Mac DeMarco - Rock and Roll Night Club | Featured Artist

Waaay back in November, Scott hipped us to a new kid on the glam-rock block: Mac DeMarco. Back then, he was armed with only an EP and a destined-to-be-iconic photo (above) of him smearing his lips in cherry red. Now, he's inked a deal with Brooklyn tastemakers Captured Tracks, with a full length album to be released this Tuesday titled, fittingly; Rock And Roll Nightclub.

The record is a murky journey into just that: the seedy underworld of urban life, a space previously inhabited by the likes of Bowie, Lou Reed, and Johnny Thunders. When DeMarco croons about having to “head downtown” to “look for some fast girls,” on the title track, you believe him. You guys are gonna have a good time tonight. No matter what.

What strikes me most about DeMarco is the pure star power he possesses. With a voice reminiscient of Dirty Beaches' Alex Zhang Hungtai and the recording aesthetics of a younger Ariel Pink, DeMarco has managed to tap into the zeitgeist of today's bedroom pop auteurs; to create a world unique in its sense of space and time. Sounding both completely of the moment and like you could find the record in the dollar bin along other lost 70's/80's classics, this one's gonna be big. Trust me, y'all.

Mac DeMarco's Rock and Roll Night Club drops this Tuesday via Captured Tracks. According to CT, this is just a taste of DeMarco's talents, as he already has another full length in the works. Get psyched!

Unicycle Loves You | Featured Band

There has been talk, in the Web-O-Sphere as of late, of a so-called “90's revivalism” trend amongst newer, up-and-coming bands. Names like Sebadoh, Guided By Voices, Pavement, and Dinosaur Jr. are popping up within writings on music like weeds in an unkempt yard, and the term “slacker” has never been so overused. I myself have been guilty of said offense. Is the issue simply chronological? The music-making core of those aged 20-30 now would have grown up smack in the middle of the decade or at least remember it enough to be able to nostalgically channel it. Does it matter?

Unicycle Loves You doesn't seem to care much either way. They just seem to be having a damn good time doing what they're doing, which, while not being revolutionary, is certainly refreshing in today's deadly serious musical climate. The Chicago trio play a noisy brand of indie pop sure to please fans of the above bands, and countless others too. In other words, the band wears its “classic indie rock” tag proudly, yet their influences are surprisingly tough to pin down. And that's a good good thing.

On “Garbage Dump,” the opening track of their most recent album, Failure, the band wastes little time showcasing their sound. As delay warping and noise loops subside, out of the ether emerges their classic indie-rock attack; a catchy bassline bounces, fuzzed out guitars rip, and crisp, tambourine heavy drums seal it all together. The songs that fill out the rest of this collection, their third, are wonderful exercises in the arts of balance and moderation. The songs are noisy, but never go into the red. They're sugary, but never saccharine. They're well produced, yet never feel too slick.

Lead single “Sun Comes Out (And I Don't Care)” is a stellar example of this balance. The bass is fuzzy and loping, yet clear and rhythmic. The vocals are drenched in reverb and overdrive, yet cut through the mix and manage to be melodious. The guitar lines are simple and repetitive, yet never become boring or tiresome. This thought could be applied to Unicycle Loves You, and Failure in particular, as a whole. What they do may be pretty familiar, but I dare you not to have fun while listening. Go ahead. I triple-dog-dare ya.

Unicycle Loves You's Failure is out now. You can stream/purchase the album via the group's Bandcamp.

Street Gnar- Study Wall | ALBUM REVIEW

Over the past several years, bedroom-pop auteurs churning out hiss-y, homespun indie rock have been dime a dozen to say the least. It seems as if in this generation, one wakes up every morning to find their computer screen alit with another “of-the-moment” 18-25 year old kid with a sardonic attitude and a batch of tunes straight out of his momma's basement. Now, that is certainly a generalization; this I know. I know I am actively taking part in the Pitchfork-patented hyper-categorization and homogenization of modern music as we know it, pigeonholing artists into such small niches from which they can never escape.

This is not my intention with Street Gnar; the nom de plume of Case Mahan, a Brooklyn-via-Lexington, KY tunesmith whose newest collection, Study Wall, both conforms to and rejects many of the tent-poles which made many of his lo-fi pop cohorts successful in the first place. While many of his peers often value style over substance, Study Wall has killer slacker-pop tunes to back up his skater/stoner image.

The album begins with “Twenty-Two, Twenty-Two,” perhaps the album's finest song, and a perfect starting point for our discussion of the aesthetics of this release. Coming straight out of the gate with chiming guitars that wouldn't sound out of place on a Fifth Dimension-era Byrds tune (or one of R.E.M.'s charming, early recordings) and drums that sound like they were tracked in a tin can, we know we're in for an enjoyable ride that wont' rock the boat too much.

And rock it he doesn't: the following ten tracks are thoroughly enjoyable guitar pop tunes that are informed by the genre's multi-generational history. Pulling from the fertile musical soil of the past five decades, Mahan's studied approached to songwriting is perhaps his biggest asset. It's as if, holed away in his Kentucky basement, Mahan dutifully absorbed his parents' record collection while firmly keeping a finger on the pulse of the blogosphere, showing a particular affinity for the lo-fi guitar pop stylings of groups like Woods and The Fresh and Only's. Using the prerequisite pop auteur arsenal of guitars, bass, drum machines and synthesizers, Street Gnar has managed to craft an album that sounds decidedly of-the-moment while retaining essential elements of pop/rock classicism.

The production values are, predictably with this sort of release, where Study Wall ultimately falls short of greatness. The electronic drums throughout, especially on otherwise catchy as hell track “It Came In,” never quite mesh with the early GBV grit present in Mahan's songs, and simply come off as obligatory. Instead of using some of his recording limitations to his advantage, they ultimately reek of being just that, limitations. Generally, Mahan is at his best when the electronic textures are at their sparsest, such as on the aforementioned “Twenty Two, Twenty Two,” and the psych-rock rave-up “Let It Grow,” which sounds like King Tuff fronting the 13^th Floor Elevators. The more textural side of Street Gnar is not always for naught though, as displayed on the lovely little ditty “Would You,” where Mahan makes use of a melodic synth flourish that truly makes the song. Well, that and the ripping guitar solo at the end.

Ultimately, Study Wall is an extremely enjoyable collection of pop tunes that just don't feel finished. The artificial elements present in the recordings never quite gel enough with the album's 60's/90's rock vibe, leaving the end product sounding more like a collection of demos than anything. Had Mahan taken a bit more time to hone the arrangements and put together a proper band, Study Wall could have had “classic” written all over it. Instead, the album feels like an underdeveloped first taste from an artist who will almost certainly grow into his own. I would keep an eye of this fella, y'all. Something tells me this won't be the last we hear of Street Gnar.

Study Wall was self-released by Mahan through Bandcamp on Feb. 1st. Check out the album player above to stream it in its entirety. You can catch Street Gnar live next Thursday, March 1st, at The Big Snow Buffalo Lodge in Bushwick, as part of Last Night's Two Night Images Residency. Other groups on the bill include Sore Eros & Hume. For more information check out the Facebook Event Page. Come on down, y'all.