BrooklynRocks Top 10 List for 2009

Happy New Year Everyone!

Here is my top 10 list (in no particular order):

1) Kati O'Toole - On Ashland (Snow Ghost Music)
2) Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)
3) White Wizzard - High Speed GTO (Earache)
4) Red Collar - Pilgrim (Self-Released)
5) The Besties - Home Free (Hugpatch)
6) Oceano - Depths (Earache)
7) Evergreen Terrace - Almost Home (Metal Blade)
8) Mystery of Two - That's The World Over (Exit Stencil)
9) Absu - Self-Titled (Candlelight)
10) La Coka Nostra - A Brand You Can Trust (Suburban Noize Records)

The Besties Play a CD Release Show at Union Pool on Feb 26th (Hugpatch)

DOWNLOAD: The Besties - What Would Tim Armstrong Do? (MP3)

Brooklyn's The Besties released their second disc, Home Free, earlier this month (on Hugpatch) and are playing a CD release show at Union Pool on Feb. 26th.

On the bill with The Besties are Used Kids (who are also releasing a new CD) and The Measure. Admission is $8.00.

The Besties described themselves on their MySpace page as "60's girl groups dry humping 90's pop punk" and Time Out Chicago said that the band's sound "evokes the Go-Go's recording for Epitaph." These two quotes are a good starting point for getting a handle on the band's sound. Being originally from Washington, DC, I hear more of the Slumberland/Sub*Pop sound of bands like The Swirlies and Velocity Girl in The Besties' music but, either way, it is all good.

The eleven tracks on Home Free are incredibly catchy pop tunes and The Besties touch on a wide splash of power-punk and 60's girl group sounds. On the girl group side, there is everything from high-energy Detroit rave-ups like "Helgafell" to the torch sounds of "Birthday". On the power-punk side, comparisons to range of bands from early Blondie to Velocity Girl seem appropriate. Some of the standout power-punk tunes are "St. Francis" and "79 Lorimer" (check out the video clip below).



Upcoming Shows:
Feb 25 2009 6:00PM, The Breadbox, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Feb 26 2009 8:00PM, Union Pool-HOME FREE RELEASE PARTY W/ THE MEASURE & USED KIDS!!!, Brooklyn, New York

Links:
The Besties' MySpace Profile