As we get our professional, social, cultural, and musical bearings here in LA, we’d be remiss not to use this space to mention the coming 10th annual FYF music festival—formerly awesomely known as the not-so-easy-to-market Fuck Yeah Fest—Los Angeles’ massive, eclectic coming together of musical artists + comedians.

Though the many big, fairly well-known bands like My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, and MGMT are stealing most of the headlines these days, we’re most keen on the chance to see some of the smaller acts gracing the various stages of FYF.

One such band that we’re especially excited about is Lemuria, a trio that plays edgy pop music pulling from the best aspects of the early 90’s East Coast indie rock scene while deftly sidestepping outright musical derivation. Their most recent album, The Distance is So Big, is honestly phenomenal from start-to-finish, drawing listeners in with power-pop-style energy, hooky melodies, thoughtful lyrics, and dueling vocals from guitarist/vocalist Sheena Ozzella + drummer/vocalist Alex Kerns. Bassist Max Gregor rounds out the sound of the band and crucially provides to the bands driving rhythms and tattoo + beard aggregate, which can be handy with shows in the south/Brooklyn.

We caught up with the band this week as they made their way across the United States, taking a few minutes to talk with us before a show in Phoenix.

Listen in as we talk about the band’s influences, how having three members in three different cities impacts the band, and conspiracy theories about reptilian humanoids. Oh yeah, and check out how I classily start the interview off sounding like Biff Tannen—”So dat’s like a mythical continent or sumthin’?”

After you give the interview a listen, be sure to check out the excellent “Brilliant Dancer” + “Chihuly”, both also below.

Lemuria’s third album, The Distance is So Big, is available on CD + vinyl and via iTunes. If you’re in the LA area, you can catch them at FYF Saturday at 230PM on the Miranda Stage.

And yes—all four stages are, in fact, named after the Sex and the City gals. FYF organizers enjoy reaching back to their 8th grade years for tongue-in-cheek cultural references.

As we gear up for our drive west to LA this weekend, what better to prepare us than an inspirational song about long journeys over the sea, as sung by a shipbuilder’s daughter with the help of The Silverlake Conservatory of Music Youth Chorale?

Mr Little Jeans is no Mister at all, it would seem. No, Mr Little Jeans is the moniker for one Monica Birkenes. As her promo materials put it—”she is small and Norwegian and she makes music that will leave you reeling.”

We have yet to meet Ms. Birkenes or see any photographs of her next to an automobile or a  yard stick or our cat for sense of scale, but we can attest to the latter fact—her sound is dramatically gargantuan.

Birkenes grew up in the small seaside town of Grimstad, Norway, with a catamaran-building father and music-loving mother. Pursuing her own growing love of music, Birkenes moved to London at a young age and eventually on to her current home, LA, working with notable producers along the way to define her sound.

Give this week’s Song, “Oh Sailor”, a listen to see what we mean about her dramatic hooks. She moves from dark, sparse, sparkling verses to sweeping choruses, aided by the youth chorus co-founded by Flea, à la Passion Pit’s use of Brooklyn’s PS 22 Chorus for their 2009 debut full-length Manners. All of it add’s up to a catchy, driving song that we’re hoping will serve well to take us from Brooklyn to LA in a few days time.

Check out the video for the song below. Photo above by Drew McFadden.

Reader, roughly one thousand years ago, this writer was in a band. This band was named Speedwell and, regardless of how awesome or not awesome it was to listen to or watch live, it was awesome to be in.

Primary reason being that we were all, first and foremost, friends. And, though I had been various bands with friends in high school whose names differed but all fell well within the territory of Terribly Absurdly Named—Hippies for Hatred, Louder than Rob, Disco Circus Wonder Kult (yes, with a ‘K’)—this was the first band I was ever a part of who, not only had an un-cringe-worthy name, but also produced some decent music.

Though we had a short, erratic, start-stop life as a band, only touring a few times and producing an EP, a 7″, and a demo or two, this short, erratic, start-stop life as a band is now being captured sonically and spiritually with the release of Start to Finish, a posthumous discography comprising 17 re-mastered songs, from official releases to 4-track demos.

Such an occasion clearly calls for one thing—a band interview discussing the pitfalls of having three song-writers and four singers, what we did to our drummer when he slept, outlandish tour stories, and why we weren’t quite the next Radiohead…conducted by me. Obviously.

We’re also posting a previously unreleased, exclusive track from the discography immediately preceding the interview (because we can do that)—”Night Cares”, a song that seems apropos given that:

1. It includes the full band in its latest incarnation;

2. Along with the two additional songs embedded below, it showcases all four of our singers + three of our song-writers and the resulting crazy scattershot sound;

3. It was recorded by our friend Archie Moore of seminal indie bands Velocity Girl + Black Tambourine; and

4. It’s a song I wrote about how much I love Katie + how it sucked to leave her for the Peace Corps after college. True story.

Without any further ado, I give you

AN UNFORGIVINGLY LONG INTERVIEW WITH THE NOW-DEFUNCT BAND SPEEDWELL, AS CONDUCTED BY A FORMER MEMBER OF THE BAND SPEEDWELL

Troy (guitar/keys/bass/vocals/interviewer): Okay, guys, I’ll keep this as brief + hard-hitting as possible as I know we’re all super-busy, important adults these days and the merits of interviewing your long-defunct band for your little-read blog are questionable, at best. So, first off, in your most accurate, telling words, describe the spirit + sound of Speedwell?

Brian (bass/keys/vocals): Must…try…not to be…stupid….

Jonathan (drums): I can’t remember. It’s been 10 years, after all.

Troy: Ooh, related question—is it too late to change the name of this anthology thing to The Spirit + Sound of Speedwell?

Brian: Well, I would describe Speedwell’s sound as “incoherent”, to be honest. We wanted to do and be too many different things. We lacked the discipline to commit to a musical idea, I think. We couldn’t even pick a single singer. We had FOUR singers. 

Troy: Well-put, Brian. Also, Jon, why didn’t you sing? You missed out, man.

Jonathan: I sang! On “Kuma”. And then I wasn’t allowed to sing again. I was watching this documentary on the band Karp recently though, and someone made a comment about bands being the sound of the friendship of the people involved. I think that accurately describes Speedwell.

Troy: Aw. Jon. That’s nice.

Meredith (guitar/vocals): To put it in a better light, I would say that we were friends who had instruments and liked to play shows, so we wrote some songs.

Meredith, roughly one thousand years ago.

Troy: Those are my favorite bands to be in. So, for whoever wants to take this and for those few out there not familiar with the band, how + when did it form?

Jonathan: Fall of 1996. It was Troy, Meredith, and I. Well, actually it was Meredith and I at first. And we practiced at Troy’s house. And Troy heard it and liked it, so he joined. 

Cheryl (vocals/keys): We are old.

Jonathan: Soooo very old. But, yeah, I was desperately trying to start a band at JMU, and Meredith was the first person who I jammed with whose songs I really liked. Plus, we had a place to practice, so that helped.

Troy: You’re welcome. So, then after Speedwell v.1.0, the band went through various incarnations, bringing in Brian to play bass and, after our first break-up, Cheryl for vocals, keys, and fashion sense.

Brian: Yeah, I was forced to join Speedwell b/c Troy was borrowing my bass guitar, and playing it so violently and spastically that I was afraid he would break it. 

Troy: Again, you’re welcome.

Brian: Also, it’s not like Cheryl dressed super-fashionably. She wore homemade dresses with bugs on them and raggedy hems.

Troy: To be fair, that was pretty fashionable back then. No, but I feel like, in addition to Brian’s comment on never really committing to a sound, the whole evolution and various versions leant to us not really defining ourselves or settling on a gestalt for the band. Would you all agree?

Cheryl: I agree with that.

Meredith: Totally.

Brian: I agree, both about the gestalt and the fashion.

Troy: Also, I totally used ‘gestalt’ in an interview. WIN!

Jonathan: I liked the fact that we were diverse (relatively speaking).

Cheryl: But not only did we have four vocalists, there were three separate songwriters with three totally separate styles.

Jonathan: That’s a fact.

Brian: That kind of diversity makes for a confusing band to listen to. It’s diverse, but in a bad way.

Jonathan: I like bands that don’t have just one sound, though. I like to be surprised by each new song on an album.

Troy: Like watching a horror movie…. 

Brian: I think if I could go back in time and give Speedwell some key pieces of advice about focus, it would have been a better and more successful band. But it was still super fun.

Jonathan: Most bands are messes, though. Everyone has lives, and they get in the way of being a band.

Cheryl: I think it can be good to have different sounds as a band, but it’s harder to keep people interested when things change all the time and there’s not much consistency.

Meredith: I’d agree with Brian. This was a fun college band that tried to be more. It was fun. I have good memories. We have some good songs and even better pieces of songs. But it is a bit all over the map.

Troy: I’d say that’s accurate. Alright, now this next one might touch on some sore spots—exactly how devastated would you say you all were when you learned that I was joining the Peace Corps and moving to Poland, thus dashing Speedwell’s hopes + dreams for a major record deal/tour shirts with wolves on them/tricked-out tour bus? Cheryl, I realize you weren’t in the band then….

Cheryl: Right.

Troy: …just OUR BIGGEST FAN!

Cheryl: Hell yes!

Meredith: I would honestly say that I wish you had stuck around. That summer would have been a fun tour.

Brian: Oh yeah. I think at the time, I was genuinely disappointed about the impact that would have on our band.

Troy: Well, now I feel bad all over again.

Jonathan: Honestly, at that point, I wasn’t that devastated, because my life was so uncertain—graduating college, not having a job, not sure where I’m going to live, breaking up with my girlfriend. I was otherwise preoccupied, so it didn’t really bother me.

Meredith: Wow. The tables have turned. Jon not upset the band is breaking up and Brian and I lamenting the loss?

Jonathan: This could be revisionist history, mind you.

Cheryl: Yeah, it was 17 years ago…. 

Meredith: Which is why I am only sobbing and not openly weeping, Cheryl!

Myself, Brian, and Cheryl, pre-Google-maps

Troy: I was totally in that ‘gotta save the world’, post-college mind-set. Turns out, Poland’s fine. Do you all honestly think the path of the band or how things turned out would have been drastically different though?

Meredith: Yes—we likely would have broken up sooner and not gotten back together. But that summer would have been rad.

Jonathan: Right. I think being a successful band means everyone having to put all other things on hold and just committing to the band. I don’t think, as a group, we ever would have done that. Of all my friend’s bands who I thought were awesome, very few have had any “success”.

Troy: Good point, Jon. Remember Swank, Brian?

Brian: Poor bastards.

Troy: We all thought they were going to be the next….what Jesus Jones, back then? Oh, Jesus Jones….. I feel like, in a way, me moving to Poland made my relationship with Katie stronger through the absence + commitment to stay together through it. The band didn’t stay together, but I do think getting back together was something I wanted to do as soon as I got back for that reason—that we broke up kinda because we had to, not because we wanted to.

Jonathan: Yeah, I think I was mainly just bummed we didn’t get better recordings of the songs we had written before we broke up.

Brian: Yeah, I sure wish we had better-quality recordings.

Meredith: We didn’t have any money to record!

Brian: To be in a band for YEARS and have only one EP is a great example of straight-up being bad at the business of being a band.

Meredith: Actually, I’m not sure I’ve ever paid my dad back for the money he let me borrow to record the 7″.

Troy: …er…I gave Jon the money to give to you…. Okay, next question—so, then we ended up calling things quits for final time—in, what, 2003?—when Cheryl + I moved up to NYC. It seemed like things were starting to wind down at that point though and various ‘grown-up’ pursuits were pulling us all in different directions. That said, I feel like those last songs we were writing were totally some of our best. Would you all agree? 

Meredith: I think we peaked at “Pacifique”. 

“Pacifique” b/w “Smoke to Smother” 7″ by Speedwell

Jonathan: Yeah, I don’t know, I think some of the early stuff was also awesome.

Brian: Those recordings from the Black Cat that Jon shared sounded terrible, but the songs buried under the sonic detritus were pretty decent.

Troy: No, but listening back to stuff, I do kind of feel most compelled by the earliest stuff—when we were a trio and much more simple in our song-writing—and the very last stuff that we only had live recordings of.

Cheryl: I think i was added as a last ditch effort to keep it going.

Brian: I think Cheryl, you were added to re-energize the band. We were at a loss. 

Cheryl: Same diff.

Jonathan: We added Cheryl because Chad Clark told us to, and you do what Chad Clark says.

Brian: We should have added MORE people, all of whom would sing and play new instruments.

Meredith: And write different songs.

Brian: The Polyphonic Speedwell! God, even the lyrics didn’t match at all from song to song.

Troy: Match?

Brian: Meredith always wrote in first person (“I”) and I always wrote in first person plural (“we”), for example. Lord knows why.

Troy: Huh. Wonder what that means ABOUT YOU‽‽‽ Okay, next question, and this is a deep one—can someone explain to our readership the what Twang Pickle is and how it impacted our career/influenced our sound?

On tour + 100% sober with DC band, Metropolitan

Brian: Well, according to this review I just found, Twang Pickle “is DELICIOUS—what a wonderfully perfect mixture of pickle and salt flavoring. This is awesome on popcorn, on veggies, fresh and cooked, perfect right out of the shaker, I even tried it with a Apple Dum Dums lollipop and it was fantastic. You definitely have a perfect product for my household…I plan to order for many years to come.”

Troy: Someone from Twang Pickle Corp. wrote that review, 100%.

Cheryl: Twang Pickle was part of one of the most fun road trips I ever went on. 

Jonathan: We should have gotten sponsored by Twang Pickle.

Troy: Speaking of tour though, who can succinctly recount an entertaining tour story—preferably one that involves guns and/or fast boats?

Brian: Two-star review: “It’s pickle lime salt, and it’s a lot of it!”

Cheryl: Favorite tour story—my parents enjoyed watching us.

Brian: “If you love dill pickles, then you may very well love this dill pickle flavored salt.” “Sometimes, if I eat a lot, I get dizzy.”

Troy: Brian, no more Twang Pickle. We’ve moved on.

Brian: Okay, no more. Yeah, playing for just Cheryl’s mom and dad was a career highlight. That was the “No Witnesses” tour. Because no one could prove we’d been to their town.

Meredith: Right. Good tour stories though—making Troy go into Hooters for some reason; putting peanuts on Jon as he slept in the van; lots of vegan pasta.

Jonathan: Remember the crazy lady who told Troy she had an angel in Savannah? 

Troy: Angel in Savannah?

Jonathan: We got out of the van in Savannah, and this lady walks up to Troy and says, “I have an angel” and he says “Oh yeah?”

Meredith: I have video, Troy.

Troy: Oh, yeah, I remember-ish that. Meredith, we have to get a digital version of that! Alright, next question—what are you all doing these days musically, if anything at all? 

Cheryl: Ugh. Too depressing. I miss singing!

Troy: Yeah?

Cheryl: Totally. Though I am very active in the world of karaoke…at least I was before I had a baby….

Jonathan: Still playing drums in various bands/projects/just jamming. I was in a band called History Repeated before I left DC that should have a full-length out soon with some of my drumming on it. John Stabb—ex-Government Issue; old-school DC punk guy—sings in that band.

Troy: Stabb is a tough last name.

Jonathan: It’s his “punk name”. His real last name is Schroeder.

Troy: Schroeder? Not as punk.

Brian: We got a piano from the Salvation Army. I sit with Elliott (my daughter) in my lap and play slow chord changes while she bands random notes at irregular intervals. The effect is very avant garde.

Troy: That’s cute, Brian. And very John Cage.

Meredith: Yeah, I pretty much play guitar for my three year-old.

Brian: Up until, like, half a year ago, I was still playing music with Meredith, but then everyone in the band had babies.

Troy: Yeah, Meredith, any plans to write/record or is that on hold for now? What with all the babies?

Meredith: I’m still writing songs in my basement. Eventually I’ll want to put out another record, I’m sure.

Brian: I’m actually thinking of getting The Shirts back together to record an album of kids songs. But Edward (drums) keeps breaking limbs. For real.

Cheryl: Shirts reunion!

Jonathan: I would buy a Shirts discography.

Troy: Yeah, a Shirts reunion would be excellent. Alright—favorite Speedwell song? I know, I know—it’s like choosing your favorite child…who you left abandoned in a dark warehouse for the last ten years.

Jonathan: Wow, tough question. I’m going to go with “Kuma”, because I scream on it. And it’s just a pure fun 90’s indie rock song. Also, it has the “my eyes burn” line.

Start to Finish by Speedwell

Cheryl: To sing, “Your Atlantic”.

My Life is a Series of Vacations EP by Speedwell

Brian:

Yeah? That one was fun to sing. Too bad the lyrics are so hard to listen to.

Troy: Hard to listen to?

Brian: Ugh, Christ, yes. I think i only remember the ones that were recorded, but i’m sure my real favorites are lost and forgotten. “This is Us” is my favorite from the EP.

My Life is a Series of Vacations EP by Speedwell

Troy: See, that was 100% one of my least favorite songs and what I thought was a good example of us exploring too many sounds publicly.

Jonathan: I liked “This is Us”. It was our brit-pop song.

Troy: Exactly, Jon.

Brian: Toosh.

Meredith: “Pacifique” is one of my favorites simply because it was the first song I ever professionally recorded and I think people liked it.

Cheryl: Great song.

Brian: It did have a long life. We were still playing it for years.

Troy: Alright, and the inevitable interview question for long-defunct bands these days—any plans for a reunion and short run of overpriced stadium shows?

Meredith: No.

Brian: I will 100% reunite if i can play my banjo. BALL’S IN YOUR COURT BITCHES!

Cheryl: I would get together and sing the songs but there is no way I would ever remember the keyboard parts.

Brian: A capella speedwell reunion FTW!

Troy: Totally agree, Cheryl—I’ve thought before about how, even if the desire was there, I’d have NO WAY of remembering how to play any of the music. I don’t know how the scores of bands from our youth are doing it these days. Alright, finally, and most importantly, what should Meredith name his new baby? I think the band should be able to decide.

Meredith: Oh, god.

Brian: Speedwell Bragg, clearly.

Meredith: In true Speedwell fashion, someone should just start calling the baby a name and no one else should have any say. Whoever steps up the mic first gets to write it. The rest of us will just figure it out at the show.

Brian: DONE. One final note—we once discussed getting speedwell tattoos on tour. While I don’t regret not having one, if I had one, I wouldn’t mind.

Cheryl: Awwwwwwwww.

Troy: Was that an inspirational limerick?

Cheryl: What would the tattoo be? We’d have to have five different ones in five different styles….

Start to Finish can be listened to in its entirety + purchased via Coolidge Records + the record’s bandcamp page. You can listen to Meredith’s solo work (sometimes with Brian + Jon) over at Kora Records. 

Below, very seriously playing a record store in Jacksonville, FL; posing with rather poorly in Roanoke, VA; thumbs down; three very rough dudes (yes, I toured on crutches); Cheryl getting sporty; the flyer for Speedwell’s final collegiate show (with photos of the then four band members’ windows); and a flyer for a late DC show at the Black Cat (with a photo by Katie).

Brooklyn-based Kodacrome is made up of Elissa (vocals/synth) + Ryan (synth/electronics) and, together, the pair craft melody-driven electronic-based music that veers toward the pulsing atmospheric. Their 2012 EP, Perla, was good, but their brand new, just-released track “Strike the Gold” is superb and has us excited for what’s to come from the band.

We sat down with Elissa + Ryan over the holiday weekend—and by “sat down”, I mean “emailed with”—to find out what else is the horizon for the duo, why not every electronic band needs to sound like a rave, and why otters should be able to play chess. It’d just be a useful skill for them, okay?

raven + crow: Alright, lame start to the interview, but how would you describe Kodacrome to anyone who hasn’t heard you all?

Elissa: Not lame! I guess dark synth-driven pop.

Oh, I always feel bad asking bands to describe themselves. It’s akin to being asked to describe your strengths + weaknesses in a job interview. “Kodacrome just works too hard some days….” Where does the band name come from, by the way, and what’s with the anti-Kodak/-Paul-Simon spelling?

Elissa: We chose the name for its percussive qualities. We just loved the sound of the word—it’s so crisp and defined. I wasn’t exposed to any of the classic American singer-songwriters growing up, and I never heard the Paul Simon song. But now everyone likes to play it for us!

Ryan: it just sounds and looks good. I’ve shot on Super8mm Kodachrome film and liked the reference, although neither of us actually considered the Paul Simon song at time. Hopefully Google search figures it out soon.

Oh, I have every faith in Google’s algorithms and their commutative might. I read that you relocated to Brooklyn from San Francisco to pursue the band more seriously, Elissa. That seems like quite a leap. Was that a difficult decision to make?

Elissa: Ryan made it easy for me, because he never wastes time questioning the nature of his career path. I guess I had some moments of trepidation, since I was leaving a kind of golden-handcuff job at the time, but I’m so glad to be done making that choice and having that conversation.

Forunte favors the bold, right‽ And how are you liking Brooklyn so far? I know we don’t have the crazy hills + lovely weather, but it ain’t bad digs.

Elissa: Oh, it’s great! I truly love the grit and the non-relaxed nature of it.

We pride ourselves on our dirty edginess. Did you all find it difficult to collaborate creatively long-distance before the move?

Elissa: No, it was pretty easy! We actually use the same workflow now—taking turns and giving each other space. The only time it’s tough to work remotely is when Ryan’s touring with other bands, because then he just doesn’t have all the tools or the wifi at his disposal.

Ryan: Yeah, working long distance went very well. At times things moved a bit slowly, especially when it came to finishing tracks and polishing mixes, but creatively it was smooth. We are both pretty tech savvy with sharing projects and file transfers and such.

What do you two do in your non-music-making lives?

Elissa: I mostly DJ for bread and butter. And I do the occasional freelance writing job. Between that and Kodacrome, I’ve got my hands tied. I guess I like to try to cook when I can. It takes some sensory pressure off of my ears.

Ryan: My ears don’t get much of a break. I produce and mix for other bands in NY, and I’m on the road a lot as a front of house engineer, often mixing 7 shows a week. I’m happy when I’m working on music though, in any capacity. I also work as a freelance set designer and graphic designer whenever I can fit it in. We are both super-busy.

You’re telling me. So, your new track, “Strike the Gold”, is awesome. I assume there’s some more new music in the works for the coming LP. How do you think it differs from the songs that make up your 2012 10″ EP, Perla?

Elissa: In this batch, I haven’t been forcing myself to stick to as many traditional song structures as before, which is really freeing. I’m making it a point to give Ryan a lot of space to express himself from a production standpoint.

Ryan: Oh boy, that sounds like a lot of pressure on me doesn’t it? It’s true though, this record has less traditional song structure. I think on Perla we wanted to showcase our diversity and on this record we’re honing in on a more consistent sound and texture.

Well, for what it’s worth, I’m excited to hear more new tracks. The independent electronic music scene is such a crowded field. It’s one of our absolute favorite musical genres but, at the same time, there can be a lot of creative overlap in it too. Have you made any deliberate moves to stand out among the crowd…or is it all more organic than that for you all?

Elissa: The standards we set for ourselves are pretty insular, and I think that’s ultimately going to be enough…at least I hope so, because we’re pretty hard on ourselves! The density of the scene here comes more into play because of the sheer ambition we are exposed to on a daily basis. It’s so refreshing to be around motivated creative people who believe in themselves!

Ryan: We definitely let things happen naturally. If anything, what sets us apart is that we don’t pay much attention to what everything else sounds like. Which is not to say that I don’t enjoy much of the electronic music coming out right now because I do!

Well-put, both of you. We’ve found that another pitfall of electronically based pop can be a less deep live show, especially if everything’s keyboard-/computer-/sequencer-sourced or doesn’t employ any live drums. Do you all build the band out at all for live shows?

Elissa: We have in the past, and we’d like to do it more eventually. We’ve pretty much phased out the laptop all together, which makes the set a lot more athletic for us to execute. I don’t know if anyone can tell. But we’re definitely really busy up there!

Ryan: That’s always a tough battle but—and bear with me here—I think it comes down to dynamics and expectations. When an electronic band is playing a set, does that always have to equate to a loud dance party? Can an electronic pop act like us play dynamic music with slow builds and soft ambience on a drum machine? Brian Eno can do it, right? What interests me is how this kind of music can potentially transfer to a listening room or a theatre. I’d hate to resort to spectacle—I believe our music can ultimately stand on its own. I hope that’s not lofty or pretentious.

No, no—totally makes sense. And very good point on expectations. I think my main gripe with some live electronic acts is getting the feeling that I’m just watching karaoke over original material, but it sounds like you all have the dynamics of the live experience down. Alright on to more serious matters—quick fire time: Favorite bar in Brooklyn?

Elissa: Moto or Project Parlor.

Band you can’t stop listening to lately?

Ryan: Atoms For Peace.

I think I’ve heard of that little indie band. Best thing about NYC in the summer?

Elissa: Back patios at 8PM.

Worst?

Ryan: Garbage-melting, sticky, blazing heat.

Amen to that, brother. Spirit animal?

Ryan: A ram.

Elissa: Yes. I was attacked by a ram back in the day when we lived in the trees. They’re way more powerful than they look!

Ryan: Also, an otter that can play chess and ride a bicycle.

Wait, simultaneously? That otter would definitely need his own YouTube channel.

Listen to Kodacrome’s new song, “Strike the Gold”, below. And be sure to catch them Wednesday night as they open for Clementine + The Galaxy and Vandana Jain at the Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory.
 
You can visit Kodacrome’s site to listen to + purchase their previous EP, Perla. Join their mailing list and get a free track from the EP.

Coming off of Pride Week, and given the exciting developments for same-sex couples in recent days, we feel the need to celebrate musically. Who better to help us do so than NYC’s AVAN LAVA, an accurately self-described “Super-Pop act” that blends poppy dance-centric music with high-energy live shows + is fronted by Tom ‘TC’ Hennes (center above).

Hennes penned an article for Huffington Post last year entitled “AVAN LAVA Helped Me Open Up About My Sexuality, But Am I a ‘Gay Artist’?”. The thrilling conclusion—Fuck it; let’s dance.

As Hennes writes:

“Our show and our music are truly intended to be an inclusive experience. This shit is for everyone, and we’re happy to see it become contagious! We spend a lot of energy enhancing our live show. I think we’ve created a stadium-ready production — synchronized LED lights, fog, lasers, choreography, surprises — so now all we need is the stadium status! People always walk away saying, “I danced my ass off!” That’s really our goal: dance, get drunk, let yourself go, make out with a stranger, and wake up sore… from the dancing…” (you can read the full piece over at HuffPo).

We have yet to attend an AVAN LAVA show—they play Bowery Ballroom August 1 with the superb Body Language + one of this writer’s favorite local artists, Computer Magic (who we first wrote up in 2011)—but their recordings just sound like a really, really awesome dance party.

Give their track “Feels Good” a listen below and see if you can keep your foot from tapping, Reader. You can listen to the rest of their EP, Flex Fantasy, on the band’s SoundCloud page (check out “It’s Never Over” for an even bigger dance floor hit).

Bonus—check out their VRY HT (that means ‘very hot’) and beautifully shot video for their more tame yet still frightfully addictive track “Sisters” below. The band is expected to release their debut full-length later this year.

And way to go, America.

AVAN LAVA – “Sisters” (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from Alexander Hammer :: EDITOR on Vimeo.

Reader, our most sincere apologies for the radio silence of late. We’ll spare you the details of the many real world obligations that kept us from you in a virtual sense; just know that we missed you. Virtually.

Since we believe in action over words; show over tell; awesome high-fives over detailed plans to one day give an awesome high-five, today we give you not one, but SIX songs to mark our regular weekly music write-up.

For those of you not blessed with mathematically inclined minds, that’s FIVE MORE SONGS THAN USUAL and SIX TIMES the quantity of music you’ve come to expect from us on a regular basis, making you six times as lucky, we’d venture to say.

So, unless you’ve been leading a wildly hermitic life for the past month, you’re likely well-aware that old-school French electro super-duo, Daft Punk, marked their first proper release in years last month. Whether you’ve heard the album from start-to-finish or not, simply by virtue of having ears + being human, chances are you have heard their ever-present single, “Get Lucky”. With it’s universally catchy melody + indisputably disco sound, it’s one of those songs that just gets mercilessly lodged in your head. So far, this early in the game, we don’t mind it. In fact, we love it. But we’re pretty sure that, by, say, late August, it’s going to be about as welcome as “Call Me Maybe” or “Gangnam Style” was that time last year.

In the meantime though, it’s enjoying nearly ubiquitous world-wide acceptance á la “Hey Ya!” circa 2003; so much so that it’s spurred some notable cover versions, two of which have inspired us to share them with you, Reader, along with a few other favorite cover songs from the past few months.

Our first “Get Lucky” is performed by one of our favorite local bands—Brooklyn’s own freaky-clockwork-space-string group, Miracles of Modern Science. They’ve dressed the track up with their own brand of buoyant, energetic pop making it nearly more addictive than the original. Watch their video above and then download the track below. Miracles of Modern Science just released a six-song EP which you can listen to, order + download on their bandcamp page (We interviewed MOMS back in late 2011, if you care to give it a listen, by the by).

In stark contrast to both the original song + MOMS’ upbeat version of it, we have a stripped-down, smoothed-out “Get Lucky” from London minimalists Daughter. We actually heard this take on the song soon after hearing Daft Punk’s and found it to be a refreshing alternative to the somewhat heavy-handed disco-y original, revealing the bones of the song itself + allowing us to appreciate it sans all the stylistic glitz. You can buy Daughter’s just-released debut LP, If You Leave, from iTunes + their label, 4AD.

Then, just for good measure + to make sure you’re not sore at us over our prolonged absence, Reader, we’re showering you with riches in the form of four other favorite cover tracks—Ellie Goulding‘s take on “High For This” from the superb Toronto-based hip hip artist The Weekend (AKA Abel Tesfaye); Oxford’s Foals with their version of the all-too-oft-forgotton early Police gem, “Bed’s Too Big Without You”; Canadians, Arkells with their stripped down version of Frank Ocean‘s R+B standout, “Thinkin Bout You”; and Austin’s Shearwater featuring stellar Brooklynite, Sharon Van Etten as they bless the Onion’s AV Club with a frighteningly accurate, undeniably rocking live version of Tom Petty + Stevie Nick’s “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” 

I know. We’re a ball of insecurity. All we want is to be loved by you, Reader.

It’s all we want.