Eureka California
Crunch
HHBTM Records (2014)
When I hear the phrase “indie rock,” I think of about 4-5 things: Pavement, The Pixies, maybe Weezer, glasses, skinny guys, and bizarre instrumentation or time signatures. Some of that (queue the ‘90s references there) is due to my age, as the former part of that description is a bit more rock oriented than the latter. That former part of my name game associations is also apt for Eureka California, a band I know little about and picked up from my mailbox mostly because of the, er, eye catching cover art.When I hear Eureka California, I hear the aforementioned genre gods, and a bit of Athens, GA in there too. It’s slacker rock that’s defined by caterwauled vocals and tongue-in-cheek witticisms. It’s far from “alt rock,” whatever any of these terms mean, in that it plays to a different set of people, a smaller room, and is generally a bit more learned. It’s built on guitar hooks and turning the volume dial up, evidenced well with the great intro chops to “This Ain’t No A-Side,” and the similarly repetitive and punchy “No Mas.” Both of those titles should also give the general vibe of the lyrical tone within.The songs are … Read more
The Murder City Devils
The White Ghost Has Blood on Its Hands Again
Independent (2014)
Reunited bands have a tendency to disappoint. Maybe their hearts aren’t in it the second time around, maybe they’ve changed … Read more
Strawberry Runners
P-Sides Demos
Independent (2014)
Gloriously imperfect and scratchy, the P-Sides Demo by Denver, Colorado’s Strawberry Runners starts off with “Slip In.” Initially sounding like … Read more
Poppy Ackroyd
Feathers
Denovali (2014)
Classically trained musician and collaborator of Hidden Orchestra, Poppy Ackroyd, follows the neoclassical path that started off with her debut … Read more
