Snapshots: a faulty chromosome, The Terrordactyls, Pocketbooks

a faulty chromosome:


a faulty chromsome is a lo-fi, noise pop/shoegaze band from Burbank, CA and their new album as an ex-anorexic's six sicks exit,... is out now (self-released, like all proper lo-fi acts). The song “them pleasures of the flesh,” sounds like a thunderstorm in a desert and yet is quite tender at the same time. Electric guitars rip the skyline while casio keys underscore the melancholy. The last few minutes are quietly intense and require a headphone listening experience.

Links:
a faulty chromosome on myspace
Sun drenched video for "Jackie O"

The Terrordactyls:


The Terrordactyls (best name ever) are Michael Cadiz and Tyrel Stendahl from NYC/DC and their new self-titled album is sure to find plenty of love. Due to the recent popularity of Juno (and Kimya Dawson) the duos song “Devices,” featuring Kimya Dawson couldn’t have come out at a more perfect time. It’s a bit too precious for me with lyrics like, “You and I are meant for each other/ a literary device/but together we’re lovers,” but its got some mad kazoo skills through out and is already finding a mass audience due to the cute video on You Tube.

The Terrordactyls on myspace
Cute stop-motion video for "Devices"

Pocketbooks:


Remember Sunny Intervals? Well that was Andy’s side project; this is the band that he is a part of. Pocketbooks are a self-described, “Pop group from London,” and have new EP out called Waking Up and the lead single is “Don’t Stop.” It’s classic catchy pop even if the end of the chorus weirds me out a bit. No matter, the boy/girl harmonies,springy piano and the hook “Don’t stop/don’t stop/don’t stop me!” keep me coming back for more and more.

Pocketbooks on myspace
For UK kids, order Waking Up on Make Do And Mend Records
US kids, order Waking Up on Valiant Death Records
Buy Waking Up off Indiestore.com!

Rambling Nicholas Heron: Here In Dreamland (2007)

I was really excited for this release. Mailed quick by the lovely folks at Valiant Death Records, Rambling Nicholas Heron’s new record Here In Dreamland arrived in my mailbox just before Christmas. And what a lovely gift this album is. Rambling Nicholas Heron and his band hail from Sweden and make confident, smart and tender music. I feel like he could be an old friend of mine and whenever I listen I get flashes of my time spent in mainland Europe. Not the museums or the big cities, but the rolling green hills with snow-capped mountains in the back with embedded castles are what I imagine while listening to this amazing folk-pop album.

“Pillow Book” immediately struck me and is somewhat unlike my previous signifiers. Driven by a samba-esque rhythm this song takes an attitude like “Like A Rolling Stone,” only appears more subversive. Lines like, “Since that morning I’ve been yearning to live/In that moment forever/Julie and sleepy/In truth that’s the way that I am/Only you wouldn’t know/And never have guessed it,” fall back and forth deceptively from biting to beautiful.

“As If I Didn’t Know It” is a song that is right on the edge of falling apart. The vocals are almost above their range, a pan flute sounds half broken and the beat is almost just a bit off, but it fits the theme of the song very well. Rambling Nicholas recalls very relatable experiences of when we choose ignorance because we just do. “I turned to writing on my walls/Pretending I was a master poet/William Blake I wasn’t/But I acted as if I didn’t know it/As if I didn’t know it,” are probably my favorite lines on the record and really capture one aspect of Rambling Nicholas Heron very well. So does the song fall apart in the end? Yes, but in a bed of laughter and a bit of call and response that’ll make you smile.

This album is chock full of great instrumentals, but the two intermezzos “Passing Time” and “Precious Things” are sublime bits of old-timey European comfort.

Being in the midst of my Carpenters obsession, hearing “Only Yesterday” on Here In Dreamland was a wonderful surprise. I spoke with him on the difficulties of singing their songs (Karen’s voice is something to behold) and Rambling Nicholas manages to pull it off well...Much better than I can that’s for sure.

“Born to Sleep in the Sun” is the sound of pure ukulele bliss and that’s all there is to it.

Here In Dreamland ebbs and flows quite wonderfully and when I listen to it I became more serene during those fifteen tracks. It might be because of Rambling Nicholas Heron’s soothing vocals or the abundance of instrumentals or the confidence in the lyrics; either way Here In Dreamland is a pleasant, warm and rewarding experience many many times over.

Mp3:
Rambling Nicholas Heron-“As If I Didn’t Know It”

Links:
Rambling Nicholas Heron on myspace
Order the album from Valiant Death Records