LISTEN: The Velvet Teen - "No Star"

I first heard Northern California's The Velvet Teen shortly after they released their second full-length, the orchestral Elysium. But it wasn't until they released their next album, Cum Laude!, that I fell in love. Cum Laude! is one of the few records I've heard in my life that I have connected with instantly upon the first listen -- in much the same way I did with At the Drive-In's Relationship of Command. It's such an inspired record brimming with energy, powered by some of the wildest drumming that I've ever heard (see "Building a Whale"). Singer Judah Nagler (voted one of the "50 Hottest Rockers" in the December/January 2005 issue of ELLE Girl magazine*) sang for the heavens under a slight cover of distortion, which oddly enough made his delivery and inflection all the more powerful in a number of instances. It was a very dynamic record, one that deserved a lot more attention than it received following its release back in 2006.

In either late 2008, or at the very least early 2009, word was that The Velvet Teen was back in the studio working on a new album. Their official website never gave away too much info, so I found myself stopping by their MySpace page every so often to see if there were any updates. There seemed to be no news about any progress for some time, and I started losing hope that the band would release anything more. I felt like Cum Laude! showed a band that had a lot of potential to evolve even more, one that was on the cusp of something great in its own right. I say that believing Cum Laude! was a fantastic record. It would have been a fine swan song, I suppose, but I didn't want it to mark the band's end.

Two days ago, I dropped by the band's MySpace once again, but this time was met with great news: new music was to be released! Not only that, the band seemed to be kicking back into gear, sharing that they were off to Japan for a short tour. According to what I've read, the band will be releasing a new four-song EP entitled No Star on October 22nd EDIT: 11/11/10 -- great to hear considering they are currently without a label. The band, now a four piece, put up the title track from the new EP on SoundCloud just a few days ago before leaving for their Japanese tour. You can check out the thrilling, excited tune below. I can't tell you how excited I was after 1) learning they were still going strong 2) had recorded and were releasing a new EP and 3) they posted a new song for everyone to hear (!).

The Velvet Teen - "No Star"


No Star EP Tracklist
1) No Star
2) Forfor
3) Fixing a Faucet
4) Pavlovian Bell

The Velvet Teen
Official Site
Facebook
MySpace
Fuck Yeah, The Velvet Teen Tumblr (Fan operated)

*What? That seemed rather important to note.