Swell EP: Yuck - Southern Skies EP [indie rock / shoegaze / dream pop]

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Not many bands consider moving forward with their project or have the fans' support to do so after losing a lead singer, but London's "90s rock revival" quartet Yuck managed to bounce back with style and plenty of listeners after the departure of vocalist/guitarist Daniel Blumberg (currently recording as Hebronix) one year ago. Last September saw their strong Blumberg-less sophomore comeback Glow & Behold, with which the band managed to prove that putting guitarist Max Bloom behind the microphone full-time wouldn't change the nostalgic, fuzzy indie rock that makes them Yuck. Hell, Bloom actually had lead vocals on a couple of my favorite songs from their 2011 self-titled debut (see "Operation").

As if surprising fans and critics alike with a successful recovery wasn't enough, seven months later Yuck are back with a new release entitled Southern Skies EP. This record brings us four new Yuck songs, two of which don't really sound like anything explored on the previous two full-lengths. The soaring opening track "Athena" wouldn't have been out of place on Glow & Behold and the EP's most energetic song, "Another One", takes me all the way back to 2011's Yuck. The two remaining songs open up new sonic possibilities for the band. The second track "Set In Motion (Let's Say We Did)" is mostly foreign to the ear for Sebastian Fors's guest vocals and its twangy psych-pop feel, while the gorgeous title track hints at a dreamier, more subdued future for Yuck's infectious sound waves.

Stream the Southern Skies EP below and download your own copy now via iTunes.

Just Rolled In: Merchandise - "Figured Out" [post-punk / indie rock / shoegaze]

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photo by Sean Lewis at Primavera Sound 2013 (Barcelona)

Sharing my hometown of Tampa, Florida, post-punk rockers Merchandise are back from last year's excellent Totale Nite LP, which made #39 on holaOLA's Top 50 Albums of 2013 list, with new music, a proper drummer (pictured above), a horn/sax player, and a new record called After The End coming out on their new label 4AD. Their latest track "Figured Out" won't be released on the upcoming full-length; instead, it will be released by 540 Records as part of a three-way split 12" entitled USA '13 also featuring Milk Music and Destruction Unit as a document of the three's spring 2013 tour together.

If you've heard Merchandise's previous recordings, you may be surprised to hear an actual drum kit on "Figured Out" and a more traditional "pop" rock structure, although the band's nostalgic post-punk sound, resonating guitars, and singer Carson Cox's quavering baritone voice remain intact. The band says to expect a different sound on their forthcoming release so I'm assuming this track is a taste of what's to come.

Get your hands on one of the only 2,000 prints of USA '13 this Record Store Day (April 19) and look out for Merchandise's new album being released sometime soon. Stream "Figured Out" below followed by their first 4AD single "Begging For Your Life / In The City Light", and the single from their 2013 Totale Nite LP, "Anxiety's Door".

Swell Album: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Oddments [garage / psychedelic / soul]

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Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have just released their fourth LP, Oddments, in as little as eighteen months. The most impressive part is that each album successfully pulls off something different—the Thee Oh Sees-indebted garage-psych of 12 Bar Bruise, the experimental narrative-led spaghetti western album Eyes Like the Sky, the 60s-influenced psychedelia of Float Along – Fill Your Lungs, and the soulful pysch-pop kaleidoscope of their most recent LP Oddments. Since the first installment of this hyperactive recording series, the Gizz & Liz Wiz have scraped away a good amount of the fuzz signature of any psychedelic garage rock band to let the vocals breathe a bit more and to reveal their more soulful side, making this record the most dynamic and accessible listening experience.

While there's no doubt that garage rockers like Black Lips or Thee Oh Sees have played a part in driving the seven-piece to produce their energetic, and often humorous, brand of psychedelic garage rock, a likening to Unknown Mortal Orchestra is also plausible, especially in the comparably unhurried lo-fi track "Stressin'". The main difference between Oddments and its predecessors is that it doesn't cling too hard to any one idea. Each song brings something different into the mix, leaving us with a melting pot of influences and most importantly, a really fun record, maybe just as fun as saying the band's name—King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

Stream the entire album below or listen to it on their Bandcamp, along with the rest of their discography.

Just Rolled In: SALES - "Chinese New Year" [indie pop / electronic / lo-fi]

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Since we last checked in with Orlando, Florida's endearing indie pop duo SALES about eight months ago, they have released a handful of catchy tracks on their SoundCloud and expanded their fan base considerably. On their fifth single "Chinese New Year", SALES continue their minimal sound but kick the tempo up a few notches, resulting in a tender indie pop song that recalls the clarity and candor of The Drums while preserving their originality thanks to Lauren Morgan's indelibly sweet voice and Jordan Shih's less-is-more approach to electronic production.

Stream "Chinese New Year" below along with four other beautiful SALES tracks.

Swell Album: Yellow Ostrich - Cosmos [indie rock]

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Before moving to New York and subsequently signing to Seattle's Barsuk Records, Yellow Ostrich's singer/guitarist Alex Schaaf lived in Wisconsin. He was the frontman of indie rock band The Chairs for a couple years then went solo as Yellow Ostrich in 2009, recording heartfelt numbers on his 4-track that caught my attention for the raw emotion and experimental layering and sampling of his youthful voice (check out 2010's interesting Fade Cave EP for 6 songs he recorded using nothing but his voice and a drum machine). When Schaaf moved to Brooklyn he had already released a total of five EPs and two full-lengths.

Yellow Ostrich's third full-length The Mistress (and fifth release of 2010!) marked the first Y.O. recording that Schaaf made with another human being, current drummer Michael Tapper. After giving The Mistress a proper release in 2011, Barsuk went on to release the following year's excellent full-length Strange Land and the R&B-influenced Ghost EP. Since joining the Barsuk roster, the band has experienced a few personnel changes but currently stands at four members. With their current lineup, Yellow Ostrich brings us their fifth album Cosmos, which was inspired by astronomer Carl Sagan's documentary series of the same name.

As the title of the album suggests, Yellow Ostrich's sound has expanded skyward since Schaaf's solo days by taking on a fuller, at times frantic, rock sound and by inviting celestial synths and electronic effects into the mix to allow for more intricate, atmospheric melodies, recalling Local Natives or Radiohead ("Neon Fists", particularly). Notwithstanding these changes, Yellow Ostrich still is and will always be led by Schaaf's sincere, tender voice, which quavers along gently with the melodies of softer songs like "My Moons", "You Are The Stars", and "Don't Be Afraid", but explodes like a supernova through the heavier walls of sound on tracks like "Shades", "Any Wonder", and "How Do You Do It?". Somehow, Cosmos manages to be Yellow Ostrich's loudest and smoothest record at the same time, thanks to the band's cohesive instrumentation and songwriting and the excellent production of Beau Sorenson (Death Cab for Cutie, Superchunk, Sparklehorse) and Paul Kolderie (Pixies, Radiohead, Dinosaur, Jr.).

Listen to the full album stream below and purchase your own copy here. Also, enjoy my favorite tracks from Yellow Ostrich's three previous records.

Artist Making Waves: Vensaire [pysch pop / indie folk / experimental]

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Among all of the great bands and musicians that blossom out of Brooklyn and those that make the pilgrimage to "the center of the world" to join the scene, one band in particular stands out in this creative crowd—Vensaire. This colorful quintet, comprised of frontman Alex Laliberte, guitarist Robert Earl Thomas (one half of Widowspeak, which released holaOLA's No. 41 album of 2013), clasically-trained violinist Renata Zeiguer, bassist Hunter Hawes, and percussionist Alex Jacobs, draws from traditional Asian music, Western folk rock, and digital sampling to produce beautiful psychedelic folk compositions that sound like something that an Animal Collective/Grizzly Bear/Prince Rama collaboration would birth.

Vensaire already has a self-titled EP under their belt, for which each member wrote his/her own song for the rest of the band to elaborate upon and record. This collective approach to songwriting and recording clearly illustrates the band's desire to allow each member's style and influences to shine through in their music, not to mention it has a pretty excellent outcome.

On April 15 they will release their full-length concept album entitled Perdix, which is based on Homer's Odyssey and inspired by Audubon bird paintings. For now, enjoy the first two singles from Perdix and stream the entire Vensaire EP  below.

Swell Album: Abram Shook - Sun Marquee [indie pop / tropical / psychedelic / jazz / soul]

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As I listen to the new album Sun Marquee by Austin-based multi-instrumentalist Abram Shook I try to pick up some sort of consistency in his songs—as I do with all the music I write about—to be able to come up with genres it may fit into and to help me write a little something about it, but the only thing I've grasped so far is that no two songs are really alike. Shook's dreamy debut solo album is "all shook up" (har har har) in terms of musical direction. With one song you're grooving along to a soulful jazzy tune, then you're bouncing around to an upbeat indie pop jam, and the next one shoots you down a tunnel of syncopated psychedelia.

A spirited world traveler and apparently a big fan of Serge Gainsbourg, Shuggie Otis, fellow genre bender David Bowie, and Brazilian music, Abram Shook does a great job of drawing from his multitude of worldly influences to create a well-balanced eclectic record that hooks you upon first listen. If this great mixture of sunny pop songs has anything consistent about it, it's Shook's effortlessly cool vocals, groovy bass lines, an intricate rhythm section, and his beautiful guitar melodies all intertwined into a catchy record filled with lush production.

Enjoy the full album stream below and be sure to support Abram Shook by purchasing his album via his label Western Vinyl or by clicking the "Buy all on iTunes" link on the SoundCloud player below.

Just Rolled In: Hundred Waters - "Down From the Rafters" [electronic / ambient folk]

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Eighty-four years ago yesterday the former ninth planet of the Solar System was discovered by American astronomer Clyde M. Tombaugh. Although Pluto was demoted to "dwarf planet" last decade, we can't help but thank Mr. Tombaugh because in honor of his discovery of this desolate icy rock, my favorite Florida band Hundred Waters has shared the equally dark and mysterious track entitled "Down From the Rafters".

Channeling the unhurried eerie tracks of their 2012 self-titled debut (see "Caverns" and "Gather" below), Gainesville's Hundred Waters return in the wake of touring with Canadian art rock band BRAIDS with a mellow and stirring song that doesn't fail to show off their expert instrumentation while the ethereal vocals of lead singer Nicole Miglis sweep you away into the haunting melody. While a sophomore LP is on the horizon, it hasn't been confirmed just yet as to whether "Down From the Rafters" will have a spot on the record.

Check out the "Pluto Day" celebratory song below and if you're new to Hundred Waters, I demand you take the time to listen to their 2012 self-titled debut (my favorite album of 2012), which I've also embedded below.