This track is also present on Puro Instinct’s latest full length, “Headbangers in Ecstasy.” The album features druggy, tropical, lo-fi female dreampop, featuring intermittent radio fuzz and bird noise (a la MGMT?). Although quite reminiscent of the likes of bands Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and Best Coast, Puro Instinct create a catchy enough blend of nostalgia and weaving in and out of musical consciousness to make you think you are, in fact, dreaming. I expect to hear a lot more of these girls soon. 

Off the latest Smith Westerns album “Dye It Blonde,” this track is a little Beatles-y, and much cleaner than older Smith Westerns. But this album has consistently sweet & delicate yet head-invading hooks. I know it came out last month, which might make it old news, and it’s a noticeable cleaning up of this band’s act…and I’m totally endearingly a fan of fuzziness, noise, and anything old Smith Westerns…but it deserves a shout, a handshake and a solid pat on the back. And don’t stop with this track, which sounds like it’s definitely bound for some movie soundtracks… “All Die Young” is definitely going places, and “End of the Night” is spectacular. In fact if you don’t listen to the whole album, it’ll be the equivalent of missing a giraffe ride through a New Mexico sunset, interpret what you will.

CMJ Pick: Crocodiles

I had the pleasure of seeing Crocodiles twice at CMJ, and was absolutely blown away by their love show (hence my seeing them twice in a 24 hour span). San Diego band Crocodiles recently released their second full length studio album, entitled “Sleep Forever”, on Fat Possum records. Their live show, charismatically fronted with some interesting footwork and mannerisms a la Joy Division, crafts a wall of noise featuring heavy distortion with a strong punk backbone, seamlessly blending noise with ambience, and dissonance with atmosphere. I strongly encourage you to check out their live show for yourself, and check out my interview with them as it airs in the near future!