Window View

I couldn't have dreamed a more appropriate companion for the best song on Beach Fossil's forthcoming full-length than this vintage home video footage. It's got a late 70's Woody Allen-style romantic melancholy quality that makes your stomach and your heart seem a little further away from one another. Get the LP from Captured Tracks on May 25.

Beach Fossils // Window View from Wooden Lens on Vimeo.

Myspace // Last.fm

Lush Cola

Lush Cola

Didn't know about Weed Diamond until a few days ago, so I was pleasantly surprised when Patient Sounds (same label that put out the M. Pyres and Smelly Magic cassettes last year) sent this little beauty over. Lush Cola is an old project of Weed Diamond's Tim Perry. The sparse, minimal arrangements often lean on his calm ghost harmonies and drum machine beats, occasionally joined by a guitar or bass that sounds like it's being played in the basement with the door ajar. Perfect music for driving at night down a road surrounded by forest but close enough to the city for you to be able to see a faint glow through the brush. Watch a cool video on Get Off The Coast, put together by Jheri Evans himself, and preorder the cassette from Patient Sounds below.

Myspace // Last.fm
Buy it!

Kites Sail High (EP 2)

Secrets :: megaupload // mediafire

No excuse not to get this if you dig Teebs, RxRy, dreaming on beaches, hallucinating underwater, or playing Super Nintendo (perhaps specifically Donkey Kong Country) in a secluded cabin miles away from anyone. Start out with his first EP, if you haven't yet. The progression from there to here is evident -- I don't know if it's just me, but I get the sense that he's more comfortable now, taking interesting tonal detours and rhythmic risks on tracks like "Miracle" and "Dancing Sprinklers".

The new EP's closer, "Always," which evokes a cross between "Since I Left You" and a relaxed version of Teengirl Fantasy's "Love Don't Live Here," is streaming on his myspace now. Both EPs will be released on a split 12" by the dreamboats that comprise LIFE'S BLOOD in May, and I'm totally picking it up.

Myspace // Last.fm

Gauntlet Hair

(link contains all three songs from their myspace)

I'm too in love not to post this. If you haven't heard this band via GvB or P4K yet, you're in for a surprise. Listen to the track "I Was Thinking..." via everyone's fav bilingual blog or on their myspace (link below). When I posted it on my tumblr earlier, I described it as "a snowball made of sunlight and wrapped in glass, floating in a hall of reverb. It probably also has a Cadbury Creme center, for all I know."

The story so far is that they apparently played Todd P's MtyMx festival and blew a lot of people away. They sound like a cross between Japandroids and Band Of Horses. No one knows much about them, except they're two dudes from Colorado and they're apparently writing their debut right now.

Myspace // Last.fm

Melt Day

This is that split between Glass Buds (a.k.a. Pawlic) and Orchard Thief. It's as awesome as you could have imagined. Glass Buds' side calls to mind an ambient bizarro version of Kickball, and Orchard Thief's contribution is like Beach Fossils and Atlas Sound in a slow-motion light cycle race. The whole thing is streaming on their respective myspaces.

Orchard Thief :: Myspace // Last.fm
Glass Buds :: Myspace // Last.fm

Orchard Thief

Work

So I found out one day last week that Vacation Dad is touring the east coast this summer with Farms, Bad Tanya, and Orchard Thief. I think it's clear from what I'm posting right now that I'm really glad I looked up that last one. This album is darker than you'd expect of something that is the perfect thing to listen to on a summer day that's hot enough for your back to get stuck to your t-shirt but breezy enough to toss your hair into knots. Think of a minimal version of Real Estate, but moodier, like Crystal Stilts; and then take out the lo-fi fuzz, leaving just reverb and delay and open space; then strip the drum kit down to a few floor toms, a snare, and the occasional shaker, to keep the beats tribal. Add in a pinch of early Appleseed Cast and Sharks Keep Moving, and you're getting kinda close, but you still haven't listened yet. And you must.

You'd be missing out if you didn't also get the two songs No Conclusion posted a few days ago. They're gonna be on an upcoming split with Pawlic (performing under the name Glass Buds), and they're both really killer.

Myspace // Last.fm

Kites Sail High

Alone

can't stop listening 2 this
riyl: teebs, rxry, flylo

Myspace // Last.fm
Buy it!

A Weather

Everyday Balloons

i've been waiting so long for this.

sweet and dreamy. sounds like laying in your bed on a pile of pillows wide awake on a rainy day.

Myspace // Last.fm

Infinite Body

Carve Out The Face Of My God

Beautiful ambient record from a good man named Kyle. This is his best yet, and it's the loudest dream you'll ever have. There's lots of cellophane shimmering and light refracting through clouds and ink bleeding through graph paper.

Myspace // Last.fm
Buy it!

Warpaint

Exquisite Corpse EP

just some babez with angelic voices who make gorgeous music.

really dreamy, a little post-rocky, and completely otherworldly.

perfect for being snowed in for the night.

if you're starting to lose hope with all these recent dreampop bands springing up and putting out 7 minute tracks of boring, repetitive shit, don't worry-there's quite a bit of range here. they go from the more traditional "stars" to this pretty jazzy track appropriately titled "billie holiday" to "beetles," which is probably one of the more interesting stylistic ventures i've heard lately in the genre.

Teebs

Teebs 09

I don't know too much about this, other than I couldn't recommend it more highly. I wouldn't be posting this so soon after hearing it, except that its been a while since the last time I was compelled to listen to an album twice in a row. I really can't find any information about this particular release anywhere -- a Google search of "Teebs 09" basically brings up a bunch of forum and blog posts not unlike this one. Crazy shit, man. Just get this, okay?

Sounds like equal parts Four Tet, Gold Panda, Flying Lotus, and just a pinch of The Avalanches.

Myspace

Toro Y Moi

I haven't been able to get enough of this album lately -- just listen to the track "Blessa" on his Myspace if you haven't heard it already. I love watching this whole chillwave thing culminate into something with actual songwriting chops instead of just "okay, pop nostalgia, whatever." Kind of like Neon Indian and Memory Tapes, but -- just between you and me -- I wouldn't think less of you for being reminded of Passion Pit at times, and I wouldn't think you're crazy if there's a few parts where you feel like Flying Lotus had some influence.


Causers Of This

Pre-order the LP here!

Stella Luna

Stella Luna : Stargazing EP

My friend asked if I had heard Stella Luna's new EP and i freaked out a little bit (read: a lot a bit). after all, as far as i know, this is their only release and it was all the way back in 2002. But apparently, there is some solo artist who goes by Stellaluna.

Forget him. He is not very good. This is the Stella Luna people should be listening to.

They only have 4 songs in the entire world. They were supposed to release an album 7 years ago, and i waited and waited and waited... tragic, right? Claire Records' message board has a post from a few months back saying Stella Luna still exists, so hopefully they're still making music somewhere out there...

(S)up(?)date, Upd(So very l)ate, Upd(new m)ate(s).

Pretty sure I speak for the entire "Stratosphering Team" (lolz) when I say that college is a really, really busy time. Sorry dudes. I'm trying, though! (See, aren't I posting right now? That must count for something.) I think about you every day. It's just that my phone has been on the fritz, and, oh my god, the other night, I was literally just about to call you, and then I remembered there was this paper I had to write, and... well, I just want you to know, I'm here for you, no matter what. I still love you baby... wait, this is Amanda, right? Oops. Aaaaawwwwkkward.

Anyway, I keep returning to this goddamn place (which somehow manages to continue attracting more "followers"! Thanks dudes!) because I'm noticing that there aren't really many blogs that are still consistent in their coverage of "semi-mainstream" (but still "edgy", or "hip") indie leaks as well as upcoming bands with like five listeners on last.fm. Not saying there aren't any blogs like that, but they're way harder to find than they were about a year ago. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places? (Then again, there's also the matter of blogs getting shut down -- because, you know, posting free music, without permission, and all that...)

Oh, right. This post isn't just about me. It's about you, Amanda dear readers! Without feather adew, Here are some links I've had for a while, but nary the time to post them - UNTIL TODAY.

Actually, right before I get started, I just want to mention that this post (and, erm, the font change) was partially if not entirely inspired by BUTTER x FACE, a blog I found on some other blog's blogroll (can't remember which one! bummer), that has apparently been mentioned on Pitchfork (pretty legit), and also has been linking to Stratosphering for who knows how long without asking for anything in return. In any case, I spent my entire morning downloading shit from there, and so far all of it is killer. I might post some of it here eventually. I basically figured I owed them a new post for reppin' us, so here it is, you know? Those ladies probably have all this shit already, though -- that's how cool they are. And, ladies: If you're reading this, I'm single.



Desolation Wilderness - New Universe - (Myspace/BUY HERE) - You're probably anticipating a full-length album from Real Estate as much as I am. That's forthcoming, right? Anyway, this should tide you over - reminds me of them, mixed with somewhat of a "nu-gaze" (that's a trendy new genre, right?) influence, but mostly this is just high-quality dreamy indie. I'm listening to this album right now, and all I can think about is this time last year, when I was still in community college, going on field trips to the beach with my Oceanography class. And walking all the way up the staircase to the top of the lighthouse behind this one girl with a really great butt. That was a good day.



Gold Panda - (Myspace / BUY HERE) - this link contains both Before and Miyamae EP. No Quitter's Raga, though. Sounds like scratchy samples and sweet heavy beats. According to last.fm, very similar to...



Teengirl Fantasy - CD-R - (Myspace) - I won't lie, I actually discovered both Teengirl Fantasy and Gold Panda through their respective "Rising" features on Pitchfork. Sue me, dude. In contrast with the GP's chill lo-fi nature, TgF is way busier, and almost more immediately party-able - which isn't to say it is more accessible. Maybe I sound like I'm trying too hard to describe this, so I'm going to stop now. Note: That's probably not the real cover art.



Hey!Tonal - Hey!Tonal - (Myspace / BUY HERE) - Pretty ridiculous collab. Cut-and-paste drums from Kevin Shea, who I am familiar with through his work with Storm and Stress. The guitar sounds were devised by Dave Davidson, of Maps & Atlases, and Theo Katsounis, who has played with Joan of Arc. They were also cut-and-pasted, as well as overdubbed, and the result is almost disorienting in its complexity. Kinda lends the recording an IDM-esque quality. I'm tempted to say the album veers toward the noisy side of math-rock, but there are nice twinkly parts as well. Most of the noise actually comes from Kevin Shea. I heard he has, like, five arms. Underhyped.



Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport - (Myspace / BUY HERE) - Overhyped? Probably. IDC, man - it's still totally killer. Like a noisy version of the Field, or Bromst but without vocals. Or possibly the only similarity between the three is that they all employ repetition to an effect that is no less than mind-altering. If you're getting GP and TgF, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't get this.

MAY-GAPOST

Foreword: This was all written approximately six weeks ago. Thus the month pun title. I'm pretty sure I never posted it because I thought I'd get around to writing descriptions for the rest of the albums. Obviously I didn't -- until now (somewhat). Anyway, I'm leaving in the "jokes" at the beginning because I am convinced that I am "so goddamn funny".

Get it? I'd hope so, idiot. [/dwightschrute]

So yeah, second post in a row like this. Might become the standard, as far as I'm concerned. Are you concerned? Don't be. There is nothing to be concerned about. Except SWINE FLU, AMIRITE? [/topical]

This week (not to imply that I will be doing this every week) I've got nine super-hip Rock 'n' Roll albums from various corners of the world! But really, they're probably all American. Which is probably for the best!! [/xenophobe]

Japandroids - Post-Nothing - (Myspace)
All I have to say is,

Wet Hair - Dream - (Myspace)
Two dudes who formerly participated in the epic psych forest adventure band, Raccoo-oo-oon. They obviously currently reside in a bathroom, their heads in the sink, passed out and probably hallucinating. GET IT??

Little Kingdoms - The Willow EP - (Myspace)
American Football-y, Kinsella-esque. Young dudes. F'in Rad is a funky track. The rest is great too. I can't remember, but I might have put a "bonus" song in the zip.

Pterodactyl - Worldwild - (Myspace)
When I first started listening to this I came up with the following catchy descriptor: "Animal Collective meets Drive Like Jehu". I still haven't come up with anything better.

Real Estate - Atlantic City Expressway Tour CD-R - (Myspace)
Cool, lo-fi midtempo island indie jams. Guy from Ducktails is on guitar. Sweet driving tunage.

Pocahaunted - Live @ Ms. Bea's (SXSW) - (Myspace)
Quality's as good as your average Pocahaunted recording, but nothing else here is "average" Pocahaunted -- for one thing, there's way more jam than drone. This three-song set of brand new stuff is total groove central. Groove Central, I say!

Duck Duck Goose - Noise, Noise, and More Noise - (Myspace)
Every so often, a band really innovates the shit out of their genre -- nowadays, for a hardcore band, this means they have just enough imagination to make the music actually interesting. If you're like me, and you wish not all bands in the hardcore scene sounded awful and boring, go for this.

El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Cryptomnesia - (Myspace)
This album was recorded right after Mars Volta's Amputechture, and it's the most solid material Omar has released since Deloused. Don't get me wrong, I'm always a fan, but many of his solo albums are rife with filler. Maybe Zach Hill's labyrinthine drumming helped flesh this one out a bit. That's right, I said Zach Hill. Didn't you know? Get this now.