A Few Post-Swim Meet Things from White Reaper, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, and Beaches

White Reaper at SXSW 2017

Is It August Yet?

Have I mentioned how crazy July is around here? I probably have. So many swim meets. I spent the first half of today at the NJ Junior Olympics swim meet where CoolDaughter #1 swam the (extremely grueling) 200m breaststroke. She qualified 6th for the finals, and CoolMom gets to take her back to Rutgers for that this evening. I've been pretty useless for much of the day since arriving at the pool for this morning's early warm-up, but a cup of cold brew perked me up. I've been going through the inbox to see what's what.

White Reaper, "Judy French"

How far this Louisville band have come in just a few short years. They've gone from playing to about 12 people on a rainy Wednesday at Asbury Lanes to making videos that star Alexandra Daddario as "the band."

"Judy French" is more of their arena-sized, hook-laden rock and roll; and the Brandon Dermer-directed video is simple in its execution and a great-looking complement to the The World's Best American Band highlight.

The World's Best American Band is out now on Polyvinyl.



The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, "When I Dance with You"

I fell in love with 2009, self-titled debut from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and absolutely wore the album out (metaphorically, of course) on runs, in the car, at my desk. I've been a fan of the Brooklyn band's retro-influenced indie pop ever since and was excited to hear about their upcoming fourth LP, The Echo of Pleasure, which is due from the band's own Painbow label as a digital release on 9/1 with physical copies to follow on 9/15.

"When I Dance with You" finds the band moving beyond the post-punk and shoegaze influences of their earlier efforts into something a little more synth-heavy. Even though he's working with some slightly different sounds here, frontman and songwriter, Kip Berman, still knows his way around a pop song.



Beaches, "When You're Gone"

Australian psych rock five-piece, Beaches, will be releasing a double LP, Second of Spring, with Chapter Music on 9/8. Earlier this week, they shared single "When You're Gone."

"When You're Gone" isn't so much a psychedelic freakout as it is a catchy, almost surfy, bit of fuzz pop. It's a contrast to earlier single, "Void," which is darker and hurtles along on a motorik beat. Taken together, what the band have shared so far shows that they can cover a wide range within the genre of psych rock. It should be pretty interesting to see what they do over the course of a double LP.