Holiday Email Mining with BIRDS, QWAM, and Walrus

QWAM by Karen Sophia Colon

My Back Hurts

Yeah. My back hurts like real bad. Not sure why, but it's been very distracting. I'm stretching and eating ibuprofen like candy in an attempt to make it out to hear some music and to take some pictures tonight.

Anyway...

I was digging through the emails today (as I sat, in pain, in my office chair. Have I whined enough now?) and came up with a few things to share on this holiday weekend Saturday.

BIRDS, "Most Ghost"

I mentioned BIRDS' Everything All At Once when it came out back in August. Earlier this month, the Brooklyn four-piece released a split single with their neighbors in Stuyedeyed. BIRDS' contribution is the fuzzed-up garage rocker, "Most Ghost."

Like the band's LP, "Most Ghost" draws on influences from psych to dream pop as it alternates between heavy and soaring.

I can be a little slow on the uptake around here, and I didn't post this in time to tell you about the tour that BIRDS just finished up with Stuyedeyed. But that means they're back in Brooklyn, and I can hopefully catch a set from them soon.

The split is available now from Greenway Records.



QWAM, "Doggie Door"

A couple of weeks ago, Brooklyn punk quartet QWAM announced that they'd be releasing their debut EP, Feed Me, in January. They accompanied the announcement with lead single "Doggie Door."

With rapid-fire percussion and shout along "whoah-ohs," "Doggie Door" is a two-minute, fist-pumping anthem. "Take your badge of way too cool / And drown it in your backyard pool." QWAM clearly have little patience for phonies.

You can pre-order Feed Me over at QWAM's Bandcamp page.



Walrus, "Family Hangover"

Walrus are from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They've played on bills with Ty Segall and Preoccupations. This past summer, they released their debut LP Family Hangover. The album blends dreamy, Beatle-esque pop and psychedelia with some heavy freakouts.

That's exemplified on the album's title track for which the band released a video on Halloween. The clip focuses on a family that could be out of the Alien Nation TV series of the late 80s as they celebrate a birthday party. Things are calm and bucolic until everybody starts downing the PBRs.

Walrus released the Luke McCutcheon and Michael Yablonski-directed clip on Halloween, but I think it plays pretty well post-Thanksgiving.

Family Hangover is out now on Madic Records.



Enjoy the rest of your weekend; and, if you know any secret backache remedies, pass them on.