Byrds Of Paradise – Teenage Symphonies (Don Giovanni)
This wonderfully lo-fi album swipes the atmosphere of bands like Surfer Blood, Beach Fossils, and Wavves, but combines it with a thicker sound and catchier riffs to improve in every way on a formula that, to my ears, previously always sounded better on paper than it did in reality. They also mix in some of the early 90s lo-fi indie-pop touches that made bands like Boyracer and Black Tambourine cult favorites at the time, which only improves the overall listening experience. Byrds Of Paradise have the chops necessary to make their version of the “beach punk” aesthetic something worth checking out. It’s nice to see a band pull that sound off successfully, for once.
Byrds Of Paradise – Teenage Symphonies (Don Giovanni)
This wonderfully lo-fi album swipes the atmosphere of bands like Surfer Blood, Beach Fossils, and Wavves, but combines it with a thicker sound and catchier riffs to improve in every way on a formula that, to my ears, previously always sounded better on paper than it did in reality. They also mix in some of the early 90s lo-fi indie-pop touches that made bands like Boyracer and Black Tambourine cult favorites at the time, which only improves the overall listening experience. Byrds Of Paradise have the chops necessary to make their version of the “beach punk” aesthetic something worth checking out. It’s nice to see a band pull that sound off successfully, for once.
The Bynars – The Bynars (self-released)
These guys aren’t too bad; they mix synth and programmed drum elements into a quirky guitar-driven alt-pop sound that should appeal to fans of groups like The Shins and Fountains Of Wayne. I think they might be a little too quirky for me, though–I was digging the first few songs, but by the end of the record, I was more than ready to turn it off. The Bynars are like cotton candy–tasty in small doses, but too much of it will make you hate everything sweet for a few days at least.
Psychedelic Horseshit – Laced (FatCat)
I don’t know how to feel about this record. The lo-fi strummed guitar and vocals are heavily augmented by cheesy drum machine beats and what sounds like someone playing around randomly with an 80s-vintage Casio keyboard. And that’s cool I guess, though the end result seems less psychedelic and more cracked-out than anything. Digging through the random noises to find the actual songs here is a slog, and a lot of the time it doesn’t feel worth it. But if you feel like having a bad trip, this is probably a helpful soundtrack. So hey, have fun with that, but don’t expect me to join you.
