the-clean-in-the-dreamlife.jpg

With that song title, you immediately think of the Beatles (or, okay, this accompanying promo photo). The fact that it’s the Clean makes me think of all the Flying Nun and the more consistently noisy Xpressway-related New Zealand music I obsessed over in the later days of high school and onward. The song comes from Mister Pop, the longstanding (est. 1978) band’s first studio album since 2001′s Getaway, though you might remember Anthology, the two-disc compilation Merge did in 2003. Cheesy as it sounds, listening to these 10 new tracks (from the gorgeous, synth-smeared opener “Loog” onward) on a rainy Friday feels like welcoming an old friend back into you life. One with really great lyrical turns and a particularly dreamy, dusky sense of melody.

Mr. Pop:

Mister Pop is out 9/8 via Merge.

[Band photo by Tim Soter]

UPDATE: Here’s another…

Comments (7)
  1. This is so good

  2. Yes.

    Coincedentally, I was just playing the 6ths song with Robert Scott on it before I read this. What a crazy anecdote!

  3. this is so good. and brandon, your post raises the question: do you have the rest of the album? promo from merge? leaked somewhere? we need to know.

    this is a great year for david kilgour in general. “falling debris” came out in NZ awhile ago. no word on a US date yet, but you can listen to it (and buy it with new zealand dollars) here:

    http://www.amplifier.co.nz/release/45766/falling-debris.html

    so so good. my favorite kilgour solo album yet. and now a new clean album in the fall. a most excellent year. and the bats album “the guilty office” (which is also excellent) getting a US release this month. geez these dudes.

  4. James Mandible  |   Posted on Jun 5th, 2009

    Wait there’s a new 6ths album coming out?

  5. warmfurfields  |   Posted on Jul 21st, 2009

    favorite band hands down. david kilgour’s solo shit a close second.

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