bark bark bark: haunts.

BARK BARK BARK wasn't really the artist who I expected to take me out of my great blog depression, but thankfully he did the trick.

Bark Bark Bark's debut album Haunts was released May 22nd, and it's a collection of tunes about a lot of weird stuff made with a lot of weird toys and instruments. The album was released on Retard Disco records, a home to similarly odd but delightful acts such as 14 Year Old Girls, Totally Radd!!, and Gravy Train!!!! Their roster is kind of all over the place, so don't expect this to sound like any of those bands.

Comparisons have been made to Beck, !!!, Panther, Spank Rock, Liars, Chromatics, Final Fantasy, and Deerhoof...but Bark Bark Bark's sound is far too inconsistent from song to song for any of these to directly make sense. Haunts is full of playful chaotic numbers that are all over the place musically. If you asked the artist himself what he sounded like, his answer would be simple-- "baby kittens". Then you'd probably laugh a bit, noting in your head that these tunes may be good, but they're nowhere near as cute as baby kittens. As expected, the songs on Haunts are, well....haunting. Don't fret though. They're not haunting in a "holy shit this zombie is going to eat my brain" kind of way. They're haunting in a "if you don't motherfuckin' dance right now then this motherfuckin' zombie will eat your brain like my ex-girlfriend ate my heart" kind of way. Got it? Good.

If anything comes close to being as lovable as a pile of kittens, it's the "I'm Needy" remix, which pays tribute to the genius jam "Boom! I Got Your Boyfriend". I guess it also sounds a little bit like Beck. You can download that shit at So Much Silence.

d/l: BARK BARK BARK- Haunts
d/l: BARK BARK BARK- One Thing Stands
(chaotic tunes to make you dance and ponder)
- buy it - site it - space it - hype it -

BLOGWATCH: Pop Tarts Suck Toasted brings us some new tunes off of Architecture in Helsinki's sophomore album Places Like This. The Yellow Stereo and a few other blogs have the new New Pornographers' song "My Right Versus Yours". Arjan Writes points us in the direction of an exclusive acoustic podcast by Amy Winehouse.