The Galactic Heroes - "How About San Francisco?" cd  (Magic Marker)
If I had to pick two words to describe this, they would be frantic and fun. But I'll keep going. This is such a great cd, made by two guys from South Carolina in their houses (and mastered by Robert Schneider). With 19 songs in around 43 minutes, we've got everything from whistles and bells to all kinds of found instruments & items. Musically, this is similar to the Marbles, Kleenex Girl Wonder, or early Papas Fritas, with the fun of an Of Montreal record. Oh, and tons of la's and ba's. This is definitely an album to bounce around your house to. What fun!!   MTQ=18/19

The Galactic Heroes - "Made In Japan" 7"  (Magic Marker)
Soon after the Galactic Heroes made their debut album, "How About San Francisco?", Ricky moved to Japan, leaving Mike in South Carolina. This, however, didn't stop them from continuing to write and record music. This single is divided into two parts: the "made in Japan" side consists of two songs that Ricky wrote and recorded, which he sent to Mike to add parts to, and on the flip ("made in USA" side) are two songs that Mike recorded and sent to Ricky. Well, I say four songs, but there is a short (6-20 second) song at the beginning of each side welcoming you to their respective country, and at the end, introducing the other member (a la Sgt. Pepper). The songs themselves are very uptempo great songs in the vein of their first record, like the Apples In Stereo or Of Montreal without the weirdness. I really like this band a lot, and I hope they keep up recording, so we can get another album out of them soon!   MTQ=4/4

The Galactic Heroes - "Every Sidewalk" cd  (Magic Marker)
Hmm, a new album from the Galactic Heroes - you longtime readers will correctly assume that I quite love this! The band's first album was a masterpiece of simple, catchy and fun indiepop, and this isn't much different! The music is in the vein of early Of Montreal and the Marbles, with vocal harmonies coming closer to the Everly Brothers and the Beatles. The lyrics are just as playful, and there are still whistles, bells and kazoos (as well as just about every other instrument and noisemaker you can imagine - I tell you, those two can play anything!), but the recording is a lot better this time around (even though most of it was recorded with Mike & Ricky living thousands of miles apart). And though the songs are still very catchy, they seem to be a little longer and with more parts - not to say that as a bad thing, but rather to point out that even though the songs are still playful, the band have matured a bit since the first record. Oh, and I also have to mention that I got a huge kick out of the computer programming-styled band description in the liner notes!   MTQ=12/12

The Gallygows - "Give It To Her" cd  (Rainbow Quartz)
This record, the band's second, was originally released in their home country of Spain, on Houston Party Records, then was licensed shortly after on Painted Sky in Japan. Now, it's finally available in America on Rainbow Quartz, a label originating from England - confusing! The sound is melodic power pop that's more on the soft side, that flows along quite nicely. Mostly male vocals, though they do have guest female vocals on a couple songs. Their English isn't always perfect, but the lyrics are still good, and occasionally playful ("Live At Budokan" comes to mind). The record was produced by Jon Auer, and I really like the sound here - very clean sounding, sometimes reminding me of the Pearlfishers. The last song, "Roller Disco Combo" is the only song that breaks away from the guitar pop sound, being a fun techno-pop song. A few of the songs tend to drag a bit too long at times, but otherwise I have no complaints. Well, they do the stupid nine minutes of blank space at the end of the last track, and the only reward for your fast-forwarding effort is a minute of noise.   MTQ=11/14

Garfield's Birthday - "Words And Pictures" cs  (Best Kept Secret)
A bit of a surprise here - this is quite good! I don't know, but I expect this to be the first release from this Bristol, UK 4-piece. Much of this is nice pop, that sounds like it comes from the early 90s, a la the Proctors, Pristines, Bulldozer Crash, or early White Town. Gentle boy vocals, jangly guitars, and lots of great melodies. At times, though, the lyrics are a bit odd, like on "Evil Jones" and "Last Night I Slept With Your Mother" - oh dear! However, songs like "We Know Your Name", "You And Your Poetry", and the title track more than make up for their occasional off moments. And even with twelve songs, this tape just seems too short!   MTQ=10/12

Garlands - "Bedroom Music" cd  (Mr.)
After a few eps (one on each format) over the last few years, Garlands have finally released a full-length record. They hail from New York City, but you'd swear they were British. These guys manage to sound new wavey without being the least bit retro; taking the best bits of New Order & the Smiths, as well as hints of Psychedelic Furs & Echo And The Bunnymen. The songs are layered with many guitars and synths, but without sounding too busy. They manage to meld dreamy pop with great songwriting, creating songs that are as lush and elegant as they are catchy and exciting (thanks in part to the production help from Gary Maurer of Hem). A wonderfully enjoyable record from start to finish!   MTQ=11/11

Gatsby - "Floods + Fires" cd  (no label)
Hailing from Boston, Gatsby plays good old American indie rock in the vein of Archers Of Loaf, Fivehead and ...Trail Of Dead (especially in the occasionally shouty vocals). This is their debut album, after a handful of self-released eps and singles, and it's a pretty good one at that. There are a number of strong songs on here, including "Snakes", "Prize Fight" and "Grad School", all of which share a melodic sound and good songwriting. Unfortunately, this record has two strikes against it: the first of which is its too-frequent use of unrelated musical interlude bits, most of which are nothing more than studio noodling and none of which are interesting. Also, the two slower songs on here, "High Low" and "Agent Birds", don't really go anywhere and are rather dull. Not to say that the band can only play rockers - "It's All My Fault" and "My Piano" both show that Gatsby can do midtempo songs quite well. Without the filler bits, this album would definitely be a lot better.   MTQ=8/15

The Gazetteers - "Territory Songs" cd  (Magic Marker)
This is the brand new project from an old fave, Frank Boscoe (Vehicle Flips, Wimp Factor 14). The basis of the songs is Frank's usually clever lyrics and his ukulele; Rob Christiansen (Eggs, Sisterhood Of Convoluted Thinkers), Steve Silverstein, and a couple friends flesh out the sound. The recurring theme of the album is of places throughout the country (plus the Virgin Islands) - the original idea was to write a song for every state and territory (hey, Frank's got a PhD in Geography!), but with only ten songs here, apparently he didn't get very far. Naturally, the songs aren't really about the states, but rather are fun tunes based on them: not wanting to go to Maine because it's too far; a scene report from rock and roll hotspot, Aberdeen, South Dakota; lamenting has parents' decision to move to South Carolina; and going into how and why the King of Denmark sold off the Virgin Islands. The songs have the usual Boscoe charm (he's really hard not to like), and are very well executed as well. This is definitely a very fun record!   MTQ=10/10

Geoffrey Crayon - "Seaweed Shore" cd  (no label)
Geoffrey Crayon is the new solo project of Dave Gibson, who used to be in one of the best bands to come out of Ohio, the Cusacks! Musically, this isn't too different from the Cusacks or the Proper Nouns (which Dave is also a part of, along with two other Cusacks), but maybe a bit more whimsical in sound, similar to the Galactic Heroes or Poison Control Center. The songs are quite 60s-influenced, with lots of backing vocals and extra-bouncy basslines and keyboard melodies, although there are also some slower ones like the acoustic "Off We Go". Recorded almost solely by Dave, the sound is pretty rough at times, but not distractingly so. If you like your pop to be as fun as it is catchy, then this should be just perfect for you!   MTQ=6/7

The Get Quick - "How The Story Goes" cd  (Rainbow Quartz)
I tell you, I didn't quite know what to make of this record on first listen. It starts off with "Live Without It", a calm and easy going song that even has string flourishes helping it along, but then next comes "New Plimsoles", which is so over the top that I couldn't even make out what was going on! I mean, saxophone squeals and freakout guitars blaring over an already blaring guitar riff that sounds like it was lifted straight off a Nuggets lp. Then "Seem" comes along, and is a damn fine power pop song in the vein of Velvet Crush, followed by "Blaue Reiter" which comes off like a power pop band trying their hand at new wave. And those are just the first four songs. While it may be hard to easily categorize this record, I can say that there are quite a few great tunes on here, no matter the genre, like "Lose It All", "Here She Comes" and the afore-mentioned "Seem". Not every song is a winner, but you'd be hard pressed to find a dull moment on here.   MTQ=8/11

Tim Gilbertson - "s/t" cd  (Pop Echo)
Here's the debut album from this fellow from Vancouver, Canada. Although mostly a true solo album (his brother Eric plays the drums and there are a couple small guest contributions), the songs have a full band sound that fits somewhere between the Weakerthans and the Pernice Brothers (particularly their peppier tunes), both in the music and in Tim's vocals, which have the same hushed quality as Joe Pernice's. And like the Pernice Brothers, Tim's songs have a sense of restraint that's never abandoned, even during the most upbeat ones, like "Analogue" and "Wasting Air" (the latter comes closest to boiling over at the end of the song, though it never does). On the other hand, some of his slower songs share a bit more in common with Sebadoh ("Get Going" would've fit well on that band's "Bakesale" record), while the guitar melodies in "Long Walk" are quite reminiscent of Wooden Stars or Snailhouse. Overall, an impressive debut!   MTQ=9/11

Girlboy Girl - "Fresco" cd  (Blackbean)
Debut cd from this four-piece who've had a couple previous singles and a mini lp in the past three years. They may be British, but their sound is closer to New Zealand-ish lo-fi Flying Nun style, or maybe Australia, by way of the Cannanes. Occasionally, I can hear a bit of Hood, too, like on "You Won't Add It Up". Most of the songs are slow to mid-tempo, and not always attention-grabbing, but I still like this. It's just that while I loved their singles, this 19 song, 50 minute cd sometimes seems a bit long. I can hear the band repeating themselves after a while. Of special note is the unusually attractive artwork, this being a Blackbean release and all...   MTQ=16/19

Girlboy Girl - "Forget The Ladder, Climb The Wall" cd  (Kittridge)
This is the second full-length from Bristol's Girlboy Girl, and their first release in a few years. The sound isn't too different from their last album, "Fresco"; the music sounds like a mix between the Delgados and later Pastels, with equal parts of jangly, shambling pop and subdued, quiet songs. Not surprisingly, I prefer the more upbeat tunes (especially "Impermanent" and "Trying"), but many of the slower ones were enjoyable, too (though I thought "Night Song" was much too dull). Rupert & Paula share the vocal duties, sometimes alternating between lead/backing vocals and sometimes singing in unison. Overall, this record seems a lot more focused than their debut was, possibly because they've had more time to work on and refine this one. It's good to see these guys back in action again...   MTQ=12/14

The Givegoods - "I Want To Kill A Rich Man" cd  (Capitol)
The Givegoods are the new project from Tom Morgan, who you may recognize from one of the best Aussie groups ever: SMUDGE!! Smudge have been out of commision for quite a while - their last album, "Real McCoy, Wrong Sinatra", came out almost five years ago - and Tom spent some of that time off working with Nic Dalton as Sneeze. Not long after that, Tom hooked up with Andy Calvert (of Whopping Big Naughty) to form the Givegoods, and recorded this album with friends Paul Dempsey (Something For Kate) and Evan Dando. Though it sounds little like his former bands, it's still quite obviously Tom's songwriting (and voice) in there. Rather, the sound is more a mixture of straight-ahead rock and a bit of country, too. Not like the country influence is a surprise, as Tom's had it for years (not to mention his partner in crime, Evan Dando) - "Sophisticated Porn", reminds me a bit of the Smudge classic, "The Outdoor Type". However, now many of the country-ish tunes are downers, when they used to be jangly. In fact, Tom seems to be balancing out his short song days of Smudge/Sneeze with much longer songs on this record (three are over five minutes!), though there are a fair amount of shorter and catchier tunes like "We're Here About The Buddhas" and "Local Knowledge" (which first made an appearance on a solo 7" Tom did a couple years ago). Some songs I just plain don't like, though, like "I Want To Kill A Rich Man" (one of the singles, actually), due to Juanita Stein's sexy/screamy vocals or "Unfamiliar", which sounds like that awful reggae Led Zeppelin song (I forget the name of it, but you know the one I mean...). I really like some of the songs on here, but overall, it's not a terribly exciting record...   MTQ=8/12

Glaring Surge - "Unreleased Dreams" 7"  (Moonscreen)
Glaring Surge are a German band that always popped up on comp cassettes in the early 90s, but then disappeared, never actually releasing a record. In fact, I even had both of these songs already from tapes, but I think these are updated versions. However, the songs still sound like early 90s shoegaze. Not the Lush kind of shoegaze, but more like the last Charlottes record or Antiseptic Beauty; very noisy and manic. Both songs have boy/girl vocals, frantic drumming, and heavily fuzzed out guitars. It's good to see they're still around, but can someone unearth the Almanacs, now?   MTQ=2/2

The Glasses - "Modern Day Ichabod Crane" cd  (no label)
I've known about this band for a few years now, thanks to their previous EP and a very good full-length. Now, after a couple lineup changes (which once included a friend of mine and now includes another friend, Faustine, on drums), they've given us their third and possibly best release. The songs on this record still contain some of the dreamy quality heard on their previous releases, but it's toned down a bit more and combines with a jangly guitar sound that reminds me of the Hang Ups in places. Other songs, like "Young Autumn Electrical" and "Carey Ann" are just straight-forward upbeat indiepop tunes, with delightful vocal harmonies in the former and a cheery synth backing melody in the latter. The final song, "Are You Like Me?", is the only bad spot on the record, due to its slower tempo, the psych-influenced outro and the sporadically off-key vocals. Let's hope this new lineup works out well, and produces more quality pop!   MTQ=4/5

The Glasses - "Story Problems" cd  (no label)
This group has been around for much of the decade, and have a few releases to their name, but after the latest series of logistical and line-up issues, Will (the group's leader and songwriter) decided to start all over again from scratch. I have to say that the resulting album looks and sounds like a step backward. The packaging is minimal and somewhat poorly-presented; though, to be fair, this is officially a digital release, and the homemade cd copies seem to be more of an afterthought. The production of the record itself is a bit too muddy, having been recorded and mostly performed by Will at home. Then why would I say that this is my favorite Glasses record to date? Because I've always thought that Will was a great songwriter, and now that he's on his own, this is his most concise collection of popsongs yet! The band's early output had a few too many over-indulgent shoegaze elements, though the last full-band release found them starting to lose those, in favor of more straight-forward pop. This album clocks in at just over 27 minutes, and except for one song (the instrumental filler piece, "Strange Nature") is near-perfect pop! I'm reminded of Pants Yell! and Holiday Flyer in several places throughout these songs, but I'd really love to see this band tour with Surefire Broadcast someday - they could even successfully be Will's backing band, if needed!   MTQ=9/10

Gleason's Drift - "Beaver" cd  (Blind Pigeon)
This band was one of my favorites on the recent compilation from this same label, so it's good to hear that there's more where that came from. The sound on this is a little more straight-ahead rock and roll than I'm used to, but it's still quite enjoyable. I was gonna call it a cross between early '70s Rolling Stones and something else, but it really just sounds like classic Stones! In fact, the record even sounds a little dated the way it's produced, with a minimum of distortion on the guitars and a great, but still not quite hi-fi sound. I don't know anything about this band - they could be a group of kids with an ear for the classics or 40 year old rockers recapturing their lost youth - either way, this album is full of some catchy, solid rock tunes.   MTQ=9/10

Glossary - "This Is All We've Learned About Living" cd  (Champ)
Their first cd was a sleeper hit for me last year - one of those records I bought, then didn't listen to it for a while, only to love it ages later when I pulled it out. So I quite anticipated this release; and I'm happy to report that I'm not the least bit disappointed! These Murfreesboro, TN kids play southern-tinged indie rock with many of the songs on the mid-tempo side, musically similar to Spent or maybe middle-era Pavement. It's boy/girl vocals, often at the same time, bringing to mind Wolfie, especially due to his sorta bratty voice. One thing that bugs me about this release (though it's minor) is that I noticed a few of the song titles are out of order (unless I'm mistaken, and they really do use the phrase "fast walkin' shit talkin'" twice - maybe it's a southern thing...). Regardless of the song titles, this is still one record I'd like to have on when I'm sitting on the porch during a hot summer day.   MTQ=12/12

Glossary - "How We Handle Our Midnights" cd  (Undertow)
This is the third record from this sorely underrated group from Tennessee, who play country-tinged indie rock, sounding a bit like the Mendoza Line crossed with J Mascis. Overall, this album isn't too different from their last, "This Is All We've Learned About Living" - with an equal amount of upbeat and slower tunes, and a general sense of bleakness and malaise in the lyrics. They've always had a bit of a country influence before, but it comes out a lot more on this record, especially in songs like "Hold Me Down" and "Marigold Moon". Apparently, there was a lineup change before this album, resulting in the loss of two original members/songwriters, but it hasn't negatively affected the band at all. One major difference I did notice, though, was that there are less female vocals on this album, and what there are left are just in the background. Still, there are many new favorites on this record like "Remember Me Tomorrow Tonight" and "When Easy Street Gets Hard To Find" that stand up quite well next to other Glossary classics!   MTQ=9/10

Go You Huskies! - "s/t" cdep  (Popboomerang)
This perky group from Melbourne whet our appetites on a couple of Popboomerang compilations (not to forget the "Pop The Question" comp from earlier this year), and now they're back to tease us just a bit more with this four song EP. It starts off with "Waking Up Is Hard To Do", a delightfully power-poppy song that reminds me of Sarah Sarah or Bidston Moss, and a perfect way to start off the disc. The jangly, midtempo "Fear Of Flying" and "Lights Down" slow it down a little (with the latter featuring a melodica solo), while "Cubby House" (a catchy tune that we'd already been introduced to via a couple of the afore-mentioned compilations) finishes off the disc. All of the songs feature boy/girl vocals, with the two singers sharing lead vocal duties. Can't wait to hear more from this fun group!   MTQ=4/4

Going Stagg - "Sink And Dream" 7"  (Kittridge)
Debut release from this L.A. indiepop band, and it's a great start! Four tracks with a definite Poastal feel, as well as hints of Tiger Trap and Red Dye #5 (whose "Torn Shoe" they cover). Rockin' indiepop from this girl-led quintet!   MTQ=3/4

The Gold State - "Whole Wide Whole" cd  (no label)
Once again, I find myself reviewing a cd that's actually a couple years old, which is something I try not to do, but this is definitely worthy of praise, and is probably unknown to about 99% of our readers (as it was to me). The band is the work of a fellow named Paul, and he plays acoustic-based pop with a bit of a country influence, that reminds me of a mixture of the Shins, Pernice Brothers and Teenage Fanclub (in fact, if you had told me that this was a Gerard Love home demo from a few years ago, I would've believed you). Although the sound is a bit lo-fi, it still sounds pretty good - just with a feeling of intimacy you sometimes get from home-recording. The songs tend to be upbeat but subdued, with brushed drums and a soft, thumpy bass sound. Sometimes the songs can get a little repetitive, and I'd even say that a couple, like "Cherry Blossom China" and "Out All Morning" drag a bit, but overall, the songs are quite good, with favorites being "No Instead Of Yes", "Not Like I Told You" and the title track. The cd is self-released, so you're not likely to find it in any stores, but if you search it out, you'll be quite pleased you did!   MTQ=11/12

Steve Goldberg And The Arch Enemies - "s/t" cd  (no label)
There are a lot of bands doing the orchestral pop thing, but Steve Goldberg And The Arch Enemies (of which there are over a dozen) seem to take it to another level, with as much (or more) emphasis put on the orchestra as the core band. Thanks to the addition of the extended string, horn and percussion (glockenspiel, tympani, etc) sections, many of the songs sound somewhere between the Left Banke and Chad And Jeremy. Many of the songs have a somber mood (hey, when you have an orchestra, sad songs sound much grander!), but the peppier songs, like "The Road" and "February Third", benefit greatly from the embellishment, as well. Not all of the songs feature the full band, but they at least include prominent key instruments, like violin and trumpet, with the exception of the appropriately space-age-sounding "23rd Century Identity Crisis", which only adds synth to the core bass/drums/guitar lineup. The songs themselves have interestingly quirky lyrics, with themes like being a spy, being a knight and wanting to be a cyborg; even the more basic love songs like "Julia" and "Artichokes" have a bit of silliness to them, which lends a bit of fun to the songs, even when you wouldn't expect it.   MTQ=8/10

Golden Bear - "s/t" cd  (C-Side)
To say there's a heck of a lot going on on this record would be an understatement. Let's put it this way - on a cursory glance at the inner sleeve, I saw that there were lyrics printed, but on second look, I noticed that they were in fact the instrument credits for each individual track. The band is led by Chris Gregory, backed by most of the members of his other band, the Channel, and also helped by members of other Austin-based bands, like Voxtrot and The Black Angels on a variety of stringed (lap steel guitar), percussive (maracas, trash can lid) and other instruments (phaser, space echo). There's even a separate horn section on half of the songs! But as packed as the songs are with instruments, there's still plenty of melody shining through, and it never seems to get lost in the mix. Comparisons to the Channel are kinda obvious, but hard to avoid, as their sound is not too different and they share a lot of the same influences, like the Flaming Lips and Olivia Tremor Control. But I'm glad that the two bands are happening simultaneously, as that just means there are twice as many excellent records from this group of Austinites to enjoy!   MTQ=10/11