. . . are questionable.

Figure 1: Guitar amp beside mic propped by Tyler’s drumming gloves stuffed into a roll of duct tape

Figure 2: Cecilia Song

Figure 3: The following items, in order of ascending height: (a) empty packaging for a vocal effects pedal, (b) box half full of Backlights’s debut EP, Backlights containing (c) a rolled up yoga mat with a vocal screen clipped and taped thereto and (d) vocal mic.

This cloudy gem is called Shirakawago Sasanigori. It is named after its village of origin. This sake represents my admiration for the unknowable. Here it is posed next to a MicroKORG XL synthesizer.

After giving the bottle a brisque shaking, I drank this one using the highly professional apparatus shown above. From the glass, this “Lightly Cloudy Sake” succeeded at elevating the mellow taste of the rice, with barely a hint of an aroma and few complementary tastes. The wood of the box opened up the aroma, though. I sniffed mightily, apprehended wafts of basil, and visualized twisted juniper trees.

The final word: I recommend this sake if you enjoy visualizing twisted juniper trees. Also good if you like booze or foggy blue glass.

On a related note, does anybody want to go with me to this sake-tasting benefit? http://www.nylovesjapan.com/ Price of entry: $100. But it will go to a good cause. And in the grand calculus of life and love, it seems well worth it to pay $100 so I can feel like $1,000,000.

I hope some of you caught our radio show on Darkroom Presents a couple weeks ago. Well, to return the favor to Gabe Galvin for having us on the show and being a gracious host (he even made Tyler a delicious sandwich!), I recorded a little spot for the Darkroom. I captured it on my voice recorder just now in its natural state, streaming from WNYZ 87.7 on www.indiedarkroom.com.

Have a listen!

My influences when recording this spot included Walter Kronkite, The Twilight Zone, and Barry White.

You can tune in to Gabe’s show on Tuesday nights at midnight.

This sake came to me in a jar whose label I cannot read. This sake represents one of my many noteworthy failures of understanding. Here it is posed next to my new Summer Holiday 7″ from Wild Nothing, which contains the very worthwhile track, “Lovers Like Vultures”, which is on neither the Gemini album nor the Golden Haze EP.

It had a full-bodied taste and smelled of pungent clementines and spruce. This one made me feel like a million bucks.

The Deli, the magazine on the New York indie scene beat, says we are one of the best emerging artists in New York City! To be precise, we are the seventh best emerging band in the “psych rock / shoegaze / noise pop / lo-fi” category!

Go here to see the Deli’s Best of NYC

It feels damn good to be an emergent shoegaze noise-fi band.

Also congrats to our friends Swingset Committee, who are the fifth best emerging Electro Pop band.

Thanks Deli!

In case you didn’t catch on, we are celebrating the fact that our album art is ready and we will shortly present our debut EP for you to consume and enjoy.  Times are such that I order my sake not in carafes or bottles, but in walls:

This one made me feel like twenty-six million bucks.

One year and a few days ago more or less, Cil joined the band!

Here’s to us getting 33% cooler.

This post is brought to you by sauerkraut.

Check out this review of our song “Chase Scenes” at Indie Darkroom Magazine! (and a photo from our handsome practice space)