We’ll have advance copies of our new digital EP at the show tonight. Come get some!

Hey, Chicago! THIS SHOW is tomorrow night at The Metro. See ya’ll there! (Design by Ryan Duggan)

I case ya’ll missed it yesterday, @bvChicago premiered the video for our song “Matter of Fact.” We’ll be joining @mapsnatlases at the @MetroChicago this Friday, May 11th. 

We’ve been holding out on ya’ll long enough! Let’s do it in chronological bullet point style.

• Next week, we’re premiering a video for our song, “Matter of Fact.”
• In 2 weeks, we’re playing Chicago and St. Louis with our best buds, Maps & Atlases.
• Next month, we’re releasing three songs in the form of a digital EP.
  
• Next month, we’re heading to Nebraska to record the new album with Jason Cupp.

We’re SUPER excited for what the rest of this year will have to offer. We’ll keep you posted on the details.

Last week, I wrote an entry about a song from Haniwa-Chan’s Kanashibari, that reminded me of the music Mark Mothersbaugh scored for Rugrats. Oddly enough, this article popped up this week.

(Note: listen to this song as you read.)

One thing about writing a record is that you inevitably find yourself constantly consuming all different types of music. What’s more interesting is that it may even change the way you listen.

For me, I’ve become obsessed with keeping an ear out for familiar melodies and/or rhythms, song structural ideas and production. I sometimes make a game out of “What two bands could’ve morphed together to create this song?”

I pride myself in regularly coming to somewhat quick conclusions. But, that all ended when I came across Haniwa-Chan’s Kanashibari (1984).

I’ve simply never heard anything like it in my life.

The opening number, which serves as the record’s title track, fully embodies the nature of the whole album, which I can only describe as “songs having multiple identity crises throughout.” The feeling of never knowing where the songs are going until they get there is undeniable.

As far as production is concerned, Kanashibari is full of sounds and stereo panning that are completely foreign to my (mid) western ears. The Japanese synthesizer and programming technology on this album from the mid-80’s proves to sound just as inventive and fresh today, as I’m sure it did then, too.

Then, there’s this song; the one I’ve posted. It took me a hot minute to come up with a comparison, and so far, this is the best I’ve been able to do: Do you remember watching Rugrats on Nickelodeon? Do you remember what the music sounded like? Did you know Mark Mothersbaugh was responsible for all of it? If you have Netflix, you can watch the show instantly and hear for yourself. Anyway, that is what this song brings to mind - especially around the 1:03 and 2:00 mark.

Happy Listening.

-Aaron

Lora Logic’s Pedigree Charm has been on repeat around these parts for the past few months. This is the first track on said album. Can’t believe how fresh this sounds even today.

This was the last song we played at Griffin’s final show in July of last year. It’s called “Let’s Just See What Happens…” and it will be making an appearance on our new record. This video was made possible by our best buddies at Tangent Mind Studios.

About two months ago, I found this Casiotone MT-52 at an antique mall in Raymond, IL. So far, it’s been REALLY great for demos. This video is an example. A big thanks to Photo Booth for providing the effects.