Category: Vinyl Love

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Sinnet – Year Of The Whale (2013)

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Sinnet
Year Of The Whale
2013

Remember that Sinnet song I loved so much? “Year Of The Whale”? Well, it’s now available on vinyl! Yay! The B-side is “Searching For Spectors,” which continues the band’s ability to walk the tightrope stretched between natural feel and slick production. The harmony vocals really shine on this one. Oh, and the handclaps. Can’t forget the handclaps.

But wait, there’s more! The download that comes with this record is for a four song EP. In addition to the two songs on the vinyl, you get a couple of bonus tunes. The first, “Nitetime Creepy Crawlies,” is a real gem. It’s the poppiest number of the bunch. It wears that distinction with pride. “Everybody Into The Pool” brings back a haunting piano sound, like the one in “Year Of The Whale,” before launching into another quality indie rock number.

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The grooves of this small-hole, 33 ⅓RPM 7″ are pressed into cool dark gray marble vinyl. The rest of the package is the tried-and-true white sleeve/fold over/vinyl bag combo.

Where to get it:

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Velah – Skeleton House / Rose Wave (2012)

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Velah
Skeleton House / Rose Wave
2012

Velah’s Skeleton House / Rose Wave 7″ is something special. There’s always been something a bit mysterious to their sound. For this release they embraced that side of the band’s personality.

“Skeleton House” is a reflective number haunted by a tinkling piano sound. Where some Velah songs shower you in layers of reverberating guitars, this one is content to let the melody come front and center. The sparse verses fill out nicely when the chorus comes around. There’s a level of calmness throughout, which makes the song’s ending crescendo all the more effective. Velah’s restraint persists on “Rose Wave”. Guitar melodies, vocal harmonies and controlled swells serve them well.

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I love unique packaging ideas, and this one is pretty crazy. Velah puts these things together by hand. There’s the black 7″ itself, but that’s just the start. There’s a key, a skull and symbol cloth thingy, some chalk and a cool little pop up house. I’m not going to pretend to know what it all means, but it’s pretty neat. Everything comes nestled in a box for little skull face guy to peek out of.

Where to get it:

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Camden – “Talking About You” b/w “You’re So Fine” (2013)

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Camden
“Talking About You” b/w “You’re So Fine”
2013

Hey, remember this year’s Rumble? That was fun. A good amount of that fun came courtesy of the guys in Camden. I once described the band’s last single as “a perfect 3 minute pop tune in just over 2 minutes.” Their latest, “Talking About You,” may just be the perfect 3 minute pop tune to come, period. Camden shed their trademark hyperactivity on this one. In its place is a brisk, melodic stroll through some nice guitar arpeggios. This song does everything right. The B-side is equally memorable. “You’re So Fine” picks up the pace a bit, punctuated with some peppy tambourine work in the chorus. What a fine pair of songs.

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The 7″ is a small hole, 45RPM number on black vinyl. There’s a lyric sheet and a full color fold-over to keep it company in the sleeve. You can grab the digital bits, too.

Where to get it:

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Fat Creeps – Fat Creeps EP (2013)

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Fat Creeps
Fat Creeps EP
2013

Hey, remember this awesome Fat Creeps EP? Well, it’s now available on 10″ vinyl. Kids Like You & Me launched KLYAM Records a few months ago. Their first order of business was to press up some copies of last summer’s amazing Fat Creeps EP. Bravo, I say. It’s worth it. I’ve written about how much I love these songs in the past. Now I can hold them. Let’s look at another pretty picture of the record:

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The vinyl itself is pretty sweet. I’m a fan of the 10″ format. It’s available in white or Coke bottle clear with a full color sleeve. I snagged the white. It was a really hard decision. Now the band is on hiatus and I’m sad. I should have gotten both…

Where to get it:

If vinyl ain’t your thing, I highly recommend picking up the digital bits.

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Parks – “Sweater Weather” + “Modern Fiction” (2013)

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Parks
“Sweater Weather” + “Modern Fiction”
2013

What happens when you pair up two of my favorite singles in recent memory and put them out on 7″ vinyl? You get one happy Daykamper. Parks have packaged up “Sweater Weather” and “Modern Fiction” as a physical thing. I’m glad they did. Both songs are brilliant. I love vinyl. It’s like they made this just for me (and 99 other people).

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The 7″ is a large hole 45RPM number pressed on 180-gram black vinyl. It all comes nestled in a full color fold-over sleeve inside a vinyl bag. Thank you, Parks.

Where to get it:

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The Fagettes – “If I See Him Again” (2012)

Fagettes - If I See Him Again
The Fagettes
“If I See Him Again”
b/w “On Drugs” and “My Girl Looks Like Johnny Thunders”
2012

The Fagettes are dangerous, raw and cut to the bone on “If I See Him Again.” This is Link Wray with lyrics, banned on late ’50s radio for all the right reasons. It’s viscous and vengeful, scathing and stark. It’s the sound of early rock ‘n’ roll distilled down and aged in barrels made from the beer-soaked wood floors of abandoned clubs. “On Drugs” mixes in a bit of Velvet Underground vibe. “My Girl Looks Like Johnny Thunders” has all the attitude of its namesake. The Fagettes mean business.

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The vinyl itself is a small hole, basic black, 331/3 RPM 7″ in a full-color jacket. It comes with a digital download.

Where to get it:

Fagettes - If I See Him Again playing

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Camden – “Getting Around” b/w “(Talking On The) Telephone” (2012)


Camden
“Getting Around” b/w “(Talking On The) Telephone”
2012

On their latest 7″, Camden somehow come off as both laid back and hyperactive. “Getting Around” is the indie-bopper that starts things off. The song asks “What you think about me?” I think you’re catchy as hell and I’m playing you over and over again. The two sides of the record are listed as “A” and “AA”. Smart move, because “(Talking On The) Telephone” is just as strong. The band continues the caffeine buzz and rips out some extended melodic guitar parts for this one. What a great pair of tunes.

The record itself is a black, small hole 7″ that come in a full color jacket (which is all inserted into a vinyl bag). There’s even a lyric sheet. It’s also available as a digital download.

Where to get it:

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Thick Shakes – Why Buy The Cow (2011)


Thick Shakes
Why Buy The Cow
2011

The Thick Shakes Why Buy The Cow EP is everything garage rock should be: raw, catchy, overmodulated and pressed on 7″ black vinyl. It sounds easy, but few do it this well. A song as great as “Go Back To New York” doesn’t need to be dressed up in fancy clothes. Just spit, snarl, bang it out and get the kids bopping. You even get a couple of kickin’ B-sides in “Neighbor’s Goods” and “Banned From The Laundromat”.

As for the vinyl, it’s a small hole 7″ in beautiful basic black. It’s wrapped in a folded jacket and inserted in a vinyl bag. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Where to get it:

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Viva Viva – Viva Viva (2011)

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Viva Viva
Viva Viva
2011

Viva Viva is on to something good. The band takes a romp through the best music of the ’60s and ’70s before giving it an updated spin. This is garage rock with pop hooks and an indie rock mentality.

“Heartbreak Sweepstakes” gets things off on the right foot with some fuzz guitar bliss. The sweet organ and kick-heavy drum breakdown are just the icing on the cake. Want more? Viva Viva keeps it coming on the very next track, “Keep Lookin’, Good Lookin'”. What a great opening one-two punch.

Viva Viva isn’t just a big garage rock party, though. “Dial Tone” brings out the band’s pop side. “Little Dirty Angel” is a scuffed up ’50s balled with a Luna influence. “Sympathy For The Devil’s Little Helper” is an unforgettable smoldering blues dirge.

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“The The Only Way To Live” brings all of their influences together into one stellar 2:46 pop song. Just for good measure they do it all again on “First Time I Saw Her”, although this time we get 3:37 of enjoyment.

Viva Viva return to their garage rock ways with “If You Really Want It” before wrapping things up with “Nothings Getting Any Easier”. The record closes as strongly as it opens, with nary a lull in between.

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This 2011 vinyl version of the band’s 2010 release is the limited to 100 numbered copies in letter press jackets from Repeat Press. There are also digital download and CD versions available.

Where to get it:

Viva Viva - Viva Viva - Vinyl

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Jordan Valentine And The Sunday Saints – “Tell Me What’s On Your Mind” b/w “Follow Me” (2011)

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Jordan Valentine And The Sunday Saints
“Tell Me What’s On Your Mind” b/w “Follow Me”
2011

What we’ve got here is a black, big hole 7″ record in a plain white sleeve. From a vinyl perspective it’s about as simple as it comes. What Jordan Valentine And The Sunday Saints prove with this release is that it’s the music pressed into the vinyl that matters.

I have the Jordan Valentine And The Sunday Saints full length CD and I enjoy it quite a bit (which reminds me, I should review that one of these days). This single is even better. The Sunday Saints’ soul music bleeds into the grooves. “Tell Me What’s On Your Mind” is a classic number with a nice horn arrangement. The band’s own “Follow Me” is the kicker here. It’s an energetic recording with a couple of shrieks out of Ms. Valentine that kill. I love it.

Where to get it:

Jordan Valentine And The Sunday Saints - "Tell Me What's On Your Mind" b/w "Follow Me" - Vinyl