Deadshirt

Deadshirt Is Listening… Bringing you a rundown of our staff and guest contributors’ favorite new tracks released in the past week after they’ve had the weekend to blast them in their cars, in a club, alone in their rooms, etc.

Sam Paxton is popping, locking & dropping it to …

“The Party Line”
Belle and Sebastian
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
Twee/Dance Pop

A few weeks ago, Glaswegian indie twee-pop darlings Belle and Sebastian dropped a teaser trailer for the new album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, their first after an almost five year hiatus. The song in that trailer, “The Cat With the Cream,” is a quiet, string-laden ballad that posited the upcoming release as a continuation of the elegant baroque pop sound the band has cultivated over their almost twenty year run. But this week, the band dropped the first proper single and blew everyone’s mind; entitled “The Party Line,” it’s a surprising, huge departure from B&S’s established sound.

“The Party Line” instead falls in step with the “warm synth 80s sound” that everyone from Arcade Fire to Taylor Swift has embraced in the last year or so. Gone are acoustic guitars and violins, replaced with vibrating bass lines, disco-esque palm-muted guitars, and syncopated cowbells. Lead singer Stuart Murdoch’s smooth voice, generally better suited to the band’s gentler output, meshes surprisingly well with the upbeat track. As a longtime fan of Belle and Sebastian, this is a sound that I never knew I wanted from them, and I’m even more excited for the LP to drop in January.

David Lebovitz is exploring space to…

“West End Girls” (Pet Shop Boys cover)
Gwar
Alien Gladiator Metal

Gwar have returned for the third time to AV Undercover, this time covering the Pet Shop Boys’ classic “West End Girls.” While Gwar’s previous covers are delightful, this one carries a unique distinction: it’s their first since lead singer Oderus Urungus had his immortality stolen (or since Dave Brockie died if you want to be lame about it). Added on at the end is a personalized version of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died.”

This, to the best of my knowledge, marks the first non-tour appearance of new co-lead singer Vulvatron. Though she doesn’t get too many chances to shine here (most of Gwar gets in on the vocals in some way, and it’s hard to get in a good shriek in outside of a concert venue) it’s clear she’s a natural fit for the band. New vocalist Blothar (Mark Bishop, a former portrayer of Beefcake the Mighty) also takes on his new responsibilities without flinching. Gwar’s massively underrated musicianship is well on display here–who could have pictured a face-melting guitar solo going anywhere NEAR a PSB song?–and everyone/everymonster is given a chance to shine.

Gwar lives on, and will hopefully continue to cover songs that they absolutely hate.

Julian Ames is painting her picture to…

“I Drew You Once in Art Class”
Antarctigo Vespucci
I’m So Tethered
Power Pop

Antarctigo Vespucci is sort of a supergroup/side-project of Chris Farren, of Fake Problems, and Jeff Rosenstock, formerly of Bomb the Music Industry! Earlier this year they got together and, with the help of drummer Benny Horowitz of The Gaslight Anthem and singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson, recorded the stellar 7-track EP Soulmate Stuff. This week, Antarctigo Vespucci released a new EP in preparation for their appearance at this past weekend’s The Fest in Gainesville, FL–a festival of which Fake Problems, BTMI, and the Gaslight Anthem are multiple alums. Written, recorded, and released over a two-week period, I’m So Tethered is 4 tracks of punk-informed power pop.

“I Drew You Once in Art Class” is the second track off I’m So Tethered and it really kicks. The song is driven by upbeat power pop drums, once again provided by Benny Horowitz, and includes embellishments like a glockenspiel, sax, handclaps, and a choir. Although it’s upbeat, the song is a lament and plea for forgiveness from a guy who realizes that his actions toward his lover have been less than caring. “I tried to paint a picture of you to prove I still think of you, but the face I drew, it more resembled mine,” is just the first of several anecdotes of this guy being selfish. “When will I ever get it right? Maybe I’ll never treat you right,” Farren cries with a choir behind him. It’s often the shittiest guys that are the subjects of the best songs.

The rest of the EP is great and can be heard here – and soon it will be available as a 7″ from Asian Man Records.

That’s what we’ve been listening to this week – what’s got your ear this week? Tweet your recommendations @DeadshirtDotNet or drop us a line on our Facebook page.