Interview – The Pale Pacific
The Pale Pacific. Source:Myspace
The story has been the same for several of my favourite bands: the discount bin. Not because they aren’t good bands, but a certain major chain of stores in Mexico insists on not knowing what gems they have and eventually put a lot of great stuff at very low prices. Which means me and one of my best friends can go and blow our budgets on wonderful music. One of the recommendations from this friend (thanks, Emilio) was a band called The Pale Pacific.
I got Rules are predictable and listened to it with my dad while on the car back from the work. We both loved the EP and talked a few times about this sort of music and the bands and sometimes wondered what made them tick.
Couple of years later and some emailing afterwards, we managed to have a Q & A with Greg Swinehart (drums, backing vocals, stylish clothes) as the news of The Pale Pacific recording new stuff made us all giddy. So, get your dream pop drinks ready and read on… (more…)
A pink shade of pop
Screaming Maldini – Secret Sounds
That probably was the worst pun-passing-as-a-post-title this excuse for a website has tried to use. Sorry for that.
Anyhoos, music, yeah. Screaming Maldini, a band wearing all pink (allegedly) and making quite a racket both on record and live (cheapo plug) have just released (a couple of months ago) their European début, Secret sounds, a short EP (only four songs) full of mostly happy, sugary sweet pop that becomes as loud as grunge, but also as wistful as the dreamiest of dream pop.
Between the off-kilter lyrics (gotta respect the Kookaburra mentions, those birds rule!) and the instrumentation bordering into math rock territory (yeah, I called it), the frantic pace of these 4 tracks is a breathe of fresh air on a gloomy August night where the news are about fires in your third favourite city in England.
But let’s leave the horrid state of the world aside and let’s talk about this lovely band. ‘Secret sounds’ (a song that was included on last year’s Screaming Maldini and the Kookaburra) is a perfect choice for an opener. Like previously mentioned, it’s happy and sunshiney, but for a few moments you wonder if it’s a true state of euphoria or just your daily dose of Librium/Soma kicking your endorphins.
Ah, ‘The Silver Mountain’. I swear I’ve heard this one live (memories of Peace in the Park) and a wry smile comes to the memory of that day. Again, happy thoughts, a wall of sound approach (via voices) and loads of cool little sounds added to the mix (flutes, siren whistles, etc). The “pa-ra-pa-pa-ra-pah!” refrain makes me think of a thousand 70s pop songs mashed together and signalled to the future (via AM and spacio-temporal distortions).
But those two happy songs are only the line and sinker. The real hook here is the marvellous ‘Restless hearts and silent pioneers’, easily the real gem of this solid release. The pace is still brisk, but the amalgamation of voices and musical ideas is very organic. The ending is fantastic and will not spoil it for you.
Said ending segues into ‘The first raindrop’, which is Maldini back to their upbeat, syncopated
Questions abound after the 4 tracks of this EP: Who is Maldini and why is he/she/it screaming? What became of The Situationists? Is it acceptable to daydream driving through Baja California/Big Sur when you listen to ‘The first raindrop’? Why do they wear Mexican Pink clothes? Is this edition better than Screaming Maldini and the Kookaburra, their EP from last year? All possible inane questions padding up this review. Just giving into this EP of cool ditties. Worth your time. Catch them live too, they are always a hoot (and sometimes a holler).
Words: Sam (who else? Fucking spamming this place as of late)
Gallery : Dan Williamson and Cats:For:Peru @ Soyo
Soyo Live hosted 4 diverse but thoroughly entertaining bands this past Monday 11th of July.
The Sunday Soapbox
The sad end of a mysoginist.
(or is it?)
As Quinto stumbled through Penistone road after doing another fatty blunt-batastic, he thought that it all was a little too silly for his liking.
Songs of a sunny Perestroika sunday
Someone still loves you Boris Yeltsin – Let it Sway
The Skinny : Bubbly, fun and actually awesome.
The review gushing proper: Actually, could I persuade you to get this free song before? Take it as evidence. Or just press play before reading what follows.
There ya go. And if you like it, you can get it for free. Or listen to it on Spotify while I rant about it.
An all night out blitz with Smokers Die Younger (pt 1)
Part 1: Of sweets and alcohol.
It’s a rainy Thursday in the outskirts of Brown Street, the Rutland Arms, to be precise. It’s been an interview that a couple of people at the site have been talking about for a while. Since I’ve seen the band live before (and since I’m disposable, apparently!), Quinto and Misky ask me to carry the interview.
I enter the pub and get a pint of ale and sit in a stool that reminds me of my days in Catholic School. While I go over the questions for the band, I draw some doodles on a notebook. Right on cue and on the exact time, 3 members of Smokers Die Younger enter. James Goldthorpe (Vocals, Guitar) recognises me and we talk about where to do the interview. Amy (Vocals, Harpsichord) goes out to the beer garden with a couple of paper towels and Ian (Bass, Vocals) is doing the thankless task of carrying the pints.
