Anyone with a penchant for that UK brand of paisley psychedelic rock will dig this unsigned Seattle-based band. It’s the kind of sound I never get tired of. And The Purrs fourth full length album, Amused, Confused & More Bad News, is full of those iconic UK influences – from Jesus & Mary Chain, Echo & The Bunnymen, Oasis, and The Verve. It’s a well-worn and familiar path, but it feels really good. Slip it on and see for yourself.
More lo-fi, Jesus and Mary Chain influenced music coming your way from New Zealand’s Surf City. This was my friend Jen’s pick for my annual music swap last year. Their self titled debut EP is out now on Arch Hill Recordings.
San Francisco/Oakland-based Raised by Robots pays homage to a multitude of musical influences – among them early 90s indie, soul, post punk, country, and hip hop. Sort of a multiple personality disorder perhaps, but I really like this track.
Listen to ‘I Love U/U Love Me 2′
Bay Area indie pop rockers, Scrabbel, are highly influenced by all things ’65-’75 and you can hear it in their music. Sunny, sweet songs that have a bit of that Belle and Sebastian feel. On the dark side, they also do a nice cover of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Sometimes‘.
Listen to ‘Emily and I‘:
Described as ‘the love child of Karen O and Jesus and Mary Chain,’ The Blacks flat out rock. I completely fell in love with them this year at SXSW. It was tambourine player JDK Blacker that did it for me. He plays the tambourine like he’s exorcizing demons. It’s spellbinding. The SF/NY based trio are known for their short, blistering stage shows and laser-beam intensity. Their debut full-length “Nom de Guerre” was released in 2007 on Tricycle Records. “Tiger Songs” is their latest EP.
Listen to ‘Raincoat‘:
Listen to ‘Ammunition‘:
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The final post in the Black Crystal Band series features Seattle Indie pop group, Crystal Skulls and Brooklyn-based indie rockers, Crystal Stilts.
In 2006, Crystal Skulls released their debut album ‘Outgoing Behavior‘. Featured is the track, Hard Party.
Crystal Stilts released their self-titled debut this year. They have a stripped-down, moody, garage rock sound that is heavily influenced by groups like Velvet Underground and Jesus and Mary Chain. And who isn’t these days?
Featured is the track, Crippled Croon.
So what did I learn from all this? in retrospect, I’d say my preconceived notion of ‘Black’ bands as a dark and moody rockers holds water. The Crystal set as all Indie pop rockers? Not so much. Whatever the case, it’s clear that – just like people – bands can fall into the trap of naming trends.
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the OCMD 