The Courtneys, The Courtneys II, 2017

Album Review

Vancouver trio, The Courtneys, sit somewhere in that sweet spot where garage rock, punk, and bubblegum pop meet. When I heard single "Silver Velvet" late last year, I started getting excited for the band's then forthcoming release on Flying Nun. The song has a propuslive vibe. It's what I'd call a "driving song." Jen Twynn Payne's almost sugary sweet vocals are offset by the fuzzed-out guitar of Courtney Loove and the chugging bass of Syndey Koke so that the song achieves a pretty blissful blend of noise and hooky pop.

The LP, The Courtneys II, came out this past Friday; and it's pretty much everything I was hoping for based on that first taste. There aren't really any ballads here. Each of the songs on The Courtneys II has that same forward-moving feeling of "Silver Velvet." And leaving or travel or moving through life are themes that come up quite a bit in the album's first half -- from "I know I'm going, but I don't know when" on "Country Song" to "It's time for us to let go. Slack off and hit the open road" on the amazingly catchy "Tour."

Payne isn't a belter by any stretch of the imagination, but her vocals weave pretty seamlessly in and out of some subtly different styles. She's dreamy on the psychedelic and jammy "Lost Boys" ("You look just like you did in 1986, and that's why you're a vampire teenage boyfriend"). She's deadpan on a song like the straightforward "25." Payne pulls off 60s retro-garage on "Mars Attacks" and "Frankie."

I don't mean to imply that The Courtneys II is all over the map. It's not. Like I said, the differences from song to song are subtle. Almost every song makes you want to roll down the car window and let your free hand bounce on the rushing air. For the most part, it's 90s-inspired grunge pop -- like Juliana Hatfield fronting Smashing Pumpkins, which is actually quite awesome -- but there is enough variation to keep The Courtneys II interesting throughout.

The Courtneys II is also a milestone of sorts. The band have said that Flying Nun Records, with its stable of bands like The Clean, The Chills, The Bats, Chris Knox, and more, has been a huge influence on their sound; so it's fitting that they would be the label's first-ever signing from outside of New Zealand.

This is one I'm going to be playing all spring and summer. The Courtneys II is out now on Flying Nun Records.

New (ish) Stuff from Sunflower, The Courtneys, and Aye Nako

Aye Nako at last year's New Alternative Music Festival in Asbury Park's Convention Hall

All Dug Out

After a pretty lazy -- except for the excruciating driveway shoveling workout -- day yesterday, I wanted to share with you some of the cool stuff I've been hearing over the past few weeks. If today's group of songs has a theme, I'd say it's probably that all of these draw on some 90s sounds that I've always loved. Check them out and see what you think.

Sunflower, "World of Porcelain"

Cedar Grove's Sunflower released their latest single back in January. The band's 2015 self-titled EP had the organic feel of the music that was coming out of the Elephant 6 Collective back in the 90s, and "World of Porcelain" captures that vibe as well.

Employing piano, ukulele, and strings with a more traditional guitar, bass, drums set-up, the song is simultaneously folksy, poppy, and psychedelic. It twirls, round-style, as the layers build. Like much of the most interesting stuff coming out of NJ these days, "World of Porcelain" was recorded and mixed by one Max Rauch.



The Courtneys, "Minnesota"

I've been obsessively listening to Vancouver's The Courtneys for the last month or so. Earlier this week, the band released the third single from their sophomore LP -- and their debut for New Zealand's legendary Flying Nun Records. The Courtneys II is due next Friday, February 17th; and it will be the first release of a non-New Zealand band for Flying Nun.

"Minnesota" is fuzzy, grungy power-pop. The song chugs forward on Courtney Loove's guitar and Sydney Koke's bass. Drummer / lead singer Jen Twynn Payne's vocals help to place the song somewhere between gritty and dreamy. The Courtneys (like so many others) are clearly influenced by the bands who preceded them on Flying Nun -- The Clean, The Chills, Chris Knox -- and are a perfect fit for the label. This one is shaping up to be one of my favorite releases of 2017.



Aye Nako, "Particle Mace"

Earlier this week, Brooklyn queer-punk four-piece, Aye Nako, announced their forthcoming album for Don Giovanni Records, Silver Haze, by releasing the jagged and explosive "Particle Mace." The band say, "they are actively seeking a planet where those who fall in the margins can feel OK about being themselves."

That comes through in the song as singer / guitarist Jade Payne deadpans, "...with a sigh of relief that we're finally safe here. That's what I want to believe." Aye Nako are political and bring a perspective that is all-too-often overlooked by genres that profess to be inclusive and progressive. That, and they flat out burn it up on "Particle Mace."

Silver Haze is due April 7th.

Festivus Friday Round-Up with The Courtneys, Vagabon, Allison Crutchfield

One I missed from a few months back.

2017 Is Shaping up Nicely

Don't worry. I still have more lists for you in the pipeline. Before I have to go pick the cooldaughters up from their half-day of school, though, I wanted to share with you a few things I came across this morning while sifting through the virtual pile on my computer.

The Courtneys, "Silver Velvet"

The Courtneys cite Flying Nun records and the bands on the legendary New Zealand label as prime influences on their own rough but powerpoppy sound. In the kind of storybook twist that almost never happens, Flying Nun signed the Vancouver trio as their first-ever non-New Zealand-based act.

Last week, The Courtneys released a video for "Silver Velvet" from their upcoming February Flying Nun debut, The Courtneys II. Courtney Loove's guitar is fuzzed out and noisy, but it's Sydney Koke's bass that drives things. Jen Twynn Payne plays drums and sings in a style that allows "Silver Velvet" to straddle the space between grunge and bubble gum.



Vagabon, "The Embers"

On Day 2 of Don Giovanni's New Alternative Music Festival back in September, I walked into Convention Hall just as Vagabon (Lætitia Tamko) was finishing her set. I instantly regretted not being able to make it just a few minutes earlier. My regret is only reinforced by the recent release of the video for "The Embers," the first track on Vagabon's Infinite Worlds which is due in February from Father / Daughter records.

"The Embers" starts out sounding quiet and introspective, but quickly blossoms as swirling, shoegazy guitars back Tamko's singular vocal. The video, directed by Mooj Zadie, features Tamko on a bus, at an aquarium, in what looks like a store for tropical fish as she sings, "I'm just a small fish / And you're a shark that hates everything / You're a shark that eats every fish."

It's just a damn good song with a really well-done video.



Allison Crutchfield, "Dean's Room"

I've pretty much loved everything both Crutchfield sisters have done in the last few years. Allison Crutchfield's work with Swearin' has produced two albums that are favorites around here. As she's branched out into solo work, Allison Crutchfield has moved away from the guitar-based punk / power pop of Swearin' and she's embraced a more synth-based sound. That started on 2014's self-released Lean Into It, and it sounds like it will continue with her full-length debut for Merge, Tourist In This Town, slated for next month.

Back in October, when Crutchfield announced her album, she released a video for single "Dean's Room." I guess I missed it back then, but I managed to discover it in time for her upcoming date on February 6th at Jersey City's Monty Hall. The analog synths definitely give the song an 80s vibe, but Crutchfield's perspective is modern. Producer Jeff Zeigler has added not only a polish but also a real sense of space to Crutchfield's sound when compared to her early electronic forays.

The Lara Gallagher-directed video is both beautiful and vaguely unnerving.



...OK. Back to lists in a bit.