Royal Headache: "Down The Lane"

[mp3] Royal Headache: "Down the Lane"

We give Altered Zones a lot of shit - but for every 8 posts on bands you will never hear from again, or care to, there is one really solid act that makes it worth reading. We discovered Gem Club there, as well as Shimmering Stars. Add Sydney's Royal Headache to that list. Royal Headache's song "Down The Lane" (from their forthcoming S/T Sept release) may not just be the best song we've heard on Altered Zones, but maybe the best song we've heard all summer. It's a REAL song. It has a hook, and a melody, structure - holy shit - you'd think it was the second coming "Brown Sugar." Well, that it's not, but it IS just a great pop-punk tune that's refreshing as hell. They'll be in the US around release in Sept. Their album was produced by Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Straight Arrows' Owen Penglis. Very much looking forward to hearing it all.

Jangle-Pop With A Purpose

[mp3] Tyler Jon Tyler: "Seperate Issue"

Everybody jangles these days. It’s just the coolest thing. You can’t go anywhere without some reverby guitar gently massaging your eardrums, in that safe, pleasant, afraid-to-take chances type of way. But hey, after Real Estate “broke out” who can blame them? So I initially scoffed when I came across Tyler Jon Tyler the other day on AZ. But, after spending some time with their tunes, I find them charming, well-written, and without all of the usual pretentious trimmings, such as hollow and distorted vocals meant to hide out-of-key singing (Twin Sister) and poorly played guitars (The Beets).

While this post seems to be out to condemn the lo-fi genre, which we’ve certainly been vocal about our disdain for in the past, it’s less about that, and more about how surprised we are to be enjoying Tyler Jon Tyler’s self-titled debut so much. We don’t mean that to sound cheap either. There is a youthful passion here and a clear joy for playing that cuts through all the noise and hype of the lo fi world and strips the music down to its core elements of solid songwriting and quality execution. There is a larger purpose behind these songs that seems to be more about the actual music, than where that music fits into the blog spectrum at large. It's refreshing.

Remove Not The Ancient Landmarks

[mp3] Missincinatti: "A Hundred Years Ago" Stay with it. Let it build.

Pretty much anyone who has had a passing contact with me, ever, will read this post and say "of COURSE you would post that." Well, you're damn right I am. Can anyone buy me that painting?

Admittedly, I have an extremely tenuous relationship with Altered Zones. Not in the way Chris Weingarten does -- most of the music on the site, just isn't my speed. Maybe after smoking a fat bowl of opium at 3am I could get down on some of the bands, but, it's just not in my current purview. Music is subjective. I say godspeed Altered Zones, I wish you all the best.

I digress. Today, 20JazzFunkGreats posted on AZ about this fascinating LA band Missincinatti who's album Remove Not The Ancient Landmarks is available now HERE. I just downloaded it. I have no desire to learn more about the band. I just want to listen to the music, and let my brain draw its own conclusions. How Altered Zones of me. Their songs are described on their site as:

"Forgotten tales of shipwrecks, fantastical crocodiles, a suicidal captains mistress, and the various hardships and sorrows of a life at sea. These seasoned stories are told through chamber-esque compositions, field recordings, and timeless arrangements of old melodies created by Jessica Catron, Jeremy Drake and Corey Marc Fogel.

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