Rainbow Arcade :: Laughing Man & More Humans

DC-based brothers and recording partners Hays and Ryan Holladay of experimental act Bluebrain recently recorded 14 area bands at Iguazu Sound in Arlington, Virginia. This past June, they released the sessions as a compilation dubbed Rainbow Arcade. The comp was an opportunity for artists that do a lot of home recording to stretch out their legs in a real studio, though the opportunity also came with a challenge: each act had just 3 hours to nail down a track. Two clear standouts are the dynamic ear-worming numbers from More Humans and Laughing Man. More Humans, who releaed a stellar EP last year on DC imprint Cricket Cemetery, build from a subtle piano riff to giant smacking hits of bassy synths on on the dizzying pop number "Magga." On the other hand, Laughing Man, one of DC's most distinctive rock acts, apply ample amounts of fuzz and expressive shout-sung vocals to the rollicking punk-soul of "Brilliant Colors"—a track frontman Brandon Moses wrote about growing up with his mother.

Download Rainbow Arcade via a pay-what-you-want scenario on Bandcamp.

Mixtape #19: Plastic Brains

NoBunny - "Live It Up"
Air Waves - "Radio"
Nallo - "Submarines"
Crystal Stilts - "Through The Floor"
The Equals - "Police On My Back"
La Sera - "Please Be My Third Eye"
Lower Dens - "Brains"
Cass McCombs - "Prima Donna"
Tiki Men - "First Love, First Tears" (Duane Eddy)
The Lovely Bad Things - "I Just Want You To Go Away"
The Soft Pack - "Grinding Halt" (The Cure)
Neo Boys - "Time Keeps Time"
Grass Widow - "Lulu's Lips"
Mikal Cronin - "You Gotta Have Someone"
The Happy Thoughts - "Indiana Girls"
Paul Kane - "My Fair Baby's Coming For Me"
Ganglians - "That's What I Want"
Dean & Britta - "Not A Young Man Anymore" (The Velvet Underground)
Laughing Man - "Mood and Dress"

Download:
Plastic Brains.ziporStream on 8tracks

Laughing Man :: The Lovings (63-69)

The debut from the equal parts soulful and crazed Washington, DC rock outfit Laughing Man has finally arrived digitally.  The Lovings (63-69) is just a quick seven song jaunt, but these jagged, rough, and carefully deconstructed bits of potent rock and roll take several listens to digest. That's part of the beauty of the album, as the music actually matches with the character of the often lovesick and delirious narrator. There is one soft spot on the record though, the closer "Mood and Dress." A quietly plucked acoustic guitar and background vocal flourishes lend lead singer Brandon Moses an incredibly intimate and warm platform of tones to perform over, creating a rare moment of harmony and perhaps the records most accessible and subsequently brilliant moment.

Laughing Man - "Mood and Dress" (from The Lovings (63-69))

Laughing Man: DC's Best Kept Secret

I once wrote for the Washingtonian, "The Laughing Man’s song 'The Sweet Tooth' sounds as if Tom Waits asked a group of jazz musicians to transmit rock-and-roll from the moon." I revert back to that statement because the Washington, DC trio create an incredibly eclectic collage of sound derived from elements of jazz, garage rock and soul music—one that's not all together easy to put into words. I've been waiting for years to buy a release from these intelligent eccentrics and it seems like that day is finally approaching with a full-length titled The Lovings ('63-'69) due out on DC independent label Sockets Records. Preview two tracks from the record below as well as the previously released "The Sweet Tooth." In parting for the weekend, I'll leave you with my favorite quote from singer and guitarist Brandon Moses after I asked about the influence of jazz in his music: “If life is a blank sheet of paper and you’re a pencil, jazz is like waking up one day and you’re a Crayola.” Amen.

Laughing Man - "Mood & Dress"

Laughing Man - "Already Always"


Laughing Man - "The Sweet Tooth" (from The Blues EP)