Tag: Dinosaur Jr.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Although they’ve gone through a number of lineup changes and members relocating to various locations up an down the Pacific Coast — with members currently based in Seattle, Vancouver and Oakland — Happy Diving is a indie rock quintet that initially formed in the Bay Area back in 2013 and within a short period of time, the quintet developed a reputation regionally for high-energy live shows and for being remarkably prolific. Building on the buzz that they’ve received, the quintet reconvened to write and record the material that would comprise their forthcoming full-length Electric Soul Unity which is slated for an August 19, 2016 through Tophself Records.

“Head Spell,” the latest single off Electric Soul Unity is a slow-burning 90s alt-rock inspired ballad consisting of enormous, buzzing and sludgy power chord and anthemic hook that sounds as though it draws from the likes of Pavement, Dinosaur, Jr. and others — while also firmly adding their names to a growing list of 90s alt rock inspired contemporary acts, including Brooklyn-based trio Dead Stars.

The band will be on tour throughout the summer and it’ll include an August 8, 2016 stop at Shea Stadium. Check out the tour dates below.

 

TOUR DATES
JUL 23 – Oakland, CA @ The Rat’s Nest
JUL 24 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Arlene Francis Center (w/ Gun Outfit, Tony Molina)
JUL 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hi Hat
JUL 26 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
JUL 27 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
JUL 28 – Albuquerque, NM @ Small Engine Gallery
JUL 29 – Oklahoma City, OK @ TBD
JUL 30 – Ft Worth, TX @ Purple Palace
JUL 31 – Houston, TX @ Vinyl Edge Records

AUG 1 – New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar
AUG 2 – Nashville, TN @ Two Boots
AUG 4 – Richmond, VA @ TBD
AUG 5 – Raleigh, NC @ Pinhook
AUG 6 – Baltimore, MD @ TBD
AUG 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lava Space
AUG 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium (w/ Ovlov, Patio, Peaer)
AUG 10 – Providence, RI @ Tommy’s Place
AUG 11 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott (w/ Kindling, California X)
AUG 12 – Amherst, MA @ TBD
AUG 13 – Montreal, QB @ Poisson Noir
AUG 14 – Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha
AUG 15 – Detroit, MI @ TBD
AUG 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ High Dive
AUG 17 – Bloomington, IN @ Jan’s Rooms
AUG 18 – Eau Claire, WI @ TBD
AUG 19 – Duluth, MN @ Northern Isolation Fest
AUG 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dead Media (early show)
AUG 21 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag
AUG 24 – Calgary, AB @ Tubby Dog
AUG 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Antisocial Skate Shop
AUG 27 – Olympia, WA @ TBD
AUG 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos (w/ Chastity Belt, So Pitted)
AUG 29 – Portland, OR @ TBD
AUG 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/ Creative Adult, Never Young, Plush)

 

Electric Soul Unity is Happy Diving‘s forthcoming album, out August 19 on Topshelf Records. “Head Spell” is the west coast band’s version of a ballad — tender yet loud, the inescapable wall of riffs pummel any shred of sentimentality into a fist-pumping scorcher. The album’s brilliant first single, “Holy Ground” is an onslaught of in-your-face rock.

Formed in the suburbs of San Francisco’s East Bay in 2013, Happy Diving has gained notoriety for their blistering, high-energy performances and prolific release output. Though the band has seen various member and location changes (now with members living in Seattle, Vancouver and Oakland), the five-piece reconvenes this summer for their first ever North American tour, playing shows with Tony Molina, Ovlov, California X, Chastity Belt, So Pitted, and Creative Adult along the way.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Brisbane, Australia-born and Houston, TX-based Andrew Bower (vocals, guitar), Bower’s Brisbane, Australia-born and based brother Sean Bower (bass), along with Dan McNaulty (drums), The Valery Trails are a Trans-Pacific trio that over the past couple of years have received national attention for a sound that owes a major debt to early 90s/120 Minutes-era MTV rock, as previously released singles have managed to channel the likes of R.E.M., The Church, The Psychedelic Furs and others.

Now, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve actually written about them; however, the Trans-Pacific trio’s forthcoming album Chameleon Bones is slated for an August 5, 2016 release and the new album was recorded in a similar fashion to their two previous releases — with Andrew Bower recording demos in his home studio in Houston, then sending along his demos to bandmates Sean Bower and Dan McNaulty, who would then track bass and drums before returning the files to Andrew, who would then record guitars and vocals in a local commercial studio. As you can imagine, each song went back and forth to Brisbane for final overdubs, which created a variety of issues in the recording process. And as Andrew Bower explains in press notes, “The major obstacle, or more of a disadvantage, really, is that we don’t get the benefit of everyone being in the room together to agree on decisions that come up during recording.” Sean, Dan and the recording engineer had to commit to bass and drums sounds and arrangements without Andrew being able to weigh in — and without having a budget to re-record if he didn’t like it either. However, interestingly enough, this process also helps a band avoid the temptation of overanalyzing and obsessing to death over a minor issue at the expense of the overall freshness of the songs.

 

Chameleon Bones‘ first single “OK” is comprised of an anthemic hook paired with a jangling alt country/alt rock sound — in other words, slightly fuzzy guitars fed through subtle effects pedals, thunderous and propulsive drumming along with a throbbing bass line in a song that sounds as though it was channeling Big Star, The Smithereens, Murmur-era R.E.M., Dinosaur, Jr., The Church and others, complete with a radio-friendly, arena rock friendly air. But what distinguishes The Valery Trails from those familiar sources is that this particular single also manages to channel shoegazer rock and 90s Brit Pop in a way that puts a subtle new twist on a beloved sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Frequently compared to RIDE, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur, Jr. and Deerhunter, the critically praised Chicago, IL-based quartet Pink Frost originally formed under the name Apteka — and as Apteka, the quartet recorded their debut effort Gargoyle Days on analog tape before releasing the album back in 2011 to critical praise; the album landed on Time Out Chicago‘s Best of 2011 List, as well as several others. After changing their name to Pink Frost, the quartet’s 2014 sophomore effort, Sundowning was released to critical praise from nationally renowned media outlets including Pitchfork, SPIN Magazine, Noisey, Magnet Magazine, and Chicago Reader. And adding to a growing national profile, material from Sundowning appeared in The Lookalike and TV series such as The Vampire Diaries and CSI: Miami, among others.

The Chicago-based quartet will be releasing a painstakingly remixed and remastered update of the original analog masters, which reportedly will not only pack much more punch, but will also be representative of the band’s live sound. Of course, with new artwork reflecting the band’s change of name, the band intends for the re-release of their debut to be a metaphorical and literal rebirth. (Interestingly, the members of Pink Frost have been incredibly busy of late as they’ve also been busily recording the follow-up to Sundowning and Traitors EP with Gregoire Yeche at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio Studios.)

The re-released album’s second and latest single “Where Days Go” is an power-chord based song with enormous, anthemic hooks that sounds as though it were inspired by 90s alt rock and shoegaze. I’m reminded quite a bit of The Posies‘ “Ontario,” Foo Fighters “This Is A Call” and The Black Angels‘ “Telephone” as “Where Days Go” possesses a similar forcefulness and mosh-pit ready feel while being incredibly radio friendly.

 

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

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New Audio: Yuck’s Hold Me Closer Channels Dinosaur, Jr., Pavement, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and 90s Alt Rock

With the release of their first two albums, 2011′s self-titled debut and 2013′s Glow and Behold, the London-based quartet Yuck quickly became international blogosphere sensations, thanks in part to a sound that many of my […]

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With its members split between Oakland, CA and Seattle, WA the quintet Happy Diving comprised of Matt Berry (guitar and vocals), Matt Yankovich (guitar), Kevin Prochnow (guitar), Mikey Rivera (bass) and Samuelito Cruz (drums), have […]

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Brooklyn-based trio Dead Stars have captured the blogosphere over the last couple of years with a sound that consists of fuzzy, power chords fed through layers of feedback and anthemic pop melodies and hooks; it’s […]

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Bob Nanna has been a part of the indie rock and emo scene for more than 20 years as a member of Braid, Lifted Bells, Jack and Ace, the downtempo electronic collaboration with his wife […]

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Fronted by James Hanna’s latest project, Youth Worship and was born out of Hanna’s love of Spacemen 3, Loop, Dinosaur Jr. and Mudhoney – or in other words, Hanna dreamt of playing power chords through stacks of […]

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As it often is with any band origin story, a band can trace their origins to maybe one or two moments that can seem in retrospect to be both coincidental and destined to happen. In […]

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4 Knots Festival featuring Re-tros, Juan Wauters, Viet Cong, Nude Beach, Those Darlins and Dinosaur, Jr. 7/12/14

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As a student at the Berklee College of Music, Josh Siegel told one of his professors that he was going to quit school, return back to Chicago and start a band. And this professor quickly replied: “don’t procrastinate.” […]

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As a student at the Berklee College of Music, Josh Siegel told one of his professors that he was going to quit school, return back to Chicago and start a band. And this professor quickly […]

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Based out of Vancouver, BC, Weed has been a part of that city’s DIY scene for the past decade, recording a few 7 inches that got the band quite a bit of attention. And they […]