CMM's 10 Favorite Shows of 2018

1. Dead Boys - Bowery Electric - NYC - 1/28/18

This reformed line up of The Dead Boys has been tearing it up all over the world for the last few years and I've been happy to get to see them play a couple of times. This show was no exception as lead singer Jake Hout channeled the spirit of Stiv Bators in grand fashion while Cheetah Chrome blasted through the blistering riffs that make this band amazing. Can't wait to catch them again in 2019.

2. Desert Daze Festival (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Mercury Rev, Kevin Morby and more) - Lake Perris California -10/12-10/14 2018

There are a lot of Festivals that offer unbelievable line ups these days but none were quite like this years Desert Daze Festival in Lake Perris California. Yes this festival was truly "STACKED" with performances from My Bloody Valentine, Sowdive, Mercury Rev, Kevin Morby, Earth and many many more. I must add that this festival had one of the most laid back feels to it which can be rare these days. Everyone was really respectful and watching the bands was comfortable while the sound and lighting were top notch.

3. Joan Of Arc - Elsewhere - NYC - 10/3/18

This show was a last minute surprise. I had not seen Joan Of Arc in about a year and a half and their latest album "1984" was one of my favorites of the year. I realized the morning of the show they were opening for mewithoutyou. Joan Of Arc performed as a three piece and the set included some amazing new material alongside some of my favorites from recent LP's. This was a really fun set to see.

4. Merzbow (at Hospital Festival) - Knockdown Center- NYC - 12/8/18

Hospital Fest was a tremendous event and I could go on and on about all of the acts that performed but I ain't gonna lie I was there to see Merzbow as I've been a fan for roughly 25 years and had never seen him perform before. His hour long set was intense, colorful and incredibly mind bending. Other highlights from his event included Jesu, Final (Justin Broadrick), and the Prurient/Power Trip collaboration.

5. "Sally Suicide" Suicide Tribute - Bowery Electric - NYC - 1/25/18

Incredible tribute evening to Alan Vega and Suicide which featured performances from Bob Bert, Cynthia Ross, Kid Congo Powers and more. The highlight for me was when The Car's Ric Ocasek joined Martin Rev for a performance of "Dream Baby Dream". A great evening indeed.

6. Turkish Delight (Reunion) - The Middle East - Cambridge MA - 7/20/18

It's not everyday that your favorite band gets back together to do a show after a 20 year hiatus but on July 20th 2018 Turkish Delight took the stage at the legendary Middle East in Cambridge MA. The band played tracks from their two albums "Tommy Bell" and "Howcha Magowcha" as well as a stunning rendition of "Damaged Goods" by Gang Of Four. They even let me join them onstage for a ripping rendition of their classic cut "Go Baby" which was a a real honor and thrill. Such an awesome time.

7. Nine Inch Nails, Jesus And Mary Chain - Kings Theater - Brooklyn NY - 10/16/18

First off Kings Theater might be the most beautiful venue in Brooklyn and one of the best places to see a large scale show. Jesus And Mary Chain put on a solid set of some of their most well known songs which was certainly an amazing way to start the evening. Then Nine Inch Nails put on one of the most breathtaking performances you will see and hear anywhere in the universe. I'm by no means a NIN fanatic but this show really floored me. The stage production, musicianship, sound an overall presentation where definitely next level.

8. Ministry - Irving Plaza - NYC - 12/6/18

Ministry put on a tremendous performance at Irving Plaza in NYC. It was amazing to hear "Stigmata", "N.W.O.", "So What" and "Just One Fix" in a live setting again. The crowd was super into it and the band played the tracks with "pinpoint accuracy". Menacing to say the least.

9. Netherlands - Brooklyn Bazaar - Brooklyn NY - 10/20/18

Simply put this band DESTROY everything in their path. The crushing guitar sound and sci-fi-psych vocals of Timo Ellis are relentless and this performance was one of the most intense I came across all year.

10. Men I Trust - Charlies American Cafe - Norfolk Virginia - 3/19/18

It was great to see Men I Trust in one of my favorite intimate venues. The band played a lot of songs from their recent album "Headroom" and their infectious bass lines and in the pocket drumming had the crowd dancing along while Emma's vocals sounded as beautiful as you can imagine.

"Five For Friday" with Natalie Bibby of WANWEIRD

WANWEIRD is the solo project of London musician Natalie Bibby. In less than a year she has released a spectacular E.P. titled "Honey & Salt" and a handful of impressive singles. Her sound is full of raw, angst ridden riffs that combine equal amounts of early 80's post punk with early 90's alternative rock. Bibby shares some of her favorite songs in this weeks edition of "Five For Friday" but first enjoy her latest single "Evelyn McHale".

Dig - I'll Stay High

I think Dig are probably one of the most, if not the most, underrated guitar bands of 90's. This is off their self-titled 1993 album, which is one of my top ten albums of all time. The songwriting on that particular album is really something, and it amazes me that they weren't bigger than they were. With this track they manage to make a hypnotic wall of sound with their three guitarists, and the use of the Wah pedal is genius.

My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realise

Back to 1987 with this one. I love this track because it's between the classic shoegazing sound of the band's 'Loveless' album, and the energetic lo-fi 80's punk rock sound. Bilinda Butcher's dreamy vocals contrast nicely with the aggressive biting guitars, creating a bewitching tension.

TAD - Leafy Incline

This one's from 1993; it would be impossible for me not to include a track from a seminal 90's grunge band, as that whole scene has inspired so much of my own music. I think love the guitar tone, the slow plodding verses, and then suddenly the energetic pre-chorus; emphasised by those awesome cymbal chokes. Super cool songwriting.

Slo Burn - July

This is one of my favourite tracks of all time, released in 1996 off their EP 'Amusing the Amazing'. The band features Jerry Garcia from Kyuss, which I think had broken up shortly before the formation of Slo Burn. I love the lo-fi trashyness of the track, especially those drums and gritty monolithic guitars. The build up at the start is awesome, especially when it all lets loose and goes nuts at around 0:40ish.

Allusondrugs - I Should Have Gone to Uni

Lastly, something modern. I actually had the privilege of playing with these guys a couple of years ago, and their live show is one of the best I've ever seen. It's rare that I hear a rock song post-2000's where I have a eureka moment, and think "oh my god, yeah, I totally feel that", and it's kinda magical. For me it seems like the overwhelming majority of mainstream post-2000's rock is lacking relatibility, maybe because too many bands are deliberately focusing on writing good songs just for the sake of it and getting famous...rather than writing about something they really feel. However, we could do with a band like this breaking out into the mainstream to shake things up a bit. Especially love the fuzzy guitars in this!

"Doesn't Matter Anyway" an interview with Don Salamon of The Pleasure Holes

The Pleasure Holes is the latest project of Florida musician Don Salamon. His new album "Doesn't Matter Anyway" is a collection of ten lo-fi, noise driven, shoegaze inspired tracks full of glistening melodies and hypnotic undertones. We talked with Don about the music that first made an impact on him, how The Pleasure Holes came about, the making of the new album and his plans for the future. Be sure to check out all of his releases at thepleasureholes.bandcamp.com

CMM-What's the first music you remember hearing as a child and what artist made the biggest impact on you?

Don - The first music I remember listening to as a kid was some weird stuff my mom was into. Yanni, Deep Forest, one in particular I will still listen to October Project. I think the artist that made the biggest impact on me in general was David Bowie. I think for a solid 6 months I listened to nothing but Station to Station. After that it was just mining for all the gems he wrote.

CMM-When did you start playing music? What were the first bands you played in like?

Don - I started playing music around 15 years ago, it was mostly shit in the beginning, probably still is, but definitely rock. I was in a metal band when I was in the Navy named Muddy Helmet. Kind of a Pantera meets Mastodon deal. I just played rhythm guitar in that one. Other than that I have always done things myself which is good and bad.

CMM-What led you to start making music as The Pleasure Holes?

Don - The Pleasure Holes came about as a joke name I was telling my friend Nick about. I would always send him stuff I wrote through email, but that is kind of cumbersome so I set up a band camp account with that name. A guy named Henry, who is awesome, bought a track and that blew me away that people would actually pay money for things I made. I was encouraged rightly or wrongly by Renato from The Blog That Celebrates Itself and Simon from the Loose Cannon radio show to keep plugging away.

CMM-You just put up a digital version of your debut album "Doesn't Matter Anyway'. What was the writing and recording process like? Was there a particular mindset you were in when making the record?

Don - I tried to record as quickly as possibility. I am married with a kid so I never have much time. Plus my wife hates the music I make and I am into so that motivates me to get done quickly. Writing it was new to me because I have never sat down and stuck to a single genre or sound for multiple songs. I probably ended up with 20 tracks, and cut it down to 10 that I focused on making sound as good as I could. I am by no means a studio wizard so there are a lot of warts on it.

CMM-Any particular gear that you used when making the album?

Don - Gear wise I have a RME Fireface I used for the recording, on the from end is an ART MPA II preamp. Everything was recorded direct in for guitar and bass. The vocals I ran though either a SM58A or some sort of Gauge condenser microphone (not sure the model).For my sound the most important things are the ART MPA. That I use for all of the distortion by just overdriving it. Secondly, the guitar I use is a Dean Flame-o-matic with the Floyd Rose tremolo. This is cool because I can rest my hand on the bridge to bend the strings which I keep slightly out of tune. This makes the guitars chorus(y) all the time. The drums were all either done with EZDrummer 2 or played on a MIDI pad.

CMM-If you could score a film for any film director who would it be?

Don - Hmmm… I would score Police Story. It is an old Jackie Chan flick.

CMM-Any plans to play live with this project?

Don - No, I am a loser! I wish I could play live, but that isn’t in the cards for me.

CMM- HA HA. What else do you have planned for The Pleasure Holes?

Don - I’ll start focusing on my black metal project called UKO. for the rest of the summer, and then after that I’ll probably work on the other 10 tracks and write some new ones for a early Spring release.

"Noise Rock & Rainbow Machines" An Interview with Animal Backwards

Animal Backwards are a shoegaze, noise rock band made up of Richard Rossi (vocals/guitar) and Dillon Colson (vocals/guitar). The Seattle Washington based duo just released their debut E.P. "Rainbow Machine" which you can pick up at laminabackwards.bandcamp.com We sat down with the band to talk about their early musical experiences, how the band came together, their love of the "Rainbow Machine" effects pedal and their E.P. of the same name.

CMM-How did Animal Backwards get together and who all makes up the band?

Dillon-Late 2014, I picked up the guitar and wanted to learn how to play it, so I came up with the idea to write an EP to help learn to play the guitar, sing and to learn basic songwriting and structure. Richard and I were in a previous band together and I’ve known him to be an extraordinary musician. So he helped me out with writing and recording. Unfortunately, that EP never was finished, but two or so months after that we decided to make a band with the two of us, and a drum machine. A year later, we finally have our first EP out together.

Richard-We also have Zach, who plays bass for us live.

CMM-What bands did you all really get into growing up and who made the biggest impression on you all as players and songwriters?

Dillon-When I did first get into playing music, I was really into The Who. I played bass and John Entwistle was just godly. There is a reason they call him the Ox after all. I was also really driven by bands like The Clash or The Replacements when I was younger too. Though, for the past two years or so, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock has to be my strongest influence, especially when it comes to guitar playing and Singing. Modest Mouse, Beat Happening, Built to Spill, Pavement and old 50’s songs are really my bread and butter. Richard, then of course had turned me over to the Shoegaze and noise rock scene.

Richard-Growing up it was all about Pink Floyd and The Who for me, but the last few years I’ve been really into the noise-rock/shoegaze/Dreampop scene, like The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Big Black, Slowdive, and Sonic Youth. Thurston Moore, and Steve Albini have had great impacts on my songwriting, because they go so far outside the box of ‘verse-chorus-verse-chorus’, as well as Albini’s excellent audio engineering inspiring me to go to school for that.

CMM-The bands debut E.P. "Rainbow Machine" is available now on digitally. What was the songwriting and recording process of the E.P. like?

Richard-We’ve had all of those songs for a while, Television World in particular has been around since Dillon’s 2014 EP that wasn’t finished, but we mostly just never got around to recording them.

Dillon-Yeah, we don’t record often. The recording process wasn’t too bad. Whenever we did record we would just lock ourselves in Richard’s room with our instruments, boards, recording gear, and mozzarella sticks. Putting the songs together at this point, mostly works with me at home finding something I like, or recording it and taking it to Richard later for opinions and advice. On my own personal soundcloud there is a lot of old original (bad) recordings of our songs where it was just me doing it at home. Richard always comes to save the day when it comes to recording and song structure.

CMM-Any particular gear used when making the record? I figure you all must love the "Rainbow Machine" pedal?

Richard-Lots of guitar pedals. That’s kinda my thing. The Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine is responsible for a lot of the really weird sounds on the EP so I thought it’d be nice to call it that. Other than that, my Jazzmaster is pretty important to my sound.

Dillon-I don’t really have a lot of pedals, so I stick with the few I have, and the ones Richard doesn’t use; Which actually includes the Rainbow Machine right now. I mostly just stick with my Blues Driver, UV-300 Vibrato, and delay. That mostly makes up my sound. Well, that and aggressively pulling on my Jaguar’s Tremolo when I hit harmonics. I’m a sucker for stupid amounts of harmonics. It’s an Isaac Brock thing.

CMM-What do you all think of the current state of the Seattle music scene? Any new bands and stand out venues you all an recommend?

Richard-The Seattle music scene is pretty rad. People are very open to new ideas and stuff. When we play live, I’m never really worried about if people are gonna like my music because I know they’re gonna have a good time no matter what. The Ground Zero Music Program in Bellevue is really cool, the shows usually consist of local bands, like us, and the people there are really great. They seem to really care about the music scene in Seattle, and the small bands that make it up.

Dillon-Yeah, most every band we have played with have been really awesome to hear and play with. A lot of the time people don’t seem to know what we have in store, but by the end of it (and all the noise) they seem to be pretty blown away or impressed. There are a few bands that I would reccomend, such as Animal Camera, and Hello I’m Sorry. They’re pretty good friends of ours, and they both really really have something going on.

CMM-If you all could do a film score for any director who would it be and why?

Richard-I’d be the first guitarist in John Williams’ orchestra, for the next Star Wars movie. Because that’d be badass.

Dillon-This is a really tough question. Maybe my own films? I have no clue actually. I really loved everything that Edgar Wright has made, but I’m not quite sure. Though, I could confidently say I would be good at writing a creepy sounding score.

CMM-What's next for the band? Any new recordings or upcoming tours?

Richard-Probably like 10 or 12 albums and Wembley Stadium.

Dillon-That sounds like a lot of work… In actuality, we gotta write some more songs, perhaps get a full album out sometime this year. As far as an upcoming tour, probably not any time soon, but once we have an album out we'll probably do a small tour around the coast.

"Melodramatic Reverberation" an interview with Youngest Of Elders

Youngest Of Elders is the project of Concord California musician Jesse Gale. His latest E.P. "ASL" blends indie folk sounds with dream pop atmospherics to create rich organic songs full of beauty and power. We sat down with Jesse to talk about his first musical experiences, the making of the new E.P. and the music community in the bay area. "ASL" is available now at youngestofelders.bandcamp.com and will be out as a limited cassette later this month on CMM.

CMM-What was the first music you remember hearing as a child and what bands and artists made the biggest impression on you as a musician?

Jesse-I was raised on a lot of 80's hair metal, Eagles, Cat Stevens, and a lot of other bands my parents would listen to. I remember being in elementary school and hearing Nirvana for the first time and was totally blown away. Later hearing The Cure, Joy Division, The Smiths, Pedro the Lion, and My Bloody Valentine in my teens really inspired me to play in bands, and still inspire me to this day.

CMM-What instrument did you pick up first and when did you start writing songs and playing in bands?

Jesse-I first started playing piano when I was 8 or 9 years old, then got bored and wanted to learn guitar at age 12. I didn't start writing songs until I was 17 or 18 and started my first band Earth Itself with some friends in my senior year of high school.

CMM-How did Youngest Of Elders come about and how have things evolved since you started the project?

Jesse-The project started as a way for me to take all these songs I've had for the better part of a decade and finally finish them and make them sound how they're supposed to. The biggest change has been going from bedroom Garage Band demos to legitimate studio recordings, which makes me more and more excited to keep going.

CMM-What was the writing and recording process like for your new E.P. "ASL"?

Jesse-The three songs were written in 2008 and weren't finished until I went into the studio in 2015. The songs now sound completely different from the demos, since we cut and rearranged and wrote new parts and lyrics and cut synthesizers and replaced them with electric guitars.

CMM-Any particular gear you used when making the record?

Jesse-I tracked guitars with my Fender Telecaster. Pedals I used were Blues Driver, OCD, Timmy overdrive, Lazy Eye, Super Chorus, Digital and Analog delay, and Blue Sky reverb.

CMM-The Bay Area has a very long musical history. How would you describe the current DIY music scene there? Any favorite local bands or venues?

Jesse-The scene now is probably the best it's been in a long time. There's definitely a stronger sense of community and brotherhood out here, everyone plays together and goes to everyone's shows, buys merch, etc. A few people got together and started the Mountain Vibe Music Gathering festival that's in Wilseyville, CA every July, which is always a blast. Favorite locals right now are BullyWest, Overland, The Iron Heart, Mourning Mountains, Books on Fate, and Mama Foxxy & The Whiskey Gypsy Rebels. Favorite venues will always be Bottom of the Hill, Red Hat, Toot's Tavern, and The New Parish.

CMM-If you could do a film score for any director who would it be and why?

Jesse-Probably Joss Whedon, David Fincher or Alfred Hitchcock. All of those guys know how to bring tension and humor and raw emotion in unexplainable ways.

CMM-What does Youngest Of Elders have planned for 2016 and beyond?

Jesse-Next is a 7" vinyl release, more recording, hopefully another EP, and a full length is in the works. Also hoping to do a few small or long tours of the west coast and mid/southwest.

"Garage Psych Mayhem" An Interview with Lazy Queen

Brooklyn based band Lazy Queen combine elements of shoegaze and psych with garage and punk sounds to create a vibrant blend of reverb drenched rock n roll. We sat down with Vocalist/Guitarist Henrik Soeberg, Guitarist Reyson Morales and Bassist Julian S to discuss the formation of the band, the making of their debut E.P. "Drift", and their recent tour of Puerto Rico. You can pick up all of the bands music at lazyqueen.bandcamp.com

CMM-How did Lazy Queen get together and who all makes up the band?

H: Well, Reyson moved to New York from Puerto Rico about six months before I met him. I had moved to the city from Norway a couple years before for school. We started playing together a little over two years ago. In the beginning we treated it more as a recording project where we’d play and record all the instruments ourselves in Reyson’s Harlem apartment. But when our music started getting around and we were offered gigs, we found ourselves in need of either a cloning devise or some actual band members. The technology just wasn’t there so we settled with band mates. Starting with Julian…

J: I came in as a temporary replacement, but quickly set up camp in their hearts, and I’ve stayed there ever since.

H: Currently our friend Duke Taylor finds himself behind the drum kit, and we’re happy to have him there.

CMM-You all draw influences from shoegaze, to 90's alterna-rock to punk. What bands did you all really get into growing up and who made the biggest impression on you all as players and songwriters?

J: John Frusciante really got me into home recordings and songwriting, as well as experimenting with instruments. I'm not very dexterous but I think I like to play around with different sounds like slides and strums on the bass that I think if it weren't for a lot of the post-punk bands I used to listen to, and John Frusciante, I wouldn't even care to try out.

R: I mostly grew up listening to punk and metal bands in my early youth ‘cause that's what most of my friends were listening to in PR. But later on I discovered British post punk and new wave bands like Jesus and Marry Chain and Echo and the Bunnymen and was captivated by the intricate guitar lines, atmospheric noise and melodies. Then came newer Brit pop bands like Blur, Pulp, Suede, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Ride, Chapterhouse etc.

H: I’m not ashamed to say that I started picked up the guitar in my youth to learn to play Green Day and Blink 182 songs. In terms of influences today, and for most of my latter teen years, I have my usual suspects that I’ll return to frequently like Nirvana, Pixies, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, sprinkled out with whatever is the current obsession. Right now I’m not able to stop listening to Single Mothers from Ontario. Loud and dirty is the name of the game.

CMM-The bands debut E.P. "Drift" is available now on Seattle label Pacific Trash. What was the songwriting and recording process of the E.P. like? How do you all approach putting together the bands songs?

H: Most of the songs were written throughout a three-month period last winter, with the exception of "Lesion", which is one of out oldest songs that we just never got around to recording. For most of the songs Reyson and I will bring in a skeleton and then we’ll all lazify it together. And eventually I’ll get around to writing some words and vocal melodies for it. The release was recorded at 1989 Recordings in Bushwick over a couple of really fucking long nights. The songs were pretty much all recorded live with all of us playing together to capture our live energy. Then Reyson and I would record a layer of guitar noise each for texture. We wanted to create a full sound, without it sounding too produced or tampered with.

J: All I'm gonna say is, it was damn exhausting getting out of work at 6pm, picking up gear, having a dollar slice or two and heading into the studio for a zillion hours on a weekday, wake up and do it all over again. So worth it though.

H: I have some great pictures of Reyson sleeping with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, while listening to me scream in the vocal booth through a pair of huge headphones.

CMM-Any particular gear you guys used when making the record?

R: I have this amazing fuzz with a loop switch called Absynth, and also the Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain, both of which played a big part in molding my noise textures and sound throughout Drift.

CMM-Being in Brooklyn you get to check out new music all the time. Any new bands and stand out venues you all can recommend?

H: We definitely have to recommend our talented friends in LADY. They keep getting better every time we see them.. Which is a lot.

J: In terms of venues, our collective favorite is The Gateway! It’s run by local musicians that really care about the local music scene and put a lot of hard work into creating a place for that exchange to happen. The backline is great and the people that work there are amazing. Venue crush. As far as other live acts around town, WALL has been a great experience (what’s up with all these caps names) and so has Future Punx, Uniform.

H: And Vomitface, Big Ups, Dead Tenants and Hunters.. I mean, in general there’s pretty much a great show to see everyday.. I think we’re spoiled.

CMM-How was the recent tour of Puerto Rico?

J: The vibe down there is just so different. I loved that almost everyone was dancing and just having a great time. Though I'm never driving these punks around again. We need an intern.

H: We quickly learned that one third of this group is a terrible backseat driver...

R: It was so incredible to play back home coming with a band from outside of PR and see the shows packed, when just a couple of years ago I was playing there and was part of the small but very vibrant indie scene. It was really great to see the kids follow us to all the shows, four days in a row.

H: As the only non-Puerto Rican of the group what struck me the most was how engaged the audience was compared to what we’re used to back in Brooklyn. People actually physically express their feelings for the music. Showing too much passion for anything isn’t cool anymore back home. You’ll look out into the audience and be met with a bunch of blank stares and crossed arms. If somebody nods their head along to the music you’re like, “oh shit, he must LOVE us.” Then after the show they’ll come up and give compliments, but it’s like “why the fuck didn’t you move around a little then.” And I mean, this is a general feeling as both a performer and someone who goes to a lot of local shows. So the feeling of the music, the performance and the way the energy felt like a mutual exchange and shared moment between the band and the audience, which is why I first wanted to play music in the first place, stood out a lot down there.

CMM-If you all could do a film score for any director who would it be and why?

J:I think I watch too many movies to be even able to decide. I feel we work very well between noise and melody. Jodorowsky's escalating craziness would be awesome to score (since this is all hypothetical and all). If we could work with Danny Boyle's calm vs. chaos contrasts I'd die a happy musician as well. 28 Days Later is one of my favorite films.

R: I’d pick Guillermo del Toro, not only cause his films are amazing, especially Pan's Labyrinth, but also cause I could totally identify musically with the moods and imagery he creates.

H: I think we’d do well making scores for those late-night TV-shop commercials. Like Shake-weights, or those knifes that cut through rocks. I’d love to score a porn.

CMM-What's next for the band? Any new recordings or upcoming tours?

H: We’ve already written some new songs and are working on more. Hopefully we’ll be back in the studio sometime this spring. Other than that we are currently putting together a West Coast tour with LADY that’ll take place at some point this coming summer.

"Five For Friday" with Jake Zavracky of Jake & Elizabeth

Brooklyn duo Jake & Elizabeth make bright energetic dream pop full of lush atmospherics and catchy melodies. Their music is so powerful it will have you singing along halfway through the first listen. Guitarist/Vocalist Jake Zavracky shares some of his favorite songs in this weeks edition of "Five For Friday" but first enjoy the bands latest single "Gimme The Stars".

The Breeders - Invisible Man

I love heavy music that’s sung in a sort of breath-y style. Though it’s been done a fair amount, I’d say this is one of the best examples, and it’s a great song on it’s own; even if you just play it on an acoustic guitar it’s still great.

My Bloody Valentine - Loomer

I like recordings where the center is someone singing in hushed tones and the rest of the mix sort of envelops them. The effect of makes you feel like, for lack of a better way of putting it, you’re inside the mix. That’s the thread that’s running through this list and very few records achieve that effect better than “Loveless".

DJ Shadow - Building Steam With A Grain of Salt

This song sort of breaks the mold of the rest of this list in that it doesn’t really have a vocal. But it still achieves that effect I’m talking about. It puts you inside it. It floats around you. It’s very drum heavy and somewhat stiff but somehow still has a great flow to it. It’s hard to think of another album quite like DJ Shadow’s “Entroducing”; it’s in a class of its own.

Air - New Star in the Sky

I’ve been listening to Air’s “Moon Safari” since it came out over 15 years ago and not only do I never get tired of it, but it’s one of those albums that I still hear things I never noticed before every time I hear it. It’s so densely layered and there must be a million ideas floating around over the course of it.

The Juan McLean - Dance With Me

This is very sparsely arranged track but it really seems like there’s so much going on. It feels bass heavy despite the fact that there’s no bass. It seems like there’s a melody even though the vocal is practically spoken word. And even though it’s 14 minutes long I’m never asking when it’s going to end. In fact it ends too soon for me.

"Five For Friday" with Fine Animal

Columbus Ohio's Fine Animal have been one of our new favorites here at CMM headquarters in recent months. Made up of vocalist/Keyboardist Lucy Oaks, guitarist Kelan Gilbert and drummer KC Wilder the band make beautiful and captivating dream pop songs submerged in shimmering electronics and lush reverb. Their debut album is slated to be released later this Spring. The band share some of their favorite songs in this weeks edition of "Five For Friday" but first enjoy the video for their brand new single "Lay Awake".

LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"

Every once in a great while, the human ear connects with vibrations in the air we call sound. Sometimes these vibrations are composed in such a divine way that the end result can only be described as "perfection" To us, LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great" is such an arrangement. It's one of those rare specimens where even after you've listened to it a hundred times you'll always find something new to admire about it each time you put it on. It's a song that seems to always act as the soundtrack to this silent film that sometimes runs in my head. A film that always consists of my most cherished friends and fondest memories. It's as if by listening to this track I pay tribute to everyone I've ever loved or lost. I feel like me [Kelan] and this song are like an old couple that will still laugh at each others jokes even though we've heard them all before.

AIR - "La Femme d'Argent"

If I ever find myself in a situation where I feel my my coolness and swagger are in question, I try to mentally channel this song and apply to my overall attitude and demeanor. So needless to say this song is on a steady mental repeat for me. The "cool factor" is something AIR has always seemed to effortlessly tap into. Despite discovering the album "Moon Safari" as an even more confused and awkward teenager I was still able to recognize it as intelligent music. "La Femme d'Argent" has one of those hypnotic qualities that seem to always invite me to a place of absolute serenity. The song title translates to "Silver to Woman" and I dare say the song itself is a sort of musical dream girl. Smart, sexy and delightfully mysterious.

St. Vincent - "Digital Witness"

Speaking of dream girls, how do you begin to describe St. Vincent... It's almost as if Annie Clark is more of an idea or way of life than she is a person. "Digital Witness" is just one of many of her works that Fine Animal love. We don't always share the same influences and but we can always agree on how fantastic St. Vincent is. "Digital Witness" certainly encapsulate just how brilliant she is. With a message that plays on the monotony of modern living, the song is anything but bland. From the punchy horns to that signature awkward funk that is St. Vincent this song is one of our more recent favorites. It's almost as if she time traveled into the future and learned how to play guitar and came back to 2015 to save us from boring music.

My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow"

I once heard My Bloody Valentine described as sounding like a mermaid jumping into a blackhole. I couldn't have said it better myself. "Only Shallow" offers so much intensity and emotion that it's hard to put into words how exactly this is achieved. Sometimes music transcends a linguistic description and MVB certainly has a flair for the transcendental. I often reserve MVB for long flights, car rides or anytime I can cozy up with a pair of nice headphones and just truly listen. It's the kind song of where I feel like I dishonor it by listening to it outside of situations where my attention isn't completely devoted to strictly listening to music. If MVB is shoe gaze royalty, consider us their humble subjects.

Pinback - "Fortress"

So if Fine Animal had a favorite band, Pinback might very well be it. We tend to wear our musical influences on our sleeve. However, it may surprise some to hear that Pinback has probably had the most notable influence on our sound. In the very earl days of Fine Animal, Kelan and KC had the chance to see a Pinback show together. There was a mutual feeling after the show that their musical footsteps were ones we wanted to try and follow in. The tandem vocal poly-harmonies interlaced throughout "Fortress" never fail to get us really excited. If you've ever listened to our music, you'll notice we're also quite big on have multi-dimensional vocals. "Fortress" has such a "fit" song structure, it takes and uses only what it needs yet delivers beautiful and intricate layers of sound. Thank you Pinback, don't ever change.

"Sonic Soundwaves" An Interview With Luke Phillips of Icebeing

Based in Kent England Icebeing is the recording project of musician Dylan Phillips. His debut self titled E.P. is a beautiful collection of songs that blend the sounds of 90's shoegaze and 60's psychedelia. We sat down with Dylan to talk about what inspired him to play music,the recording of the E.P. and his approach to songwriting. Have a listen to the E.P.'s first single "Pools" and enjoy the conversation.

CMM-What's the first music you remember hearing as a child and what made the most impact on you?

Luke-Pretty much anything I heard, a real mix of stuff - anything FX-heavy is great. I've always liked 60s music, my favourites growing up were The Jackson 5 and the Monkees. The Gorillaz debut was my first proper album I got after liking the videos, and I still love it today. I've been a big Blur fan from a young age too. I think there's a little bit of everything I like in the music I make.

CMM-When did you start playing guitar and what pushed you to pick up the instrument?

Luke-I wanted to play as many instruments as possible, I was just obsessed with the idea of making my own music and wanting to be able to do what I'd heard. I started off teaching myself how to play the drums when I was 4 years old, then piano lessons and guitar lessons came a few years later. I didn't really get into guitar music until I was about 10. I've played drums in a rock band for the last four years so I don't really see myself as a guitarist at all. I sort of treat the guitar as a way of getting sounds as opposed to playing chords and riffs because I'm not great at playing.

CMM-You just released your debut E.P. What was the writing and process for it like and what was your approach when it came down to recording it.

Luke-I've had some releases prior to this under different names, but this felt like a bit of a change up. I've got another more ambient electronic project that this seemed too noisy for, but a lot of the songs started out as sketches for that. Then I got properly into the whole psychedelic and noise rock genres and wanted to turn them all into this. The writing process has been kind of weird, lots of these songs have been pieced together from loads of different parts I've come up with, so it almost feels like I've been working towards this for the last few years. Pools, for example, started off as a little piano thing, then it changed to a marching waltz type thing, and finally ended up being this abrasive heavy song. I don't usually finish writing the song until I've recorded it, changing stuff as I go along. Recording the EP was basically overdubs and overdubs, then taking some stuff out and rearranging things, and then overdubbing again. I used my 8-track to record the main instruments and mixed that all with some plugin synths and noises on the laptop. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I spend a lot of time on minute details and things.

CMM-What program do you use for recording and what type of guitars, amps and pedals did you use when making the E.P.?

Luke-The E.P. was all mixed in REAPER, with tracking done on the Foster MR8 multitrack, then everything was mastered in Logic. The only guitar I have is a cheap Fender Squire, and then the FX are mainly done with distortion plugins like Camel Crusher and the stuff in REAPER. I don't think I used any amps. It's pretty much budget equipment, anything I can get cheap or for free. If I could afford all the pedals and amps then I'd definitely use them!

CMM-The songs have a very cinematic feel to them. If you where to score a film for a particular director who would be your first choice to work with?

Luke-I've always wanted to do film stuff, with my music I try and set a mood and create an atmosphere. I'm not too sure on directors but doing soundtracks for horror films would be a lot of fun, I love doing dark sinister music. But it'd also be amazing to work with an orchestra and do some big classical stuff.

CMM-Are your lyrics more from a personal experience or are they more from an outsiders type view?

Luke-I'm not really a fan of writing lyrics, this is the first release of mine that I've really bothered with them. I prefer using my vocals as another instrument in the mix rather than the main focus. Whilst I spend ages on the music, I don't really spend much time on the words. There'll be lines that I come up with over time that I cobble together, or sometimes there'll just be words that I use because I like how they fit together. It's definitely something I'm looking to focus on more in the future.

CMM-"Pools" is a very intense track where as the rest of the E.P. is more laid back and experimental. What set the pace for the contrast in styles?

Luke-I suppose it was because I worked on them at different times when I was into different things. Pools and Murmured are both influenced by My Bloody Valentine and heavy shoegaze, and Suntrip is kind of Soft Bulletin-y, whereas the others are more 60s influenced with the mellotrons and stuff like that. But I'd say my music taste is pretty varied so I wanted to try and get as many different elements in there as possible. The fairground bit in Ebb was put in just to have something totally different from the rest of the track for a surprise element type thing, and then the last track was meant to be a sweeping cathartic ending. A lot of the experimentation was me getting bored after working on it so long, and then putting stuff in to make it interesting for me again.

CMM-The cover art for the record is beautiful. Did you make it yourself and what are your feelings about how records are packaged. Did you see a record you'd never heard and get drawn in to listen to it based on the artwork?

Luke-Thank you, and yeah it's a photo of a reflection in some water that I took and warped. I like to spend time on artwork, I think it's really important that when you see the cover you instantly think of the music. It's part of the overall package, and the first thing I judge an album on usually. Black Foliage by The Olivia Tremor Control has an excellent colourful album cover that drew me in, and when I heard the album it was excellent and colourful too. I think if there's a great album with a poor cover it tarnishes it a bit.

CMM-So what's the current underground scene like in Kent? Do you attend shows regularly? Any standout bands you really like?

Luke-It's something I don't do enough, I should definitely go to more shows. The only time I get to see other local bands is when ours is gigging really, which isn't too regularly at the moment. There's a band called http://www.theboweryelectric.com/the-shinerslazy-queencluster-sun/ that stand out, they have a huge noisy sound and great songs.

CMM-What can we expect next? New songs? Maybe a full length?

Luke-Hopefully an Icebeing album on the way! Although I don't know how long it'll take. I want to try and merge a load of ideas together and really experiment with sounds and production a bit more on this one, so at the moment it could sound like anything. I suppose it depends on what music I get into when I'm making it.

Five For Friday with L.A. shoegazers LEAF

Leaf is an LA based band made up of Mark Starr, Phil Shelly and Chris Baer. Heavily influenced by 90's alterna-rock and shoegaze LEAF has released two impressive singles and just finished recording an E.P. with Steve Kille (Dead Meadow, Pink Moutaintops) set to be released soon. Enjoy the bands picks for this weeks edition of "Five For Friday", but first have a listen to the fuzz drenched sounds of their track "Wait Until".

Mark... Dinosaur Jr - Start Choppin

What can I say about Dinosaur Jr but pure genius!! Hard to pick just one song. Since my youth as a punk/hardcore kid Dinosaur Jr have been a huge influence. J Mascis is a guitar god!! His sound and tone are brilliant. So brilliant I own his Jazzmaster signature copy. Also have taken his tone too (at least I'd like to think so). I picked this song because for the time (of its release) it just rocks!! It's poppy,catchy and noisy!! I love these guys and I have yet to hear a bad album!

Mark... Swervedriver - Rave Down

Can't explain the feeling I had when this album came out. I just know I couldn't stop listening to this album! I can't stop listening to it even now. I picked Rave Down because it has the power of driving riffs to a lazy shoegaze power that makes you want to drive throughout the night and not care how far you go.

Mark... My Bloody Valentine - Soon

When I first heard these guys I knew that this was a band to be excited about, Then "Loveless" came out. What a great album, from start to finish!! The guitar sound and tones that Kevin Sheilds created are some of our (Leaf) biggest influences.Who cares how long it takes to release My Bloody Valentine records... well I guess I do!! I wish they would put out one every year but maybe waiting is worth the wait. Hard to pick just one song off of Loveless but I picked "Soon" because it has a pop sense and drone to it that keeps you wanting more!! The layers and noise to dance beats just bring the perfect song to a more perfect record.

Chris... Guided By Voices - I'm Cold

It's simple, lo-fi and well written with clever lyrics!!

Phil... Telescopes - Please Tell Mother

Is to me the hypnosis for the ears. From the way the song comes in, with airy acoustic guitar topped with a warm tremolo and the drums come in loud and abrupt,followed by a rolling bass line that slowly progesses I just cant help but get completely engulfed in this song. There is so much randoness going on in the background that I love as well...strange acoustic guitar, looped and heavily delayed vocals. The lyrics almost hope for an easier time at the same time evoking thoughts of death. I love the spacious breaks in the song with sustained and panning guitars, leading up to a strong rhythm hit when the song comes back in. Even though this song has so much going on it still feels like it has so much room to breath. It ends with some burried guitar and a wild scream. To get the full effect throw on some headphones and put this one on loop!!!