This is amazing: This is Spinal Tap will be available on vinyl beginning June 11 {today!} for the first time since 1984, leaving me to ask how in the name of sweet Jesus it took this long but, whatever, I’m praising the gods of reissues that it is happening NOW.

I know you remember 1984 – BAND AID, the first space shuttle launch, Magnum P.I., and the best music movie ever made: This Is Spinal Tap. This Rob Reiner classic launched the mockumentary style that the movie’s stars, Christopher Guest and Harry Shears, would go on to perfect. But why am I telling you this? If you haven’t seen This Is Spinal Tap and are a music lover, you must have been living in a commune off the grid for the last thirty years. 

Everyone has their favorite Spinal Tap moment. Like when the drummer spontaneously combusts or the little people dancing around the itsy bitsy Stonehenge. And of course, the unforgettable songs that while, tongue in cheek, hold their own as hair band classics. “Big Bottom” always gets me on my feet singing along, but “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” is great for air guitar practice.

more...

About a month or so ago, an email came in to the imaginary inbox with a link to Pickwick's latest video effort, an outstanding feat of mini-moviemaking for one of the best tracks on Can't Talk Medicine, "Lady Luck". (In the event you missed earlier praise, it's a Richard Swift cover featuring Sharon Van Etten that slays with sultry, buttery vocals; more here.) The band has a habit of working with killer directors, so it's no surprise that the visual presentation of the song is seamless: the framing is gorgeous, the cues are on point, and the whole thing is just teeming with that rare blend understated powerfulness. And really, did anyone expect that a bunch of straight beardy dudes would do such an excellent job portraying a day in the life of a crossdresser? Welp, not only did these dudes do it, they did it really, really well.

It's an incredibly concise, fly-on-the-wall visual of our friend's process: out with old, in with the new; with subtle cues from the lyrics (I look around and I don't feel like myself ; it's just the beginning, though the end is near) layered in with first-take bad-assery to really knock the finished product out of the park. It's daring and brilliant, and executed near-perfectly. Bravah, Heathers! {buy the album / get tour dates}

The other homerun that hit our queue at about the same time as the Pickwick video was the title single off of Sean Nelson's upcoming release, Make Good Choices. It's an incredibly catchy rendering of a specific relationship lifecycle, a timeline of pain and clarity stitched together with some of the most concise post-'Fuck off, ex!' storytelling ever.

more...

Ok, so there's a lot of Tullycraft stuff going on… but would you expect any less than a feverish (but happy) frenzy when one of our favorite imaginary bands releases a new album after six years of silence?

We're pretty sure you've read the imaginary record review of their new album, Lost in Light Rotation (Magic Marker Records / Fortuna Pop) and noticed that Allmusic.com just posted a loving review of the album.  And, you've surely marked your calendar for the Tullycraft vs BOAT DJ gig at Saint John's in Captiol Hill tonight (4/25), right?

But, have you seen their new video for "Dig Up the Graves?" It's a scrapbook of fun, and mayhem, and cute facial expressions. Basically, if you love America and a good time, you'll dig this video.



And while we're here, here's the video for the first single from the album - it's a little more retro.  Yay old-timey radios!

more...

Tullycraft's first single came out when I was fifteen. Played heavily on WPRB Princeton, "Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid To Know About" was the start of MY long and damning relationship with indie pop. Yet, like the boy in that 1995 single, Tullycraft has made me worry I was too stupid to know about the bands they were singing about. My love for them has been a combination of sheer adoration and joy coupled with a nervousness that I was missing the joke -- maybe I too, in the words of the album's title track "Lost in Light Rotation," never took the time to learn the slang that we speak or the slogans on the t-shirts. Yet when the message is all wrapped up in harmonies and power chords, I forget my fear for love of bouncing and singing along.

Tullycraft’s vision of twee was something both sweet and cynical, a cuteness belied with dirty jokes, and both obscure references and snide comments about other bands. Don’t you dare try to tell me they’re all about ukuleles and bunny rabbits and cuddly wuddly love songs! The hearts in their songs are often broken, the best times have already past, and computers don’t even exist as a way to keep in touch with friends.

more...

"Let's get on 95 / and feel the fire."

Charles Bradley isn't just a performer, he's a force. He's an experience. He's a feeling in your guts that all will be right with the world if we just love each other and try hard enough, that we can simultaneously transcend our heartbreak and embrace those sharp corners of our hearts that shape us. And his latest single, "Strictly Reserved For You," manages to embody his one-of-a-kind essence in the most beautiful and complete of ways -- it's a fully legit track, whether for your next mixtape or your next party playlist, and leads me to believe that the new album (Victim of Love, out last month on Daptone) is going to do some serious damage on this year's best-of lists.

With that said, we've got to take a minute to talk about this gem of a video. It seriously creates a near-indescribable level of joy that translates the heartburst-y bliss of Charles as we know and love him, presented with a hip, beautiful, clean-but-not-sterile vision that almost feels like we're following him through a week of his life. We see the streets he walks every day, we see his coffeeshop moments, his dance moves and work days and park days: Charles In His Van, Charles On His Street, Charles In His Jacket, Charles On A Soundstage, Charles In The Grass. (And ugh, can someone please make a .gif out of Charles Being Birthed By A Hydrangea Bush?? SO GOOD.)

more...

You know what? There is a metric shit ton of good new local music out there right now, leading me to believe that in the statistical history of on-off years, 2013 is going to be an ON. Aside from The Orwells (non-locals, but worth mentioning for the sheer amount of times I've listened to their album these past few months), there's plenty to dig into regardless of your preferred genre: for me, it's the experimental indie.soul sounds of Pickwick, infectious Wimps-style punk, the strangely beautiful songwriting style of Heligoats, and Sallie Ford's modern vintage big-guitar vibes.

Pickwick

Well, we've waited what feels like years now for Pickwick to put out a proper full-length, and we've finally got it with Can't Talk Medicine. Pros: it's so great to finally have studio recordings of "Hacienda Motel" and "Windowsill" after hearing / seeing them at so many shows, and the new-to-me material is excellent and engaging. Standout tracks: Richard Swift's "Lady Luck" gently assaults with a buttery blend of Galen Disston and guest singer Sharon van Etten's vocals; "Letterbox" will get stuck in your head for days and days. Cons: none. While the album tends to sound a bit too clean at times, it's likely just a by-product of embedding live recordings in my mental Pickwick go-to file. Diagnosis: you are in need of this album, purchase immediately. {tour dates / purchase}

Wimps

Let's keep this short and sweet, much like the songs themselves: I can not stop listening to this Wimps demo, specifically, "Repeat" (see video above). The shit is good. The thing about Wimps is that there's no buffer, no... shtick, nothing but the sounds and the delivery. It's almost as if they've all dialed in to exactly what they need and want to be doing musically right now, one of those seemingly effortless phases that's actually the result of a lot of hard work. On top of putting out a great recording, Wimps translates live, putting on a just-tight-enough performance that manages to be equal parts fun and kickass. Don't pass up on a chance to see them, they've got a handful of Seattle and Portland dates coming up. {tour dates / download free demo / purchase LP}

more...

We know you know, dear readers, that here at TIG we are not ones to cut-and-paste every press release and email that we receive in our imaginary inboxes -- however, we got one a half-hour ago that's so rad, we literally couldn't wait to share it:

As part of specials being offered for next month's Record Store Day {taking place this year on April 20th} celebraish, Sub Pop will be releasing a limited edition 7" single of Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater doing a cover of 1981's Stevie Nicks / Tom Petty gem, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (!!!!!). You can see the live cut above from their A.V. Club session, and keep an eye on our site as RSD2013 gets closer for more information on what's being released and where to get your hot little hands on it.

{For more information on all things Record Store Day 2013, pop on over here.}

This is Solvents' least stylistically ambitious release -- and that is a very good thing. The band hasn't gone purely minimalistic in working with Karl Blau for one day in his Anacortes studio; the absolutely luscious violin of Emily Madden honey-drips upon her husband Jarrod Bramson's salty sighed-vocals in a way that could never be described as overly restrained. But the duo are sounding gingerly tight and scrupulously aware of their best qualities in the seven songs that make up Ghetto Moon, and every song could be a gentle giant hit. They've left the cut-and-paste scruff of oblique fanzine rock for cafe troubadour waltz, august vocal melodies partnered with bardic elucidation. And yet not without coy humor ("I'm so obscure, and bitter cool, and long to come undone"). 

The Port Townsend, WA creator-couple have released, over time, a flurry of diverse-sounding cassettes and CDs and Internet-mixes, and their last planned full-length, the appreciated forgive yr. blood, showed they could be a lo-fi Basement Tapes jukebox of styles. Ghetto Moon is much different: it's all stately-gorgeous, if denuded to Jarrod's mellifluous lead vocals and Emily's complimentary harmonies, truly deeply sung melodies that are going to stick with you as much as her lovely fiddling.

more...

{Los Campesinos by Steve Louie}

Like Allo Darlin, Los Campesinos are a diligent bunch.  They publish Heat Rash, a seasonal zine complete with a 7" which I am certain keeps their creative wheels moving and their song-writing pens scribbling.  There must be something in the Boddingtons that keeps these two favorite bands pressing new stuff to fill my shelves (for which I can't thank both bands enough). 

Gareth Campesinos ne Paisey recently told NME that the band would be returning to work on the follow-up to Hello Sadness in early 2013, adding: "We try to take as little time between albums as possible. If we're not recording or touring then we'll have to get proper jobs. There's no reason to take a couple of years between albums."

That's as good as saying "Hey, Imaginary Liz, please keep room on your Best of 2013 list for our new album!" to me. I can't wait for my ears to bleed from the Sonic Youth slash Bright Eyes slash Hefner slash Bis slash Yo La Tengo slash Beat Happening magic they create.  Maybe they are feeling nostolgic and will draw from their debut album, like Thermals are doing on their 2013 release?

more...

It's no secret I have an inside scoop on what goes on in the Tullycraft camp, so I've actually have heard this whole album. A hundred times. Because I just can't stop listening to it.

I was a fan long before I infiltrated their compound, so it's been extra hard to keep from quoting lines and exclaiming about how much I love it. But now that cover art is finalized and a release date has been set, I CAN!

The new album, Lost in Light Rotation, will strike a chord with newbies and longtime loves alike. This time around, Tullycraft has given us an album that is more concise and concentrated with relentless indie-pop guitar and vocal twists that will make you spin on the dancefloor until you drop. 

The result is a set of songs that have the hutzpah of "Our Days in Kansas," the demureness of "DIY Queen," a touch of the electro-craft of "We know You're Cute You Told Us," lo-fi rockeries of "Josie," and that doesn't even include a descriptor for the recently released single, "Lost in Light Rotation" {on 7" vinyl on Magic Marker (US) / Fortuna Pop (Europe)} which you can highly rotate on soundcloud.  There's a video for this single making the rounds (and posted below) and there's an added bonus: the 7" includes an exclusive b-side - a cover of Yazoo’s "Bad Connection."

more...