Strange days for Strange Boys

One of my big tips for this year is definitely The Strange Boys. They've recently signed a deal with Rough Trade to allow them UK distribution. Their current single 'Be Brave' is going to be really chuffing big. I'm so glad to be writing about these guys; it's been too long since a really dirty little band like these came out.


Hailing from Austin, Texas (via some other places), they're kind of in the vain of bands like Animal Collective, Passion Pit and very early Rolling Stones. Oh, and there's some Monks thrown in there for good measure too! It's really sleazy, old timey music. If it reminds me of any one thing it's of scruffy teenagers in cheap leather jackets playing garage and blues tunes on shitty guitars with far too much distortion.

Most of all, I love the production; nowadays everything's so slick and polished that there's very little discernable difference. In fact, you'd be forgiven for thinking they all had the same producer working on them. So let's all thank the good lord Jahova for The Strange Boys.

Download: The Strange Boys - Be Brave

New Animal Collective EP!

Animal Collective have been around since 2000 when friends and core members, Avey Tare and Panda Bear. At present, the band also includes Geologist and Deaken, but operate with anything between 1 and 4 of the members.

In doing so, the band manages to simultaneously master everything from "skewed pop ballads to fiercely ruptured noise-squalls to tribal rhythmic work-outs to simple folk songs, to who knows where; from fully orchestrated group freak-outs to a the intimacy of an acoustic duo", their website boasts.

Animal Collective have always had an interest in the "sonic experience", but remain grounded in indie-pop sensibilities. There's almost a hint of Ween in them, the more you listen to them the more you can hear the similarities, and in a good way: I was just thinking it was a shame Ween aren't recording so much nowadays.

Anyway, below is the latest of their tracks to come to my intention, taken from their 'Fall Be Kind' EP, out on the 16th on Domino. It's a 7 minute Eno-ish epic that builds with equal measure shoegazer and post-rock. It does have a bit of a poppy edge to it but it's more introverted than their catchier stuff and borders on choral with the layered vocals. So dig in, it's reet scrummy!

Download: Animal Collective - I Think I Can