SIBERIAN SUMMER

Siberian Summer is no more

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:57:29 -0700

Sorry to the handful of people I know who look at this blog occasionally. It was a fun year of discovery and experimentation, but I’m going to start focusing more on making my own music instead of blogging about the music of others.

To all the artists I have ever posted about: You are the reason I love life. I posted your songs and/or wrote about your band because I listened to your music and it moved to the point where I felt the need to share. That is a beautiful thing. I cherish your artwork and hope that I have been able to pass it on in at least a small way.

Now go check out the blog Cactus-Mouth and bookmark it. It has become my go-to music blog over the past 2 years.

Peace out.

Incredible new video from Wise Blood.

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 09:01:00 -0800

Incredible new video from Wise Blood.:

No secret here: I am a HUGE Wise Blood fan. Ever since seeing him perform live almost a year ago I have been following Chris Laufman’s every move. One of the greatest things about Laufman is that he is committed to making great music videos. Many artist these days seem to default to whipping something together with found footage and after effects, but Laufman does it right…. every. single. time.

Follow the link above or click here to head over to SPIN where the video for “Loud Mouths” premiered today (NSFW).

Grandparents - “Arrows” Oregon Public Radio has a...

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:24:00 -0800

Grandparents - “Arrows”

Oregon Public Radio has a weekend music program called “In House” that I absolutely love. They introduced me to Portland psych-gaze band Grandparents this past weekend. The song “Arrows” from their most recent release, Fumes, is incredibly catchy.

New Terrors - “Night Of The Creeps” Burke Sullivan,...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:59:00 -0800

New Terrors - “Night Of The Creeps”

Burke Sullivan, aka New Terrors, has been taking it slow. Really slow. He released a couple of tracks last summer, but since then has been fairly dormant save for the rare live appearances. Well now he’s back with a proper EP entitled Mother that is set to drop 4/10/2012 via Flannelgraph Records.

The track “Night Of The Creeps” is the last song on the EP (save for the bonus track). ”Creeps” breaks straight out of the gate with a hard-hitting beat that persists throughout most of the track. The auto-tuned, octave-layered vocals bounce catchy melodies on top of washing synths to bring a delightfully poppy texture to an industrial soundscape. The lead synth line acts as the chorus and almost seems like something to sing along to even with the absence of words.

Electronic music assaults our ears on a daily basis, but there is something delightfully unique about New Terrors. The hard work and patience of Sullivan is blatantly apparent. There is maturity embedded in these tracks giving them a soul… a life of their own. Nothing will aptly prepare you for Mother, because nothing I write can adequately explain what it is. One thing is for certain; it’s nothing you have heard before.

You can pre-order Mother on CD or cassette here or pre-order a digital copy here.

**UPDATE** You can stream the EP in its entirety here.

(Sullivan also plays drums in the Bloomington, Indiana rock outfit Husband&Wife)

Live Review: Grimes and Born Gold

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:15:00 -0800

Canadian electro-pop outfits Born Gold and Grimes stopped by Portland last night to play a show at Holocene, the scuzzy-hip venue disguised as an IKEA catalogue. There was a lot of glitchy synth-pop and a lot left to be desired.

The show opened with some extdo-jams from the airy synth-wash Portland group Swahili. They are obviously a talented group of musicians, but they aren’t much of a live show. The bald keyboard player had face paint and a long skirt on…. that was interesting I guess.

Next up was Born Gold. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE Born Gold fan and that I constantly rave about the show they played at the Echo in LA last fall. I was in ecstasy at that show. Amazingly good. As I saw Cecil Frena and company setting up for this show it looked as if it was going to be another wild one. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

(Read the rest of the review, complete with video, after the jump.)

Cecil Frena is the future. His visual and musical ingenuity is something to marvel at. The set-up for Born Gold now consists of Frena in a leather jacket that is outfitted with LED lights, EL wire, and even what appears to be a midi sample pad on his chest (see photo above). He uses hand and arm gestures to control samples and effects. It’s a mind-blowing spectacle for the first few minutes, but after that the limitations start to show.

This future-man outfit has Frena wired in so that he can’t move more than a few steps. His usual theatrics are dulled-down to the point of him standing in one spot and waving his arms around. Fortunately, the other two members were still free to wander around and do “the Born Gold thing” (meaning ridiculously awesome theatrics like walking around on stilts, turning on strobe lights, covering the crowd in massive blankets, etc.).

The real downfall of the new live set-up is the microphone Frena is using. He sports a Bieber-esque headset that he was constantly fidgeting with and that never once during the set sounded good. Actually, on Lawn Knives I’m pretty sure it went out all together. When I saw Born Gold just 5 months ago, all the lyrics were loud, clear, and beautiful. With the set-up last night, I couldn’t tell you a single lyric from the multiple new songs they played. Frena has an amazing voice, but no one who was seeing them for the first time last night would know that. Check out the video I of them performing “Alabaster Bodyworlds” below. You’ll notice how muted the vocals are.

Also, Born Gold only played 2 tracks from Bodysongs and their first single “That Way.” The other 3 or 4 songs they played were new. The new stuff sounds really dark and less poppy. More like “That Way” than any of the Bodysongs singles. But then again, I couldn’t hear any of the vocals, so maybe it’s still got that pop vibe.

GRIMES. Whew. Sorry that it’s taken me this long to get to the main event. I don’t have too much to write about her.

Grimes came out said a few words about “being kinda sick” and was met with “oohs” and “ahhhhs” and “She’s so cute!” comments from the crowd. She played the first few songs by herself and then the Born Gold crew came out to assist on various electronics. The sound was deep and full and her vocals were soaring and beautiful. Check out the video I took of “Genesis.”

Grimes is a very talented girl and puts on a decently good show. Her constant complaints of “Turn it up!” and “This shit is fucking silent!” was kind of off-putting, especially because the house speakers were already quite loud. Maybe her monitors were just too low, but does it hurt to be nice about it? As a sound guy, I get a bit peeved when artists treat sound engineers like shit.

All in all the show was a good time, but definitely a bit unfulfilling considering the amazing records that both Born Gold and Grimes have put out. Their live shows will come to full fruition someday, but they aren’t quite there yet.

New Terrors has announced the release date for his debut...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:10:16 -0800

New Terrors has announced the release date for his debut EP, Mother, will be 4/10/2012. The official album art is above. The EP will be released through Flannelgraph Records.

Grimes killin it with Born Gold. (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:43:39 -0800

Grimes killin it with Born Gold. (Taken with instagram)

Siberian Summer turned 1 today. Take a browse through the...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:55:35 -0800

Siberian Summer turned 1 today. Take a browse through the archive to re-live all the great tracks of the past 12 months.

Thanks for all the love. Let’s keep truckin’.

Tiny Victories on NPR mix with M. Ward and Julia Holter

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:45:44 -0800

Tiny Victories on NPR mix with M. Ward and Julia Holter:

Uhhh… wut? Ok.

Tiny Victories - “Gravitron” Tiny Victories are set...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:47:00 -0800

Tiny Victories - “Gravitron”

Tiny Victories are set to release their Those Of Us Still Alive EP on February 28th. This is the 2nd track they have put up for streaming on their bandcamp. Really excited about this.

Funeral Home - “Get Over Yourself” Wait,...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:29:27 -0800

Funeral Home - “Get Over Yourself”

Wait, didn’t these guys just release an EP yesterday? Oh yeah, I forgot, they’re practically a factory of great songs. Hell, I have half a dozen others sitting on my computer that I’m supposed to mix and master for them. Another EP next week? Who knows.

“Get Over Yourself” is a track that Funeral Home has had in its repertoire for a long time. I would hear Taylor playing it in his room back when I lived with him a year ago. It has always been my favorite Funeral Home song and probably always will be. The lyrics are just unbeatable.

Life’s unfair / Makes you cry / Life’s a bitch / And then you die / It’s a character-building exercise

It’s so sad, and I absolutely love it. This song is Funeral Home to me.

I think CIYC is dead?

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:31:00 -0800

This makes me really sad. I’m sorry to see Jonny of Clouds In Yr Coffee go from the music blogging world.

Jonny, you will be missed by many and your blog was hardly mediocre. It has always been a staple for me. Thank you for making me aware of a lot of great music… like the Celista EP. I still think that is one of the most beautiful EPs I have ever heard. And Daily Life. And Phantom Power. Great stuff that I wasn’t aware of until you.

Thank you and much love.

cloudsinyrcoffee:

RIP, mediocore music blog.

FUNERAL HOME EP

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:53:45 -0800

FUNERAL HOME EP:

It’s here.

cactus-mouth: Funeral Home // Funeral Home EP This Funeral...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:13:49 -0800

cactus-mouth:

Funeral Home // Funeral Home EP

This Funeral Home release is one that I have been really gearing myself up for. I am a huge fan of everything the band has done up until now which has literally only been a handful of songs and demos. About a month ago the guys sent me an advanced copy of their self-titled EP and it has been absolute torture waiting this long to share it. I’ve basically had to sit on my hands to keep from blogging about it. But now the time has come, on the eve of its release date, and I’ve been given the go-ahead to unleash the storm.

Rather than pushing things into new uncharted territory, the guys stick to their guns and choose to tighten all of their screws and churn out an EP of tight, brooding shoegaze tracks. The centerpiece of the EP is an eight-minute song called “Sweet Dreams” that is in absolutely no hurry to approach its destination. The track builds and swells like a hurricane approaching the shoreline. It’s not until more than halfway through its running time that the track finally unfurls itself in gale force winds, burning guitars, and crashing percussion. And thinking back I’ve realized that this is just how Funeral Home does things. Their approach is meek and quiet at first, but give it time and it will down powerlines and uproot trees.

The EP will arrive tomorrow, Valentine’s Day, on the Funeral Home bandcamp page.

…

BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK

So glad Ian at Cactus-Mouth is diggin’ the new Funeral Home!

"Spencer Krug has made another record under the name Moonface, this time with the help of some new..."

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:23:58 -0800

“Spencer Krug has made another record under the name Moonface, this time with the help of some new friends.”

- Spencer Krug’s Moonface To Release “With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery” In April - Download “Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips”

I’ve really been digging this track “Three Car...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:02:00 -0800

I’ve really been digging this track “Three Car Garage” by Cambridge, Massachusetts duo You Won’t. The video was just posted via their facebook and it’s pretty fun. Give it a whirl.

Bandcamp.

**More info via Cool Things I Find.**

“[from the debut album Skeptic Goodbye, out February 14th on Old Flame Records]

Created by Cool Cat Productions”

PREMIER: Funeral Home - “St. Jude” The new Funeral...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:40:22 -0800

PREMIER: Funeral Home - “St. Jude”

The new Funeral Home EP will be released on Valentines Days. For those of you without significant others and who could care less about the holiday, that’s February 14th, one week from today.

“St. Jude” acts as sort of an interlude on the EP, sitting neatly in the middle as the third track of five. But don’t let its length and placement fool you, “St. Jude” is a hard-hitting, bass-rumbling, distortion-heavy track that holds its own. It’s not a “filler track” by any means.

Lyrically, the song is as simple as they come, implementing the refrain of the age-old hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.” It seems like an uplifting statement on an EP filled with less-than-cheery motifs, but a deeper look at the backstory to the hymn has me realizing exactly how well it fits into the themes of hardship, confusion, and depression.

Funeral Home’s offering of a self-titled EP after a string of singles and digital seven-inches is much welcomed… and it does not disappoint. For now, enjoy “St. Jude” and also remember that Popstache debuted opening track “Here Below” last week. Make sure to head to the Funeral Home bandcamp in a week to snag the Funeral Home EP.

dope shit: Sameblod

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:45:00 -0800

Seriously rad track entitled “Loud” from Swedish duo Sameblod. I really don’t know anything about these guys yet, but do yourself a favor and listen to this track that was just posted yesterday.

They also have a bandcamp with an EP that they released last August. It’s also pretty good. And if you really like it you can get it for a cool 50 SEK….. Google tells me that’s just over $7.

Also, can we all just take a minute to admire the cover for this single? That is an incredibly cool photo with a solid typeface choice.

OH YES! Mirror Kisses is an exciting new addition to the...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:50:00 -0800

OH YES! Mirror Kisses is an exciting new addition to the ever-growing and ever-rad tape label Chill Mega Chill. The track “Toss Me Aside” is an 80s prom-pop song that’s actually very good. Check it out below and click through to Chill Mega Chill if you aren’t familiar with them yet.

chillmegachill:

Inspired by vampire dance parties…

MIRROR KISSES

Please welcome Mirror Kisses to the Chill Mega Chill family! This Virginia-based synth duo harnesses the dark stylings of the 1980s urban dance scene and layers elegant pop hooks with electrifying neon choruses. You can expect Mirror Kisses’ next collection of songs to hit the Chill Mega Chill store shelves this Spring. Check the introverted romance of Dance Decree new-wave highlight “Toss Me Aside” below.

…

“Toss Me Aside”

The new Bro Stephen record Baptist Girls was officially released...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:15:04 -0800

The new Bro Stephen record Baptist Girls was officially released today via XRA Records. The album is hauntingly beautiful and sounds perfect on this rainy day in Portland. The track posted above is entitled “When You Find Out.”

Buy the LP or CD over at the XRA website. You can also stream the album and buy a digital copy at the XRA bandcamp.