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x_Halasan Bazar_Tin Foiled
We’re starting this selection with danish Halasan Bazar who are almost unknown but without doubt one of the most beautiful discoveries this year. "Tin Foiled" is being played over and over and surely will be for a good while ! Judge by yourselves... If you haven’t already done it, I invite you to check the little interview we had with Fredrik, their frontman. Their album, « How To Be Ever Happy » is brilliant and I’m saving my words. It was release as a cassette and is also downloadable through the nice label Moon Glyph. They’re preparing their next album for the beginning of 2013 which will probably benefit from a vinyl release. They would like to come and play in France so don’t hesitate to contact if you’re interested ! They deserve it, don’t they ?
x_Mac Demarco_Freaking Out the Neighborhood
This is a new release for Captured Tracks who keeps having fine tastes.
We discovered the canadian fellow Mac Demarco with his Rock N Roll Night Club EP where he was playing some kind of crooner-wise gems. He’s coming back with a first LP « 2 », which is disconcerting because of its excellence in this kind of slacker music with fine and cheeky melodies. He will play at Point FMR in Paris the 2th of December with his labelmate Chris Cohen (who just released a great album too). Not to miss !
x_Gap Dream_A Little Past Midnight
Gap Dream is our outsider for 2012. This is the project of Gabriel Fulvimar which was first released as a cassette by Burger Records. Then the label decided to release a vinyl version as it is a great album. Their last release is the fabulous Ali Baba 7’’, out thanks to Suicide Squeeze. « A Little Past Midnight « is the b side.
x_The Mallard_Mansion
Belonging to the Castle Face Records family, the Californian Mallards released a few months ago a nice LP called « Yes On Blood ». It feels like some witches from San Francisco who are celebrating a rock and roll mass where they would force us to sing, dance and drink some alcoholized potion by listening to the sound of their diabolic sorcery. This is of course irresistible. They’re also taking part of the tribute to the Velvet Underground by covering "There She Goes". For the 45th birthday of the mythic banana album, Castle Face Records is inviting on a limited edition vinyl, the best bands from the Bay Area to cover the legendary songs. It will be released in November.
x_Ty Segall_Femme Fatale (Velvet Underground cover)
This guy never stops…. We’ll count all his gems at the end of the year… We left him last summer with the release of the album Slaughterhouse (In The Red Records) with his Ty Segall Band. This was a hurricane… Then there was the release of his great new album some weeks ago, which is called Twins (Drag City). He’s gonna do a European tour soon and will be playing the 24h of November in Paris at BBmix Festival with Chain and The Gang, The Rebel and Misfit's Galleon. He is of course also taking part in the Velvet Underground tribute with his Castle Face Records buddies. His version of Femme Fatale is obviously fatale…
x_Lantern_I Don't Know
Zach and Emily are from Philadelphia, they’re experimenting and re working, without fear, some pure breed rock and roll with a convincing nihilism. Their compositions are raw and abrasive. The result is some cult songs that it’s difficult to get out of your head. They’re friends with Dirty Beaches and they released some brilliant stuff on labels such as Bathetic Records, Night People, Electric Voice, Mammoth Cave, Craft Singles, Mean Streets... “I Don’t Know” comes from their "Burn Youth" cassette (Night People) which is a kind of compilation of their incredible first. Their last crime is called “Dream Mine" (Bathetic Records) and is pulling the volume up to eleven in a dirty and rough way… We can’t wait to see them play live.
x_Blissed Out Fatalists_Don't Stand Far Away
Following Shoegaze Archives series, Captured Tracks carry on with reissuing projects. The new subsidiary is called Body Double Ltd and is operated by Corey Cunningham (Terry Malts) and Matt Kallman. They have the same will to find forgotten bands that were part of the history of american noisy rock music. They already released Half Church and also Blissed Out Fatalist, which is a great proto punk LA band from the end of the 80’s. Their next release will be Tom Diabo and you’ll find all the information on the website. To be continued…
x_future_Citizen
These Parisian shoegaze newcomers are old friends from the Rennes underground scene. This guys must have fallen into a cauldron full of Jesus & Mary Chain vibe. If you add to this some talent, a drum machine, a guitar, a bass and a 57, you’ve got future. It’s sounding pretty well! They haven’t release a lot of stuff for now so we’re really looking for the rest!
x_Brothers in Law_Holy Weekend
Brothers in Law are our favorite Italian band with their hit “Holy Weekends” which they released some months ago on their Gray Days EP ( We were never being boring / Cf-Records / Matta Lab). I invite you to read the interview we did if you’d like to learn more about them. It was obvious that they should be on our selection and we’re looking forward to some new material soon as they’ve recorded during the summer. Ciao Ragazzo!
x_Beat Mark_Speed Of Sound
It’s not a secret that we love Beat Mark but they deserve it. Peacefully they carry on with their precious songs… They’re playing the 1th of November with Hell Shovel at l’Espace B in Paris. Lately, they released a split with Two Bit Dezperados (which is a great discovery), with the memorable song Speed of Sound. You can grab this 7’’ on the website of the brilliant Italian labels Shit Music For Shit People and Way Out There Records.
x_Bare Wires_School Days
When Matthew Melton announced a few months ago that Bare Wires were over, we were really sad as all his songs keep rocking us since some years now. This californian fellow always had a knack for creating open heart / tender heart melodies and biting riff classics. “Idle Dream” (Southpaw) has the perfect name for a farewell record and it’s definitely a lovely farewell. Here you can find everything that you like with Bare Wires but maybe the melancholy is more perceptible, as on the song “School Days”. But dry your eyes, as Melton has more than one trick up his sleeve! He’s preparing new material with his new band Warm Soda. They’ve already released some songs and notably the Velvet Underground’s cover of “I’m Waiting For My Man” du Velvet Underground for Castle Face Records album. Vive la Melton!
x_Crusaders of Love_Lonely City
The furious guys and girl from Lille are still on a crusade for the rock and roll, and what a great feeling ! Their last LP « Take It Easy But Take It » (FDH Records) was released last July and is perfect for keeping a good mood during these cold times… Their power pop is still well-polished and sharp. This is definitely a great record where their talent shows off. In the theme of the city, we have already heard e.g. The Jam - In The City, The Only Ones - City Of Fun, and now we proudly have Lonely City from the Crusaders of Love. They’re touring around France and will come back to Paris : 29/11 @ La Machine du Moulin Rouge.
x_Useless Eaters_Black Night Ultraviolet
Seth Sutton belongs to the generation of ultra prolific artists who keeps releasing stuff all the time, always with the same rage and fury where we can sense some real talent. The question is when will he stop? Sometimes it’s getting to quick for our ears, but we obviously won’t complain about it. This is not a coincidence that he has collaborated with guys such as Ty Segall and Jay Reatard (RIP). You can grab Seth’s garage punk DIY stuff (if they’re not already sold out) on labels such as Shattered, Goner, Mastermind, Jeth-Row, Goodbye Boozy, Nashville's Dead, Tic Tac Totally, Gold Tapes, Burger, Jolly Dream, Jeffery Drag, Anti-Fade… For 2012, we’ll advise you to get his last and fabulous LP “C’est Bon” (Southpaw), the 7’’ “Addicted to the Blade” (Tic Tac Totally) and lastly his EP “Black Night Ultraviolet” (Manimal Vinyl) from which this song is from. See ya soon Seth?
x_Scott & Charlene's Wedding _I Wanna Die
Australia is a faraway land for us Europeans but we have the chance to be connected with it through it’s great rock scene with plenty of bands as Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Twerps, Dick Diver, Total Control, Peak Twins etc… Scott & Charlene's Wedding is a new discovery even if they’re active since a while now on the underground Aussie scene. Multifaceted artist Craig Dermody (you can find his work here) is running this project and he moved recently to NYC. “I Wanna Die” is part of a sublime split record from Scott & Charlene's Wedding and Peak Twins. It has been co-released by aussie label Bed Room Suck and Night People (US). By the way we’ll soon again speak of these guys…
x_Each Other_An Instant
These Canadian newcomers have just released a new EP « Heavenly Spaced » which is very promising. This is fresh, wild and it can remind of the unforgettable band Women, in a more pop spirit. Each Other has to be discovered and they’re playing in Paris with Action Beat the 14th of November at Point FMR.
x_Sic Alps_Moviehead
The Californian veteran rockers released their new album (via Drag City) for which they took some distance to their previous lo-fi material resulting in a clear production and even some strings parts! The result is lovely and we keep thinking that these guys definitely rule…
x_Venera 4_Seabed Terror
We close this selection with some newcomers with big potential. The parisian quartet Venera 4 brings us to its dark and powerful universe with this first unreleased song “Seabed Terror”. We’ll follow them closely as this foggy shoegaze melody is unstoppable…
Keep the faith!
B.
