Vibrations 12.7

I should have seen this one coming ... a neo-psychedelica pop revival. There have been plenty of psychedelic bands -- Dungen being the most jam-oriented and the Elephant 6 bands being the most pop-oriented -- but none of the groups have hit upon that hard edged neo-psych style that made the Psychedelic Furs and Echo and the Bunnymen so appetizing. So there is plenty of room for that sort of group, I think.
Film School is this cool, fuzzed out psych pop group. But there's something different about them ... less like Of Montreal and more like the Zombies. They're looser, hipper, and sound like they're suffering from hallucinations caused by acid rather than the disillusionment of being young that the Of Montreal dudes utilized to make extremely peppy music.

Film School at MySpace

Schooner is a bit different. These guys play music that is plenty fuzzy and psychedelic, but they add this sharper, crisper edge to it, with a bit of melancholy on top. I can't help but think that the singer sounds like the guy from the Rosebuds.

Schhoner - Trains and Parades
Schooner - Stunts and Showmanship and Codes
Schooner - We Let the Cat Out
Schooner - Machine's Running Out

Everyone likes Architecture in Helsinki for it's over-the-top goofy rock-opera tunes, right? The pure fun that they inject into their music makes them too cute and too smart all at once. Gus Franklin, one of the band's members, has recently created a new group called the Universe. These guys are bedroom pop at it's greatest. But they too have this psychedelic edge ... their tight harmonies being the uniting point here.

the Universe - Goodbye
the Universe of MySpace

And for my last mention of the day ... Blitzen Trapper, a band who, ironically, sounds sort of like Of Montreal. They play this very primitive, jumpy sort of rock that sounds like a hybrid between the Starlight Mints and well, Of Montreal. I like their drum fills -- they're short and a little rushed, like the drummer is nervous or something. But that's a good way to describe these guys: nervous.

Blitzen Trapper - Cold Gold Diamonds(?)
Blitzen Trapper - Summer Twin(?)
Blitzen Trapper - 10 Cent Slut(?)
Blitzen Trapper - Texaco