GASHCAT

Herro my friends,

I must now present to you, GASHCAT, a folk/acoustic band that has created a sound nearly identical to Neutral Milk Hotel but completely original and magical in their own way. Yes, I am aware I just contradicted myself. Fronted by Derrick Zoolander's rival, Hansel (He's so hot right now), I mean Kyle Craft, GASHCAT has released two solid EP's, with the first being recorded in a garage, but it is that sound that makes their work stand out. Much of their songs are simply acoustic guitar over pounding drums, but their raw lo-fi sound create a very unique sound that is consistent over their two self-released EP's, "GASHCAT" and "Revival!", both of which leave one in a state of musical bliss.

Their first self-titled EP opens with "The Morning Sun", which evokes pure optimistic ecstasy with simple yet catchy chord progressions and banging cymbals and drums in the background. "Flowers"is upbeat and my ones of my favorites due to the ending instrumental sequence. And lastly, it is "Melanie" that holds a place in my heart. It is one of those songs that when you hear the first chord and guess the next, they hit it right on. "GASHCAT" has turned out to be one of my favorite EP's of recent memory and is availabe for free download here: http://gashcat.bandcamp.com/. Also, check out "Revival!", which was released earlier this fall, and reveals their musical maturity over since their earlier work.

Stay golden, Brian

Christoph Andersson

Hello friends,

It has been way too long since my last post but school work, Thanksgiving festivities, and now finals have been consuming my life. I have now been sitting in library procrastinating for a good two hours now and figured I'd make a new post instead of studying fun stuff like foreign direct investments and subsidiaries. Now, I must introduce to you a man by name of Christoph Andersson. After hearing his single, "Tuxedo," which has been floating around the web since June but was just released Nov. 30th, I have grown to believe he may be an incarnation of the Norse god of electro-dance music even though he is only an 18 year old located in New Orleans."Tuxedo" has given me something new to listen to as well as a sense of relief that there is more dance music out there other than "Barbara Streisand," which has been on repeat at every party for the last month. His remixes of Yeasayer's "O.N.E." is solid as well and I cannot wait for his album to be dropped in January.

Stay golden,

Brian

The War On Drugs

Hello once again,

Once I stumbled upon The War on Drugs and frontman Kurt Vile's solo work, I immediately became obsessed with their indie psychadelic rock sound that is always one of my favorites. Kurt Vile successfully brings the sound of "real rock" back and puts his own twist that creates a sound reminiscent of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen with a more dreamy and relaxed sound. Vile's solo work such as "Hey Now I'm Movin'" also incorporates some Bob Dylan-like harmonica as well. The Philadelphia-based band has already toured with Neil Young and Sonic Youth and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth has admitted to "listening to Kurt Vile's latest CD, 'Child Prodigy'...too much." Pitchfork has also given their first EP a 7.4 and it has garnered a decent amount of critical claim in the indie music scene.

My personal favorite is "Comin' Through" which was leaked a few months back and is now on their new album, "Future Weather", which came out on October 25th. "Brothers" and "Baby Missiles" also stand out from the rest of the stellar album that was released by Secretly Canadian, the record label that also released albums for Animal Collective, Yeasayer, and Jens Lekman. The neo-psychadelic, acoustic vibes of The War on Drugs produce a unique sound that givea me hope that true rock music is still alive and Kurt Vile is able to bring out the inner hippy in all of us.

Stay golden,

Brian

Brian Eno Interview

Hello everyone,

Being that Brian Eno is one of my favorite musicians/producers/people of all time, this is pretty damn amazing. New reviews to come soon, but for the mean time, watch this hilarious interview.

Stay golden,

Brian Farrell

SIDEWALKS

Hello all,

I have been counting down until the release of "Sidewalks" since I can't even remember now. After missing out on their listening party before their show in LA a month ago, I was blown away by their live performance and integration of their own versions of songs like "Better Off Alone" and "Just a Friend." The show even ended with Kim dancing on top of the crowd to Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor." Overall, it was a heartwarming performance by two people who love what they do and truly appreciate their fan base as well.

I immediately fell in love with "Cameras" when it was released back in August but it was hard for me to accept the fact that Matt and Kim's sound had progressed and matured and become a little more commercial. Sidewalks carries the more "universal" sound that Matt Johnson spoke about a while back in Spin Magazine and the fact that they chose Gnarls Barkley producer Ben Allen. This album has a much more mature and polished sound which may sound atypical compared to their past albums. The new album will propel Matt and Kim to even more stardom but they've lost the raw sound and their music has become almost over-produced.

Other than "Cameras," songs like "Block After Block" and "Good for Great" will look to be the most popular, complete with catchy drum beats and synth hooks. The album also includes a refined recording of "Silver Tiles," one of my past favorites from their recorded live set at Lollapalooza in 2007. But once again, Matt and Kim have released another album with possibly side effects that may include euphoria, uncontrollable smiling, and constant foot tapping and air drumming.

Stay golden, Brian Farrell

Je Suis Une GoGo Girl

Hello again my friends,

After a long week of work, I have returned with a new group that are prepared to shake and rattle the balls of the indie music scene.

The Limiñanas' new single, "Je Suis Une GoGo Girl," has me at a loss at words when it comes to describing it. The French duo bring garage pop and neo-psychadelic vibes together as one and creates a sound with influences that cannot be pinned to just one genre or decade. It is a shame that their Myspace only has 319 plays for the song. "I'm Dead" is a close second favorite of mine and has also drawn more critical acclaim, but still nowhere near as much as the duo should be getting.

The Limiñanas sound like a calmer, French, version of the Dandy Warhols in a way but give me hope that the neo-psychadelic rock scene is not dead.

Stay golden,

Brian Farrell

Truth

After months of being played on Sirius XM, Alex Ebert's solo single, "Truth," has now been unleashed over the internet for listening and downloading. Under the name "Alexander," Alex Ebert leaves the Edward Sharpe alter ego behind for the time being and produces a very similar sound to "Up from Below." Mr. Edward Sharpe has now departed for another stage of higher understanding and enlightenment.

The first sound to catch your ear is the whistling which is reminiscent of "Home" but with a slower and more somber melody. Ebert's hip-hop influences from his teenage years are evident as well in the lyrical delivery. Backed by solid guitar and vocals, Alex Ebert has produced another gem that can satisfy my Edward Sharpe craving until their next release.

Alex Ebert, like fine wine, has gotten better with age since starting in Ima Robot. He has really seems to hit his stride with his solo release and has proved that he can stand on his own two feet without the Magnetic Zeros.

Until next time, stay golden.

Brian Farrell



To download the song, you can use dirpy.com, since I have not been able to set up a music player for the site yet.

Shut your mouth. Sh-sh-shut your mouth.

Welcome to the fucking Catalina Wine Mixtape,

I'm here to fuck shit up and share music that transcends the voices of Fergie and Jesus. Right now, I am very sweaty, and it is not from watching Cops. It is due to my new obsession with a band called Cloud Nothings, a Cleveland-based band fronted by a 19 year-old named Dylan Baldi. Their sound is reminiscent of 90's lo-fi rock with a pinch of power-pop and indie thrown in there as well. Together, these influences create a rare raw sound that can at times sound like everything has been recorded from Mr. Baldi's bedroom.

My two favorites are "Hey Cool Kid" and "Didn't You," the first being off of their debut album and the latter being a single released this past June. "Hey Cool Kid" carries an addicting sound with a catchy guitar riff and lyrics about being an outsider that anyone can relate to. "Didn't You" gives me the feeling that Cloud Nothings have a lot of growing room as well. Its synth hooks are reminiscent of a more upbeat Wolf Parade and I cannot wait to see Dylan Baldi's work down the line, since he is already lightyears ahead of his 19 year-old peers. I will now have this record on repeat until they return to play in San Francisco.

For the time being, I will leave you with a few Cloud Nothings songs to listen too. And to leave you pondering, here's a shot out of a cannon: Oprah, Barbara Walters, your wife. You gotta fuck one, marry one, kill one, go! Thank you for reading.

P.S.- Music Player with Mp3's coming soon!