deadbeat summer

Usually when I think of summer jams, I think big and bold and bright. I think of swooping Beach Boys harmonies or “Heat Wave”-y romps or, ya know, Summer Jam. I’ve noticed recently, though, the ease of which I’ve stockpiled a bunch of scratchy new lo-fi summer favorites. I know “lo-fi” is a bit of a red herring these days, but these songs are downright scrappy compared to the lush sunshine-pop I usually associate with summer boombox hits. These aren’t brassy fist-pumping anthems, they’re kinda rinky-dink and ragged and homemade.

Below are some songs I’ve been particularly enjoying, but it’s worth noting: pretty much ALL of these bands (save, maybe, Ducktails) have either no records available or nearly out-of-print ones. Most of them are also extremely new. Needless to say, they’re not really on eMusic. Still, I thought ‘em worth sharing — most links are to Hype Machine for your browsing convenience.

Neon Indian, “Deadbeat Summer”: Probably my most on-repeat of the lot. What I said when I first got hooked: “This is lo-fi used to effect, with a purpose: it’s hazy and chintzy and kinda beach-y. Like the sunburnt yin to Glass Candy’s icy yang.”

Beach Fossils, “Vacation”: Beach Fossils is Brooklyn’s Dustin Payseur — one guy, one bedroom (presumably) and one mightily oscillating vocal chorus effect. Maybe this would grate over an entire LP, but on the two or three tracks he’s got streaming so far, it’s perfectly breezy.

Magic Kids, “Hey Boy”: There’s been some talk of Magic Kids’ Langley School-ness, but rather than the detached female chorus, I think it’s the “Little Deuce Coupe” kind of bounce and 4-track orchestration that makes “Hey Boy” irresistible. Sometimes it reminds me of a purer pop version of the skewed Elephant 6 sound. Either way, total summer jam.

Girls, “Lust For Life”: We’ve gushed endlessly about these California Girls, but what’s one more plug? I hope this band takes over the world. “Lust for Life” is a short, sweet stunner and an instant classic. Please, please, please don’t miss the just-released video — their best yet.

Toro Y Moi, “109″: Another one man band (South Carolina’s Chaz Bundick) who, in fact, has another one man band that’s for his glitchy disco tracks. Kids are prolific these days. I blame Bradford. “109″ is the b-side to his upcoming single and it’s got that underwater, Ariel Pink kind of vibe but with much more pillow-y cooing.

The Drums, “Let’s Go Surfing (Knight School Version)”: The Drums are getting some amount of hype right now for their sparkling synth-pop, but I prefer the Knight School version of “Let’s Go Surfing.” Knight School themselves are a wickedly infectious new crash-pop band from Brooklyn who are about to put out their second album of the year (seriously, what’s happening these days?!) and they replace some of the rigidity of the original “Surfing” with some swingin’ drums and ragged three-chord guitar. I’ve listened to this song an embarrassing amount times over the last couple of weeks.

Real Estate, “Fake Blues”: Jersey dudes (along with Ducktails) who play these kind of classic rock-influenced laid back beach tunes. I could have picked any one of a handful of songs here, but “Fake Blues” has a particularly nice and woozy arc.

Ducktails, “Beach Point Pleasant”: Almost certainly the “jammiest” of the entries, “Beach Point Pleasant” is essentially just a looped quick synth arpeggiation with some meandering flanged guitar noodlings. I guess that doesn’t make it sound too appealing, but it’s a surprisingly effective for a “lay on a blanket staring up at the sun and zone out” kind of summer afternoon.