Listen To/Download: Honeydrum “Pleasures of the Sun”

New Jersey’s Honeydrum  is equal parts Joy Division, Ariel Pink, Roxy Music and 80′s new wave sent through a dark filter of distortion and reverb. I really like how Pasta Primavera described Honeydrum’s sound:

Remember the other day you were strolling beachside when you spotted an old cassette tape washed up on the shore.  It was some random 80s new wave relic.  To your surprise it actually played on the stereo back at the beach house.  That night was chill.  Warped water damaged waves bled your mind into a sunset oblivion.

Pleasures of the Sun, Honeydrum’s sixth limited edition cassette EP for AMDISCS, is out now.

Watch more of Honeydrum’s music videos here

New Music Video: Sandwitches “Back to Sea” (aka Women Who Bowl)

San Francisco’s Sandwitches have been plugging away at their craft for a couple years now, sprinkling their barbed, alluring electric folk briars across unsuspecting gardens in the Bay Area and beyond. Previous releases, such as the swampy ecstasy of How To Make Ambient Sadcake and last year’s more expansive EP, Duck Duck Goose!, captured distinct sides of the trio.  Their latest album Mrs. Jones’ Cookies, which features the single “Back to Sea”, continues to unify their uniquely whimsical and creepy vision.

Mrs. Jones’ Cookies is out now via Empty Cellar Records

From the video’s director Caitlin Durlak:

Last season my Grandma’s bowling team called it there last. I was lucky enough to be there with my video camera and capture a bit of history. This Friday Gram turns another year older and I made her this music video as a gift. I hope that it brings a smile to your face, I know it helps cheer me up!

New Music Video: Veronica Falls “Come On Over”

“Come on Over” is from Veronica Falls’ upcoming self-titled debut LP, to be released in September on Slumberland Records. The video, filled with some pretty amazing dance choreography, was created by Brooklyn-based Army of Kids.

After a slew of critically acclaimed singles and well-received shows both here and in the UK, the quartet of Roxanne Clifford, Patrick Doyle, James Hoare and Marion Herbain, otherwise known as Veronica Falls are returning this autumn with their much anticipated self-titled debut LP. With their debut album, Veronica Falls have crafted a brilliantly concise, superbly concentrated hit of spiky, marvelously contagious indie pop with a twist – these are songs which will lodge themselves in your head as well as your heart, with style and attitude to burn. You’d do well to surrender to their eerie spell.

Listen To/Download: Geoff Geis “Princess”

Geoff Geis, an integral member of multiple Los Angeles-based bands including Big Whup and Pizza!, spent the opening months of 2011 collecting the material that has become Princess, the first release for his boutique cassette label Vanity Projects. To say Princess is a strange hodgepodge of sounds would be an understatement. It pulls equally from the contradictory sounds of lo-fi Electronica, old school Country, 80′s synth pop and blue-eyed soul, while still finding time to touch upon a dizzying variety of other genres in its brisk 24 minutes run time. In less skilled hands a combination of that sort could sound muddled or worse yet ridiculous but Geis’ attention to arrangements, honest vocal delivery and ear for melodies keeps Princess unified in its charming appeal.

Download: “Where Have You Been (All My Life)?” (cover song) here (right click + save link as)

Download: “Mother of All” here (right click + save link as)

New Music: Brilliant Colors “Again and Again”

Brilliant Colors are back with their second LP Again and Again.

Inspired by post-punk fervor and the spiky pop of C86 and early Flying Nun / Creation label output, San Francisco’s Brilliant Colors stake out a unique spot in the indie music landscape. Their 2009 album, Introducing, is one of the finest debuts in recent memory, and they followed it with 7-inches on Slumberland and Make a Mess and a European tour with La La Vasquez that led to the release of another great single on Germs of Youth. Most recently, they teamed up with Belfast’s brilliant Girls Names to release a split 7-inch in Fall 2010. All of these singles were recorded with Oakland garage phenom Ty Segall, who spiked the ladies’ punk-pop swirl with his own special grit.

Now Brilliant Colors have teamed up again with The Pool’s Alex Yusimov (who recorded their first album as well as Grass Widow and many of Portland’s finest indie bands) to create Again And Again, an album that represents a great next step for the band. The song-writing is still as infectious as ever, but the tunes are now more carefully arranged pushing the band far beyond their punk roots to something as elemental as pop gets. Songs like opener “Hey Dan,” the sprightly “Value Lines” and “Hitting Traffic” combine guitarist/singer Jess’ catchy-as-hell riffs with Diane’s steady, rolling beats and Michelle’s dense baselines to fashion songs that are deceptively simple — straightforwardly rocking but also richly layered, revealing new twists on each listen.

The mood is confessional and late-night dreamy; Jess’ unadorned vocals and eloquent lyrics are personal, direct and atmospherically deployed, mixed in with the songs like another instrument. They can be heard to great effect on tougher songs like “Back To The Tricks” and “Painting Truths,” tempering those tunes’ punchy punk dynamics with their melodic sensibility. Add in classic-sounding stormers like “Cult Face” and “How Much Younger” and you have all the makings of another great Brilliant Colors album, one that shows how finely they’ve honed their own unique brand punk-informed crash-pop.

Brilliant Colors’ Again and Again is out July 19, 2011 via Slumberland Records

Brilliant Colors – How Much Younger by Slumberland Records