MP3: Beach Fossils – “Time”
MP3: The Beets – “What Can I Do?”
MP3: Christmas Island – “Bed Island”
About The Beets:
Formed about two years ago, The Beets landed in the Brooklyn music scene with a sound that was naïve yet already mature, altogether sloppy but also singularly well-crafted. Such is the distinctive charm of The Beets beat, an endearing and unruly mix of lo-fi distortion, infectious energy and pop harmonies. Hailing from deep in the heart of Queens, NY by way of Uruguay, Bolivia and Michigan, the trio consists of guitarist Juan Wauters, bassist Jose Garcia and drummer Jacob Warstler along with official band artist and muse Matthew Volz. Their debut album Spit in the Face of People Who Don’t Want to Be Cool recounts tales of the devil and loves lost to incorrect pronunciation built out of fuzzed-out vocal harmonizing, Wauter’s simple yet incessantly toe-tapping melodic guitar-work and Garcia’s exuberant rhythms, all anchored by Warstler’s bass-heavy drums. The youthful insouciance of The Beets brand of 60s garage is amplified live with their signature rambunctious joint warble, Warstler’s idiosyncratic drumming style and the sight of Wauter’s heavily doodled self-rigged electric acoustic. New songs continue the direction of lyrically intricate story-telling matched by pure rollicking pop chops. The Beets manage to somehow capture the rare and fleeting moments of a drunken sing-along and turn them into an album sounding of endless summer.
About Beach Fossils:
The jangly, self recorded ramblings of Brooklyn’s Dustin Payseur, Beach Fossils offers hauntingly catchy tunes that blend the energy of an impulsive road trip with the melodious wandering of a lucid dream. Sun-drenched riffs, kaleidoscopic rhythms and hazy lyrics saturate Beach Fossils’ first release, the album’s carefree vibe is perfectly summed up through song titles such as “Daydream,” “Vacation,” and “Lazy Day.” The S/T LP will be out in April on Captured Tracks.
About Christmas Island:
There are actually three Christmas Islands; one off the coast of Australia, one in the Pacific Ocean (which also goes by the name Kiritimati) and one who have released their incredible self-titled debut album on In The Red in 2009. Hailing from sunny San Diego, California, Christmas Islandís music is happy and poppy on the surface, yet there is a dark undercurrent to their brand of lo-fi pop punk. Simultaneously joyous and almost twee while secretly depressed and deeply disturbed. Citing Tronics, Urinals, Television Personalities, the Clean, Versatile Newts and The Fall as influences, Christmas Island are Beach Boys style pop by way of the late 70ís- early 80ís UK DIY scene. All brought to you by way of sunny southern Californian culture. The results are sublime.
THE BEETS, CHRISTMAS ISLAND & BEACH FOSSILS
02/09 – New York, NY Cake Shop
02/10 – New Haven, CT Cafe Nine
02/11 – Boston, MA The Cottage
02/12 – Annandale on Hudson, NY Bard College
02/13 – Brooklyn, NY Death By Audio
02/15 – Philadelphia, PA Terrordome (early show)
02/16 – Washington, DC Velvet Lounge
02/17 – Harrisonburg, VA Blue Nile
02/18 – Princeton, NJ Terrace @ Princeton University
02/19 – Wilkes-Barre, PA Corner Cafe
02/20 – Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg #
03/17 – 03/20 Austin, TX SXSW
# = w/ Crystal Stilts, German Measles
BEACH FOSSILS ONLY
01/27 – Richmond, VA Unicorn Manor
01/28 – Charlotte, NC Yauhaus
02/27 – Brooklyn, NY Market Hotel *
* = w/ Surfer Blood, Turbo Fruits, Grooms
THE BEETS ONLY
03/15 Denton, TX House by House Fest @ Mable Peabody’s
CHRISTMAS ISLAND ONLY
01/20 San Diego, CA Casbah
RELATED LINKS:
The Beets – myspace.com/thebeetsbeat
Beach Fossils – myspace.com/beachfossils
Christmas Island – myspace.com/xmasisland
Captured Tracks – capturedtracks.com
In The Red – intheredrecords.com