Album Revew: "Dad Claps at the Mom Prom" by Sun Club

Dad Claps at the Mom Prom was released on
Jan. 21 via Goodnight Records

When you cut your teeth in the Baltimore scene, there's pretty high expectations of your output. One must wonder how you could possibly escape the shadow of acts like Animal Collective, Dan Deacon, Beach House and Future Islands. However, the overwhelming pool of talent can also have the exact opposite effect on some artists, the creative output of the region fuels these musicians to adapt to their environment and create something wonderful of their own. This is exactly what the young group of musicians in Sun Club have been doing for the past few years. This past Tuesday the band released their latest EP Dad Claps at the Mom Prom, a brilliant collection of frenzied, high-energy psych-pop songs.

Dad Claps... kicks in with the boisterous "Beauty Meat," a track that serves as a pacesetter for the rest of the EP, brimming with anthemic wordless choruses, jaunty guitar lines and punchy percussion. Frequently devolving into a brief burst of frenetic rhythms and world-music inspired drum beats, it's not hard to find the influences of acts like Animal Collective bleeding in to Sun Club's music. Each track on Dad Claps follows an overarching theme of push and pull, whether you're starting with a balls-out blast of tight guitar lines and shouted vocals or slowly building with driving rhythms and spacey soundscapes you're guaranteed an exciting musical adventure.

While many of this new spring of psych-pop acts rely heavily on the standard structures of pop music, Sun Club isn't afraid to deviate from the norm. Tracks like "Repulsive Chocolate" rumble along with a slow-churning intensity that erupts with viscerally shouted lyrics. It's one of the finer points of Sun Club's music, the fact that they can so easily tear down this lush and ornate soundscape that they've created and build it back up upon entirely different rhythms and refrains. It makes each track feel unique while still fitting within the EP's aural spectrum.

There's a lot to fall in love with on Dad Claps at the Mom Prom, but that's mostly because Sun Club draws from a lot of different influences. There's bits of caustic pop music, the intensity of hardcore pop-punk bands and the expansive nature of psychedelic rock. Whether you're honing in on what you like best or soaking in all of layers, Sun Club is a group that you should certainly look into. They've got an uncontainable energy that makes for a joyous listening experience, and I can't even imagine how incredibly hyped their live sets are. The group just embarked on an East Coast tour in support of Dad Claps at the Mom Prom, check the dates below along with a preview of the EP:

Sun Club Tour Dates:
Jan. 23 - Washington DC - 930 Club with Los Campesinos
Jan. 24 - Boston, MA - TT The Bears
Jan. 25 - Brooklyn, NYC - Shea Stadium
Jan. 26 - Philadelphia, PA - Kungfu Necktie
Jan. 28 - Wilmington NC - Orton's
Jan. 31 - Nashville, TN - The End
Feb. 01 - Blacksburg, VA - Gillie's

Rating: 8.2
Standout Tracks: "Beauty Meat", "Cheeba Swiftkick", "Summer Feet"

Five EDM Artists That Will Own 2014

Like it or not, electronic dance music (commonly abbreviated as EDM) is everywhere these days. The bleeps, boops, and beats that were previously confined to drug-fueled underground warehouse parties and action movies about hackers and/or robots have, in recent years, risen to extreme prominence. Nearly all major festivals devote a portion of their lineup to big-name DJs and producers, while some of the most attended fests in the world are primarily if not completely electronic. Las Vegas is investing millions of dollars into bringing top-level DJs to their various night clubs (not to mention the annual Electric Daisy Carnival held there, which became the largest electronic music event in the world when they drew 345,000 attendees in 2013). We even had a few major EDM stars crack the Top 40 this year; I mean, seriously, how many days have you gone without hearing Avicii's "Wake Me Up" or Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" on the radio?

So now that EDM has firmly cemented itself into the mainstream, what's next? Well, the genre's newfound popularity will inevitably lead to the rise of new stars as tastes evolve and change. Here's a few we think you should keep your eye on in 2014 as they crank out dancefloor hits and see their names added to more and more festival lineups. And who knows: by this time next year, you might even be hearing them on the radio as you drive to work.

Manchester Orchestra Releases New Track "Top Notch" From Forthcoming Album

Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee

We here at Myxem are longtime fans of Atlanta-based alt-rock outift Manchester Orchestra. They've been touring heavily for the past year or so giving fans a tast of their new material and recently contributed a track to the soundtrack of the Oscar nominated film "Dallas Buyer's Club." Today, via Youtube, they released the first official recording from their next album "Cope", which is due to be released on April 1st. The track sounds just like the Manchester we've come to know and love, which leaves us anxiously awaiting their next record. Check out the song after the break.