This year’s SF Popfest culminated in last Saturday’s doozy of a Slumberland Showcase, boasting 10 bands in eight hours’ time for a day-to-night festival of jangly art-pop for the twinkle-toes in all of us. Despite the draw of bigger names like 14 Iced Bears and the June Brides’ Phil Wilson — both of 1980s UK pop and C86 fame — it’s safe to say that a few local bands truly represented and made us all proud, possibly even stealing the show.
Oakland’s Kids on a Crime Spree features Mario Hernandez of Ciao Bella and From Bubblegum to Sky, writing in his usual style of layered and lush melodies with vocal harmonies — and handclaps! Also noteworthy is righteous drummer babe, Becky Barron, who has apparently mastered the art of dancing and drumming at the same time, and doing a pretty good job at it.
Here’s a video for “Sweet Tooth,” a catchy track off of their brand new LP “We Love You So Much” on, you guessed it, Slumberland. Children, the elderly, and those prone to epileptic seizures beware — it’s super stroboscopic.
Not quite local, but close enough, Oxnard’s Sea Lions delivered an amazing follow-up performance to their January 22 show and San Francisco debut at the Knockout. Those of us in attendance earlier this year have been waiting with bated breath for this eclectic bunch to grace the stage once again, and it was well worth the wait. Adrian Pillado’s reverb-y Calvin Johnson-esque voice juxtoposed with the band’s nerdy and jangly pop numbers is unexpected, yet works really well.
Check out the vintage celluloid artifacts of old Oxnard in the 1960s and 70s in the band’s music video for the tunes “I Loved Her So Much” and “I Wish I Was Lou Reed”:
What the hell is a Terry Malts and why is it so amazing?
Jokes aside, the band plowed through a perfect set of expertly crafted pop songs, this time amping up the volume and speed, as well as their signature crunchy fuzz that left the croud unaware of what hit them. Many say this local trio stole the show.
Behold, the music, but beware — you will have these catchy tunes stuck in your head for days:
Tumble Down by corey_lee Terry Malts – Distracted by Slumberland Records
Art Musems are always a delight! This band’s resemlance to the Clean and other Flying Nun acts is unmistakable. Their unconventional set-up on stage and their slightly folky flavor set them apart from the rest of the evening’s line up, and the electronic stylings of Virginia Weatherby is mezmerizing to watch. With releases on both Slumberland and Woodsist, we will certainly be seeing more of these guys soon.
Unfortunately I missed Brilliant Colors while, um, running an errand — the performance turnaround was so speedy!– but I’m sure they were fabulous as always with their disjointed-yet-lovely Raincoats-y melodies, like these numbers:
Brilliant Colors – How Much Younger by Slumberland Records Never Mine by brilliantcolorsinfo