NYC band Murder Mystery are back with a new single entitled “The World” that is a nice mellow tune that draws on the best of the Psychedelic Furs, The Cure and the Strokes. Above all the chiming guitars and pulsing synth is vocalist Jeremy Coleman’s charming vocals and lyrics. If you’re starving for some new Strokes material, this will definitely hold you over.
January 13, 2009
New Murder Mystery Song
August 15, 2008
The New Up
San Francisco based rock group The New Up have crafted an EP entitled Broken Machine that calls on psychadelic influences as well as garage rock influences. They sound something like if you took Midnight Movies, Metric, and The Stills, put them in a blender with some vanilla yogurt, a flute and set it to high. Thier rock is smooth linear affair with some added guitar crunch once in a while, like a female fronted late 80′s era Echo & The Bunnymen. Pretty neat.
The New Up – Ginger Tea
The New Up – Top of the Stairs
July 24, 2008
Beck’s Modern Guilt
Beck’s latest release, “Modern Guilt”, is also his first collaboration with Gnarls Barkley member and Gorillaz producer DJ Dangermouse. The album features a remarkable synergy as both Dangermouse and Beck have created a retro-future psychedelic 60′s sound. Under the production of Dangermouse, Beck’s ethereal backing vocals, chugging bottomless bass, and impeccable ear for melody take on a much more tangible form than they have in the last two albums. Not that at times Guero and the Information weren’t hard hitting, but those albums and their many overlapping layers and rubbery reverb effects created a dream like atmosphere, particularly on the Information. Which to me is a good thing. And reverb and rubbery bass are still present on Modern Guilt, there’s just something more straight forward and weighty about them. The fuzzed out bass, beats and crisp production (including the spectacular use of a folky violin) make Modern Guilt seem more ‘real’. Like waking from a neon light show of a dream to the sun bursting through the pastel pallet of dawn.
Beck – Chemtrails
The Psychadelic video for Beck’s “Gamma Ray”
Any Incredible Hulk influence here? Perhaps?
December 28, 2007
The Power of Vinyl Compels You!
I’ve finally fixed up my old record player so that I can listen to all the old records that I’ve been collecting over the years. Some of them I bought because they had cool covers, some I bought because they had cool names like, some I bought because I knew they were good and some I took a complete chance on. The best of the thrift store albums will be featured in this segment I’m going to call “The Power of Vinyl Compels You!”, catchy title right? Not ripped from the Exorcist or anything.
To kick off this feature, I’d like to talk about a record that I picked up a long time ago, The Psychedelic Furs’ Forever Now. Previous to listening to this record, my contact with Richard Butler and company was limited to a Polyphonic Spree cover of the excellent tune “Love My Way” and the song “Pretty in Pink” that was featured in the Molly Ringwald movie of the same name. I have to say that the sheer scope of the sound is great to listen to. I’m sure that The Rapture knew about the Furs song Danger when they put together the saxophone groove on”Get Myself Into It”. Their style of music owes a bit to David Bowie (But honestly, who doesn’t?), but their sound and production techniques sound like this album could have been released yesterday.
The Psychedelic Furs are definitely a rock band, but the accents are what make the songs jump out. The shining synths, the chugging bass, the little bell melodies, The brilliant drumming, the occasional use of cello(?) and most of all the surprisingly (still) relevant lyrics.
The Psychedelic Furs – Love My Way
