Spine-Chilling Waves: La Femme

Halloween vibes are back! I’ve been listening to La Femme this past weekend and absolutely loved their musical style so I’m going to share it with you all.

The selected track titled, “La Femme,” is from their very first album, Psycho Tropical Berlin, which was released on Record Store Day (April 20, 2013). A loud thunderstorm starts off the track while the rain violently sets the mood. An echoing synth leads clean percussion to start off the song with James Bond guitar riffs, which is parallel to surf rock. The slow decay of the lead guitar licks complement the ghostly whistling sample sounds in the background of the track while the bass holds the rhythm smoothly.

The rest of the album stays true to the surf/eerie sound but they each have a unique part to them. Most of them have intros as well. The song introducing the album, “Antitaxi,”  will drop you straight in the ocean waves when you hear the clean guitar riffs. There are hints of Devo (imagine “Gut Feeling” sped up mixed with the vocals in “Uncontrollable Urge”) and dark electronic bass and synths similar to The Faint’s earlier days. Check out their album and enjoy an early summer and Halloween!

Let’s fast forward to October with La Femme’s Psycho Tropical Berlin with the video below.

RECORD STORE DAY in Hollywood!

We started the day super early thinking everything would be fine getting to Amoeba a little after 8am. Nope. We ended up spending a total of five hours in lines, minus the hour we spent inside Amoeba shopping in hopes for other great finds. We figured if we at least found some good records, we wouldn’t be doing the Charlie Brown walk if they didn’t have anything off our RSD wishlist. So here are some pictures from today!

After we left the most chaotic RSD event, we picked up some chili fries and headed home to Boo (cutie puppy)! Here are some more pictures:

In retrospect, it was worth it! I was walking out with only The Zombies since my other ones were gone (CUT COPY!! Pulp, Sigur Ros, Husker Du, Superchunk etc.). I asked them to check and see if maybe they made a mistake because c’mon Cut Copy wasn’t crossed out until I reached the front of the line!! But they regretted to inform me that it was completely sold out. I walked away slowly with my head hanging like poor ol’ Charlie Brown, and then the cashier lady calls me, “Hey! Cut Copy!” I turn around, and she tells me, “We actually found another copy for you!” I jumped up and down and did a quick happy dance and ran over to pick it up! So in conclusion, today was a great success! Hope you all enjoyed your RSD either at Coachella or at your local record store! Cheers to great music! I’ll finish this post off with a brilliant quote by Nick Hornby: “Record stores can’t save your life. But they can give you a better one.”

Saturday Sounds: RECORD STORE DAY…(waiting)

Just had a SUPER long day at Amoeba in Hollywood……so much waiting and horrific, stressful lines in the flaming hot sun! Soon I’ll post all the pictures and great vinyl finds! Stay tuned!

Here’s a song representing today’s waiting:

“Wednesday Just Won’t Go”

Why is this week going by so slow? There’s so much to look forward for this coming weekend:

• Pet expo going on all weekend so I’m definitely going to try and check that out with the boy and some friends.
• Friday is lazy day off and the day to start up a solid list for…….
• Saturday: RECORD STORE DAY (finally)! My plan with the boy is to wake up early and head over to Amoeba in Hollywood to hunt down anything available on my list!

Australian ’60s pop rock band, The Easybeats, are just as excited for this weekend. Anticipating guitars launch the track while we drag through the week with Stevie Wright telling us how each day lags til we hit Friday. Jangling guitars chime in as we approach the Easybeats’ weekend with loud high hats in the chorus. This song is a timeless gem! The fast pace rhythm guitar builds up the anticipation in “Friday on My Mind,” in such an excellent way making it a great single from the “swinging sixties,” for The Easybeats. Watch Wright happily dance on minute  1:44 below in the video! Hang in there, Friday is almost here!

Saturday Sounds: Upcoming Record Store Day!

Record Store Day is on April 20th which falls on a Saturday wooooo!! There are some really great gems to put on your list this year. I like to follow the facebook page “Record Store Day” just to find out about the upcoming rare, special edition records to be released exceptionally for this day. Here’s what’s on my list (no particular order):

• Cut Copy’s reissue of Bright Like Neon Love “on vinyl for the first time, with redesigned artwork by frontman Dan Whitford,” notes Consequence of Sound.
• Husker Du is releasing a couple songs, “Criminal Fingers” and “The Bear & the  Maiden Fair,” on a double 7″ vinyl.
• Pulp is going to be sharing their new single with two tracks! A 12″ single presenting their song “The 4am Desperation Disco to Disco Dub Version” which is remixed with Soulwax’s track as well. Disco tracks remixed by two great artists, sounds like a fun track!
• Sigur Ros. You guys….SIGUR ROS is also reissuing their distinctive album that holds nostalgia from high school days: Agaetis Byrjun! “Out of print in the U.S. for several years, this new pressing is limited to just 1,000 copies.”
• And lastly, Superchunk! They’re sharing two new tracks on a 7″: “Void,” and “Faith.”

That’s my list of interests, but you should go check it out and see what else might catch your eye!

Citations: Consequence of Sound