Elizabeth Colour Wheel

From our vantage here standing on the beach of Boston indie rock (shivering), we see out in the middle distance a new wave of shoegaze forming and heading toward shore. In a way it's not a moment too soon, as the city has had to say goodbye in the past year to stalwart acts -- Clicky Clicky faves all -- Soccer Mom, ambient punks Young Adults, and perhaps (perhaps) even The Hush Now. But the new wave is breaking, and its most promising sounds are presently being emitted by the upstart quintet Elizabeth Colour Wheel

Those finely attuned to Clicky Clicky's affinities will immediately recognize that band name as the title to one of the best songs on the debut LP from our much, much beloved Lilys. So one might argue that Elizabeth Colour Wheel's music could sound like broken glass sliding across the bottom of a cardboard box and we'd still love it. But two solid digital singles in the last eight months proved that the band -- fronter/fiddler Adessa Campbell; multi-instrumentalist Alec Jackson; bassist Billy Cunningham; guitarist Emmett Palaima; and drummer Nate Patsfall -- have the goods, and we are very pleased to be able to premiere for you today ECW's eponymous first EP.

The four-song collection leads with the thunderous "Turbulence," whose opening chug and grungy descent belies the serene verses that follow, and whose moody darkness recalls the work of erstwhile Charlottesville, VA 'gazers Manorlady. "Out Of," which was separately released to the wilds of the Internets both last week to tout the coming EP and as the digital b-side to Elizabeth Colour Wheel's first single, is immediate, recklessly paced and illuminates the five-piece's post-punk edge. The tune also implements what may be the most rocking use of violin in Boston indie music since the days of the late great Dambuilders, courtesy of Ms. Campbell. However, Campbell's assured alto is an even stronger focal point of the fledgling act's music. Her dreamiest vocal is the placid zen center of the relatively jaunty rocker "Lucid," which alternates floating verses and thrashing sections and perhaps most convincingly echoes the influence of the aforementioned Lilys' LP In The Presence Of Nothing (which we're still hoping will be re-released soon). Elizabeth Colour Wheel's enigmatically titled "23" introduces brief vocal harmonies, but the true highlight is the spine-tingling, early Flaming Lips-styled psychedelic freakout in the tune's fifth minute, where Ms. Campbell's unhinged screams send the song reeling.

As referenced above, the quintet released "Out Of" as a single last week, and it is crucial you hit this link and grab it because the virtual b-side "Sugar Cubee" is adventurous, blissful and terrific, and (shockingly) does not appear on the EP. Elizabeth Colour Wheel's next show is in Boston March 27 at an undisclosed location; ping the band or ask a punk for the 10-20. And now, we invite you to listen to Elizabeth Colour Wheel. - Clicky Clicky Music

Com uma sonoridade violenta recheada de muralhas de guitarras, sempre arrastadas e estridentes servindo de base para os vocais sedutores e densos, o Elizabeth Colour Wheel vai fundo em perpetuar um art noise com elementos de shoegazer.

Uma verdadeira pancada é seu ep homônimo lançado no último dia 10 de março.

Use protetores auriculares.

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Q. When did Elizabeth Colour Wheel started, tell us about the history...
We actually started around 1 year ago. We were originally a 3 piece and played a lot noisier and faster music. It was cool, but it really wasn’t what we wanted it to be. We then added 2 new members to make a much bigger and different sound and then wrote all new songs last summer to play when everyone can finally get back together and those eventually turned into our new EP.

Q: Who are your influences?
(Mainly) Boris, Swirlies, Lilys, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Skywave, and Swervedriver.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
We are all pretty much music addicts and this again is a very hard question for us, so we’ll give you what we consider our favorite right now, because it’s always changing.

Emmett: Drugs / Complex – Tera Melos
Nate: Aphex Twin – Syro
Adessa: Alt J – This is All Yours
Billy: Crystal Castles – II
Alec: Flying Lotus – You’re Dead!

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We feel that our sound is at it’s best live. Just about all of our recordings are done live to have that same energy we do when performing, but it still has some trouble coming across. We feel you have to be in the room with us to actually know what we are about.

Q. How do you describe Elizabeth Colour Wheel sounds?
To keep it simple, loud and aggressive guitars and drums with comforting vocals.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We try to record as live as possible, minimal overdubbing. We prefer to have each song only attempted 2-3 times so the energy is still there. After that many attempts it kind of starts to feel boring. So we’d much rather have a couple mistakes than it not have the energy we know we have.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended
Endon, Sumac, Novella, Pinkshinyultrablast (not new but if you don’t listen to them you should)

Q: Which bands would you love to make a cover version of?
We already did Crystal Castles and Dolly Parton, so I guess next would be Dinosaur Jr., Melt Banana, Descendants, or La Femme.

Q: What´s the plan for the future....
We just want to keep playing shows and recording music. We want to go as far as possible with it and try to play as many places as possible.

Q: Any parting words?
I think you just about covered it all, thanks for taking your time to interview us!


Thanks - The Blog That Celebrates Itself

Attentive readers will recall that we premiered the debut, eponymous EP from this fantastically named quintet just a few weeks back. A bracing four-track sampler characterized by the band's deft balance of tension and release, as well as fronter Adessa Campbell's chilly, arresting vocals, Elizabeth Colour Wheel's short-player is already one of the more remarkable things we've heard this year. As of this writing, the EP has yet to see a physical release, but we're given to understand that a run of tapes is forthcoming via a new outfit called Braindead Media. Elizabeth Colour Wheel also recently went into the 88.1 WMBR Pipeline studio for a session, which was a suitably raucous time, and you can download a recording of that right here. As noted supra, the band's got an upcoming gig on April 21 at O'Brien's in Allston Rock City, and details for the event are right here. Scroll down for a little Q+A and another shot at the stream of the excellent EP.
CC: Who does what when you guys make the rock sounds?

Adessa Campbell – Lead Vocals/Fiddle; Alec Jackson – Keyboard/Synth/Guitar/Backing Vocals; Billy Cunningham – Bass; Emmett Palaima – Guitar; Nate Patsfall – Drums. CC: Where and when did Elizabeth Colour Wheel form?

We started about a year ago when we met in Boston. We're originally from all around the states... Utah, New Jersey, Montana, Texas, and Virginia.

CC: How would describe your sound, that is if you have a singular one you've settled on?

The best way to put it would be loud and abrasive guitars and drums with soothing vocals (most of the time).

CC: Have you played many shows yet? If so, how have they gone?

We've played a fair amount in the area, including a small northeast tour when we hit New York and Philly. We actually feel our live show is where people can actually understand what we are about.

CC: We've already given our thoughts about your recent EP, but what else can you tell us about it?

Well as I said before, we prefer our live sound so we recorded the whole thing live with minimal overdubbing (just vocals and some synth parts). We also only tried each song once or twice to keep the "fresh" energy that the early takes tend to have.

CC: What's next?

Future is looking pretty fun right about now. We have quite a few local shows in Boston coming up and we're currently working on booking another tour of the northeast with our good friends in Gamma Pope. We also have a split release in the works with our buddies in Californian Sleepovers and we have a bunch of new material we've been playing, so maybe another EP or possibly a full length will be in the works over summer. - Clicky Clicky Music

At Out of the Blue Too Art Gallery in Cambridge we find another amazing show TONIGHT, this time fueled by two great touring bands from Brooklyn, and a bunch of punks who love to make it happen in the city of Boston (Billy Cunningham and friends).

Come through and cool out first with Big Eater: steely, lazy music with glistening catchy vocal melodies that will make for a great start to your sunday kickback in Cambridge.

To follow them up is ECW, a powerhouse underground outfit from our native Allston. They’ll be repping their classic piping hot Shoegaze with casual black metal blasts and bangin licks sewn in. The vocalist will pull you in and you’ll be lost, I promise. Let them take you away. Elizabeth Colour Wheel is pure magic.

Next, Kindling will drive you down the empty misty highway that is their new 12” record; this is their record release show after all! Another amazing Shoegaze act from out in Easthampton MA, with a surreal fuzz casing their entire sound, and a relatability in the vocal style. Shy and hard-hitting, it’ll keep you vibing from beginning to end. No doubt.

Last but not least, Infinity Girl, recently signed to Topshelf Records, echoes tones of the 90’s, but like the other bands, are pushing this new wave of clamor. There are some very expressive sections in their tunes, and some very tasty riffs, but they always bring it back to that grounding wall of sound, and they’ll make your Monday a little easier.

Should be a very loud and interesting show. *Bring earplugs* - Boston Hassle

have begrudgingly accepted the fact that it’s not likely I will feel the same amount of joy in life as I felt on Christmas Day 1997.

I was five years old, I had slept for maybe two and a half hours that night, and I damn near howled for twelve hours straight when I snuck downstairs to find a Playmobile castle set waiting under the tree for me at 5 AM.

While I still ponder if anything in the adult world could make me lose my mind as fully as that glorious castle, organizations like Toys For Tots showcase the hard truth that some kids don’t get to have that quintessential “toy under the tree” moment this holiday season. For those that aren’t the best with holiday shopping for loved ones, never mind kids you’ve never met before, enter the 2nd Annual Noise For Toys benefit show.

Happening tomorrow at the phenomenally named house venue Make Out Point (so yeah, ask a toy-bearing punk for the address), Noise For Toys brings shoegaze, punk, and all-around noisy bands for a eardrum-shattering benefit with all proceeds going to Toys for Tots. Having two of our favorite regional music blogs, Clicky Clicky Music and Ash Gray Proclamation, organizing the bill is promising enough, but the lineup would honestly make the Grinch’s shriveled heart explode.



Even though they formed within the year, Gold Muse are no strangers to us. Catching what was apparently their first show ever opening for Infinity Girl this past September, the quartet made a pretty sizable impression with a perfected balance of dreamy, but jangle poppy confections wrapped in distortion. It almost seemed unnatural for a band on their first show to possess such confidence until we got the hint that they’re an amalgamation of members from Earthquake Party!, Soccer Mom, and Swirlies. With that kind of pedigree, we doubt they’ll be strangers to many in the coming year.



When we premiered Coaches’s lead-off single “Elizabeth Warren” back in October, I braced for how our dear senator might respond. The MA/NY-split band (including two members of Infinity Girl) definitely don’t mean any disrespect, but “Warren” is easily one of the sauciest songs about an elected official we’ve heard in a long while. “I thought of you and left the harbor for Boston Proper just to be near you / ‘cause if ‘we the people’, then I’m your equal” seriously might be the lyric of the year for me personally. While Coaches takes on a slightly grungier, but more jovial feel that Infinity Girl’s fuzz and gloom, the distortion still runs heavy through their debut SHUSH EP, which will be released on cassette tomorrow at the show.


While bands like Joanna Gruesome, Makthaverskan, Fear of Men, and Westkust prove that Europe’s got the whole jangle-punk game locked down, bands like Easthampton’s Kindling give me hope for an American renaissance. Their Galaxies 12” this past month not only marked their first release with revered Florida punk label No Idea, but a marked step-up in recording from their humble, but rad debut Spare Room in 2014. “Blinding Wave” basically warns you with its title before laying down pummeling riffs, whereas the remainder of Galaxies takes on a sludgier, shoegazey approach to walloping.



Where most of the Noise for Toys bands casually mix distortion-heavy genres together, Elizabeth Color Wheel take it that extra step by branding themselves as “shoepunk”. The genre mix certainly isn’t unwarranted; moments of brashness on this year’s self-titled EP meet up with sludgy droning held together by galaxy-sized reverb. Although their two track Single this past September shows its intentions by name, it serves as the band’s finest declaration of their unique dichotomy. “Move” stomps through with doom and gloom as their singer commands despite sounding at least two blocks away from the mic, while “Wish” proves its single-worthy catchiness at breakneck speeds.

The show starts at 8 PM and will be $5 entry or free with an unwrapped toy. Even if your gift giving selection only goes as far as dumpster diving behind thrift shops, all proceeds will benefit Toys for Tots, so you’ll be a good person regardless! - Allston Pudding