New Releases: Gatsby in a Daze, Ice Moon, Easy Mind, Chinese Football

Indietronica, hardcore punk, jangly lo-fi psychedelic, and 90s alt emo – we don’t discriminate over here at LBM. Our only job is to bring you the tunes and do you have quite the collection of ear worms for you in dig into with the latest from Gatsby in a Daze, Easy Mind, Chinese Football, and Ice Moon. Rip it.

The Hangzhou outfit Gatsby in a Daze popped up on indie radars a couple months back and it’s clear why folks are getting their panties in a bunch. This is some of the most assured debuts in sometime. Enitled (((, it’s a lo-fi jangly psych rock that hits the sweet spot. Loose and laid back in its approach, yet presented in such a gratifying package, complete with distorted chords giving each track a summer time feel, it’s does exactly what an EP is meant to do – leave us wanting more. Information is pretty nil on these guys — all the more reason why I’m utterly infatuated with them. The possibilities are endless for Gatsby in a Daze – I eagerly await what’s next.

Looking for some hardcore punk to punch up your day. Wanna take it to the man? Well Ice Moon has got you covered. The musical equivalent of shaking ones fist furiously at the moon, Ice Moon is rage turned up to eleven. It’s blistering, almost blind in its wrath, so much their music, particularly on their latest EP entitled I.C.E, becomes cathartic. Just listen to the first track, ‘I Told You’, which doesn’t truly kick off till the two minute mark, and try to not to feel for the frontman as he exclaims ‘I fucking hate myself…and have I ever told you, I don’t give a fuck’. Emotions laid out bare and as rudimentary as necessary. Tear into their latest over here and catch the band, fresh off a nationwide tour, at the next Gulou Double Decker, July 9^th, alongside Chaos Kills The Pain. Beijing Hardcore!

Remember when emo bands had actually musicianship. Well, with a name like Chinese Football (a nice nod to popular 90s emo band American Football) it’s clear the direction these cats are heading in. The Wuhan based quartet wear their hearts firmly on their sleeves with their emo-riffic jams which pay equal tribute to post and math rock, creating these layered jams which all but soar. And while their two track EP – an limited release made in concurrence with their tour with Japanese math rock outfit Tricot – isn’t much to get a handle of the band’s wide spanning sound, it definitely has me psyched for their full length album, expected to drop this September.

Indietronica artist Xianda Wang aka Easy Mind, based out of Beijing, has been a constant presence in some of the smaller music circles, playing shows across town in venues like Blue Stream Club, Siif, and Mao Livehouse when the mood strikes. And while he’s developed a solid fan base over his five years performing it wasn’t till last year’s Hyaline, that the artist started receiving fair airplay. Retro, funk, disco, and a heavy dose of lounge, Easy Mind’s style isn’t hard to pin down. On his latest EM3 (Easy Mind 3 / Electronic Music 3 / Exploration Mission 3) – he’s let’s it all out as an electronic producer. And while the ten tracks lacks the danger and edge of most contemporary underground electronica, I don’t think it ever strives too. It’s loose, dated, sugarcoated to a tee and like the artist himself, pretty damn easy going. Dig into the eclectic collection over here.