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...

{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...

Allo Darlin hasn't actually stated the words "we will release a new album in 2013," but they did write on their Facebook page (on January 18th), "So, in preparation for recording our new album we want to do 4 small shows in London to try out the new songs." 

Furthermore, there have been tweets about Elizabeth Morris and the Allo Darlin crew writing and recording some new songs and recently they even played a new song "Bright Eyes" (the song title alone makes my heart skip a beat) on a BBC in-studio session (sadly that session isn't available anymore).  Add in the evidence that the band has always been hard at work, on a constant loop of touring and recording and I think it's just a matter of time, right?  I can't wait to hear their new ukelele ballads and guitar pop melodies, all of which will be my new favorite things ever.

more...

I first fell in love with Kleenex Girl Wonder back in 2001 when I randomly happened upon the song "Road to San Francisco" from the 1998 album Graham Smith Is The Coolest Person Alive.  Since then they've released a bunch of albums, making their new release, Let it Buffer (to be released on March 26, 2013 on TWBOS) their twelfth album over the last twenty years.

They combine rumpled lo-fi of Guided By Voices and the microbrew indie-pop of BOAT and spew out candid,  casual and sometimes esoteric and chaotic songs.  Their songs are never boring, with a few clocking in at under a minute and featuring speculative forays outside the pop norm… and this new album will be the perfect palette cleanser in my usual diet of brit-pop, classic indie-pop, Jack White, Conor Oberst and twee.

To further feed everyone's KGW fandom, throughout 2013, KGW will offer 4 free (or very cheap) rare or unreleased tunes with the purchase of certain physical items (e.g. T-shirts or prints) from kgw.me.

I haven't been able to hunt down any samples from the new album, so listening to "Road to San Francisco" will just have to do:

more...

Oh Hutch, Kathy, and Westin, how do we love thee! In 2013, you are not only gracing us with so much:

- A brand new album of brand new Thermals songs on the beloved Saddle Creek label {of Bright Eyes / Conor Oberst fame} on April 16 {with a limited edition vinyl version on colored vinyl available for pre-order}

- Sub Pop is reissuing all of three Thermals' Sub Pop-released albums on limited edition, colored vinyl on March 5, 2013

All that HOT HOT Thermals vinyl action makes me SWOOOOOOON! 

The new Thermals album is titled Desperate Ground and has been described as having "all the raw power and unhinged adolescent energy that made their early LP’s so insanely enjoyable" and is "a dark and yet joyous affair." I'm sold!

They don't have any Seattle dates, but I know they can't stay away from us for long.  In the meantime we can listen to the first single from the album on repeat (and download it for free via the box below!).  I get light-headed everytime Hutch sings, "Keep me alliiiive" because it's so More Parts Per Million!!!! I also like the "when you command, I will" part.

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...

For the last few months the boys of MaPC have been teasing us with photos on their Facebook page of them recording at K Records' Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia. Just last week, February 11, 2013 to be exact, they posted a photo with the caption "Finished mixing the new album today - woohoo!"  To me that sounds like new MaPC songs are just a couple moons away! 

But, these things sometimes take time so I'm not sure when the record will be done or exactly how many songs will be on it (is the above photo a complete tracklisting?) or what it's going to sound like, but with MaPC, you know it's going to be twee-licious! 

I was able to pull a couple details from the group about the new record.  It's going to be titled Our Hearts Beat Out Loud and the cover art will be designed by Tae Won Yu, the amazing designer most lovably known for your favorite Built To Spill cover art and super sweet illustrations that you can put in your Buy Olympia shopping cart.

Sidenote: I bet I'm going to love the songs "It Must Be Summer Somewhere" and "Our Own Ending."  Any gut feelings on which songs you'll love the most based on the song title?

In the meantime, we can all meet at the Tractor Tavern on February 24 when Math & Physics Club open up for Ocean Blue.  We can grill them for details then!

Until that time, we can just stare at the above tracklisting and listen to my favorite song from their second album on repeat, "We're So DIY":

more...

I am so defenseless against Stornoway's misty melodic tales of yearning tinged with proper British folk, most specifically the songs "Zorbing" and "Long-Distance Lullaby," that the debut release from Oxford band made my Best of 2010 list.

On March 19, 2013, Stornoway will release their second album, Tales From Terra Firma.  There's a single making it's way around the internet, "Knock Me On The Head" (video below) that confirms my suspicions that they've upped the ante in the arrangements department this time around. There's a symphonic John Denver feel to their pop melodies this time around that make it a perfect accompaniment to my daily dose of earl grey tea.

more...

The Seattle duo Pony Time is so cool, I'm nearly too shy to even talk about how cool they are.  They stunned me in late 2011 with their self-titled EP / vinyl that oozed with infectious Pike Street garage rock to the point of making the Motor City blush.

Now, FINALLY, the world gets a full length album titled Go Find Your Own, released on Per Se Records on February 19th (the vinyl release is limited to 500 copies!). 

Their record release party is Friday, February 22nd at Black Lodge with ONONOS, Haunted Horses & Chastity Belt.  You can also hear them from the comfort of your own home or car on Saturday, February 23rd on KEXP's Audioasis.

more...

Anything that Lesli Wood touches is gold, and with her band, The Redwood Plan, she cements that she's a Seattle rock force to be reckoned with.  The Redwood Plan's new album, Green Light Go, released on February 12th, and on it, Lesli promises a bigger and more dynamic TRP.   Her vocals can seemlessly veer from raucous riot grrl to vulnerable sorrow, soaking your heart with each stab of her pen stroke and guitar lick. 

The Green Light Go record release show is this Friday, February 15th at Neumos.  Don't leave without your copy of the new album since you will likely be adding this to your likely possibly concrete list of favorite albums of 2013 as well.

Listen to the entire album here:

And SEE what all the fuss is about by watching this video for the first single from the new album:

more...