March 27th, 2014 
Tarynn Law 
Hello! I’m Tarynn Law, and this is my weekly column that spotlights some up and coming indie pop / alternative / hipster / hype / buzz bands / you-get-the-idea groups that you should be checking out before they become massive. I mean, we all want to be that person that says “I knew them way back when,” don’t we? I thought so. This week I’ve got the San Francisco indie-rock collective Waters, electronic producer RAC who is working with some of the top names in alternative, the brooding new band Mother, and Topshelf’s least pop-punk band, Wild Ones.
Here we go!
I’m going to go ahead and answer what was probably your first question after hearing Waters’ breakout single “Got To My Head” – their vocalist sounds like the male lead in the hyper-popular band Grouplove. Now that that’s out of the way, this San Francisco quintet know how to write a damn catchy song and “Got To My Head” is just one of many examples of this. Unlike their fellow indie contemporaries who are just getting started, Waters already have an album out, Out in the Light, and are hard at work on their second. Tracks like “For the One” are right on par with “Got To My Head,” pairing Van Pierszalowski’s unique vocal stylings with blazing, distorted guitar work and hard-hitting drums that have you hitting the “repeat” button so many times you lose track. They aren’t a one-trick pony, though, “Mickey Mantle” is a prime example of this. It sees Pierszalowski smoothing out his voice and reaching new, gorgeous heights alongside powerful lyrics and a prodding piano. They don’t appear to have any tour dates coming up, but you can keep up with their happenings over at their Facebook or Twitter. Waters are about to be the soundtrack to your summer.
You may not know the Portland based producer RAC yet, but you certainly know who he’s worked with. Some of the biggest names in the indie-rock scene have contributed to his tracks including Tegan and Sara, Two Door Cinema Club, Tokyo Police Club, and St. Lucia – and that’s just on his first seven track album Strangers, pt. I. In addition to his most recent, original work, he’s done over 200 remixes of others’ tracks (RAC used to stand for “Remix Artist Collective”) which has earned him a huge following in the EDM world, and you can find all of those remixes at his SoundCloud. His original work is where he truly shines, though, with his incredible ability to craft a song that perfectly suits the style of whoever it is that he happens to be working with. “Hard to Hold,” which features Tegan and Sara, is a highlight on the album sounding like something that could have fit right in with the rest of their most recent album Heartthrob. Strangers, pt. II is due out on April 1st, and you can pre-order your copy over at iTunes. He’s currently out on the road with Panama Wedding and Ghost Beach, and you can find all of those dates at his Facebook.
Their Facebook simply reads “Mother is a band from Brooklyn” and until very recently, that was all that was known about the New York band. However, some light has been shed on the mysterious group after their first New York show – it’s Penn Badgley, who you may know from his portrayal of Jeff Buckley in the biopic Greetings from Tim Buckley or a little show called Gossip Girl. He’s joined by fellow musicians Simon Oscroft of No, Jimmy Giannopoulos from Lolawolf and Reputante, and Darren Will of Rathborne to create a brooding, deep anti-pop sound that fans of The Neighbourhood or Lovelife will adore. They have released two tracks thus far, “Easy” and “Victim,” the former of which has garnered over 100,000 plays on SoundCloud in a month; so it seems that despite their mysterious branding, it’s clear people are digging their ominous sound. Oh, and “Victim” has a saxophone solo that’s on-par with the likes of M83, The 1975, and St. Lucia, which needless to say is a pretty top-notch solo and gives the song a dark, sensual flair. The band already have a full-length album’s worth of material, so here’s to hoping we’ll get that sooner rather than later! You can find them on Twitter, Facebook, and SoundCloud.
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Wild Ones are the least pop-punk band on Topshelf Records, but the label certainly knew what they were doing when they signed this Portland five piece. While recording their debut album over the course of a year, the band made sure to keep it an entirely democratic process which, while time consuming, led to an all-inclusive project that makes the record truly the sum of all of its parts. The result is a dreamy indie-pop album with hints of techno and even R&B thrown in for good measure, giving them a polished and smooth sound that is the perfect accompaniment to a walk in the park on a sunny day. Lead single “Paia” has one of the most creative music videos I’ve seen in a while as well, using beautiful light effects and glowsticks to create a chilled out landscape for the track. Keep It Safe is out on April 1st, and you can pre-order your copy here. Make sure you check the band out on their current tour with Typhoon – all of their dates are listed at their Facebook! Or, if you’d like, you can drop them a quick “hello” over on Twitter.
That’s all for this week! I’ll be back next Thursday, and until then you can follow me on Twitter and let me know who you’ve been listening to lately!
- White Girl Dance Corner featuring Waters, RAC, Mother, and Wild Ones - March 27, 2014
- White Girl Dance Corner featuring Broods, Eliza and the Bear, Clean Bandit, and Tei Shi - February 20, 2014
- Watch Bruno Major Perform Acoustic Rendition of “The First Thing You See” - February 11, 2014
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