Toby Richardson - Evergreen

I'm surprised that more people haven't been talking about Toby Richardson. Take some of the bluesy aspects of Captain Beefheart and mix it with some 90's college rock sensibilities and you've got the Toby Richardson sound. Fuzzed out lo-fi classic rock is the order of the day, and Toby pulls off this slight 60's pastiche with panache.

Residing in Perth, he became mildly familiar to scenesters as part of the already established band Mustang! in the mid 90's. Since branching out on his own, he released what has been described as a 6 track lo-fi opus 'Golden Days' in 2006. Now he's signed to Hidden Shoal Recordings and his new CD 'Evergreen' has been recently released, with the first single 'Wherewithal' receiving quite a bit of radio recognition in his hometown. Another standout on the album is 'Booragoon Lagoon,' a cacophony of battling feedback laced guitar rock and slightly muffled vocals creating a sound straight out of the 60's blues rock revolution. 'Daylight' is the closest thing to a pop song on the album, containing all the necessary hooks but still keeping them slightly hidden beneath more fuzz, and more intense sound. By the time you reach the last song, it's hard not to feel slightly overwhelmed as it is such an exaggerated sound, but that doesn't mean that you won't want to simply take a break, and start over again, as its exaggeration is laced with an addictive quality that will have you coming back for more.

Download: Wherewithal mp3
Stream: The entire 'Evergreen' CD here.
Myspace: Toby Richardson
Purchase: 'Evergreen' can be purchased at Hidden Shoal Recordings

The Hero Cycle - Lakes And Ponds

The most exciting release I’ve heard in a long while is the debut EP by Burlington, Vermont’s The Hero Cycle. I cannot say enough good things about their sound. They feel like an amalgamation of all of my favourite bands: Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire, Sonic Youth, Built To Spill, Stars, etc. The music is energetic, enthusiastic, encouraging, and full of life. The first track, “Breathing In”, is explosive and contagious. You will feel compelled to hit repeat as soon as it’s done, but I suggest you suppress that urge for now because the next song “Lover’s Crime” is just as infectious. The final track, “You Vs Them” is completely epic in proportion. Masterpiece. The whole EP goes by way too fast and I really hope that these guys will be around for a long long time, because if they continue to improve upon each release, they will definitely develop into one of my favourite bands ever.

Since I’ve started this goofy little blog thing a few months ago, I’ve been introduced to a lot of good music and I’ve heard quite a bit of bad music also. I’m actually not too hard to please, but to hear something by someone new that really excites me these days, well, it doesn’t happen as often as I would like it to. Please take the time to check out The Hero Cycle. With the right promotion they are going to be the next big thing and you’ll definitely want to jump on this one nice and early.

Stream: The Lakes and Ponds EP can be heard in its entirety here.

You can also hear them over on their myspace page.
I guarantee that you’ll want to buy the EP after you’ve been exposed to their glorious sound. You can purchase it at Hidden Shoal Recordings.