Pale Sunday - "Shooting Star" cdep  (Matinee)
Posted on March 23rd.
I've been a huge fan of this Brazilian indiepop group from their very first self-released debut EP. They released a second EP and an album on Matinee soon after, but have remained silent ever since. This new batch of songs (their first in five years) finds the band continuing their style of Swedish-influenced indiepop; and when I say "Swedish-influenced", I'm referring more to the style of the mid '90s groups like Popsicle, the Honeymoons and Popundret than the recent indiepop explosion the country experienced. These songs sound more in like those bands than Pale Sunday's earlier work did, but only by the virtue of a better recording sound here. And apart from the title track, they're also slightly more subdued-sounding than the band's previous work, but it certainly didn't take long to fall in love with them all over again!   MTQ=4/4

The Fallen Leaves - "That's Right" cd  (Parliament)
Posted on March 23rd.
This band from western London may be somewhat new, but they've certainly been around for a while. Composed of participants in the late '70s UK punk scene (including a couple original members of the Subway Sect!) and leaders of the popular Parliament Club, the Fallen Leaves play high-energy garage rock in the vein of Mickey Hampshire and Billy Childish; you know, the original UK garage rockers, not the ones that have been tarnishing the genre's good name all over the charts in the last several years... The songs may be full of raw energy (check out the break in the middle of "The International Brigade"!), but they are also just as tuneful, with memorable melodies coming out in "Sylvie Says", "Listen To My Heart" and "Is She Somewhere". Yeah, so I wasn't too into the "Tequila"-styled one word party song, "Vendetta", but this is still a really fun and energizing record - and surely an exciting band to witness live!   MTQ=8/10

Snowstorm - "Snowstorm" cd  (Monotone)
Posted on March 5th.
Most of Kevin's music that I've heard in the past (and most of the Monotone catalog, for that matter) has been pretty low key and quiet acoustic stuff, and though this is still acoustic-based, the songs are quite upbeat and catchy. So it should come as no surprise that it's my favorite thing that I've heard from Kevin to date! Though this is a solo release, there are usually at least two guitars playing together (often doubling or even exchanging melodies), along with frequent keyboards and drums (or at least some form of percussion). Still pretty lo-fi, of course, but it does sound really good overall. Musically, I'd have to say the closest resemblance is to the early Moon Socket stuff, but with a little more consistency and without the extraneous sounds. Plus the songs are all pretty short, so we've got ten of 'em in twenty minutes! Though the band's name may suggest winter, this is more for the winter days when the sun is shining bright and you can go out and enjoy the foot of snow all around you.   MTQ=10/10

New Century Schoolbook - "The Happy Detective" 7"  (no label)
Posted on March 5th.
The debut album from this Portland group was nice, but never really grabbed my attention. This single, however, shows that the band has improved tenfold since then, with all three songs sounding great and each one of them proving themselves as A-side material (I certainly don't know how the band could ever choose!). The title track is a driving little pop song with punchy electric piano and bassline, sounding like a slightly softer Salteens. "Icebergs" is the other song on the first side, and is a subtler song with a memorable flute melody. On the flip, we've got "The Vetting Process", which is a grand affair comparable to something from the first few Belle & Sebastian or Decemberists albums. Oh, and the whole thing comes on nice, grey marble vinyl - definitely a single to check out!   MTQ=3/3

A Million Years Ago - "1000000000000000000000000000" cs  (no label)
Posted on March 1st.
I was introduced to this Seattle band last summer by playing a show with them, but then they disappeared for a few months. Now they're back and have just released this cassette containing nine energetic tracks, many of which I already knew after seeing them live only a couple times! The band's a three-piece, consisting of guitar, keyboard and drums, though while listening to these songs, you'd never know they were mising a bass player, thanks to Jordan's clever synth parts. If I had to describe the band's songs in a word, it would have to be "anthemic". Between their big sound and the the catchy songs, it's impossible not to sing or shout along once you've got even a minor grasp of the lyrics (seriously - try sitting still to "You Got A Heart" or "What You Are"). Anyways, seek this band out!   MTQ=9/9

Bunnygrunt - "Matt Harnish & Other Delights" cd  (Happy Happy Birthday To Me)
Posted on February 13th.
Ever since their return five or so years ago, Bunnygrunt have been transforming themselves into a solid rock and roll band (the surprise for me wore off long ago, but it's always fun to watch an older fan's reaction when they see them again now). Their previous album, "Karen Hater's Club", started this trend, but was a really disjointed and even almost incomplete record to listen to. A couple intermediate singles showed the band was improving, but this new record proves that they have found exactly what they were looking for. The days of cute pop are long behind the band (though they'll never lose their mischievous sense of humor), and in its place we have an amazing power pop record. It's Karen's songs that are taking the spotlight this time around, with "Where Eagles Dare Pt.2", "You Get What You Get" and "The Limits Of Southern Hospitality" ranking among the best I've heard from her, but the recent live staple "1000% Not Creepy" (a Matt song from the Wee Pop! EP) is another standout track. Finally, a record to match the band's fun and energetic live set!   MTQ=9/10

Spencer McGillicutty - "Games" cd  (no label)
Posted on February 5th.
This Spencer McGillicutty fellow is not a fellow, but rather a large collection of musicians from Minneapolis. The core of the group is two boys and two girls, with the music fleshed out by over a dozen friends on a variety of instruments, including all flavors of percussion, brass and woodwinds. Their sound is firmly rooted in the sunny and swinging '60s, with influences coming from a range of the era's best girl groups, beat groups and songwriters (think Bacharach, Walker or Diamond). The lead vocals are mostly female (with two different lead singers), but everyone sings a ton of backups, including a fair share of bas, das and even some shooby-doo-wops! My only problem with the record is that a few of the songs sound just a bit too radio friendly, from the AM Gold-ready "Telephone Signals" to "Lock Myself Away" which might as well be an Olivia Newton-John or Anne Murray ballad. But with jaunty tracks like "Claire Carnaby", "Secret Best Friend" and "Hide And Seek", I'm more than willing to overlook a couple duds...   MTQ=8/11

Watercolor Paintings - "Open Your Mouth" cd  (Destructo-Charo)
Posted on February 2nd.
I have so many fond memories of this band from a fun weekend last summer (that could've been a fun two months, had I actually been able to join Iji on tour), but this album will have to do until I see them again. They've got a number of releases out, on 7"s and cassettes, but this debut cd of theirs is their best work to date. A few of the songs on here have been previously released in various forms, but these recordings capture the band at their best. Clocking in at just over 17 minutes, these ten brief songs are both super-sweet and heartbreaking ("Indiana" still gets me every time), with a fragile instrumentation of harp and ukulele backing Rebecca's dulcet voice (as well as her brother Josh's occasional backing vocals). A common complaint about this band is their tendency towards somewhat childishness in the lyrics (sometimes approaching Kimya Dawson levels), but apart from "Snail" (a song sympathizing with their demise by strollers or salt), that component seems to be kept to a minimum here. This is a gentle record that soothes me any time.   MTQ=10/10

Free Loan Investments - "The Last Dance" 7"  (Magic Marker)
Posted on January 24th.
I've gotta say - it's not too often that labels release a 7" with brand new songs from a band that broke up years ago (not counting the semi-lucrative reissue niche some labels have going on), and I seriously admire Magic Marker for getting these previously unheard FLI tunes out in the open! In case you don't remember them, or just missed 'em the first time around, the band is something of a supergroup (comprised of members from small, yet absolutely super groups, such as Nixon and the Shermans) from Stockholm who played short and catchy punky pop songs in the vein of Talulah Gosh, Vacaciones and the Besties, and released records on Shelflife and WIAIWYA. They even got to play a few dates in the US before they split in 2003! These songs were the last the band recorded, and fit in perfectly with the rest of the band's output. Make sure to pay attention to the accompanying download code, though (I personally usually ignore them), as it contains a bonus track that didn't fit on the single!   MTQ=4/4

[V/A] - "Home And Abroad Songs Vol. 1" cd  (Twee Fort)
Posted on January 21st.
Here's the first release on this new label from Connecticut whose goal is to help out bands from their home state, but like the comp's title suggests, this collection also includes songs from outside of their borders, with even a couple international groups. Many of these songs have actually been released elsewhere on albums and singles, but I was still introduced to a number of good new bands, such as Panda And Child, Submarine Spaceship and the Bynars. Other highlights came from Chariots Of Tuna (who I have been LOVING as of late), the Transmittens (one of the few exclusive tracks, and a real winner at that!), a song from the forthcoming Cavemen Go record (which just might be my favorite track of theirs yet) and the seemingly ubiquitous "Really Really Weird" by the Simple Carnival (this is the third comp I've gotten that it's appeared on!). A fine collection of songs, and a good start for the label!   MTQ=11/15