Donora

The new video for 'The World Is Ours' from Donora is the kind of one-take tracking shot that never fails to impress. The clip documents what starts out as an innocuous barbecue and follows the apocalyptic mayhem that ensues after the party begins to go south (or north, depending on how you like to party) at the drop of a hat. The whole affair is set against a patient piece of electro-pop from the young Pittsburgh indie rockers.

"We had such a fun time shooting this video," lead singer Casey Hanner tells Spinner. "We got a bunch of our family and friends to be in it, and they were all great sports (it wasn't easy sitting in a hot tub for six hours on one of the hottest days of the summer). If you look closely, you can see my mom, dad, sister and aunt. You can also pick out some members of the Rostrum Records family. And if you look really closely, you might be able to find a picture of one of our friends dressed in full marching band gear from high school."

Also included in the highlight reel for the video: a dude manning the grill who jettisons burgers over his shoulder and somebody getting punched in the face repeatedly.

Donora's sophomore full-length, 'Boyfriends, Girlfriends,' is out Sept 27 on Rostrum Records. - Spinner

The new video for 'The World Is Ours' from Donora is the kind of one-take tracking shot that never fails to impress. The clip documents what starts out as an innocuous barbecue and follows the apocalyptic mayhem that ensues after the party begins to go south (or north, depending on how you like to party) at the drop of a hat. The whole affair is set against a patient piece of electro-pop from the young Pittsburgh indie rockers.

"We had such a fun time shooting this video," lead singer Casey Hanner tells Spinner. "We got a bunch of our family and friends to be in it, and they were all great sports (it wasn't easy sitting in a hot tub for six hours on one of the hottest days of the summer). If you look closely, you can see my mom, dad, sister and aunt. You can also pick out some members of the Rostrum Records family. And if you look really closely, you might be able to find a picture of one of our friends dressed in full marching band gear from high school."

Also included in the highlight reel for the video: a dude manning the grill who jettisons burgers over his shoulder and somebody getting punched in the face repeatedly.

Donora's sophomore full-length, 'Boyfriends, Girlfriends,' is out Sept 27 on Rostrum Records. - Spinner

What: Pittsburgh’s indie-pop trio Donora take a trip back to the days of early 90s roller rink dance teams in their video for “And Then The Girls”. Roll, bounce, and watch.

Donora’s sophomore release, Boyfriends, Girlfriends, is out now on Rostrum Records.
- Consequence of Sound

What: Pittsburgh’s indie-pop trio Donora take a trip back to the days of early 90s roller rink dance teams in their video for “And Then The Girls”. Roll, bounce, and watch.

Donora’s sophomore release, Boyfriends, Girlfriends, is out now on Rostrum Records.
- Consequence of Sound

At first glance, Donora's video "And Then The Girls" video might seem like a total overload of retro-cheesy wackness. The video's centerpiece is a series of choreographed roller-skating routines, each filmed in mega-low-budge footage that suggests it's been ripped from a VHS tape recorded no later than 1987. That footage is spliced with goofy graffiti graphics and cut with shots of Donora singer/guitarist Casey Hanner, dancing away in her pleated denim jacket and high-waisted jeans (with the occasional fake firework blasting off behind her).

Watch Donora's "And Then The Girls" video after the jump.

But keep watching, and the video is sure to work its irony-free magic on you. "And Then The Girls," the latest single off of Donora's sophomore album, Boyfriends, Girlfriends, captures the Pittsburgh-based indie-pop trio at their dreamiest -- kind of like a breezier, cheerier Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or maybe Sleigh Bells minus the metal-soaked guitar. By the time the Day-Glo stars start shining in sync to the song's twinkling sound effects, you're practically sighing at the supersweet innocence of it all.

In the world of "And Then The Girls," everyone's just out to have a real good time. Even that ponytailed dude roller-dancing away in his purple-sequined top. Especially him. - MTV

At first glance, Donora's video "And Then The Girls" video might seem like a total overload of retro-cheesy wackness. The video's centerpiece is a series of choreographed roller-skating routines, each filmed in mega-low-budge footage that suggests it's been ripped from a VHS tape recorded no later than 1987. That footage is spliced with goofy graffiti graphics and cut with shots of Donora singer/guitarist Casey Hanner, dancing away in her pleated denim jacket and high-waisted jeans (with the occasional fake firework blasting off behind her).

Watch Donora's "And Then The Girls" video after the jump.

But keep watching, and the video is sure to work its irony-free magic on you. "And Then The Girls," the latest single off of Donora's sophomore album, Boyfriends, Girlfriends, captures the Pittsburgh-based indie-pop trio at their dreamiest -- kind of like a breezier, cheerier Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or maybe Sleigh Bells minus the metal-soaked guitar. By the time the Day-Glo stars start shining in sync to the song's twinkling sound effects, you're practically sighing at the supersweet innocence of it all.

In the world of "And Then The Girls," everyone's just out to have a real good time. Even that ponytailed dude roller-dancing away in his purple-sequined top. Especially him. - MTV

It's funny how our music tastes change. Not just with age, which is the obvious one, but even within a space of time as short as a couple of weeks - or even literally overnight.

Don't worry, dear reader, I'll get round to recommending some music in a few paragraphs' time. For now this blog post is going to be a little more personal than usual - but hey, blogs are meant to be personal, right?

I first downloaded 'Oblivion' by Grimes back in, I think, October, and thought it was a pretty good song. I went on to listen to the second single, 'Genesis', but it didn't really grab me and so I didn't bother checking out the album.

If you read this blog regularly - errr well, as often as Ben and I post content - you may have caught my frothing-at-the-mouth review of Visions back in March. So what changed? The cynic in me wants to say that it was hearing 'Genesis' again on 6 Music ('Fro brain logic: this is on 6 Music, ergo must be trendy), but I like to think that my adoration for the album was brought on, not by peer pressure, but a very dark mood.

Yes, for those who may not know, three months ago our very own Quiff pipped me to the post to become editor of our student newspaper. I hold nothing against him for it, but I was, I hope understandably, pretty upset. Suddenly, Visions made sense. Its bleakness and alienation spoke to me in a way that I don't think it would have done before - certainly at least not to the same extent.

I'm pleased to say that I feel considerably more positive today; yet, while my outlook has improved, Visions has as the same time lost some of its appeal for me, the same intensity and bleakness which originally drew me to the album instead turning me off it. I still think it's a tremendous piece of work - I just don't want to listen to it anymore.

[free mp3] Grimes - Genesis
[mp3] Grimes - Be A Body

On to the present (and music recommendations, yay!): What sums up my present mood is a great record called Boyfriends, Girlfriends by Donora. I downloaded the single 'And Then The Girls', an angular indie-rock boogie with a killer chorus, after a recommendation from I Guess I'm Floating. It's one helluva track, and after a couple of listens to sister single 'Mancini Dance Hall' I felt compelled to download the whole thing.

Unfortunately, I was a bit let down by the rest of the album - I was expecting upbeat disco tunes throughout, but instead a lot of it seemed a bit saccharine; romantic pop-rock for teenage girls. I'm not really one for soppiness, and I started cherry-picking the more bittersweet and danceable tracks.

That very same night, I caught up with someone I hadn't seen for a while and - well, I'm not spilling my entire personal life on here. But the next morning I had 'The World is Ours' in my head, a track I'd already pretty much written off, and suddenly the 'soppy' tracks seemed so much richer than they had twenty-four hours earlier. In fact, the catchy disco-tinged tunes which had initially drawn me to the album seemed, in comparison, a bit shallow.

God, this turned into a proper wall o' text, didn't it? To summarise the above: life can have a massive influence on the music you love, and you should go listen Boyfriends, Girlfriends by Donora now, as it's significantly deeper than first appearances might suggest.
- Quiff Pro 'Fro

It's funny how our music tastes change. Not just with age, which is the obvious one, but even within a space of time as short as a couple of weeks - or even literally overnight.

Don't worry, dear reader, I'll get round to recommending some music in a few paragraphs' time. For now this blog post is going to be a little more personal than usual - but hey, blogs are meant to be personal, right?

I first downloaded 'Oblivion' by Grimes back in, I think, October, and thought it was a pretty good song. I went on to listen to the second single, 'Genesis', but it didn't really grab me and so I didn't bother checking out the album.

If you read this blog regularly - errr well, as often as Ben and I post content - you may have caught my frothing-at-the-mouth review of Visions back in March. So what changed? The cynic in me wants to say that it was hearing 'Genesis' again on 6 Music ('Fro brain logic: this is on 6 Music, ergo must be trendy), but I like to think that my adoration for the album was brought on, not by peer pressure, but a very dark mood.

Yes, for those who may not know, three months ago our very own Quiff pipped me to the post to become editor of our student newspaper. I hold nothing against him for it, but I was, I hope understandably, pretty upset. Suddenly, Visions made sense. Its bleakness and alienation spoke to me in a way that I don't think it would have done before - certainly at least not to the same extent.

I'm pleased to say that I feel considerably more positive today; yet, while my outlook has improved, Visions has as the same time lost some of its appeal for me, the same intensity and bleakness which originally drew me to the album instead turning me off it. I still think it's a tremendous piece of work - I just don't want to listen to it anymore.

[free mp3] Grimes - Genesis
[mp3] Grimes - Be A Body

On to the present (and music recommendations, yay!): What sums up my present mood is a great record called Boyfriends, Girlfriends by Donora. I downloaded the single 'And Then The Girls', an angular indie-rock boogie with a killer chorus, after a recommendation from I Guess I'm Floating. It's one helluva track, and after a couple of listens to sister single 'Mancini Dance Hall' I felt compelled to download the whole thing.

Unfortunately, I was a bit let down by the rest of the album - I was expecting upbeat disco tunes throughout, but instead a lot of it seemed a bit saccharine; romantic pop-rock for teenage girls. I'm not really one for soppiness, and I started cherry-picking the more bittersweet and danceable tracks.

That very same night, I caught up with someone I hadn't seen for a while and - well, I'm not spilling my entire personal life on here. But the next morning I had 'The World is Ours' in my head, a track I'd already pretty much written off, and suddenly the 'soppy' tracks seemed so much richer than they had twenty-four hours earlier. In fact, the catchy disco-tinged tunes which had initially drawn me to the album seemed, in comparison, a bit shallow.

God, this turned into a proper wall o' text, didn't it? To summarise the above: life can have a massive influence on the music you love, and you should go listen Boyfriends, Girlfriends by Donora now, as it's significantly deeper than first appearances might suggest.
- Quiff Pro 'Fro