Weekend Releases “Mirror,” Album Due in July

Bay Area shoegazers Weekend have a cool album and couple of EPs under their belt, but they look to take it to the next level with their next release, Jinx. Contrary to their prior quick-hitting, Jesus & Mary Chain-inspired guitar squalls, the slow-burning “Mirror” takes more than a minute to get going and unfolds at a gentle pace, with vocals only appearing after two out of its five minutes. But it’s anything but boring; rather, it hypnotizes you from the outset with droning, ethereal synths so its nuances hit even harder, like that cool heavy-guitar chorus, eerie background synth and krautrockish beat and bassline. Increased depth and confidence go a long way here toward expanding and improving their sound without dramatically changing it. Jinx is due July 23 on Slumberland.

 

 

Western Lows Unveil “Icicles,” Album Due in June

L.A. indie pop band Western Lows thankfully go for subtle on “Icicles,” a track from their forthcoming album Glacial, due June 4 on Jaxart. It’s the kind of song that doesn’t slam you with hooks or tricks but gradually gets under your skin, making it infinitely more intriguing than a lot of indie pop. The sound touches on shoegaze and new wave, with a Robert Smith-esque vocal delivery and a heavy, rolling bass, but they also seem intent on paving their own way and using the aforementioned genres as mere entryways. I’d say it was cool, if that wasn’t an accidental, awful pun. They’re at the Satellite April 15, The Redbury May 15 and the Jubilee Festival June 8.

Trash Talk – “F.E.B.N.” video

In the spirit of Amoeba Hollywood’s new Punk section, I’ll post about Sacramento hardcore band Trash Talk and the first video, “F.E.B.N.,” from its upcoming album Odd Future Records, 119, on Oct. 9. Odd Future’s Tyler, The Creator directed this bit of black-and-white mayhem in some sort of parking garage. Everything about this music/video is probably upsetting to lots of people. Which means of course that it’s pretty great. The song is less than two minutes long and somehow builds unbearable anticipation in its extended intro — all you want to do is turn it up and face the noise you’re about to hear head on.
 

 

Army Navy – World’s End video
 
L.A. indie pop band Army Navy have a video for the song “World’s End.” I had never listened to this band before; I only knew I might like them because their band name shares a name with a Camera Obscura album. And I do! The song is really nice, kind of sounds like “Blue Bayou” but is less dramatic, more morose, and there’s a key change, which I am a sucker for. The video is awesome for a number of reasons — it’s an old fake talk show, which is a done premise but is done funnily here, as this bizzaro, kind of bleak ’60s swinger thing, and features Freaks & Geaks’ Martin Starr, who I had no idea could be kind of sexy. The singer also kind of looks like Steve Carell. You have to watch it on Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com; I guess this band is getting pretty big. The song appears on a seven-inch with a B-side cover of Yaz’s “Only You,” which is awesome, duh. Their new album is due early next year.