Take Me Somewhere

New video for Take Me Somewhere by one of my favorite bands, Tennis, off their debut LP Cape Dory, released earlier this year.

King of the Beach

Video for the title track off last year's LP, King of the Beach by Wavves. Plus possible cameo from Best Coast's cat, Snacks.

Rave On

One of my favorite bands, Danish fuzz rockers, The Raveonettes, just released a sneak peak at their new album Raven In The Grave due out April 5th. The album drops just ahead of their April 9th show at Record Bar in KC as part of Middle of the Map Fest. Check out the free track Forget That You're Young.

Tracklist for Raven in the Grave:
01 Recharge & Revolt
02 War in Heaven
03 Forget That You're Young
04 Apparitions
05 Summer Moon
06 Let Me on Out
07 Ignite
08 Evil Seeds
09 My Time's Up

Team Work

Brighton's 6-piece pop band The Go! Team just partnered up with Bethany from Best Coast for a track off their new album, Rolling Blackouts, released today. Check the video for Buy Nothing Day below.

Summer > Winter

Photo by Shannon McClean

With all the snow, some of which is still in my shoes, I could really use something warm and sunny.

Check out Best Coast's new song, Sunny Adventure, off of a previously reported split 7" with JEFF the Brotherhood on Volcom; you can check it out below.

Best Coast-Sunny Adventure by VolcomEnt

Source: Gorilla vs Bear and Pitchfork

Cat Party

New vid from Best Coast for Crazy For You off last year's debut LP by the same name. This hilarious video premiered on icanhascheezburger, you know, because of all the cats and their misspelled thoughts.

Table Tennis

Husband/wife surf pop duo Tennis is finally releasing their much anticipated debut LP, Cape Dory, on January 18th on Fat Possum Records. Check out the vid for Pigeon below.

Could've, Would've, Should've

Cleveland power-pop band, Cloud Nothings, covered previously on this blog here and here, are about to release their self-titled debut LP January 25th. Below you can listen to Should Have, a catchy cut from the upcoming album.

Cloud Nothings "Should Have" by carparkrecords

Boyfriend

Video for Boyfriend by Best Coast. This vid finds Bethany playing at a Quinceañera for a young Latina girl.

Friends Forever

Despite it being October and increasingly cold I'm still on the beach tip. This gem is from our neighbors up north. Crystal Dorval, also known as My Friend Wallis, has been warming up the B.C. area with her summery, tropical brand of beach pop. Her first EP, When the Blue Turned Yellow, was released last summer. You can actually download the EP for free from Draculahorse. She is currently working on new stuff including this track, Hiding, which is a breezy tune reminiscent of Washed Out. Peep the video below. Ghostly sights and sounds abound.

Hiding - My Friend Wallis from Kyle Surovy on Vimeo.

Surf's Up

Looks like I'm going to be on this subject for a while so grab your surfboard and turn the noise up. Here is some more chillwave/lo-fi splendor.

Up-and-coming Cloud Nothings' description reads "18 years young. Pop music. Cleveland, OH." To the point, I like that. Dylan Baldi, the man behind the project, dropped an EP earlier this year and is releasing an LP compilation of previous tracks in October prior to a formal debut album in early 2011. He is also currently touring and coming to Lawrence in October. More on that later. Even If It Worked Out is a jangly, sofisticated lo-fi/pop tune off of the new 7" "Didn’t You" b/w "Even If It Worked Out".

Straight out of Brooknam, Coasting consists of Madison (of Dream Diary) and Fiona (drummer for Vivian Girls). Kids is off their triple A-Side juggernaut released on M'Lady. According to their catalog it sounds like "...summer. And autumn. And the city. And the forest. Incredibly rockin', truly." My sentiments exactly.

This last track/video is absolutely brilliant. A haunting symphony of candy pop from married couple/band, Tennis. Denver's Patrick Riley and wife Alaina Moore released a 7" in June ahead of a July EP and a pending full length. It is composed of two great tracks, including South Carolina. So far, this gets my vote for track of the year.

Boys Will Be Boys

I'm not sure how I omitted this from my Beach Towel post but better late than never. Here is a video for the single Year Not Long by Male Bonding. This track is off their debut LP "Nothing Hurts" which dropped in May on Sub Pop. These British punks rock out with their cocks out in the most homoerotic vid since Lust For Life by Girls. Now I'm off to tap my foot under some stalls at a rest-stop on I-35. Cheers!

Beach Towel

Maybe I should have titled it "Beachy Keen", whatever. Ok, I'm going to try to quickly cover what I've liked from the whole wave (no pun intended) of Surf Rock that has become ubiquitous over the last six months.

First up is Surfer Blood who I saw at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence. Great act, lots of energy and a stellar first LP. Floating Vibes is a great track off their debut album, Astro Coast.

A talented new surf pop band, The Drums, released their eponymous debut in June. My favorite cut is Let's Go Surfing. An absolutely infectious summer celebration.

Wavves followed up his self titled debut in August with King Of The Beach. It leaves a little to be desired but the title track, King of the Beach is pretty solid.

The newest entry to the Beach/Surf/Lo-Fi (ugggg) genre is L.A.'s Best Coast. After releasing a bunch of singles, split 7 inches, and EP's, Bethany Cosentino and company finally put out their much anticipated debut LP, Crazy For You. Two of my favorites are Boyfriend and Goodbye.