Admittedly, I never followed Poi Dog Pondering, not remotely in fact, yet when I had the opportunity to snatch up this little curio a couple years back for a song (literally) I didn't pass it up. When they came "onto the scene" as it were, in the late '80s, I remember that much was made of their neo-folk bent, and comparatively offbeat accoutrements. Thus, this is what likely turned me off to them, being the indie guitar-rock aficionado that I was well on my way to becoming. 
Ever since Rapidshare made my life miserable in early 2013 and dumped the entirety of files I was hosting through them, I've been getting requests from many of you for restored links. The amount of requests received for the recommissioning of certain titles functions as a barometer of sorts of the popularity of what I've shared over the years. One name that's garnered multiple requests is Rollerskate Skinny, or more specifically their early eps, Novice and Trophy that I first made available in 2007. When I recently discovered a live recording of the band via a Facebook fanpage, I jumped at the chance to hear it. Number one, RS were from Ireland (and only toured stateside once, or twice tops), and number two, I don't know of any other live recordings in circulation. On top of that, this is either a soundboard tape or a high quality audience recording. In short, a colossal find.
The California based Hollow Sunshine impart a pair of deliberately slow, sludgy pieces
that lay down the low in ponderously heavy fashion. Take the A-sider “Cold Truth”
for example. What would normally pass for overmodulated muck is sublimely
salvaged via an immediate hook, informed by vintage Dino Jr. and further tricked
out with mild ‘gazer tendencies. Exuding the type of despondent vibes we all
secretly enjoy reveling in on occasion, the slow-boiling “I Wandered” might have you scurrying
to your turntable to make sure it’s set to 45, not 33. Navel gazing nerve-ana never came in a more sonically dichotomous package, and this single follows up HS's Held Above album on Robotic Empire. They also have an extremely limited cassette ep, Atascadero, available on Bridgetown Records that you don't want to sleep on.
Good goth! Population conjure up an entirely legit comparison that I haven’t stumbled on in
eons – Fields of the Nephilim. Chalk that up to their unidentified, throaty frontman whose doomy bellow is a
dead ringer for the Neph’s Carl McCoy. Both cuts here are
fairly Joy Division-ed up, with shades of Red Lorry peeking through to boot, though the Nephilim have these guys beat in the spaghetti western department big time. Population aren't going to
be ringing everyone’s diner bell – not by a longshot in fact, but
aficionados of maudlin post-punk will do well with this beauty. The envelope adorning sleeve art is quite innovative I might add.
Finally, we have Wildhoney's Seventeen Forever ep. I dedicated a few ones and zeroes to their 2013 three songer, and I'm happy to talk this one up. Calling Baltimore home this female commandeered dream-pop outfit unfurls a LOUD, breathless rush of dizzying feedback and melody, with all the woozy pomp and circumstance the genre came to embody, circa 1991. Borrowing heavily from both Anglo and American camps, you'd swear you had heard Wildhoney before even if you hadn't. Seventeen Forever is that perfect and impeccably gratifying. 
Before there was Built to Spill, there were these guys. Just as crucial if you ask me.
I thought this would follow up nicely to the Eastern Bloc entry from a couple days ago. More rock o' the '80s, in this case, ostensibly from the environs of Toronto. Tame & Talking do the jangle/synth thing quite adeptly wherever the needle lands on this privately issued EP. The trio's creative acumen made lent them an edge that was slightly beyond the grasp of the Top 40 crowd, but sonically, T&T could have easily cashed-in given the opportunity. So far as I can tell the world didn't see hide nor hair of these guys again after this record dropped. Enjoy (or not).
I had a request for this many moons ago when I didn't even own it...but I do now. I don't have much time for a write up today. Luckily, Trouser Press have us covered, and you can see what they have to say after the jump. BTW, there's a really dandy Patti Smith cover on here. Percussionist Frankie LaRocka has passed on, but you can read a very thorough and thoughtful piece on his life and times courtesy of New York Rocker online.
I obtained this lil' guy in a big 'ol lot of demo tapes a couple years back. Until then I was wholly unacquainted with this Highland Park, NJ trio, but nearly a quarter century after the fact Seething Grey have one more believer in their corner. Right off the bat, mouthpiece Peter Horvath reminds me of a less raspy Peter Searcy, and furthermore, Big Table's initial three tunes suggest a punchier REM or Gin Blossoms. The going gets more aggressive on "Make It Go" which wouldn't sound a bit out of place on
Dinosaur Jr's splendid Green Mind. Capping things off, "All in Your Mind" is a gratifying blast of full fledged punk pop. It turns out Seething Grey have a couple of CDs to their credit, which are available on CD Baby, iTunes and the like. 
In reference to the album title, I'm not sure how many people accepted Bamff's invitation, but those who did were ensured an intriguing earful. This synth-dominant Vancouver bunch, fronted by Danice MacLeod, present us with an avant-laden pastiche of stop/start fluctuations, '80s vocal effects and even some fretless basslines, all amidst a reliably plush new wave backdrop. A surreal sonic dichotomy to say the least, and MacLeod's Elizabeth Fraser-like operatic tact only added to Bamff's artful unorthodoxy. If you're looking for some immediate insight into the group's modus operandi, check out the video for "Crevice Tool," below, perhaps the first (and only) song to concern a vacuuming implement. 
I don't know what it is about 2014, but this year I only feel compelled to absorb music in the briefest of increments - ten, fifteen mins tops usually. Piercing this threshold of self-diagnosed Adult ADHD comes Cheap Stuff, the debut from an upstart Albany, NY-area trio, who I found myself partaking in virtually in it's entirety more than once this week. Great Mutations have somehow manged to capture and hold my attention, bereft of resorting to anything flashy, superficial or the least bit ostentatious on their part. Cheap Stuff is akin to an Americana-laced Pavement sans the esoteric curveballs, or perhaps a better comparison can be drawn to indie aggregations like Grandaddy, and less obviously Rogue Wave. G/M are lackadaisical without getting too slack, not to mention sweet and strummy, graciously sparing us any genteel malaise that's so ubiquitous these days. Just three capable fellows with real songs you might say. And you can hear those songs for yourself via Bandcamp, where Cheap Stuff can be had at a fittingly affordable price. 
Entirely unrelated, but just as worthy comes a brand new live album from Arlington, TX power pop troubadour Lannie Flowers. For the past couple years I've been serving up reviews and samples of his most recent solo albums (and his unheralded '80s group, The Pengwins) on Wilfully Obscure, but for those of you who've yet delve in, Live in NYC is a sublime jumping off point. The setting for the concert was Brooklyn's Trash Bar, where Lannie and his four compatriots served up a "Lannie's dozen" of fourteen numbers to a small but attentive audience. Included are ace renditions from his New Songs Old Stories and Circles albums, as well as a special cover of Big Star's incendiary classic, "Back of a Car." Live in NYC affirms his strengths with should-have-been chart toppers, "Turn Up Your Radio" and "Come on Girl," among nearly a dozen more cuts. You can get a taste of Lannie's bite out of the Big Apple from CD Baby or iTunes at your leisure.
