Days are warmer. Breezes feel cooler. If you can't already feel the sand between your toes, the beach is calling your name. It's summer, and a lot of people have been soundtracking their days to hazy, lo-fi sounds. Filling my summer prescription is Beach Fossils. Coming from the musical Mecca that is Brooklyn, Beach Fossils started as the solo, pet project of Dustin Payseur. Releasing tracks steadily for months before a self-titled debut release this past May, these days Beach Fossils is a full-grown quartet pumping out sun-kissed songs of summer. The quartet carry a fleeting, blissed out sound - happiness tinged with the slightest bit of melancholy. With hazy vocals penetrating a curtain of jangly guitars and steady percussion, Beach Fossils is instantly nostalgic and this group is set to apply a lomo filter to the memories you're set to capture in polaroid or celluloid this summer...

From Beach Fossils' self-titled:
Youth

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Otherwheres - I had to post out of schedule, because I couldn't find my favorite sketching pencil and decided to throw a toddler tantrum about it...

The only thing that I thought could come out from a placed called Dundee is crocodiles, but apparently that's the wrong Dundee. No, these teenage Dundonian upstarts root themselves in Scotland and were plucked from their patch into the hazy world of British rock during their youth. Now, the hooligans continue to grow in their new patch and have already got two albums under their belt with a third slated for release sometime next year. The quartet carries a scruffy, strident sound that's gritty and quick. Shock Horror, in particular, just packs a wallop that hits me hard right in my tum-tum. From where I'm standing, the View looks good.

From The View's Which Bitch?:
Shock Horror

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!


Otherwheres - I've got plans to switch over into the Mac camp, and I've been nesting by getting it some goodies. My latest purchase? An overlay that changes up the color of the apple logo at this etsy shop. I'm on the fast track to being broke...

Otherwheres - Nathaniel over at IGIF's got Crystal Castles' vid for Celestica...

Otherwheres - Get a taste of LA sound as Aquarium Drunkard posts up L'Aventure, a set of tracks provided by various LA artists covering tracks from Television's Adventure...

They might not be a small town high school basketball team from Indiana, but this London-based trio is still set on being champs. Despite reading like a serious set of lawyers, Sparkes, Skarendahl and Sharland make up an English-Swedish trio that probably doesn't spend a lot of their time on the serious side, and while this has some bloggers think a bit lesser of them for that, I point those guys back to my Rock Snob mix and remind them that sometimes it's about fun and having something you can act stupid and just have fun to. With their last full-length release being all the way back in 2007, the Hoosiers are set to share their quirky sense of pop again in August with the release of The Illusion of Safety.

From The Hoosiers' The Trick to Life:
Cops and Robbers

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!


Otherwheres - I dealt with one nasty piece of malware over the weekend and thought about celebrating it with a mix, but I didn't think something titled "Malware Mix" would elicit many downloads...

Otherwheres -Knowing me, I'll take the track with the intent of telling you all about it asap and do just that...a few months from now. Get Magic Kids' "Sumer" early, sans my laziness, over at You Ain't No Picasso...

Otherwheres - Texas heat got Lawrence over at Covert Curiosity to end up skipping out on Neon Indian, but no worries, he found something just as good in local act S U R V I V E...

Right from the get go, you ought to notice that these guys have got that British feel to them. Everything sounds familiar enough, and you're quick to bang it off as something that sounds like practically everything else from that country - so what's still got your attention? The London trio known as the Tunics have a lyric-driven sound engineered and built on the familiarity of a lot of British music and have rightfully drawn comparisons to everyone that runs that gamut. With a precise demeanor and careful layering, however, the Tunics have managed a sound of their own, and I like it. Tune in to the Tunics!

From The Tunics' Somewhere in Somebody's Heart:
A Winter's Tale

Get more information on the Tunics at their site.
Be their friend!

Labels: If You've Only Got...

Be sure to head on over to to Side One: Track One today as I put in my word as a guest writer this summer!

Labels: Wandering Blogger

And I bet you thought Bicycle Voice was young. I'll admit that whenever I refer to anyone on here as a "youngster" or "kid", I'm well aware that they're they're older than me. Rarely do I ever come across a group of actual youngsters. The only times these guys have had a 2 in their age is when they were 2 and 12. In a time when we have someone like Justin Bieber roaming around (I thought he was a girl up till a few days ago), these guys are more than refreshing. For their age, these kids - and boy do I mean it - really know what they're doing to the point where I'm almost a little sickened by how accomplished these guys are - did you play a major festival back in high school? At their age, other people are pulling skill on Guitar Hero. Instead you've got a group that spent their schoolnight alongside talent literally twice their age at festivals and award shows. Lo-Fi Culture Scene is a 5-piece set of secondary schoolers out of London, and though, they may still be a bit rough around the edges, I think it's rather clear that these guys have a good thing going for them in music. Incredibly mature in both their instrumental skill and songwriting, Lo-Fi Culture Scene truly illustrate for me that children are our future...

Various songs from Lo-Fi Culture Scene (all songs are right click - save as):
Fast Forward

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!

Otherwheres - Be sure to head on over to Side One: Track One tomorrow as I mosey on over and write a bit for them this summer...

Otherwheres - It took me ages to finally add these guys to our Neighbors list, but be sure to head on over to Austin Town Hall for just a whole lot of goodness...

Otherwheres - I sort of forgot to post yesterday, but no worries. I plan on going back in time and putting something up there...

Bumbling about on their own separate ways on London's streets until one fateful day, Allo, Darlin' came to be when four people found each other and the music they make, and now, I found them. Your turn. Like all things found, it can either be trash or treasure, and Allo, Darlin' most certainly is the latter. Rounding out to be one heck of a foursome, Allo, Darlin' is a hodgepodge of all the things to love in pop and have drawn equivalents to include company like Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura. With vocals led by darling Elizabeth Morris, Allo, Darlin' turn out tunes that are tenaciously pop - jangly, gleeful sets of grin-inducing dance starters. Allo, Darlin' are set to release their debut album in the UK this Tuesday.

Various songs from Allo, Darlin':
Emily
Dreaming

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!


Otherwheres - You can expect me to join the swarthing masses stricken with World Cup fevaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

Otherwheres - Matt over at You Ain't No Picasso shares the Shins' cover of "Goodbye Girl"...

Otherwheres - For the locals out there, Lawrence at Covert Curiosity gives us a preview of Do512's Girls Who Rock night at the Independent...

After you've taken a gander at her photo, I can tell you right now that your preposterously low, perhaps even humorous guess at her age is actually probably pretty close to actuality. For one, I'm pretty sure this singer-songwriter can only legally drink alcohol with a parental chaperon. Talented youngsters like the personage behind one (wo)man band Bicycle Voice, Meg Webb, always put me to shame. Next to her, I feel like a lazy, unaccomplished bum. Assuredly, Webb is no unaccomplished bum. Putting her youth to use, Webb crafts charming pop tracks that are sure to soundtrack your summer days.

Various songs from Bicycle Voice:
Ellis the Trellis

Be her friend!


Otherwheres - Matt over at You Ain't No Picasso has the Lolla line-up...

Otherwheres - Local bloggers Ultra8201 will be celebrating their birthday big. Head on over to catch the details of their celebration on Thursday...

Otherwheres - And just because, I'm gonna go ahead and link to blog neighbors A Certain Romance. Head on over for good stuff...

Monday got you down? No worries! Picking you up from the pit of a Monday is 6 Day Riot. With a member for every day of riot but one, this London quintet has seen their fair share of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days from dashed Olympic dreams to a previous band kafuffle that left one of them all alone on the eve of a tour. And all of that's just one member! As the voice of 6 Day Riot, Tamara Schlesinger proves she's made of stronger stuff. In fact, if her voice is to be believed, that stuff she's made of is sunshine and sugar. With her lush, tender voice, Schlesinger proves what's in a name; it would only be more immaculate if she were named Schlesinger-Songwriter. Add all of this to the fact that the rest of 6 Day Riot helps to produce their quirky folk-pop by taking up a list of instruments that simply ends with "whatever else we have hanging around," (yes, this includes a ukulele!) and you've got yourself some high-flying, doldrum-fighting tunes that help to slap a bit of a smile on your face. With a single out already, look for their next full-length to be released later this year!

From 6 Day Riot Have A Plan:
Go! Canada
Every Third Sunday

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!


Otherwheres - Well guys, in an effort to better the post rate here at Both Sides, I'm looking at forming a proper posting schedule and perhaps even recruiting some new writers...

Now, who is Monarchy? Good question. I may have to get back to you on that. Scribbled at the top of my little fact sheet for Monarchy are the words "duo" and "UK." That's about all I know, really. Even after a quick Google search extensive research, that's all I really know. If there's one thing journalism taught me though, it's how to squeeze the most information out of a tiny little snippet. So in regards to this group greater than one but less than the number equivable to a trio, it can be said most frankly that they call the shores of the United Kingdom, a country in the Atlantic, home. Alright, alright - in all seriousness, all I can leave you with are facts - duo, UK. Oh, right and they're awesome. Take something you can dance to and dip it in chrome. There you have Monarchy - synthy, dancey goodness.

Various songs from Monarchy (all songs are right click - save as):
The Phoenix Alive
Black, The Colour of My Heart

Be their friend!


Otherwheres - Have a good weekend!

Labels: Wandering Blogger