Tag Archive: C.D. Singles Club


CD Singles Club – Girls – Vomit

Filed Under: New Music
Jul.21, 2011

I suppose if they had named this track "Come into my Heart," it wouldn't have the same effect.  Hence the name, "Vomit."  If they had named it, "Come into my Vomit," it would have been a really bad idea.  Nonetheless, the stubborn contrarian in me was cranky and went into the first spin with lofty expectations, but it just may be one of the largest, most epically arranged tunes we'll hear all year.  Going back to the start of this post, I'm unsure why San Francisco-based Girls has chosen "Vomit" as the title, as it's actually an emotionally driven track, both sonically and lyrically, "come into my heart" being the central lyric and probably the most appropriate title. Father, Son, Holy Ghost will be released on September 13th via True Panther, and apparently, "Vomit" was conceived long before Girls' debut album, and is one of the first songs Christopher Owens wrote, saying, "what you're hearing in 'Vomit' is someone who is at life's lowest, seeing the light, and becoming a songwriter."  The most striking thing about this song is its scope and its wavering back and forth between introspective, hushed beauty and a ball-breaking, epic wall of sound.  Few tunes hit the interwebs with this kind of quality.  All buzz and hoopla aside, it's hard to ignore something so damn good.

Girls – Vomit

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CD Singles Club – Apache Jackson – Hotline Getaway

Filed Under: New Music
Jul.21, 2011

"Hotline Getaway" is stuck right in there; it's stuck in the internal playlist, bits and pieces flying around in my brain as I drink my morning coffee and pay bills.  Apache Jackson is not a project I know much about, other than what the bandcamp site tells me.  This track, "Hotline Getaway" is from their Soul Damage EP.  The site also portends Reborn in the Tropics, an EP that will be released soon. if vocals could somehow be filtered through a lava lamp, this is what it would sound like.  Amorphous and pulsing vocal deliveries sit atop a shredding 80's synth bass line – while lush ambient effects swirl in the distance.  Perhaps we've heard this before.  Remember the LA synth maestro, Kauf, that we've posted about pretty regularly?  This is in the same ballpark, and I so like where this kind of genre is moving – a branch of glo-fi that steers more heavily into 80's pop territory, focusing more on that than washed out grooves and blurry edges.   While I've got you here, head over to No Fear of Pop, who I've graciously reblogged a few times recently.  Credit where credit is due.  They're based out of Berlin, and post some wicked tracks daily.

Apache Jackson – Hotline Getaway

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CD Singles Club – Real Estate – It’s Real

Filed Under: New Music
Jul.16, 2011

Jersey outfit, Real Estate, is back with their sophomore follow up LP, Days, set to drop October 18th via Domino Records.  The band's self-titled debut blew up heavily in 2009, and the first track, "It's Real" finds the band in similar territory.  The official 7' single of the track will hit shelves on September 27th in the states, with "Blue Lebaron" as the b-side.  This song is, above all else, infectious and melodic.  Jangling guitar, dreamboat vocals, and a high-reaching chorus all point to another successful run for the trio.  I've got three ways to listen to the track below, one in our player, one in the nifty still-shot embedded video player, and last, you can click the MP3 link in the player to register your email address for updates leading up to the release date.  On the touring tilt, the band has added two more players to the live collective, and will be playing shows with Dent May, Woods, Times New Viking, Dominant Legs, and more.  See dates below the embedded video player.

Real Estate – It's Real

Real Estate Tour Dates

Tue-Jul-12 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl * 

Wed-Jul-13 – Oxford, MS – Proud Larry's*

Thu-Jul-14 – Nashville, TN – Hard Rock Cafe / Sounds Like Summer *   

Sun-Jul-17 – Chicago, IL – Subterranean * 

Mon-Jul-18 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick * 

Tue-Jul-19 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison * 

Wed-Jul-20 – Montreal, QC – Il Motore *       

Sat-Jul-23 – Brooklyn, NY – Prospect Park Bandshell # 

Sun-Jul-24 – Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell's *  

Sun-Jul-31 – Big Sur, CA – Henry Miller Library / Woodsist Festival $    

Tue-Aug-02 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent % 

* = w/ Dent May

# = w/ The Feelies & Times New Viking

$ = w/ Woods, The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees, Sic Alps, Sun Araw, White Fence 

% = w/ Dominant Legs & Melted Toys

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C.D. Singles Club – Yalls – Weave It

Filed Under: New Music
Jun.24, 2011

San Francisco act, Yalls, has released two digital EPs, Rerepeater and How Much We Have Lost, both of which can be picked up at the band's bandcamp site.  This particular track I happened to hear on exfm's new iPhone app yesterday and then proceeded to play it six or seven times in a row.  We're not the first on this track.  In fact, No Fear of Pop premiered it around a week ago.  Yalls is set to release their first physical, a dual cassette with 18 tracks (including the 9 songs that make up their first two digital releases).  The plan seems to be to release the 9 new tracks individually, leading up to the July 4th release through MJ MJ Records.  Folks that pre-order also receive a remix EP, as well.  They've amassed a pretty good amount of buzz in the bay area, and apparently, I am now on board.  "Weave It" is a bit more subdued than other tracks on the EPs, but if this is any indication of what the next 8 tracks will be, sign me up.  This track has enough for everyone at the table.  Both guitars are incredibly striking, one with a heavy, clean strum, and the other a soaring and smooth electric that weaves in and out of the track.  Mixed perfectly with funky percussion and understated synthesizer spells, "Weave It" is bound to enter your playlist, as well.  You can pre-order the 18-song physical release HERE.

Yalls – Weave It

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C.D. Singles Club – Bleached – Think of You

Filed Under: New Music
Jun.21, 2011

Disbanded LA punk outfit, Mika Miko's bassist, Jessica Clavin, and sister Jennifer make up the new side project duo Bleached.  They're releasing Carter 7" via Art Fag on July 19th.  Jennifer spent most of 2010 touring with Cold Cave before moving back to the studio with her sister. I loved We Be Xuxa the most out of all of Mika Miko's arsenal, mainly due to its in-and-out bonecrushing 21 minutes of intelligent post-punk.  This A-side to the 7", "Think of You" is in a similar vein, and I'm on board for more material from the Clavin sisters.  It's 2:41 of pretty straightforward power pop, still maintaining punky and scuzzy undertones.  Reverb-laced and catchy, it seems the sisters are moving toward a more centrist line, in the mode of Dum Dum Girls and similar chick-rock success stories.  I don't think there's too much of a glut just yet, and with the experience, you can add Bleached to the roster of good ones.  Art Fag is printing a limited number of 500 on black vinyl.  Bleached is also set to tour this summer with shows alongside Hunx and His Punx, with more tour dates with Plateaus and Heavy Hawaii in August.

Bleached – Think of You

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C.D. Singles Club – Nightmare And The Cat – The Missing Year

Filed Under: New Music
Jun.20, 2011

The emails have been heavy today, but this one caught my ear immediately, even if in small part due to the name drops in the email.  Nightmare and the Cat are releasing their debut, self-titled EP in July and this first cut, "The Missing Year" has, perhaps, the best last minute of an indie pop song that I've heard in a long while.  The trio consists of Claire Acey, and two brothers, Django and Samuel Stewart.  Combined, they are the offspring of Eurythmics' Dave Stewart and Bananarama's Siobhan Fahey (not that the two are mom and dad to all three, but who knows.  The 80's were a weird time).  Apparently, the London trio is poised to make a bit of noise.  There is a professional shimmer and polish to this track, which includes shifts in the arrangement and a variety that we don't always get with indie-pop. There's a folky touch of the blues to go along with the excellent production quality.  I, for one, am sticking around to hear more of this EP.  Gutsy, confident, and infectious, "The Missing Year" warrants repeat plays. As I mentioned, stick around and hear the last 45 seconds of the track.  That'll lasso you in.  If you're in the NYC area, they're playing on July 10th at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn along with Non-violence, and at Mercury Lounge on July 12th with The Belle Brigade.

Nightmare And The Cat – The Missing Year

 

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C.D. Singles Club 4.1 – Washed Out – Eyes Be Closed

Filed Under: General Interest
May.29, 2011

Thoughts (mostly random):

1.) Mrs. Citizen enjoys the television program Criminal Minds.  I cannot share that enjoyment for two reasons: (a) the dude from Dharma and Greg is completely unconvincing as a cop.  I keep waiting for him to make a bad joke about yoga and/or vegetarianism.  (b) The Simpsons ruined Joe Mantegna for me.  I can't hear him talk without hearing Fat Tony in my head, which makes him really difficult to take seriously when he's talking about serial killers.

2.) I no longer understand the numbering convention for the Citizen Dick Singles Club.  It's a little bit like when Upper Deck started making baseball cards; I have no idea what the best Ken Griffey rookie card is, cause there are like a dozen.  I look back through the archives and we're somehow on the fourth iteration of the Singles Club.  I'm just rolling with the punches.

3.) Happy Memorial Day.

4.) There are several things that I was excited about on January 1.  One of them (perhaps the biggest) was Circuital.  We'll talk more about that later, but it is really, really good.  "Victory Dance" is the song that I am most excited to hear for the first time live since (roughly) "Off the Record."  So, that's good news.

I'm also stupid excited for the upcoming Washed Out full player from Sub Pop.  Long time readers will know that my fondness for Atlanta's favorite purveyor of glo-fi stems (largely) from the fact that my kid loved it when he was a newborn.  I'd throw on Life of Leisure and the littlest Dick would stop fussing and let the womb-like, glazed over dance beats pour over his little noggin.  The first single from Within and Without does all of the things that we all love about this stuff.  I'll be standing on the sidewalk, waiting for the doors to open at Music Saves bright and early on July 12.

Washed Out – Eyes Be Closed

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C.D. Singles Club #3.9 – Vetiver – Can’t You Tell

Filed Under: New Music
Mar.30, 2011

It may as well be Christmas morning here in Cleveland.  There's 3/4 of an inch of the white stuff falling on March 29th and Vetiver is dropping tracks from their forthcoming June 14th release, The Errant Charm.  Sub Pop and the band have released the initial track, which you can get by entering in your email addy below, and it marks the movement towards another spectacular album that will join the staunch back catalog the band has amassed through the years.  Unlike most bands of Vetiver's ilk and style, the band has actually improved with time and exposure, while still staying true to the hushed and melodic underpinnings that have dominated since day one.  We're excited for June, and "Can't You Tell" is the warm arrangement I needed today to melt some of the icy air surrounding me.  Use the embed link below to sign up at the band's website and snag the track.  I've also included "Strictly Rule, a Neighbors remix of "More of This," and a video of "Everyday" from Vetiver's last performance at The Grog Shop, all because today's news is a wonderful delight. Cheers.

Vetiver – Strictly Rule

Vetiver – More of This (Neighbors RMX)

 

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C.D. Singles Club #3.7 – Craft Spells – From the Morning Heat

Filed Under: New Music
Mar.29, 2011

I've gotten the chance to spin Craft Spells' Idle Labor only a few times at this point, and it's got an addictive, lighter-fare quality that's doing the trick as Cleveland's atmosphere struggles to pop out into Spring.  We posted (along with a lot of folks) the initial teaser, "After the Moment" what seems like ages ago, and "From the Morning Heat" follows in a similar vein.  A swanky mesh of brit-pop, chamber-ish chorals, and dreamboat melodies, this album isn't drudgery and lifts the spirits like a mofo.  This track is more hollowed out, with a heavy dose of chorus effect on the guitars.  Simple.  Crooning.  Infectious.  If you're into the first two tracks, Idle Labor will be your spring muse, filled with relaxed ease and colorful rhythms.

Even better, the band is hitting our favorite hot dog/music joint, Happy Dog, on April 24th.  I'll be the guy mowing down tater tots and shaking my ass.

Idle Labor hits the shelves today and can be purchased at Captured Tracks.

Craft Spells – From the Morning Heat

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C.D. Singles Club #2.1 – Robert Pollard

Filed Under: New Music
Jan.17, 2011

(Editor's Note:  We got up to #82 on the Singles Club and then kind of stopped posting Singles Club posts.  It feels like time to resurrect the franchise.  Given that this is the second iteration of the purely fictional Citizen Dick Singles Club, we're going with the 2.0 naming convention.  Welcome back.)

Remember how the songs on Bee Thousand made you feel?  Like things were already happening when the song started and things kept going after it ended?  Like you were flipping through the notebook of a genius, getting little peeks of perfection that always seemed the tiniest bit unfinished?  Like there was something else that Robert Pollard and company were keeping for themselves?  Shit, "Hot Freaks" and "Gold Heart Mountaintop Queen Directory" (and most of the rest of the record, of that matter) clock in at under two minutes.  You can't say that you wouldn't love three more minutes of those tracks, right?

All this to say that the first single from the soon to be released Robert Pollard record  (Space Kicks) makes me feel that same way.  It's quick, it beats a couple of ideas out, and I wish it was like seven minutes long.  Robert Pollard may well be our Alexandre Dumas; a fabulously prolfic artist who brings the real shit.  Good news for us.

Robert Pollard – Touch Me in the Right Place at the Right Time

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