>>Nostalgia For Infinity

You may remember Mixtapes from my review of their split with Milwaukee’s Direct Hit!, about which I said:

“…the least convincing band rivalry since Radon burned that church down and Bad Religion wrote them a really stern letter.”

Hey, go check out their joint video if that has you curious!

So, since then the boys and girl in Mixtapes have been busy engineering an advanced form of mad science, allowing them to cram 7 songs over 16 minutes onto a single 7″. A Short Collection of Short Songs is the result, and there’s actually a real mixtape feel to it – a mix of songs with varied pace and songwriting, plus, of course, a cover.

Let’s begin at the beginning: ‘Birthday Party Summer’ (subtitled ‘Helllooo Meggannnn’ – bless those punx and their in-jokes). It opens soft, steady and gentle but with quick root notes on the bass to indicate that things are going to pick up. At first, though, you’re left to soak in some sweet vocal harmonies, occasional delicate guitar picking and ever-so-slightly sappy lyrics. There’s a faint smattering of piano, too, before the pace picks up alongside gang vocals and more energetic drumming. But the song is, essentially, an extended intro for ‘Real Hotel California’, the faster pop-punk number that ‘Birthday Party Summer’ was always promising to build toward. » Read the rest of this entry «

The excellently-named Stegosaur hail from San Antonio, Texas, and play tremulous indie power-pop with delicate sensitivity and walloping distorted choruses. The Adventure 7″ boasts three such tracks.

Opener ‘A Headache’ opens with simple palm-mutes and a tamborine underpinning the lines ”Strike a balance between mean and pop sensibility hoping the tracks that we chose keep the interest of record executives pleading in rhyme not to be ignored.” It’s tongue in cheek, of course, later adding “so the equity used buys a van and some clothes.” (I actually can’t make out the lyrics between that bit, which is kinda annoying.) After that things kick off a bit with clean, powerful singing and loud power chords… plus glockenspiel, you know, because that’s how they roll.

I’ve seen Stegosaur compared to Cursive but I’m more reminded of Desaperacidos, the one-album Bright Eyes side-project, as Stegosaur’s singer has more than a hint of Conor Oberst about his delivery. The simple music, quiet/loud dynamics and fragilility of the song also remind me a little of Canada’s Now, Now Every Children.

» Read the rest of this entry «

Oooh!

Who are French For Cartridge, aside from responsible for sickly MS Paint-esque artwork? They’re art-pop duo Catherine Hontz and Henri Vaxby, a pair of European musicians who met at London’s Goldsmiths College. You might know them via the older moniker of Cartridge, a name apparently abandoned after a few line-up changes. And now to abandon the press release-harvested introduction and move on to the music itself.

This 7″ boasts two tracks, each a curious slice of pop music. A-side ‘Oooh!’ is my favourite of the two as it’s a weirder affair. It switches neurotically back and forth between stylistically distinct song parts not unlike an indie-pop Mr. Bungle, mixing oompah rhythms, delicate ride cymbal tickling, stark chords and vocal hums together in under two minutes. Vocally it’s oddball, mostly consisting of gentle wordplay. I’m not sure if there’s more to it than that but it’s a fun track.

B-side ‘Picture Negative’ is a more typical affair, a slice of guitar pop with dual vocals and a verse that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Gomez tune. I have to admit to stealing the Gomez comparison, which I read somewhere last month. I think it may have been a Norman Records mailout, so apologies to them for my plagiarism! It’s spot-on, though. The chorus is a pleasing affair with more piano and some warm synths underpinning the guitar work. It won’t blow you away, but it’s a good track.

You can listen to both tunes on their MySpace page – see link below. (I feel a bit funny offering sample tracks from seven inches, especially when I only really recommend one of them!)

French For Cartridge website | Their MySpace page