Continuing our monthly mixtape tradition, we put our July mix together with summer pool parties in mind.

We start off with more jangley, raw, glitchy numbers from the likes of Los Angeles’ Cayucas (who we caught at KCRW a couple weeks ago), Richmond, VA’s…uniquely named Manatree, and masters of the electro-bizarre, Born Gold, who we caught with the life-afirming Braids last week.

Then we move on to new stuff from our Brooklyn pal Oberhofer before hitting up to local baroque-rock favorites, Moon Honey, and then pleasingly poppy numbers from Cleveland’s The Lighthouse and the Whaler and newcomers from the Minneapolis area, Bad Bad Hats (“Psychic Reader”).

Finishing things off, we go into straight party mode with new songs from Little Boots, Jamie XX, and Major Lazer. If you like that last one, check out the full stream of the most recent release from Diplo and company, Peace is the Mission. Great for the party AND the after party.

Not sure about after the after party. I’m usually in bed by then.

Enjoy! And stop burning down people’s fucking churches, America!

I know that I am prone to hyperbole and overuse of affirming superlatives when it comes to things I really like in the heat of the moment, but I’ve had a few days to cool off and put things in perspective since seeing Canadian band, Braids, play at the Lyric Friday night and I can now sincerely back up my over-the-top gushing via Instagram—Braids put on what has to be the best show I’ve experienced in my entire life.

For fear of further embarrassing myself further, I’ll remain succinct and simply say that anyone and everyone should see this band live. They moved me deeply and I’l love them forever for that.

Below, they’re very awesome video for the very awesome song, “Miniskirt”, off their newly released, highly recommended third album, Deep in the Iris.

One source I’ve looked to for new, lesser-known music since at least 2003 is New York City’s Other Music—a tiny record store just north of Houston off Broadway that staffs some of the most passionate, knowledgable music fans I’ve ever met.

In addition to having the brick-and-mortor and what is now a pretty deep Web store, Other also sends out regular emails rich with their highly curated best picks for new independent and world music.

I’ve discovered countless bands through those emails, the most recent of which was Melbourne, Australia’s Dick Diver, a four-piece that evokes the jangley, raw Brit Pop of the 60’s while filtering the sound through their own unique, contemporary lens.

We got a chance to speak with guitarist, Rupert Edwards, about the band’s stellar new album, Melbourne, Florida, their coming tour of the US, and the band’s unique sound. Stream the new album in full below and read on.

raven + crow: Alright, this is almost always our first question to bands…but it’s especially your first question—where does that band name come from?

Rupert Edwards: Dick Diver is the name of the main character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s less famous novel Tender Is The Night, which is a title he took from a Keats poem and which was also used for the title of a crappy song on the Blur album 13. Lots of people have pointed out the parallels between the Fitzgerald’s Dick Diver and the character Don Draper in Mad Men. Umm, there are zero parallels between the character Dick Diver and us.

So, no cheeky double-entendre with the name then? I know. My mind’s ever in the gutter.

When I read the Fitzgerald book, I didn’t really register the absurdity of the name. But I sure did when the band took it.

And you’re from Melbourne, Australia, correct?

Yep.

But then your new album—out this past March on Trouble in Mind—is confusingly called Melbourne, Florida. Are you all just trying to mess with our minds? What’s the story behind that album title?

It just seemed right! There’s no rational explanation, really, but messing with your/our minds probably has something to do with it.

Fair enough. You all have been a band for a while—2008, I think—but I first heard of you last month, when one of favorite records stores, NYC’s Other Music, reviewed the new record. Do you feel like you all have hit some sort of stride as a band or broken out to some new audiences? Or maybe I’m just late to the game here…..

Having a record out on Trouble In Mind has made a big difference and I think we were confident in making this record.

Did you go into writing the new album with anything in mind? Any…goals?

I think we wanted to try things we hadn’t attempted before, like getting horns in. I hoped that this record would be a bit more ‘complex’ in that it might take a while for someone to get it but who knows if that worked out.

Well, speaking as new fan, it’s great regardless of what came before. For our non-Aussie readers, though, can you tell us what “dolewave” is…and why it must be destroyed?

‘Dolewave’ was a word invented in 2012 or 2013 by someone on a message board as a joke. It was meant to describe or poke fun at a bunch of Australian bands who sung about ‘every day life’ rather than, I dunno, ‘feeling spiritual in a forest’. The joke was taken up by a few music journalists. It had to be destroyed because Real Bands want people to know that they feel misunderstood.

Consider it forgot by this writer. But how did your particular sound as a band develop? Or is that an inane question? I feel like you all are the closest contemporary band to reflect the jangly, chaotic pop bliss of Brit 60s band, The Action, but you’re not at all derivative or sounding like you’re trying to reinvent older sounds.

Don’t think it’s an inane question. I think it’s this unspoken thing where you play together more and you become aware of the things you might be able to pull off…so we’d try those things and and sometimes they’d work.

What’s the musical scene like in Melbourne (the Australian one)? I think my most recent exposure to Australian indie was the Aussie BBQ here in LA last year, where Glass Towers and Gossling and Jungle Giants and a bunch of other bands from Australia played before SXSW 2014. Beyond that, I feel pretty out-of-touch with any prevailing “sound”.

Don’t know much about those bands, but it’s very diverse in Melbourne. The idea of a prevailing sound I guess is dependent on how much any sound is given attention; that is, I’m not sure if there’s such a thing.

Yeah, I have no idea how big the scene is—seemingly much bigger than I’d previously thought. Do you all know of Love of Diagrams though? Another Melbourne band I fell in love with that I fell like I haven’t heard much from of late.

Yep, we’ve seen them play a bunch of times and I think played with them once or twice. They just put out a new record this year!

Look at that! I had no idea—thanks, man!

Is it tough as a small band to play state-side? I feel like so many non-US artists we talk to have many financial hurdles to overcome to play over here that you don’t have to deal with in other countries. Seems like a terrible shame.

Touring isn’t cheap. It’s the usual time and money thing and balancing that with work and stuff back home.

Totally. Are you all excited for your American shows tough?

For sure! We’d be stupid babies if we weren’t.

Took the words right from my mouth. We’re psyched to see you in LA, and Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn’s a great venue, but anywhere in particular you’re excited about playing or visiting over here?

Really looking forward to playing in Chicago where Trouble In Mind is based, and also going to North Carolina, Texas, and Georgia.

Did not see those last three coming—nice. Any plans for any particularly American recreation? Disneyworld? Hollywood sign? NASCAR?

Al Montfort from DD is a connoisseur of fucked up gas station snack foods so it’ll be fun to see that happening.

Look for Chick-O-Sticks nationwide and Twang Pickle in the south. Also, keep an eye out if you hit Pennsylvania for some especially fucked up chip flavors. Hey, non sequitur, but I love the new album’s artwork. What’s the design/art behind you all?

That’s a big mural/painting that Steph Hughes (who’s in DD) made. She’s done all the art and design for the band from the start.

Yeah, looking at her work, she does some great stuff. Awesome. Well, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us. Can’t wait to see you all in LA

Rock on.

I will do that.

Brooklyn, you can catch DD at Baby’s All Right on July 7;  Los Angeles, we’ve got them at Jewels on West Pico ten days later on the 17th; everybody else, check their Facebook Tour page to see when they’re in your neck of the woods.

You can get Melbourne, Florida—the band’s excellent new album—on CD and vinyl through Trouble in Mind; it’s available digitally through iTunes.

Father’s Day has almost always been a tough one for me.

Even before he died some 12 years back, now, I’d chosen for various reasons to put up walls between us. By the time I got the call that he was gone, my father and I were largely estranged, me having made it clear that I didn’t want him in my life anymore.

It was out of defensiveness, it was out of anger, it was out of a fear that he was a dark reflection of myself in a distant mirror I’d spend years turning away from, but mostly, it was out of a clear vision of what I wanted my life to be and there was no place in it for the broken person he’d become.

Writing this out now and looking back on it all, it’s hard not to wish more sympathy upon my younger self in some distant hope of spending more time with my dad or maybe even helping him, but I know now as I did then that neither of those things were even remotely possible. He’d strayed so far from the person in this photograph and, for the most part, he’d chosen to be at that place in his life.

But even knowing all of that, especially on days like this, I still have so many fond memories of my dad. He missed a lot of me and my brother growing up, and, when he came back and re-married my mom when I was in high school, things were far from perfect, but there were some bright, shining seconds before things started getting really bad with him. I was starting to become more of who I am now, as an adult, and we shared a lot of bonding moments that I hold all the more dear with him now so long gone.

Many such moments involved music. Less us sharing musical tastes then, necessarily—he was a solid, true blue classic rock fan and I was an avid alt + industrial kid at the time. But he saw a passion for music in me and, him having that too, it gave us a broad common interest and language. I’ve still got countless memories of him trying to win me over to this band or that; many of which I funnily enough now actually do like.

One band that he loved that I simply could not stomach at that age was British band, Dire Straits. I still remember him trying to explain the lyrics to “Money for Nothing” to me and me openly mocking them.

Fast forward to today, when I can rarely get through last year’s Lost in the Dream by the War on Drug‘s without getting a little weepy, they remind me so much of Dire Straits and those conversations in the car with my dad.

So this one’s for you, dad. It’s a live version of my favorite track off the album. I think you’d like it. I know we had a strained, complicated relationship over the years, but I loved you and I know you loved me. I’m so sorry your life didn’t turn out better than it did. I miss you.

This past week/end, Katie + I were traveling in NYC + PA for a combination of work, fun, and wedding. The wedding was that of Jon Roth—our longtime friend and drummer in my old band, Speedwell—and his new wife, Laura Wertman.

The night before we left New York for Allentown, Pennsylvania, I received an email from Meredith—who sang and played guitar in the band and is now a talented videographer and editor—with a link to the video below, entitled ‘Best Wedding Present Ever?’

Since the band formed in a college basement in 1996 to this day, Jon’s always been our biggest cheerleader. And his wife, who we just met this past weekend, sincerely claims to be Speedwell’s biggest fan (she actually did the artwork for Speedwell’s posthumous discography, which came a few years back). So, needless to say, in addition to the blenders and jade bowls and hand towel sets, this was, indeed, a well-recieved wedding gift.

The video features one of our oldest songs—“Pacifique”—and a small, very well-edited sample of the 8 hours of terrible haircuts, über-emo kids, and the most adorable of naivety that is the footage of our ’98 tour with Engine Down, when we were all tiny, tiny children. According to Meredith, culled from that footage was also a serious discussion as to what, exactly, kale was.

Below that, I couldn’t actually find any photos from that tour, but did find some from a later tour, like this one by Jamie Brown from a show at Greensboro’s College Hill Sundries, where I look especially awesome. Thanks for that, Jamie.

You can read a long, sprawling interview I did with us all chat-style a while back on these pages…but I seriously do not suggest that you do.

June is upon us, which is crazy, because I seem to remember counting down the new year, like, a few days ago, right?

Regardless of our lost time and the potential cause being alien abduction and/or just getting really, really old, new month means new mixtape, people. That’s how we do it these days.

This month—as always—we’re giving you the best one yet. That’s right—just like Lionel Messi, we just keep getting better and better.

June’s mix starts off with a brand new single from longtime favorites, Mates of State (who also just keep getting fucking better and who have a new EP out later this month); gives an inordinately strong showing for the Swedes in Little Children, Noonie Bao, and Westkust; provides another strong showing for Pacific Northwest bands with ‘pony’ in their name, with a new tracks from Motopony + Seapony; and a lovely new track from the excellent Salt Lake City/Chapel Hill duo, Mideau, who we interviewed last summer. And we finally give in to the alluring pop hooks of Nashville’s Kopecky. It was only a matter of time.

Give it all a listen below and visit our SoundCloud stream or scroll back through posts to hear past mix tapes.

The sixth annual Vegan Beer Fest hit Los Angeles this past weekend and it did not disappoint.

Presented by Tony Yanow (Golden Road Brewing, Mohawk Bend, Tony’s Darts Away); vegan blogger, quarrygirl; and event-planning expert, Nic Adler (The Roxy, Goldenvoice), the festival made an ambitious move from a parking lot in West Hollywood—where it was held last year—to Pasadena’s famous Rose Bowl Stadium and it was a perfect fit for this celebration of all things vegan.

For anyone who does’t already know, most beer is vegan. Some, like Guiness + Red Stripe, use something in the filtering process called isinglass—a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish—and others, like milk stouts or the like, include animal-derived ingredients, but most other beers are in the clear. Vegan Beer Fest brings many area and far-off, vegan-friednly craft beer producers together along with vegan and non-vegan restaurants and food vendors alike, encouraging them to show off specialty vegan menus for the day.

The result is a day full of beer samples and extravagant, increasingly impressively complex food offerings, from blowtorched vegan sushi to vegan fried chicken and bacon sandwiched between two donuts.

Really.

Below, some of what we captured/ate/drank, starting with a Neapolitan-style Lasagna Pizza from 800º Pizza + Crossroads Kitchen/Kite Hill; the Chicken + Waffle Melt from The Grilled Cheese Truck; their vegan menu for the day; our favorite food of the day, the Walnut Chorizo Tostada from Mud Hen Tavern; cuties, Chef Kajsa + Stacy Michelson from Mud Hen; the Mac + Cheese Waffle (featuring Follow Your Heart cheese) from Clara’s Cakes; Katie with said waffle; Clara + her mom showing off their MooShoes; the Ghostface Killah, an amazing ghost pepper-infused IPA from Boulder’s Twisted Pine Brewery; a Wolf Among Weeds IPA-infused cashew cheese from LA’s Nary Dairy; our friend Nic’s final slider from Native Foods; our very cute pals from Kombucha Dog; Brian L Patton, vegan chef and author of The Sexy Vegan Cookbook, showing off his bizarrely awesome shirt from Puppies Make Me Happy; the S’morrissey + Strawberry Lab donuts from Donut Friend; and musical headliners, Jamestown Revival.

You can see a ton more shots from the day of festivities via Vegan Beer Fest’s Instagram account—a great appetite stimulant and proof positive that you should mark your calendars for next year’s fest now.

Last fall, shortly after Katie + I helped to open MooShoes Los Angeles—the first non-New York outpost of venerable vegan footwear store and longtime clients of our design studio—a very amicable, lovely couple came into the store and introduced themselves. Having recently moved to LA from the relatively small town of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they shared how excited they were at Los Angeles’ wealth of vegan and animal-friendly options and how excited they were that we opened up.

In passing, just before they left, the two mentioned that they were in a band together. Later, Amanda from MooShoes and I tried desperately to piece together context clues to figure the band out to no avail (we like to play detective during slower hours at the store).

Then, just before SXSW, NPR released their Austin 100—a mix of 100 songs from 100 artists playing the famous music festival (totally worth a listen and recommended, by the way). About halfway through, I nearly fell of my seat at the studio to see none other than our mystery duo—Andrew Martin + Jessica Ramsey of the Los Angeles-based band, Moon Honey.

I followed up with the two asking if they’d be down with an interview for this journal and they happily obliged, because, again, they’re amicable and lovely.

You can listen to their debut album—Hand-Painted Dream Photographs—in full below and read as Jessica tells us about the scene in the south, where the band gets its inspiration, and drug commentary as a compliment.

And if you don’t make it all the way to the bottom, Los Angeles, be sure you check the band out live at Non Plus Ultra (4310 Burns Ave) tomorrow night.

raven + crow: Alright, first things first—where does the name come from? Sorry, we have to ask. We’re in branding + marketing, so it’s always an obsession for us.

Of course! Andrew and I came upon it while at the Stax Museum in Memphis (highly recommended). The name was mentioned on a plaque as the nickname of a soul singer. Our band was named Twin Killers at that point, but we were in the midst of revamping and rebranding. The soul, talent, and determination featured in the museum had me feeling sensitive and open, and the name just resonated. I remember holding a band meeting and being overly persistent in changing the name, and I’m so glad we did. Moon Honey is much more in-line with the mystical, ethereal, intimate aura we want our music to convey.

No, I think it totally fits—well-chosen. I saw that NPR described your sound by calling you “cotton candy dipped in peyote”. Would you say that’s pretty accurate?

I haven’t tried the dish yet but am honored by the description. We take drug commentary like “What were you on when you wrote this?” as a compliment, because it usually means that the sound is alien and challenging to them. To have a psychedelic experience is to transcend reality and form new perspectives—something powerful music is also capable of. Cotton candy is so light, sticky and sweet, and I approve of the words juxtaposing something as heavy and mystical as peyote.

How did your sound develop, exactly, if that’s at all something you can track? I feel like your voice is so distinct and the music itself just serves to highlight that fact with it’s far-from-ordinary structure and shifts in form. Is that deliberate or more something that developed organically over time?

Organically, for sure. Our first EP together as Twin Killers, Lemon Heart Opera, was balls to the wall—I had never sung in my life (outside of the shower) and, when I met Andrew, he already had the whole thing written and recorded instrumentally. I wrote and recorded on top of the insane, super-progressive rock sounding project, and considered it my singing boot camp. After that experiment, Andrew began to open up his guitar writing style for my vocals, and we wrote back and forth together. We started visiting the orchestra and we began to form more fluid movements in the songs as opposed to abstract, chopped up pieces.

I can totally hear operatic or orchestral influences in your songs, especially in the singing. I saw that Greg Saunier of Deerhoof mixed your full-length. I can  see a similarity in how you all and that band approach music, but how did you all initially hook up with him?

It was a cold call! We truly adore Deerhoof, and I sent Greg an email asking him if he would be interested in mixing our record. Can’t believe he said yes. I don’t know if he quite expected the layered, ridiculous monstrosity that was sent to him on a hard drive to New York, but the way he handled it changed the music in a beautiful way. 

Yeah, clearly I don’t know what it sounded like un-mixed, but I can only imagine he amplified and complemented what was already there. How long have you all been playing together as Moon Honey then? I know you only recently moved to Los Angeles from Baton Rouge.

We changed the name right before releasing Hand-Painted in December of 2013, so almost a year and a half! We have been a new band since moving to LA and just got off our first tour together in March.

Exciting times, then! What’s Baton Rouge like though? The closest I’ve ever been was New Orleans.

You are lucky—New Orleans is wonderful! Baton Rouge is a big small town. The culture is similar to New Orleans, though the architecture is more suburbs with very little haunted southern antebellum charm. Going back to visit, I realize how slow and relaxing Louisiana is. LA can be frantic, as if everyone is jogging up an escalator at the same time, too crowded to pay attention to subtleties. I love all the ambition and drive, but it’s easy to fall prey to the panic attacks. It must be the humidity, heat, mud, and fried food in the south that keeps everyone moving at such a fun, slow pace.

Hah. No, totally know what you mean. Do you two constantly get people commenting on your lack of accent? Katie + I are originally from Virginia and we always get that.

Virginia is so lovely, and yes! I really wish I had a crazy Creole or southern belle accent and could feel less bland. I love when we tell someone where we’re from and they immediately start talking about the show Swamp People. Oh good, yes, you’ve really nailed the entirety of Louisiana.

Oh, yeah, you two totally look very Swamp People. Especially with that gator you tote around town.What’s the music scene like in Baton Rouge?

Small but loving. There is strong and thriving art community that pushes its way through the shadows of a college football Mecca. The scene is supportive, diverse, and rarely competitive.

Did you live there when Katrina came through?

Yes, and I remember how frightening the storm was and the realization of nearly an entire city underwater. We weren’t destroyed like New Orleans, but were highly impacted from the thousands of evacuees who moved in, most of them homeless and traumatized.

I can only imagine. I know you all played SXSW earlier in the year—how’d that go?

It was really fun this year! A smoke alarm interrupted an hour of our official showcase, but SXSW is so expectedly crazy that it didn’t phase us or the crowd. My favorite party we played was a pool party. We were in the hot tub 10 minutes after performing.

You should add that to your rider. Was it nice being back in that relative area of the country?

It was an almost free vacation. Our friends and family are all scattered through Texas and Louisiana, so everywhere we go in the south we are treated to the warmest hospitality and good times.

Southern royalty! I know you just played your first show in southern California at Brokechella too. Did our city welcome you well?

We couldn’t have prayed for a better debut! We went in not knowing what to expect, wondering if everyone would be drunk eating funnel cakes, dancing in loincloths, or conducting seances and stone meditations. Welcome is the perfect word—countless people came up and talked to me after our show about every subject under the sun, and I’m so glad they felt that open to us and our music. Even the people running the festival were extraordinarily friendly. It’s not so often that a promoter of a show or club manager has listened to your album or tells you they’re excited to watch it.

Aw, that’s awesome. Glad to hear it. And you’re playing LA tomorrow and again soon, yeah?

We are playing tomorrow night—Friday—at Non Plus Ultra (4310 Burns Ave) with Angel Deradoorian (of the Dirty Projectors and Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks). Also on June 5th at HM157 w/ Kera and The Lesbians.

Awesome—we’ll try to come by tomorrow night! So, quick aside—we first came to know you two through the vegan shoe store we run, MooShoes. No judgement, but are ya’ll vegan or just in the neighborhood?

Andrew and I are vegan and loveeeee MooShoes! I have a coin jar by the door that everyone knows is savings for my next pair of shoes. We went from living in a city with zero (I MEAN ZERO) vegetarian restaurants or stores, so our quality of life has expanded incredibly. We were rebel freaks in Louisiana, but here we really have to fight for that title. A goal of ours is to be more involved in animal rights and spread awareness as we continue to move forward in our careers, and it is so exciting to see more people hip to the cruelty free fashion movement.

Ah, man, that is really, really awesome to hear, Jessica. And—back to the band—you all released Hand-Painted Dream Photographs in 2013, right? Are you working on new material at this point?

We have lots of new music and just released a new single “Boy Magic” on Noisey! We’re can’t wait to share more.

Well, thanks a ton for talking with us—see you both soon!

Thank you and vive la MooShoes!

You can listen to Moon Honey’s album in full above, catch them at Non Plus Ultra right on the border between Hollywood + Silver Lake tomorrow night, and stay up-to-date on other happenings via the band’s Facebook page.

Feature photo by Jessi Arnold; live photos, Tyler Little.

A few weeks back, we headed out to the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood to catch the Matt Pond on his ten year anniversary tour for the excellent album Several Arrows Later. Opening up for Pond + co. was a band we were only marginally familiar with beforehand, Oxford, Mississippi’s Young Buffalo. As it happened, for me, it one of those instances where the band before the band you came to see stole the spotlight a bit in the greatest of ways. I’d heard one or two songs of theirs before, but, witnessing their full catalog of beautifully varied, complex pop songs and experiencing first-hand their surprising mature stage presence, I became an immediate fan.

I recently got a chance to find out more about the band in talking with one of Young Buffalo’s two singer/song-writer/guitarists, Jim Barrett. He was kind enough to expand on the band’s origins, talk about their song-writing, and tell me what it’s like to grow up in a real-life Friday Night Lights.

raven + crow: Alright, forgive us—this is almost always our first question—but where’s the name come from?

Jim Barrett: The name comes from when I texted Ben about hanging out or something in high school. Really came from nowhere. I started using it as the title for some solo stuff that would ultimately become the first Young Buffalo songs. Sorry, not that interesting!

Yeah, those questions usually result in foggy memories at best, but we still feel the need to ask. We caught you all at the Troubadour when you opened for Matt Pond, who we’re longtime fans of. But this was one of those great instances of coming to see a particular band and—no disrespect to Mr. Pond—being really shocked at how much like they’re opener. How has it been touring with those guys?

Yeah, hard to believe the 6-week run is almost over! It’s been great! The crowds have been super receptive and hanging with the MPPA guys and girl has been a blast.

Yeah, we love em. Now, you all have this really weirdly, uniquely awesome mix of southern-inspired rock and kinda glitchy, nuanced, note-filled melodies and packed rhythms, especially with your guitar lines and drums. I think some of the best examples are on “No Idea” + “Old Soul”. Any idea how that sound developed or did it just…happen?

We love writing and playing pop music that is a little off-kilter. That’s just what interests us for some reason. It was definitely something that developed over time, writing and recording for years with Ben. But, it also just kind of happened. We didn’t really go looking for a specific style.

Always the best approach. Some of the guitar work especially reminds of the British band Jonquil—what are some bands that inspire you all, either individually or as a band?

Ben’s biggest influence is probably Johnny Marr of the Smiths. The Talking Heads, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones are all big influences. I’m a big fan of Brian Eno, and some of the old kooks but i’m also a fan of folks doing some really cool stuff right now: Twin Peaks, UMO, etc.

Nice. Is it true you + Ben have been writing songs together since high school?

We actually started in middle school, so like 2004 is right around when we started.

Man. I assume you develop a sort of second language when you’ve been working together for so long. Do you guys always write as a team or do you have certain songs that are Ben songs or Jim songs?

It kind of depends on the song. On House, the majority of the songs were a group effort; either Ben or myself would bring in the main idea and the other one would finish it out with either guitar or drums/bass. There are some outliers where the song was just there and it’s kind of hard to be like “Dude, i’m pretty sure the song’s good as is!” But we’ve both gotten better about communicating when we’re collaborating or when someone needs to be hands off. Getting older has helped that aspect of our band tremendously….

Oh, I’m sure. I asked you about the band name, but how about the album title, House? I assume it ties into the album cover somehow?

It actually ties into a song more, and we just went with it for the album cover. “My Place” is kind of the centerpiece to the whole record and it was originally titled “House”. For, like, 4 years that song went through a ton of musical changes, but it was always “House Song” or “House”. We loved that song being the focal point of the album, so we changed the name to “My Place” and there you have it—album title!

Well-done! I’m sure you guys get this a lot, but what’s Oxford, Mississippi like? I’m kinda picturing the town from Friday Night Lights.

I can totally see that comparison because everyone loves their football. Oxford’s got way more too than that, though. Most of our friends are artists, writers, or musicians and so there’s been a big community for us creatives in that town for quite some time. Everyone is kind of leaving to go and get their art out there, and for us, there’s tour. It’s a cheap place to live, and we all have jobs that are cool with us leaving for months on end to play shows.

So are ya’ll Ole Miss fans or is this more one of those ‘raised in it, so I rebel against it’ kind of things?

Ole Miss, all the way.

Nice. And how was SXSW? Had ya’ll been before?

SXSW was great. Hectic, tiring, pointless maybe, money-draining, but great? Yes, this was our 4th time doing with YB.

Any plans for after you finish up your tour in May?

Yes! We’re going back on tour in June and then Europe/UK in the summer. Hopefully more stateside touring this fall and then recording LP2 after it’s all said and done!

All sounds awesome. Well, thanks a ton for taking the time to talk. Really loved your set and the album—can’t wait to see ya’ll again and hear more.

Thanks guys! Thanks for Listening!

New York friends—you can catch Young Buffalo as they open up for the also excellent Mat Pond at Bowery Ballroom this Friday, and we’d highly recommend you catch them both. All else, check YB’s Facebook page for additional live dates and download their debut full-length, House, via iTunes.

A few weeks back, while researching songs to include in our monthly mixtape series, we stumbled across Philadelphia’s Hop Along, a band writers with a tendency for the hyperbolic might call America’s next best rock band.

I’d like to think I veer away from such excitedly over-simplistic sentiment, but I can say this with certainty—Hop Along is really fucking good.

According to the local indie music experts at The Key/WXPN, Hop Along has been “putting out exceptional music for the better part of a decade”. But for most of us—myself included—the band’s sophomore full-length, Painted Shut, is acting as a debut for all intents and purposes, providing a first impression the national audience as a whole.

For my money, it’s a beautifully done faux-debut from start-to-finish.

The songs are excellently crafted, bringing in shared influences ranging from the post-hardcore to second wave emo to the unashamedly Springsteen-esque traditional American rock, but the band keeps things interesting with clever song structure, insightful narrative lyrics, and intricate, layered rhythmic choices.

But—and I realize this is the part of the review that inevitably wanders into the exact pitfalls of every other person writing about Hop Along—the real star, despite the excellent instrumentation and song-writing, is frontwoman Frances Quinlan’s voice. I literally think it’s impossible to write about or even consider this band without stopping to admire that voice. It’s like a most powerful rock whisper, full of raspy emotion, and it’s beautiful.

The only valid criticism I could think someone might have for Painted Shut is that it’s songs sound very similar in style. But, on repeated listen, each track starts to stand out more and more, as do the lyrics and the stories behind the songs, to the point that I start to admire the consistency in style.

And, to be fair, Quinlan could have chosen to pair her voice with any number of other, less interesting or musically pleasing (for me) genres or musicians. Here though, as a whole, with the excellent songs, uniquely powerful voice, and clear desire as song-writers to tell us something, the band makes its mark with Painted Shut as a game-changer in its genre.

Eh. I’m trending toward hyperbole, aren’t I. Point being, again, they’re fucking good. You should give them a listen if you haven’t already.

You can check out three tracks from the new album below; listen to segments and download via iTunes.

Photo by Shervin Lainez.