Following a couple of digital downloads, Nashville alt-pop band Sherbert released a five song EP ‘This Never Happened’ in the summer of 2013. With a host of influences taken from the Boston “scene” of the late 80s/early 90s, its shimmering pop qualities meshed with a grubby edge in a way that would surely please the younger Tanya Donelly. A few months later, they dropped a second EP ‘Stupid Hat’, largely constructed of more of the same…choosing not to tinker with what seems, essentially, a perfectly good musical formula.
Tag Archives: indie
VACATION Transmissions EP
For their fourth EP, US lo-fi/anti-folk duo Vacation take on some familiar – and not-so-familiar – tunes by other artists. As Tori Amos proved time and again, you can take the most rocking numbers and reduce them to a minimalist piano ballad with reasonable ease, almost to the point where the once unimaginable becomes predictable. In some ways, Vacation play by a similar rule in that their chosen material gets stripped down and re-imagined in an echoing lo-fi acoustic fashion, but whereas Ms. Amos, Emm Gryner and countless other artists always ensure there was accessibility even within their most bizarre reimaginings, these guys just want to strip things back to their most stark. This results in at least one tune that’s anything but predictable.
New video from The Minx
Just in time for Christmas, alt-rock band The Minx have released a new single. ‘(Can You Find) My Head’ showcases the band’s excellent mix of guitar driven styles as well as anything on their debut EP. They’re building a cult following and can now count ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr among their fan base.
THE OYSTER MURDERS – Mourning Birds EP
Following their 2012 debut album and tour, The Oyster Murders set about writing and recording new material to follow up ‘Winter of the Electric Sun’. While the prospect of a new full album would have been very appealing, this six track offering is a welcome enough release – it’s six songs and twenty two minutes showing off the Australian dream-pop quartet’s surprisingly accessible sounds in a lean fashion, the EP format cutting down any potential filler material.
DEAD WOLF CLUB – Healer EP
At the time of this EPs release, it barely feels like weeks have passed since Tintagel’s finest alternative rockers Dead Wolf Club released their second album, ‘RAR’. …And yet, with boundless enthusiasm, they’ve found time between touring that release to record more new material. Their first release for the independent Big Tea Records, most of ‘Healer’ represents their best material yet. Within the grooves of the green and white twelve inches of plastic – or somewhere within the soul-less digital file, if you’re reading this and under thirty – DWC bring more howls of rage, more shimmering guitars and thunderous rhythms disguised by bursts of feedback, and for those who liked them previously, there’s much more to like here than ever.