Cause Co-Motion - I Lie Awake 7'' (Slumberland, 2008)

Cause Co-Motion
I Lie Awake 7''
Slumberland
2008

Rating: 6 future laboratories out of 10

Cause Co-Motion were an underrated jangle pop band from a few years ago that never released a proper album, but had a shit ton of singles (and eventually, a compilation of these singles that would act as a full length).  They had a bunch of really catchy songs but never seemed to make a splash.  This isn't their strongest single, but it's decent - the title track is the strongest of the three short offerings, but all are worth a listen.  I always assumed these guys were from the Midwest, probably getting them confused with the Midwest Beat who have a similar sound, but they were actually from Brooklyn.  Useless information!

Terry Malts - Lost At The Party (Slumberland, 2016)

Terry Malts
Lost At The Party
Slumberland
2016

Rating: 7.5 fragile egg chairs out of 10

Terry Malts first record "Killing Time" was one of my favorite releases of 2012; their second effort "Nobody Realizes This Is Nowhere" was still decent, but a step down from their debut.  Given that, I wasn't sure what to expect from this third outing "Lost At the Party" - a continuing (very slight) downward trend, or a return to their previous form?  Luckily, it was the latter - the differences between this release and the last are subtle and I'm way too dumb to accurately put them in words, but this batch of songs has a little more punch or sheen (or whatever you want to call it) to them that was missing on the last pass.  As always, the Terry Malts sound is cold and very eighties, a combination of punk and new wave and pop...they're more or less a modern version of XTC, Jesus & Mary Chain, and/or Echo & the Bunnymen depending on the particular song.  I mean that as a compliment, for the record, as I've loved all three of those bands for much of my life.  It's not so much that Terry Malts are ripping off those bands as they are re-imagining the same sounds for a new, current audience.  Opener "Used To Be," "Won't Come To Find You," and "Seen Everything" are my picks for best tracks but there isn't a weak spot in the entire procession. 

Allo Darlin' - We Come from the Same Place (Slumberland, 2014)

Allo Darlin'
We Come from the Same Place
Slumberland
2014

Rating: 7.5 easter candies out of 10

I love Allo Darlin' - I loved their first two records & as well as when I saw them perform live a couple of years ago - which makes it all the more puzzling that I slept so long on their newest release "We Come from the Same Place."  And it's not like this third record by them is some great departure - if you told me this batch of indie twee pop was recorded at the exact same time as the rest of their material, it would be believable.  They're a one-trick pony I suppose, but they're really, really damn good at that one trick.  It might just me but it's impossible to not fall in love with singer Elizabeth Morris while listening to her perform - something about her tone drills right into my heart.  Note to self: if Allo Darlin' release a fourth album, maybe listen to it right away okay?

Terry Malts - Insides EP (Slumberland, 2014)

Terry Malts
Insides EP
Slumberland
2014

Rating: 7.5 raspberry submarines out of 10

Four songs in under ten minutes, Terry Malts know how to get right to the point.  The band is a equal parts punk, pop and Jesus & Mary Chain-style guitars, and this combination really really work for me both on record and live.  I could probably do without the slightly goofy second song "Grumpiest Old Men," but the other three tracks are gold - especially the third song "Don't."  This is going to send me into another obsessive listening jag of their fantastic 2012 album "Killing Time," I just know it. 

Terry Malts - Something About You 7'' (Slumberland, 2011)

Terry Malts
Something About You 7''
Slumberland
2011

Rating: 7.5 great closers out of 10

For my money, Terry Malts are one of the best current bands to combine the best of seventies pop punk and eighties c86 indie rock into a fantastic, catchy fuzzed-out mess.  Two of the three songs on this release, the title track and "No Sir, I'm Not a Christian" are also featured on their full-length "Killing Time," but these versions are slightly different - I don't know the musical jargon for it, but these are echoier.  Like they were recorded in a giant tin room.  I prefer the cleaner album version, but I'm still happy to have this slab of pink wax.  Oh yeah, and there is a third song "Fun Night" that is great and exclusive to this. 

Terry Malts - I'm Neurotic 7'' (Slumberland, 2011)

Terry Malts
I'm Neurotic 7''
Slumberland
2011

Rating: 7.5 lunar rovers out of 10

Two of the three songs on this single by the Terry Malts can also be found on their excellent full-length "Killing Time," but this is still worth owning.  Mostly because the remaining song, "Distracted," isn't found elsewhere, and it's a very enjoyable - more of the Buzzcocks-meets-Fugazi sound that they excel at.  But also because I just really dig the packaging and design and the sleeve is on some super heavy-duty cardboard that I wish more singles used. 

Allo Darlin' - Europe (Slumberland, 2012)

Allo Darlin'

Europe

Slumberland

2012

Rating: 8 blue skies out of 10

I would have given this sophomore Allo Darlin' release a high score based solely on the second song of the album, "Capricornia."  As it stands it's the runaway leader for my coveted "song of the year" category.  Luckily, this band is no one trick pony, and the rest of the record is damn near as good - "Northern Lights" is also stellar.  Catchy twee pop from start to finish - I described it to a friend as a more upbeat, less depressed Camera Obscura.  And by "friend" I probably wrote it somewhere, maybe here, on another release of theirs.  No matter, it's a fitting descriptor either way.  No sophomore jinx here at all. 

Fantastic live band too - had the privilege of seeing them play recently and Elizabeth Morris' voice is just as fantastic live as it is on record, maybe even more so.  In two records she's jumped very high on my list of favorite female vocalists.   

Allo Darlin' - Capricornia 7'' (Slumberland, 2012)

Allo Darlin'

Capricornia 7''

Slumberland

2012

Rating: 7.5 whale teeth out of 10

I did not "literally" burn a hole in my copy of the self-titled debut album by Allo Darlin' that came out in 2010, but I very much wanted to work that stupid descriptor in my opening line.  That is to say, I listened to it a whole whole lot, in case you didn't get what I was pushing towards.  This 7'' represents the first single from their forthcoming new album "Europe," and man what a great foot to step forward with - the song is incredibly catchy and so cute it's almost insufferable.  Think of Allo Darlin' as a little more upbeat, less dour version of Camera Obscura and you'll be on the right track.  Great single, and I'm immensely excited for the new record. 

Terry Malts - Killing Time (Slumberland, 2012)

Terry Malts

Killing Time

Slumberland

2012

Rating: 7.5. free kicks out of 10

San Francisco's Terry Malts, while fitting in with the current crop of hot shit garage/punk/pop/psyche bands, seem to have wandered down a different path at some point.   Those pop punk hooks are still buried in there, but there is a heavy late eighties/early nineties indie vibe ala the Jesus & Mary Chain and the Pixies and maybe even some XTC, making it quite fitting they are on Slumberland given the label's history.  I'm also hearing the cold, detached punk vibe that the A-Frames perfected, a sound I've always loved that very few bands get right.  There is also a simple perfection to the songs that will remind most anyone of the Ramones, but then again what band working in this genre doesn't remind you of the Ramones.  If you had zero knowledge of the Terry Malts and someone told you it was an unearthed gem from 1984, it would be completely believable.  I was instantly taken with "Not Far From It" and "Waiting Room" (the latter having no relation to the classic Fugazi song).  This is going to receive a lot of plays in my house.  Between the new Hunx record and this one, the Bay Area has a strong start on putting out the best music of 2012.