New(ish) EPs from Ragged Lines, Fun While You Wait, and The Values

I Have No Plan Here

I've written before about having to have some kind of spreadsheet or schedule to keep track of all the things I want to mention here. The way my mind works, though, taking the time to get organized and build schedules and enter stuff into spreadsheets or calendars just seems like a whole bunch of extra work. That, plus the fact that, every time I've ever tried something like that, new, shiny objects have come along to distract me and mess the whole thing up.

Anyway.

Here are a few EPs I've been meaning to mention for a couple of weeks now.

Ragged Lines, Red Lights, Your Ghost

Following the dissolution of his former band, Monterey, singer / guitarist Carter Henry began performing as Ragged Lines. That project expanded to a duo with the addition of Lucas Dalakian on bass and eventually grew to its current three-piece form when Matt Viani joined to play drums.

Earlier this month, Ragged Lines released their first proper EP in the form of Red Lights, Your Ghost. I spent a lot of time with the EP this week, and it's a truly impressive debut. All of the songs here are big, from the pop rock of "Rut" and "Red Eye" to the blues of "Warm Visions" to the swaying, almost 50s vibe of "She's Been Waiting."

Red Lights, Your Ghost is heartfelt and full of self-examination throughout, but the band and producer Erik Romero manage to make it rock.

Red Lights, Your Ghost is out now.



Fun While You Wait, Of Course

Freehold's Fun While You Wait released Of Course on September 1st. We premiered opening track "Yes / No" here; and, back then, I said that Fun While You Wait sound "like what you might get if Neutral Milk Hotel made pop love songs instead of songs about Anne Frank."

There is definitely an Elephant 6-ish organic feel to all of the songs here. The ukulele, Bruce Krywinski's trumpet, singer Devon Moore's vocals. There's a lightness that you'd expect on songs like the optimistic, you-and-me-against-the-world "Silver Linings" or the tropical feeling "Evergreens." But even on the more serious tracks like "Ghost Ship" and "Wolves," the arrangements allow Moore's voice to shine. "Wolves," especially, which goes out on a raucous outro would be something totally different -- heavier more jammy -- if it were more electrified. Here it has the feel of a kind of, I don't know, hootenanny? Is that a dumb word? Anyway, it's fun.

Of Course is out now.



The Values, The Values

Brooklyn's The Values released their latest, self-titled EP about two weeks ago. The band's sound centers on synths and the powerful, intertwining vocals of Mason Taub and Nathalie and Mel Escudero. The band draw on a disparate set of influences over the course of the EP.

Opener "Colors," for which the band recently released a Thomas Ignatius-directed video, has a new wave, 80s, synth-pop vibe; while "Hey Julia" is more in-line with what you'd hear today on SiriusXMU: mellow, slinky, soulful. "Polyester" feels like it's straight off of the cast album to a 70s Broadway, rock opera.

That last, theatrical, aspect is the theme that runs through the entire EP. The Values differ from a lot of what you hear coming out of the Brooklyn scene by virtue of their unselfconscious and refreshing theatricality. I've never seen The Values perform, but I can only imagine how that vibe translates to their live show.

The Values is out now.

Premiere: New Single From Fun While You Wait

Fun While You Wait by Jon Asher

"Yes / No"

Freehold's Fun While You Wait are on the verge of releasing the follow-up to last spring's collection of infectious, ukulele-based pop, Continuity. Of Course is due on September 1st, and we have the first single right here in the form of "Yes / No."

Like much of Continuity, "Yes / No" sounds like what you might get if Neutral Milk Hotel made pop love songs instead of songs about Anne Frank. The lightness of Devon Moore's ukulele is balanced nicely against the rhythm section of Kevin Newcomb (bass) and Keith Leming (drums) as well as Moore's soulful vocals. Bruce Krywinski, Jr. lends some soaring trumpet.

"This is a track about the crippling anxiety that comes with having a crush that you can't hide anymore," says Moore. "That sinking feeling that comes right after you tell them what's up. And the things running through your mind while you wait for their reaction. Ironically, we were all in relationships when we wrote this one."

Give a listen to "Yes / No" and look for Of Course via your favorite music service on September 1st. If you prefer, you can pre-order the EP from the band.

Either way, that will give you two weeks to study up for Fun While You Wait's joint EP release party with their buds in We're Ghosts Now at Asbury Park Yacht Club on September 15th.

Monday, 10/10, Shows w/ Surfbort, Darkwing, The Off White, Dentist, Beams, Fun While You Wait

Brooklyn's Surfbort come to APYC for a Monday night special.

Goodbye Blue Monday

CoolMom and I will still be in New Orleans this coming Monday, and I'll be missing a couple of really good, free, local shows. I'm not complaining. I mean, New Orleans. Plus, I won't have to choose between some solid bills. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to head out to one or both of these, have a great time, and tell me what I missed the next time you see me.

Little Dickman Records Presents: Surfbort, Darkwing, The Off White at Asbury Park Yacht Club, 8pm, FREE

I saw Brooklyn's Surfbort at SXSW. They played an early, indoor set at Cheer Up Charlie's in Austin. They call themselves SLIMY ICE-CREEEM LICKIN FILTH ROCK, and that just about sums it up. Vocalist Dani Miller is a weird, wild force of nature; and -- rounded out by our friends Darkwing and The Off White -- it should be a pretty interesting evening at the Yacht Club to say the least.







Happy Mondays: Dentist, Beams, Fun While You Wait at Wonder Bar, 8pm, FREE

Dentist are back at Happy Mondays this coming week. They'll be joined by Toronto's Beams and Freehold's Fun While You Wait on an eclectic bill that mixes Dentist's 90s and surf-influenced rock, with Beams's dark psych folk, and Fun While You Wait's ukulele-fronted pop.

My love for Dentist is well-documented here. Beams bring seven members, a singing saw, and the experience of having recorded their last EP with John McEntire (Yo La Tengo, Stereolab, Broken Social Scene). Fun While You Wait deliver upbeat folk pop fronted by Devon Moore's ukulele and soulful voice.







So, I don't want to hear any crap about how it's a school night or you have work in the morning. Free music. Cheap beer. Toughen up.

Freehold's Fun While You Wait Release First Full-Length Tomorrow. Touring with We're Ghosts Now.

Continuity

Fun While You Wait combine the bounce of ukulele with a melodic rhythm section to produce sunny and upbeat-sounding pop. Vocalist / ukulele-ist (?), Devon Moore, has a direct and soulful voice that lends a level of heft to the band's sound that you might not expect from ukulele-driven pop. On April 19th, Fun While You Wait will release their first full-length, Continuity.

Fans of the acoustic-infused pop of the Elephant 6 Collective and its acolytes, like Beirut, will find plenty to dig into here, especially songs like "Target" or "Peace of Mind" which feature Bruce Krywinski, Jr. on trumpet. There are some definite musical hints of bands like Neutral Milk Hotel (for whom there's actually a tribute band called Neutral Uke Hotel) on songs like "Eager to Please" and "Apples & Oranges," but Fun While You Wait aren't really playing in the same lo-fi space. Kevin Newcomb (bass) and Keith Leming (drums) do an excellent job of filling the space necessarily left by ukulele, and everything is anchored by Moore's up-front and impressive vocals.

You can stream Continuity ahead of its release over at MyCentralJersey.

Starting on Friday, Fun While You Wait head out on tour with their buds and neighbors in We're Ghosts Now. The "East Coast Roast" Tour kicks off on April 22nd at New York's Alphabet Lounge and winds up with a record release show for Continuity on April 29th at Asbury Park Yacht Club.

Poster: Bethany Katarina

Here's the band performing a live version of "Target" for NPR's Tiny Desk Contest.

NPR Tiny Desk Contest 2016: The Porchistas, Homeless Apians, Fun While You Wait, Wyland

Some NJ Submissions

NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert" series is a staple of the world of musical social media. Artists head into the Washington, DC offices of NPR and perform stripped down versions of their songs to the assembled NPR staff. There have been some great ones. Off the top of my head, I can think of recent performances by Beach Slang, Hop Along, and Mitski. T-Pain gave a particularly revelatory performance. Basically, if your favorite artist has been in the midst of an album cycle at any time in the last several years, they've probably played at the Tiny Desk.

Last year, NPR gave unsigned, undiscovered talent the opportunity to vie for a spot at the desk when they launched the "Tiny Desk Contest." Bands submitted a new video and were entered for the opportunity to perform their own Tiny Desk Concert. Fantastic Negrito took the title, but there were tons of great submissions. Just this past Monday night, as a matter of fact, I got a little misty watching YJY perform as I thought back on the fact that my first introduction to them was through their Tiny Desk Contest video for "Through Being Hip."

In that spirit of discovery, I figured I'd share a few of the local-ish submissions with you here. If you or your band have done a video for this year's contest, let me know and I'll try to post it up here. If you haven't done one and would like to, I think you have until February 2nd.

This batch includes the upbeat folk pop of Fun While You Wait, the amazing solar-powered, homemade prog of Homeless Apians, the hippy pop of The Porchistas, and the epic alt rock of Wyland.

Head over to the Tiny Desk Contest site to check out the rules and to browse through all the videos posted so far. You may find a new favorite band.

Fun While You Wait (Freehold), "Target"



Homless Apians (Asbury Park), "Keeps"



The Porchistas (Montclair), "Apolitical Science"



Wyland (Kearny), "Without You"

Fun While You Wait, "Blue Christmas"

Fun While You Wait at Wonder Bar

From Arose Such a Clatter

We've been doing kind of an unplanned Christmas music thing here over the last couple of days. NJ artists keep releasing holiday songs, so I'm just going with it.

Freehold's Fun While You Wait actually released this cover of "Blue Christmas" a few weeks ago as part of the Arose Such a Clatter EP. That set also includes holiday songs from Garden State Line, Backyard Superheroes, Milan and The Sour Goat, and P-Funk North. All of the proceeds from the EP go to the Toys for Tots Foundation, and you can grab the collection over on Bandcamp.

Today, Fun While You Wait also give us a video for "Blue Christmas" featuring live performance footage from the Arose Such a Clatter release show / party at the Dunellen Theater as well as sets from both The Wonder Bar and House of Independents in Asbury Park. Check out the video below; and, as you contemplate your end of year giving, think about grabbing yourself some holiday tunes and helping out Toys for Tots.