U.S. Girls

Artist: U.S. Girls

LP: Half Free

Song: "Sororal Feelings"
[ listen ]

Thank the lord for U.S. Girls. It had been a rough Monday at work before I walked up the street that evening to see Meg Remy and her band put on a most invigorating show in the heart of Ballard at the gritty little Sunset Tavern. Meg admittedly looks a little frumpy here on the cover of her 2015 "Half Free" LP, but she was 50 Shades of Cool on the stage Monday night, and plenty glamorous too in her metallic golden half-shirt thing. It was one of the most thrilling shows I've ever seen. And I've seen a dozen. Aside from their fantastic music and alluring stage presence, these are some of the things I liked about the show: 

• U.S. Girls didn't try to make friends with everyone in the audience by engaging in witty banter before or after their songs. They just, you know, did their songs.
• They didn't yell "Hello Seattle!" before, during, or after their show to make everybody scream as if we were excited and grateful that they had heard of our city.
• U.S. Girls didn't say "thank you" when the audience applauded, as if they hadn't expected it and so it moved them emotionally.
• Meg danced her way through the groovin' sold-out crowd during a funky instrumental stretch in one of the songs. This way we could tell she wasn't aloof or stuck up even though she never talked to us and didn't say "thank you" or grin at us when we clapped.
• Making her way back up onto the stage from the dance floor, Meg bumped into a microphone stand and nearly knocked it over. This somehow made her seem more...human.

The brand new U.S. Girls LP, "In a Poem Unlimited," is worth checking out too. You can read about U.S. Girls here and go here to visit their website.

[ Meg Remy — U.S. Girls ]

The Stargazer Lilies

Artist: The Stargazer Lilies

LP: We Are the Dreamers

Song: "Endless Days"
[ listen ]

Everyone knows I'm not in the loop when it comes to new music. I'm basically quoting my grandmother when I say things like, "Music nowadays sounds like cheap copies of what's already come before!" But it's true. Most new singers and bands sound like they're trying awfully hard to sound just like someone else who's already done what they're doing, but better and before. Other new bands are just completely idiotic, since there's actually a large fan base for that sort of thing right now. In other cases, quoting my grandma again, "They sound like trash cans banging together!"

This all serves to introduce my very first posting of a record created within the current decade—this 2013 release by The Stargazer Lilies. I found this lovely (pink vinyl!) album at Everyday Music when I traded in a couple of bags full of records and CDs last weekend. While I admit they do remind me of the early music of Lush, but played at 23 rpm through an extra layer of gauze, The Stargazer Lilies do their thing equally well and they sound different enough, I say. They certainly ain't no trash cans. You can visit the band's website here.

[ The Stargazer Lilies ]