VIDEO: Melted Toys - "Come On" Live

Live at Silent Barn

Melted Toys played Silent Barn this past Friday (February 4, 2011) along with Eola, Punks on Mars, Speculator, and Wet Dream. Oh yes, this was a fucking night to remember. Catch this video we shot of Melted Toys performing "Come On":

The audio has some weird phasing and patches of general digital roughness, thanks to our sound recorder. But this song is gorrrgeous. So here:

Melted Toys - "Come On"

Don't forget to grab their upcoming EP Washed & Dried, due out February 22. Pre-order right now from Underwater Peoples.

VIDEO: Tape Deck Mountain - "It Goes Down"

Tweaking Lights

It's no secret that we love Lefse Records' Tape Deck Mountain. And now frontman Travis Trevisan, whose name just rolls off your tongue in tricks and trolls, has released a video for our favorite song off their EP, Secret Serf. Watch below:

[via]

MP3: James Ferraro - "Tabloid 2"

What's Up Doc?

James Ferraro - "Tabloid 2"

Can not... get... enough... of this.

MP3: Behavior - "Fields of Gold"

"Feel Her Body Rise"Our beloved Brooklyn brethren Behavior have just released a new song. It's a cover (for lack of a better word) of Sting's "Fields of Gold," and it's brilliant:

Behavior - "Fields of Gold"

Definitely digging hard on this new take on the early 90's hit. It begins with an industrial spelunking "Love Cats" intro, sidles over a synthesizer footpath, and into a shimmering dark, wide open space. Can we take a quick second to recall how fucking magnificent the compositing in the original Sting video was? We loved it so much we hadda make our own version with Behavior's song:



Not that familiar with @behaviorband yet? Really?? Well firstly of all, shame on you. Behavior is a three-piece band that lives and plays in New York City. Its members include: Ian Campbell on bass, Bryce Hackford with guitar, synths, electronic wizardry goodness, and the lovely Khira Jordan who drums like a beautiful creature machine. They "draw from diverse musical and artistic interests that intersect pop music, performance art, hip-hop, and rock & roll, resulting in a diverse and distinctly New York sound." (more)

Secondly, and finally, you are blessed enough to have the chance to catch their rapidly approaching next show in NYC. Hopefully one of many, many more to come, for your sake as much as mine:

Friday, February 11th, 8:00pm @ The Gutter (200 N. 14th, Greenpoint/N Williamsburg, NY)
BEHAVIOR with LIVING DAYS and HARD NIPS
Guaranteed to contain "so much pop it'll feel like a Dr Pepper in Detroit." (via)

Can not wait for that one. In the mean time, check out their previously released album, Lands End (2010), for free. See you at the Gutter, punks!

VIDEO: Lord Huron - "The Stranger"

"I Can't Trust Anyone or Anything These Days"The new Lord Huron music video for "The Stranger" is pure Patrick Daughters meets Cold Mountain. It gives us a funny feeling deep inside! Maybe it's the revolutionary-era cutie hipsters in their E.Williamsburg-era glasses.

Maybe it's the song itself. Lord Huron's jams hark to the hauntingest of Jim James (Yim Yames? Jim James? Whatever...), with splashes of tribal drumming fun and reverbed vocal harmonies. This song hits us hardest with the Paul Simon melancholy of the lines,

I can't trust anyone or anything these days but I know what you want and why / Of all the strangers you're the strangest that I've seen / I'm not afraid to die.

In 2010, we didn't stop playing his epic jam "Mighty" for months. Wholeheartedly, I still recommend this song if you ever need to jump around your room for 3 minutes and feel better about life.

Lord Huron - "Mighty"

And apparently Lord Huron cares that you feel better about life too, as they offer the song for free to listeners. Just don't forget to get the rest of the self-released record, aptly entitled Mighty EP, here.

You think you can have it? / Then come and get it!

MP3: Confetti Dreams - "The Smoothest Way Is Full of Stones"

Victoria Newsom
Much Burlington, VT love for this lovely who we have loved to love in the past. Formerly Lady Lioness, Erin Cavellier is now making songs as Confetti Dreams. Hear this dreamy beeping jam here:

Confetti Dreams - "The Smoothest Way Is Full of Stones"

And I'll breathe this water down / Wear my demons as a crown Lamenting and beautiful, Cavellier never fails to haunt us with her lovely tunes.

[via No Fear of Pop]

ALBUM: Tape Deck Mountain - Secret Serf EP

It Goes Down
Not to sound too much like Special Agent Dale Cooper, but lately at P-HORSE we've been using our clairvoyance during REM-dream states in order to figure out what music we should pay closer attention to. This involves a delicate balance of the following elements consumed just before bedtime:
- a moderate-to-heavy dose of sleep aid
- Δ⁹-THC mixed with loose leaf tobacco
- approximately 1/3 of an Olde English 40oz
- odd-numbered episodes of 1990's cult TV show Twin Peaks on mute
Then, with iPhone speakers placed 2-3 inches from the ear and a band's music set at full volume, sleep ensues. If somehow - bucking all chemical odds and defying laws of nature - brain activity during sleep still occurs, we revisit their music in a more conscious, sober state of mind.

The last few nights have led us repeatedly to Tape Deck Mountain, whose profile page at their record label's site offers this as an intro:

San Diego’s Tape Deck Mountain first made waves by releasing their debut EP Sparks on the unconventional (but quite fitting for their name) medium, our old friend the cassette tape. Frontman Travis Trevisan wants it to be made clear however, that he doesn’t want this to become a “thing” and that he will be working in all formats.
(via Lefse Records)

Tape Deck Mountain have been referred to as San Diego beach bums, but don't be fooled - there's really no trace of that lo-fi surf-rock trend in their music. And they don't sound like such laid back chillers as "bums" would imply, but rather like guys who would melt your face off with a wall of live sound. They are more likely to be classified along the lines of the West coast noise rock we've been loving so much recently. Matt from Lefse* sent over the new EP they released last week, Secret Serf, and we've playing it nonstop - in dreams AND waking life. You can pick it up from the Lefse here.

Trace your land line calls / Hide in bathroom stalls / You know / I know echoes the very powerful opening track "P.I.":

Tape Deck Mountain - "P.I"

Creepy, exhilarating, and haunting, the album starts out with a blast. The second track "Trevor" is an immediate comedown, retaining the creepy shadow cast by the private inspector and heavy reverb. As we get to the third song "It Goes Down," the pace picks back up a little. Though at first slow and slightly suspicious, looking back over our shoulder into the dark, we soon find ourselves at a run. And the squealing, tinnitus-inducing, MBV-esque guitar sound of "It Goes Down" makes it our favorite pick of the whole record:

Tape Deck Mountain - "It Goes Down"

Play loud.


* Look who is quoted on the front page of the Lefse site. It's ME! And they called us a "smart" blog, which makes YOU smart by association. Yeah that's right, we're all fucking geniuses up in here!