The self-titled EP from Kentucky’s Plastic Visions plays like an ode to raucous rock. For folks who spent the late 80s and 90s getting knocked around in tiny clubs to the tune of back beats and fuzzy guitars from bands on labels like Victory or Fat Wreck Chords, these five tracks will sound like home.
Kaoru Ishibashi is a Japanese-American male solo artist who, after playing violin for the likes of Regina Spektor and Of Montreal, released an excellent debut last year in 151a. He is not a Japanese pop group comprised of five cutesy teenage girls, despite what the video for “It All Began With A Burst” might try to make you believe. The video really commits the hilarious deception by featuring an interview with the “band” about their recent American tour before they perform the song live on some invented Japanese music program. The choreography and lip-synching are pretty fantastic but the best part of the video has to be the subtitles, made by taking Japanese words that sound like Kishi Bashi’s original lyrics and then translating those back into English. If he decided to tour using those translations instead, I would be the first in line for tickets.
STREAM: Kishi Bashi – “It All Began With A Burst”
Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros took three years between releasing their debut album, Up From Below, and the 2012 follow-up, Here. They spent that time filling out their sound, reaching back into classic country/western styles to touch up their soulful, energetic tunes. Fans don’t have to worry with that kind of wait for the group’s third album, however, as the band is releasing a self-titled record later this year. The first taste, “Better Days,” continues to marry old southern rhythms with Alex Ebert’s shaky, creaky vocals to create the kind of sincere, heartfelt, yet fun song that made Here such a good listen. It’s desperately optimistic with homely, simple instrumentals offset by rich church-choir backing vocals. Stream it below.
STREAM: Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros – “Better Days”
The six members of Sleeper Agent are taking on giants with their cover of Blondie’s classic “One Way Or Another.” What do you do when standing toe-to-toe with Debbie Harry on her home turf? You pick up the pace, kick up the fuzz and wail your hearts out. Harry’s powerful, razor-sharp vocals are replaced here by Alex Kandel’s snarling yowl while the group fills in behind with filthy guitar licks and frenetic drums beats. It’s not measured and commanding like Blondie’s original tune, but instead is straight up, in-your-face and absolutely uncontrollable.
Sleeper Agent are heading into the studio this year to record the follow up to their 2011 debut, Celabrasion.
STREAM: Sleeper Agent – “One Way Or Another (Blondie Cover)”
Jesse Smith and Aaron Sternick have been making music together for years and under their latest moniker, Welcome Center, they’ve put together an EP called Different Joys comprised of five lo-fi rock tunes filled with dance grooves, fuzzy guitars, and miles and miles of heart. Listening through you’ll hear pieces of early Modest Mouse, a touch of Desaparecidos, a bit of Clap Your Hand Say Yeah, and a slew of other sounds that are maddeningly familiar, but there’s only so many names that can be dropped before admitting that while the group’s influences may be legion their particular sound is their own.
Hamilton, Ontario seven-piece The Rest are on a mission to make a video for every song from their excellent 2012 full-length, SEESAW. Next up on the list is the first track on the record, “Who Knows,” which explores the tragic existence of a man whose brainwaves mirror isolated picking of the track’s lonely guitar. Sadly, this leads not to awesome musical superpowers, but rather to the inability to recognize or remember anything put in front of him, and the only thing that he manages to hold onto are images of creepy-looking bird monsters. Will he regain his memory, or will he be doomed to a life of tests and medications? And what is his deal with birds? Watch the video above to find out.
Check out the group’s bandcamp to stream SEESAW in its entirety or buy it in all kinds of formats.
STREAM: The Rest – “Who Knows”
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has a bug for collaborations, which is evident from his work with artists varying from Peter Gabriel to Kanye West. Now he’s gotten together with Brain Moen (Peter Wolf Crier) and Phil Cook (Megafaun) to write some good ol’ blues rock as The Shouting Matches. Though the group’s debut record, Grownass Man, still features delicate, pretty songs like “I Need A Change” and the Bon-Iverish “Gallup, NM,” it’s tracks like the lazily rocking “New Theme” that are the heart of the record. The tune is light and easygoing with drums and keys enough for mid-afternoon toe-tapping and swaying in the summertime shade. The group’s Coachella set (up on YouTube in three parts) clearly demonstrates the new aesthetic as the trio lays down some smooth riffs under a pavilion in what looks to be uncomfortable heat. It’s a record that plays best with the sun high in the sky, and a cold drink in your hand.
There are some songs by Boston’s You Won’t that should be too big for two people to pull off. Yet they pull them off anyway. And then there are songs like their cover of Tall Dwarfs’ track “All My Hollowness To You” that show how precise and expressive the duo can be using the barest of tools. To the tune of just a marching guitar riff and sparse drums for accent, singer Josh Arnoudse’s fuzzy vocal belts those romantic lines, “I want to screw you/ I wish I could get through to you/ There’s nothing more that I want out of you.” There’s a great urgency and energy in the bare-bones track, and a fair amount of fuck-it-all as well. And who can resist that?
You Won’t are planning to start recording new tracks this summer (they are playing some new ones on the current tour opening for The Joy Formidable) for a new record sometime in 2014.
STREAM: You Won’t – “All My Hollowness To You”
London pop songstress Louisa Rose Allen, better known around these parts as Foxes, is at it again with her latest track, “Beauty Queen.” Though the steady electronic beat she prefers still drives this tune, it takes more of a backseat here, making way for a lightly tapped piano, swaying violins and Allen’s haunting croon. A thirty second clip from 90s classic “Drop Dead Fred” strongly questioning the validity of fairy tale endings (“What a pile of sh–”) sets the stage for the song’s take-down of traditional standards of beauty. As clips from old and new beauty pageants play on amid snippets of classic movies, Allen laments, “Oh beauty queen/ something’s telling me/ that you were never meant to be/ trapped in time.” Both video and song are stunning bits of commentary along with being finely crafted work, and they show that while Foxes has serious chops when it comes to catchy hooks, she’s definitely no paper-thin pop star.
STREAM: Foxes – Beauty Queen
The National are back with another cut off of their upcoming full-length, Trouble Will Find Me. Unlike “Demons“, which had slow, brooding echoes of 2010′s High Violet, “Don’t Swallow The Cap” is more direct, driving and urgent. The quickened pace of the drums and the desperate tone in Matt Berninger’s deep baritone recall the group’s Boxer days while quick hits of strings give the tune a frantic, slightly menacing undertone. Brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner are two of the most evocative songwriters in the industry, constantly turning out rich and textured work, and this is no exception. It’s full of hard-edged longing amid dark, sinister rhythms. Stream it above.
Trouble Will Find Me drops May 21 on 4AD Records.
