Three Imaginary Girls - Brave Irene

Recommended show: Let's get indie-popolicious at Vera with Brave Irene and Seapony {Saturday, 11/5}

imaginary liz — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:23:52 +0000

{Brave Irene photo by Caitlin Livingston}

This Saturday (November 5th), shining stars of the indie-twee dreamscape will gather at the Vera Project. Opening the night is generifus, an Olympia, WA outfit who's new album, I Don't Have To Worry, features Spencer Sult (who handles all primary duties) with Eli Moore, Karl Blau, members of LAKE and others helping out. As the names of the players suggests, the songs are arid, carefree with moments of both easy-listening joy and innocent melancholy. Best of all, you can easily become obsessed with them thanks to the generifus bandcamp page. Make sure to hear "Good Graces," which channels the whispy, aired meandering of Galaxy 500 that I love so.

Anchoring the show in the middle is Seattle's own crown jewel of Charmin-soft dreamy-pop, Seapony. Seapony songs are sweet and subtle while filling the air with nostalgic fuzz and reverb... and rumor has it Saturday night's set will feature new songs! If you still include the Softies in your nighttime prayers, you'll love Seapony.

Speaking of the beloved Softies, guess who's topping off the night!!! (+ even more exclamations implied).

NYC Popfest 2011 :: recap!

Steve Louie — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:01:06 +0000

The fifth anniversary of NYC Popfest kicked off with a sold-out show at the Cake Shop with headliners the Pains of Being Pure at
Heart, who were announced to the opening night bill only a week before the start of the festival. (Talk about a pleasant surprise!) Pet Milk {hailing from Philadelphia} started the night in strong fashion, belting out amiable noisey-garage pop tracks. The impending rumour that May 21st would be the end of the world didn’t stop Pet Milk from playing an upbeat catchy pop number called “Christian Solicitors,” which managed to making us feel like it wouldn’t be a bad thing if they were one of the last bands we ever saw.

Brave Irene brings on the fuzzy gal pop, Slumberland-style

imaginary liz — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:21:31 +0000

If the two teaser tracks posted on the internet are representative of the new Brave Irene album, I think I've found my favorite fuzzy pop album of the year... and it's not just because I'm already a huge fan of one of the band's members. The all-lady group from Vancouver, Canada features imaginary favorite Rose Melberg, the gal behind all things Tiger Trap, The Softies, Gaze, and Go Sailor.

On the group's debut self-titled album, Ms. Melberg has stepped away from the demure and subtle, filling Brave Irene's songs with boisterous glee and velvety shoegazer swells a la The Primatives and The Flatmates. The eight-song release hits the shelves (on cd, MP3 download, or limited edition creamy white 12" vinyl) on March 15, 2011, on Slumberland Records (it's a perfect companion to the latest Pains of Being Pure at Heart, donchaknow). I can't wait to hear all 18 minutes of it!

Here's the two songs I've heard so far... what do you think?:

Brave Irene - Longest Day

Brave Irene - No Fun