indiepop by way of Sweden. They are happy, fun and all around super chill awesome. Stereogum called them “one of the best new bands in the world” back in their February review – bold, to say the least. They also mentioned that calling your band The Sun Days (with a space in between “Sun” and “Days”) is “a lot like adopting the name Churches or Limp Biscuit or Ray, Dio Head.” HA. Nice one. Their 2016 debut album, meticulously titled “Album,” is real real nice.

Feli Says DEF Listen to this one

Aussies know how to Beach

Felipe — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 21:46:03 +0000

If today were an album, I’d name it I’m Sweaty and the Subway’s an Inferno. Kinda like DMX’s It’s Dark and Hell is Hot (remember that gem?). Well today is same same but different. Here are some tunes from a couple Aussies in honor of going to the beach and having fun (Aussies are way better are chillin’ out and relaxin’ all cool), instead of dripping on a subway platform in Union Square next to some shredded tank top wearing, Old Spice-boycotting, hipster who brought his bicycle on the train and keeps sliding his grubby non-manicured hand down the pole and touching yours (come on dude! don’t tell you can’t feel my hand there!? are you serious!? people are the worst…). Braves is a group of lo-fi garage rockers from Perth, Australia who have an EP out called Seapunk; and Alex Lahey is a Best Coast styling beach rocker from Melbourne, Australia whose personal interests, according to Facebook, are “Blue 1999 Toyota Corollas” – dependable car btw. These two helping channel my inner beach. I guess this is what Corona has been talking about all these years…

Feli just wishes he’d stop sweating

Don’t be a Bleach; get Bleached

Felipe — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 15:30:19 +0000

LoFi gritty beach tunes are all the rage these days and LA seems to produce them with a certain regularity. Sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin write sun-drenched LA rock songs and form the foundation of (surprise, surprise!) LA outfit Bleached (named “Bleached” for always bleaching their jean jackets and blonde hair – shoulda called themselves the “Bleach Boys”). The only time they can write their emo love songs is when they’re going through some weird times (no one wants to listen to you sing about how happy you are! How unrelatable! … I guess unless it’s rap and country; spinners and bottles and jacked up trucks and hot ladies are all happy AND relatable. So nvm my theory I guess). Anyways, Jen (that’s what her buds call her) wants to be in a relationship, but being in a band and on the road is super tough, so she gets inspired to write while on tour. Add that with being a Scorpio… and ya… watch out for that rollercoaster. Here are some Scorpio buzz words thanks to Zodiac-Signs-Astrology.com: loyal, jealous, passionate, resourceful, suspicious, observant, manipulative, dynamic, and unyielding. Wow… FBI/serial killer!? Both? Oh ya. first two quotes: “Scorpios are fiercely independent” and “Relationships with Scorpios are always complicated […] a series of extremes.”

Don’t Say Feli didn’t warn you

Fill your lexicon with Beach Slang

Felipe — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:30:40 +0000

If you’re in a rut for some new Japandroids (they basically just don’t make albums because they’ve admitted, “we stink at our instruments so it takes us a long time to make stuff“) or perhaps some old school early 90’s Goo Goo Dolls, fear no more, Beach Slang is out with a new album, and their first full length, last week, “The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us” (btw, anyone else loving these super long band names and album titles? just awesome). The Philly foursome’s previous EPs had equally awesome titles: “Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken?” (#soemo) and “Cheap Thrills on a Dead End Street.” Now, where did they get a name like Beach Slang? Funny you ask. Frontman James Alex “used to skate with this really sweet girl who would refer to the way I spoke as ‘beach slang’ and I’ve never shaken that off. The really soft parts of your childhood have a way of sticking around.” Cool cool cool… But 1) what business does a kid from Philly have talking in what would be referred to as “beach slang”? And 2) how would some kid from Philly even really know what “beach” slang sounded like? Shouldn’t it be like “grey-and-cold-all-the-time slang”? or like, “we’ll-never-be-happy-with-our-sports-teams slang”? or “all-of-our-politicians-are-corrupt-but-hey-look!-more-snow! slang”?

Very relistenable this album is, Feli Says

Only Real – Yesterdays

Felipe — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 19:58:26 +0000

Consisting of “Only Real Guys” from West London, and led by a smug-face-makin’ adorably ginger dude, Only Real are back out with a fun summer sounding EP. His tunes are “baby music for babies” and “guitar music for people who don’t like guitars”… idk what that’s supposed to mean. Regardless, Only Real is mainly one dude named Niall Galvin – a self claimed “sick guy!” and chill drowsy-rap-popster. He’s exactly what you’d envision of a Cali beach bummin’, garage band playin’, long board cruisin’, backwards hat wearin’, slacker – if he was from West London but his identical twin was in SoCal and they could like, “feeeel” each other; just like Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap… (I have a sister, ok? chill). At least he’s not recording songs in his bedroom anymore.

Feli Say Listen to Summer Jams