New Music Hour on 95.9 FM WATD vol.1

Last Friday, The Ash Gray Proclamation and 95.9 FM WATD joined forces for the debut of the New Music Hour that will be airing during The Alternative with Chris Atwood, on the last Friday of every month. I brought in some new tracks that have been dominating my listening as of late, which included amoung other things, an unearthed track from Hallelujah The Hills that as far as I can tell, few had heard until now as well as new tracks from Calories and Joanna Gruesome. The playlist is below with the linkage.. We chatted a bit about the impending Ash Gray Proclamation Presented: For All Good Kids, Toys For Tots Benefit show which will take place next Saturday Dec 7th at The New World Tavern in Plymouth.

Krill - Theme From Krill from Lucky Leaves
Streaming and available for purchase at the Krill Bandcamp site.

Black Hearted Brother - This Is How It Feels from Stars Are Our Home
Available at Slumberland Records.

28 Degrees Taurus - From Part To Part
Available as a free download via Bandcamp.

Guillermo Sexo - Carried A Golden Heart from Dark Spring
Streaming at Bandcamp and available for purchase over at Midriff Records.

Beach Fossils - Careless from Clash The Truth
Stream at Soundcloud and order the LP at Captured Tracks.

The Hush Now - Rooftops from Memos
Available as a free download at The Hush Now's Bandcamp page.

Calories - Mausoleum from then newly released III
Avaiable as a pay what you want offer at the Calories Bandcamp page.

Slowdim - Take Your Only Heart That Is Soley Free (Demo)
Available for free at Soundcloud .

Joanna Gruesome - Tugboat (Galaxie 500 cover) from the Sugarcrush single.
Available at Slumberland Records.

Hallelujah The Hills - Highschoolvania (Unreleased)
Visit HTH's Bandcamp page for streaming and purchases.


In the event that you missed this weeks debut broadcast you can stream it via CPS Productions.

Trim For Victory :: An Interview With Dean Wells

The last we heard from Dean Wells, the creative force behind AGP favorites, The Capstan Shafts was last fall when he quietly released three 4-song EP's under the moniker Loud Springs. That is until last week when Wells returned as Rare High only to release 12 new tracks over three more EP's. We are sensing a pattern here, nonetheless the fuzzy low fi pop that he delivered with The Capstan Shafts and more recently with his Loud Springs project, is on full display throughout the new EP's. In fact you'll  need to look no further than EP #1's opening track, Sullen Leers to be reminded of Wells' gift for crafting scrappy and endearing songs with undeniable pop hooks.

Just last night Dean was gracious enough to answer a few questions about the recording of the new material, forgoing record labels, and the possible future of The Capstan Shafts.

Bryan Hamill: What was the recording process for the material the ended up being released for the Rare High EP's?

Dean Wells: It's pretty straight forward really, once I've got a fairly good idea of the song I run through on guitar,add drums,then bass,then vocals. I record it all to 4 track from there I mix it down and start over.

BH: Do you have any plans for a physical release of the these EP's or does the Bandcamp model suit your needs better right now?

DW: There are no legitimate release plans right now. I like that Bandcamp has a complete absence of consequence, it reminds you to do it for fun.

BH: Just last year you released three 4-song EP's as Loud Springs and in the last week you've issued three more EP's as Rare High what is behind the name changes?

DW: It's nice to clean slate things, but then I'll listen to it all later and and it all sounds similar so I don't have a good answer.

BH: Your last live shows were in support of The Capstan Shafts 2010 LP Revelation Skirts, Do you have any plans to play these new songs Live?

DW: I can't seem to keep a band together or else I'd play out far more often than was healthy

BH: Have we seen the end of you recording as The Capstan Shafts?

DW: If I had a bunch of material that I wanted to put out under that name I wouldn't hesitate. For now I'm just having fun with other presentations and the idea that a collection can exist independent of any history, at least for me.

The Rare High EP's which can streamed below and are available as a pay what you want offering at Rare High's Bandcamp dojo, we recommend supporting Mr. Wells as well as these fine releases with a monetary donation of your choosing. Thanks to Dean for taking some time out of his Thursday night to answer these questions and for sharing these new songs with us.







Photo Credit: The Capstan Shafts @ T.T. The Bears 01/18/11, photographed by Brian Rutledge of Hallelujah The Hills

Short Bursts :: Hallelujah The Hills | English Singles | & Propeller

After over four months of inactivity I'm pleased to back at the helm of this blog I started in May 2006 and look I forward to regular updates as well a few changes around here which will include some new contributors, features, events, and a few design changes. As always thanks for readership, not to mention your patience. [Ed.]

Today see's one of The AGP favorites, Hallelujah The Hills issuing Portraits Of An Artist As Young Trash Can, which collects singles, B-sides, and unreleased tracks. The 21 track LP can be purchased at the bands Bandcamp site. 5 of the tracks found on Portraits Of An Artist .. were recorded in 2013 including the exceptional and anthemic, Confessions of An Ex- Ghost. This release showcases the bands evoultion as well as showcasing Ryan Walsh's gift for writing intelligent and addictive material that only gets better and better with each subsequesnt listen.


Following two superb singles, Sacramento, CA's crash pop outift English Singles are back with a new three song EP via Slumberland Records. The EP's opening and title track, Ordinary Girls features fronter, Scott Miller leading the singles through the earnest and boyant track while provinding 12 string leads and engaging pop hooks. Like thier previous singles that have the knack of sticking in your head all day, Ordinary Girls is no different, in fact it's even more adictive than it's predocessors.


San Francisco power pop heroes, Propeller have issued there sophomore set, Don't Be Sorry Again it's choc full mid 90's power pop that brings to mind early Teenage Fanclub and The Replacements , but Propeller manage to put their own stamp on it, balancing guitar cruch with a strong batch of songs. I'm hoping a Boston show is in the future, perhaps with our friends Varsity Drag on the bill?  I'm not above begging.

The Ash Gray Proclamation's Top Tracks Of 2011

As we prepare to shut the door on 2011 we've gone ahead and prepared a spotify playlist of our favorite tracks of 2011. It's a testament to the vibrant Boston music community that over half of these tracks come from some of favorite locals. Our Top Tracks were determined by plays on iTunes and Spotify. Later this week we'll begin sharing album lists starting with Los Gamester's year in review on Friday and some lists from Echoes Myron and myself next week.

1. Soccer Mom - (A) Natural History
The remarkable EP, You Are Not Going To Heaven from Boston noise pop concern, Soccer Mom quickly became one of favorite releases of the year soon after it's October release. The opening track, (A) Natural History finds guitarist William Scales handling vocals on the crushing track that deftly marries noise and pop hooks to a euphoric effect.
Listen via Spotify or Bandcamp

2. Boston Spaceships - I Took On The London Guys
Let It Beard, the impeccable swan song from Robert Pollard's Boston Spaceships came a midst the GBV reunion frenzy and found the trio issuing their 5th and finest LP in just over 3 years. I Took On The London Guys features former Dream Syndicate member, Steve Wynn contributing guitar and the Spaceships delivering an inspired blend of British folk and power pop. Our Let It Beard review can be found here.
Listen via Spotify

3. Hallelujah The Hills - Some Of Them We Lost
Hallelujah The Hills spent a good chunk of the year writing and recording their forthcoming third full length, playing a handful of shows, and releasing a couple of singles. Some Of Them We Lost appears on a 7" that never actually got pressed to vinyl due to curious circumstances, but thankfully the band issued it digitally. When we saw HTH play this track last winter  at TT The Bears we were instantly sold on it's slow building charm, and exuberant and chaotic finish.
 
4. The Hush Now - Memos
The Hush Now released their third and in our estimation finest LP with Memos in September. The title track serves as the LP, centerpiece and finds THN delivering a  lush, lovelorn pop song with chiming guitars and Noel Kelly's soaring vocals. Now if we could just convince them to stop giving away their high caliber guitar pop anthems for free.


5. Los Campesinos! - Songs About Your Girlfriend
Arriving at the tale end of the year, the latest offering from Los Campesinos! is a bit more subdued than previous outings but no less devastating. The opening chords of Songs About Your Girlfriend bring to mind Back to Basics era Billy Bragg, until Gareth Los Campesinos delivers the line, "You don't like us, because your girlfriend likely does" and you quickly realize you're hearing one of the septets finest moments, full of swagger and wit.
Listen via Spotify

6. Sloan - Unkind
Sloan returned last spring to celebrate their 20th Anniversary with a new album, The Double Cross. Unkind finds the power pop luminaries doing what they do best, delivering killer hooks over charging guitars. One listen is all took to have us playing this from spring to winter.
Listen via Spotify

7. Eldridge Rodriguez - The Big Windup
The Beatings/Midriff Records founder and noise rock stalwart, issued one of the years most satisfying listens, with the superlative You Are Released. The set opens on a thrilling note with The  Big Windup, it's a cacophony of guitar squalls, strident rhythms and sad bastard lyricism.


8. Slowdim - Don't Cough Me Out
As soon as we heard Spirals, from Slowdim, we were more than a little smitten. All of the songs on the bands terrific debut, were written and recorded by fronter Paul Sentz last winter. There's a certain warmth and intimacy that runs through entire EP , especially on  Don't Cough Me Out. It's a damn near perfect pop song, smart, direct and arresting.


9. The Capstan Shafts - Come Wilder
To our surprise, back in July Dean Wells released a new LP from The Capstan Shafts as a pay what ever the hell you want deal on his Bandcamp page. We reviewed the album here.Some might say it's a return to his lo-fi ways after last years superlative mid-fi offering Revelation Skirts, but we prefer to focus on the fantastic pop songs it offered, like Come Wilder, which is 2 minutes of charging guitars and hooks a plenty.
Listen via Spotify or Bandcamp

10. Johnny Foreigner - New Street, You Can Take It
Birmingham, England's Johnny Foreigner made their return earlier this fall with their third and arguably best LP, Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything. New Street, You Can Take It begins innocently enough with Kelly Southern and Alexei Berrow trading vocals over a quiet snare drum and gently played guitar, but once they reach the chorus "You Kinda Always Know When It's Over" the track slowly builds until the band sounds as if  they could bring down the walls around them.
Listen via Spotify

11. Get Help - Little Symbols 
The duo of Tony Skalicky of The Beatings and Mike Ingenthron of Microdot, collectively known as Get Help released The Good Green Earth last spring via Midriff Records which we wrote about here.We were immediately taken in by the albums intelligent pop songs and massive hooks. Little Symbols is an impressive combination of  guitars heroics and heartbreak. Giving up never sounded better.