The Morning Clouds is sole product of Josh Wambeke, a Denver resident who has been involved in numerous projects, but is perhaps best known for his work with a band called Fell, who was apparently lauded by none other than Thurston Moore. As if that is not impressive enough, Wambeke has recently recorded and released Wasted Youth Blues, an EP written and recorded alone. I am not sure if this was all recorded at home, but if so, one wouldn't notice as the clarity of the mix and production quality are beyond professional in breadth and sound.

"A Walk Home" begins with a simple three note guitar riff, not too dissimilar from a PJ Harvey track. Then keyboards, percussion and additional guitars combine layer upon layer of hazy, soporific bliss. Wambeke's soft, nondescript vocals are not dull or grating. Rather, they create another gentle augmentation to the overall sound.

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In this era of sponsored hype nonsense and corporate grassroots initiatives, it's time to get back to the core of why we get dirty fingernails flipping through record bins and sacrifice respectable sleep patterns and clean laundry to recharge the batteries of our hand-stamped hearts.

Enter the Dangerous Ponies from Philadelphia. A seven-piece who describe themselves as a "queer and allied band, slathered in gold and rainbows." But, they are more than that. Dangerous Ponies are a reminder that great things happen when calculated postures are replaced with giddy enthusiasm.

Combining the DIY-or-Die mantra of the Pharmacy and the elegant cleverness of the Starlight Mints, the songs on the Dangerous Ponies self-released, debut full-length album, would be equally comfortable at a beach dance party, house party sing along, or played from the decks of a Linda's happy hour DJ set between Modest Mouse and Heavenly.

The opening track "We" is a fitting introduction to the band as an indie-dance party carousel ride - weaving between splashes of Tilly and the Wall and Queenish 60's glamrock. From there they dive deep into sweeping theatric mid-song breakdowns and churning indie-rock Built to Spill guitar rifts that lay the groundwork for comparisons to Los Campesinos!, Quasi and Stereolab. (listen to the album for free on bandcamp).

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One-half of this new musically-inclined duo has been a friend of mine for years: Celene Ramadan, AKA Leeni - so just to be clear, this isn't lip service or me trying to pump up a pal's music, as I've been a genuine fan or her pretty tunes since the moment she started creating. I've got all her stuff in my library, and am particularly fond of her 8-Bit work, so naturally when I saw she had a new band happening, I was intrigued.

The other half, Jon-Michael Kerestes, I was wholly unfamiliar with. This Pittsburgh, PA musician apparently reached out to the internets (via Craigslist) to find collaborators around the US, and lo & behold, Leeni answered his call. The result is Romeo + Juliet, a trippy psychedelic alt-rock band that could be direct from a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack.

Their debut, Month of May, is packed full of music with a gritty, full-on 60s sound. Leeni & Jon-Michael sometimes switch lead vocals, and other times go for it with a full duet,  always incorporating beautiful harmonies at just the right moment.

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{The Young Evils have a bunch of shows coming up: 9/8 at The Crocodile, 9/25 at Easy Street Records (West Seattle), 10/9 at the Reverb Festival}

According to genius Stranger scribe Trent Moorman in a recent Line-Out interview, the debut from The Young Evils opens with a song singer/songwriter Troy Nelson wrote during Seattle's most recent snowstorm, to cheer himself up during the isolation of being "trapped in the house for five days."

The point is, it doesn't sound at first like a self-soothing tune someone squeezes out from their claustrophobic loneliness, but after a few listens, Nelson's and co-vocalist Mackenzie Mercer's simple, acoustic guitar-pillowed singalong seems to be beating back that awkward timelessness of abandonment. "Faith to love to glory all the time", they chime together, and then as a philosophy throughout the rest of Enchanted Chapel; "let's just celebrate ourselves and why ask why?"

Cleanly and attractively produced by bass player (on all tracks) Barrett Jones, with additional guitar and playing on the album by Cody Hurd, Enchanted Chapel is one of the most eagerly awaited albums from the Seattle area for some time, and sounds totally worth it. There's no gimmicks or adherence to stifling genre in any of the ten tracks created out of artfully accurate portrayals of love gone entropic ("Get Over It"), damaged people getting by ("Crazy People"), and snappy stories of rock and roll rescue and failure ("This Rock And Roll City Is Done").

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I haven't quite been able to pinpoint exactly what it is about You Can't Stop Trying, the latest release from World History, that charms my socks off. It could be the Neutral Milk Hotel croning up and over vocals on songs like "It's Okay to be Alive" and "Ricardo, You Run Free" or the alt-Americana mountaineer singalong march of "Take Our Your Swords." My favorite point in the album is near the end when they veer into upbeat lo-fi sweetness of boy/girl harmonies on "Shine."

The album is flush with restrained instrumentation with a strong focus on autoharp, guitar, drum with flute and melodica thrown in for a touch of a suavity. Add in a couple guest star friends like Adam Oelsner (LAKE, Kickball) and Zach Burba (iji, Sundance Kids, Megabog) and you've got a notable debut album.

For a limited time, you can go download the new album now (for free, or $5, or whathaveyou) on the World History website or hear the songs at their next show on August 27 at Carousel Festival.

And if you've got friends around this great big country that you think should see them for themselves, you can help with a stop or two on World History's massive US tour. They are going to stop at every pin point on the map during their course of their seven month tour from August 2010-March 2011 - so completist that it includes two stops in Delaware!

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{C'est la Mort is playing Saturday, August 14th at the Comet in Seattle.}

To be concise, Empty Words Fill Lonely Spaces by Seattle’s C’est la Mort is a masterful record that has helped me realize that there are still some fine groups out there. This band has been around for some time under various incarnations, but the one that recorded this album -- their debut -- has honed down their sound to an immaculate result.

C’est la Mort consists of a drummer, a bassist, and two guitarists; whose delicate interplay weaves a sonic concoction full of ethereal beauty and urban angst. Their style instantly evokes the classic 4AD sound combined with a not-so-subtle adoration of The Chameleons. This said, the vocals are much the opposite and provide the listener with a unique experience: singer Kim House’s voice falls somewhere in the realm between Miki Berenyi (Lush) and Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins).

In addition to track after track of fantastic songs, Empty Words Fill Lonely Spaces actually sounds amazing. The production quality is stunning and the songs are perfectly mixed, with just the right levels in the final product. “Drown Out" starts out sounding like Pornography-era Cure, before morphing into something more reminiscent of the Pale Saints; while “Paper Ships” stands out as an epic track, blending all of these influences with layers of guitar that recall The Church circa Hologram of Baal.

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Connor Desai is set to play ToST in Fremont this Friday night with two bands, including Benyaro. She'll be going on about 9 PM, and though her excellent second album Use Your Hands features delightful playing from other musicians (including Paris Burley on violin), this will be a stripped down solo set to show off the strength of new songs like the simmering "Waiting" and the mesmerizing "Friend of the Devil" to friends and strangers alike.

Desai makes creatively personal, deeply attractive, very cool, roots-based pop music. Released earlier this summer, Use Your Hands (awesome title) hints at the often direct and confessional aspect of her lyric writing, but the music is not lost in an icy swirl of indie rock distance. Instead, it's hollow-bodied warmth, tube amp glow, and dark lounge haunt-drama. The title track itself, finishing off the full length, is seven and a half minutes of beauty perfecting itself. The Jazz Music Examiner was right to say that Desai is an "extraordinary Seattle artist with a voice all her own," and she was recently featured on a Channel One profile.

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Half of what you get with the new Microtia album, Spacemaker, is nine smoking songs recorded by the Portland trio. The other half of the equation is the packaging for the new release, which was made exclusively from Pabst Blue Ribbon and Marlboro Lights boxes. This alone seems like every hipsters dream release. This CD has been in the works for quite some time, but is officially coming out this month.

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I first saw We Wrote The Book On Connectors' Ben Baier live playing with H Is For Hellgate, and if you've seen him too you know there's few people that can charm and move a crowd's collective heiny like this vocalist/bassist can. Because he can play superbly while friskily shambling about a stage or crooning with honeyed voice, always adding a non-sequitur or "Hooray!" just when a music-loving mob needs it, he was great with that progressive-rock/riot grrrl band. 

But his own We Wrote The Book On Connectors is where his sense of humor really spikes the song-punch and intoxicates hummable, head-rattling anthems like "Almost Magical" (the delirious hand-clapper the Young Fresh Fellows would be proud to call their own), "The Saddest Wrestling Man" (keyboard-driven WWF fetish They Might be Giants funk pop a roll), and the exquisitely power ballad "Balls In The Face."

These are all on 2008's Ride It Out Like A Turbo Horse, a necessary part of any Seattle music fan's collection, and whiskey-breathed rumor has it they have another fucking-a funny and frug-inspiring full-length coming up soon. More on this soon, because I'm eagerly waiting for it. (The first album also features an ode to their drummer, Rick, featured in the video above.)

Come out to see WWTBOC play Chop Suey this Saturday, July 3, for what is called the ALL AMERICAN COMEDY & MUSIC EXTRAVAGANZA, also featuring Tina Beers & The Violet Line, eight bucks advance and ten at the door. The WWTBOC site also lists Afraid of Figs and "that this will be an early one." 

Pent-up, viciously provoked, ready to shred psycho killer line-up this Thursday night at the Crocodile (June 22) as The Purrs give an official release for their delectable collection of new songs, rare tracks, and covers, Tearing Down Paisley Garden.

The CD has been available for a few weeks now, and has been gaining new fans who hadn't the chance to fall deeply in love with thoughtful, caustic, clever previous long-players Amused, Confused & More Bad News, The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together, and The Dreams Are Stuff Are Made Of. But this is the official kick off party to begin celebrating new Purrs material, a feisty band about to spring out of nowhere on tour and clobber the world before it can defend itself. Bad ass, but charming as hell. Eat this up, as a new full-length isn't till next spring.

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