Category: Garage Rock
Hype-Worthy! Meet Spanish Garage-Pop Rockin’ Fems: Deers
Envision two foxy Spanish females (or, you could just look at their picture in this post) and imagine them rippin’ on guitars and producing ridiculously catchy and raw garage pop songs. Sound like a dream come true? Well, wake up (!) ‘cus it’s time to get doe-eyed for: Deers.
Oh, but guess what? Like all brand-new, hype-worthy bands, there’s not a whole lotta info about them just yet – Surprised?
What we do know is the group hails from Madrid, and was started by BFFs Ana Garcia Perrote and Carlotta Cosials. We also know their two-track demo debut is rockin’ and wowin’ and landed them as NME’s “Buzzband of the Week.” The duo also appears to be touring through Europe with two more rockin’ foxy fems added to the band mix.
Give Deers a follow on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp and/or Instagram and jump on this:
Deers – Bamboo (Demo)
Deers – Trippy Gum
Wahoo! Listen to the Sweet Garage Rockin’ Sounds of Meatbodies
Sometimes you need sweet, fun lovin’ garage rock jams to spike excitement in your never-ending battle…er, discovery for amazing jams. Luckily, Meatbodies does just the trick.
Meatbodies, recently shortened from “Chad & the Meatbodies” was formed by, you got it, Chad… Ubovich – Mikal Cronin’s traveling guitarist. The LA-based band has a handful of jams, two of which, “Wahoo,” and “Steps” were recently pressed onto a (pink splattered!) 7″ via In the Red Records (Ty Segall).
Word on the street is that Meatbodies will be releasing an LP sometime this year too – Wahoo! They’re also on tour with none other than the lovable and goofy Canadian crooner, Mac DeMarco. Keep an eye and an ear out for them!
Meatbodies – Wahoo
Meatbodies – Steps
Addicted! Listen to + Watch Garage Crunch Pop Rockers: Honeyblood
Damn, I simply can’t get enough Honeyblood. The Glasgow based two-piece made up of Shona McVicar and Stina Tweeddale, call themselves “noisy Scottish girls” and say they’re “making songs about things they really hate, and things that are okay.” With lyrics like, “I don’t think he would hurt me, I know he would. It’s in his blood,” It’s certainly working in their favor.
The foxy rockers refer to their genre of music as, “garage rock, crunch pop,” and it results in some incredibly catchy rock jams tinted with just a hint of sweetness. The name Honeyblood suits them perfectly. The duo is currently on tour with Courtney Barnett, which is an excellent combination of rockin’ girls on guitars who sing about intriguing things. Today, they’ve released a video for “Killer Bangs” which can be found on their debut album due out July 15th via FatCat Records. Enjoy Honeyblood – Choker Honeyblood – Bud
Ridiculously Addicting: Listen to NEW Cherry Glazerr LP – Haxel Princess
Photo by Rhyan Santos
Oh, to be 17 again. Your days are filled with grilled cheese sandwiches, school dances, day dreams of crushes, boredom-induced chaos with friends, hormones and lots of angst. Luckily, this all makes for some ridiculously catchy and dreamy garage pop.
Enter: Cherry Glazerr, the LA-based three-piece whose 17-year-old frontwoman and guitarist, Clementine Creevy has being a “Teenage girl” down to a T, because she is one… duh. Cherry Glazerr, whose name is a take on local Southern California KCRW anchor, Chery Glaser, recently released their sugary adrenaline-filled debut album, Haxel Princess, via Burger Records. One listen and you’ll be hooked like a teen on… whatever they’re hooked on these days. It’s been a while.
Cherry Glazerr – Trick or Treat Dancefloor
Cherry Glazerr – Grilled Cheese
Cherry Glazerr – All My Friends
Cherry Glazerr – White’s Not My Color This Evening
Hype-Worthy! New Psychedelic Brit-Rock Jam: Temples – Mesmerise
Ooh baby, ooh baby. A quad of Brit rockers with beautiful shaggy hair who play amazingly catchy psychedelic jams? Sign me up! Temples, the UK hailing psychedelic four-piece, channeling The Byrds and giving Tame Impala some serious competition has just released, “Mesmerise.” The track is the first single from their forthcoming debut album, Sun Structures, due out February 10/11 via Heavenly Recordings & Fat Possum (Jackson Scott, Band of Horses, Youth Lagoon).
According to their bio, in the summer of 2012, bassist, Tom Warmsley and singer/guitarist, James Bagshaw were recent college graduates attempting to look for work, not really knowing what to do w/themselves, so they wrote, played and recorded music at home. In July of that same year, they recorded, “Shelter Song,” threw it on the internet, and it virally caught the ears and stole the hearts of many. Warmsley and Bagshaw suddenly found themselves signed with Heavenly Recordings. Though not really a full band at that time, Warmsley and Bagshaw recruited drummer, Sam Toms and keyboard player, Adam Smith. A year later Temples shared the bill with The Rolling Stones at London’s Hyde Park. From then on, the sky has been the limit for these hazy 12-string psych-rockers with beautiful heads of hair.
While we all eagerly await Temples‘ highly anticipated album, give ’em a listen below, on SoundCloud and follow along on Facebook.
Temples – Mesmerise
Temples – Shelter Song
Temples – Colours to Life
Oakland Represent! Oaktown Music Festival Contest Picks + Winners
Shannon and the Clams
There’s an interesting contest and event called the Oaktown Music Festival which showcases and celebrates musical talent hailing from the other side of the Bay Bridge. San Francisco always seems to steal the Bay Area music spotlight, so it’s refreshing and exciting to see some Oakland representation.
The contest is put on by local Oakland venue, Awaken Cafe and entertainment production company, Oaktown Indie Mayhem. The first round of the contest began with an online song and video contest in which bands were nominated and voted upon by judges and the public. This year, there were supposedly 2,100 submissions and 30 band finalists selected. The final round of winners (see below) were selected by a jury (musicians, writers, marketers, producers, etc.) and have been given the title: “Best of Oakland.” The winners will be headlining the Winners’ Party/Concert on November 15th & 16th at Awaken Cafe, and are also given recording time at Fantasy Studios, along with other perks.
Below are hand-picked, highlighted (and alphabetized) winners and finalists – Some beloved, some newfound joys, and a couple of wacky gems ranging from groovy funk, whimsical folk, surf/punk/psych-rock and “chill pop.” I’ve included commentary on any of the bands I’ve actually seen live; hopefully more so in the future.
My boyfriend, an Oakland resident, (does this mean I get some Oakland street cred?) introduced me to Bells Atlas. We saw them play an insane debut album release show back in June at The New Parish in Oakland. They have a huge and loving Oakland/Berkeley fan following, which was easy to hear and see why. They’re an extremely talented, vibrant, groovy, funky group.
Bells Atlas – Loving Your Down (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Video)
Emily Moldy – My Own One (Won: Best in Show – People’s Choice)
Fever Charm – Magazine
Minute is 4-piece of good lookin’ boys and their good lookin’ musical toys. I saw them play a packed show at The Stork Club in Oakland and it was a sweaty good time. Occasionally a trombone was thrown into the mix and people commenced to dance up a storm. They also did a cover of Keyboard Cat just for kicks and I nearly went insane with excitement. This is one of their dreamier, psych-inspired slow jams:
Minute – Adrift
This year I saw Shannon and the Clams play at Burger Records’ Burger Bugaloo Music Festival in Oakland, and as an opener for Sonny & The Sunsets in SF. They’re one of my favorite Bay Area acts to see live and they always steal the show! The rippin’ three piece look and sound like something out of the movie Hairspray, and their jams are so damn catchy. I obsessively listened to their latest LP, Dreams in the Rat House, for a good three weeks.
Shannon and the Clams – Rip Van Winkle (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Song)
[audio http://www.hardlyart.com/mp3/ShannonAndTheClams_RipVanWinkle.mp3]
The Tambo Rays – Take That (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Song)
Tin Cup Serenade – Sunny Oakland Day (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Song)
We Became Owls – Suitcase (Won: Runner Up for Best Song)
Listen to Rockin’ “Slacker Pop” Chicks: The Courtneys
Classic Courtney, Cute Courtney and Crazy Courtney drawn by Courtney
This week, I pleasantly stumbled upon “slacker pop” rocker chicks: The Courtneys, (thanks, Weird Canada!). The group, hailing from British Columbia, is made up of: Classic Courtney, Cute Courtney and Crazy Courtney, of course. The trio’s sound is, as self-proclaimed: “Sun drenched flying nun influenced pop with sweet licks that’ll stick with you for days.” Their influences also include: “Keanu, cheese ramen, going to the YMCA, cruising, slurpees.” What’s not to love?
The Courtneys produced a rockin’ debut track, “90210” last year, as well as an “ALL BANGERS” 6-track cassette tape, K.C. Reeves (via Green Burrito), which you can buy here. Luckily for us, they’re coming out with a full length album, The Courtneys, due out June 7th on vinyl and cassette. And, if you’re interested, they put together a workout video, which is “really good for fighting off groupies.” – Something we all have to deal with on a daily basis. Smart thinkin’ ladiez!
Find The Courtneys on Facebook, Twitter and Bandcamp and give them a thorough listen ASAP:
The Courtneys – Nu Sundae
The Courtneys – 90210
coco stereo 