To this day I still have a sincere affinity for the borough of Brooklyn. Having gone to school there and labored at my first suit and tie job there. Why wouldn't I? These days however, the borough seems to get more grief for it's slick, Pabst drinking hipsters than for the shining beacon of hope it's always been for music of all shapes, sizes and colors. A thread of consciousness that leads me to Colorize, the bands third and most recent release to date.
Warm and flavorful instrumentals accent smart meets crazy vocal duos for a sound that is as eccentric as it is eclectic.
While Colorize features a mere five songs. (Freak Flag, my personal favorite returning from the 2013 release of the same name.) The band seem to have no problem distinguishing themselves as something that is uniquely special.
Possessing an approach and endearing quality that appeals to the masses while still feeling intimate and personal.
A very rare trait in a time where our attention spans have shortened and the demand for immediacy reign supreme.
Having recently signed a soul stealing deal with a publisher. Who knows where Gillian's music might be popping up. I dare not venture to guess. Regardless of whether it's the big screen or the small one. The Brooklyn quintet seem to be headed places. James Damion
Carousel Season marks the second full length for New Jersey's The Deafening Colors. Music that reflects the duos upbringing in Ocean and Atlantic City with a sound that mixes ambient, shoe gaze and dream pop that grew on me as
I listened. While immediate comparisons to a sleepier, experimental side of
the Beach Boys are unavoidable. One could also reference New Jersey storytellers The Front Bottoms and the long running New Brunswick quintet Sink Tapes.
While The Deafening Colors aren't what we're used to reviewing here at United By Rocket Science. It's definitely something I'd like to see/hear more of in the future. For Carousel Season was definitely something I found myself drawn to more and more with each song. From favorites such as Driving Horse's Ghost,
Waiting For The Axe and the expansive Part Time clocking in at a lengthy 5:30. I felt myself caught up in a moment. Caught up in the beauty of a song. James Damion Bandcamp<<<Get it Here
Hi again. This is Frank DeFranco of Holy City Zoo and NGHTCRWLRS. I’ve done this once before for this blog and I’ve been given the opportunity once again to blabber away with a kick ass band who fortunately also happen to be buddies of mine. Dollys (New Brunswick, NJ) are a four piece vintage pop band with a breath of fresh air. They’ve currently finished recording their first full length album and have some fundraising going on to press it on vinyl. Below you’ll hear some jibber jabber on this and a fair share of other things. Enjoy or send me hate mail, either works.
Interview with Jeff Lane and Natalie Newbold of Dollys (8/10/14)
Frank: So lets start with…so you guys want to say the name of the new record?
Jeff: It’s called “Oh Please.”
Frank: Okay, so “Oh Please,” where’d you guys get the name for that? Like what was uhhh, howd’ you go about that?
Natalie: Interesting question.
Jeff: Well, it was an interesting thing for me because I realized that it’s one of those weird phrases that people say all the time, kind of like sarcastically, but you know, you could also take it seriously. Just thought it was an interesting concept because it could be taken more than one way.
Natalie: Yeah, it can kind of be like, ya know “ohhh pleeeasse” or like “oh please buy this record.”
(Lots of room laughter)
Natalie: It’s like, it can be taken either way.
Frank: Oh please keep me alive!
Jeff: I mean, it pretty much always comes down to Paul McCartney. I watched an interview with him and he was talking about how all the early Beatles songs came about, like
“Please Please Me,” “Help,” and stuff like that…he said a lot of that stuff was directly to the fans and I thought that was really interesting. “Please Please Me” is the first Beatles record or whatever, so it’s a little reference to that, but we just thought it was a nice thought.
Frank: That’s cool. No, no, that’s really cool. Mind if I snag another one of these
(pointing to beers).
Jeff & Natalie: Take as many as you want!
Frank: Thank you.
Natalie: That’s what we got them for!
Frank: Well muchas gracious. Okay, so with this record, you did everything to tape, right? I’m curious to hear about that experience, I know you have a lot of affiliation with
Lake House (Recording Studio), so kind of just go off with it, what’s the run down on that one?
(Frank cracks open beer)
Photo Credit; Andrew Holtz
Jeff: We really like the Beach Boys and the Beatles and all the records from the 60s and 70s and it always kind of fascinated me how much pop music has changed, and rock music too because back then it was like go in the studio and be a fuckin’ band. And that’s awesome.
Frank: And you had to be good.
Jeff: And you had to be good, because if you sucked everyone knew it and no one bought your record. Or they bought it and then they burned it in hot fire.
(More room laughter)
Jeff: Because it sucked. And we were like “well, lets see how good we are. Ya know?
Lets see if we can do something that is important to us that sounds good but doesn’t make us want to puke.
Natalie: And I think that Lake House was kind of this perfect fit for us because
John, the owner, loves vintage gear. Like so much. He has incredible stuff that is all super old and they wanted to get a tape machine and we just wanted to record to tape really bad, so it just made sense that we went there to record to tape.
Jeff: And Eric (bass player) working there and always saying “yo, you should buy this thing, the Beatles liked it.” And so John would buy it. So we were like, well we like that too, so lets record there.
Natalie: It just was obvious that we were going to do it there.
Jeff: I don’t know where we’ll really end up in the future, but right now it seems like the logical place for us. We’re super comfortable there.
Natalie: We all work there for the most part.
(Chuckles)
Photo Courtesy of Cool Dad Music
Frank: Well it’s always nice to feel comfortable in the recording process.
I’m sure you both know that there’s sometimes when you’re recording and you feel like this strenuous pressure and other times you’re just there just being yourself and feeling it, ya know? So do you have that added pressure, even though you’re in a comfortable place, knowing that you’re doing it to tape, because you have to play it good? Or was it comfortable enough at Lake House that you could kind of let loose and be yourselves?
Natalie: I think that when we first started recording, we did this one song, like seven or eight takes of it. It was getting up there.
Jeff: It was shameful, but it was also one of the more complicated ones.
Natalie: Yeah, and I think we would listen back to it and would be like “no, no, no, no, no, that’s not it.” And then something happened, we just clicked that no matter how many times we do it, it’s going to sound like us and that’s why we’re doing this to tape, ya know?
That’s why we’re doing this, because all the records that we love from the 60s and 70s have those weird George Harrison guitar mistakes.
Jeff: It’s always George.
Natalie: (continuing) that we love! (More chuckles)
Frank: Yeah, I think it’s those things that add character to the record that have kind of been lost or are flaws in the digital era. Like sometimes you hear one of those. (makes fart noise)
Jeff: Like that guitar hero noise.
Frank: Exactly.
Jeff: That’s exactly what it is.
Frank: But like all the weird little hums and guitar hisses.
Natalie: And not so perfect vocals, those vocal takes that give you chills but aren’t exactly like computerized, on point. Ya know?
Jeff: I mean, anyone who knows anything about music wants to hear real.
Frank: The human element.
Jeff: Yeah, not like the bullshit computer synthesized crap. Because it’s just weird.
It doesn’t sound real.
Frank: Totally. So with this album, you have pursued this Indiegogo campaign. So I’d like to hear about how your experience has been with that, how you feel about Indiegogo, and any advice for bands who plan to go about it the way that you have.
Jeff: And tell people beforehand and then hope for the best. Keep pushing it, keep telling people, keep working. But don’t let it control you’re wanting to be a musician or artist or however you see yourself, because worrying about money sucks. It can really suck away a lot of your creativity. So I’ve tried to do a good balance of like saying on facebook,
“why hasn’t my mom bought anything yet?” Just kidding, she put money in yesterday.
(I’m not sure if we’re laughing more or talking at this point)
Jeff: She waited long enough to give me the sweats but yeah, I don’t know, it’s hard, you have to do a lot of work.
Natalie: I would say just in terms of advice. If you think you’re going to do it, tell everyone about it before you do it. Like all your friends and family and get them on board with it.
That was something we didn’t realize we needed to do. We kind of decided in the band this was something we were going to do. We made it and made a video and within two weeks of it being up, my mom didn’t even know it was. She was like “what is that, I don’t know what that is!?! You keep posting about it, what is it?”
(Mom quote in Staten Island accent)
Natalie: So its something you kind of have to explain to people. It’s been a very interesting process and the fact that we’ve raised $2000 astounds me, that people
Frank: That’s pretty amazing.
Natalie: Yeah, it makes you feel good about what you do and gives you hope that you can do it.
Jeff: And to answer your first question, Indiegogo is great because they take the least percentage of what you earned. I’d say the only problem with it is that it is not as immediately recognizable as Kickstarter.
Frank: Well I think that’s because Kickstarter was the first of that kind of thing, unless I’m totally wrong about that.
Natalie: No I think they were the first ones.
Jeff: They were the first one to go ya know.
Frank: Viral?
Jeff: Yeah, whatever that means. It’s like Kickstarter is like Starbucks…you could see a store that says coffee and if it’s next to a Starbucks, it’s like Coffee whatever, Starbucks,
I know they coffee.
Frank: And I know what their coffee tastes like.
Jeff: Exactly. But yeah Indiegogo is cool. Everything makes sense on their site.
Natalie: I think one thing that we did differently than a lot of the bands and people we’ve seen use it is that we set it up so that it’s more of a pre-order. It’s not so much of a
“oh donate to us.”
Frank: So we can do this
Jeff: Or else it won’t happen. Because it’s going to happen anyway, we just figured, it would help us get a jump start on it if people can help put money down on it.
Natalie: Yeah, because it’s done. We’ve already put in all the money to record it. A lot of bands will have an Indiegogo to fund the entire project. We already did that.
Frank: We just want that wax baby.
Natalie: Yeah, we set a really high precedent getting our first EP done to Vinyl.
Jeff: And know we’re broke.
Natalie: We probably should do that again for the record. It probably deserves that.
Frank: Cool, cool. I personally know some roots about this band, but for the people who will be hearing about you for the first time, just throw me a little bit about the background of how Dollys came to be and what has guided you to where you are now.
Jeff: Oh man. That’s all you dawg.
Natalie: So we were recording a record as Green Paper and things weren’t really panning out the way that we wanted them to.
Jeff: There were a lot of differences creatively.
Natalie: A lot of creative differences, arguing about where the record should have gone. When you’re in a band and not everyone has the same goals, obviously at some point you’re going to have some differences that aren’t going to be fixed. So, Eric, who was engineering the record, and was our close friend at the time.
Jeff: He’s a sick bass player.
Natalie: He’s a sick bass player and an awesome musician.
Jeff: He gets along with us really well, and it seemed like the logical choice.
Natalie: And it was the right thing to do. We were like “hey do you want to start a band?” We really wanted to take this band in a different direction than Green Paper. Green Paper was a lot more Garage Rock, kind of psychedelic elements and we kind of wanted to do this very poppy but still a little modern interpretation of the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Jeff: I think the Garagy kind of feel to it was mostly just inexperience, ya know? I had never recorded actually, and then when we started doing Water I was like “I kind of get like a good feel for this, I want to work with someone who can translate my terrible ideas.”
(More good time hang laughs)
Frank: I don’t know if I’d call them terrible.
Jeff: Well, like weird like “I want it to sound like trees shaving” ya know what I mean? I want that to actually make sense to someone and Eric for some reason seemed like the logical person, probably because he’d be like “whatever dude, I’m just going to make it sound good, okay?” But yeah, it was a long weird trip in Green Paper. We didn’t try to do anything too poppy, we just wanted to write a really good record that felt right and made people happy instead of sad, that’s kind of what we shot for.
Frank: I mean I loved “Fire” (Green Paper full length) and I enjoyed the singles and stuff, and then I heard the Dollys EP and when I heard it, it had this chilling feeling because it was something that felt familiar, but there was also this kind of fire (whoops) behind it, like this is born out of the ashes of something else and we need to do this. It had that sense of urgency to it, and it was really cool. You can feel the emotion that was put into that record.
Jeff: It was a bummer.
Natalie: Having Green Paper break up was probably one of the worst things that ever happened to me.
Jeff: It was one of those things where the band falling apart was pretty sour…it was one of those things that you have to be devastated and not let anybody know.
Natalie: But because of that happening, now I am a much happier person. I love the music that we are making and I’m so excited for the future.
Frank: That’s where it’s at.
Natalie: Yeah. For us to get to this point, that had to happen.
Jeff: I don’t even like music.
(Insert you know what goes in the parenthesis here)
Natalie: Just end the interview with that.
Jeff: My boss says that all the time and he owns a music store.
Frank: Soooo you kind of covered this partially in what we were just talking about, but is there a general message you are trying to send as Dollys, or with this record…
Jeff: 4:20 weed everyday. Just kidding. I don’t know. What message did the Beatles send?
Natalie: Peace, love, understanding?
Jeff: Not even, because like John Lennon beat wives.
Frank: I love John Lennon as a songwriter.
Jeff: Oh hell yeah.
Frank: But everyone is always like John Lennon, Hair Peace, this hippie man…back in his Liverpool days, you cross him the wrong way, that guy would fuck you up.
Jeff: Yeah. But, umm, I don’t think we particularly have a message yet?
Natalie: I think that one thing we’re trying to bring back is
Jeff: Is write good music?
Natalie: Is getting back to this idea of great songwriting or just always trying to write the best songs that you can and this idea of real musicianship again. Having pop music not be the thing that people think about and be like “pop music sucks” because it’s bad or because it’s easy or because it’s not technically difficult because those things don’t equate. Like we’ve all heard “I Want You Back” and that is CRAZY! From start to finish I’m like “what’s happening?!?” ya know?
Jeff: One time I was working at a place and this guy came up to me and was like “I really like Lady Gaga” because this one song she used a diminished chord. And I was like you could use a diminished chord any fucking time you want, you just got to do it right. And fuck you because you’re stupid.
(Beer belly laughter)
Jeff: I mean, I think that being in the right band and having the right attitude and being cool is important and is something you should work on. And ya know, playing your instrument well and being able to shred the gnar is important and you should practice that, but I think the most important thing, and this is time tested and proven, is just writing songs that are good. And are approachable but not fucking lame, like Monkees or something. Even though the Monkees are cool now, back in the day they were not because they were so bubble gum.
Frank: Okay, I’m almost done here. Have you figured out where/when you will be doing the listening party and release show or anything like that yet?
Jeff: I think Eric did, but we have no idea. We were actually doing interview questions the other day and Eric was saying that we should probably do some of this stuff early 2015.
Natalie: Uh, yeah, we’re timing how it’s going to take it to get mastered and pressed so we’re either thinking early 2015 or towards the end of 2014.
Jeff: And really the most important thing is making sure that everyone who is invited to the listening party can make it. Because that would be really stupid if they couldn’t.
Natalie: Listening party is at Lake House. Release show is probably going to be at the
Court Tavern.
Jeff: It makes the most sense for us because that’s where I feel like people know us from since the Beach Boys cover set.
Frank: Which by the way that was fantastic. Actually, lets talk about that a sec. What was it like paying tribute to a band that you love so much?
Jeff: It was great. It was really hard.
Frank: Now I love my fair share of the Beach Boys. I’m definitely not on your level but...
Jeff: We’re stupid about it. I’ve read stupid books on Amazon, like this book is stupid, but I should read it anyway. I’m sure there’s some information in it that’s important.
Natalie: We had a really great time.
Jeff: It had it’s ups and downs practicing it.
Natalie: For me personally, at that point in time, I was still a little unsure of myself vocally. The transition between Green Paper and Dollys was partly me becoming more of a lead singer and there was still a lot of confidence issues I was tackling in doing so, but that Beach Boys set made me practice, practice, practice on vocals, so much that it made me so much more confident in our own material, singing backups, singing leads, whatever it may be, and playing the drums. So it really helped me personally.
Jeff: I had more fun fucking up those songs, than fucking up any other thing. It was like really fun just being like I practiced this for three months which is waaayyy more than I’d spend writing everything. And then you know I just go on playing “Good Vibrations” and I’m like a whole step off and everyone’s like “Hello” and I’m like “Yeaaaahhhhh” and then all of a sudden I snap into it and I’m like, oh I can actually hear my guitar now, the cymbals have died out, oh I’m totally wrong, cool, this is the last part of the set and I blew it. And I just found it hilarious instead of like panicking and being like “god you’re awful.” It was a fun show.
Frank: Jeff, Natalie, thank you for your time. It’s been excellent to catch up with ya.
Dreamy uplifting pop that reminds me of a lot of the great acts that sprung up in the early 90's and at times, even
April March. Richmond's Positive No allow the tongue to release the term "Indie Pop" without ever having the urge to bit it. Tracy's voice is a pure slice of heaven.
Warm, summery and downright positive. Hinting at a sense of hope and optimism that lifts the spirits. Each of Positive No's five tracks invite themselves in. Perfectly melding dreamy pop with elements of shoe gaze. For those familiar with
Tracy Keats Wilson.
Positive No is more akin to what she produced with Dunebuggy than her work with her work with Dahlia Seed and as Ringfinger. Though recorded just as the arctic apocalypse began to roll in. Positive No is about as warm and summery as they come. Recorded by the legendary J Robbins at his Baltimore studio Magpie Cage. Isn't is cool when one of your favorite records of the year comes just as it seems to be coming to an end? James Damion
Local micro indie label Dromedary Records celebrate their twentieth anniversary with the release of
'From '93 to Infinity'. A clever and overall stellar collection featuring current and past Dromedary friends and family, putting the cover treatment on songs released in 1993.
The year Al Crisafulli followed his heart of hearts by starting his own independent record label.
'From '93 'til Infinity' features a hefty sixteen tracks delivered with quality and care. It's very rare when a compilation or tribute album resonates with the listener the way this does. Somewhat surprising, given the history of cover and tribute albums. Visit your local record store's dollar bin or Good Will store and you'll get a good idea. '93 'til Infinity' on the other hand, doesn't feature a wasted moment.
Picking the standouts from this album was like trying to decide what corner deli I want to pick up my winning Powerball ticket from. The quality and variety presented is astounding. Brixton Riot covering The Archers of Loaf's 'Might', Cinema Cinema's cover of PJ Harvey's '50 Ft. Queenie', Varsity Drag's take on Versus' 'Let's Electrify', Overlake's cover of
Yo La Tengo's 'From a Hotel 6' and D. Smith Sucks 'Fuck and Run' each shake the foundations. I'm also hearing a number of acts here for the very first time.
Riel, Dots Will Echo, Flash Flood, Picnic all deliver stellar covers. Other notable contributions come from the 65's, Stuyvesant, The Anderson Council,
Jean Homme & The Broken Telomeres, Guy Capacelatro and Tiger Saw. Add to that they eye popping cover illustration of Lauren Kelly and a few of my own photos thrown in for good measure and you've got a can't miss production that commemorates and celebrates the spirit and inspiration that was and is indie. James Damion
Boxed Wine are a five piece indie pop act that have been featured on UBRS a handful of times in the past. The bands upbeat, get on your feat and dance rhythms have managed to transform the contributors here from old,bitter and jaded men to lighthearted and joyous ones.
"Cheap, Fun" the ten song full length follow up to the three song EP of the same name continues that trend with ten songs that are, much like the editors here, uplifting and celebratory. The LP opens with
"Into the Night" which immediately puts the listeners toes on notice. "Cheap Fun" quickly makes its presence felt with it's falsetto vocals and intoxicating guitar melodies. Qualities that made the band stand out from the crowd early on. Though "Cheap Fun" doesn't do much to break new ground for the band. It does more than it's part to allow us to dance on it. As a band, Boxed Wine reminds me that life is all about the little pleasures. Moments when we let go of our fears and allow ourselves to just live in the moment. "Cheap, Fun" spares no expense to let us do just that.
Enjoy every note... James Damion Cheap, Fun LP Download Here
Boy Things first captivated my ears in early 2012 with their self titled six song EP.
Upon hearing the bands warm, upbeat pop sounds, I was convinced I was listening to some seasoned Indie Pop veterans that I had somehow missed the boat on. Lucky for me, the boat was just beginning to set sail and I was getting the opportunity to see/hear an amazing new act still in it's infancy.
The EP's title track "Equations" features a lush acoustic guitar sound that's followed by synthesizers and drumming that add a certain degree warmth and texture to the track. But it's when Beth's hypnotic and beautiful voice enter the fray when the senses hit overload.
The B side opens with "Sit, Stay, Rollover". The songs losers lament carries a light hearted wit about it with it's chorus, "There's no hope, in Jersey. I'm a loser, so kill me!" I found myself dancing around my apartment spastically to this one.
Cap'n Hook is catchy as all hell with crashing guitars and drums that will having you calling out "More Cowbell please" The hooky vibe presented is tasty to say the very least.
Overall, "Equations" shines with all it's quirky pop goodness. I really can't wait to see how this band evolves. If this three song jaunt is any sign of things to come, I'd say the possibilities are endless.
"Equations" is a combined effort between Boy Things and Bedside Manor Collective.
If you're a fan of Tegan & Sara like I am you absolutely need to get your hands on this. There are only 300 copies available on vinyl so I suggest you pick this up and give it a spin before it's gone. James Damion Buy it Here
