Jeff Rosenstock AS

// Jeff Rosenstock //

Jeff, 34
Long Island, Last Album Release Oct '16

About Jeff
A NY born boy with a great drive for all things alternative. Throughout his career to date, Mr Rosenstock has gone from strength to progressive strength. His time with the bands Bomb The Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons Of Bitches through the mid to late 00's was in no way lazy, releasing upwards of 6 LPs collectively with the bands and in his (what I can presume little) spare time starting the first donation based record label Quote Unquote Records. QUR has been steadily releasing brilliant music ever since its creation, from bands such as the amazing Hard Girls which I am a recent and extremely grateful convert to.

Now lets get into the proper juicy stuff, his 3 solo releases; I Look Like Shit, We Cool? and WORRY (pictured chronologically below). ILLS and WE show the honing of his craft, each LP growing in style and finesse, taking whats brilliant and carrying that forward. His latest release which came out just last October was how I first got to find out about his music, mainly by the track Festival Song which popped up on the ever current KVRX. Keeping all the Pop-Punk goodness from his previous releases and delivering just short of 3 minutes of bouncy, passionate tuneage for your ears. One of the lead singles Blast Damage Days is featured below so be sure to check it out. Overall WORRY shows that his talent is no where close to slowing down and I'm 100% behind wherever he chooses to go next. Keep up the good work!

  

Jenn Champion AS

As of a couple of days ago I had never heard of Jenn Champion, but after listening to one song from her new soon to be released EP posted online by Hardly Art Records (video at bottom) I have been on a slight binge. Under the stage name S, she has produced 4 LPs to date Sadstyle, Puking & Crying, I'm Not As Good At It As You and Cool Choices. And if that wasnt enough, before her solo work she also made another 3 albums under Carissa's Wierd which consisted of her and two guys who went on to form Band Of Horses. At time of writing, I haven't heard any of CW stuff yet but I am looking forward to when that time comes greatly.

As good a starting point as any, I urge you to listen to her first solo LP below (Sadstyle) It gives a initial feel of her sound which includes part indie, part pop, part singer/songwriter and part just straight up alternative goodness. My favourite release of hers so far has to be her third LP INAGAIAY. It is probably the lightest toned release to date and I really enjoy the wide range of instrumentation that is used throughout the LP. It shows off her talent and skill as a musician, song writer and all that other good stuff.

Be sure to keep up to date for her new EP coming out later on this year HERE.

Ian Sweet - If You're Crying YTV

I'm back! Yes I took a weeks gap between posts mainly due to being busy with work and partly due to the extremely nerdy fact of obsessively playing a new video game that I have been hooked on. Anyhoo back to normality, well as close as possible as we can all be. Its Tuesday officially for just under 4 hours now so I call that perfect time for my YouTube Video post. 

As I am sure I have stated somewhere in a previous post, I am a big Hardly Art Records fan and their current roster of artists is full of heavy hitters, with one of the newer signed bands being IAN SWEET and I am loving this track from said band 'If You're Crying' off of their recently released self titled EP. Chill indie at a strong 12/10, these guys know how to craft a song. Mellow guitar lines and drum beats with vocals that soothingly touch your ears and the occasional peak dotted around for added excitement. The record seems to be dialled back just enough to keep the emotion of the lyrics and instrumentation without being in your face or screeching. Great track and am looking forward to September for the LP. Enjoy!

Steve Gunn - Ancient Jules YTV

Steve Gunn is certainly one man to be impressed by, from his numerous quality solo releases through to his work with Hiss Golden Messenger and Kurt Vile amongst others. He is definitely a hard worker to say the very least, and his standard hasn't dropped with his latest single Ancient Jules. The beautifully shot video works wonders on my ears with the almost 80's rock and roll guitar lines and gentle vocal. It showcases everything great about the man and the country that is America and has got me for one excited for the album Eyes On The Lines which is out on the 3rd of June. Enjoy!

IYESAYA - Monster SCS

This song totally surprised me when I was going through my SC feed the other day. Monster by IYESAYA is such a unique and brilliant take on song-writing and lyricism, in my head he has created a niche genre to call his own. Occasionally in my head I try to compare songs or artists to other similar people to have something of a reference point (which I know can diminish from the artist themselves) but he has a such a strong individual sound that it sort of expanded my previously child sized mind, *queue Explosion sound effect* The track is definitely powerful and has the raw quality that I seemingly always bang on about and I am looking forward to more great tracks from the kid. Download his track and more great music at the Art Is Hard Records website artishardrecords.limitedrun.com and enjoy the song below!

The Story Of Milk Records SCS

SoundCloud Song

This week is a bit of a different hit. Not a musical track so much as a short episode posted by Double J Radio about the independent record label that is Milk Records. I extremely enjoyed this feature and how it delved a bit deeper into the Milk Records history, learning more about how the company was initially founded by Courtney Barnett and how it grew larger with getting more artists onto the label. It was also nice to here chat from Fraser and Jen (alongside Courtney Barnett) artists that are on the label. Even though they are currently not greatly large, they are one of a few labels that I hold in high reputation and am behind everything they produce. Now I am just waiting for the TV special and official hardback biography to find out even more. Enjoy!

Allison Weiss - Who We Are YTV

16/02/16 YouTube Video

Tonight I am going to be working the bar at an Allison Weiss gig in Manchester and am really excited. Since I found out I was going to be in on her show, I listened to her latest release in 2015 called New Love which the track below (Who We Are) was taken from. The song is one of my favourites from the LP, with building pop choruses, simple yet catchy lyrics and great guitar sounds. It may not be ground-breaking but it sure is awesome. I hope it sounds as good live as it is recorded tonight. Enjoy!

Tacocat - I Hate The Weekend SCS

SoundCloud Song

We are now well in to 2016 and what better way to banish those January blues than a song about hating the weekend. That's right, the latest track from Tacocat which comes off of their upcoming third album is about dislike for Saturday and Sunday. The reason being because they have to share it with all of the ghastly weekday workers who rain on Tacocats parade when the Friday clock out comes around. I like Tacocats charm, bouncyness and upliftingness that comes with this song and many of their other songs. I'm expecting great things from their new release in April. Enjoy!

White Reaper Does It Again SCS

SoundCloud Song

Yet another exciting young band that would be great to listen to in the sunshine at a festival. This time they come from Louisville, USA. The 4 tracks below are a nice little teaser for their upcoming album to be released in a few weeks on the 17th of July. I think they share similar musical qualities with another punky band I love: Fidlar, in terms of the grungy guitar and the sometimes silly lyrics. They also manage to pack more hooks into each tune which makes for a more light hearted listen as a whole. If this is about a quarter of the album, I cant wait to hear the thing as a whole. Super pumped for more of this music.

Summer Twins - Got Somebody To Dream About SCS

SoundCloud Song

Dreamy, folky and repetitive are just a few words that come to mind when listening to this track from Summer Twins. Repetitive may seem like a bad word to use but alongside this track, many tracks use repetitiveness for good, not evil and gets the lyrics stuck in your head. The dual female vocals and soulful almost Pipetteish stylings make for a great song about wishing for a lover. This song has been out for a while now and I am looking forward to more stuff. Love it!

Screaming Females - Wishing Well SCS

SoundCloud Song

Don Giovanni Records latest release is from Screaming Females. An exciting new band that share a recording home with the equally brilliant Waxahachee and Shellshag. The song is a bouncy indie little number that is pleasant but the thing that really makes it special is the vocals from the lead singer, one miss Marissa Paternoster whose vocals are something of a unique and attractive entity. The band have released 5 albums to date, I think and I am currently doing my best to play catch up. Enjoy!