wild nothing - gemini/cloudbusting (2010)

Wild Nothing are a shoegazy dream pop band from Virginia, and the amount of mileage you get from their debut album Gemini will probably depend on your appetite for this sort of music.  The band first came to my attention because I stumbled across their Cloudbusting single- and since I really love that particular Kate Bush song, I figured Wild Nothing's version was at least worth a listen.  It's a pretty good cover- slight and ethereal, pretty, and the singer of Wild Nothing doesn't make the mistake of trying to stretch his voice to match Kate Bush's.  It's a pleasant take on the song, and while it doesn't reach the heights of the original, the emotional pull still reaches through the delicate facade of Wild Nothing's version.  Gemini, Wild Nothing's debut full-length, inspired much of the same reaction in me.  If you really love this kind of soft, shimmery pop, with politely distorted guitars that ring like bells and hushed vocals that seem afraid of accidentally grabbing your attention, then you will probably enjoy this quite a bit.  It's an exceedingly nice album.  Personally I do like this kind of music, and it reminds me of Slowdive's Space Station Souvlaki (one of my all-time favorite records), so listening to this album was a pleasant experience.  And perhaps, with a few more listens through, more of the songs will start to stick to me and take shape.  But I have to say that so far Wild Nothing aren't really doing anything that hasn't been done before, and if you don't have a craving for this genre of music, you might not find this all that appealing.  That being said, if you want some new swirly dream pop, Wild Nothing do it well, and Gemini might be what you are looking for.

cruiser - sunshine woman tape (2009)

RIYL: Hella, early Deerhoof
It took a long time for me to come to terms with the fact that the Hella I loved (of Hold Your Horse Is, Total Bugs Bunny on Wild Bass, and Bitches Ain't Shit But Good People) ceased to exist years ago, replaced by a festering undead version of Hella whose corpse grows more bloated and unsettling with each subsequent album.  Imagine then the ecstatic sense of relief I felt when I heard this, a two-piece from Portland whose mathy, frenetic and propulsive rock fills the niche that Hella used to inhabit!  And then consider the crushing disappointment when I learned that Cruiser only released a tape and a CD-R, both long out of print, and called it a day.  Sunshine Woman Tape is exhilarating and FUN, unceasingly moving forward in dizzying zig-zags, stopping and starting, throwing everything AND the kitchen sink in, and it's a shame that we'll never get anything more from them.  Although definitely derivative of early Hella (and sure, I guess, other like-minded math rock duos), Cruiser pull it off incredibly well and this will please anyone left high and dry by Hella's recent output.

hayaino daisuki - invincible gate mind of the infernal fire hell, or, did you mean hawaii daisuki? (2010)

As evidenced by the title of this EP, Hayaino Daisuki have a pretty light-hearted approach to their music.  They celebrate the energy, fun, and above all SPEED of heavy metal.  They are not, as their name might reasonably lead you to conclude, Japanese.  Nor are they (as you might believe after seeing their press photos) a group of tattooed female rockers.  They are, in reality, four dudes from New Jersey, one of whom is the former vocalist for revered grindcore band Discordance Axis.  Although this has the speed and intensity of grindcore, it lacks the aggression and hostility of the genre, instead indulging in melodic and heart-pounding guitar leads.   Every one of the four songs on this EP is a testament to the maximum limits of intensity: the fastest speed, the loudest volume, the hue and saturation turned all the way up.  Every moment is the most epic moment of all time, until the next the next moment, of course.  It's almost too much to take, with no chance to stop or catch your breath- but then that's why Hayaino Daisuki only put out EPs.  A full length album of this would probably give you a heart attack, but this EP is as short as it is explosive.  In my view it's been a fairly disappointing year for heavy metal, but this gets my fists pumping every time I put it on.