Artigos com o marcador twee
Beat Happening – Crashing Through [Box Set, 7CD] (2002)
01/07/10
ALLMUSIC If context is indeed everything, then an artist’s step into the world of box sets signifies a major change in their positioning in the pop firmament. Box sets lend the music they contain a new sense of historical importance; with their retrospective booklets, wealth of unreleased material, and remastered sound, box sets possess an air of archival permanence, a library piece signifying that this is a history worth preserving and analyzing. Of course, Jethro Tull has a box set, so that’s another theory that’s shot, but in the case of Beat Happening, it truly means something. With the aptly titled Crashing Through, not only does the Olympia, WA, trio finally restore their catalog to record bins, but their music takes its rightful place alongside the true greats of the rock & roll canon. Primitives far ahead of their time, Beat Happening defined more of the spirit and aesthetics of independent music than any other band of the early ’80s. Fusing naïve yet dark lyrics, brittle but hypnotic melodies, and the wondrously off-kilter vocals of Calvin Johnson and Heather Dunn, the group championed a simplicity and honesty that punctured every last vestige of rock & roll excess, virtually creating the template for the indie pop to follow in their wake. Crashing Through brings together pretty much everything Beat Happening ever released: their five official LPs (Jamboree and You Turn Me On certainly the best), singles, that split EP with the Screaming Trees, and much more, including video content and a booklet authored by Lois Maffeo. Songs like “Midnight a Go-Go,” “Indian Summer,” “Cast a Shadow,” and “Tiger Trap” are quite simply among the finest recorded by anybody ever. Suffice it to say, essential stuff. ~ Jason Ankeny
Tracklist
Disc one
1. “I Love You”
2. “Cast A Shadow”
3. “Calvin Chat”
4. “Bad Seeds”
Disc two: Music to Climb the Apple Tree By (2003)
Collection of singles & compilation tracks
1. “Angel Gone”
2. “Nancy Sin”
3. “Sea Hunt”
4. “Look Around”
5. “Not A Care In The World”
6. “Dreamy”
7. “That Girl”
8. “Secret Picnic Spot”
9. “Zombie Limbo Time”
10. “Foggy Eyes”
11. “Knock On Any Door”
12. “Sea Babies”
13. “Tales Of A Brave Aphrodite”
14. “Polly Pereguinn”
15. “I Dig You”
Disc three: Jamboree (1988)
Original Album
1. “Bewitched”
2. “In Between”
3. “Indian Summer”
4. “Hangman”
5. “Jamboree”
6. “Ask Me”
7. “Crashing Through”
8. “Cat Walk”
9. “Drive Car Girl”
10. “Midnight A Go-Go”
11. “The This Many Boyfriends Club”
Disc four: Beat Happening (1985)
Original Album
1. “Our Secret”
2. “What’s Important”
3. “Down At The Sea”
4. “I Love You”
5. “Fourteen”
6. “Fun Down Stairs”
7. “Bad Seeds [live]”
8. “In My Memory”
9. “Honey Pot”
10. “The Fall”
11. “Youth”
12. “Don’t Mix The Colors”
13. “Foggy Eyes”
14. “Bad Seeds”
15. “Let Him Get To Me”
16. “I Spy”
17. “Run Down The Stairs”
18. “Christmas”
19. “Fourteen”
20. “Let’s Kiss”
Bonus Tracks
1. “1, 2, 3″
2. “In Love With You Thing”
3. “Look Around”
4. “Bonus Track 1″
Disc five: You Turn Me On (1992)
Original Album
1. “Tiger Trap”
2. “Noise”
3. “Pinebox Derby”
4. “Teenage Caveman”
5. “Sleepy Head”
6. “You Turn Me On”
7. “Godsend”
8. “Hey Day”
9. “Bury The Hammer”
Disc six: Dreamy (1991)
Original Album
1. “Me Untamed”
2. “Left Behind”
3. “Hot Chocolate Boy”
4. “I’ve Lost You”
5. “Cry For A Shadow”
6. “Collide”
7. “Nancy Sin”
8. “Fortune Cookie Prize”
9. “Revolution Come And Gone”
10. “Red Head Walking
Disc seven: Black Candy (1989)
Original Album
1. “Other Side”
2. “Black Candy”
3. “Knick Knack”
4. “Pajama Party In A Haunted Hive”
5. “Gravedigger Blues”
6. “Cast A Shadow”
7. “Bonfire”
8. “T.V. Girl”
9. “Playhouse”
10. “Ponytail”
My Rate: 10/10
Vídeo de “Cry For a Shadow”
Heavenly – Le Jardin De Heavenly (1992)
13/06/10
ALLMUSIC The recruitment of keyboardist and second vocalist Cathy Rogers adds a strong new dimension to Heavenly’s gossamer pop sound on their full-length debut Le Jardin de Heavenly; far removed from the shambling aesthetics of their early Talulah Gosh days, tracks like the opening “Starshy” and the shimmering “Different Day” are compact and direct, and for all of their simplicity pack a real punch. A licensing deal with the U.S. indie K Records also proves remarkably fortuitous — not only does it help bring Heavenly’s music to the wider audience it demands, but it also allows K honcho Calvin Johnson to lend his coffin-creak vocals to “C Is the Heavenly Option,” a thoroughly charming duet with Amelia Fletcher that’s the album’s centerpiece. ~ Jason Ankeny
My Rate: 9/10
Áudio de “C Is the Heavenly Option”
The Softies – The Softies (1996)
25/05/10
ALLMUSIC The first word that pops up when listening to the self-titled, eight-song Softies EP — the first for the duo of Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia — is “sweet.” It sounds sweet, feels sweet, and, on songs such as the opener “Snow Like This” and “Half as Much,” is entirely, sweetly affecting, the kind of music you could snuggle up to or use to brighten a gloomy, rainy day, this despite the fact that the album, itself, is wholly about approaching or being or feeling in the dumps, being disappointed, losing love or wanting to be in love or missing someone. It is the sound of the void buried deep in your insides that is difficult to put your finger on, a sort of misery-loves-company companion. The Softies is fully stripped down until only a couple strummed electric guitars remain, but it is not a folk album. The EP is straight melancholy pop taken to its most bare-boned plaintiveness; for all its sadness, though, the music is never sullen, never anything less than luscious and childlike, and, if the word can possibly apply to such minimalistic music, it has a lushness that makes it cushiony and plush, and softens, as it turns out, the lyrical blows. Melberg and Sbragia‘s harmonies float wistfully through the music like a couple of twee reminiscences. It is music of change, the sort of sound that could accompany autumn or perfectly illuminate a sense of nostalgic yearning. It makes you want to again grab ahold of something that you never actually had. [by Stanton Swihart]
My Rate: 8/10
Vídeo de “Snow Like This”
Gaze – Shake the Pounce
06/04/10
Genre: Indiepop / Twee
Based: Canada
Label: K
Year: 1999
My Rate: 8/10
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ALLMUSIC On Shake the Pounce, Vancouver’s Gaze continued their sweet variety of all-girl indie pop. Miko Hoffman and Megan Mallett continued to share vocal and guitar duties, while Rose Melberg, also of the Softies, checked in on drums and backing vocals. The songs were recorded by Calvin Johnson in early 1998 at Dub Narcotic Studios. The disc kicks off with the jangly and blissful “So Early to Tell.” Throughout their existence, the band covered thoughtful and bittersweet themes in a festive and poppy style. The intertwining vocals charmed twee pop fans with straightforward and unabashedly simple songs like “Tea or Coffee.” “Mr. Oh So Suave & Debonaire” is possibly the best sample on this disc of the band’s approach to songwriting. The songs often seem to be cathartic, as most artwork often is. On track seven, the band covers Game Theory‘s “Nine Lives to Rigel Five.” Keyboards find their way onto “Sunday Night Waterworks,” adding to the melancholy nature of the song’s narrative. Gaze’s disarming melodies reach an epic level on “A New Home” and “In the Midst,” backed by modest instrumentation. The band sets themselves apart by combining melodic pop with a punk mentality. [by Stephen Cramer]
Pale Sunday – Shooting Star EP
01/04/10
Genre: Indiepop / Twee
Based: Brazil
Label: Matinée
Year: 2010
My Rate: 9/10
MySpace
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ALLMUSIC Brazilian indie poppers Pale Sunday took a five-year break after the release of their 2005 album Summertime? The intervening years seem to have had no effect on the band’s sound whatsoever. Shooting Star sounds like it could have been recorded at the same sessions as Summertime?. The group still has the same wistfully jangling feel that will endear them to fans of classic groups like the Razorcuts, the same tenderly melancholy vocals, and a similarly pleasant manner. Over the course of an album, the consistency of the songwriting and uniformity of production is a bit much, but this four-song EP is much more successful. Any of the songs here would have been a highlight on Summertime?, especially the title track, which has a light and breezy feel that conjures up the sounds of Scotland circa 1991-1993. Not every band is cut out to make albums, and there’s no shame in sticking to singles and EPs. Especially when they are this solid. [by Tim Sendra]
The School – Loveless Unbeliever
30/03/10
Genre: Indiepop / Twee
Based: UK
Label: Elefant
Year: 2010
My Rate: 10/10
MySpace
Tracklist
1. Let It Slip
2. Is He Really Coming Home?
3. Valentine
4. I Want You Back
5. Is It True?
6. I Love Everything
7. Can’t Understand
8. The One Who Left Me
9. Hoping and Praying
10. Summer’s Here
11. Shoulder
12. All I Wanna Do
13. I Don’t Believe in Love
Vídeo de “Is He Really Coming Home?”
ntine
4. I Want You Back
5. Is It True?
6. I Love Everything
7. Can’t Understand
8. The One Who Left Me
9. Hoping and Praying
10. Summer’s Here
11. Shoulder
12. All I Wanna Do
13. I Don’t Believe in Love
?
3. Valentine
4. I Want You Back
5. Is It True?
6. I Love Everything
7. Can’t Understand
8. The One Who Left Me
9. Hoping and Praying
10. Summer’s Here
11. Shoulder
12. All I Wanna Do
13. I Don’t Believe in Love
The Blanche Hudson Weekend – The Rats In The Cellar 7″
11/03/10
ODD BOX The Blanche Hudson Weekend is here. Featuring Caroline and Darren (ex-Manhattan Love Suicides) along with a bunch of other Weekenders , and bringing to you all kinds of noise , fuzz , melody , dissonance , rawness , killer tunes and buzzsaw pop. Take a bit of 1960s girl group sounds , mix with Girls In The Garage type ramshackle production , add some gun slugging guitars and sugar sweet vocals with a keen ear for a great hook , then lock the doors , bolt the windows , switch off the phone , kill the lights , turn up the volume to ear splitting levels and enjoy The Blanche Hudson Weekend.
This is their 2nd single and it show cases a slightly less in your face side to their fuzzy dissonant sound.
Side A
01. Grip of Fear
02. Sharks
Side AA
03. Snow
VA – Fountain Island, A Sarah Compilation
17/12/09
Genre: Indiepop / Jangle Pop / Twee / Guitar Pop
Based In…: UK
Label: Sarah Records
Year: 1992
My Rate: 10/10
{ Download }
Tracklist:
01. Tramway – Maritime City
02. Heavenly – So Little Deserve
03. Even As We Speak – One Step Forward
04. Gentle Despite – Bittersweet Kiss
05. The Sweetest Ache – Sickening
06. St. Christopher – It’s Snowing On The Moon
07. Secret Shine – Grey Skies
08. The Orchids – Tropical Fishbowl
09. Gentle Despite – Shadow of a Girl
10. Even As We Speak – Must Be Something Else
11. The Orchids – Pelican Blonde
12. Tramway – Technical College
13. Heavenly – Wrap My Arms Around Him
14. The Wake – Major John
15. The Field Mice – Between Hello and Goodbye
16. Tramway – Star
Wolfie – Where’s Wolfie
07/11/09
Genre: Indiepop / Twee / Powerpop
Based In…: US
Label: Parasol
Year: 2000
My Rate: 7/10
MySpace
{ Download }
ALLMUSIC t’s undoubtedly something of a misnomer to call a Wolfie disc “mature” — the group still possesses a childlike wonder with the very concept of pop music that is hopelessly endearing, and one rues the day it finally does disappear — but there’s no denying that Where’s Wolfie is a major leap forward, expanding on the keyboard-powered, new wave-influenced sound of their prior work to showcase an increasing debt to Zombies-like, late-’60s popcraft. Where at times Wolfie’s debut, Awful Mess Mystery, suffered from sameness from song to song, each track on this sophomore effort bears its own distinctive stamp: the boy-girl harmonies that were such a delight last time out are even more prominent here, and the melodies are consistently crisp and catchy. Irresistible. [by Jason Ankeny]
Bunnygrunt – The 1000% Hot EP
24/10/09
Genre: Indiepop / Twee / Lo-Fi
Based In…: US
Label: WeePOP! Records
Year: 2007
My Rate: 10/10
MySpace
{ Download }
Vídeo de “1000% Not Creepy” (SFPOPFEST 2009)
