The Birthday Massacre - The NeverEnding Story

Closing out the long weekend with something cheesy and goofy.  Toronto gothy synth pop band The Birthday Massacre dropped this pretty straightforward cover of Limahl's "The NeverEnding Story."  Check it out below and download it here.

Daily Jam - Levitz

This weekend, i got to see a whole lot of old friends i haven't seen in over a year.  I got to meet babies and toddlers i didn't get to last year.  And i got to hug all of these old friend and kids for the first time in over a year too.  Hooray vaccinations!  Here's Grandaddy with "Levitz," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Ashes of American Flags

I've never been just a huge Wilco guy, but i've certainly met some Wilco guys during my lifetime.  And let me tell you, those guys are really, really into Wilco.  Anyway, all that being said, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" is a pretty phenomenal album.  Here's the lonesome Americana sound of "Ashes of American Flags," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Edge Hill

Venturing out of the city limits for the first time since the pandemic hit to visit some family and see some old friends i haven't seen in way too long.  But a lot to do before i hit the road, so jamming to Groove Armada's "Edge Hill."  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

The 5-year old's current favorite song is The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," probably because of its inclusion in one of the X-Men movies.  It's always interesting to me what songs grab my kids' attention.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Rebecca Peake

I first came across the band Rebecca Peake three years ago with their fantastic "Avec 1" album.  They've been pretty quiet since then, especially considering how prolific they were from 2011 to 2016, releasing 15 albums in that stretch as part of a 366 song cycle where they claimed to have written and recorded a song everyday for a year.  The logistics of that seem improbable to me, but at the very least, they released some really great music, spanning from shoegaze to synth pop to space rock and more.  Back in April, they released "Memoirs Vol. 1," a best-of collection of sorts that pulls from those first 5 years.  It's a great place to start, as sifting through 15 albums is a little daunting.  Check out "Nebula Crisis" below and download the album here via Ghost Diamond.

Friday Horror Trailer - Demon Seed

 

Daily Jam - Anybody Listening?

Queensrÿche's "Empire" came out when i was in 6th grade, a mix of heavy metal, prog rock, and pop that grabbed my 12-year old ears and screamed LISTEN.  And i did.  Those particular guitar tones, proggy melodies, and melodrama made for many a late night listening, jamming the tunes on my Walkman when i was supposed to be sleeping before school the following morning.  Honestly, it's probably still my preferable way of listening.  Anyway, check out the album closing "Anybody Listening?" below, our Daily Jam.

Hills

The Swedes certainly seem to know their psych rock, and we should go ahead and throw in the 7-piece band Hills as further evidence to the fact.  Cosmic drone and Eastern tones abound on "National Drone," a kind of reverby, chanting mantra for nature or the old gods.  Check it out below and get the "Frid" LP here from Rocket Recordings.

Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek

Turkish born/Berlin based artist Derya Yıldırım makes cool and funky Anatolian psych pop with a group of Western Europeans called Grup Şimşek and the output is sublime.  Check out "Haydar Haydar" below and pre-order the band's upcoming "DOST 1" album out in June here from Les Disques Bongo Joe.

Sonders

Here's some cold and somber, shoegaze and darkwave-tinged post punk from California band Sonders.  "Reflection" sounds like it was recorded in a dark tunnel.  Check out "Absolution" below and download the album (pay what you want) here from the band.

Daily Jam - Linger

I watched "Army of the Dead" the other night, and there's a scene in the movie that uses The Cranberries' song "Zombie" on the soundtrack.  Subtle i know, but it got me thinking about the band and how much i loved those first couple of albums.  Anyway, my first time hearing the band was seeing the video for "Linger" on MTV (probably on "120 Minutes"), and it's probably still my favorite.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - All the Time

By the end of the '90s, California shoegaze band Starflyer 59 had evolved from a reverb drenched shoegaze act to a dreamier, poppier shoegaze act, really culminating on their album "The Fashion Focus."  But good songs are good songs, whether they're reverb drenched or dreamy and poppy.  Check out "All the Time" below, our Daily Jam.

Faience Knife

Here's some super dreamy music from Russian artist Faience Knife that's part shoegaze, part ambient, part dreampop, and part folk.  "Hoax" kind of sounds like consciousness fading away, your senses relaxing, the world gone blurry.  Check it out below and download it here.

Nox Novacula

Ah, some good, old-fashioned gloomy goth rock for a gloomy morning here in Central Texas.  Check out "Ascension" from Seattle's Nox Novacula below and pre-order the band's upcoming "Ascension" LP here.

Daily Jam - Only Shallow

It's a My Bloody Valentine kind of day.  But when isn't it really?  Here's "Only Shallow," our Daily Jam.

Mesh

Here's a little jangly, snark post punk from Philly's Mesh.  Check out "Company Jeep" below and get the band's self-titled EP here from Born Yesterday Records.

Daily Jam - Prayer of Transformation

It has been raining pretty consistently here since about 6am yesterday.  And the gray skies and gloomy atmosphere has put me in the mood for some Wolves in the Throne Room.  So here's the post rock black metal of "Prayer of Transformation," our Daily Jam.

Efterbild

Efterbild is the new project of Swedish artist Johan Nillson of the band Höstblod.  New album "En Flod Av Tid" is a slow and chugging mix of shoegaze and post rock, a dreamy dirge.  Check out "Comics in Bed" below and download the album from the artist here, or grab a cassette from Reclusion Records here.

Daily Jam - I Start Counting

It's raining.  I'm just a little hungover.  So here's gentle and dreamy "I Start Counting" from Dusty Springfield, our Daily Jam.

Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen

I don't know if you're aware of this, but Sharon Van Etten rules.  And i don't know if you're aware of this either, but Angel Olsen rules too.  And the two artists have teamed up for a pretty great track called "Like I Used To."  You might even say, it rules.  You can currently find the track at your preferred streaming site and you can watch the video below.  No word on a physical release yet, but as both artists are on Jagjaguwar, it's safe to assume that's where one would pop up.  And here's hoping we can get some further collaborations between the two in the future.

Friday Horror Trailer - The Fear

Daily Jam - Heartbeats

The summer and fall music festivals are dropping their lineups, and the wife and i have been having serious discussions about the possibility of walking our vaxxed asses out to ACL in October.  After taking a gander at the lineup yesterday, it's safe to say that i'm out.  You guys have fun though.  Anyway, here's The Knife with "Heartbeats," our Daily Jam.

Los Lucha

Glasgow's Los Lucha make cool and reverby dreampop in the vein of Galaxie 500 and The Velvet Underground, kind of aloof and wonderful.  Listen to "On the Ropes" below and grab the band's self-titled EP here.

Oceans

Utilizing elements of dreampop, shoegaze, synth pop, and chillwave, Melbourne, Australia's Oceans has crafted a superb EP with "Come So Far."  The opening track plays like a pronouncement of the onset of summer.  Check it out below and download the EP here.

Eyes of Others

Here's some really cool, synthy, and dubby pop from Edinburgh's Eyes of Others.  The artist describes their sound as "post-pub couldn't get in the club music," and that's about as apt a descriptor as i could ever dream to come up with.  Check out the drunk and stumbling vibes of "First and Last" below and pre-order the "Elevenses" cassette here from Global Warming Records.

Daily Jam - Shadrach

I watched "Beastie Boys Story" a couple weeks back while home recuperating from some dental surgery and it really made me miss those guys.  So here's "Shadrach," our Daily Jam.

The Goon Sax

Here's a new track from Brisbane, Australia band The Goon Sax.  Sing-songy boy/girl vocals abound on "In the Stone," along with indie-pop flourishes and a new wave groove.  Check it out below and pre-order the upcoming "Mirror II" LP here digitally or here physically from Matador.

Daily Jam - Boyz

This song has been stuck in my head in some form or another since it came out back in 2007.  So i guess some sort of congratulations are in order for M.I.A.  Listen to "Boyz" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - O Relógio

Some days i feel like i'm on the verge of a panic attack or a full on depression.  It sucks.  So i'm just going to float around to the dreamy "O Relógio" by Os Mutantes for a little while.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Working Men's Club

Here's some cool, grooving, and kind of frenetic post punk from Manchester's Working Men's Club to dance and despair to.  Check out "X" below and snag the "X & Y?" 7" here from Heavenly Recordings.

Daily Jam - Bar Italia

Pulp were one of those bands i often felt it unfair how much better they were than everybody else.  Just absurdly good.  Anyway, here's "Bar Italia," the closing track from 1995's seminal Britpop classic "Different Class" and our Daily Jam.

Stomp Talk Modstone

Japanese shoegaze band Stomp Talk Modstone released what is likely to be one of my favorite albums of the year, "Linger in Someone's Memory with a Lurid Glow," back in January.  And i missed it, but they dropped a follow-up 7" back in February.  I'm going to blame the winter storm that essentially paralyzed Texas three months ago.  Anyway, check out the beautiful guitar swirl of "To Be" below and order the "BBR#38" 7" here from the Box Bedroom Rebels label.

The Go! Team - Pow

The Go! Team's "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" was one of my favorite album's of the '00s, and while i've continued to enjoy the band's delightful blend of samples, hip-hop, bubblegum pop, and cheerleading, that first record has never been bested.  New album "Get Up Sequences Part One" is out this summer, and the new single "Pow" totally sounds like something that could have been blasted back in 2004.  Check out the video below and pre-order here from Memphis Industries. 

Daily Jam - She Don't Hear Your Prayer

Dealing with some internet issues this morning, but for the time being, they seem to corrected, so here's some cool, loungey alt-rock from Cousteau for a rainy Sunday morning.  Listen to "She Don't Hear Your Prayer" below, our Daily Jam.

Blanck Mass

In the early days of the pandemic last year, electronic artist Blanck Mass livestreamed and recorded an improvisational performance of synths and beats called "Mind Killer."  It's awesome, and is now getting a proper vinyl release from the good folks at Sacred Bones.  Check out the whole thing below and order the record here.

Daily Jam - The Grand Duel (Parta Prima)

Luis Bacalov was an Argentine/Italian film score composer, a peer of Morricone and more, who scored several films during his tenure.  In the early '70s, he provided the soundtrack for the spaghetti western "The Grand Duel," though i know the music (and probably you too) from its used in "Kill Bill."  Anyway, it's wonderful.  Check out "The Grand Duel (Parta Prima)" below, our Daily Jam.

Friday Horror Trailer - City of the Living Dead

Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows

And now for some psychedelic doom, or doom psych if you prefer, from Melbourne, Australia's Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows.  There is something in the water down under that's made for an absolutely killer psych rock scene down there over the past decade, and i hope it never stops.  Check out the face melting "Rat Poisoning" below and pre-order the band's "The Magnetic Ridge" album here.

Daily Jam - Liar

Man, i had forgotten how much i love Rollins Band's "Liar" until heard it for the first time in a long time the other afternoon.  It's also kind of funny to think back to how much airtime the video used to get on MTV.  Good times.  Anyway, check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Charles

Today is going to be a pain in the ass.  I can feel it.  But that's my problem, not yours, so let's all just sit back and enjoy the dreampop stylings of LA artist Charles.  There are little pieces of chillwave, vaporwave, and probably some other types of wave in her lo-fi bedroom pop sound, making for some soothing, retro-kitsch music to float around to for a while.  Check out "Remember Blushing" below and get the "Let's Start a Family Tonight" LP here from Babe City Records.

Kataan

Kataan is a new project from Nicholas Thornberry (Vattnet Viskar) and Brett Boland (Astronoid).  The band fuses death metal and black metal into a sonic assault that's simultaneously brutal and soaring, a sound i can find to be really cathartic at times.  Check out "Abyss" below and get the self-titled EP here from Prosthetic Records.

Clint Mansell - In the Earth OST

Last night i watched Ben Wheatley's new film "In the Earth," a slow-burning, psychedelic folk horror movie for an emerging post-pandemic world.  It was great and probably one that will garner a couple of re-watches down the road this year.  The music is the film is solid too, and actually plays a narrative role through parts of it.  Clint Mansell, as usual, is up to the task.  Check out "Parnag Fegg" below, and download the whole soundtrack here from Invada.

Daily Jam - New World

Lars von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark" is one of those movies that i don't think i ever want to see again, good, well-made, and powerful, but just too hard to take in a second time.  He's good at making movies like that.  Anyway, the film starred Björk, and she made a companion album for it, "Selmasongs."  I come back to that one a lot.  Here's the symphonic "New World," our Daily Jam.

Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement

Let's keep things quite and contemplative this morning with the latest release from Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement, the dark ambient project of Dominick Fernow (Prurient).  "Flying Fish Ambience" sounds like meditating in a synthetic wilderness, attempting to become one with...something.  Check out the title track below and order the album here from Hospital Productions.

Daily Jam - Ocean (Burn the Highways)

Vibing on a little minimalist, acoustic, soul-searching headphone music this morning.  Check out "Ocean (Burn the Highways)" by Lazarus, our Daily Jam.

Death Hags

LA artist Lola G., who makes music under the name of Death Hags, has been churning out a ton of material during COVID, a veritable fountain of lo-fi pop with tinges of shogaze, death rock, and ambient noise.  Her latest is the "OFF/ON (Don't Give into Fear)" EP, the second on a series of lathe cut records.  Listen to the hazy and fuzzy "Future Now" below and get the album here.

The Hologram People

Here's some chilled out and spacey psychedelia from UK act The Hologram People.  "Sun Breaks on Saturn's Return" feels like getting stoned, sitting on the roof, and gazing at the stars.  Check it out below and get the "Sacred Ritual to Unlock the Mountain Portal" album here from Woodford Halse.

Daily Jam - When It's Over

Record Store Day was split into two drops this summer, the first of which is next month.  I'm not sure how my local stores will be handling things yet, but i do know that i'm gonna get my hands on the reissue of The Wipers' "Youth of America."  The band has seen a number of reissues of their early releases put out every year on Record Store Day, and i'm hoping that's a trend that continues.  Check out "When It's Over" below, our Daily Jam.

Possum

Here's some cool ripping neo-psychedelia from Toronto's Possum.  New album "Lunar Gardens" drops this summer, but for the time being, check out the garage blast of "Clarified Budder."  Listen below and pre-order the record here from Idée Fixe.