A 4-Track Machine and a One Track Mind

I was enthralled with Brooklyn's own Ill Ease the first time I heard their woozy, freewheeling "Jersey-O-Matic" off of 2004's The Exorcist. Its rolling bass and wavy guitars reminded me of the Breeders while the rest of the album--spanning from dirgy noise to sarcastic, fragmented pop-- hit bits of Beat Happening, Sonic Youth and Royal Trux. Late last year, Ill Ease put out the nifty All Systems-A-Go-Go. On these songs, Ill Ease mastermind Elizabeth Sharp, like a cranky street preacher sniffing airplane glue, rails against drum machines and, in fine OCD form, every one of the fifty states. On the sunny and seemingly sweet "One Hell of a Bender," she catalogues the delights of getting fucked up on a variety of substances.

Similarly bright, but considerably less acerbic is the California dreamy, Softlightes. The band recently put out its first full length, Say No! To Being Cool Say Yes! To Being Happy on Modular Records (the new home of Mondo faves New Young Pony Club). Lots of lush little pop gems on this album (that sometimes recalls Stars), but I find myself turning to a pair of uptempo tracks:
The ironic, technofied rocker "The Robots In My Room Were Playing Arena Rock" and the twee, TeenBeat Records-ish "Black Skinheads In White Pants" (which I dare you to resist listening to ten times in a row after your first spin).

Love and rock,
Kevington