Wavves | King of the Beach

FRESH BAKED Wavves King of the Beach 2010 | Fat Possum B+

“I’m stuck in the sky / I’m never coming down,” shouts Nathan Williams on “Linus Spacehead.” It’s more of a sneer really—the bratty whine of a kid who still feels invincible. It was that kind of mentality that landed Williams, better known […]

Avan Lava

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT NYC

I meet Avan Lava outside St. Cecilia’s Catholic School and Church in Williamsburg. Father Jim walks past and exchanges hellos with multi-instrumentalist Michael “Le Chev” Cheever and singer Tom Hennes as the two finish their cigarettes. Father Jim walks back up the stairs into the school and […]

Sleigh Bells | Treats

FRESH BAKED Sleigh Bells Treats 2010 | Mom + Pop/N.E.E.T. Recordings A

The internet hype-cycle can be a fickle thing. Either you live up to the acclaim like The Strokes did back in 2001, or you don’t and get completely screwed over like the Black Kids a few years ago, or you just find yourself […]

Woods | At Echo Lake

FRESH BAKED Woods At Echo Lake 2010 | Woodsist B

It’s been a little over a year since Woods released their last album, 2009’s well-received Songs of Shame, a record of lo-fi folk that garnered the group some pretty significant attention and made them standouts among the rest of the fuzz-heavy Woodsist family (e.g. Wavves, […]

Delorean | Subiza

FRESH BAKED Delorean Subiza 2010 | True Panther A-

Remember last summer? The muggy haze of humidity that crept over New York City in mid-July coupled with the onslaught of lazy, sticky tunes from Washed Out and Neon Indian? It was like three months of lying on the floor—because the fabric on the couch was […]

Harlem | Hippies

FRESH BAKED Harlem Hippies 2010 | Matador B-

Harlem’s jangly sound isn’t really anything new: It’s simple yet catchy, and continues to ride the wave of lo-fi garage pop, not to mention surf-inspired garage pop. But with Harlem comes an almost overwhelming sense of scatterbrained idiosyncrasy, and one that goes beyond normal indie-rock quirkiness. It’s […]

Oberhofer

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT NYC

Brad Oberhofer dresses the way his music sounds. At their core, his songs are wonderfully catchy pop tracks: perfectly simple and even a bit traditional, like his skinny jeans and narrow sneakers. But at the same time they’re meticulously layered with pulsing drums, slightly overdriven guitars, and even a […]