Jerry's Pick: "A Little Uneasy"

"A Little Uneasy"-Fazerdaze

As you probably know by now, my on-line mission in life is to occasionally shine my little internet spotlight on some of those less-obvious new music releases that I feel deserve more attention. Well, I found another one for you to check out.

She may be a relative rookie when it comes to the pop music scene, but New Zealand-native Amelia Murray has effectively tapped into her awkward shyness with the potential of becoming alt-indie's most famous introvert.

In fact, it all started when Amelia -- who records under the alias of Fazerdaze -- began laying down her reflective-styled poetry over instruments (guitars, drums, the occasional keyboard) she played in the seclusion and privacy of her bedroom/recording studio.

Amelia explained to Chris Schulz of the New Zealand Herald, "I just have one mic, a sound card and a laptop, and that's pretty much how I do (everything). I play everything myself." But more importantly, "I like that I don't have to seek anyone's approval before I can create an entire song." 

The result is an ethereal piece of DIY grungy dream-pop that is hauntingly mesmerizing.

Her song "A Little Uneasy" is kind of like a faded white-bordered 4x4 photograph of a simple, uncomplicated past... memories evoking feelings of quiet contentment, but sprinkled with melancholy.

In fact, the overall vibe of "A Little Uneasy" immediately reminded me of one of my all-time favorite shoegaze tracks... Ivy's 1997 single "The Best Thing." Both are also noticeably poignant, bittersweet.

This Fazerdaze discovery -- which begins with a John Meyer "No Such Thing" chord progression -- also conjures up bits of Mazzy Starr, Best Coast and the Cure. A few quality ingredients which make "A Little Uneasy" everything but.

Jerry's Pick: "It Ain't Right"

"It Ain't Right"-Current Swell

Now, here's a track with more hooks than a Northern Wisconsin bait shop.

Today's song d'jour is "It Ain't Right" (part of the album When to Talk and When to Listen) from the British Columbia-based alt-indie band Current Swell... four musicians who have been rocking Canada now for a little over a decade. 

Everything from those jangly guitar chords to driving backbeat should quickly pull you inside this little garage rocker, including the lyrics... many of which I consider chorus-quality, including that catchy pre-hook, hook.

"I thought you were different, I thought you were cool..."

In an interview with Exclaim journalist Sarah Murphy, Current Swell guitarist Dave Lang pointed out that the music came first, lyrics second. "I remember (guitarist) Scott (Stanton) had these four chords and he had a real cool kind of, like, '60s swing thing going on, and we couldn't quite make it a song but we love the chords."

By the time the group reconvened for their next recording session, they had the words. Lang remembered, "We just sort of got on a roll talking about this guy who kind of does his girlfriend wrong."

"It Ain't Right" uses a third-person narrative to tell the story of some Type-A asshole who abandons his pregnant girlfriend in order to pursue someone else. I figure that makes this toe-tapping tragedy relatable simply because just about everyone knows someone out there who is a complete dick, right?

"The heart of a stone, the mask of a liar..."

And -- through a couple of well written lines -- we discover that not only do her friends know, but she knows he knows they know too.

"She took you out, but were you surprised... that her friends loved to talk but they never look you in the eyes."

The moral of this up-tempo tale; "What goes around, comes around."

I guess you could say Current Swell just scored another one for Karma.