[Listen/Download] – Guards – Entire EP Featuring Cults & Caroline Polachek
I know next to nothing about this band, other than Cults made a tweet late last night/early this morning saying they were featured on the new EP by a band called Guards and they linked to their Bandcamp page.
So check it out I did and I’m glad I did, because it’s pretty fucking impressive. It’s seven songs long and is tagged as “alternative, doom, new wave, power pop, rock & roll, New York”. I looked for a MySpace/Twitter/Facebook page and came up short. Regardless, just enjoy this stunning, fresh, new lo-fi summer gem. Not only does it feature Cults but also Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek.
UPDATE: So I got in touch with the band who wrote back and told me that they don’t have a MySpace (“Bandcamp is the future”) and they sent me a press photo. Also, there seems to be more than just a working relationship between Guards and Cults, as one of the members (unless it’s a giant coincidence) is related to Madeline from Cults, sharing the same last name (Follin). The talent clearly runs in the family, as does their apparent “love” for the mysterious (when Cults first appeared nobody knew anything about them, other than the fact that they were awesome, and the same holds true here too).
Keep up to date with Guards – Bandcamp
Guards – “Resolution Of One”
Guards – “Trophy Queen” (featuring Caroline Polachek)
Guards – “Sail It Slow” (featuring Cults)
Guards – “Don’t Wake The Dead”
Guards – “Crystal Truth”
Guards – “Long Time”
Guards – “I See It Coming”
[Listen/Download] – Brand New Song By Cults – “Oh My God”
I gush, what can I say? Sorry? Ok, maybe sometimes a “sorry” is warranted, but most of the time it’s not because I’m not the only one gushing.
The latter part of that sentence is definitely true for Cults. I gushed back in March when they showed up unannounced out of nowhere and turned us all on. I gushed when Forest Family Records told us they were their first signing/release on the new label, and I gushed when I got the limited edition vinyl.
Now I’m gushing because thanks to Adult Swim’s glorious 8 Singles in 8 Weeks project, we now have a brand new, gush-worthy Cults song. It’s a little more upbeat than their previous three songs and the words are easier to make out, but it still has that sweet summer Cults sound to it. Give it a listen below as well as the lead track for their first 7″ single “Go Outside”. They also did a video for it, their first ever video (other than that video that was doing the rounds a month or two ago of them playing live).
Cults – “Oh My God”
Cults – “Go Outside”
[Watch] – Cults Play “Go Outside” Live In NYC
Along with Gauntlet Hair, Sleigh Bells, BRAHMS, and Burnt Ones, Cults round out my top five buzz bands of the year so far.
They burst onto the scene back in late February, early March with three ridiculously catchy songs, the biggest hit of which was “Go Outside”. This is what appears to be the first video of them playing anything live, and the sound is just as good as on the 7″ they released via Forest Family Records a few weeks back. It was recorded at NYC’s Mercury Lounge at the start of May and shows the pair (Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin) doing a damn fine job of bringing their big sound to the live stage.
Deek it below and have a gander at my write-up about them back in March and listen to their three songs; “Go Outside”, “Most Wanted”, and “The Curse”.
[Listen/Watch] – New Gauntlet Hair Video – I Was Thinking
One of my most loved discoveries of 2010 so far is Gauntlet Hair, a duo from Lafayette, Colorado creating catchy lo-fi, layered garage-rock, with a huge beat.
I featured them about a month ago and included three of their songs. At that time they had only just revealed they were releasing their debut single “I Was Thinking” as a 7″ on Forest Family Records, the same guys who released Cults’ debut single. Well even though there’s still no official release date yet (it can’t be much longer) there is now an official video for it.
The video was shot by Caitlin McNichols and has the duo frolicking around what’s presumably the Colorado snow-covered mountains with “their” dog (the one above). The dog is fucking awesome and if they take it on tour with them I do intend to steal it the first chance I get.
Have a watchy and watchy an unofficial fan-vid for “I Was Thinking” too.
UPDATE: You can now pre-order their debut 7″ single “I Was Thinking”.
Cults Sign To Brand New Record Label – Forest Family Records
Cults, the mysterious and much hyped band that burst onto the scene a few weeks back have signed with Forest Family Records. FFR is a brand new record label, founded by Gorilla vs Bear and Weekly Tape Deck, and their first release is a limited 7″ run of 400 copies of “Go Outside” (the song that put Cults on the map), pressed on bright yellow vinyl with the B-Side “Most Wanted”. The single drops on April 20th and you can pre-order it from their site for $8.
Also, for every order placed on their site, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a charity that benefits animals. So, go order. I did.
Check out “Go Outside”, “Most Wanted” and “The Curse” below.
(via Gorilla vs Bear)
