Good luck trying to find this band on Google

When I wrote about Girls‘ performance at the Biltmore a few days ago, I mentioned that their best song was the singalong epic “Hellhole Ratrace.” The song is the first single from their upcoming debut album, the simply-titled Album, and the group recently shot a video for the tune. At seven minutes long, it’s not your typical radio single, but the song’s cinematic quality makes it perfect video fodder.

The clip depicts a dusk-till-dawn party, taking Girls and a group of friends around their hometown of San Francisco. Nothing much really happens—the action high point is when they steal a candy bar from a corner store. But the video uses some of the oldest tricks in the book—slow motion, lingering close-ups, lens flares—to great nostalgic effect. The video’s depiction of youthful abandon is the perfect accompaniment to the song’s seemingly endless refrain, “I don’t wanna die / Without shaking up a leg or two / Yeah, I wanna do some dancing too / So come, come on, come on, come on and dance with me.”

Beginning with sparse acoustic strumming and subtle atmospherics, the arrangement explodes about halfway through; fuzzy dream pop guitars take over, bringing the song to a blissful climax that’s sustained for over three minutes. Meanwhile, the video shows the band climbing up to a lookout over the city to watch the sunrise.

It’s a nice clip for a great song, so be sure to give it a watch (so long as you have a high tolerance for dude-on-dude kissing).

Album is due out September 22 via True Panther Sounds. The label will also release a 10″ single of “Hellhole Ratrace” on August 18. An mp3 download of the track is available below.

Download: “Hellhole Ratrace”

Your summer jam has arrived

Atlas Sound began as Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox’s home recorded solo project, but, after just one album, it’s already evolved into something more. This fall, Atlas Sound will release Logos, an unfinished version of which leaked onto the internet in 2008. The final product opts for more a full band sound than last year’s Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel and features guest appearances from some of Cox’s musically-inclined friends.

“Walkabout” is a collaboration with Panda Bear, and is based around a sample of the Dovers‘ 1966 song “What Am I Going to Do?” Accompanied by subtle electronic percussion and a Brian Wilson-aping vocal line, the tune sounds closer to Panda’s previous work than Cox’s—it could have easily been slotted into 2007’s Person Pitch without seeming out of place. The catchy verses are broken up by ambient washes of blissed-out synth, meaning the song sounds a bit like a four-minute distillation of everything that makes Panda Bear and Atlas Sound so captivating.

Logos doesn’t come out until October 21, but it’s easy to see why Cox chose to release this song early, as its sunny vibe is ideally suited to beach parties and backyard barbecues. What a fucking jam.

Download or stream the song over at The FADER.

The Dodos open the floodgates

The Dodos‘ new album, Time to Die, isn’t due out until September 15, but it’s gone the way of Veckatimest and leaked two full months early. In order to combat the leak, the group is now offering high quality stream of the full album at timetodie.net.

To make the deal even sweeter, there’s also a free download of the album’s first single, “Fables.” The song is a major stylistic departure from the primitive folk-metal of last year’s Visiter, featuring jaunty strumming and a chorus that’s so hummable it could almost be a nursery rhyme. Drummer Logan Kroeber scales back the dense tribal drumming of his previous work in favour of a more straightforward rock beat—it’s still heavy as hell, but this time you’ll want to clap along with the snare hits. But perhaps the biggest departure is the clean, densely layered production of Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, the Shins). The recording practically shines, with layers of vocal harmonies, electric guitars and what sounds like a marimba all competing for space. It doesn’t have the same visceral power as much of the material on Visiter, but it’s an infectious summer single nonetheless.

Download: “Fables”

Time to Die is still due in stores on September 15, but its digital release has been moved way up to July 28. During the first week it will be an Amazon exclusive, and will be available from other digital retailers after that.

VanGaalen lets his freak flag fly

So long as logic prevails, Chad VanGaalen is a lock for this year’s Polaris Prize. He’s up against a strong set of nominees (most notably Joel Plaskett and Hey Rosetta!), but it’s tough to deny the brilliance of his 2008 release Soft Airplane. The album is sonically fascinating, with ramshackle acoustic instruments set against fractured, squiggly electronics. But it’s VanGaalen lyrics and melodies that are the real focus, with timeless songs like “Willow Tree” and “Bones of Man” transcending the limitations of lo-fi bedroom pop.

This August, VanGaalen will release another album, this time using the moniker Black Mold rather than his own name. The album is called Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz and is intended to emphasize his experimental leanings. The album is entirely instrumental, and based on the two tracks that have already been released, it covers similar ground to “JC’s Head on the Cross,” a track from 2004’s Infiniheart. “Metal Spider Webs” begins as a baroque dirge, with haunting horns, strings, and a gently tinkling glockenspiel. Futuristic electronics soon take over, with feedback swells marring the prettiness of the intro.

Download: “Metal Spider Webs”

“Tetra Pack Heads” features a frenetic glitchy beat and vaguely tropical synth riffing, recalling the madness of Dan Deacon without the dancefloor-ready payoff.

Download: “Tetra Pack Heads”

Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz is due out August 11 via Flemish Eye.

Another great Black Mountain spin-off

It doesn’t look like we’re going to get a new Black Mountain album this year, but that’s okay, since the spin-off projects are coming in quick succession. A few weeks ago, it was Outside Love, the amazing new album by Stephen McBean’s Pink Mountaintops project. Next up is Lightning Dust, Amber Webber’s psych-folk duo with Black Mountain compatriot Joshua Wells.

The group’s upcoming sophomore album is called Infinite Light, and its first single, “I Knew,” has been released as a free download. Beginning with the rat-a-tat of an electronic bass drum, this sparse beat is soon joined by backwoods acoustic strumming and Amber Webber’s ever-tremulous vocals. Her singing is dark and dramatic as always, this time delivered with an affected twang in keeping with the folksy guitar. Buzzy synth arpeggios enter in the second verse as Webber describes an anachronistic romance with a bad boy hero seemingly drawn straight out of Western flick. It’s a charming tune, part Southern gothic, part electro minimalism.

Download: “I Knew”

Infinite Light is due out August 4 via Jagjaguwar.

The jury’s still out on the Dead Weather

Given the declining quality of Jack White’s many releases, the Dead Weather feels a bit like a make-or-break type project. Reactions to the group’s live shows have generally positive, so there’s reason to be optimistic about the quartet’s debut album, Horehound, which will be released on July 14.

The group released its second single, “Treat Me Like Your Mother,” yesterday via Jack’s own Third Man Records. Today, the song was released online as a free download (newsletter signup required). The tune doesn’t really settle my ambivalence towards the project. It features plenty of fuzzed-out garage rock riffing, with shrieking vocal trade-offs between White and bandmate Allison Mosshart (lead singer of the Kills). It’s got a complex structure, with plenty of tempo changes and no clear chorus. This makes it a challenging and unpredictable listen, but its restless structure feels a bit like a case of too few ideas, rather than too many; none of the sections are good enough to merit repetition, so the group has no choice but to change directions every 30 seconds.

The jury’s still out until Horehound hits the shelves (or, more likely, until it hits the internet sometime before). Click here to download “Treat Me Like Your Mother.”

Happy fucking congratulations

Considering how forgettable most of We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank was, Modest Mouse‘s decision to release an EP of outtakes is a little questionable. After all, if a dud like “Little Motel” made the final (and was released as a single, no less), how much hope can there be for the rejects? Regardless, the indie rock legends will issue a collection of eight unreleased tracks this August, entitled No One’s First and You’re Next (yes, Modest Mouse still rules at album titles). The EP also includes outtakes from 2004’s excellent Good News for People Who Love Bad News (so maybe there’s hope yet).

The first single, “Satellite Skin,” makes things look a lot more promising. It borrows its phrasing from Pavement‘s “Here” and its artwork from the Bravery (proof). But mostly, it sounds like pure Modest Mouse, recalling the jaggedness of the group’s pre-millennial output. Only the intermittently tinkling piano and some subtle slide guitar work (presumably contributed by Johnny Marr) serve as reminders that this is the major-label incarnation of the group. Isaac Brock’s singing is as fractured as ever, as he shouts and slurs his way through some of his most memorable lyrics in years: “You can say what you want, you’re forgiven / Well happy fucking congratulations.”

A video for “Satellite Skin” has been released, featuring a group of stop-animation tree houses running around a forest. It’s every bit as weird as it sounds, with lots of surreal imagery, including a baby dressed as a monk putting easter eggs into the empty eye sockets of an alien. It’s not clear what (if anything) it’s supposed to mean, but I’m pretty sure that at 2:05, somebody reaches their entire arm inside of a massive vagina.

Watch it here.

“Satellite Skin” is being released on 7″ on May 26, via Epic. The b-side is called “Guilty Cocker Spaniels,” and thanks to Stereogum, you can listen to it now.

Getting caught up

Toronto roots rockers Great Bloomers recently released their debut full-length, Speak of Trouble. It’s an excellent album that I’ll be talking about soon, but in the meantime, I’ve become completely obsessed the song “Catching Up” (from the group’s 2007 self-titled EP). Since I’ve spent the past two days listening to almost nothing else, I feel I owe the song it’s due recognition.

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch of call “Catching Up” one of the best songs of the past few years. It’s a sweeping piano pop epic, beginning as an aching ballad before suddenly transforming two minutes in, breaking out into an upbeat rock groove that recalls Broken Social Scene at its most straight-forward. It’s an infectious arrangement, but it’s really the lyrics that make the song so memorable. Frontman Lowell Sostomi directly addresses an old friend, asking “Has it been a year or has it been three?” It’s the kind of story that almost anyone can instantly relate to, but it also comes across as deeply personal, thanks to its detail-rich imagery (“We used to build fires in our back yards / And hike through the forest when the mud got hard”). Sostomi’s voice is deep and double-tracked, and his deadpan vocals provide the perfect counterpoint for the lyrics, preventing the song from ever sounding syrupy or manipulatively sentimental.

Download: “Catching Up”

Garfunkel & Oates (enough said)

If the band name Garfunkel & Oates doesn’t make you at least a little bit curious, then there’s something wrong with you. If you’ve never heard of them until now, you’re probably asking a few questions: A) Is it a real band? B) Is it the actual Art Garkunkel and John Oates? C) Are they a gimmick/novelty band?

To answer the above: A) Yes. B) No. C) Sort of. The duo is based out of LA, and is made up of guitarist Riki Lindhome (“Garfunkel”) and ukuleleist Kate Micucci (“Oates”), both of whom have worked extensively in TV and film—Garfunkel was in Million Dollar Baby, and Oates appeared on Scrubs. Together, they play minimalist folk songs that are as charming as they are ridiculous.

The most immediately memorable tune is “Worst Song Medley,” which is exactly what it sounds like—a two-minute medley of twelve terrible songs. It’s funny, despite feeling a little bit like shooting fish in a barrel (do we really need to make fun of “Barbie Girl”?). The duo is better when they play it more serious—but, of course, serious is a relative term with these ladies. “Only You” is sweet and poignant, with the pair trading off lines as they sing about the disappointments that come with growing old (“I used to think that I’d have sex / At some point in my adult life”).

Download: “Only You”

It’s more along the lines of a quirky little curio than anything that’s likely to make your year-end best-of list. But Oates looks kind of like a younger, hotter Rachel Dratch, so that’s more than enough reason to check them out.

New Wavves single definitely not overpriced

About two weeks ago, I entered to win of 500 copies of the new split 7-inch single from FADER/Southern Comfort, featuring new tracks from Wavves and Windsurf, respectively. I haven’t heard anything back, so I don’t think I won (probably racism/shipping costs, since I live in Canada. But it’s no biggie—the tracks are available here as a free download (newsletter signup required).

The A-side, “Friends Were Gone,” is pretty much exactly what you’d expect it to be, based on previous Wavves releases. Like this year’s Wavvves, it’s a an ultra lo-fi home recording, with pounding drums and punkish powerchord strumming. At first, it sounds cleaner and better produced than anything Nathan Williams has produced before, with reverb-y guitar licks that evoke classic ’60s surf—the Ventures, the Surfaris, etc. That is, until the vocals enter, double-tracked and so distorted that they’re scarcely recognizable as human. It isn’t likely to convert any skeptics, but fans of Wavves’ previous work (such as myself) are bound to be fans of this one.

As for the Windsurf song, I can only assume it was included to preserve the aquatic theme, since that’s the only thing the group has in common with Wavves. “Vapour Trails” is an easy listening funk-lite groove, with syrupy keyboard riffs and vaguely tropical percussion. It’s entirely instrumental, and sounds more suited to a Livelinks commercial than split single with a lo-fi fuzz pop artist such as Wavves.