http://retrolowfi.com Far too many words about indie, twee, lo-fi, books, horror movies, or whatever else you send us. Mon, 25 May 2009 08:36:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Hello everyone. We haven't updated for quite some time, and it seemed like a good time to let all comers know what was going on. RetroLowFi will no longer be updated, unfortunately. The five writers simply do not have any time to set aside for reviews anymore, and frankly, we can't ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/05/25/going-going-gone/ It's a tough job, to discuss The Vaselines. If you've wound up on a website like RetroLowFi, I could easily surmise that you are quite familiar with this group and why they are so gosh danged important, but if I stray from all of the necessary facts for newcomers... well, ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/29/the-vaselines-enter-the-vaselines-sub-pop-2009/ I'll tell you right off the bat that this isn't gonna be the longest review you've ever seen on RetroLowFi. It doesn't have to be, either. Basically, if you enjoy sprite and twinkly twee pop done by two gals with an absolutely perfect ear for hooks, then there is absolutely ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/23/the-corner-laughers-tomb-of-leopards-sandbox-2006/ When our favorite tiny UK label that specializes in teensy releases by little bands sends us a package, RetroLowFi does their best to drop everything and take a listen. Nearly everything they've ever dropped has been uniformly phenomenal, so let's see what WeePOP! has got in store for us this ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/20/weepop-in-the-spring-yes/ Remember a few weeks ago when we were all excited because the Last Splash-era lineup was reuniting? Turns out that we were dead wrong about that one. Instead, the same wonderful lineup that cranked out last year's phenomenal Mountain Battles album will be releasing a new EP with possibly the ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/16/new-breeders-fate-to-fatal/ I'm playing Hippie Cream's new album, On The Moon, for the umpteenth time. I understand it less and less with every spin. I'd heard and reviewed their In Your Ear album roughly two years ago, and either I've gotten softer or this band has gotten way more challenging than I ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/12/hippie-creams-on-the-moon-self-released-2009/ Yes, it's been a little while. Sorry about that. Just getting settled in after taking half of last year off. You know the drill. Anyways, it's looking like these mixes will be more of a quarterly affair this time around, but no fear... that just means we're cutting all of ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/09/mixes-for-you-017/ (or “Boca Raton, Shut the Fuck Up”) First of all, I’d like to issue an apology to the opening band, Jukebox the Ghost. I was the one who yelled out, as everyone else was yelling much meaner stuff out, “Less drums, more piano!” It’s not that I don’t like ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/08/live-ben-folds-040209-boca-raton-fl/ It’s one of those cases where you truly cannot go home again. As much as fans might long for circa 2002-2005 Decemberists, they are forever gone. They’ve run off into the forest with the characters of The Hazards of Love. Colin Meloy is no longer the innocent, ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/03/the-true-hazards-of-decemberists-love/ I have avoided reviewing this new Casper & The Cookies album for weeks, because I simply don't have enough faith in myself as a writer to emphasize just how phenomenal this album is. It's not just an early contender for that coveted "album of the year" title, but it's a ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/04/01/casper-the-cookies-modern-silence-happy-happy-birthday-to-me-2009/ Sometimes, an album comes along just when you need it. At exactly the right point in some stage in your emotional development, a record arrives in your life and truly becomes the soundtrack to an episode of your existence, be it good or bad. That timely prevalence makes ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/28/middle-cyclone-new-gospel/ When I was in high school, I wrote for the youth section of my local metropolitan paper. When I went to meetings for said writing staff, people knew me as the girl who only talked about two things: marching band and The Smashing Pumpkins. I was incredibly enthusiastic ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/23/with-our-powers-combined-we-are-really-damn-confusing/ There's a debate just a-ragin in some circles about the use of the "auto tune" effect. For the uninformed, you've got auto tune to thank for the robot vocals on that Lil Wayne's dreadful "Prom Queen" and... well, without it "Chopped & Screwed" really isn't much of a song, is ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/22/existential-heros-what-do-we-do-now-self-released-2009/ Woah. Been a long time since we've rocked, rolled and offered up some sort takes reviews, hasn't it? Since I had two exceptional slow and brooding platters up next to tell you all about, I figured I'd merge 'em together. Because we're in a recession, and I'm trying to be ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/16/short-takes-the-return/ According to this link right here, when the Breeders play in Ireland this May, those lucky fans will be seeing the classic Last Splash-era lineup. That's right... Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim MacPherson. On one stage. Completely unexpected get-out-of-the-way-and-duck news, innit? Put this together with the recent news ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/10/the-breeders-is-it-true/ Ah, now here's a surprise. Sub Pop's slowly rolling out their archival "deluxe editions", right? One of those deals where you buy a record you've already heard for a second time, except with a package that is hard to fit on the shelf, doesn't really work for listening to in ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/10/red-red-meats-bunny-gets-paid-deluxe-edition-sub-pop-19952009/ Well, this was an unexpected surprise! Usually when I receive an envelope with a teensy 3" CD enclosed, I assume I'm getting some new goodness from the WeePOP label. Not this time! This fun little platter comes from a Scottish one-man-and-whoever-else shows up project called the Paraffins. It's a two ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/08/the-paraffins-cardboard-cut-out-topplers-lite-2009/ Was it the sunset and the love with which he was received last spring during Langerado? Is Ben Folds really a snowbird at heart? He’s not a halfback – the people who move from New York to Florida, and then only make it half back, and end up ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/05/ben-folds/ It may be hard for the younger subset of RetroLowFi readers to believe, but there was a time when The Breeders were poised to be one of the biggest bands on earth. In 1994 alone, the band had three wildly successful singles, ("Cannonball", "Divine Hammer" and "Saints"), and embarked on ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/03/02/the-great-lost-breeders-album-the-ampspacer-elektra-1995/ Allison Weiss is pretty much the epitome of the DIY singer/songwriter. Sure, like many of the guitar-toting set, she learned to play her instrument to impress a crush, but that fleeting moment of "OMFG LET'S GO" hasn't diminished since that ninth-grade mission. To date, she's done numerous tours, played more ... http://retrolowfi.com/2009/02/24/allison-weisss-the-way-she-likes-it-ep-self-released-2008/