Fantastic album from this all-star garage band featuring Bleeker on guitar and vocals, Martin Courtney on bass and vocals, Julian Lynch (whose solo LP on OESB was a massive VT highlight in 2009) on guitar and Matt Mondanile (Ducktails) on drums. Bleeker takes the beautiful suburban teens play wasted rural psych feel of Real Estate deeper into a basement zone where the lonesome Americana of the first two LPs by The Band combine with Lynch’s wailing guitar solos (still pitched somewhere between Ed Kuepper and Tori Kudo) and some odd, melancholy instrumentals to birth the perfect late afternoon/sun going down in suburbia/end of teenage soundtrack. Love this. 

Fantastic compilation of all unreleased tracks from this great NJ label. Exclusive jams from Julian Lynch, Pill Wonder, Ducktails, Fluffy Lumbers, Big Troubles, Andrew Cedermark, Frat Dad , Dana Jewell, Air Waves, Family Portrait, Alex Bleeker, Mountain Man, Real Estate, Rainbow Bridge and Liam the Younger.

Three-song teaser for the new Ducktails album, with demos and home-recorded versions of album tracks. Nice countrified folk feel cut with a breezy International Pop Underground aesthetic and a version of “Art Vandelay” that has been a recent Real Estate live staple. 

Limited copies of this split single only available as part of Not Not Fun’s Bored Fortress subscription series: “Ridgewood, New Jersey’s patron saint of palm tree listening takes a break from the real estate market to strum out a couple summer sunset polaroid instrumentals. Rangers serves up a similarly faded slice of TV bumper music, “The Bride Of Marin,” that surfs down from the clouds on a rainbow-trailed wave of phasered guitar licks. Sleeve art by Spencer Longo.” – NNF. 

New collection of sunbleached songs and strange, melancholy instrumentals from Matt Mondanile aka Ducktails. Mondanile combines a hazy surf/pop sensibility with primitive instrumentation to generate a teenage neverland complete with heavenly Beach Boys harmonies and dreamy psychedelic guitars. Some of the instrumentals almost touch on the kind of naive basement pop of Calvin Johnson’s great run of early K cassettes but there’s also a heavy 80s Flying Nun/Go Betweens vibe complete with chiming Byrds-style guitars and keening, laconic vocals. As with alla Mondanile’s work the simplicity of its construction kinda belies the emotional weight of the material making this a supremely personal and inexplicably affecting release. The best Ducktails yet? Either way this is a totally memorable set that is impossible to get out of your head. Recommended.

New collection of sunbleached songs and strange, melancholy instrumentals from Matt Mondanile aka Ducktails. Mondanile combines a hazy surf/pop sensibility with primitive instrumentation to generate a teenage neverland complete with heavenly Beach Boys harmonies and dreamy psychedelic guitars. Some of the instrumentals almost touch on the kind of naive basement pop of Calvin Johnson’s great run of early K cassettes but there’s also a heavy 80s Flying Nun/Go Betweens vibe complete with chiming Byrds-style guitars and keening, laconic vocals. As with alla Mondanile’s work the simplicity of its construction kinda belies the emotional weight of the material making this a supremely personal and inexplicably affecting release. The best Ducktails yet? Either way this is a totally memorable set that is impossible to get out of your head. Recommended. Vinyl comes with free digital download that includes an exclusive bonus track—an alternate version of the track “Killin’ the Vibe” featuring Panda Bear.

Great new self-released limited edition EP from Matt Mondanile on his own New Images imprint. The version of one of his best loved tracks, “Killin The Vibe” that opens the set is a perfect/primitive Beach Boys style slice of dream pop with angelic west coast backing vocals and a squelchy beatbox bottom end and features contributions from Panda Bear, Dent May and Jarvis Taveniere of Woods. Two new tracks, “Sit Around With Ya” and “Couch Surfer” add to the feel of languorous suburban ennui while a final live take on “Killin The Vibe” cut with The Spectrals in Leeds in 2010 reverses the whole deal into the garage. 

New EP from Julian featuring instrumental work recorded as part of a soundtrack to Amy Ruhl’s film about Mata Hari, with exotic gamelan stylings and devotional jazz moves combined with Lynch’s classy bedroom psych approach. Four track EP with a fifth track available to download.