Mark Tester : Super Hiss

There’s an adventurous spirit with Indianapolis-based musician/songwriter Mark Tester’s new album Super Hiss. More than a collection of songs, it’s a vast gallery of passing thoughts and sparks of creativity captured on tape. Short clips of guitar, synth, and synthetic instruments derived from floppy disk. Pop-inflected psychedelic vignettes that feel like waking from a vivid […]

Alex Calder : Self-Titled

Alex Calder came up with Mac Demarco in Makeout Videotape. Playing lo fi, kind of sleazy pop with Mac, he went out on his own after Demarco struck it big with his album 2. Where Demarco displayed a kind of Cheshire cat grin and self-assured creepiness that came off more endearing than problematic, Alex Calder’s […]

Revisited : New Pale Swimmers

by EA Poorman When I first arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana there were a few names that always came up when talking about true blue local music talent: Orange Opera, Thunderhawk, and Vandolah. It was as if these bands arrived fully formed and ready to rule the Midwest, then the world. I saw all of […]

Nightswimming : Mark Hutchins Talks New Pale Swimmers Digital Return

by EA Poorman Mark Hutchins used to make the rounds as one of the premier Fort Wayne songwriters. He started making a name for himself in the band Vandolah, which to my recollection recorded one of the best local albums to grace the cd racks at Wooden Nickel Music called Please. Hutchins also made a […]

Struck With Deer Lungs

Now here’s an odd one. I discovered Huerco S. while perusing the Software label’s roster and I was immediately drawn to the bizarre face on the album cover. I figured “Hey, this is weird looking. I think I’ll like it.” Sure enough I did. In fact, it’s one of my favorite electronic music discoveries in […]

Syd Kemp :: The Horror EP

Syd Kemp has been described as a “lo-fi psych pop wunderkind”. Who described him as that? People, that’s who. Anyways, he recently played in London’s Lion Coffee+Records in celebration of Cassette Store Day. I’m sure he played some songs off his new The Horror EP there, as well as sold a few cool cassette copies […]

Sounds for Enlightenment(and other things)

Hi. Yeah, I’ve been a little absent as of late. This week has been a long one, for sure. I haven’t felt much like writing, what with late nights, after work busyness, and just a general malaise. But like someone once told me in a dream, “Time to buck up, Skippy. There’s stars to lasso […]

dreamdistrict and you

I’ve been working on this little project by myself for about a month now called dreamdistrict. I currently have five songs done and felt like talking a little about it. What? You don’t want to? Okay, well cover your ears…err, eyes. So for some time now I’ve had this ridiculous idea about making some (mostly)instrumental […]

Kelley Stoltz

I’m not sure how Kelley Stoltz has escaped my ears, but it’s a damn shame. Pure lo-fi pop bliss this guy makes. I listened to a track off a new album called Double Exposure that he’s releasing on Third Man Records and that song was a mix of vintage synths and buzzy guitars. Something like […]

Dead Gaze-Dead Gaze

‘Remember What Brought Us Here’ comes bolting out of the speakers with buzzes and hisses and the sound of synths bubbling underneath. Pretty soon a loping drum beat comes in and Cole Furlow’s vocals come in swathed in some of that lo fi goodness that so many kids love these days. Dead Gaze sounds like […]