Garvey

I decided to try my hands again at blogging after a number of people, my father among them, told me that writing every day (or almost every day) was a good way to promote a healthy work ethic, especially for someone who is trying to write for a living. During the school year, there isn't a day that passes where I am not writing something, but summer can be a rather empty expanse.

That said, I don't think I have nearly enough energy or time to write anything of substantive value today... So, I shall instead pass along a few music-related things that piqued my interest recently.

Park Hotell - "Dead ringers"
Featuring Jari Haapalainen on drums and the girls from Taxi, Taxi! on backing vocals, the first track since Park Hotell's "The guest who stayed forever" EP is absolutely fantastic. As It's A Trap! editor-in-chief Avi Roig writes, "No more synths, no more shoegazer vibes, just organic indie rock'n'roll." He then goes on to compare Park Hotell's newest creation to Laakso and "peak-era Swedish indie such as Eggstone or The Wannadies, the sort of stuff that defined the scene back in the 90s and is rarely emulated today."

Cut City - "Replacement"
It's A Trap! interviews Max Hansson from Cut City/White Knives, and then tacks on my favorite Cut City track to seal the deal.

Voices Break The Silence - "This awful friend"
You know you are working for the right man when he writes, "I love big, 90s-style indie guitarrock and I am unashamed." Voices Break The Silence exist somewhere between the influences of Mineral and the more ethereal compositions from Sonic Youth.

And while we're on music, Dennis Wilson's recently re-released solo album Pacific Ocean Blue is definitely worth checking out.

Known mostly as the only Beach Boy who actually surfed and for his taste for drink and women, Dennis Wilson was also a phenomenal musician whose talents were unrecognized for a large part of his life. I first became interested in Dennis Wilson after finally picking up a copy of the Criterion release of Two-Lane Blacktop, Monte Hellman's existentialist road movie, in which Dennis Wilson plays 'the Mechanic' (alongside fellow musician James Taylor as 'the Driver').

Pacific Ocean Blue sounds every bit as thought it was released in 1977, but if you have any soft spots for Eric Clapton and Elton John, you should find some wonderful gems in Wilson's more upbeat compositions, and his slower, piano-driven ballads are... hauntingly beautiful. I'd recommend listening to "Time" or "Thoughts Of You" if you aren't quite sold. There isn't any Beach Boys sheen anywhere on this record, and Wilson's voice, damaged by years of substance abuse, is raspy, yet soulful, and adds an authoritative, experienced air to his compositions.