Roomrunner - "Spinning"

Fan Death Records spouted out a whole mess of spectacular noise this week, including a track from their forthcoming Roomrunner cassette called "Spinning".



We're pretty stoked to be able to follow up that post about Double Dagger calling it quits with a promising new single from drummer Denny Bowen's band Roomrunner. "Spinning" is aural proof that no one kid can ever grow up on too much Nirvana. A killer burst of noise-pop bliss that odes to the 90s without kissing too much ass.

Roomrunner is made up of Denny Bowen, Dan Frome, John Jones, and Bret Lanahan. The new songs were recorded by Dan Frome, who also plays guitar. The "Frome Dome" came in handy especially for the vocals, as Denny felt comfortable enough to record his voice there instead of renting a car and going out to a parking lot somewhere in the county as previously planned. Bowen has been writing the songs over the past two years.

The debut Roomrunner cassette is part of a new tape series from Fan Death Records, where each proprietor of the label chose a different band to make a tape of. This was Sean Gray's choice, and you can get all four titles for only seventeen bucks right here.

Puerto Rico Flowers - "3 Sisters"

Our friends and proprietors of my favorite record label in Baltimore, Chris and Sean of Fan Death Records, recently sent over the single to a forthcoming LP in the works.

The forthcoming release is by Puerto Rico Flowers, and it's called 7. Its due out on wax this summer, and follows up the EP titled 4 and the 7" called 2 that came out last year on Fan Death. I was sent the rough mixes of the new record yesterday, and have played nothing else since. It appears likely that this is going to be the biggest record that Fan Death has released, as John Sharkey III may be relinquishing his opus upon us.



"3 Sisters" is the first single to be heard from the new LP, and is a solid example of the massive nature of the forthcoming record. With his first two releases Sharkey displayed his ability to sound huge while keeping it incredibly simple, with sparse blends of synths, guitars, and drums that sounded much more prevalent when put together. This presence is what anchors "3 Sisters", easily Puerto Rico Flowers' heaviest pop song to date.

While the single hits harder than Gravedigger's descent onto junkyard cars, it's the more intimate moments on the record that will likely cement this as an instant classic. The last track is the best example of this, as "After The Weekend" recalls Neil Young's more personal moments, all while maintaining the grungy dark-wave vibe more commonly found. Fan Death told me it's his "See The Sky About To Rain" or "Philadelphia".

The new record finds Sharkey working with Philly's Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile,The War on Drugs, Clockcleaner, FNU Ronnies) on production. Kurt Vile guests on the record, appearing on the track "Keep Me Around". 7 is out via Fan Death Records in May/June.

Giveaway: Puerto Rico Flowers @ Talking Head

This is on Saturday, and it is going to be awesome. The winner of our contest is ZACH HOLMES, whose response was "I live in a van, DOWN BY THE RIVER".

On Saturday, October 16, John Sharkey III will perform as Puerto Rico Flowers here in Baltimore. The show will take place at the Talking Head, and is the only North American performance by the ex-Clockcleaner vocalist's new project to be played in 2010.



The current Australian resident relinquished his first EP under the new moniker early this year on Fan Death, which featured the unfuckwithable doom pop ballad "Let's Make Friends". Puerto Rico Flowers also dropped  a new 7" single this summer that was backed with a gloriously tragic Neil Young cover. Fan Death recently let us know that a brand new full length called 7 will be released early next year.

I've got a pair of tickets to give away to this show. Send an email on over to bmoremusicallyinformed@gmail.com with your favorite Neil Young song, and we'll pick a winner a few days before the show. The evening also sports killer support from Pfisters and Screen Vinyl Image, both of which also have recordings with Baltimore's Fan Death.

Fan Death Fall Mixtape

Baltimore-based Fan Death Records has continued to relinquish noisy and jaded sounds from the likes of artists mostly not from their home state. The most recent exception to this rule is an incredible seven inch from Baltimore mainstay Jason Urick.

Today the label put together a stellar Fall mixtape, highlighting some current sounds the label has to offer. Included in the mix is the A-side of Urick's recent 7 inch called "This Is Critical", a haunting wash of noise suitable for any variety of freak out.

The mix also boasts sounds from Puerto Rico Flowers, Screen Vinyl Image, Clockcleaner, Broken Water, Homostupids, and Lamps. Look for more great things to come from these dudes this coming fall. Take a listen to the mix which has taken over their site here.

Jason Urick - This Is Critical

It's no secret that Jason Urick has been a huge inspiration to us and those around us. When he says something is critical, you should probably go ahead and listen.



"Invisible Map" is the B side on the new This Is Critical 7 inch by Jason Urick that's out on Fan Death Records next week. One of our favorite musicians paired with one of the best local labels is a win/win, and I'm stoked to get my hands on the wax next week. You can catch Jason play tonight at the WICV broadcast booth at Artscape with Dustin Wong.



When you're finished, head over to see Height with Friends & AK Slaughter at the Annex. Tomorrow night, stumble by the WICV booth again for Brendan Sullivan and Winks.

Show: Puerto Rico Flowers @ Talking Head

The fellows at Fan Death Records sent me over the debut EP from Puerto Rico Flowers sometime early last Fall. I and many others were instantly hooked, and 4 became one of their many standout releases. It was recently followed up with a 7 inch titled 2 that contained a Neil Young cover that was somehow even darker than the original.

Whenever I've chatted with Chris and Sean about John Sharkey's solo project, I've always been told that no interviews would ever be granted and nor would live shows be planned. Well the latter has now chaged, as Puerto Rico Flowers is now slated to play in Baltimore this October.


Puerto Rico Flowes - Let's Make Friends

The event will go down at the Talking Head on October 16th, and will feature DC's Screen Vinyl Image and Baltimore's Pfisters. This will be the the one and only North American gig for the project in 2010, and Sean of Fan Death said the other night, "who knows maybe last PRF show ever." So yeah, who knows.

Puerto Rico Flowers also has another release with Fan Death in the works, to be titled 7. I got a chance to spend some time with the lead track off of 7 this week, and can assuredly report that this is yet another PRF release folks should definitely be stoked about. I would highly suggest snatching a copy of 2 while you still can, and the same goes for tickets to the show in October.

Fan Death Says DC Music Sucks

Fan Death Records Interview 1 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Our neighbors, Fan Death Records, were recently interviewed on the DC based site All Our Noise. In that interview they spoke about their record label, music they liked, and their thoughts on our nation's capital. You can watch the interview above and at AON, but here's a quote that sparked some debate:

"D.C. is a shitty place, with shitty bands, and a shitty outlook on life. I mean, it’s kind of sad in a way, there’s a lot of history here that everybody knows about. I don’t think it went down the path that I would have wanted it to. I think with D.C. there’s this thing that bands want to make it…they think they can make it in D.C. because they’re from D.C. there’s that history there and that that’s an automatic foot in the door to whatever they’re doing. But even beyond that attitude portion of it, there’s just not good music. There are two good bands in D.C." - Sean (Fan Death)

Chris of Fan Death went on to make note that those two bands were Screen Vinyl Image and Lotus Fucker. Yesterday the Washington Citypaper pointed out Fan Death's opinion, spawning one of the uglier comments section I've seen on the interwebs. Personal attacks were made, and hasty backlash ensued.

Last night Fan Death gave me their current stance on the matter:

"Go orioles and white sox. Oh and PS, Tejada... bad move. Baseball is more imporant than shitty bands. Especially shitty bands in DC."

People like different kinds of music, and are also entitled to give opinions on their choices in art and how they view it. I grew up in between Washington and Baltimore. I've been to some decent shows in DC, but I've been to a lot of better ones in Baltimore. That's my opinion. I'll still go to some shows in DC, but I'll continue go to more shows in the city that I reside. That's my choice.

Yet Sean and Chris pointing out their thoughts on a city and its music was combated by some DC Citypaper readers (via blog post commenting) with blatant ignorance.

I don't know, I like baseball too sometimes.

Fan Death Records Interview 2 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

Fan Death Records Interview 3 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.