Frank YangGiven the unrelenting heat that defined the first two days of Pitchfork 2010, a forecast of rain for Sunday wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world and indeed, we got an impressive flash thunderstorm around noon – perfectly timed as I was still holed up in the hotel room. Unfortunately, said mini-monsoon didn’t actually wash away any of the heat, it just made it more humid. Awesome.

I don’t imagine the heat was bothering Best Coast, hailing as they do from the sunny climes of southern California. Their early afternoon slot on the B stage was pretty good proof that the festival schedule had been set some time ago, because if it had been put together in the last few weeks, the buzz around them and their forthcoming debut Crazy For You – out next week – would have warranted either a larger stage or later set time or both. As it was, the trio packed the field in front of the Balance Stage and delivered a set whose delivery wasn’t especially remarkable, but stripped of the lo-fi, garage-friendly production that has been one of their main talking points, it was evident that their songwriting smarts were for real. Great, hooky throwback pop however it’s marketed.

Photos: Best Coast @ Balance Stage – July 18, 2010
MP3: Best Coast – “Boyfriend”
MP3: Best Coast – “Something In The Way”
Video: Best Coast – “When I’m With You”
MySpace: Best Coast

Over at the Aluminum main stage, Girls were late getting started as girls often are, with frontman Christopher Owens looking dazed and maybe confused. Though their debut Album was one of 2009′s biggest records, their live show got only middling reviews, which was approximately what I thought when I saw them at SxSW last year. You couldn’t go so far as to say that heavy touring had turned them into a lean rock machine, but they did sound fuller and more assured than they once did, if still kind of sloppy. Like their fellow Californians in Best Coast, their jangly pop gleamed in the sunlight where it couldn’t hide behind the fuzz but rather than dispense with the noise and static entirely, the just saved it up for an epic and unexpected shoegaze-worthy guitar squall in the coda of “Hellhole Ratrace”. Wakey wakey.

Photos: Girls @ Aluminum Stage – July 18, 2010
MP3: Girls – “End Of The World”
MP3: Girls – “Laura”
MP3: Girls – “Lust For Life”
Video: Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”

At the end of the fest, there was Pavement. Following a bizarre introduction where Drag City’s Rian Murphy pretended to be a washed up radio shock jock (I only found out for certain it was a gag after the fact, but it was fun to have an excuse to yell profanities at a stranger), the reunited indie rock forebears took the stage to a riotous response and promptly messed up their first song. Okay, it was barely a false start but it definitely set the tone for a show that would be less about big rock moves or a barnburning festival finale than just playing the songs everyone wanted to hear and having a good time...

Photos: Pavement @ Aluminum Stage – July 18, 2010
MP3: Pavement – “Gold Soundz”
MP3: Pavement – “Rattled By The Rush”
MP3: Pavement – “Heckler Spray/In THe Mouth Of A Desert” (live)
MP3: Pavement – “All My Friends”
MP3: Pavement – “Greenlander”
Video: Pavement – “Major Leagues”
Video: Pavement – “Carrot Rope”
MySpace: Pavement

If you had joined Deerhunter’s Street Team as they so kindly asked, you’d have been in for a treat today: its members were just treated to a free download of the band’s new single, “Revival” b/w “Primitive 3D” plus the bonus tracks “Radio Play,” “Daybeams” and “Scruffy Scruff.” Members were to go to this site and enter a certain password (as revealed by Pitchfork, since removed at behest of the band) to download.

Non-Street Teamers can sit back and wait for Halycon Digest to arrive on 9/28, courtesy of 4AD.

Download the free Zeroes EP by new Secretly Canadian signees Suuns.

Said to have elements of Suicide, Clinic, and This Heat, as well as Joy Division and Can… how can you go wrong?

Back in April, we told you about Girls providing soundtracking for the gay hardcore short-film I Want Your Love (NSFW). Now, the filmmaker, Travis Matthews, just completed an intimate interview with Girls‘ Christopher Owens in his bedroom, talking about everything from being associated with gay sexuality, San Francisco, how Suede changed his world and a lot about the new Girls record. Check it out on the Travis Matthews dot com site or below:

Video: Christopher Owens Interview Pt. 1
Video: Christopher Owens Interview Pt. 2

To close out the interview, Christopher played a brand-new Girls song, called “Oh My Love:”

Video: Girls – “Oh My Love”