Last Remaining Pinnacle

Presenting the side-projects of various artists from previously featured bands on MML has always been a treat worth sharing, but when the primary musician involved also happens to be the owner of a favourite record label, our interest and curiosity become glued to the little computer speakers nestled in front of us. Custom Made Music is a Virginia Beach based label that was formed in 2007 by Dave Allison and boasts a solid lineup of decidedly shoegaze/dream-pop bands to admire. Aside from maintaining CMM, Dave has also taken the time to provide vocals and guitars, alongside fellow guitarist Chrischa Ives, for a new music endeavor we can now identify as Last Remaining Pinnacle. Together, this Portsmouth, Virginia duo/couple have already recorded an experimental track, titled Students Of The V. U., which will be released through Custom Made Music early this spring as part of a split 7" single with lovely Norfolk, VA trio Pan Galactic Straw Boss. Both contributing bands will share the stage on April 16 at local Ghent District venue Plaza Del Sol. Listening time it is...

MP3: Students Of The V.U.

Buzzing from a sleep-paralysis state while gently sprouting familiar tones of a distant land, Last Remaining Pinnacle builds a slow dense path of guitar, next-room vocals and peripheral samples to dance around a driving growl of tension. Most certainly looking forward to more experimental goodness from this duo.

The Sunshine Factory: Sugar LP

Although any thought of ourselves being quick off the mark in finding a new release makes for sweet dreams in MML-land, a swift nudge from friends is often required to guide us in the right directions for music. This time around, like-minded music blogger Mike of Powerpopulist was kind enough to shed light on today's featured artist and we can't thank him enough for the tip. The Sunshine Factory is a Mobile, Alabama based trio consisting of musicians Ian Taylor (guitars, vocals), Sally Robertson (bass, vocals) and Mathew Hendrich (percussion) who began honing their sound as a band in 2008. Following up on an impressive July 2009 debut album in Vintage Revolution, the band recently made available a collection of 10 new songs that left our jaws resting comfortably on the floor from the very first listen. The new full-length offering, titled Sugar, was released late in December 2010 and provides nothing less than a kick to the shins for old shoegazers resting on their laurels. While immediate comparisons can be drawn to My Bloody Valentine, there is much more involved within the sound. Similarities ranging from the mid 80s gentle-garage flavour of Game Theory to the early 90s loveliness of Ultra Vivid Scene certainly present themselves, however, The Sunshine Factory manages to deliver a beautiful presence completely unique and of their own. After extended and repeated listening, most any song from the Sugar LP could easily serve as a highlight, so we almost-randomly selected the very last track to share with you...

MP3: Head Becomes The Tomb

Yes, the entire album really is this good and happens to be one of our favourites in a long while.. The next chance you will have to check out a live performance takes place on March 5 at local Mobile venue Alabama Music Box, after which the band travels into the northeastern states with Brooklyn, New York and Boston, Massachusetts in mind. For an idea of what to expect once this three-piece takes the stage, we also have an assortment of live videos as well as an earlier song for your listening enjoyment. Love this band.

From the 2009 debut full-length release Vintage Revolution:
MP3: Hey Spaceman

Colour Bük

Walking into a record shop during the early 1980s was almost always a risk worth embracing. With only a few dollars in pocket, no local college radio station or any clue what to expect, music purchases were often based on cover art and what little information could be found on the sleeve. As a result of those years, a collection of outlandish sounds began to fill shoeboxes and crates to shape current tastes in music. Today, we have the opportunity to revisit our adventurous instinct and dumb luck with a featured artist who happens to fit in perfectly with everything we've grown to love in our continuous audio experience. Colour Bük is the Amityville, New York duo of Adam Kastin (previously of NYC band Le Rug) and Brandon Wulle who have taken the past few years to create, perform and release snippets of their very own brand of experimental noise. The latest EP, titled Our Favorite Fucking Day Of The Goddam Year, was made available via cassette tape late last year through Wir Wollen Records and contains sound-textures that vary from traditional studio/bedroom instrumentation to sampled field recordings of what can only be explained as a beautiful clash of kitchen utensils or walkie-talkies under boiling water. For a completely free download of the EP and information on their upcoming full-length album Licht Dinger, which should debut once the weather warms for 2011, pay a visit to the Colour Bük Bandcamp page. A listen for you...

MP3: The Magic Keys To Conversation

Bull Thieves

After an absence of nearly 10 years, Austin, Texas label Ojet Records decided to emerge from their prolonged hibernation and we are certainly fortunate they did so. In launching, or rather re-introducing, themselves again for 2011, the label has recently made available a solid debut release we've been wrapping our ears around for the better part of a week now. Originally from the Houston/Galveston area of Texas, musicians Lance Scott Walker (vocals, beats, guitar, bass, synths), Nicholas Phelps (guitar, bass, vocals) and Task (synths, mixing, beats) formed Bull Thieves after relocating to Brooklyn, New York in 2008 and have been creating music while performing locally ever since. The debut collection of 10 songs is self-titled and can currently be previewed by visiting the Bull Thieves Bandcamp page. Expect nothing held back where the lowest end of the sound spectrum is concerned. An alternating backdrop of both synthetic and organic beats drive slowly, deep into the chest, as heavy drawn-out guitars sear a direct path forward. Our featured track this evening provides a lighter glimpse into various moods presented within the new album, so please do yourself a favor by exploring further into the lovely haze of guitars and pulsating rhythms involved.

MP3: The Quiet

The next Bull Thieves live performance happens on March 6 at local Brooklyn/Greenpoint venue coco66.

Quiet Lights: No More Canyons

Although new singles and demo tracks are often a staple of our daily listening regimen, we usually find patience enough in waiting for a full-length release to arrive before spilling the sounds. In the case of our featured artist this evening, however, a sense of euphoria quickly developed and here you have the goods. Quiet Lights is a Brooklyn, New York troupe of five musicians who have been writing, recording and performing together since 2009. An impressive result of the their collective effort is a brand new single, titled No More Canyons, which has just been made available for digital consumption and set to be released in the form of a limited press (sky blue) vinyl through both Eastern Seaboard and Old Flame Records on February 15. From the earliest moments of No More Canyons, deep, genuine tensions build into a magnificent spray of guitar to send chills up the spine within a split second. After several listens to the underlying growl of this gem with back flat to the floor, cigarette burning in hand, I couldn't help but check the press info once again for further details. As it turns out, the song you are hopefully already listening to will eventually belong to a Spring 2011 full-length album titled The Big Fear. Also, the next live performance for Quiet Lights will take place on February 11 at local Brooklyn venue Bruar Falls.

Such a beautiful song...

MP3: No More Canyons