split! Lanemeyer / Emanuel Nice 7"

both bands hold down their side of this pop-punk split. ? records put this out, and i'm guessing that it was probably in the early '00s. summer tunes for the summer goons.

tracklist:

lanemeyer- grovers corner new jersey
lanemeyer- thursday
emanuel nice- don't say ok
emanuel nice- kill lincoln


the paper gets cut and starts to scab

split! Iris / Swirlies- Vents Of The Ocean Floor 7"

bubblecore records put this one out in 1994. iris holds its own on this split, but the shoegazin' pop of the swirlies is pretty unfuckwithable. this slab of wax offers a 4-track version of his love just washed away. bending notes, dizzied up guitars, and nearly two minutes of weirdness at the end of the track. your ears, this music. 

tracklist:

iris- statements by scientists

swirlies- his love just wash away (4-track version)

the bluish white of almost night masks the embarrassing things you do

Shannon And The Clams- Ruin Christmas 7"

more goodness from shannon and the clams. they kick out four covers of christmas tunes here, and you know it's done properly, because when you see something done properly, you nod your head nice and slowly in acknowledgment. your next christmas will be a party for sure. tunes enough to make your uncle slick his eyebrows back with a bit of spittle and roll around facedown in the snow. one fella's ruined christmas is another's excellent party.

tracklist:

melekalikimaka
all i want for christmas is you
blue christmas
fat daddy


"wreck the halls"

The Softies- The Best Days 7"

no way around this one: twee. so much sugar in these ladies' voices that you're either gonna barf or be lulled into tasty haze, and maybe you'll do both because you're ambitious like that. the best days wins this one cleanly.

tracklist:

the best days
as skittish as me
stranger


sleeping your way to victory

Jale- Sort Of Gray 7"

this was a split release between two labels: cinnamon toast records and derivative records. the song emma is no good but the song brother is pretty decent. female vocals, canadian, aurora borealis, southern hemisphere, up in the sky lookin' down at the dirt.

tracklist:

emma
brother


the television informs: nothing is actually rotten in denmark

The Sparklers- Secret Snow 7"

fantastic pop records put this one out. i believe it was around the year 2000. the song secret snow is pretty good. fantastic, if you will. and you won't. because you never will. quiet, subdued, dig it until it's deep enough and lay down.

tracklist:

secret snow
pop dreams


called it from miles away but still you hope it ruins their day

For Ex-Lovers Only- Coffin 7"

magic marker records put this number out a couple of years ago. the first track is the best of the bunch, offering up some shoegazin' pop (this band takes its name from the most excellent slumberland get-up that called themselves black tambourine so no surprises there). the other two songs are good enough to merit a listenin'.

tracklist:

coffin

lover's heart

scraps

mathematician crunches numbers, proves there are things

Kleenex Girl Wonder- Long Live The Pelican express 7"

different verse, fuzzier than the first. this one came out in 1996. lo-fi pop tunes to get stupid with. real stupid.

tracklist:

i'm racing isaiah
bones and the smiling mackerel
kill devil hill
mystic pizza
fratello party gianno


the idiot interjects with an anecdote of previously unexperienced levels of irrelevance

Kleenex Girl Wonder- Gay Gigolo 7"

this came out on 100 guitar mania and freedom fortress preservation society in 1999.  it's much cleaner sounding than their earlier 7" i'm going to post next. slightly off-kilter buoyant indie tunes. i can hear a bit of guided by voices here but that comparison is probably more suitable for long live the pelican express.

tracklist:

louis, my corpse looks a little familiar
the art of heroin
sleeping in the apartment
mouse hunt, mouse blood
get out of town


conversations were a lengthy but passing fad

Evergreen- Trudy Pushpin 7"

emo from the mid-90s. 1994 to be precise. put out by wrenched records. solid throughout, though the winning track here is shoulders. evergreen was a strong but quiet contributor to the genre in what i suppose would be called its second wave. worth checking out for that reason alone.

tracklist:

trudy pushpin
untitled
the water song
shoulders


spray paint stains stupid stuff on signs and sheds

Pest- Philosophically Dyslexic 7"

luke warm female-fronted indiepop. this came out in 1994 on harriet records. pest later tacked on "5000" to the end of their name and went on to release several more things. again, i hate the term twee, but it might apply here.

tracklist:

philosophically dyslexic
kitchen sink
blister


slack-jawed and staring intently

Scenic Vermont- The Epilogue Fits 7"

this is the second release by the label suicide squeeze records. i gather that there isn't much information out there about this band, which is unfortunate because they definitely released some decent stuff. this came out in the mid-90s and definitely fits in well with the sound that their indie contemporaries were jamming out at the time. 

tracklist:

the epilogue fits

l.g.a.

a basket is a poor substitute for a case

Shannon And The Clams- Paddy's Birthday 7"

i've yet to hear a release by the clams that i didn't like. two slow-burning numbers and a quick noisy burst of a ditty about reading a diary. great pop sensibility underwrites the two showpiece tunes, and shannon takes care of the rest- crooning over all the reverb you could ask for. these cats are formally invited to ruin as many birthdays as they want, so long as it always sounds like this. put out in 2010 on southpaw records.

tracklist:

paddy's birthday

diary

jimmy

dead cat bounced cheque

split! Rusty Troller / Fighter Jet- Suffer Girl 7"

here's your serving of weird pop, and i don't necessarily mean that in the endearing way that i usually do. nonetheless, it's here for your checking out if you feel so inclined. this was a split release between the labels christmas records and small-fi records, and between the two have put out records by pretty excellent bands like the lefties, further, and the summer hits. unfortunately, neither of the two contributors here come anywhere close to being as good as the aforementioned bands, but if you've been craving some tape manipulation and sampling then you can find that right here. both thank lou barlow, and it's easy to see where they intended to go but safe to say they didn't get there successfully. released in 1994.

tracklist:

rusty troller- mayberry sunshine medley

rusty troller- broken hearted man

fighter jet- cute blonde girl
fighter jet- lovin', touchin', squeezin'


clouds don't care if you've got the blues

The Suspicions- We're All Wrong 7"

two quick cuts of female-fronted pop punk. sugar enough to get you dancing wildly or tapping your foot a bit, whichever you prefer. this came out in 2004 on nerve wracking records.

tracklist:

we're all wrong
memory


the wit dribbles down the edge of your lip

The Vehicle Birth- Tragedy LP

this was recorded in 1996 and then crank! records released it in 1998. some excellent tracks, but as a whole, the album definitely has its share of valleys. sometimes loud and discordant, sometimes quiet and melodic; tragedy doesn't follow a clear-cut formula. that said, labels such as post-hardcore, post-punk, and emo all fit well enough to give you an idea of what you're in for. awesome cuts include one mississippi, 23, and lifehighschool. 

tracklist:

crack farm

we need to find the girls

marathon

sideshow

lifehighschool

the leaders of pursuit

yankeedom

daycap

one mississippi

23

the discovery of oxygen

plastered our hopes to some foolish plan

Bright Coloured Lights- Open Your Eyes 7"

three tracks here. an upbeat number, a cover, and a slowburner, all done with eyes locked on shoes. pam berry (whose been in a shitload of bands, including black tambourine) sings on this and slumberland put it out, so you know you're getting something decent. in sum: tons of reverb and feedback and a gal with a pretty voice.

tracklist:

open your eyes
leave you behind (jesse garon & the desperados cover)
count the raindrops


the plural of plural