by Paul Haley | Apr 17, 2014 | Album Review, Shoegazer
Killinghorse Records
My band, Dollar Store Riot, humbly shared the stage with Overlake back in January 2014 @ NYC’s Parkside Lounge. When the show promoter told me we will be playing with a “shoe-gaze band from Jersey City” I was immediately intrigued. A shoe-gaze band in 2014? And from Jersey no less? Fate took the wheel as I was one of many completely blown away by their set and eagerly looking forward to their soon to be released record to validate that what I heard live beautifully transposed to any type of recording.
And boy, were things quickly validated.
Sighs, Overlake’s first full length release on NJ’s own Killing Horse Records, was released yesterday (4/15) , but I have been devouring the pre-release sale free mp3 download of the album for weeks now. Sure band members Tom and Lysa were sweet to buy me a birthday shot at the above said post-show, but that doesn’t influence nor change the fact that Sighs is hands down a consistently solid fucking effort and one of the best releases of 2014. For certain you can hear pinches of I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, dashes of Loveless and touches of You In Reverse. Based on the recent press, a lot of the equally impressed critics do too, claims the band won’t deny, yet somehow pull off their own smorgasbord of familiar sounds with unique freshness.
Sighs is simply a beautiful, whispy, swirly reverby experience (just what you expect from a shoe gaze band in 2014…from Jersey no less) from start to finish with too many good songs to mention (read: ALL of them, my favs being ‘Disappearing” and “Our Sky”). It is a perfect soundtrack for a stroll through lonely, rainy NYC streets or Sunday drive through the sunny, Jersey burbs. If you need further proof, Sighs is probably one of the very, very few records I overheard my 9 year old son whistling along too in the back seat. Get. It. Now.
BUY OVERLAKE: BANDCAMP | KILLINGHORSE STORE LP/CD
OVERLAKE SHOWS:
Fri 4/18 Court Tavern, New Brunswick NJ – Overlake w/ Wreaths, Cicada Radio, TV Sound – 4 Year Anniversary Show for Killing Horse Records
Mon 5/19 Baby’s All Right, Brooklyns – Overlake w/ The Everymen, The Brooklyn What
RELATED:
Singles & Bands to Watch: Mutes, Stagnant Pools, Milan Jay, The Van Doos and Distortion Girls
Are you a GBV/Nada Surf fan? Doug Gillard’s New Album ‘Parade On’ is Guitardedly Good
STALK RS BACK: Soudcloud | Twitter | Facebook | Leave some comments and shit. Hit that little blue FB like link. Cool.
by David | Apr 16, 2014 | Monster Magnet, Record Collecting, vinyl records
Super your local band or record store Saturday on RSD April 19, 2014
SATURDAY – APIRL 19th,2014 is the next Record Store Day; which is now a worldwide phenomenon. RSD is even bigger than Christmas! We interviewed some High-Fidelity geeks who I know hate music as much as they love it, have record labels or work in record stores. These super fans ooze tidbits of info like idiot savants. Shopping for music is such a subjective thing if you are hooked and these are deep into it. There are all types of music fans: the browsers, the professors, and the downloaders (also the ladies like to shop). There is also as much subjectivity in the process when dealing with the discography obsessed that it becomes this strange world. The college downloaders pretty much made it very difficult for small shops to stay open. Most kids today, we fear have never stepped into a record store; which is weird to think about. RSD was brainstormed in 2007 by a few retailers and now is a money-making event that has put them back in black. The movement has helped spike the industry by creating sales opportunities for the big labels, Artists and independents. Although much harder for the small labels to participate in because their new releases are always limited.
One of the main issues is price. We all love a deal and browsers like Dave Galgano owner of Rocket Science Records a small local N.J. label is an all year record buyer, he points out “In general I ignore record store day. It’s basically overpriced reissue of dollar bin records.” In many ways he’s 100% correct. Repackaging and remarketing is as old as the industry itself.
Here’s a stream for a Wreaths S/T Vinyl LP which Rocket Science Records is going to put out.
Keep reading…
The labels put a premium on these supposedly limited releases but the truth is distributors hold the power and over charge because they know there is demand from collectors. The distributors also decide where the inventory goes which is the key here. Supply and demand is such a tricky thing especially when we’re dealing with this one big day.
Neil Sabatino from another NJ Indie label Mint 400 Records mentioned he has particular tastes between the 1960’s and 1994, he says “I mostly buy older stuff and I don’t need a special day set aside to remind me that I love buying records. I pretty much celebrate record store day anytime I have extra cash.”
So what about new music fans who are just getting into buying music? The breed is rare and the industry really needs to grow these fans who are willing to pay for physical artifacts. Mark Knorth from Vintage Vinyl, in Fords, NJ mentioned the “ebayers”. “There’s always some new faces, then there are the usual jerks. They ruin it for the fans…the “eBayers”…they buy it -no matter what it is. The true fans miss out.” So there is a soft gray market where inventory goes back into wild to rip off some poor Dave Mathews fan. This is where the labels don’t get a cut of but the store and distributor make-out so the chances become slimmer of the stores being stuck with an overpriced item even though something may eventually end up in the discount bin because its not any good. So having a collectors market is actually a desired after-effect.
Photo of Tim courtesy of www.redbankgreen.com/
Tim Cronin(Ribeye Brothers/Monster Magnet), from Jack’s Music Shoppe, In Red Bank, NJ mentions that stores have put in policies when discussing the “flippers”. “Not many people are going to admit they are gonna buy something to flip it. That’s why we limit the amount to one apiece until the line is done. That way everyone gets a fighting chance.” Tim mentioned he’s noticed over the past 5 years records; “some younger kids are coming in which is good for business but records themselves have “taken off”(he means vinyl records). Like good drug dealers the stores are selling affordable turntables like Numark or Crosley turntables but Cronin says “RSD is a day where no one is completely happy because nobody ever gets everything they want.”
DOWNLOAD: Good As New MP3 by The Ribeye Brothers from Call of the Scraphead (2012)
Goodluck on Saturday!
RELATED:
Album Review: New Doug Gillard!’Parade On’ is Guitardedly Good.
Follow: Review Stalker on Soundcloud for the latest streams.
by David | Apr 14, 2014 | Free Mp3s, Shoegazer
Here’s your weekly dose of excellent FREE singles and MP3s from around the globe of indie. Some of them are even exclusively found here. We highly suggest you fan them, then support likes of The Van Doos, Milan Jay, Stagnant Pools, Mutes or The Van Doos when they do their thing live. Dudes in bands need fans and if you happen to be a hot chick or handsome bloke even better. Tell them Review Stalker sent you. Because we too like it when bros and gals buy us beers at our local pub. Makes this all worth while as we really do try and filter everything we get to bubble nothing but the best. Enjoy!
Mutes – We love our shoegazer around here and here’s something to crank on the autobahn. This comes out in May on One Note Forever. It’s a washed out track made of faded dreams drenched in sweet delicious reverb. This should actually make you stand straight-up so you can get a better listen right into the speakers and turn this up. facebook them and shit and us to while you’re fucking at it.
RIYL: MBV, MBV, MBV
DOWNLOAD: M.P.D.G MP3 by Mutes fromt their coming EP
Stagnant Pools – We dug these noisters when we first discovered them last year and we’re still fans. they have a another record coming out June 10th called Geist on Polyvinyl Records. Very sonic youth oriented in all the right ways.
RIYL: Jesus and Marychain
Milan Jay – OK the best way to describe this dirty bass, rap music from Ireland if you took “Gratitude” by the Beasties and mashed it up with KFDM or ministry with some white dudes rapping on it. It’s pretty good. They call themselves a electro band but we think it’s much better than most EDM shit. Here is their track called “Get Ghost” – which you can get on bandcamp and throw them a couple euros.
RIYL: HIP HOP, WARTIME (Andrew Weis, Sim Cain, Rollins)
The Van Doos – Yes, bandwagonesque riff rock that is very very much English in all the right ways. Big loud and crunchy snares hits tilts this to some early oasis or radiohead(pablo honey). Very catchy taster that is going to be on their debut album Fingertips. Highly recommend you download this baby we’re looking forward to the rest already. Their video is pretty cool too and we would be pretty deft if we didn’t point out the artwork looks exactly like our web background skin. Get with the program facehookers.
DOWNLOAD: Airborne MP3 by The Van Doos
Distortion Girls – Evol era (yet a another sonic youth reference) space psyche slow jam. Female led drone vocals that is like slow fucking that is super errie with the organ doing it’s thing in the background. It’s sexy in a very gothic kind of way. If you speed it up to 45 might seem weird. Like them you facehookers. They now have exactly 2 people talking about them.
RELATED:
More free MP3’s
Last week’s Singles & Bands to Watch by: The Great American Novel, Afghan Whigs, wyd:syd & Otherkin
by admin | Apr 8, 2014 | Album Review, Alternative Rock
Parade On – Out 4/8 on Nine Mile Records
ALBUM REVIEW: Some of you know who Mr. Doug Gillard is even without actually having his phone number in your contacts or perhaps you got his digits from his previous release Call from Restricted. If we lead you to any record this year please let it be his latest and greatest Parade On as it’s guitardedly good.
We mean this with all affection and not a single bit of sarcasm; this is a bus you must get on. Doug’s passion for manipulating a 6 or 12 string guitar is on the same level as Johnny fucking Marr; strum for strum and we never met that Brit. He’s a band leader who will lead you down a path with several possible outcomes. One, inspire you to make your next record greater than good and NOT just ok, but great. Two, in the process make you pay attention to the details, or you will do us a favor and quit playing music so the good stuff can bubble-up. Three – you’ll take a deep dive into the depths on a download binge 30,000 feet of stacked records. Four, sell some off your guitars (Maybe you’ll donate one to a charity like The Project Matters @TPMNJ) while you mull over the second option. Actually you might NOT have to do any of this because this one stands all on it’s own. However, if some of you actually happen to step foot into a record store (even if just on record store day next week) and look up the likes of Nick Lowe, XTC, or Death of Samantha. Some of you may consider seeing him play with his band or taking the leads in Nada Surf. The two shows he’s playing with GBV are sold out so your out of luck there.
The pointed point is this is his third solo full-length coming out on Nine Mile Records strewn out over a few years of being a professional musician. I can’t even count all his other releases he’s played for you but it does not matter that is what wiki is fucking for. If I were record clerk (I vowed never to do so this) — this is the album I would literally point you towards besides the song “I AM a Tree” he recorded once with Guided By Voices. There I said it and it only. Took me two, three whole paragraphs. After that you are on your own.
We interviewed Doug Gillard last year, even played a show with him at the Asbury Lanes and enjoyed him nerding out talking about his guitar set-up. There is enough exploratory timeless guitaring on this album set forth as a reminder the guitar neck is an expansive and mysterious place. Dudes can play guitar and makes all the tones sound effortless while allowing you to hum along with vocal melodies. Our faves on this album are all of them. “Your Eyes” is the most Smiths like one, the opener is another classic similar to XTA or Nick Lowe with something off of Labour of Lust (1979) but don’t let us bore you with our shallow knowledge record store clerkdome. This one is going directly to our top 10 of 2014.
RELATED:
MP3s: New Guided By Voices 7″ on Fire Records
For nerds: Doug Gillard’s Guitar set-up
Donate a Guitar to The Project Matters to help teens stay out of trouble and learn a trade. Like professional rock musician. Contact TPMNJ on facebook to learn more.
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