Meho Plaza

Each dose of Meho Plaza's quirky, hooky electro-punk takes care of business, then bolts—leaving you craving more. I'd hardly call it minimalist, only that each musical element is used cunningly and sparingly. If there is an imbalance worth noting, it's that Mike Thrasher's lyrics take a back seat while the Moog gets its own dressing room—but it's all for the good. From what I've read, their live show's even better than the recorded version, and quite different. Alas, I'll never know firsthand until they get enough funding to tour beyond of their SoCal homebase...so buy this record (available on iTunes), if only for me and everyone else east of the Pacific Time Zone.

P.S. Whew, I made it to the end of the post without referencing Wire... Oops!

from Meho Plaza (2008):
The Beach [MP3, 3.4MB, 192kbps]
I Sold My Organs [MP3, 4.8MB, 192kbps]

Special Easter Egg Track:
Love Plus One (Haircut 100 Cover) [MP3, 3.6MB, 160kbps]

www.betterlookingrecords.com
www.mehoplaza.com
www.myspace.com/MehoPlazaMusic

Ravens and Chimes

Last week while on a family bike ride, my ears suddenly heard the sound of drums pounding in a garage. As we got got closer, I was able identify this beat as a definite 80's era hardcore punk beat, then gradually to hear distorted vocals and then the way too low guitar. Finally getting within range I saw a bunch of high school boys playing something I didn't expect; I'm pretty sure they were covering Black Flag. Not like how Korn or Fall Out Boy would play Black Flag, but Black Flag like a bunch of kids in a garage would play Black Flag. I was impressed.

So how does that tie into this post about NYC's Ravens and Chimes, a decidedly non-punk band of NYU students? Like our little punk friends in the garage, what they are playing is unexpected. In the case of Ravens and Chimes and their debut album Reichenbach Falls out October 9, their indie pop folk rock, like a younger, peppier Bishop Allen influenced by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen (their cover of his "So Long, Marianne" is below), displays a maturity that is a bit of a surprise. Perhaps their devotion to their influences has led them to play more from the heart. And perhaps as a thirtysomething I'm not giving the kids, be they liberal arts college students or high school boys in a garage, enough credit these days.

January [MP3, 2.5MB, 128kbps]
General Lafayette! You Are Not Alone [MP3, 4.8MB, 192kbps]
So Long, Marianne [MP3, 4.9MB, 128kbps]

www.betterlookingrecords.com/
www.ravensandchimes.com

Ryan Ferguson

Alright, I'm super-geeked for this one. "Only Trying To Help," Ryan Ferguson's first solo album is out in just about a month, August 21st, on Better Looking Records. Ferguson continues to shape his songs around the acoustic guitar, but he fills in the surrounding space with plenty of electric guitars, piano and xylophone, fully fleshing out tracks. Compared to his more stripped down EP (which is still available in its entirety below), Ferguson had the time and the room to see his songs through and add the proverbial bells and whistles. The three tracks offered here are just the beginning of his spot-on songwriting. His attention to hooks paired with an intensity, just this side of his No Knife days, make for an entirely re-listenable record. "Only Trying To Help" is what "pop-punk" should be.

Remission [MP3, 4.5MB, 192kbps]
X's and O's [MP3, 3.9MB, 192kbps]
Kill My Confidence [MP3, 4.5MB, 192kbps]

Original entry 12/13/2005:

You may be familiar with Ryan Ferguson via his band, the seminal indie rocker, No Knife. If not, you're in for double the pleasure. No Knife is to San Diego what Cursive is to Omaha. Unfortunately the band didn't survive, but as musicians are wont to do (surprise!) Ryan Ferguson kept writing songs. He drops the energy level a bit with his solo pieces, but his move to acoustic-based songwriting is more a pragmatic rather than maturing move. Due to the geography of his current residence he can't plug in and play loud. All the better really because Ferguson's sense of melody takes precident. The songs here range from a punk sounding acoustic track in "Suddenly," to a possible lost song from the Either/Or sessions in "On Elvira Street," to "Windshield" (featuring Rob Crow from Pinback) which sounds pleasantly like Self. A refreshing change from the myopic range of too many solo artists.

Ryan has been kind enough to allow 3hive to post his entire EP, Three, Four. So get to it. Start sharing the sharing. Download and pass it around to friends before this becomes a reality.

Suddenly [MP3, 4.0MB, 192kbps]
Not on My Watch [MP3, 4.5MB, 192kbps]
Windshield [MP3, 4.4MB, 192kbps]
Wait for Me There [MP3, 4.4MB, 192kbps]
On Elvira Street [MP3, 5.3MB, 192kbps]

www.betterlookingrecords.com
www.fergusong.com