I got a nice little package in the mail from Sophomore Lounge Records.  Inside was a brand-spanking new split 7″ by two midwest bands.  The A-Side, by a Chicago band called Meah!, contains two doses of jangly, crazy, schizophrenic spazz-pop, think a slightly toned down version of Man Man.  The B-Side here really shines, as it’s by Kentucky’s Phantom Family Halo, a band that has recently tour with bands like Dead Meadown, Slint, etc.  Their song is a subtly psychedelic cover of Red Crayola’s “Hurricane Fighter Plane”.  The record sounds great, is on clear-blue vinyl, has an edition of 500, and comes packaged in a full-color jacket with hand-screened insterts.  Sophomore Lounge are a small, midwestern label worth supporting.  Give them your $6 at SophomoreLounge.com.

The second record they sent me wasn’t so much my style, but the band is from Iowa (my home state), so I would love to help spread the word about them.  The band is called Giving Up, the album is called “Gthrowing Up”.  They play lo-fi midwestern indie/punk rock with dueling male and female vocals.  The LP is on black vinyl, and it comes with a nice little hand-sewn zine full of photos and lyrics.  It costs $16.  Again, I will say that this stuff isn’t my usual cup of tea, but it has it’s charms, and I’m a full believer in supporting bands and labels from my little part of the country.  Visit SophomoreLounge.com.

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