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Paper Lions – My FriendsFountain Pop Records-out now3 / 5 Pop-foursome Paper Lions sing clear, straightforward pop on their sophomore full-length. Hailing from Belfast, Prince Edward Island, (that’s in Canada, in case you were wondering), their melodies are youthful, bright and polished, nostalgic and playful. It’s not just the polaroid that reminds us of a guitar-centric Vampire Weekend – they’re both pop lead by very clear male vocals. But we weren’t huge fans of Contra, nor of My Friends here because these songs simply aren’t dense enough, and don’t quite bring their subjects to a precise and memorable point. Let’s call that issue one. IssueRead More →

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Pure Bathing Culture – Moon TidesPartisan Records -out Aug. 202.5 / 5 It’s dream-pop the duo from Portland, OR makes here, and some of it ain’t that bad. It’s just that, that’s all we get. The beats feel unspectacular, the vocals are good but certainly not great, and the music on the whole doesn’t explore any new territory. From the point of view of “does this add something new to my collection,” Moon Tides is a disappointment. Take “Pendulum,” the lead single/opener from PBC’s debut full-length, and it’s got a great 80’s sway to it (in addition to a great chorus). But that’s roughly theRead More →

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Typhoon – “White Lighter”Roll Call Records-out Aug. 20 5 / 5 This is it; we’re calling it. The eleven-piece from Portland, OR get it right, gets it all right. Typhoon’s debut full-length, White Lighter is nothing less than a epic journey through love and death and everything in between: it is brilliant, truly brilliant, dynamic, engrossing. It is rock tuned to an orchestral feel, with horns, violins, everything they can muster in almost a dozen musicians; it is rock that doesn’t hold back, that goes on a journey with every song; it is rock in its highest form, vast, personal, operatic and yet humble. ItRead More →

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Dessa – Parts of SpeechDoomtree Records-out now 4 / 5 We don’t often cover rap, but we’ll make an exception for this intelligent Minnesotan. Citing Greek mythology on her previous release, Castor, The Twin, Dessa makes full use of her Philosophy major in her music, paying special attention to lyricism and individual words. What she has on her third full-length, then, is more than just an intellectual discourse: there are real beats, real songs, and real grooves. Dessa shuns the crass “b**ches and hoes” rap for meaningful stories about ordinary people, if you couldn’t tell by our description, and more power that it works soRead More →