Alright all you shoegazers out there, here’s one for you.  Chimes is not playing games; they rep the gaze hard, especially considering Winston Scarlett who runs the slacker rock zine, Slackgaze, is a member.  Their first single, "Wipe Out", is a zero-gravity floater, with reverb and dreamy guitars coming out the wazoo. Linda Chen’s vocals particularly remind us of a Toronto based dream-pop band called Memoryhouse, which you should also check out.  THe band is originally from New Jersey but they are playing the DIY Brooklying circuit on a regular basis. Check out single ‘Wipe Out’ streaming below.  – Jake Saunders

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Psych Rock/Shoegazer/Dream Pop songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

One year (almost to the day!) after the release of his cassette-only “The Barn,” Matthew Fasano unveiled his newest LP “The Factory,” coming in at 16 tracks long. While the arrangements are notably sparse, it is for a good reason— the songs themselves seem to transcend a need for extravagance or strict technicality. With each piece digging into the next without any loss of momentum, the collection displays Fasano’s operatic falsetto and lo-fi guitar throughout. Listen to single ‘Played It Last" and indulge in a melancholia that lingers well after the final note has been sung. – Jillian Dooley

 Richmond’s The Milkstains put up a preview stream of their new album Broken Bones (officially due September 4th). I knew I liked this band already, but this album surpasses expectations, seemingly running down a checklist of my favorite sounds and styles. Every track makes me love them more.

"La Adelita" is an expertly crafted surf instrumental, psyching the listener up for what’s to come. "Sidewalk" is Replacementsy pop-rock, as engaging as that description can suggest. "Let Us Down" is an 80’s proto-indie rocker, ferocious and meek, strong and sweet. "Caroline O’Keeffe" is some wacky low-fi garage version of Leiber/Stoller pop (with a blistering guitar solo). "Carrion Crow" is the desert and death, heat and haze, all gritty and sexy, like the loners and rebels your mom warned you about. "Heart of Mine" is a straightforward garage stomper, pounding drums and kinetic guitar-work. "Invisible Friends" is more dynamic garage with clever psychedelia conjured by the all analog studio. "Heavy Water" is the appropriate name for the next song; another instrumental surf track, but truly heavy, deep, crushing guitars. "Sonic Kick" fools you at the start with another heavy growling tone out of the bass, but turns immediately into a sweet and smooth indie-rocker, with shimmering guitars playing anthemic hooks. All too soon the album ends on title-track "Broken Bones," an even more anthemic indie-rocker with room to jam on some noise, like a combo of early 90’s Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr., riding waves of electricity, blazing through hooks, into Siamese Dream-like walls of sound.

Broken Bones is a triumph of non-stop excitement, head-shaking goodness, taste and ambition. It’s like a shrine to analog sound and psychedelia, collecting iconography from 60’s surf to 90’s alt-rock, and everything in between. The Milkstains aren’t copycats however. They channel an energy all their own through each song, a growling tiger ready to pounce from beneath each track, and harness their musicianship and the skills of their producers to create a seemless passionate journey.  

You can catch them next at Richmond’s Fall Line Fest, where they’ll have the first solid copies of the album for sale. Get this album, however you can. –Natan Press