Spook Houses - the Home EP - self released

Got this single in the other day from Spook Houses, a four song EP from a bunch of friends out of Ridgewood, NJ, who just finished touring... even opening for Little Gold at their record release party at Death by Audio. I know what you're thinking...isn't every band friends? Well, sure, but there's a different kind of dynamic growing up together in the same town, the comfortable freedom of the sound and the ability to experiment, all of which comes through on this single.
The A-Side kicks off with an epic length, "Home", lonesome thin electric guitar few and far between strums alongside some kind of atmospheric subtle swirling electronics, sounding a lot like some of the Animal Collective rehearsal tracks from the Crack Box. Low key vocals over this abstract landscape waiting for the entire band to drop in. When the bouncy guitar pop starts, it almost turns towards The Walkmen or Annuals, a really huge, rolling freight train of indie rock, with a raspy uncontrolled vocal, just bordering on a cracking yell, just keeping in front of that energy.
"Turn Twice" has a Replacements feel layered deep vocal, and gritty, crunchy guitar in this brief track that manages to start out with a bang and just builds on that climbing wave of sounds.
The B-Side's "Old Bones" gives you more jangly guitar jams, with an almost funk inspired breakdown part, that somehow matches the main rhythm, and I can't seem to get Paul Westerberg's "Waiting for Somebody" out of my head. It's an anxious track with the band joining in a chorus of MAKE / A / NEW / HO / OME.
"Walking at Night" launches into an off kilter jagged Abe Vigoda high echo rhythm for a minute that drops to a more mellow vocal here... I would even venture to compare them to another NJ nostalgia supergroup, Real Estate, in the way that they seemed to have come up with a body of work that's so minimal, built out of naive simple tunes that just plain work, no overthinking the progressions, the instrumentation. It's just how they always played it... granted they are going for that feel with laidback slightly tropical melody at power rock indie speed. I know there's a lot of content about home, and that feeling towards a particular place going on here, but I'm still just stuck thinking about this one musically. I think it's going to be one of those singles that sticks with me melodically until I figure out it came from Spook Houses single and after getting beyond the catchy indie, it becomes a completely different EP.

You can hear all the tracks over at their bandcamp site which will let you order the EP on black vinyl, with an old neighborhood photo sleeve, and the before and after drawing of what I imagine to be some kind of abstract crazy house. Simultaneously these memories are a home and a place to rip up and start again, at least when it comes to your childhood relationship to it.

Or head over to Evil Weevil, their second home.

The Eeries on Evil Weevil Records

Mike from The Eeries let me know about their single out on Evil Weevil Records a couple months back and dammit if I didn't just get around to this today...there's just frankly getting to be too much stuff out there I haven't been able to even get to lately, and I'm not helping things by adding to the problem. Evil Weevil is based out of Philly along with this trio originally from NJ, and they have dropped an EP of sweet harmonies backed by reverb soaked jangle guitar. The unpretentious pop of Nodzzz with the teen wall of sound classic influenced Hunx or Shannon and the Clams.
Starting especially with the innocent sentiment of "Walk you Home", everything is coated in a distanced patina of huge room reverb sound, and harmonies from all the guys singing along together the entire length of this one, really every track. They're taking this singing thing as seriously as possible in the garage ballad direction of that bubblegum pop era. "Like You Do" is the slow dance disco ball starter, couple only, slow centered strumming and the guys are back in three part unison...really the more I hear this I can't get over the constant harmony work, always at the center of the surf pop.

B-Side's "I Don't Care" sounds like The Eeries are letting loose a little bit in favor of the weirdo raw, bluesy sound. The vocals are mic'd more from a distance and the harmonies are waiting until the chorus this time. "Listen baby" is the consummate crooning love song, the harmonies are back in overdrive, really belting them out, almost overpowering the smooth instrumentation, which is going to make for an excellent live show this Friday the 16th at Bruar Falls.

Get this one from Evil Weevil Records, who also just released today a 10 song cassette of some new material they're working on for another seven inch.

The Eeries are a 3 piece rock and roll band made up of friends from New Jersey who now call Philadelphia home. Recorded in one day by the band themselves in their South Philadelphia basement, the record showcases what the band does best. With exquisite and well thought out musicianship the band take pride in what they do with a nod to the music they grew up on. Comes Alive shows the band coming into their own, and becoming more comfortable with writing and finding their own voice. The Eeries are sure to turn some heads.

Pujol on Evil Weevil Records

I heard about Steven Tyler bitching to Letterman about American Idol, which he judging of course, that bands and musicians will only be successful if they work their way up, tour all over the country, and pay their dues before taking the whole thing to another level. Of course he's right, and any band I've ever listened to and enjoyed is probably doing that right now. Music is the tiniest bit about technical skill, singing or otherwise.
I guess I was thinking about that listening to Pujol's first single from 3rd Man I got a little while back. It's easy to hear the time and shows behind these couple of tracks already, you can only get to this punchy garage place from just busting ass on a stage over and over. You can hear this insane energy coming through even in a studio situation which isn't easy. Bands can easily be great live, and then the details get in the way, and those performances are lost on the record... Jay, Cheap Time, Ty Segall and Pujol don't have that problem.
So it's no surprise 3rd Man then put out a live 12", that's where he's most comfortable...it's a no brainer, but then Turbo Time Records had to go and press at least 3(?) different singles from Daniel and Darren at VOS pointed out yet another one just announced from Evil Weevil Records. One of the tracks 'How High' was just added to his myspace and has his trademark layered rough vocals and raw guitar as catchy as ever. The pace of these singles is almost on tempo with the tracks themselves, but when everything is this spontaneous and instinctive as this, it deserves to end up on a classic 45.

The yellow vinyl on Evil is already out at the source, but look for some on tour.

Also...Monday I have big news about a 7" pre-order from an unnamed label, stay signed into paypal and have your fingers hovering over the 'pay now' button if you have to have all things Pujol.

Evil Weevil says:

Daniel Pujol and company call Nashville home. This a 2 song single that will be on their debut LP on Infinity Cat Records called "XFILES ON MAIN ST" due out later this year. Daniel with the help of friends Ben Todd(So Jazzy) and Wes (Natural Child THE BEST BAND IN AMERICA) produce 2 equally catchy tracks of punky pop garage music.

He's released records with Third Man Records, Infinity Cat, and Turbo Time, before years end he will have the world record of most amount of records released by a human. I just made that up but is there really a way to prove me wrong?