In The Pharmacy #78 – May 2015

Nineteen new tunes from the US, Australia, Sweden, Norway, the UK, and Canada. Indie pop, experimental pop, electronic pop, psych pop, garage punk, shoegaze, dreampop etc. New music from Django Django, Best Coast, Sharon Van Etten, Pale Honey (pictured), Titus Andronicus, Tame Impala, Future Islands, Power, Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, The Lovely Eggs, Alessia Cara, Vexx, Misun, Jenny Hval, Cheena, Empress Of, Chelsea Wolfe, Joanna Gruesome, Valet.

The Lovely Eggs ‘Ordinary People Unite’

Lancashire spousal pop from Holly Ross and David Blackwell, taken from their new album This Is Our Nowhere (out now).
[The Lovely Eggs]

Django Django ‘Giant’

Opening track from the band’s new album Born Under Saturn, psych tinged, groove-centric, electronic indie pop.
[Django Django]

Best Coast ‘In My Eyes’
Best Coast’s second album was terrible, but they followed it up with the fantastic Fade Away EP. Their new album California Nights builds on that momentum and all the horrible affectations and weaknesses of The Only Place have been blasted away and replaced with surf pop songs of superior quality and catchiness.
[Best Coast]

Pale Honey ‘Fish’
Gothenburg duo of Tuva Lodmark and Nelly Daltrey play guitar and drums indie pop with retro flourishes. This is taken from their rather excellent eponymous debut album (out now).
[Pale Honey]

Titus Andronicus ‘Dimed Out’
Killer punk tune about turning it up to 10: “I turned it up to four I couldn’t feel it / I turned it to five it wasn’t real yet / turning it up to six wouldn’t reveal it / seven was secret / eight was reaching / nine was decent but I really liked it when it dimed out!” taken from the New Jersey band’s forthcoming The Most Lamentable Tragedy 93-minutes-long concept album (Merge, July 28).
[Titus Andronicus]

Tame Impala ‘Eventually’
Another new track from the eagerly awaited third album Currents. Smooth, soulful psych pop with filthy fuzzed out bass.
[Tame Impala]

Future Islands ‘The Chase’

First new material since last year’s breakthrough Singles album follows in the same footsteps. Soulful synthpop (available digitally now and on 7” vinyl June 30).
[Future Islands]

Power ‘Slimy’s Chains’

Melbourne heavy rock garage punk. Taken from the forthcoming Electric Glitter Boogie EP (Cool Death Records).
[Power]

Sharon Van Etten ‘I Don’t Want to Let You Down’

Title track from SVE’s new EP.
[Sharon Van Etten]

Colin Stetson / Sarah Neufeld ‘Won’t Be a Thing to Become’

Post rock meets modern classical with hints of Radiohead from the horn and violin players’ excellent collaborative album (out now, Constellation).
[Colin Stetson / Sarah Neufeld]

Alessia Cara ‘Here’

Maybe much of the appeal of this track is down to familiarity – it basically consists of the same Isaac Hayes ‘Ike’s Rap II’ sample that Tricky and Portishead used over 20 years ago for their ‘Hell Is Round the Corner’ / ‘Glory Box’ tracks respectively. But the the 18 year old Ontario born Def Jam signed artist sing-raps over the top about having a shit time at a party with no little charm.
[Alessia Cara]

Vexx ‘Black White’

Olympia, WA punks fronted by Maryjane Dunphe, taken from their new four track 7”, Give and Take (available as a name-your-price download from their bandcamp page).
[Vexx]

Misun ‘After Me’
Laidback electropop, with great vocals and lovely, fuzzy guitar that kicks in at the three minute mark. Taken from the DC band’s Feel Better EP (out May 29).
[Misun]

Jenny Hval ‘Heaven’
Another stand out track from the Norwegian experimental pop artist’s Apocalypse, Girl album (out June 9 on Sacred Bones).
[Jenny Hval]

Cheena ‘Did I Tell You Last Night’
Another Sacred Bones signed artist. Five guys raised in NYC’s underground punk scene getting together to stretch their wings on something less shouty and more melodic and coming up with something mid-70s post-glam-proto-punk in sound and feel.
[Cheena]

Empress Of ‘Water Water’

Brooklyn-based electronic pop artist Lorely Rodriguez, first featured here two years ago with ‘Hat Trick’ and ‘Tristeza’ (ITP #28 & #30) returns with the first track from her debut album (tbc, on Terrible / XL).
[Empress Of]

Chelsea Wolfe ‘Iron Moon’

Last featured here with her King Dude collaboration ‘Be Free’ (Feb 2014, ITP #51), the LA doom / drone / folk singer songwriter returns with the first track from her forthcoming fourth album Abyss (Sargent House, August 7).
[Chelsea Wolfe]

Joanna Gruesome ‘I Don’t Wanna Relax’
Another slice of MBV-indebted noise pop from the Cardiff-based band’s excellent forthcoming second album Peanut Butter (Fortuna Pop! / Slumberland / Turnstile, May 11).
[Joanna Gruesome]

Valet ‘Nature’
Shoegaze / dreampop title track from the solo project of Portland experimentalist Honey Owens (out May 25, Kranky).
[Valet]

In The Pharmacy #72 – February 2015

Eighteen of the best songs from the last two weeks. A fortnight’s worth of new music from the US, Australia, Canada, NZ, UK and Sweden.

Dick Diver ‘Tearing the Posters Down’
One of two songs to emerge from the forthcoming third album Melbourne, Florida (March 6, Chapter Music / Trouble in Mind) finds them taking both the jangle and songwriting up another notch.
[Dick Diver]

Desperate Journalist ‘Eulogy’
North London four-piece with a taste for The Smiths, post-punk and 12 string jangle have released a brilliant self-titled debut album (out now on Fierce Panda). This is just one of many stand out tracks.
[Desperate Journalist]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra ‘Multi-Love’
Portland based band featuring ex-pat Kiwis step it up for the title track of their forthcoming third album, due out on Jagjaguwar, May 25
[Unknown Mortal Orchestra]

Liam Hayes ‘Fokus’

Liam Hayes (the man behind slow moving project Plush) sounding like a power pop Ted Leo on this track from his Slurrup album (out now on Fat Possum).
[Liam Hayes]

Houndstooth ‘No News From Home’
Woozy psych-dappled folk pop title track from Pacific North Westerners’ forthcoming second album (March, No Quarter), the follow up to Ride Out The Dark.
[Houndstooth] http://houndstooth.virb.com/

Lower Dens ‘To Die in L.A.’
Poppier than anything on Nootropics, but still maintaining the Krautrock and Bowie-in Berlin influences of that album, this is taken from forthcoming third long player Escape From Evil (March 31, Ribbon Music).
[Lower Dens]

Alex G ‘Sarah’
Philly based Alex G has a wealth of music available on his Bandcamp page, a lot of recently reissued on ltd edition vinyl. This track originates from 2012 but is only now seeing the light of day. Lo-fi, melodic indie with heaps of charm.
[Alex G]

Father John Misty ‘Holy Shit’
One of many stand out cuts from J Tillman’s second album as FJM, I Love You, Honeybear (out now, Sub Pop).
[Father John Misty]

Fred Thomas ‘Bad Blood’
Leader of indie pop collective Saturday Looks Good To Me (among other projects), with something different and darker from his forthcoming solo album All Are Saved (Polyvinyl).
[Fred Thomas]

Babaganouj ‘Can’t Stop’
Brisbane band featuring two former members of the sadly defunct Go Violets with a big, bright pop song, the follow up to last year’s ‘Bluff’ and ‘Too Late For Love’ singles.
[Babaganouj]

Speedy Ortiz ‘Raising the Skate’
Northampton, MA 90s festishists return with first track from follow up to 2013’s Major Arcana, Foil Deer (April 21, Carpark). Lyrically a mission statement, and a reflection on the frustrations of being a female musician in 2015, singer/ songwriter/ guitarist Sadie Dupuis says “It’s crazy frustrating seeing women and girls, myself included, put in positions in which they have to shirk credit for their talent or otherwise risk getting dissed as overbearing and bitchy,”
[Speedy Ortiz]

Purity Ring ‘Heartsigh’
Opening track from the Canadian duo’s second 4AD album Another Eternity (March 3). Electronic pop with the occasional euphoric stadium house flourish.
[Purity Ring]

Joanna Gruesome ‘Last Year’
More self-proclaimed “dissonant wimp music” from the Welsh quintet who appear to have refined their noise / pop balance to better effect. This is taken from forthcoming second album Peanut Butter (Fortuna Pop! / Slumberland / Turnstile, May 11).
[Joanna Gruesome]

Nite Fields ‘You I Never Knew’
Taken from the Brisbane band’s Depersonalisation album, out now on Felte. Superior 80s goth / post-punk leaning sounds.
[Nite Fields]

Crushed Beaks ‘Overgrown’

Melodic, noisey indie pop that harks back to the mid-80s. Taken from the London band’s debut album Scatter (out now on Matilda).
[Crushed Beaks]

Makthaverskan ‘Witness’
Gothenburg post-punks with a track from their new limited 7″. Out in Europe on March 3, and in the US as an official Record Store Day single (April 18).
[Makthaverskan] https://www.facebook.com/makthaverskanofficial

Breakfast in Fur ‘Portrait’
Like In The Pharmacy favourites Diert Cig, Breakfast in Fur are from New Paltz, NY. But these guys eschew ramshackle indie pop for in favour of a more lush dreampop style as evinced on this track from their debut album Flyaway Garden (out now on Bar/None).
[Breakfast in Fur]

Ryley Walker ‘Sweet Satisfaction’
Another beauty from the Chicago singer/ songwriter / guitarist’s can’t-get-here-soon-enough Primrose Green album (Dead Oceans, March 31). Starting off with his picking folk guitar style and gentle jazz flavoured rhythms, this one has a vein of barely restrained fuzz running through it starting at the 1 minute 43 mark which carries on until the last two minutes of the song turn into more of a guitar freakout. Fantastic.
[Ryley Walker]