Small Black

Production-wise, "Despicable Dogs" is a little masked and faint (how bedroom), but it tugs at you so sweetly and sorrowfully that it begins to feel overwhelmingly huge. "Just Like Honey" huge. Small Black is the Long Island duo of Josh Kolenik and Ryan Heyner, and they make the kind of hazy lo-fi we've been hearing a lot this summer (live, they add Pitchfork.tv contributors Juan Pieczanski and Jeff Curtin to the mix). But as much as the season is about goofy sunglasses and cold beer, it's also about those garden-crippling late-month frosts. And these guys have that sense of yearning on lock. The pieces that comprise "Despicable Dogs" seem so Frisbee-friendly that you'd expect any emotional relevance to be rendered moot, from the tacky drum machine to the heavy processing on that tubular guitar noise, to the glossy melancholic key plunks. But it both warms and bruises at the same time. "Do it without me, do it when I'm gone," goes the hook. Such gimmick-free sentimentality can often prove too difficult to finagle, but "Despicable Dogs" is a guaranteed soul-stirrer. - Pitchfork

A few years ago a band called Slowlands had a few of us convinced they were on to something great. That band was built on crystalline guitars, glockenspiels, laptops, all very much in the spirit of those days, but none of the literal bells or whistles affirmed its being tipped for greatness like the writing and vocals of central figure Josh Kolenik. Slowlands disbanded, but Josh has proven those few of us right, just a few years (and turnover of equipment and band members) later.

On Small Black, Kolenik partnered with Ryan Heyner and spent a winter working his songs and signature, emotive yet low blood pressure delivery into a fuzzy casio keys and beats project that sits at the right place (peering up from under lo-fi murk and washed out production), at the right time. There's a torrent of artists trading and treading in the same vein, and having been awesomely remixed by the most appropriately named of the class, Washed Out, will help trend piece writers locate them some more. But Small Black have the benefit of a versatile songwriter, which helps makes them one of the better bets in a crowded field. That, and these songs they sent over: Take the glitched and swirling, hiss-swollen and dreamy melodrama of "Bad Lover" along with the gorgeous lo-fi keyboard pop of "Despicable Dogs" from the band's forthcoming self-titled EP as downpayment. And then see what Washed Out can do when remixing something equally hypnagogic.

Small Black - "Bad Lover" (MP3) - Stereogum

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Not even going to touch the whole glo-fi/chillwave/whatever we’re calling it this week thing, mainly because this is anything but chilled out or relaxing. Maybe by virtue of timing, or the fact that they like effects, Small Black have been lumped into a scene we’re not entirely sure they need to be a part of, and “Weird Machines” is proof of that. Part Suicide-esque grinder/ballad—the band somehow makes broken circuit keyboard wizardry and jagged drum machine tick sound beautiful and even kind of anthemic. “Weird Machines” is from Small Black’s EP, which is out October 13th (also known as next Tuesday). October tour dates are after the jump. - The Fader

It’s hard to explain just what makes the Brooklyn based group Small Black so damn enjoyable. It’s easy to listen to, while at the same time proves to hold a musical depth. I call it pregnant lo-fi. Three songs from the upcoming album are posted on their myspace page, the tracks are definitely worth a listen. - SPIN Earth

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Small Black
By CHRISTOPHER WEINGARTEN
Wednesday, September 16th 2009 at 3:41am

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Brooklyn's Small Black have a little bit of the dark wave moodiness that's been seeping up out of New York and a whole lot of the no-fi, bedroom cloud-punk that's been creeping up out of practically everywhere. Jury's still out on whether these Casio muck-gazers make happy or sad music, but it's certainly a grand gesture either way. - Village Voice