Announcing a new column here at End Hits, wherein we review every last bit of new vinyl that gets sent to us. You want your band’s new release to be covered here on the blog? If it’s on vinyl, send it in and we’ll review it.
As if putting on great music and multimedia shows weren’t enough, Eastside venue Holocene started its own label, putting out records by the Shaky Hands and Alela Diane. Now Holocene Music has just put out a 7” single of cover songs performed by San Francisco band Sholi. The a-side is a song called “Hejrat” which was originally performed by Googoosh, an Iranian singer popular in the 1970s. I hadn’t heard the original, and I initially found Sholi’s take to have an almost Latin/surf vibe, until lead singer Payam Bavafa starts singing in Farsi. He doesn’t shy away from the Qawwali-influenced melisma that the song requires, and it’s damn impressive. Meanwhile, the rest of Sholi provide typical indie-rock backing, with guitar and bells; drummer Jonathon Bafus packs in as many drum fills as he can and consistently changes the beat, which creates excitement and progression throughout the track.

The b-side is Joanna Newsom’s “The Sprout and the Bean,” starting with her harp riff transposed to guitar. The song begins lazily, with Bavafa’s vocal a lot more palatable than Newsom’s childlike crow, and the band’s full band arrangement more satisfying than her solo harp. It progresses, gaining momentum and urgency as it goes along, before breaking down and fading into anonymous chatter.

Both tracks are expertly played, although the recording quality is nothing to write home about. The single is handsomely packaged with a cover image of a family presumably watching Googoosh on TV. It comes with a coupon to download digital versions of the tracks - a BIG, BIG plus, one that is becoming commonplace with vinyl releases.

Here’s a video of “Hejrat”, as originally performed by Googoosh.

The video gets a little wonky toward the end, with an abrupt ending, but it’s fascinating to see this artifact. Keep in mind that females were outlawed from singing in public in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution.

You can get the Sholi 7” here.

And you can listen to both songs at Sholi’s MySpace page.

We love vinyl, so if you’re a label or band, send us your new vinyl for review! We’ll listen to it and put our thoughts up on the blog. Send to:
Portland Mercury
Attn: End Hits
605 NE 21st Ave., Suite 200
Portland, OR 97232