Foam Castles |
• We blurbed it ages ago, but HUAK's excellent Yorba Linda is finally getting the wax treatment it deserves. Released digitally last September to rousing acclaim (and a flurry of arcane comparisons), the record is in its test presses and should be available on vinyl in the next few weeks. Act quick: This beast is still limited to 200 copies, and a number of those were likely purchased months ago. Visit huak.bandcamp.com for more.
• You can expect a full review of the new FOAM CASTLES LP Bonanza, a 13-tracker of scrumptious, hook-forward pop psychedells, in the weeks ahead; for now, unravel this little reel of summer anthems ("Damsels" alone is worth fixing the car speakers) at foamcastles.bandcamp.com, where it exists digitally until the vinyl fairy waves her wand.
• Nothing wrong with the new AWAAS tracks that graced our desk recently. The trio have laid low this winter to record a demo of insurrectional political dirges, about 20 minutes' worth, which they plan to shop to labels near and far. See this odd and inspired marriage of gorgeous post-metal and collectivist passions when they play Mathew's, the oldest bar on the block, March 15. We'll keep you posted when the demos are brought to light.
• If you know anyone who spends their winters adding up sixteenth notes, apprise them of this: PARMA RECORDINGS is launching a Student Composer Competition this month, the first such endeavor for the Seacoast label. Parma is the internationally renowned parent company of Navona, Big Round, Ravello, and Capstone Records, which run the gamut of jazz, rock, blues, and composer-based projects, so participants stand to really score big here. Their competition has some strict requirements — pieces must be written for up to five acoustic instruments, ten minutes or less, and the composer must be under 30 to enter — but there's no fee to enter, and winners will be collected on a Parma compilation later in the year. Visit parmarecordings.com for the rundown; the submission period closes at the end of March.
