nyc – and so she thinks

The Colorines

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 09:16:00 +0000

Despite their vibrant name, and the fact that their new single Pseudocide sways like one who has overdosed on cherryade and blue smarties, NYC’s The Colorines can be dark – although in quirky ways. ‘Everybody said I was gay, and everyone thinks I’m retarded’ they croon, telling a tale full of glorious gallows humour at the freedom that might come from faking your own death. With a merry-go-round lucky bounce to it, the track bounds along, meditatively looping with a circus style psychedelic feel that would have made John Lennon (circa 1967) very happy indeed. Luminous acoustic guitars and smokey melodica arpeggios, a fluffy tickling drum beat, and a weary vocal comprise the arsenal of intoxicating sounds that Robosco, Dwreck, Ozkr and Grim, who formed earlier this year, demonstrated on their recent Paleontology EP. Pseudocide continues on the same trajectory. Fans of foxes should look away now.

The Prettiots – Anyways

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 09:26:00 +0000

‘You broke me, but I wasn’t yours to break.’ sing Kay Kasparhauser, Rachel Trachtenburg, and Lulu Prat, aka The Prettiots on Anyways. The blonde New York trio may look and sound cutesy, with their sidelines in jewellery making and modelling, but with a clever snarkiness and a punk vibe to their ukelele driven tunes that stumble roughly around high parties and low tantrums. Their gnarly misfit punch pitches them way above the standard position of prettiots, who are, according to a guy from school, ‘pretty, dumb people who think they can get away with anything.’ Girl talk gets good.
https://soundcloud.com/the-prettiots/anyways

Pine Barons

admin — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:57:17 +0000

Forming in the basement of Keith’s parents house whilst the guys were still at school in New Jersey, Pine Barons (Keith Abrams, Brad Pulley, Shane Hower and Collin Smith) write tunes constructed of off beat rhythms underneath simple chord structures. Yup, these guys aren’t rewriting the rule book, but that’s why they work. Last year they put out their seven track debut EP, a collection of rugged tracks from a group of like minded souls who see themselves us troubadours. Carnival twinkles with electrics as it fuzzes, but this is probably the only track to veer off piste, even momentarily, from the folk rock’n’roll vibe and all the jams and jigs of the record, although Chamber Choir is a refreshing piece of lo-fi. Dispute appearing to be buoyant and rhapsodic, the lyrics are not always so happy, the most pertinent and powerful perhaps being on Smile America (‘the end told me that I don’t deserve to breath’ and the most radio friendly Since I’ve Been Away (it’s raining on my head sometimes I wish my head was dead.) Bounding along with positive boisterousness, they are perfect for intimate end of summer festivals when the sun is dipping and the rugs come out (although there are a heck of a lot of references to rain.) Almost spitting their way through the vocals and with a rambunctious approach to drums, the whole sonic set up is reminiscent of Frank Turner or City and Colour. Folk with a hint of attitude; we like.

Walking Shapes

admin — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 13:40:56 +0000

So here I am in the UK, obsessed with the idea of moving to New York, and stuck without a visa unless I become a running, funny nun, and New York keeps pounding out bands like Walking Shapes. Not only are the Brooklyn five piece really bloody good, they gig as frequently as the tube is delayed (often), with a run of 24 gigs in different NYC locations in 24 hours coming up – on April 24th no less! Stop teasing me!

New album Taka Come On features thirteen songs of varying styles and sounds, exploring different routes to kick off a whole chain of neural responses that end in fizzing contentedness, via undulating emotional trajectory. Fuzzed geometric guitars wend under a melodic contour of clean keys, and there are jangly pop moments in counterbalance to darker EDM sounds. Opener and latest single Woah Tiger sees complex twiddling keys from Jake Generalli and a spoken singing style from Nathaniel Hoto, a pick’n’mix of sonic refractions and experiments that never veers into chaos, evoking comparisons with Late of the Pier. Winter Fell (see the video streaming below) hints at the busy yet lonely dynamic of the city, with what sounds like morphed emergency service sirens, while Mussolini suggests from its delicate chords and rolling rhymes that it should be a love song – but of course things are never so straight forward. The addition of a violin via Jessie Kotansky is genius, and the instrument is given a prominent position where least expecting, adding a haunting delineation and softening the sometimes caustic blows.

http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/17588/walking-shapes-releases-lp-%E2%80%9Ctaka-come-on%E2%80%9D-plays-24-nyc-shows-24-hours

Shy Around Strangers

admin — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:39:25 +0000

Shy Around Strangers

Shy Around Strangers EP

Released August 25th 2012

NYC band Shy Around Strangers create the kind of music that would not have sounded out of place in the dark clubs of the 80s, all romantic grooves, gritty basslines and melodic synths. Singer Emily delivers husky vocals that hover the line between sexy and scary over alluring guitar work and smokey drums. Discordant chimes vie with raw textures, creating a complex yet totally awesome set of tunes.
Their eponymous EP is out just in time to counteract post bank holiday blues, and this track, Never Look Down, a perfect introduction.