Kelley Karas: You'll Never Get To Sleep

I like good relationship songs. Let me rephrase that. I like songs about relationships that are good - as in the lyrics don't keep saying "baby, baby, I love you, I love you!" ad nauseum, but rather convey a depth (sometimes uncomfortable) that strikes a chord or memory.

Kelley Karas certainly hits that motif with her latest song, You'll Never Get To Sleep.

 



I've been listening to this song all night, and between the vocals and lyrics, which remind me of the alternative Grrrrl Rock of the 90s - and the unique sound of her guitar, which manages slight distortion which still having a very clean and crisp sound - and a chord progression and voice that get caught in my head, I want more. I want more songs! I want albums! (Can you tell I like Kelley Karas' work?)

Kelley Karas is a guitar playing songwriter that hails from the American desert. Current and Former Bands Include: The Negative Nancys (all girl punk!/power pop), Asterionella (shoegaze) and Robot Nixon (Pop Punk.)

Major influences include: Sunshine, Cacti and Highway Signs.

Weird? You betcha. Why be serious when there's fun to be had?

If you want more, you can follow Kelley Karas over on her official Facebook page.

Lucid Optics: SADLIBS

This morning was a Monday like most - too little coffee in the can to make even half of a full-strength cup, the cat vying for my attention and insisting it can type better than I do by walking across the keyboard while I try to do research, finances I'm trying to ignore as they glower over my chair, and the eternal struggle to force a fearless face to fool the world for another 20 hours or so when I could easily find a book or blanket or some other place to stuff my head and put everything on pause...just for a little while.

Then Lucid Optics came across my screen and through my headphones, and it was exactly the turn in events that my mind needed.

Lucid Optics is indie hip-hop with a fantastic organic sounds - combining smart lyrics with analog sounds and 8-bit music. Their new album, SADLIBS, comes out on April 20th, and you can bet I'm going to add it to my collection.



What are they like?

They aren't. That is to say, I could enumerate what I hear as influences, but ultimately Lucid Optics is its own thing. Hip-tip, poetry, and punk? It's there in the lyrics. Experimental rock? It's there in the guitars. Electronica? It's all in the 8-bit music and chiptune runs. The closest thing that came to mind was Reaching Quiet's Broken Crow, which I haven't thought about since I listened to it back in '03.

Anyway, I'm running off the rails here, so let's get back on track.

Lucid Optics are based out of San Jose, CA, and they are able to harness the chaos of so many diverse genres and drive them into mindblowing tracks like Equivalent Exchange and Storms Reformed.

You can get Lucid Optics'  SADLIBS on April 20th, and in the meantime, get a sampling of their work over at bandcamp. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest scoop on what they're doing and where they're playing.