Rare Monk - Happy Haunting

If you were to die before me
I hope you haunt me forever
And if I were to die before you
Yeah I'm gonna haunt you forever, with clever puns, yeah
 

Pacific NW peeps coming at you with a new album and a sound that is so familiar, yet distinct. Clever intertwining guitars and vocal harmonies, with a good measure of pop sensibility and a dash of indie cynicism. If you like this, you should definitely check out the rest of A Future, and their previous album Death By Proxy (it feels a little harder edged than this one, but in a good way). 

RIYL: Modest Mouse, Day Wave, Tipling Rock, The Shins, Cold War Kids

Upcoming Shows

Cherry Glazerr - Trash People

My carpet smells like beer forever, forever
If all the people dressed like sheeple
There would be no color, no color
Those are my people
There would be no color, no color
Those are my people

My first thought upon hearing Cherry Glazerr, was something along the lines of "damn, this reminds me of The Donnas." That's a very good thing. It'd been awhile since I'd listened to The Donnas, but they're a lot of fun. Turns out Cherry Glazerr may have less in common with The Donnas than they do with acts like Honeyblood, Diet Cig and La Sera, but, hey, that's cool too. Their latest album, Apocalipstick, is fantastic and much more diverse than I'd originally expected with quite a few stand outs.

RIYL: The Donnas, Diet Cig, Honeyblood, La Sera, Japanese Breakfast

Upcoming Shows

Strange Ranger - House Show

Portland post-punk band Strange Ranger (formerly Sioux Falls) sound very throwback to me. All the way back to the 90's and the best thing going on for that era outside of hip-hop: Pacific Northwest style emo. If you were into Sunny Day Real Estate, Seaweed, Modest Mouse, Treepeople and Built to Spill, you'll like Strange Ranger. They had a solid EP out last year, Sunbeams Through Your Head and have an upcoming release, Daymoon on Tiny Engines. Yeah, another one on that awesome label.

RIYL: Sunny Day Real Estate, Pinback, Build To Spill, Braid, Modest Mouse

Upcoming Shows

WOWH - Early Hours

So call me up in the early hours
Try not to hurt about it
If it's too hard, it's too hard

So here's a fun track from London indie pop outfit WOWH that reminds me of a lot of the music I loved in the 80's; bands like Blancmange, China Crisis, Ultravox and the like. It's dance-beat driven pop, but has a bit of a polish that sets it apart in my ears. I'll be following along, hope to hear some more from them soon.

RIYL: The Republic Tigers, Blancmange, Ra Ra Riot, The Little Ones, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsen

Upcoming Shows

Skela - Hella

All I've ever wanted was you
Someone whose life was the same shade of blue
All I've ever wanted was someone to drink with
But now that you're here, I can't stop fucking drinking

So pour it up high, talking real low
Pulling at the collar of your sweater
Wrapping my roots all around you
Don't be so selfish with forever
Come on baby, let me tell you what we're supposed to do

Sexy and sultry, yet detailed and devoted, this song reminds me of the popular track "Starving" by Hailee Steinfeld (w/Zedd). Unlike the Southern California actress/singer, Queens-raised Brooklyn-based Skela fashions herself a musician/poet/writer and is hoping to put an "intellectual, nostalgic spin" on modern pop music. We'll see. But any way it pans out for her, this is a repeat-worthy mellow summer jam. 

RIYL: Alessia Cara, Daya, Hailee Steinfeld, Vanic

Upcoming Shows