Following 2018’s ironically titled ‘Greatest Hits’, “sparkling gloom” band Green Piece’s 2019 EP ‘Whatever’ displays a slacker’s sense of humour contrasted with some some pretty tough power pop chops. One of the best examples of their sound to date, ‘Stacy’s Dad’ openly mocks Fountains of Wayne, at least on the surface – and fans of that band will love these guys – but scratching a little deeper, it’s a track that brings together broader influences.
Tag Archives: retro
SCREAMING TREES – Sweet Oblivion
In some ways, the idea of grunge as a musical umbrella was a myth; a media invention borne from a lazy journalistic need to pigeonhole everything. Most of the bands that broke through in the early 90s actually had little in common aside from a geographic locale: Nirvana’s Pixies and Wipers obsessions bore little resemblance to Soundgarden’s updating of Black Sabbath’s monolithic riffery, just as that had absolutely nothing in common with Mudhoney’s desire to be Iggy & The Stooges. Yet, they were often lumped together. Also primarily thought of as a “grunge band”, from their inception in the mid-80s right through to their quiet demise approximately fifteen years later, Screaming Trees honed retro sounds of yet a different kind. Here was a band that drew influence from heavy psychedelia. Like the other more popular Washington State bands, their only obvious link came from a love of khaki kecks and heavy plaid shirts.
THE QUIET ROOM – Manuscript
In 2015, singer songwriter Matt Cahill took a break from his main band Evoletah to experiment with multi-instrumentalist Andrew Muecke and create something that would be so different from everything he’d recorded before. There’s no point in having side projects if they end up being too similar to your regular band, of course, but with The Quiet Room’s ‘All The Frozen Horses’, it’s unlikely that many Evoletah fans expected anything close to the sounds that materialised. Instead of atmospheric, guitar driven rock, The Quiet Room were all about keyboards, space and a cold spookiness.
Spielbergs returning to UK in September for headline tour
Scandinavian indie band Spielbergs released one of the best albums of 2018 with their full length debut ‘This Is Not The End’. An album drenched in 90s influences, its retro charm is deserving of a wider audience. [Read a full review here].
In September, they return to UK shores for their own headline tour. All of the confirmed dates – along with other details – can be found in the press release below.
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Watch the new video from Cathedral Bells
In the first quarter of 2019, shoegazers Cathedral Bells released their self-titled debut EP. Shamelessly retro, its six tracks mined the 90s for inspiration and delivered a listen that was almost guaranteed to please lovers of bands from the 4AD label.
To further promote that enjoyable EP, the band have now shared a fuzzy, low-budget video for one of its more commercial tracks, ‘Cemetery Surf’.