In The Pharmacy #107 – September 2016

Songs inspired by fate, sisterhood, sex, love, death, drugs, weather, fire, childhood, World War II battleships, Jay Reatard and Yugoslavian anti-fascist resistance slogans. Seventeen new tracks from Sweden, the US, Australia, Canada, Spain and the UK. New music from The Radio Dept., Cherry Glazerr (pictured), Gold Class, Haley Bonar, Local Natives, Sat Nite Duets, Happy Diving, Look Park, Savoy Motel, Wilco, Mild High Club, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Papa M, The Parrots, Katy Goodman and Great Morgan, The Wedding Present, and Okkervil River.

The Radio Dept. ‘Sloboda Narodu’

Five years on from Clinging to a Scheme, the Swedish dreampop band return with their fourth album Running Out of Love (Labrador, October 21).
[The Radio Dept.]

Cherry Glazerr ‘Told You I’d Be With The Guys’
After hitting a high with their ‘Had 10 Dollaz’ 7” (Suicide Squeeze) Cherry Glazerr return, with the guitars ramped up, a new line up and now signed to Secretly Canadian.
[Cherry Glazerr]

Gold Class ‘Kids on Fire’
Melbourne post-punkers (and one of the best live bands around at the moment) with a new track, their first since their split single with Mere Women.
[Gold Class]

Haley Bonar ‘Kismet Kill’
“I was impossible, when I was beautiful”. From Bonar’s latest album Impossible Dream (out now, GNDWIRE).
[Haley Bonar]

Local Natives ‘Coins’
After an amazing debut and an underwhelming follow up, Local Natives return with new album Sunlit Youth. Not as joyously infectious as Gorilla Manor, but more focussed and with stronger hooks than Hummingbird.
[Local Natives]

Sat Nite Duets ‘Attached to the Lamp’
Another track from the Milwaukee indie rock band’s debut album Air Guitar (September 16). This one appears to be ruminating on the inequities of being in band, traveling across the country to “play to the soundman and the other band“. Features the line “We’ve got Bob and the Band/ we’ve got Spooky and Dan/ and we’ve got ourselves a motherfuckin’ rock & roll band”.
[Sat Nite Duets]

Happy Diving ‘Don’t Be Afraid of Love’
Some excellent nineties-influenced fuzzy wigged out guitar from the Oakland, CA band’s second album Electric Soul Unity (out now, Topshelf).
[Happy Diving]

Look Park ‘Breezy’
Classic pop that lives up to its title from former-Fountains-of-Wayne-frontman Chris Collingwood’s new band.
[Look Park]

Savoy Motel ‘Sorry People’
“A song based on the late Jay Reatard’s skewed philosophy of never apologizing for anything, even though I remember him telling me he was sorry about countless crazy things in the past.” From the Nashville skewed garage pop band’s forthcoming debut album (What’s Your Rupture?, October 21).
[Savoy Motel]

Wilco ‘If I Ever Was A Child’
Stripped down and understated track from the band’s stripped down and understated new album Schmilco.
[Wilco]

Mild High Club ‘Homage’
Psych pop from the LA band’s new album Skiptracing (out now, Stones Throw).
[Mild High Club]

Cymbals Eat Guitars ‘Have a Heart’
From the Staten Island indie rock band’s fourth album Pretty Years (Barsuk, September 16)
[Cymbals Eat Guitars]

Papa M ‘Walking on Coronado’
Post-rock kingpin David Pajo returns in his Papa M guise with this lovely instrumental.
[Papa M]

The Parrots ‘Letas Do It Again’

Madrid garage band with a track from their album Los Niños Sin Miedo (out now, Heavenly)
[The Parrots]

Katy Goodman and Greta Morgan ‘Sex Beat’
Buddies Goodman (La Sera/Vivian Girls) and Morgan (The Hush Sound / Springtime Carnivore) previously recorded one track together as Books of Love back in 2013 (ITP #33). Now they have got back together under their own names to record a collection of punk and new wave covers in a dreampop style (Take It, It’s Yours, out now). It doesn’t always work, but when it does as on this Gun Club classic (and on covers of The Replacements, Bad Brains, Blondie, The Wipers and Misfits) it’s a treat.
[Katy Goodman and Greta Morgan]

The Wedding Present ‘Marblehead’
Dream-like number from the band’s Going, Going Gone album (which features more typically Weddoes-like tunes, as well).
[The Wedding Present]

Okkervil River ‘Comes Indiana Through the Smoke’
From the new Okkervil River album Away (out now, ATO) This song is about the death of Will Sheff’s grandfather, Sheff imagines the battleship Indiana (that his grandfather served on during World War II) returning to take him away.
[Okkervil River]

In The Pharmacy #98 – April 2016

Thirty-five new tracks from Denmark, USA, Australia, Canada and the UK. Over two hours of great tunes from The Raveonettes (pictured), Violent Soho, Tacocat, Woods, Kevin Morby, Yeasayer, Julia Jacklin, White Denim, Parquet Courts, Damien Jurado, The Thermals, The Goon Sax, Case / Lang / Veirs, Kyle Craft, Horror My Friend, Autolux, Black Honey, Keeps, Xenia Rubinos, The Gotobeds, Bleached, Gold Class, Moonface and Siinai, A Giant Dog, Lisa Prank, Winterpills, Gorgeous Bully, Mere Women, Psychic Ills featuring Hope Sandoval, Plush, Mhairi, Marissa Nadler, Deardarkhead, Black Mountain, and Stars.

The Raveonettes ‘Excuses’
The latest from the Danish band’s Rave Sound of The Month series, written and recorded in 24 hours after they failed to get the mechanical licence for their planned cover version in time.
[The Raveonettes]

Violent Soho ‘Blanket’
Formerly based in the US and signed to Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label, Violent Soho relocated back to Australia five years ago and it seems to agree with them. Killer performances at this year’s Laneway Festival, tours that sell out in minutes and the current #1 album in Australia with Waco.
[Violent Soho]

Tacocat ‘Dana Katherine Scully’
From the title (Lost Time, out now, Hardly Art) on down, X-files references abound on the third album from the Seattle surf punks. This opening track is merely the most overt, a tribute to the more reason-led half of the the paranormal searching duo.
[Tacocat]

Woods ‘I See In The Dark’
Mournful horns, afro-funk, and west coast psychedelia meet on the first taste of the band’s forthcoming ninth album Sun City Eater in the River of Light (April 8, Woodsist). Can’t wait to hear the rest of it.
[Woods]

Kevin Morby ‘Dorothy’
Former Woods and sometimes Babies man Kevin Morby follows up 2014’s excellent Still Life with another track from his album Singing Saw (April 15, Dead Oceans).
[Kevin Morby]

Yeasayer ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’
Another stand out track from the forthcoming Yeasayer album, Amen & Goodbye. There’s a lot going on here, led and held together by the bass and percussion, there’s various synths, horns and woodwind coming in and out plus cameos from guitar and piano and a wordless vocal refrain (April 8th)
[Yeasayer]

Julia Jacklin ‘Pool Party’
It often seems that Sydney is awash with mediocre singer songwriters, so it’s always great when someone with talent comes along. Immediately prior to causing a buzz at SxSW (and weathering what could easily be crushing comparison’s to Angel Olsen), the Blue Mountains artist slipped this song out, and it’s a corker.
[Julia Jacklin]

White Denim ‘Had 2 Know (Personal)’
From the garage/blues rock band’s new album Stiff (out now, Downtown Records).
[White Denim]

Parquet Courts ‘Human Performance’
After the unnecessary, tuneless dirge of the last year’s Monastic Living EP (why?), Parquet Courts return with a proper record, of which this is the charming slacker fuzz title track.
[Parquet Courts]

Damien Jurado ‘QACHINA’
The mystic journey of discovery trilogy that started with Maroqopa (2012) and continued with Brothers and Sisters of The Eternal Son (201$) ends with Visions of Us on the Land, Jurado’s 12th (!) album (out now, Secretly Canadian). Proof that 21st Century Cosmic American music doesn’t need to sound like bad country.
[Damien Jurado]

The Goon Sax ‘Target’
Urbane indie pop trio from Brisbane-band which features Robert Forster’s son Louis, but who have enough talent of their own that people like me will probably stop mentioning the connection in about 20 years. From their excellent debut, Up To Anything (Chapter Music, out now).
[The Goon Sax]

The Thermals ‘Thinking of You’
With albums on Sub Pop, Kill Rock Stars and Saddle Creek, this Portland band are indie rock lifers. Hard to believe it’s a decade since their excellent The Body, The Blood, The Machine, which in itself was bookended by two other great albums (2004’s Fuckin’ A and 2009’s Now We Can See). Now they are back with their best album in 10 years, We Disappear (Saddle Creek, out now). Even on an album where tracks only break the three-minute mark twice, this one is a lesson in post-pop punk brevity.
[The Thermals]

Case / Lang / Veirs ‘Best Kept Secret’
Following on from the Neko-led ‘Atomic Number’, here’s a catchy Laura Veirs sung number from the forthcoming collaborative album from Neko Case, KD Lang and Laura Veirs (June 17, Ant- / Epitaph).
[Case / Lang / Veirs]

Kyle Craft ‘Eye of A Hurricane’
Another track from the Portland, OR via Louisiana musician’s forthcoming debut album Dolls of Highland (Sub Pop, April 29).
[Kyle Craft]

Horror My Friend ‘Easy Going’
Taken from their debut Stay In, Do Nothing that came out a couple of months back (Poison City), but worth flagging up now as the band have just completed their album launch tour here in Australia.
[Horror My Friend]

Autolux ‘Becker’
One album every six years is a bit slack, but Pussy’s Dead, the third effort from the Los Angeles shoegaze / krautrock / space rock trio has been worth the wait, upping the electronics.
[Autolux]

Black Honey ‘All My Pride’
First track from the Brighton-based retro indie pop band’s forthcoming Headspin EP (29 April).
[Black Honey]

Keeps ‘Let It Fall (Keeping Time)’
From the Nashville dreampop band’s debut album Brief Spirit (out now, Old Flame Records).
[Keeps]

Xenia Rubinos ‘Lonely Lover’
Smooth and smokey stuff from Rubinos’ forthcoming second album Black Terry Cat (June 3, Anti-), the follow up to 2013’s Magic Trix.
[Xenia Rubinos]

The Gotobeds ‘Real Maths / Too Much’
Catchy indie punk rock from the Pittsburgh band’s forthcoming album
BLOOD // SUGAR // SECS // TRAFFIC‘ (Sub Pop, June 10).
[The Gotobeds]

Bleached ‘Chemical Air’
LA based sisters Jen and Jessica Clavin delivered one of 2013’s best albums with Ride Your Heart their Shangri-Las-meets-garage-pop debut as Bleached (they’d previously played together in Mika Miko). The follow up finds the Clavins bringing bassist Micayla Grace into the songwriting and recording with veteran producer Joe Chiccarelli, who cut is teeth with Frank Zappa and has recordied everyone from Poco to Spoon to My Morning Jacket and the Front Bottoms. This second preview track from Welcome the Worms is driven by simple girl-group inspired rhythm, fuzz guitar and a topped by the vocal melody and the repeated hook of “I’ve been giving in, in to giving up, up to nothing but trying to kill time / you’ve been missing now, out on everything, everything is passing you by” (out now, Dead Oceans).
[Bleached]

Gold Class ‘Standing At The Fault Line’
Melbourne gothy post-punksters follow up their excellent debut album with this track, one side of a split single with Sydney-side kindred spirits Mere Women.
[Gold Class]

Moonface and Siinai ‘Risto’s Riff’
Spencer Krug of the recently re-activated Wolf Parade returns with the third of his collboaration with Finnish band Siinai, My Best Human Face (Jagjaguwar, June 3).
This is the first track to surface, featuring Krug’s inimitable vocal style, heavily sustained guitar riff and driving beat.
[Moonface and Siinai]

A Giant Dog ‘Get With You and Get High’
Houston band enlist fellow Texan Bitt Daniel on this out of character slow number taken from their forthcoming third album, Pile (Merge, 6 May).
[A Giant Dog]

Lisa Prank ‘Starting Again’
Lisa Prank, aka Seattle-via-Dnver-based singer guitarist Robin Edwards and her Roland 505 drum machine with the first single from her Adult Teen album (June 24, Father/Daughter / Miscreant).
[Lisa Prank]

Winterpills ‘Freeze Your Light’
Northampton, MA indie folksters follow up their low key covers record Echolalia (2014) with their fifth album proper, Love Songs (Signature Sound, out now), from which this is one of many highlights.
[Winterpills]

Gorgeous Bully ’Beaucoup’
Nineties-indebted minimal indie rock from the Manchester band. One side of a split 7” with Something Anorak (May 27, Art Is Hard).
[Gorgeous Bully]

Mere Women ‘Numb’
The other side of the split single with Gold Class, more post-puk vibes, but harder-edged and less forgiving.
[Mere Women]

Psychic Ills featuring Hope Sandoval ‘I Dont Mind’
New York duo enlist Hope Sandoval just to underline the debt this desert-blues number owes to Mazzy Star.
[Psychic Ills]

Plush ‘Please Don’t Let Me Go’
This San Franciscan band who have never heard of Google (time to pick another name, dudes!) deal in lo-fi sob rock, of which this is a rather lovely slice.
[Plush]

Mhairi ‘Crystalline’
Smokey trip-hop influenced electronic noir pop from 20 year old Bournemouth musician.
[Mhairi]

Marissa Nadler ‘All The Colors of The Dark’
Massachusetts gothic folk singer songwriter follows up 2014’s wonderful July with a new album Strangers (Sacred Bones / Bella Union, May 20th). This is the second track to be featured here after last month’s ‘Janie in Love’.
[Marissa Nadler]

Deardarkhead ‘Falling Upward’
New Jersey’s veteran post-punk influenced shoegazers who parted ways with their vocalist in 2009 have found a renewed focus since they now deal exclusively in instrumental music. This is from their rather excellent Strange Weather EP (out now, Saint Marie Records).
[Deardarkhead]

Black Mountain ‘Space To Bakersfield’
Epic space rock closer from the Canadian band’s new IV album (out now, Jagjaguwar).
[Black Mountain]

Stars ‘Wonderful Life’
Lovely Amy Milan-fronted tribute to the late Colin Vearncombe as part of Stars monthly cover series.
[Stars]