SEVEN NOISES

You may or may not know Alex Bleeker from Real Estate but you know Real Estate for sure by now. He's also from Alex Bleeker and the Freaks who had a record out earlier this year on Underwater Peoples. So now he has a solo single without any other Freak, just by himself. Three songs out on Group Tightener, a small and quite new label who got into fame for releasing Best Coast's Make You Mine as their first reference. And the three songs are quite sweet and simple, with a hint of classic folk and a hint of modern folk. Three simple songs you can play on repeat or after listening to the album, as a perfect companion. I actually kind of prefer his solo work than Real Estate who I didn't particularly enjoy when I saw them live for the first time but who I'll give a new opportunity when I see them playing together with Ganglians in a couple of weeks.

Alex Bleeker - These Days.mp3

It took me too long to review these singles and now, their last one, is featured as best new music on Pitchfork today, which means that this post is kind of useless now, as you'll probably would have heard about this band by the point you read this post. Anyway, they are so damn good that extra praise is never enough. These three singles have been put out in the last months, actually the last two have just been released, and the myth is already created. Bethany story as Best Coast (with the help of Bob Bruno) is even shorter than the one from Fergus & Geronimo (check the previous post), and we can already see a bit of evolution in their sound. A former member of Pocahaunted she moved back to California to get influenced by the sea and the California boys. As you can imagine, the result is pretty close from the Beach Boys summery sound. Little by little they have been polishing the lo-fi and punkier sound of their first cassette Where the Boys Are, just slightly enough to sound a bit more 60s and 50s, something between a Spector girl band and a surf band but keeping the DIY spirit although a bit less rough. The first single Sun Was High (So Was I) in Art Fag is already sold out, so hurry up if you want to get Make You Mine, on Group Tightener and their about to be published, and the one who would definitely put them on the map, When I'm with You for Black Iris. None of them have a single song that doesn't make me want to pack my swimsuit, buy a surfboard and go to California to get a tan. Buy these records and put them on the shelf between the Dum Dum Girls and your scratchy copy of Pet Sounds. Surely, my new favourite band of the month.