Tag Archives: The Chills

In The Pharmacy #90 – Late October 2015

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Fourteen new tracks from the US, UK, New Zealand and Canada. New music from Joanna Newsom (pictured), The Besnard Lakes, The Drink, Summer Twins, Animal House, Merchandise (featuring Dum Dum Girls), Pure Bathing Culture, Protomartyr, Boss, The Chills, Chorusgirl, Dilly Dally, Martin Courtney, and Greg Dulli.

Summer Twins ‘Florence’
Summer Twins are Californian sisters Chelsea and Justine Browne, playing dreampop with rock and roll, psychedelic pop, garage rock and French girl. Chelsea writes most of the songs sings and plays guitar, but this track was written by and features guitar from bass and drum playing sister Justine. And it’s the guitar that kicks in at the 15 second mark that’ll stick inyour head. From the album Limbo (out now, Burger Records)
[Summer Twins]

Merchandise [feat. Dum Dum Girls] ‘Red Sun’
I like the idea of 4AD signed Merchandise more than I enjoyed their album of doomy / goth stadium-sized post punk. But here, roping in Dee Dee Penny, slowing it down and giving it lots of space, it really pays off. This is for a one off Sub Pop single (out 27 November), but I could definitely go a whole album of this.
[Merchandise]

Joanna Newsom ‘Goose Eggs’
My current favourite track from her wonderful new album Divers (out now, Drag City). There’s an extended instrumental outro with electric piano and the song is underpinned by some lovely haprsichord or celeste, but it’s the the vocal performance that is the hero here. Stunning, it would be amazing to here the isolated track.
[Joanna Newsom]

The Drink ‘You Won’t Come Back At All’
Another highlight from the London-based trio’s fantastic new album Capital (Out November 13, Melodic). The star here is the the extended instrumental outro, Derbhla Minogue runs free with her guitar, weaving in and out of the rhythm laid down by Daniel Fordham and David Stewart.
[The Drink]

Animal House ‘English Girls’

I thought it odd that such a post-Libertines Brit-sounding band would have a song called ‘English Girls’, turns out these Brighton-based boys are originally from Brisbane.
[Animal House]

Pure Bathing Culture ‘Pray For Rain’
Woozy electronic dreampop title track from the Portland band’s second album (out now Parisan / Memphis Industries) the follow up to 2013’s Moon Tides.
[Pure Bathing Culture]

Protomartyr ‘Cowards Strave’
I used to have a cassette with Girls Against Boys ‘Venus Luxure No.1 Baby’ on one side and Cop Shot Cop ‘Release’ on the other. I reckon if you played both sides at the same time it would sound not entirely dissimilar to Protomartyr’s second album The Agent Intellect, from where this track is taken. Probably why I like it. (out now, Hardly Art).
[Protomartyr]

Boss ‘I’m Down With That’
New side project for Warpaint’s Theresa Wayman is tropical electronic psych pop with a rubbery bass line recalling the loose grooves of Tom Tom Club. Out soon on Speedy Wunderground.
[Boss]

The Besnard Lakes ‘Golden Lion’
Sunshine psych rock title track from the B’Lakes new EP (Jagjaguwar, Nov 13).
[The Besnard Lakes]

The Chills ’I Can’t Help You’
One of many jangling highlights from The Chills’ Silver Bullets album, their first in nineteen years (out now, Fire!).
[The Chills]

Chorusgirl ‘Dream On, Baby Blue’
First released as a limited 7” back in July, this now features on the band’s debut album for Fortuna Pop (out next month).
[Chorusgirl]

Dilly Dally ‘Next Gold’
Another great track from the Toronto ‘soft-grunge’ band’s excellent debut album Sore (out now 9, Partisan Records).
[Dilly Dally]

Martin Courtney ‘Airport Bar’
Taken from the Real Estate frontman’s melodic dreampop solo album Many Moons (out now Domino).
[Martin Courtney]

Greg Dulli ‘A Crime’
Afghan Whigs / Twilight Singers / Gutter Twins Greg Dulli has only released one album under his own name, 2005’s Amber Headlights. After last year’s triumphant Afghan Whigs comeback Do To The Beast, the band are currently back in the studio but Dulli is taking time to head out on a solo tour and is marking it with a free download of a cover of this 2011 Sharon Van Etten song (Dulli’s version features Ani DiFranco on backing vocals). The original is just SVE and acoustic guitar, but here GD makes it his own and it becomes a lush, dark, bad love number. Dulli recently posted that Van Etten joined the ‘Whigs in the studio – what a treat that will be if it sees the light of day!
[Greg Dulli]

In The Pharmacy #85 – Late August 2015

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Fifteen new tracks from the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. New music from Royal Headache, The Chills, Diet Cig, Destroyer (pictured), Shannon and the Clams, Beach House, Prison Whites, Saintseneca, PWR BTTM, Low, Palehound, All Dogs, Royal Headache, Duran Duran and Steve Hauschlidt.

Royal Headache ‘Love Her If I Tried’
The first of two tracks from the Sydney band’s second album High (out now, Distant and Vague / What’s Your Rupture /). Currently my favourite track on the album and the epitome of their garage-punk-meets-soul sound.
[Royal Headache]

The Chills ‘America Says Hello’
Classic, sparkling jangle pop from Kiwi legend Martin Phillipps and co. Since1990 they have released records called Submarine Bells, Soft Bomb, SunBurnt, Sketch Book, Secret Box, and Stand By. No surprise then that he Dunedin-based band’s first new album in 19 years is called Silver Bullets (Fire, October 30).
[The Chills]

Diet Cig ‘Dinner Date’
New Paltz indiepop duo with the other side of the ‘Sleep Talk’ single (as featured on ITP #82)“, this is there first vinyl release and follow up to the Over Easy cassette (ITP #70 and #71). Out on September 18, Father/Daughter / Art Is Hard).
[Diet Cig]

Destroyer ’Times Square’
On August 28 Dan Bejar returns with the follow up to 2011’s critically acclaimed Kaputt, Poison Season (Merge / Dead Oceans). This tracks is, literally, the centre of an album that vies with Father John Misty’s I Love You Honeybear as this year’s most idiosyncratic singer songwriter album.
[Destroyer]

Shannon and the Clams ‘It’s Too Late’
Following on from the downbeat ‘Corvette’ (ITP#81) here’s some sci fi surf pop from the Oakland band’s forthcoming album Gone By The Dawn (Hardly Art ,Sept 11).
[Shannon and the Clams]

Beach House ‘PPP’
Unhurried, hypnagogic number from the Baltimore dreampop duo’s forthcoming Depression Cherry album (Sub Pop, August 28).
[Beach House]

Prison Whites ‘Deceiver’

London via Cambridge three piece playing catchy garage punk.
[Prison Whites]

Saintseneca ‘Sleeper Hold’

Columbus, OH folksters led by Zac Little and featuring All Dogs’ Maryn Jones in their current line up. This is taken from their forthcoming third album, Such Things (Anti-, October 9).
[Saintseneca]

PWR BTTM ‘Dairy Queen’
Here’s another track from the Brooklyn-via-New Paltz queer punk duo’s debut album following on from last month’s title track ‘Ugly Cherries’ (ITP #82).
[PWR BTTM]

Low ‘Lies’
Following on from ‘No Comprende’ (ITP #81) and ‘What Part of Me’ (ITP #84) here’s the third and most track to appear from Low’s eleventh album Ones and Sixes (Sub Pop, September 11). Features a great vocal performance from Mimi Parker about two thirds in.
[Low]

Palehound ‘Cinammon’
Atypical track from debut album Dry Food eschews the 90s influences for some trippy afropop guitar.
[Palehound]

All Dogs ‘How Long’
Maryn Jones pops her head up again with another track from All Dogs debut album Kicking Every Day (Salinas, August 28).
[All Dogs]

Royal Headache ‘Carolina’
Another taste of the new album, ‘Carolina’ highlights another side of the band – lo-fi, melodious, melancholy jangling.
[Royal Headache]

Duran Duran ‘Paper Gods’
Title track of the veteran band’s forthcoming fourteenth album (September 11, Warners), this one features fellow Brummie Mr Hudson, comes in at just over seven minutes long and shifts from minor key distorted gospel influenced intro to bass heavy stadium dance pop banger.
[Duran Duran]

Steve Hauschlidt ‘Where All Is Fled’
Former member of ambient electronica trio Emeralds, this is the title track of Hauschlidt’s first new album since 2012’s Sequitur. Where All Is Fled is out on Kranky, September 25.
[Steve Hauschlidt]