Reviews

Meritorio

Sad Eyed Beatniks Claudia’s Ethereal Weaver LP

Dreamy, soft focus guitar strum from multi-instrumentalist Kevin Linn, also known as the label head at Paisley Shirt Records. Paisley Shirt has been a major player in the emergent San Francisco “fog pop” scene, and SAD EYED BEATNIKS fits perfectly alongside other lo-fi bedroom acts like FLOWERTOWN and APRIL MAGAZINE (members of both bands play in the live incarnation of SAD EYED BEATNIKS). Claudia’s Ethereal Weaver feels looser, more experimental than its predecessor, 2020’s Places of Interest. There’s some interesting, knowingly unpolished guitar work here that occasionally approaches noise (“Aristoteles Crater,” “Hysterical Rooters”), and many of the tracks meander with no particular purpose (“Free Composition Number 6,” “Oh Hallo”). I wouldn’t call this a downer record but it certainly inspires the kind of wistful melancholy I enjoy indulging in from time to time (read: nearly all of the time). While I’m reminded of GALAXIE 500 or such classic idiosyncratic DIY acts as the TELEVISION PERSONALITIES or CLEANERS FROM VENUS, Claudia’s Ethereal Weaver stands on its own as a representation of a unique and compelling modern scene.

Sad Eyed Beatniks Ten Brocades LP

I happened to put this record on for the first time on a Sunday morning, which worked out well as this is perfect Sunday morning music. Ten Brocades by SAD EYED BEATNIKS is a fantastic bunching of easygoing, slightly whimsical pop psych tunes that could only come out of the San Francisco area. These sunny, lo-fi tunes call to mind the past sounds of WHITE FENCE or the mellower side of the Elephant 6 collective, while also sitting perfectly side by side with a more contemporary reference in APRIL MAGAZINE (was not surprised to find there is some member overlap there). This may be a collection of songs written over the last couple years, but it still feels very cohesive in its flow with songs calmly washing over the listener from start to finish. Press play right when you wake up, and by the time you get to “Passing Melody,” you’ll be ready for its slightly more VELVET UNDERGROUND “I’m Waiting for My Man” street gallop. Great stuff.

Slack Times Carried Away LP

Indie pop band SLACK TIMES comes out with a compilation of their three EPs—Carried Away (2022), At the Blue Melon Rendezvous (2021), and Up Here (2021)—which makes up the order of the album. The opener “Carried Away” sounds like a TOM PETTY impersonation set to some Americana guitars and had me largely confused as to why MRR sent me this one. Nothing screamed punk or punk-adjacent at all. I kept listening, though, and maybe the remaining vocals (“Carried Away” aside) have the whiny, distorted nature of someone like Tom DeLonge singing more gently over the FEELIES—one of the bands they mentioned as an influence. R.E.M. and YO LA TENGO were also referenced, and I can hear the FLAMING LIPS, to boot. I really like jangle-y, poppy punk, but this feels more like pure indie, with the zest of any “punk” flavoring missing. I feel foolish groveling over genres, but that’s the impression I’m left with. All said, a good album that these members clearly poured their hearts into.