New Music: Chin Up Chin Up, Blops, Home Video

Chin Up Chin Up - I Need a Friend with a Boat - This Harness Can't Ride Anything (Suicide Squeeze 2006)


Chin Up Chin Up – This Harness Can’t Ride Anything / Suicide Squeeze

Local favorites Chin Up Chin Up showed infinite promise on their first full-length, a combination of mathy post-rock and ADHD Midwestern indie outbursts. For their second album, they have left hometown imprint Flameshovel for the Seattle’s slightly larger Suicide Squeeze with an expanding and progressively accessible sound. Their down-to-earth foundation, anchored by Jeremy Bolen’s so-bad-its-good rasp and literate lyrics, remains intact, as well as the shifting dynamics, post-rock leanings and early Modest Mouse-like structures. Their confidence, on the other hand, is rising exponentially, and the arrangements are increasingly buoyant; sing-a-long choruses are imminent. With slightly expanded instrumentation, most notably the occasional strings, CUCU’s Midwestern avant-pop is a good direction for the band and the scene, underlying optimism, challenging musicianship and a need to have fun.




Blops - Esencialmente Asi No Mas - Del Volar de las Palomas (Shadoks/Normal 2006)


Blops – Del Volar de las Palomas (The Flight of the Doves) / Shadoks/Normal

Available for the first time on CD, and at a reasonable price, the recorded legacy of Chilean band Los Blops has been compiled on a 3-disc set. A progressive outfit during Chile’s stint with democracy in the early 70s, the creative quintet was as influenced by their local traditional music, Nueva Cancion, as they were by the psychedelic pop music being released in North America in Europe. Reportedly, they would practice during the day with legendary Chilean folk-singer Violetta Parra, and at night, be jamming along to Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and Cream. The resulting fusion of style is a striking blend of pastoral folk-rock that strives for optimism, but still stifled by political intrusions. This is the second album in the 3-album set and was a distinct progression in complexity from their first full-length. Recorded and mixed in just 12 hours in 1971 on a 2-track recorder, the depth of the music is outstanding which is a reflection on the musicians’ expertise. The master tape from the session mysteriously disappeared after the Chilean coup of 1973 and never resurfaced.




Home Video - We - No Certain Night or Morning (Defend Music 2006)


Home Video – No Certain Night or Morning / Defend Music

The sexy electro-pop is all the rage these days, which makes Home Video’s debut full-length release such perfect timing for the band. After two significant EPs released by WARP, the Brooklyn via New Orleans duo of lyricist Collin Ruffino and classically trained pianist David Gross bring their self-written/played/produced sound stateside releasing No Certain Night or Morning on NYC’s Defend Music label. The obvious and sure to be tiresome comparison for the boys will be to the Junior Boys, which, for better or worse, is fully justified. Home Video is not quite as sexed up or bubbly as the JBs, opting for a darker sound which utilizes more rock-based instrumentation, but the hushed croon of Ruffino is almost identical to Greenspan’s. As heard on the Citizen EP, ‘We’ is the clear-cut single of the album that will certainly bring a fair share of fans inquiring, who of which should not be disappointed by the rest of the album. If the Junior Boys were just too cutesy for you, maybe Home Video will fill the electro-pop void in your life.