Band to Watch: Lace Curtains
Back in 2010, a garage rock band from Austin named Harlem released one of the most underrated albums on the year in Hippies. Coming straight out of the gate with a killer single in “Someday Soon”, the sound was fresh, completely raw, and just really, really good. Since then, the group’s members have all started separate projects and while we don’t know if another Harlem album will grace our ears, we can certainly look with intrigue towards the new work from any of the trio.
Lace Curtains is one of these projects from the mind of Michael Coomers. The group’s debut LP, featuring a picture of Marilyn Monroe on the cover art and aptly named The Garden of Joy and the Well of Loneliness, was released via Female Fantasy last Tuesday and has received some very nice acclaim in the days sense, especially from a small time Chicago blog. So as I’m still trying to get my hands on the album to provide my complete thoughts, I wanted to pass along the two previously released singles. “Bedroom Honesty” is a groovy little jam that features Michael and the strength of his lyrical prowess. The second, “High Fantasy” begins with lazy guitar riff before building strength throughout with Michael discussing a former lovers transformation into Judas. Enjoy both below.
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Written by Greg Dahman
Band to Watch: Pure Bathing Culture
I first caught wind of Portland, Oregon’s Pure Bathing Culture through an Octopus Windmill post back in June, and was reminded of the two-piece through yesterday’s post on My Old Kentucky Blog. The duo is comprised of Vetiver guitarist and keyboardist Daniel Hindman and Sarah Versprille, respectively. The group is set to release its debut, self-titled EP on November 19 via London record label Memphis Industries.
I’ve long been a fan of Vetiver‘s work, and my excitement over this new side project doubled upon the discovery that Richard Swift had taken the band under his wing. The multi-instrumentalist, producer and personal hero has maintained a busy schedule in 2012: engineering Jessie Baylin’s Little Spark and Pleasure Center EP, gigging on keys with The Shins, and guiding The Mynabirds’ ship on Generals. Swift served as producer on the four tracks that will make up the Pure Bathing Culture EP.
Under Swift’s tutelage, Pure Bathing Culture has churned out a handful of 80s-infused pop gems. The dreaminess of PBC’s Miami Vice backdrop makes it easy to overlook the seriousness of the lyrical content. The band’s most recent single “Gainesville” deals with the death of a friend in a motorcycle accident in Peru. The strength of the band’s stripped down performance of debut single “Ivory Coast” in the Beardy Session underscores the fact that this material will hold up in any setting. Compare and contrast the video with the studio rendition below.
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Written by Rob Peoni
Band to Watch: Neonfaith
We get quite a bit of e-mail here at Thought on Tracks. And by “we,” I really mean Rob. Just like 95% of the Internet, the majority of it is garbage, but on occasion there are ones that strike the eye, or ears in our case. The latest for me is NYC’s Neonfaith, a band who “does not suck” according to their subject line of their e-mail submission. And well, they are most certainly correct, because the word “suck” doesn’t belong anywhere near the realm of their music. Limited information is available regarding this new act. What I can tell you is that the group is comprised of Lay, Fef, and Megan along with the fact that they have two pretty great singles out right now. The first, “Escape”, features mysterious, heavy synth lines along with drum kits and keys. Oh yeah, and some absolutely killer vocals. Their most recent track that was released this week, “Tied Together”, is a minimalistic soulful jam that harnesses those lead vocals with the perfect amount of pitch and control. Both singles represent a unique group with a wide range of sound worth keeping an eye on as hopefully a full length album is just around the corner. Scope both tracks below and let us know what you think.
So yeah Neonfaith, you don’t suck.
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Written by Greg Dahman
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