This girl, she's so dark.
Hey so I have this thing for goth girls. I'm not talking PVC and six inch platforms, I mean the real thing -- like in the movies as played by Angelina Jolie or Winona Ryder. So naturally, this means I have a soft spot for bands like Glass Candy, The Vanishing, and Veronic Lipgloss and The Evil Eyes.
Unfortunately, The Vanishing split a while back, but Ms. Lipgloss still holds the torch, and by all accounts, Glass Candy are going strong. Someone really irritating will probably call this stuff death disco or try compare these bands to say -- The Metric. But they'd be wrong, and you should insult that person all the way back to the Casby Awards where they belong.
For the sake of comedy, I'm going to throw Neon Blonde into this section as well, mainly because of their name and that wicked falsetto vocal (The Blood Brothers spinoff, once-removed Chromatics cousins). It's a bad name, but completely unsurprising for a band on Dim Mak (who, by way of genetics, are gracing their website with images of a young Aoki supermodel in a bath of merch. Fuck dude, it's just plain whack is what it is). So yeah, no girls here, just a girly name and a guy who sings like a girl. No, you won't catch me in bed with this record with my eyes open.
This sound isn't new, nor are long, weird, and subsequently shortened band names. We've Got A Fuzzbox & We're Gonna Use It (also: Fuzzbox) were around decades ago (try the '80s).
We've Got A Fuzzbox & We're Gonna Use It - Console Me
Glass Candy - Sugar & Whitebread (Vocal)
Glass Candy - Iko Iko
The Vanishing - Lovesick
Veronica Lipgloss and The Evil Eyes - Unicorn Song
Neon Blonde - Barbados Nights
Neon Blonde - Headlines
---
In response to the international readers we've been getting, I'm going to post a few songs from Los Planetas -- a band who have been around since the early '90s, and are - at least in the Spanish-speaking world - indie-rock heroes. When I stumbled on these guys a couple years ago, I was surprised they weren't a big deal in North America, given the strength of their sound, their musicianship, and the fact that they have been known to sing in English -- sometimes (I'm posting a taste of this in the form of a few cover songs). What with Sigur Rós and - more recently - Dungen making major impacts, maybe the English-speaking indie crowd is ready for Los Planetas. Or maybe they can just continue outside our radar; it's worked for them so far.
Los Planetas - Disorder (Joy Division cover)
Los Planetas - Baby Lemonade (Syd Barrett cover)
Los Planetas - Apple Boutique (Felt cover)
---
Jay over at Goldkicks posted a couple Daddy's Hands MP3s. Go check them out, because they're worth it.
---
So I was visiting my parent's place over the last week, and my mother mentions something to me along the lines of, "hey, your uncle says you should visit Chicago instead of bringing the band here [to Toronto]." I was confused. Then I figured it out -- my uncle - who lives in Chicago, where Probably Vampires are from - reads my blog. Not only that, he pays attention to what I'm writing about. Crazy. Now if my mom starts reading this, it'll be really weird.
The Juan MacLean's mom watched him in the video for "Every Little Thing," where he runs around on set in his undies having pretend-sex with a couple hot ladies. No uncomfortable explanations like that for me, please.
Anyway, hi Hilton.
Unfortunately, The Vanishing split a while back, but Ms. Lipgloss still holds the torch, and by all accounts, Glass Candy are going strong. Someone really irritating will probably call this stuff death disco or try compare these bands to say -- The Metric. But they'd be wrong, and you should insult that person all the way back to the Casby Awards where they belong.
For the sake of comedy, I'm going to throw Neon Blonde into this section as well, mainly because of their name and that wicked falsetto vocal (The Blood Brothers spinoff, once-removed Chromatics cousins). It's a bad name, but completely unsurprising for a band on Dim Mak (who, by way of genetics, are gracing their website with images of a young Aoki supermodel in a bath of merch. Fuck dude, it's just plain whack is what it is). So yeah, no girls here, just a girly name and a guy who sings like a girl. No, you won't catch me in bed with this record with my eyes open.
This sound isn't new, nor are long, weird, and subsequently shortened band names. We've Got A Fuzzbox & We're Gonna Use It (also: Fuzzbox) were around decades ago (try the '80s).
We've Got A Fuzzbox & We're Gonna Use It - Console Me
Glass Candy - Sugar & Whitebread (Vocal)
Glass Candy - Iko Iko
The Vanishing - Lovesick
Veronica Lipgloss and The Evil Eyes - Unicorn Song
Neon Blonde - Barbados Nights
Neon Blonde - Headlines
---
In response to the international readers we've been getting, I'm going to post a few songs from Los Planetas -- a band who have been around since the early '90s, and are - at least in the Spanish-speaking world - indie-rock heroes. When I stumbled on these guys a couple years ago, I was surprised they weren't a big deal in North America, given the strength of their sound, their musicianship, and the fact that they have been known to sing in English -- sometimes (I'm posting a taste of this in the form of a few cover songs). What with Sigur Rós and - more recently - Dungen making major impacts, maybe the English-speaking indie crowd is ready for Los Planetas. Or maybe they can just continue outside our radar; it's worked for them so far.
Los Planetas - Disorder (Joy Division cover)
Los Planetas - Baby Lemonade (Syd Barrett cover)
Los Planetas - Apple Boutique (Felt cover)
---
Jay over at Goldkicks posted a couple Daddy's Hands MP3s. Go check them out, because they're worth it.
---
So I was visiting my parent's place over the last week, and my mother mentions something to me along the lines of, "hey, your uncle says you should visit Chicago instead of bringing the band here [to Toronto]." I was confused. Then I figured it out -- my uncle - who lives in Chicago, where Probably Vampires are from - reads my blog. Not only that, he pays attention to what I'm writing about. Crazy. Now if my mom starts reading this, it'll be really weird.
The Juan MacLean's mom watched him in the video for "Every Little Thing," where he runs around on set in his undies having pretend-sex with a couple hot ladies. No uncomfortable explanations like that for me, please.
Anyway, hi Hilton.
Greg @ 6:55 PM
<< Home