Black Sands EPs

(Black Sand/Bandcamp)

Black Sand - The Reverberation EP

This EP is so damn good that I can't pick any highlights off of it. Hazy psychedelic/shoegaze with smooth, dry production. Cannot stop listening and picking up on new nuances in the music. Highly Recommended.

self-released/2017


Black Sand - Endless Blue

"Don't Throw It All Away" is simply breathtaking, and head and shoulders above the rest of the tracks here. While the other songs follow a similar formula, the repeating arpeggiated riff and warm bass propel it forward at a blissful and languid pace.

self-released/2018

Black Sand - Around The Sun 

Absolutely beautiful psychedelic/space rock. "Heaven" is a laid back Spiritualized/Jesus and Mary Chain groove that will lull you into your best mindset. 

self-released/2019

Black Sand - Kaleidoscope EP 

"For The Longest Time" is an epic tune stretching through the desert with backwards guitars, a warm bassline, and a tight drumbeat. Modern psychedelic for the ages. 

self-released/2019 

“We Can’t Be Silent No More.”

And The Kids Branch Out Live,

With New Bass Player In Tow

By

Jesse Mullen

And The Kids 06/12/15,Gateway City Arts Center, Holyoke, MA

When And The Kids played the Columbus theater, in Providence this March, I thought they were a good band with potential. When they performed at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke last night, I thought they were an impeccable band, who had realized that potential. Part of this can be credited to new bass player Taliana. Not content at merely holding down the low end, she also filled the role of a sort of hybrid between rhythm guitar, and traditional basslines, without merely getting by on walking lines, or dub-style, a true rarity in modern indie. This makes for an interesting dynamic between her and Hannah (Vox, Gtr.), and her and Rebecca (Drums, vox); she's woven in and out of Hannah's melodies, while locking in firmly with Rebecca's hi-hat-heavy sticksmanship. She is the glue between Hannah and Rebecca, that they've been missing since their estranged keyboardist Megan was deported last December.

They've found their Doug Yule. (Bassist who was abruptly added to the Velvets, and changed their entire group dynamic, in my opinion, for the better.) I sincerely hope that, upon Megan’s return, they become a quartet. They're too good with Taliana not to be.

They've also tightened up tremendously as a unit, while still allowing the songs to breathe, and take shape in the live environment. Even a "bicycle" stunt between Hannah and Tiliana towards the set's end couldn't slow them down. (They laid on their backs facing each other, and peddled against each other's feet, while finishing the song without missing a beat. Gary Young, the eccentric drummer from Pavement would proud.) Hannah and Taliana occasionally swapped vocals as well, with Hannah’s higher range being complemented nicely by Taliana’s slightly lower voice.

Rebecca, and Megan, who was there in spirit.

They played many of their signature songs (no pun intended) off of their long awaited debut from earlier in the year, including "Cats Were Born," and longtime fan favorite "Wiser," which had the entire crowd dancing in one big swaying motion. They always had chemistry, but the songs felt bigger than before in the live space, making me wish that they would record their next album in front of an audience. My one regret from this eye opening show, was that I had forgone any form of glitter cosmetics, before attending. An excellent performance by a now excellent band. And to think I once thought they were just "good."

“Makin’ money,but you make no sense..” Hannah and Taliana switch sides for the middle eight of "Wiser"

- Editorial -

Parquet Courts: How A Friend’s Dad Turned Me Onto New York’s Most Exciting Active Band, The Hard Way

By

Jesse Mullen

(Parquet Courts, from l-r: Austin Brown (gtr/vox), Sean Yeaton (bass/vox), Andrew Savage (gtr/vox), and 
Max Savage (Drums))

One day last September, (the 9th, to be precise) I arrived at the train station, like I always do at 9:20 AM, to leave for classes. I was approaching the staircase, when I heard a warm, but weary voice at the top. “Is that a Sleater-Kinney shirt?” a man asked. “I love Sleater-Kinney!” I recognized this voice Immediately. It was the father of a classmate of mine from High School, whom I had known since Kindergarten. To say that I was impressed that a 50something, in a tiny town knew who Sleater-Kinney were was an understatement. But that he enjoyed their abrasive and not always melodic music impressed me even more. We chatted for fifteen minutes about his Portland origins, and how Stephen Malkmus’s eponymous debut solo album is an underrated gem. Then our conversation took a different turn; New music we enjoyed. I can’t even remember what I said (most likely something trivial, with no lasting appeal.) But what he said interested me, from the moment it rolled off his tongue; Parquet Courts. Parquet Courts. The name fascinated me, despite the fact that “parquet” was not part of my semi-limited vernacular. I thought about it on the train ride, as my own headphones blared the new Thurston Moore album, The Best Day. I thought about it at B Natural, the market, where I get my daily cup of coffee, and the best in New Haven. I thought about it during Art History, and I thought about it in the imbeciles Math class that I attended that semester. (Not sure that I learned anything in either that day, If I’m being honest.) I thought about it as I took my 4:00 train home, and I thought about it as I climbed the stairs to my room, eagerly anticipating my next HDtracks purchase. Their newest record was titled Sunbathing Animal, and I thought this would be the best place to start. I imported the album to Winamp, put on my Sennheisers, and listened. It’s safe to say that I was not immediately amused, or converted. At first glance, they lacked melody, and played too fast for their own good, limiting the number of slow tracks to three. I put the album down, never to listen again. Or so I thought.

(Image courtesy of What's Your Rapture/WYR)

My next encounter with the band came unexpectedly on the 16th of November. I was in a coffee shop in Brooklyn, that was playing Animal in it’s entirety, and I walked in while “Black and White” was on, which is track number two. I was seeing Johnny Marr in a few hours, and had some time to kill before the show began. So I took my time, and in this setting, I enjoyed the band much more. Cut to many months later, in early May of this year, and a friend linked to “Stoned And Starving,” off of their second album, 2013’s Light Up Gold, on his blog. I was in love, and hastily scrambled to buy the record online. When it arrived two days later, I cleaned it with a carbon fiber brush, and slapped it on my turntable. And I listened with surgical focus. That’s when I realized my enjoyment of them last November was no fluke; I was a bona fide fan. A more straight-forward (albeit lower-fidelity) record than Animal, Light Up Gold is full of track after track of instant classics, making it seem more a perfectly sequenced “greatest hits” album, than a sophomore album. 

(Image courtesy of What's Your Rapture/WYR)

 

Re-listening to Sunbathing Animal, through headphones for the first time since September later that day, I enjoyed it immensely. What had at first sounded like mindless noodling to me, now sounded like great progress, and a terrific re-invention for their sound, though a challenging one at that. It is their “Difficult Third Album” after all. For once, (and only this once so far), my first impressions were wrong.

And to my friend’s music-loving father, I would like to say this;

Thank you for sharing your musical knowledge with me. You are eternally wiser than I.

Bands To Watch: PINS

By Jesse Mullen

I have been putting off writing this column for too long. The band you are about to read about has had far too much of an impact, on me and my life, to not write it eventually.

That band is PINS from Manchester, UK on Bella Union.

(image courtesy of VIES Magazine)

The quartet (now quintet)’s members are: Faith Vernon (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, tambourine), Lois Macdonald (lead guitar, backing vocals), Anna Donigan (bass, backing vocals), Sophie Galpin (drums, backing vocals), and new touring member Kyoko Swan (keyboards, guitar, tambourine, backing vocals.)

Their music combines elements of Punk, Post-Punk, Noisepop, Neo-Pyschedelia, and Shoegazing, with a bright, crisp pop edge. What makes them truly great, however, is how they combine these well-worn elements into something that is truly their own.

The key to their sound is their immediacy. My first reaction, when hearing the band’s music for the first time, via a live bootleg recording, was how strong their sense of melody was. But, after re-examining them, that is just one of their many gifts. The four original members have such a strong chemistry, and kinship, that it’s obvious that none of them are replaceable. This became even more obvious after last fall, when Anna broke her leg in a cycling accident, forcing her to take a sabbatical from the band. When PINS went on tour with an interim bass player, she joined the band in spirit on February 27th from the balcony, getting much love from the three original members onstage. In between songs, throughout the night, Faith was talking directly to her, at one point saying “Come back we miss you!” When it came time to play “Waiting for the End,” one of the highlights off of their debut, loud popping noises could be heard from above. It was Anna, setting off cans of streamers from the balcony, as a pre-planned stunt by the band. This humorous brand of mischief has turned up in interviews as well. When being pressed in an interview last May, about what made them so good, Faith replied “I don’t know. We were born this way, I guess.” with a grin.

(image courtesy of PINS/Bella Union)

While their debut album, Girls Like Us, contained hints of promise, it had some weaker cuts, and an overall lack of consistency. This is soon to change however, as their upcoming record, Wild Nights (June 8th on Bella Union), contains track after track of prime material. From the dark, twisted sound of “Oh Lord,” to the jangly folk of “Dazed By You,” this record tops their debut on all fronts. First single “Too Little, Too Late” has a dreamy hypnotic organ line, and a mid-tempo pace, until the end, when it speeds up and comes to a grinding hault. The B-Side is a cover of “Hybrid Moments” by The Misfits, which they have been playing live for quite some time now. Their version is the rare cover that improves on the original, and manages to make it sound like one of their own songs.

(image courtesy of PINS/Bella Union)

Second single, “Young Girls” is perfect three-chord sugar-coated noisepop, right down to Anna’s loud “Ow!” at the end of the chorus. Former title track, now re-titled “Molly,” seems to depict either a drug trip/addiction with the titicular substance, or just simply a wild night with someone named Molly. Key lyric; “You look so good when you’re sad/You look so good when you’re bad.”

(image courtesy of PINS/Bella Union)

So what’s next for PINS? World domination? possibly. Universal acclaim for their new record? I’d bet my life on it.