Summery, Shimmery, Sixties-Style Indie Pop

[CaledonianGonzo]

A catch-all collective thread for discussing pure and baroque pop music, usually the sort done by groups of overly-earnest Swedes, scruffy Glaswegians, Japanese anglophiles and Americans who weren't born in California but wish they had been.

Partly inspired by this thread, which does indeed kick off with two of the exact types of record I'm talking about (be sure to download that Explorer's Club track - it's ace).  Tracks made today that sound like they come from 4 decades ago and stuff from 4 decades ago that's been forgotten about until today.  Tracks with glockenspiels, trumpets, growly guitars and harmonies that go 'Ba-ba-ba'.  Stuff that's not quite 'twee' but not quite suitable for TJ's old 'power-pop' thread either.  Though, of course, stuff that could be either.

First of all, does anyone here like Lacrosse?  Touring England at the moment, they're from Stockholm and exist at the poppier end of the Scandic-spectrum, coming across as a pop-tastic Belle & Sebastian meeting Tullycraft meeting a less-yappy Los Campesinos.  But with ace songs!  In fact, someone described their album as the one Architecture in Helsinki have always threatened to make - how good In Case We Die could have been had each and every song been as good as It's 5!





No More Love Songs

There's a surfeit of this type of stuff, but I'm always on the look-out for more.  And, indeed, more to follow from me.

[Marty McFly]

Ah, nice thread CG! ;)

The band that springs to mind immediately upon reading the title (maybe because I've been listening to them all week) has to be The Little Ones, actually from California, and coming across like a sort of Shins on Prozac.. perfect summer tunes.

www.myspace.com/wearethelittleones

Full length album isn't out yet but it might have leaked.. they have two EPs released already, and anything by them is worth checking out, if you haven't already. Latitude fest and a few gigs coming up too..

[CaledonianGonzo]

Cheers - consider them investigated.  One more for today, before I head out to see Andersens and The Starlets, bands that I may well mention here again in the future.

This Is Ivy League



Not to be confused with The Ivy League, these guys tick all my Simon & Garfunkel/Kings of Convenience boxes, but they're not afraid of being pure pop as well, when the mood suits them (which it often does).  While they sound like they could be from Sweden they're actually from the US, and their debut album is very ace.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFHn11JfSN0[/youtube]

The Richest Kids

London Bridges

[CaledonianGonzo]

More fucking rehash in the form of Anders Elowsson, Gothenburg's answer to Bob Dylan.  But not Dylan in protest folkie or Rolling Thunder Revue mode.  Rather, this is Dylan in pop-star mode, that brief moment where he channeled the thin, wild mercury sound.  I Want You So Bad Bob, with hammond organ smothered all over it like musical marmalade, shot through with thick-cut slivers of silvery-shredded harmony (or something):



Main Street

Andersens were fucking ace last night.  More to come on them and their lotus-positioned Japanese High Lllama-isms.  Check 'em out if they're playing a pub basement near you...

[weekender]

I think The Free Design count.

They appear to have a novelty kitsch value which is also quite cool nowadays as it has apparently influenced Stereolab and Beck, amongst others.  I like sticking their music on and drifting away into another world.  They seem so innocent and nice, but there's a great bitterness seeping through songs '2002 - A Hit Song' as well.

Personally, it's taken me a while to get into them, but you might want to give them a try.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Cheers - consider them investigated.  One more for today, before I head out to see Andersens and The Starlets, bands that I may well mention here again in the future.

Gosh, I had no idea The Starlets were still going. Glad to hear it, though - I always thought they were one of Scotland's most underrated bands. Such a shame that a great pop band like that can "fail", whereas goons like The Feeling prosper beyond all reason

I've never heard of This Is Ivy League before, but I really like what I heard there. Right up my Simon & Garfunkel/The Left Banke street.

What about The Essex Green? Lovely stuff, I think. More info here for those who haven't heard them.

http://www.essexgreen.com/music.html

And The Free Design most definitely count, Weekender, you're not wrong. Although they do actually come from around 40 years ago. As I know you know.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Heh - The Free Design do indeed count, being as they're great.  I'm unsure if you're aware, but they got back together a few years back to record a track for the Beach Boy's tribute album: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Caroline-songs-Brian-Wilson-Beach/dp/B00004VWBECaroline%20Now



Not a bad version of 'Endless Harmony'.  Give me a shout if you want to hear it.   On the back of that, they recorded another album called Cosmic Peekaboo, though I must confess I've not heard it.  For those that have, is it worth a listen?

I Found Love is my favourite.

The Essex Green are also another good call.  I love their debut, but I've not fallen in love with Cannibal Sea and the other one in quite the same way (Don't Know Why You Stay, aside).  They're peripherally related to the Elephant 6 lot, aren't they?

Right up my Simon & Garfunkel/The Left Banke street.

The Left Banke, eh?  This new single (from Sweden's (terribly-named) Cocoanut Groove) has more than a whiff of their baroque stylings.  And a soupcon of The Beau Brummels to boot.  As far as I'm aware, he's a one-man-band type of character who plays all the instruments on the track, in a sort of Jens Lekman mold.  I'd classify the mood of this as 'autumnal' rather than 'summery', but it has a pleasingly baroque melodramatic melancholy to it:



The End Of The Summer On Bookbinder Road

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0A5p6i6Y-w[/youtube]

[The Boston Crab]

Yep, I got a big Left Banke whiff from the Ivy League boys, enjoyed their songs most from this and the Explorer's Club threads. I'll try to steal what else I can find. I'm not really into the pure Wilson rip-offs, I don't really see the point if you're not doing something at least slightly different with it, like that marvellous Panda Bear album.

As for barock (what an awful word, I can't not use it now though), I think I've only heard one Beau Brummels song...hmm...
'Magic Hollow', yep, that's it...which is very pretty and a little spooky, a bit like 'andmoreagain' by Love. I don't know if they're in the same vein really but The Choir have some good summery, shimmery pop, I just wish my other comp was working so I could fish some out for you. If you can find, try 'Treeberry' and 'It's Cold Outside', both really good and I was going to put them in VW's Top 1000 only I didn't, probably laziness but more likely because I had forty French house records which I had to spend months resisting.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I'm not really into the pure Wilson rip-offs, I don't really see the point if you're not doing something at least slightly different with it, like that marvellous Panda Bear album.

I do take the point, Crabster - and yes, Person Pitch is a better album than Freedom Wind, but I still find it difficult to dislike.  It moves music forward not a jot (and in its steadfastly retro nature potentially starts to shift the entire Planet Earth backwards a bit through the space-time continuum), but the sheer joie-de-vivre of it, for me, negates any accusations of musical conservatism.

Did someone say joie-de-vivre?

Just as proof that this type of stuff isn't coming exclusively from the lands of the vikings, something a bit closer to home.

The School are from Cardiff, and exist at the point where Camera Obscura morph into early-sixties girl band music.  Certainly, the singer sounds like Tracyanne Campbell, and the instrumentation is actually sympathetic to the era, as opposed to getting it pretty wrong a la The Pipettes.



They've only released a couple of singles which I reckon are pretty sweet, but file them in the 'ones to watch/watch this space' category rather than the 'ZOMFG/best band' around one'.

Let t Slip
[youtube=425,350]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrBF2nsjeaE[/youtube]

Warming proof, at least, that not every band from these shores seems intent on aping The Libertines.

[Identity Crisis Ahoy!]

band of bees

[CaledonianGonzo]

Seems like as good a place as any to mention this trailer for a forthcoming release by one of the grand-masters of this type of stuff:

Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRymasHGzUk

Brian's sounding (and looking!) very well.  Roll on September 2nd

[CaledonianGonzo]

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or whether to perform some thread necromancy on the 'Stagnation of British Independant Music' topic I started earlier this year (and which was met by about as much interest as this one).

Anyway, approriately enough, The Independent review section lead with this yesterday:

Does the world need another indie band?

It's the height of the festival season, and across Britain Identikit groups of tight-trousered, floppy-haired boys with guitars are taking to the stage, to thrash out a homogenous jangle. Critics have dubbed their sound 'indie landfill'. Is it the death knell of a once-vibrant underground scene?

Indie landfill?  That's kind of what I'm getting at with my constant mithering about the dreadful state of British music at the moment.

Worth a read, at any rate, if only to pontificate further on indie's downward journey from The Smiths to The Kooks...

[boxofslice]

It's a fair point. The whole 'indie' scene has become a cut-and-paste, homogenized mess at the moment. Take a flick though a copy of the NME* and it's like the hardest game of spot the difference. Dull.

*^Don't

[joeyzaza]

Lots of good stuff (not to mention some admirable spleen-venting) in that article. Thanks for the link CG.

I've long thought that the difference between the independent scene now, and 20 years ago, is the shorter gestation periods that bands are afforded in order to find their own voice. If they don't get the chance to develop away from the spotlight (and the balance-sheet), the outcome is always likely to resemble what we have now: bands with "a ball-less, soulless, generic whitewashed indie sound", who have little to say.

[klaatu!]

That's an interesting article and he makes some good points (the NME turning into a brand, and the apolitical stance of contemporary bands), but I have a couple of issues. Firstly, this...

As in every musical era, one style dominates the hearts and minds of our nation's youth; it dictates their fashion sense, their relationship with their parents and, quite possibly, their personal-hygiene regimen. These days, it's indie that's the cholesterol in the veins of popular culture, and we need to start thinking about a crash diet.

...I disagree with. It's an obvious thing to say, but what about hip hop, r&b, grime/dubstep or dance music? The kids on the backseat of the bus listening to music through their mobile phone speakers aren't listening to indie. I'd say that contemporary 'indie' dominates the hearts and minds of a certain white, middle-class youth subculture, but it's arguable how much influence it has on youth culture (whatever that may be) as a whole.

Also, I can't help but think the gist of what he's saying is fairly mundane. The mainstream has always been a kind of amoeba that eventually swallows up everything in its periphery, so it's inevitable that underground music cultures will eventually become popular and watered down, and it's inevitable that certain genres will turn into convenient, marketable labels.

[joeyzaza]

The mainstream has always been a kind of amoeba that eventually swallows up everything in its periphery, so it's inevitable that underground music cultures will eventually become popular and watered down, and it's inevitable that certain genres will turn into convenient, marketable labels.

This is true, and as you say, it's a fairly mundane piece of observation.

Historically, something new has always come along to replace the previous underground scene once it's absorbed into the mainstream. However, it subjectively seems to me that the "churn rate" is much higher than it used to be, and anything "new" is gobbled up and spat out before it's had a chance to take root and potentially blossom. Post-Britpop, I can't really think of any subcultures that have emerged that might end up being wistfully reminisced over in 20 years time. Maybe at this point in time, it's all been done before (or perhaps I'm just an old git).

[matt]

Post-Britpop, I can't really think of any subcultures that have emerged that might end up being wistfully reminisced over in 20 years time. Maybe at this point in time, it's all been done before (or perhaps I'm just an old git).

I agree that since Britpop there hasn't really been a subculture that has taken over the mainstream to the same extent, but I'd definitely look back (possibly wistfully) on the 5 year period from 1997/8 being dominated by electronic/dance music, with DJ'ing being the cool kids' thing to do. Since then the emphasis has shifted back to Indie and guitars for the last few years and will no doubt shift again to get out of the current rut. Next couple of years there'll be a backlash against the current indie/new rave stuff I think.

Apologies if that's what the article says, I haven't read it yet but it sounds like it's saying alot of the things I've been thinking about new British music for the last couple of years.

[Backstage With Slowdive]

I liked some Electroclash things.

Anyway, The Primary 5 were a very nice Scots jangly band. And The Soup Dragons deserve a CaB reappraisal simply because they did some ace singles: Whole Wide World, Crotch Deep Trash, er, some others. I admit it, I did love Lovegod until Melody Maker told me it was wrong to do so.

[vrailaine]

Did someone say "The whole Paisley Underground scene"?

and, more importantly, did someone say Jellyfish?

[boxofslice]

Two nice little summery compilations to download here:

http://eardrumsmusic.com/the-label/summershere_vol2/

[vrailaine]

if it's british ones you want: the loft, the june brides.

[CaledonianGonzo]

The band that springs to mind immediately upon reading the title (maybe because I've been listening to them all week) has to be The Little Ones, actually from California, and coming across like a sort of Shins on Prozac.. perfect summer tunes.

www.myspace.com/wearethelittleones

Their album really is great.  I've been listening to it for a while now, and at first I feared it might prove to be a bit too polished/preppy college rock for my tastes (a la The Hold Steady, The Shins, Modest Mouse, etc.)  However, its cut from a far brighter, sweeter cloth and, if not perfect, is at least good, clean summer fun.

Also almost too sweet might be Turku, Finland's Goodnight Monsters. 



I'm still getting to grips with their new album, but here's a track from a couple of years back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldlnaaspKd8

And, a final bit of good news from www.teenagefanclub.com:

Work starts on a new album!
August 19th, 2008

We begin work on our next album, our ninth, this coming Sunday 24th August. We have booked an initial three weeks at Leeders Farm recording studio in Norfolk and will be teaming up with our old friend Nick Brine, who will be engineering.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Yay!  The Lucksmiths are back:



Their first proper album since Warmer Corners, which must be about 3 or 4 years old now.  Spring A Leak was an OK stop-gap, but a stop-gap nontheless, so I'm definitely looking forward to hearing this.

Perfect for the Autumn songs thread - (or, indeed, this summery one)...

[scarecrow]

Gonzo, an old band who you may enjoy are the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. They have a cool back story, and were essentially a band of teens financed by a dictatorial millionaire who wanted to be famous. He'd insist on playing tambourine centre stage, and would mime harmonies into a switched off microphone + if any of the actual band crossed his path, he wouldn't allow them to appear on their LPs' sleeves. I think they split up because of his tyrannical ways, and he was last seen in some institute. I can't comment on their other albums but the first one is lovely. Here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oPtHbzK0_ck

[Custard]

Good thread, this.

I highly recommend Lucky Soul. I listened to their album more than any other last summer. It's really, really poppy and summery, with a real dreamy 60's sound. Magic stuff.

It's criminal they're not bigger, really is. Recommend Lips Are Unhappy. Great, great tune.

5 tracks for listening here: http://www.myspace.com/luckysoulluckysoul

Lips Are Unhappy video:

[youtube=425,350]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KOdEjlvFem0[/youtube]