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Altar Eagle are content under layers of gauziness, the duo’s music emitting the type of confidence and nostalgic yearning that triggered attention for Beach House, Cold Cave, and other recent breakouts known for their simultaneous recollection of shoegaze and implementation of electronica. Its two members, Eden Hemming and Brad Rose, have been working together throughout the past decade. Their first project, Corsican Paintbrush, was a precursor to Altar Eagle’s fascination with ambiance, psychedelia, and folk, with tracks like “Bones of Ash” sounding like a procession of spirits around a campfire, amplified with the necessary doses of sitar-like guitars and droning reverb. This campfire-like spontaneity is still present in their work, even if Altar Ego’s efforts supersede both the intricacy and melodic prowess of Corsican Paintbrush. Their music has always sounded like it came straight from a cassette tape, all while retaining the ethereal and otherworldly tendencies of a sound dependent on the collaborative chemistry of two very like-minded individuals.

The whole male-female duality of Altar Eagle immediately brings Beach House comparisons to the table, even if Eden Hemming’s vocals are not as up-front as Legrand’s. Rose allows Altar Eagle to stray away from the automation that many shoegaze/psychedelic inspirations nowadays fall victim to; it bashes an ideology where many seem to think that using an organ and then adding reverb to a drum machine is stylistically inclusive to shoegaze/dream-pop, with no regard at all for the intricately developmental songwriting that is pivotal to the style’s classification. Beach House are one of 2010’s success stories because their production – which actually lacked chords in favor of single-note dualities – treasured melodic songwriting over intricate note placements. This is what made Teen Dream sound so diverse. The production on each of the songs are strikingly similar since aid from beyond the duo was minimal, but they did not languish behind reverb or distortion in fear of repetition or discordance. They wrote songs that encompassed the serenely ethereal tendencies of the genre, all while infusing hooks that sounded majestically cohesive enough to stray beyond dream-pop’s borders into more conventional pop, a fusion that should be embraced more than feared.

Altar Eagle’s success is certainly imminent to some degree. While it would be difficult to expect 7-minute epics like “You Lost Your Neon Haze” to see radio play, it is not the length of their songs that makes it stubborn for widespread exposure. The involved development is actually what will deter most conventional listeners (meaning, impatient listeners) from Altar Eagle. The melody here is a playfully plucked guitar arpeggio, high in pitch to enforce the aloofness, with a very vocal percussive strategy. A “woop” relays several times per verse under a muted snare, not phasing Hemming one bit as her cherubic voice takes on the role of supplementation. Her vocal melody is not exactly powerful, but her pitch variates from crisp-clear resonation to a distorted lead-in, giving way to a carefully orchestrated section of “la-la-la”ing that sounds like a cross of DeVotchKa’s worldly folk and Mazzy Star’s blissed-out representation of dream-pop (a sound that has surged in the past few years; see here). I doubt that conventional listeners will have patience for a track like this without context of Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins, or Slowdive, but that is only because there is no ego-centric intent from either member to fascinate them. Their roles are established with selflessness.

When attempting to separate Altar Eagle from the likes of Asobi Seksu, Beach House, and the rest of dream-pop-inspired hotspots, the task becomes easier throughout the progression of their debut full-length, Mechancial Gardens. “Honey”, like many of their songs, finds dependence on a series of prolonged and accentuated organ chords, with playful little synth arpeggios comprising the backdrop along with slight percussion that resembles tapping on a kitchen counter more than actual drums. The duet here between Hemming and Rose carries it for the most part, as it does on the pulsating “Monsters” where Rose’s monotone, deep-toned voice is more in the forefront. This track’s more anthemic approach shows some high-charged synths over some dubstep-coordinated percussion, the production being a head-scratcher in its success. Noise, dubstep, and synth-pop are all players here and I applaud the band for going the extra distance. It shows. The nine tracks on Mechanical Gardens – from the lush and beckoning “Breakdown” to the high-charged flamboyance of “Monsters” – are all extremely worthwhile and it remains a mystery why Altar Eagle are not considered the “next big thing” in the dream-pop scene at the moment.

RIYL: Beach House, My Bloody Valentine, Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Asobi Seksu, Cold Cave, Emeralds, Ride, Lush, Galaxie 500, Nite Jewel, Health, No Age, Telepathe, Abe Vigoda

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Altar Eagle – Monsters

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Altar Eagle – Honey

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Altar Eagle – Breakdown

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Digitalis Industries (which Hemming and Rose co-own)

MySpace

BUY

Limited vinyl of Mechanical Gardens is currently the “Album of the Week” at Boomkat.

The post Altar Eagle appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

The sound of Ghost Mall is indescribable. But the band, made up of college roommates Pierce, Alex, Cody, and Jimi, give it their best shot. “Garage-y ramshackle pop/ethereal,” lead singer Pierce Lightening struggles, attempting to put a label on his own music. With a lead singer named Pierce Lightening, and influences along the lines of “Babes, Springsteen, Comic Books, and Star Wars,” you are naturally drawn to the quartet. What is surprisingly more interesting than the band members themselves is the music on their first album, Goons.

The album, produced by DJ Teenwolf of Ninjasonik, features five well-done and oddly classy songs. The EP starts out with the marijuana-induced “40 Nugs”, and while I would have chosen a different track for the first, it sets an appropriate tone to the album without giving away their mysterious style. Next is “Senile Felines”, setting a dark synthesized tone that lures the listener further in. The next couple of tracks are “Young Liars”, followed by “Balloon Idea’s”, which captures an eerie essence while keeping it light; it samples a few lines from Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” with convincing maneuvers. The final track, “Johnny Appleseed”, serves as a near-perfect ending. It is more of an anthem than anything, providing the listener with a soft sort of closure.

The album itself is a work of art, but it is clear that Ghost Mall are about performance art more than anything else. Ethan Barnett, a fan, describes a show in full detail. “The first time I saw them, it was in the basement of SUNY New Paltz. It was one of the coldest nights of that winter, but as soon as I got into the basement and Ghost Mall was about to begin their set, I began to sweat because there were about 75 people packed into a small classroom. They began their first song and the room turned into a beehive, with everyone dancing in every direction. The lead singer was lost in the crowd, and all you could see was one of his hands. By the time they began their second song, the keyboardist and guitarist were lost in the mess too. Midway through their set, Pierce was thrown up into a crowd surf, and he held onto a water pole that was soaking wet from condensation. After the final song, “Johnny Appleseed”, everyone ran out the exit covered with sweat. Head to toe.”

“I don’t know what we’re trying to achieve,” Pierce says about his band’s music. “We’re just being honest. Sometimes it’s about our specific friends, sometimes it’s about how everything should be. Mostly, our songs are about the end of the world. So maybe they’re a warning.”

You can catch Ghost Mall on September 24th at 323 Wall Street in Uptown Kingston, New York.

RIYL: Japanther, Penguin Prison, Male Bonding, Urinals, Latterman, Cloud Nothings, Abe Vigoda, Times New Viking, No Age, The Mae Shi, Parts & Labor, Psychedelic Horseshit, AIDS Wolf, Wavves, Lightning Bolt, Jay Reatard, NODZZZ, Sic Alps, HEALTH, Arab on Radar

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Ghost Mall – 40 Nugs

[audio:http://mineorecords.com/mp3/gmall-40n.mp3]

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Ghost Mall – Balloon Ideas

[audio:http://mineorecords.com/mp3/gmall-bal.mp3]

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Ghost Mall – Johnny Appleseed (acoustic version)

[audio:http://mineorecords.com/mp3/gmall-joh.mp3]

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Official Site

MySpace

The post Ghost Mall appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Jay Mattson

2009 was a big year for Nathan Williams. In March, he released his critically acclaimed sophomore album, Wavvves. Throughout the rest of the year, Williams made headlines, whether it was from his on-stage antics, collaborations (see Zach Hill, etc.) or his now-infamous scuffle with Jared Swilley of the Black Lips. In November, Williams joined forces with the Jay Reatard’s former rhythm section. At this point, when it seems like Williams’ reputation has already eclipsed his young musical career, he has returned with a third full-length album, entitled King of the Beach, that serves as a furious, rambunctious tour-de-force of what Wavves does best. The main difference between last year’s Wavvves and the recent King of the Beach is the level of fidelity. Last year, Williams’ sound was intentionally gritty, underscored and bleary. In 2010, Wavves still successfully express their beach-oriented style, only this time with lyrics that are delivered with more clarity.

Of the album’s twelve tracks, eleven of them clock in under four minutes, which is perfect for Wavves’ sound. The opening song, “King of the Beach”, doesn’t attempt to do any ‘opening’ or ‘introduction’, instead opting to jump straight into infectious, well-structured garage punk. This type of energy is held throughout an album heavily influenced by late-’60s pop that sounds like it has hit the bong one too many times and acquired prophetic knowledge of Pavement and No Age. To clarify, this is all excellent. The inclusion of a standard rhythm section has apparently given Williams time to structure his songs with greater care, even though they only play with him on two of the twelve tracks. They’re still as loud as Wavves, just more polished and tight.

“When Will You Come” brings a welcome break from the constant energy before getting back into full swing with the album’s first single, the incredibly enjoyable “Post-Acid.” This track sums up a lot of Williams’ feelings with lines like “Misery, will you comfort me…Understand what you understand, in my time of need that you’ll understand, that I’m just having fun..with yoooouuuu.” Much akin to Girls’ Album last year, King of the Beach is about having fun. Williams gets meta-fictional in “Take on the World” as he sings that “I still hate my music; it’s all the same” and “I hate myself, man; but who’s to blame? I guess I’m just fucked up…” Without skipping a beat, Williams and company make a central topic very relevant, which is the normal internal struggles facing many recent bands that get lumped into the ‘lo-fi’, ‘beach’ or ‘shitgaze’ categories. What makes Wavves stand out is that they have proven they can stand above the mass of bullshit that comes with every new label or ‘sub-genre.’ With underground music blogs making bands famous before they even release an EP, it is hard to distinguish the truly talented from the mere mediocre. Fortunately, King of the Beach is one of those albums that is wholly compelling. There is no false hype or mislabeled sub-genre here.

Moving into the second half of the album, “Convertible Balloon” is a funky, electronic-infused dance number that does a good job in keeping the energy high while treading new water and retaining thematic relevance. Next is “Green Eyes”, a song that sounds more like 2009’s Wavvves than any other track on the album, albeit with background jangles that give it a more lighthearted tone. Both of these tracks are excellent examples of Williams’ versatility on this album. While earlier work was very dark and similar-sounding, King of the Beach does an excellent job of showing the various facets of Wavves’ sound. Even the lo-fi “Mickey Mouse” is overlaid with a jammy snare beat, the likes of which were barely seen on last year’s effort. Arguably the most “out-there” song on the entire album is the last, and longest track, “Baby Say Goodbye.” With a style not unlike that of Of Montreal’s 2006 album, The Sunlandic Twins, the track opens with an extended psychedelic whistling montage that leads into a synth-backed bubbly groove that still has Williams’ signature rambling, but with a more sunny and pop-inspired tone. And while Wavves is a totally different beast than the Elephant 6 Collective members, they obviously present their similar tendencies from time to time.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wavvves last year. In this time of good bands slumping into either a rut (see Vivian Girls) or experimenting far too much (see MGMT), Williams and his new band have found an excellent middle ground that does not veer too far from the formula that worked, but also doesn’t rely purely on past successes to keep up their popularity. By jumping from experimentation to nostalgia and back again, Wavves has brilliantly crafted a follow-up that can match and possibly eclipse the success of last year’s effort. I’m confident that some fans and critics will denounce the raise in fidelity as a band cashing in on success, but I see it more as opportunity being seized and taken advantage of in order to make a more cohesive album that will not only satiate long-time fans, but also bring in new listeners that may have been turned off by the darkness and haziness that Wavves built their success upon.

King of the Beach is out digitally on July 1st through iTunes, July 13th through all other digital outlets, and physically by Fat Possum Records on August 3rd.

8.0/10.0

RIYL: Best Coast, No Age, Times New Viking, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Women, Washed Out, High Times, Crocodiles, Ducktails, Sic Alps, Japanther, Woods, HEALTH, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Ponytail, Thee Oh Sees, Dum Dum Girls

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Wavves – King of the Beach

[audio:http://mineorecords.com/mp3/wavves-kin.mp3]

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Wavves – Post Acid

[audio:http://mineorecords.com/mp3/wavves-pos.mp3]

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Wavves – Super Soaker

[audio:http://mineorecords.com/mp3/wavves-sup.mp3]

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Wavves Blog

MySpace

BUY

The post Wavves – King of the Beach (2010) appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.