Sin Fang Bous free MP3: "Catch the Light"

Check out the single, "Catch the Light" from Icelandic experimental pop artist Sin Fang Bous (aka Sindri Mar Sigfusson) off his solo debut, Clangour (out now on Morr Music).

Sin Fang Bous' "Catch the Light" 

Founder of Reykjavik-based folksy pop outfit Seabear (whose debut dropped on Morr in the summer of 2007), Sigfusson's solo project is "a shortened version of the singer's name, his teeth, and his conception of how is new music sounds" - a seemingly "eclectic venture" compared to his other works. 

In Loving Memory: R.I.P. Jerry Fuchs (!!!, Maserati, Juan MacLean) 1974-2009

From an article in the The New York Times on drummer Jerry Fuchs, 34, who passed Sunday, Nov. 9 in New York ...

At about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Mr. Fuchs, 34, who had attended a benefit party on the building’s seventh floor, was stuck on a freight elevator between the fourth and fifth floors, friends and the police said. He had been trying to jump out of the stalled car when his jacket got caught on something, causing him to fall to the bottom of the shaft. Another man, who was not identified by the police, was riding with Mr. Fuchs in the elevator but safely jumped to a fourth floor hallway. Read More...

If you have a memory of Jerry Fuchs - whether you're a friend, loved one or adoring fan - leave a comment below. 

Jemina Pearl @ The First Unitarian Church

Jemina Pearl
@ The First Unitarian Church
November 3, 2009

Platinum blonde hair zig-zags through the air as a seemingly possessed body is propelled across the stage like an epileptic surfer caught in a swell. Jemina Pearl and her epically abrasive bratiness are back. Three years ago Pearl proved to be the brilliantly and chaotically sassy punk chanteuse that we had all hoped Karen O would be. Then she was fronting genius post Riot Grrrl outfit Be Your Own Pet. Now she’s back “on her own” (still joined by BYOP drummer John Eatherly) with a more refined take on the aesthetic of her former band.

Her solo debut, Break it Up, was released on October 6th via Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! Shockingly versatile (accessibly playful and credibly crass), the album may be competing for both the pop and punk albums of the year. Pearl finds herself under the mirrorball (“Ecstatic Appeal”), on the New Wave scene (“Retrograde”), and even at the sock hop, alongside Iggy Pop, with the most endearing song ever written about hatred (“I Hate People”). Of course, the old Jemina of BYOP can still be found on tracks like “After Hours” and “Selfish Heart,” albeit in much friendlier (and more coherent) form. Also noteworthy is Pearl’s bevy of bumper-sticker-on-her-textbook-ready words of pop wisdom (consider “Ain’t got time to linger, wave goodbye with the middle finger” or “My hands smell like cheeseburgers and cigarettes, on the tips of my fingers I count my regrets.” Any punk rock girl in need of a senior quote, look no further.

On November 3 Pearl found herself at the First Unitarian Church, Philthy’s proving grounds of indieness. The last time she was in the venue, she and the boys of BYOP successfully broke the boundaries between band and audience, leaving the crowd of about 50 as heavily bruised as they were after a riotous 25-minute set. Although her solo debut at the venue was far less hazardous, it proved to be nearly as much fun. The set boasted the better part of Break it Up, including the Runaways-esque “Looking For Trouble;” “D is For Danger,” a modern take on the girl-group sound; and “So Sick!,” the album’s most abrasive track, which left Ms. Pearl gasping for air and storming off the stage in a wonderful (albeit faux) fit of punk femininity… Ms. O, take note. – Izzy Cihak

Coming Soon: Holy Hail

Holy Hail @ Bruar Falls (Brooklyn) (11/6)

In the 90's Riot Grrrl was the pretentious indie trend that could never get old. This decade Electro-Punk seems to be taking that title. So although NYC's Holy Hail could hardly be considered "a breath of fresh air," they are indeed a welcome addition to the genre. Their debut LP, Independent Pleasure Club (released last November), is a pastiche of Disco, Hip-Hop, and Punk as sassy as Von Iva and as abrasive as the Gossip. "Luck Will Find You" could be mistaken for Joy Division's aerobic workout, "Double Dutch" sounds like Luscious Jackson as a Nintendo game, and "Cool Town Rock" is the song that will finally replace "Don't Stop Believing" as last call at East Coast hipster dance parties. Holy Hail even manage to imbue their lyrics with shockingly poignant social commentary that could make Rage Against the Machine sound like the kids who sit in the back of the "Politics and the Media" class at the local community college. In the vein of Bratmobile and Bikini Kill, Holy Hail are here to remind us that dancing and social revolution aren't mutually exclusive activities. – Izzy Cihak

Brilliant Colors - Introducing

Brilliant Colors
Introducing
Slumberland Records

Brilliant Colors frontwoman Jess Scott likely has a cooler record collection than anyone you know. On their debut LP, the San Francisco trio prove to be well-versed in Rock’N’Roll’s most significant sounds and scenes. Opening track “I Searched” embraces both the spunky pop of The Runaways and the haunting simplicity of the Velvets, “Absolutely Anything” juvenilely rocks in the style of any Riot Grrrl, and the gentleness in tone of “Should I Tell You,” combined with its abrasive echo form to make a kind of garage twee. With the recent additions of Diane Anastasio and Michelle Hill (former touring guitarist for The Slits), Brilliant Colors nearly-genius debut proves to the world of pop that they are far from Typical Girls. – Izzy Cihak

Gossip @ TLA

Gossip
@ Theatre of the Living Arts
October 10, 2009

A few short years ago the Gossip’s trips to the City of Sisterly Affection had them getting sweaty in church basements or ghetto-licious dive bars attached to firehouses, but now they’re finding themselves full-blown pop stars. Upon the monstrous stage of the TLA on South Street, Beth Ditto and company found themselves basking in the bright lights.

Accompanying their newfound stateside stardom is a new sound. The PDX trio has abandoned any lingering remnants of Riot Grrrl for something along the lines of 80s tween pop. Although the sound has little to offer fans of 2001’s That’s Not What I Heard or 2002’s Arkansas Heat, those in attendance hardly seemed to miss the days of being punk.

Few remnants of their past, brilliantly-abrasively-confrontationally-danceable, selves were present in the evening’s set. The distortion of “Yesterday’s News” and “Don’t Make Waves” were just as crassly soulful as ever, although they had even less to do with the band’s current sound than that night’s covers of “What’s Love Got to do with It” and “We Are The Champions.”

Those who embrace the band as LGBT icons now seem to regard them more along the lines of Cher than Allison Wolfe. Fans gasped, swooned, and shook their newly-liberated asses through the better part of Gossip’s latest, Music For Men, as if they were at a block party on 12th and Spruce (and not at all as if they were celebrating the new issue of their zine in a DC basement). – Izzy Cihak