MP3: || Landlady ||
Here’s the newest music from Texas garage-kids Young Mammals, with the first taste since their fantastic 2010 album Carrots. The great production along with their almost signature jangle-tones make for a great A-side on their first vinyl release, which will be out on Bombs By Mail sometime soon, hopefully on radical colored vinyl like their first release.
Cleveland pop group Clovers, changed to Future Days, not only made big steps in their hometown, but were on the verge of becoming the next big thing in the national indie-pop/garage scene. The band had done tours with rad-rockers Free Energy and Secretly Canadian’s Foreign Born, and rumors were swirling that they were working with big labels. Then the group went down to Nashville to record with the Black Keys’ Pat Carney, recording what would be their official debut album, The Breezer. Weeks after getting back, Future Days threw up a couple tracks from the new album on SoundCloud, played a few local shows, and rumors swirled that the band had been signed to Fat Possum. Sometime near the end of last summer, I found out that the band had disbanded, killing all of the rumors and album releases they had planned. The band sent me The Breezer sometime before they told me about the breakup, and the album quickly became one of my favorites, especially the ultra-jangly second track “Carry Me Away.” It was sad to me that nobody was going to here these fantastic pop songs, so the band allowed me to show their album that never happened. Here are a couple tracks from the unreleased, unmastered album, The Breezer, and a link to download the entire album. Once you give it a couple listens, you’ll realize why it was such a bummer that Future Days didn’t became a bigger thing, cause the talent, songwriting, and spark were definitely there.
MP3: || Carry Me Away ||
MP3: || Sun Drops ||
Bears’ fantastic third album, Greater Lakes, is on the verge of its wide release. The Greater Lakes release show will be at the Grog Shop tomorrow, along with great local pop band Afternoon Naps and the Lighthouse & the Whaler. And before that show, Bears will be playing a special acoustic show at Music Saves at 6. Here’s the Facebook events for the release show and Music Saves in-store. Also, they just released a new track from the album, “The City Still,” along with a remix by Low In The Sky.
MP3: || The City Still ||
MP3: || I Would Be A Great Lover For You ||
Well here’s another shameless plugs of one of my own bands! High School Girls is a love-pop duo from Lafayette, IN, and we just released our first EP, Breakfast Years, last week after recording a few tracks in the studio. Head over to our Bandcamp to listen and download the EP for free. We are also doing a Kickstarter right now to try to finish recording an album in the same studio where we did the tracks for the EP. Any help is greatly appreciated!
And it looks like Pitchfork has treated our hometown boys well.
MP3: || Eleven A.M. ||
Let’s start 2012 on a great note! Cleveland pop heroes Bears released their highly anticipated third album, Greater Lakes, last week after their successful Kickstarter. Here’s the first track on the album, “Eleven A.M.,” a nice and dreamy pop doodle with Bears’ signature twee tones. I don’t think I’m alone in saying this it’s fantastic to have new Bears music, and they prove exactly why they’re still one of the best pop bands in Ohio. The album is officially out on Misra Records this February, and preorder for the clear vinyl and CD is up on Bears’ site or Misra’s shop.
MP3: || Stay Useless ||
Check out the newest track from Cloud Nothings’ upcoming album, Attack on Memory. Although Dylan Baldi has shown us that Cloud Nothings are going a different direction with “No Future/No Past”, “Stay Useless” still shows us why we fell in love with them in the first place. The song debuted on Rolling Stone this morning, where Dylan stated, “I’m trying to take Cloud Nothings to different areas, songwriting-wise, so I figured I should try and finish off the ‘poppy’ songs with a bang.” Attack on Memory is out January 24th on Carpark, and it’s available for preorder on Insound.
MP3: || Northcoast Christmas ||
After perhaps one of the best debuts from a Cleveland band in years, The Modern Electric have returned with a Christmas treat, “Northcoast Christmas.” They actually debuted this song about two years ago at still one of my favorite shows ever, “It’s A Beachland Christmas” 2009. When I wrote about it then, I said that “Northcoast Christmas” was just as much a song about Cleveland as it was a song about Christmas, and that still holds true. Garrett Komyati and his wonderful voice hit on subjects such as thrift store shopping, quoting A Christmas Story, and praying for a Browns’ win and snow days. Listen and download the incredible song above, and you’re bound to have this stuck in your head for the rest of the Christmas season. Head over to their Bandcamp to get the three-track “Northcoast Christmas” single for $2.
Cleveland pop heroes Cloud Nothings have their new album, Attack On Memory, coming out next January. Listen to the post-punk opening blast, “No Future/No Past,” from the new record. No hard to tell that Steve Albini had his hands on this one. And go see them on their two month US tour that starts next February, dates below.
01-26 New York, NY – Studio at Webster Hall
02-16 Chattanooga, TN – JJ’s Bohemia
02-17 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
02-18 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree
02-20 Orlando, FL – Backbooth
02-21 Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder
02-23 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
02-24 San Antonio, TX – Ten Eleven
02-25 Austin, TX – Red 7
02-26 El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
02-27 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
02-28 Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
02-29 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
03-01 Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
03-02 Los Angeles, CA – Echo
03-03 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
03-05 Portland, OR – Holocene
03-06 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
03-07 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Media Club
03-8 Boise, ID – Neurolux
03-9 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
03-10 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
03-12 Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
03-17 McAllen, TX – Simon Sez
03-20 Nashville, TN – The End
03-21 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
03-22 Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
03-24 Montreal, Quebec – Casa del Popolo
03-25 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
03-26 Providence, RI – Fete Lounge
03-30 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
03-31 Washington, DC – Red Palace
04-01 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
04-02 Buffalo, NY – Ninth Ward @ Babeville
04-03 Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox
04-04 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick Lounge
04-05 Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
04-06 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
04-07 Columbus, OH – Outland Live
Okay, so I owe all of my faithful readers an apology. I have not been keeping up on The Noise Is a tenth as much as I would like. Here come the excuses…but school has been extra tough with graduation in sight and I’ve been kept busy in the meantime with Jurassic Park! Which brings me to my next point, which is that my little basement venue, Jurassic Park, which I briefly discussed with y’all last year, is now flourishing! We’ve got upcoming shows with Cloud Nothings, Total Babes, Sleeping Bag, husband&wife, Big Troubles, and The Beets! It’s gonna be a crazy rest of the year but if any of you live in the state of Indiana, you should try to come to a show.
And lastly, I got way too happy when Charlie McArthur released the beautiful cover art and album name, Greater Lakes, for Bears’ third record
Big Troubles’ second full length, the brilliantly named Romantic Comedy, will be out next Tuesday (9/27) on Slumberland, but Stereogum just put up the entire record for streaming. Go here to listen to ten tracks of British-influenced sweet-and-salty power-pop from the New Jersey kids. I’ve only gone through it once, but my first impressions are that lovers of their first album, Worry, and the overall lo-fi aesthetic are not going to enjoy this album, much like people were disappointed with Smith Westerns’ Dye It Blonde. But for any lover of pop music, this album pretty much has it all. Production from Mitch Easter, who’s worked with Pavement and R.E.M. (RIP), has turned their drowned-out fuzz jams into bountiful tracks overflowing with additive riffs and huge moments. It’s evident that this is the album that the Big Troubles boys wanted to make from the beginning, and it’s something they should be proud of. Check out the silly video for first single “Sad Girls” below.
Here’s the newest video from Chicago art-poppers A Lull, showcasing the third track on their debut album, Confetti. Watch the lively video above and download/listen to another track, “Water & Beasts,” below.
MP3: || Water & Beasts ||
Will be on their self-titled debut out soon on Slumberland, 7″ available now.
MP3: || Sad Girls ||
At the top of the list of my most anticipated albums for the rest of 2011 is New York power-pop quartet Big Troubles’ second album Romantic Comedy. “Sad Girls,” the ultra-catchy lead single from the record (with the best key change of 2011), now has a silly video to go with it. Watch the super ‘dorky’ video above and pick up the MP3 too. A light green/dark green 7″ is out now for “Sad Girls” from Slumberland, and Romantic Comedy will be out on September 27th.
Cleveland’s own Total Babes’ debut album Swimming Through Sunlight hit stores yesterday, and to celebrate, huge climax “Without Your Heart” is now available for download! Pick up the album digitally in webstores, and the CD and vinyl through Old Flame’s Store. And listen/download the first two tracks from the album below.
MP3: || Like They Always Do ||
MP3: || Be So True ||
MP3: || Top Bunk ||
I meant to post this song a long time ago, but I didn’t. Basically, Gauntlet Hair rocks, this song rocks, and the album this song’s gonna be on is gonna rock. Gauntlet Hair will be out October 18 on Dead Oceans.
Cleveland pop heroes Bears just released an update on their Kickstarter saying that they’re 75% of the way to accomplishing their goal, and that they got the masters back for the album adding that they’re the best songs they’ve ever recorded. So they put together a quick preview of five songs from the album, listen to them in the video above. Also, they still need a little over a thousand bucks to hit the goal in their Kickstarter, so go help them out!
MP3: || Beside ||
Under The Radar recently premiered “Beside” from Bloomington, IN pop trio Sleeping Bag. This instantly-lovable pop jam appears on Sleeping Bag’s self-titled debut, which actually just released last Tuesday. Based on this and their earlier single “Slime,” which you can listen to below, the album is really shaping up to be one of the most enjoyable of the year. Stream the entire album on their Bandcamp, or go to Joyful Noise, where it’s available for order on blue and black vinyl, as well as the special official Sleeping Bag sleeping bag.
MP3: || Slime ||
Listen to a new track and big 50′s bopper “Lampshade Talker” from Chicago lo-fi kids BIGCOLOUR, that’ll be making an appearance on their debut album. No date or title on the album yet, but keep an eye out as it’ll hopefully be out by the end of the year.
