Soundcheck: Bands for Fall

Here’s what you’re gonna be listening to when the leaves start falling and it’s time to bust our your favorite old man cardigans.

 

THE BIG PINK, A Brief History of Love is out September 22 on 4AD

This London duo makes the sweetest, fuzziest drone rock this side of… well, I don’t know. No one else sounds quite like these two noisemongers. If The Jesus & Mary Chain decided to play a rave on top of a volcano it might sound something like this.

TURBO FRUITS, Echo Kid is out September 29 on Fat Possum

Turbo Fruits started out as a noisy offshoot of the late, great Be Your Own Pet. Now that the Pets have disbanded, 21-year-old Jonas Stein has committed himself to more fruity pursuits. This is what high-octane stoner rock sounds like—catchy, loud and a little bit ridiculous.

PICTUREPLANE, Dark Rift is out on Lovepump United, 2009.

Pictureplane is the nom de plume of 24-year-old Travis Egedy, a performance artist who appears equally obsessed with classic dance music and freaky astrological theories. So much “dance” music is like fast food-easy to eat and easy to forget-but there is something cosmic and wonderful about Pictureplane. It’s dance music with brains and soul.

 

ARMS, Kids Aflame is out October 27 on Gigantic

Arms is a one-man pop confectionary machine created by Todd Goldstein, the chief guitar slinger in The Harlem Shakes. Arms’ debut has already been warmly embraced in the UK, but now those in need of swoon-appropriate melancholy-pop can finally get their paws on this little gem.

THE FRESH & ONLYS, Grey-Eyed Girls (Woodist, 2009)
The only record I’ve liked more than fellow San Franciscoans Girls’ debut is the new album from The Fresh & Onlys. At first listen, this band sounds like a mess, but multiple listens evince a method to the shambling guitars and crazy rhythms.

GROOMS
, Rejoicer is out October 13 on Death By Audio

It’s been over a week since I heard a band from Brooklyn that totally knocked my socks off, so it’s a good thing that I found the Grooms. There’s a lot of herky-jerky guitars, weird noises, and off-kilter song structures here, but these Groomers are smart enough to bury catchy pop songs under all that weirdness. They also have a song called “Ghost Cat.”