Stationary From Work

It's almost time for the end-of-year lists, and by god, The Lorimer Sound are in a great position. Their first ep, Greenstreets, is the best new thing I've heard since Vivian Girls. Although LS are from Chicago (and once included Lisle of Fireflies it would seem!) the first delicious track is called "Brooklyn Bound" and a look at the sleeve notes tells you two of the songs were recorded in Brooklyn. From Brooklyn, the next association would be Marlborough Farms where bands like The Ladybug Transistor and The Essex Green lived and recorded. Actually, Essex Green seems to be an important influence and Kristine's voice certainly comes across as a smoother Sasha Bell. But I like this much better than her band. Soundwise this lands closer to The Aislers Set faux-sixties garage sound. They've listed them as an influence as well, but their sound is even more perfect. And a quick look at the pics in their player reveals two Rickenbackers and a Höfner, in case you can't recognise intruments from their sound alone. But anyway, listen to "Brooklyn Bound", which is not the most obvious pop song on the ep, but it ends with some of the most glorious fuzz guitar ever followed by an extended organ passage. It just brings so much more to a song that most bands would probably have cut short after the last chorus. It's like a caUSE co-MOTION! song that's been streched out to four minutes! And that the end almost sounds like the intro to "Whirpool Vision of Shame" by Felt is another merit...

"Block Party" has to be the best pop instrumental for years, with its repetitive but totally satisfying guitar hook. Clearly a match for "Christmas Song" by The Aislers Set, which is another pop instrumental, another tune with 12-strings, and another Felt rip-off. How's that for a coincidence?

"Through the Park" got a spin at DDOMD last weekend, because it's the natural hit on the ep. And "Photograph", that I included on Smile Yrself Warmer, is slower and shows us a folky side as well - more The Byrds than The Birds. The ep ends with their song in French, called "Notre Chanson En Francais", which you can also get on Eardrums' huge A Good Crop downloadable autumn comp. If you're £3 short, you should also download "Brooklyn Bound" from WeePOP!. If not, my advice is on purchase.

While you're at it, pick up one of the three remaining copies of the Let's Whisper ep too. LW are Colin and Dana of The Smittens and various other related bands. I had expected a more lo-fi version of The Smittens of The Magogs, but the truth is that the opening "Dylan's Song" is the best-sounding thing I've heard from Colin's multitrack. We're also treated to an acoustic demo of it, and another song that's simply adorable is "When You Were Eating Ice Cream". I can think of at least one person I liked better when they were eating ice cream... And the "what do you normally eat for breakfast anyway?" chorus is genius! And how bout some sunshine?