Home Blitz “Frozen Track” / Terrible Truths “Lift Weights”

The New York based Mexican Summer is still a relatively young record label (2007), but they are no lightweight as far as having their name bring recognition to a band. Releasing material from artists ranging from Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti to Kurt Vile and Real Estate, the label has become something of a lo-fi pop beacon since its inception. While they do have some bigger name releases dropping this fall (including the highly anticipated new LP from Fresh and Only’s), this post is to check out a few songs from lesser known bands on the label. The top video is the song “Lift Weights” from the forthcoming (tomorrow) 7″ from the band Terrible Truths. The song is a dark, hypnotic stab at hazy post-punk and is definitely the stronger of the two songs. The other track is the more hamfisted “Frozen Track” by Home Blitz. There seems to be a desire to infuse some Pavement-esqe level of sardonic alt-rock into the equation, but it mostly sounds like a lazy band with cast aside vocals over a generic blues riff. The discrepancy between the tracks goes to show that Mexican Summer isn’t following a rigid ideology, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, the variety in material means that for every “Life Weights” there is a chance there is a “Frozen Track” lumbering behind it. Find these two releases and more at the Mexican Summer website.