The Veruca Valium Vortex: The Hot Toddies' Bottoms Up

I've always had a thing for hazy, garage-style girl groups. The love hatched in the still fledgling years of my musical development: I remember staring longingly at a Veruca Salt album wishing I had the $25 (in 90s Money!) to buy the CD.*  Now music is cheap and easy to get, and I'm all grown up and can have as much as I want. But I'll never forget the ache for that American Thighs album and all the cool I thought it would bring into my life, and I still covet the discovery of those grungy girl bands. Thing is, my angst has waned; he early teens is not the early nineties, and Jimmy Stepchuk is not flirting with my prettier, cooler best friend anymore, so I can afford to lighten up.

That's why I fucking love this EP.

Taken as a whole, this is what it would sound like if Veruca Salt circa American Thighs travelled back in time to 1965, moved to California, popped some pick-me-ups, and cut an album to send  to us, here, in the future. Which, y'know, is probably totally what happened. Science.

The only thing The Hot Toddies did wrong was not make it a full LP.

But I have all five tracks below, for your streaming pleasure. Or buy it.

*Okay, fine: tape.

Saturday Night Remix: Take It Easy

Surfer Blood - Take It Easy

into:

Surfer Blood - Take It Easy (RAC Maury Mix) by RAC

Today's Swell Tune: Baby You

A B & The Sea - Baby You 

• Band: A B & The Sea
• Album: Run Run Run
• From: San Francisco, California, United States
• Sound: If the Wilson brothers were hipsters. Brian and Dennis, I mean. Not Luke and Owen.; indie surf pop
• Website: abandthesea.net
• Social: facebook, myspace, tumblr, twitter

Chilling Out is for Americans: La Femme

I'm the first to say I'm a little bored of the surf trend. Sure I like Best Coast, Wavves, The Morning Benders, Hippies, The Drums... but the fact that the list is so long and could be so much longer is telling.  For the dozens of new songs each week labelled "indie pop" at least half of them seem to be lo-fi surf. It's not a bad sound or anything, but how can anyone expect to stand out on that crowded retro-California wave?

Well, you could be French.

Very aware of the absurdity of a Parisian Beach Boys, La Femme occasionally dons berets and striped sweaters comme le stéréotype, and promotes with posters of frogs and the Eiffel tower. Whether they're laughing with us or at us isn't clear.

What is clear is that it's the that attitude makes Le Podium #1. Because--and I'm just gonna go ahead and say what we all know-- the French are magnificent at acting like assholes*. And it so works here. Their irreverent brand treads the water between taking itself very seriously and not giving a damn about anything, somehow both sillier and sexier than the usual surf-pop offering.

None of that sunny, airy, hippie-dippy, "tasty waves and a cool buzz" stuff for La Femme--this is more "Nous surfons. Fuck you."

Comment-on-dit "far out" en francais?

Buy Le Podium #1 (EP) from their bandcamp.

Their MySpace.
Their Facebook
Their website.

Their current single:

La Femme - 'Sur La Planche' | (from Le Podium #1) by YINMAGAZINE

*I love assholes, for the record.