Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start will be playing a special one off reunion date in Philadelphia, PA on January 12th at Union Transfer with A Great Big Pile Of Leaves. Buy tickets here and check out the poster below by clicking “Read More.”
PropertyOfZack is incredibly excited to announce, in conjunction with AbsolutePunk, our sponsorship of Topshelf Records’ CMJ Showcase in Brooklyn, NY on October 19th. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Slingshot Dakota, A Great Big Pile Of Leaves, Diamond Youth, Prawn, and several other unannounced great guests will all be playing. Check out extra details for the event above and RSVP on Facebook here!
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have released a new studio update via our friends at AbsolutePunk. Watch it here or below by clicking “Read More.”
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have finished recording their second full-length record. Check out a tweet from the band below by clicking “Read More.”
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have begun recording their new full-length record. Check out a picture and tweet from the band below by clicking “Read More!”
Brooklyn’s A Great Big Pile Of Leaves can be a bit tough to pin down; their brand of raggedy indie rock has found them touring with a list of acts as diverse as Saves The Day, Hellogoodbye and Mansions and not feeling out of place alongside any. Now, their connections with another one-time tour partner—Motion City Soundtrack, whose synth op Jesse Johnson manages the group—have lead to the band recording a 7” as part of the Making Moves series, an ongoing collaboration between MCS and Drexel University’s MAD Dragon Records.
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have a very distinctive, if hard to describe sound; there are particular keys they return to often, chord changes and rhythmic patterns that wend their way through many, if not most, of the band’s songs, a sonic fingerprint that leaves Making Moves immediately placeable for anyone familiar with their past work. While each of the tracks here takes a completely different stylistic approach, melodically they feel like three sides of the same coin (which, if you think about it, is really quite a feat)
Most straightforward is “Pet Mouse,” a mid-tempo rocker with an insistent bass hook and a boisterous, Weezer-y lead that captures the raucous energy of the band’s live set better than anything they’ve recorded to date. “Writing Utensil” sounds like fan-favorite “We Don’t Need Our Heads” (from the band’s 2010 full-length Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex?) played at half-time, slouching out of creaky feedback to laze in the sun a bit before corroding into squealy decay and bang-on-a-can drums. And “Ambiversion” flips off the power entirely with a close-mic’d acoustic guitar balanced by Pete Weiland’s echoey, reverb-y vocals, coming off vaguely like something out of an early Bright Eyes number.
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have officially released their Making Moves 7” via Mad Dragon Records and Boombox Generation, and the band was kind enough to write a Track-By-Track guide for PropertyOfZack. Check out the feature below!
Pet Mouse
This was one of the first new songs that we had been working on for the full length, and we decided that we would use it for this 7” series because it seemed to be a little different from the other stuff we had been working on. We all live together in Brooklyn, and we actually had this tiny mouse running around our apartment for a long time, not sure where he is now, but I like to think he’s on an adventure somewhere like in Fievel Goes West.
Writing Utensils
We originally envisioned this song to be an instrumental on the next full-length, but we decided it would be a cool instrumental for this release, and then we decided that it would be even cooler with vocals on it. The track really came together in the studio, it took a much different direction than we thought it would, and that’s one of my favorite things about recording, it gets the creative juices flowing, and in the moment you never know where a song is going to take you.
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves will be joining The Front Bottoms and Cheap Girls for a few dates this fall. Check them out below by clicking “Read More.”
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have released a new song called “Pet Mouse.” Stream and download it below by clicking “Read More.”
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves will be releasing a new song from their Making Moves 7” on Thursday. Check out a message from the band below by clicking “Read More.”
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A Great Big Pile Of Leaves 7” Track Listing
AGBPOL Add Matt Fazzi As Official Member
MAD Dragon Records and Boombox Generation are releasing their Making Moves 7”s throughout the year with A Great Big Pile Of Leaves, The Company We Keep, Motion City soundtrack, Goldrush, The Skies Revolt, and Brick + Mortar. Today we’re bringing you a new PropertyOfZack Playlist featuring four of the bands in the series. Check out the Playlists and listen to the songs while reading everyone’s thoughts!
(Click on image to listen in Spotify)
Boat - Landlocked
I got hold of this album very recently and it rules. This song is fun and one of my favs. It keeps me smiling through NY subway rides.
The Suicide Machines - Break The Glass
I love finding gems from my past that had great sentimental value to me, and I’m really good at not throwing things away over the years, so I have a nice back-stock of those gems. This album is one of those, I think I bought it when I was in seventh-grade from Sam Goody.
Kings of Convenience - Mrs. Cold
Probably my top choice of a live show to see that I haven’t seen yet. I’ve been playing this track a lot recently, it makes you glide when you walk, try. - Pete Weiland
Cat Stevens - The Wind
Sometimes songs are time-machines/teleportation-devices. The Wind brings me right back to my first transatlantic sail. We only had a few pirated CDs aboard that we bought from a guy walking through a bar on the island of Majorca and The Very Best of Cat Stevens was one of them.
The Roots - Act Too (The Love Of My Life)
In college I had a late night hip hop radio show and this was one my favorite spins. One of many little gems I discovered wandering through the radio station stacks between two and three AM on Tuesday nights in the basement of the student center.
Evans Trio - Detour Ahead Bill
Bill Evans is amazing. Waltz for Debby is perfect. - Tucker Yaro
Person L - Untitled
This is one of the last songs on The Positives, I’ve always been a fan of anything Kenny does, but this record and band in general is perfect for what I’ve been listening to. Sadly I caught on about a year too late, but I’m hoping they’ll be doing some more stuff soon.
Rogue Wave - Solitary Gun
I was a big fan of Asleep at Heaven’s Gate and when I realized they had come out with a new record, I had to grab it. This is the starter-track on the record.
Tom Petty - Into the Great Wide Open
We’ve been off the road for about a month now, and working on new material, but this song (any Tom Petty song really) reminds me of being in the van and driving on any highway throughout the country.
Third Eye Blind - Narcolepsy
Another tour favorite in the van. I remember buying all of their records on a super long drive from Orlando to Austin. I know this band is huge, but for some reason I still feel like they are underrated as musicians. - Tyler Soucy
(Click on image to listen in Spotify)
Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros - Home
I really have been into this song lately. It’s super catchy and has awesome crowd singing parts. Something that I’ve always liked in music.
Iggy Pop - The Passenger
An Iggy Pop song featuring David Bowie, enough said.
The Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
Late last year I found Hello Nasty in one of my old CD cases. Have been listening to this song pretty regularly since.
Soul Savers - Revival *Song is currently not on Spotify
This song just has an awesome feel. The song is pretty much just organ and drums and straight up soul.
Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla
I have liked Sigur Ros for a long time. This song has that epic feel that I’m always looking for.
Arcade Fire - My Body Is a Cage
As an awkward kid that grew into an awkward adult, I just feel like I can relate to this song a lot. I also love how huge it feels once it kicks in.
Death Cab For Cutie - Different Names for the Same Thing
When we got home from our last tour I was given a ticket to a Death Cab show where they played with a symphony. Been on a little Death Cab kick since.
Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
Sometimes I just like to listen to bouncy songs that change up a lot. This song is one of those I’ve been listening to recently.
Jimmy Eat World - A Sunday
Jimmy Eat World is one of those bands that I have a lot of respect for. This is one of those songs that resurfaces in my playlist every couple years.
The Clash - Train In Vain (Stand By Me)
There is just something about bitter sweet songs that I like a lot. This song has that happy music thing going on with a sad subject. This is also one of those songs that pops up in my play list pretty regularly.
Cursive - Some Red-Handed Sleight Of Hand
RAW. Can’t ever get enough of Cursive.
(Click on image to listen in Spotify)
Dr. Dog - Worst Trip
These dudes are awesome! Wonderful use of creative and weird melodies and chords. They always send me back to the drawing board with every new song I hear from them.
The Beach Boys - The California Saga (Big Sur)
This three part song/story is easily the weirdest and most compelling thing I’ve heard from the Beach Boys ever. Some hate it, but I just can’t get enough of this stuff!
Wyclef Jean - Staying Alive *Song is currently not on Spotify
Taking old beats and making them way newer and the creativity of these rhyme schemes is pretty impressive. I can totally see Wyclef doing a Dylan song someday.
Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness
This song is hands down one of the best male vocal performances of all time, and then when you listen to the live at Monterey version he takes it to a WHOLE different level!
Isley Brothers - Fight The Power (Part 1 & 2)
Nasty groovin’…
Beatles - Savoy Truffle *Song is currently not on Spotify
George is the most in-your-face of the fab fo’.
Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana *Song is currently not on Spotify
Satisfies the 80’s-hair-shredder, groove-demon, and classically-trained perfectionist in me all at once. And the video is sick!
Busta Rhymes ft. Mystical - Iz They Wildin Us & Getting Rowdy Wit Us?
Angry rap meets Baroque phrasing and speed! And they said it couldn’t be done.
The Beatles - Baby’s In Black *Song is currently not on Spotify
It’s really hard to pick just one Beatles song. Dear Prudence, I’ve Just Seen A Face, In My Life, You Won’t See Me, Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand, And Your Bird Can Sing … How do you pick??
The Beatles - Hey Bulldog *Song is currently not on Spotify
Okay, I couldn’t pick just one.
The Zombies - Care Of Cell 44
How can you NOT like this song??
The Jackson 5 - I’ll Be There
The world’s most fabulous group and one of the best songs ever ever ever. Just look over your shoulder!
(Click on image to listen in Spotify)
The Cool Kids - Rush Hour Traffic
This songs beat got me. I tried listening to the rest of the album but this one was the only gem on it.
Death Grips - The Fever (Aye Aye)
I love the usage of samples in this track, especially the one that opens up wide in the chorus. This is the newest music I’ve been listening to, some weird shit, but awesome.
Kimbra - Settle Down
I am in love with this woman. The capacity for harmony that she has is incredible. The video is really cool too.
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves are releasing their Making Moves 7” on July 24th via MAD Dragon Records. Check out the track listing below by clicking “Read More.”
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have officially added Matt Fazzi as an official member of the band. Check out a message from the band on the news below by clicking “Read More.”
PropertyOfZack Gallery : : The Bamboozle Festival 2012 (Day II)
Features: A Great Big Pile Of Leaves
Location: Asbury Park, NJ
Photos By: Hilary J. Corts
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves have been added to the Saturday date of this year’s Bamboozle Festival. Check out the full lineup below by clicking “Read More!”
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Enola
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