Just some GIF fun.

Gardens + Villa • Black Hills

I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of the whole dreamy beach pop that’s sprung up in the indie world over the past few years. Don’t get me wrong—most of it’s far from offensive. In fact, most of it could use a bit of an edge; something you can grab on to; a hook to reel you in or a bright spark that would set it all apart from…well, all the other dreamy beach pop out there.

Santa-Barbara-based Gardens + Villa doesn’t fit exactly into that pigeonhole, but, from the first listen, you get a sense that they share a lot of the same traits as bands who do—sparse, dreamy washes of music accented more than held up by tight, bright drums and sprawling bass lines. All this is tied together with clean, slow-moving lyrics and pleasantly catchy and smooth synths. G+V’s debut, self-titled album came out this summer and, though it’s songs didn’t take hold of me and throttle me with awesomeness, they’ve had a significant slow burn that’s led to an undeniable love of their music. And doesn’t that, in the end, lead to longer-term appreciation of a band’s music—not the calculated hooks that you get sick of after 50 listens, but the fine craftsmanship of a solid, lovely song?

This week’s Song of the Week, “Black Hills,” is a perfect example of just that. You may or may not be wowed from the start, but it just keeps you coming back, making you want to listen to it again and again and again….

You can order Gardens & Villa’s full-length CD or LP through their label, Secretly Canadian, and even listen to and download two other tracks form the album there. They’ll be playing Glasslands in Brooklyn at the end of the month and doing an early show at the Mercury Lounge October 1st. Along with a bunch of non-New-York dates, I assume.

Eight years today. Love you, Katie.
♥ Troy

GROUPLOVE • Tongue Tied

Okay, Reader, we’re back—well-rested, well-read, and well-tanned. Seriously, we’re like bronzed gods over here or something. You gotta see us.

But enough about us—we’re excited to return to you, our fine audience, with an interview and music from a new band we’re really into—LA’s GROUPLOVE, a band we’re 100% sure is going to be super-successful. Take a listen to their track, “Tongue Tied”—this week’s Song of the Week—and check out our interview with bassist, Sean Gadd (the hatted, beard-y fellow above), where we talk about the band’s debut full-length, how they all met, and anniversary gifts. …I may have been leading a bit on that last one.

Kindness of Ravens: Alright, we ask this of most everyone, but where’s your name come from? Should we read any sort of inter-band flintiness into the name or anything like that? Should I feel dirty when I tell people I like Grouplove?

Sean Gadd: Our name evolved from the name GROUP, which we used to shout when we were all together.  It had nothing to do with being a band, but when we became a band we became GROUPLOVE, it just had a better ring to it and identifies with the story of how we came together.

KoR: Nice. Oh, and, speaking of the name, typeset-wise, is it Grouplove or GROUPLOVE? And you’re talking to designers here, so don’t be all like, “It doesn’t matter, man.”

SG: Hah. See above.

KoR: Got it. GROUPLOVE. Like we’re type-shouting. We read somewhere that you all met in Crete. Is that right? How the hell did that happen?

SG: We all ended up on the island of Crete to stay on an artist commune. We came from such different backgrounds and all had many different influences, but when we were together we were as one. I still can’t believe how this all happened. It was fate. I never believed in fate until then.

KoR: That is crazy. So, what’s Crete like? I’m picturing total paradise. But were you all there when any of this economic/political unrest was kicking up?

SG: We were staying in an old town in the middle of nowhere. It was a sleepy town with not much going on, but it was beautiful to us. This was before it all kicked off in Greece. I guess it was the calm before the storm.

KoR: Sounds awesome. You mentioned coming from different backgrounds—did you mean more musically or geographically or…?

SG: Andrew and Ryan were both born and raised in LA though. Hannah was born in San Francisco but spent many years in New York, where she met Christian, who was born in the Bronx. I was born and raised in West London. We all share our love for music and love a lot of the same artists and bands, but due to us all having different influences, we are always introducing new stuff to each other, which helps opening our minds to new stuff.

KoR: Yeah, I think that kind of mismatched matching sometimes results in a jumbled sound with bands but it really seems to work with you all. How do you all write songs? Is it a group thing…no pun intended…or is there a primary writer or does it depend?

SG: Every song is different. We have no formula and I hope we never do.

KoR: And you’re based in LA, yeah? How’s the scene there, you think? A lot of New Yorkers have a somewhat superficial view of that town, you know….

SG: LA is where we started the band. We made it the city for us—it was a fresh start, especially for Hannah, Christian, and myself. I feel London and New York have more in common with each other then New York and LA do, even though they are in the same country. It was a nice feeling to be able to write songs outside in the sunshine and LA just seemed to have so much space that it was liberating, but to be honest we rarely spend much time there now. We live in the van and in motels right now, but we are very grateful to LA. That city was and continues to be good to us—it’s where we got our break and will always have a special place in our hearts, whether we are living there or not.

KoR: No, we’ve heard lovely things from lovely people but don’t know it well ourselves. Perpetual nice weather does sound nice though…. We saw that you’ve been doing shows with acts like Florence and the Machine, who’s obviously amazing. Did that work out well for you all as far as broadening your base?

SG: The Florence and the Machine shows were great for us. It gave us a good amount of exposure and was a great experience for us at such an early stage. We will always go for the best shows out there for us and play with bands that we like and believe will make for a good billing, but right now we are happy to be able to play our own shows and know that people have come for us. It’s very humbling and we are so grateful that people turn up. Seriously, that’s why we try to give each crowd the best show we possibly can.

KoR: I’m sure you won’t disappoint NYC Wednesday. Got any good/crazy stories from the road yet?

SG: We have many crazy stories from the road, but you’re gonna’ have to get me drunk if you want me to tell you them.

KoR: Done and done, sir. Oh—swear to god I heard one of your songs in a Chrysler commercial the other day. True?

SG: Chrysler commercial? Not guilty.

KoR: Whaaaaaaat? Okay, I don’t know my cars, but I thought I heard “Colours” or something the other day on a car commercial. Eh. So I guess that means you don’t have mad car commercial money to…I don’t know…buy an island or something. Ooh! You could buy Crete!

SG: Buy an island? I can barely buy a beer. I wish we did do the Chrysler commercial.

KoR: Dude, I got the hint—I’ll buy you a beer, already. So, I actually just realized your debut album comes out on our 8-year anniversary (of marriage, not of the studio)…and ‘love’ is your band’s name…. What do you think? Good anniversary gift?

SG: Yeah, the album will be a great anniversary gift and all money you spend on Never Trust a Happy Song goes towards our island, which will be a nice anniversary gift for us in a year or two.

KoR: Sounds like a plan. Was it fun to record the full-length? Daunting? Sexually-stimulating?

SG: Making the album was not daunting at all. We were so happy to have the opportunity and backing to make a full-length album, so hopefully that shows. We had a lot of fun—you only get to make your debut album once.

KoR: Hah. Well-said. Obviously the new album’s  a BIG milestone…any ‘band goals’ though? I mean, in you minds, what would be a pinnacle of success?

SG: The success that we are currently having is quite overwhelming when we stop to think about it and we’re only getting started. The pinnacle of success for me would be to be remembered and still be relevant in many years from now.

GROUPLOVE’s debut album hits the store shelves and e-shelves Tuesday, and you can order CDs, vinyl, and shirts and such directly from the band’s store. If you’re in NYC, check them out at the record release at Bowery this Wednesday.

Odd/awesome/partying/backward-y video by Jordan Bahat for “Tongue Tied” below. Top photo by Autumn De Wilde, who, appartently, has the coolest name ever.

Caprese Salad What you need:
• 2 Tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick – Go crazy! Try a new variety of tomato! 
• 7oz of Extra Firm Tofu, pressed then sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 cup fresh Basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to drizzle
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

You definitely want to press the extra water out of the tofu. Our favorite method? Wrapping the block of tofu in 2 sheets of paper towels, then wrapping a clean dishtowel around that. Put it on a plate, place a cast iron skillet—or other heavy object —on top and set aside. The paper towels and dishtowels will soak up the extra water. You can press it for 15 minutes or several hours. The longer it is pressed, though, the drier and firmer the tofu will become. We think it really takes on a nice mozzarella-esque texture.
Layer alternating slices of tomatoes and tofu, then top with basil leaves. Drizzle the salad with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Behold the power of the tomato!

Here’s the issue I have with pita pockets: they refuse to do their job. They break. They tear. They get soggy. They won’t hold their filling. Maybe they prefer to fly solo. Perhaps they prefer to be used as a dipping vehicle. Or maybe, just maybe, they are waiting for the perfect filling to come their way.

Enter, stage left, the Chickpea Picnic Salad.

True, true—picnic season may be rapidly coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this salad well into the fall and winter months. Make these pita pockets, put on your sweatpants, grab a blanket and watch The Proposal on FX. Unlike your friends, this salad won’t judge you.

Chickpea Picnic Salad (makes 2 overstuffed pitas)
What you need:
• 2 Pita Pockets
• 1 Can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tbl Vegenaise
• 15 Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
• 1 Avocado, diced
• 1.5 Cups of Chopped Arugula
• Salt + Pepper, to taste

Using a fork or potato masher, mash the chickpeas in a medium mixing bowl. Don’t be lazy—break all of them up. You don’t want any whole chickpeas left. Add the Vegenaise and mix well. Gently stir in the tomatoes, avocado, and arugula, making sure all ingredients are incorporated well. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Fill the pita pockets and enjoy!

Seriously, though, have you see The Proposal yet? Just sayin’.

We just heard about the un-free one from our friends at Yellow Owl Workshop and it WILL NOT STOP BLOWING OUR MINDS. It’s a new digital sketch pen from Wacom called the Inkling, and it allows you to sketch on paper—like we’re all so used to doing—and capture the digital likeness of your sketches, translating them to vectors and even going as far as allowing for layer creation in programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. If you’re not a designer or illustrator or at least familiar with digital design, you may well be like, “Meh? Meh.” Otherwise, you, like us, are probably a lot more like “WHA? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” To you, we say—We totally agree. Now get it together, dude. Check out the video below. And yes, that robot is awesome.

The other design find was brought to our attention last week by our good friend, Jacob. Again, if you’re not familiar with the design field, you may not be aware that, as designers dealing with layouts for print or Web pieces you’re often in need of some filler text. Now, you don’t want to just copy a word and hit the paste key a million times because a) this looks lame, and b) this doesn’t demonstrate a dynamic layout or give a realistic impression of how elements like images will interact with the layout.

Enter lorem ipsum—placeholder text used since the 60’s or so, written in latin, and—most commonly—taken from Roman philosopher Cicero’s writings and rearranged so that it’s nonsensical when translated. I know—designers are total nerds. But after placing lorem ipsum, say, ONE MILLION TIMES IN A DAY, it can get a little old. Like reading latin. Now, enter Hipster Ipsum—the filler-text-generator created by LA-based WordPress savant Jason Cosper using a combination of latin and—you guessed it—hipster terminology. Here’s an excerpt we just created:Jean shorts chambray ut tofu mustache, aute sustainable id aliqua wayfarers banh mi Austin. Banh mi american apparel iphone, pitchfork consequat synth tumblr tempor tofu magna 3 wolf moon salvia blog delectus enim. Gentrify sustainable esse DIY occaecat dolor, wayfarers craft beer high life aesthetic. Mlkshk etsy sed placeat. High life thundercats aliqua aute etsy. Whatever et leggings, sustainable ethical synth cillum four loko velit id sunt ea carles. Carles cardigan lomo, farm-to-table bicycle rights portland photo booth nisi +1 consectetur craft beer.

Should latin be totally bumming you out, you can also opt for “Hipster, neat.” So, got a client with a sense of humor (we’re about to find out, by the way)? Get fillin’!

 

Reader, it has been a rough fuckin’ week. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires,VOLCANOS…If you’re anything like us, you need a break. And, long being students of the ‘Practice What You Blog’ school of thought, we are indeed taking a break. A little later in the week, we’ll be cruising out of town, late summer beats pouring out of rental car speakers as the skyscrapers and work woes shrink behind us. But, being ever-loyal to our dedicated readership, we’re doubling down before we go—proudly presenting you with TWO doses of Wednesday’s helpful home-based hints, Tuesday’s fine-tuned finds, and Monday’s music.First up—the always pleasingly poppy tunes of the esteemed Mates of State, who have a new album out September 13…probably in honor of our anniversary. I mean, I assume. We’re far from alone in possessing a long, long-time admiration for this duo. They rarely disappoint and somehow make the writing of innately emotional, catchy, substantial songs seem effortless. Jackasses.

Last week, we were lucky enough to catch a private show put on by the band’s label, Barsuk, (I know—fancy dancey, right?) that the Mates used as a bit of a tour warm-up and press showcase. In short, they were awesome. More awesome than they’ve been in the past, and they have indeed been very awesome in the past, Reader. The new stuff is built off solid, solid material that sounds unmistakably Mates-of-State-y but not at all redundant or tiresome to long-time fans. And they’re playing with this crazily humorous back-up duo that we’re positive is destined for some sort crime-caper-y spin-off sit-com.

Two of our favorite tracks from the new album, Mountaintops—”Maracas” + “Palomino” (one of this week’s Songs of the Week)—are especially dynamic pieces of music that pull you along from peaks of upbeat bounciness to tiny hollows of intimate melody. Both last week’s showcase and the studio tracks we’ve heard to date have got us hyped for the new LP—which you can pre-order here—and their supporting tour.

Yellow Ostrich • WHALE

Serendipitously enough, our other band of the week, NYC’s Yellow Ostrich, opened last week’s label showcase with a compelling set. We had already heard a track or two from the band prior to the show and liked the sound well enough, but we were especially impressed with how well they translated what came across as heavily produced, complicated studio recordings to their live performance.The hook and focal point for many of the band’s songs is frontman and songwriter Alex Schaaf’s voice. Looped, layered, and woven around and through the musical structure of the songs (skillfully replicated with a looping foot pedal live), the end result is music that’s thickly melodic, benefiting greatly from the harmonies Schaaf builds off of his own voice, ranging from viscerally rough tones to whispered swoons. The band’s got some pretty tight chops own their respective instruments too.
After a while, the layered vocals can get a little tired, causing a bit of a repetitive sound, which is why we were happy to hear the newer songs relying on that technique less than most of the album material. You can order the album on the band’s site and also download a FREE MP3 of their Beat Happening cover, “Left Behind,” which we highly recommend doing.

Alright, corvids out! CAW!