liars

   Let’s get weird! Liars has been constantly experimenting with their sound since their debut They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top. I was a huge fan of that album, then they weirded me out with their next two. Finally they started to get some real notoriety when they released Liars and did a tour with Radiohead shortly after. That album took a little while to grow on me. “Plaster Casts of Everything” was the biggest single on that one with an insane video, but was probably my least favorite track of the album (I liked “Houseclouds” and “Freak Out”). Mirrorworld also had its fair share of cool tracks but this new EP is looking very promising, WIXIW, which is out on Mute Records today. After touring with Radiohead, they’ve often been compared. I hear a vague resemblance but even more so, I can tell that Thom Yorke listens to them. It’s great to see Liars really getting recognition as one of the most original bands out there right now (also, their website looks so rad)! They will be performing at Union Transfer at the end of July and its about time I saw them (I saw the tour where they opened for Radiohead, but I was flying back from my cousin’s wedding that day and my flight was delayed for hours and hours, so I missed them along with the first few Radiohead songs. It was a bad day). 

wavves

What if Green Day had never put on eyeliner or gone all broadway on us? What if after Dookie they only got cooler? Ok, that's how I feel about Wavves. They released Life Sux EP a couple a months ago and I'm about halfway in love with it. Meaning I like half the songs on it. There is a few that sound like terrible versions of previous songs, but "I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl" makes up for them ( minus the "Never gonna stop me"'s. No one is trying to stop you). I am a huge fan of King of the Beach and Wavvves, so Life Sux receives the bronze. It's pretty hit or miss. The idea of putting a live track and some collaborations with other cool bands is great, but I wish Nathan Williams could have experimented more with his songs. It seems he has abandoned all the peculiar and bizarre and stuck with the catchy pop punk that you can't say "no" to. Either way, he's going on the Weezer Cruise. Lucky bastard..

gauntlet hair

So I keep hearing/seeing the name Gauntlet Hair everywhere. I walked by the TLA this past summer and saw their name on the marquee and thought "Hm." I couldn't decide if I liked the name or not. Turns out I do. Put on "I Was Thinking" for a blown-out groove that will get you moving 'round a dance floor (or in my case, my kitchen). The band tours as a four piece but the two main members are BFF's since the age of 15 from Colorado. They seem to have found the perfect balance between reverb-y dance and cranked indie guitar jams. Released in October, their self-titled debut album is a great introduction to an experimental band with a lot of promise. They will be returning to Philly next month to play Milkboy on December 4th. I will see you there!