BARLOW - FOUR CASTLES

Low Bra
by Righ Ex

Ryan: Barlow is a trio from Erie, in Philly. Not 'Philly' as in my country, the Philippines, but Philadelphia in the USA. I learned about the band as I listened to Scat's "Even Atom". What nosey ears I have... But here's a band that's fronted by Ethan Oliva. Their name "Barlow", according to Ethan, was apparently the brand name of his grandfather's knife. Not that I mean to pry so much, assuming that somehow they're related to the famous indie band Sebadoh, which is fronted by no other than Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr!

Their sound is astounding. It's like you were brought to some familiar planet. I guess it is, by default lo-fi. Its charm resonates and reverberates like TV personalities and ridiculous spin-out thoughts and cartoonographic jumping positive channels. "In The Air", "Castles" and their most recommended, "Cindy". It's like a 2010s band that's from late 80s. early 90s . Reminds me of old TVs, cassette tapes and boomboxes, Friday the 13th, Goonies, VHS and Beta tapes, video arcades, pinball machines, bubblegum, super trump cards, tree houses, Rambo, ewoks, retros, and board games. Most promising, this band should breakout to the mainstream, or not.

Jake: This EP is lo-fi from the get-go; captivating and fuzzworthy (I guess it's a take off of 'buzzworthy'--which is yet another made up word--but girl, you know it's true!). As one of the few current cassette releases I've heard (not to mention my introduction to the band), Barlow's genre hybrid is well suited for such a format. Kind of an indie/grunge-gaze sound. From the first few chords of "Missionary", I immediately felt a 90s indie rock vibe from how melodic it was. Just my favorite type of sound that embraces my pleasure senses, much like ice cream. Upon hearing the following track, "Pink Room", it reminded me of the Swedish indie band Suredo, with its fast tempo and sonic atmosphere (pun intended). I actually appreciate how the band integrates some mellow interludes to allow for variety.

Interestingly, I imagined their song "Visor" as an opening to an alternative-themed TV show, similar to Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete and Pete, with "Castles" as the possible closer, and the penultimate and final tracks acting as sort of recurring songs, setting the tone for specific moments, much like Polaris with their music. That idea really made me nostalgic for the carefree days of being young and smart (academically, but not yet emotionally). Man, how I miss going through school just wanting to be home and playing video games, before all this accumulated "stressure" of having girls on a pedestal and all these regrets! 

One thing's for certain, however; I do not regret listening to Four Castles by Barlow! In fact, it did its job in having an impact on me from the very first listen. Barlow, if you read this post, just feel assured of the guarantee that I'll definitely check out more of your stuff. Consider me a fan as well!!

> Why the regret Jake?  It's just something to file under easy listening. RIGH EX

SHOJOSKIP - COSODOROKITSUNE

Skip a Beat Babty
Righ Ex

Ryan: Just out of the blue, the wind's blowing an icy breeze, alone in the morning. The mood's right, the sun was just right, right amount of shade, silence... well stop that, Shojoskip. You're distracted, and you look at your bare feet like, 'Hey, where are my shoes?' It's just right...your feet are bare because you're inside this room playing these tunes. They're like floaters in your eyes. You felt dizzy in that moment, reached for a cup of coffee, and don't need to understand the words again. Just the voice.

Well, I should get to that in the future. It's all about love anyway...or the shoes and tschinelas. Then as you listen, you'd get to say and do that thing with searching again, and you'd just think "Hey. I wish I was there too."

Must be mutual anyhow, how musicians get to feel inspired. They must be doing the same things you do...digging through music all over the globe just like we do on this blog. And every now and then you'd stop and say "I'm alone, you're alone..."

Everybody's together alone. 

Jake: Admittedly, I haven't heard much Japanese shoegaze (besides Hartfield and Luminous Orange), but this album resonates quite well.  I like how the album is produced in such a way that you can register even the slightest instrumental nuances. There is a notable influence of My Bloody Valentine, except you feel relaxed, rather than overwhelmed in a cluttered mass of noise. This may be due to Shojoskip's more conventional mixing approach, which comes off as easy on the ears. Very consistent feel throughout, without reliance on the typical "shoegaze pedal regime". These components thus leave some nice "breathing room", and perhaps serve as guidelines for my own production forays as well.. Provided this is the sound I gun for time after time, I'm grateful to cite this album as a reference. It has a very bittersweet, yet sunny vibe, and I seem to enjoy it progressively with each listen.

Standout tracks include "Reciting Dawn After the Bonfire", "Glory of the Snow", "Mitsubachi", "Newspaper", and "Makura". Instead of Shojoskipping, it's better to listen fully and actively. Bad pun aside, take my word into consideration (if you'd like).

CATHERINE - SLEEPY

Catholics I Suppose
by Righ Ex

Ryan: I really don't know how a band begins to make a song.  Is it the weather, the seasons, or simply a way of celebration? Maybe it's to prove "Hey, we're together, just playing music." Obviously music keeps people wondering and wandering out somewhere, whether it's having fun or waging war against someone, somebody, some species, some existence, some fool, some lover, some folk, or  simply for one's own satisfaction.  But here's a band called Catherine. It is straight up Alternative Rock.  I have my own select picks, though I must say, I don't like all their stuff.

However, considering the scene that existed with bands in Chicago, it comes as no surprise that D'Arcy Wretzky and Billy Corgan participated in the production of this band.  I'm just awfully aghast why I only get to discover them wholly today or in part! Thanks for the ear candy, Catherine.

Here are some highlights from a Facebook conversation Jake had with singer/guitarist, Neil Jendon...

J: [I] really like that single "Sparkle/Charmed", it has the vibe of the Sleepy EP.
N: Yes, we were much more awash in reverb and less under the influence of the Pumpkins then. Things changed with TVT and "Sorry!". Not that I'm ashamed of that record, but I like the earlier stuff better.
J:  Did you still just kind of do your thing with "Sorry!", or were you told to sound a certain way?
N: Good question. There was a lot of positive reinforcement given to us when we tilted towards what everyone considered the sound of the day. The more we sounded like Pumpkins or Soundgarden the more slaps on the back we got. After a certain point we were doing it to ourselves.
J: How do you feel seeing your old music videos?
N: Ugh. I hate them. What a waste of money. We could have toured for months on what one video cost. We were making them right around the time MTV stopped playing vids and started doing more reality shows.
Neil also provided links to his current projects, German Explaining Station and Kwaidan:
 http://germanexplainingstation.bandcamp.com/
The following day, this happened...

Yup. Neil shared Jake's cover!

Additionally, Catherine is currently recording a new album! No release date confirmed yet...

  

http://kwaidanband.bandcamp.com/

Jake: I was certain this band had something unique to offer when I first heard "Idiot", off their Sleepy EP. It was like molding the white noise of Shoegaze with the robust thickness of Metal! I remember vividly downloading the DRM protected files on a trial version of Rhapsody--not exactly the ideal experience, but that's how it happened!

I was blown away, despite the EP's inherently rough Corgan production values (Thank God I had a decent sound system!). Sonically, imagine Smashing Pumpkins but on a smaller budget. Come to think of it, a similar model was the precedent already for a myriad of 90s underground acts. But don't think Catherine stays confined to the norm--they have a personal-panned, pleasant brand of noise that will somehow keep you entranced and focused at the same time. All 5 tracks have a lot going for them. Especially that fifth one. Listen to the very end...