Bunnygrunt

A few months back while at my brother's, I picked up his bass guitar and started absent-mindedly playing it. At one point I suddenly realized I was playing the bassline from a Bunnygrunt song, "Macho Beagle" from their Standing Hampton 7" from 1994. Which lead me to wonder whatever happened to Bunnygrunt. The good news: Matt Harnish and Karen Reid, the brains behind this outfit, are still going strong. The bad news: "Me & My Vampire Friends" (in MP3 below) is too criminally short to give more than just a taste of their light-hearted, quirky, funny pop, but here you go anyway.

Me & My Vampire Friends [MP3, 0.8MB, VBR]

www.hhbtm.com
www.myspace.com/therealbunnygrunt

The High Water Marks

1,255 days. That's how long I've been waiting to post once again about a new album from the High Water Marks. And after patiently waiting for so long, today is the day. New album Polar is out now!

The Leaves [MP3, 3.8MB, VBR]

Original post 8/20/2004:

Last year my friend Matt was passing through town and I dragged him out to see the Apples in Stereo with opening act Oranger. After Oranger finished their set, he turned to me and asked, "How do you compare Apples and Oranger?"

With The High Water Marks we get to do just that. Featuring Apples in Stereo drummer Hilarie Sidney on guitar and Oranger drummer Jim Lindsay, with members of Palermo and Von Hemmling filling out the team, The High Water Marks have a rocking, jangling, cymbal-crashing good time. So Matt, the answer to your question is The High Water Marks.

Good I Feel Bad [MP3, 2.4MB, 128kbps]
Queen of Verlaine [MP3, 3.1MB, 128kbps]

www.hhbtm.com
www.highwatermarks.com
www.eeniemeenie.com

Casper & The Cookies

This CD's been staring me in the face for months. Staring up at me from the bottom of a towering stack of albums on my desk at home. Exactly why it took me so long to listen to it remains a mystery (I'm scared of alliteration? I became accustomed to it acting as a foundation to the mess that is my desk?). I mean I like cookies, especially since my friend Jennifer gave me this exquisite recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and I couldn't resist another day. So it's time to share the sharing as Casper and Co. have been very generous with a scrumptious batch of songs. The best way to describe Casper & The Cookies is kitchen sink pop because they're all over the place. They seemingly worship a great variety of pop idols. Wonderful moments of The Beach Boys ("Summer Spider" ), Big Star ("Sid from Central Park" ), XTC ("Little Lamb"), Violent Femmes ("Oh!") and The Damned ("Take It Away, Kathy") all manifest themselves in the songs. And in "Kroetenwanderung" the band literally turns to the kitchen for its instruments, snapping green beans and slamming cupboards to create an organic loop that provides the rhythm. Casper & The Cookies, like their name suggests, are playful, yummy and delightfully irresistible.

From The Optimist's Club:
Sid From Central Park [MP3, 4.0MB, 197kbps]
Kroetenwanderung [MP3, 5.0MB, 211kbps]

From Oh!:
Take It Away, Kathy [MP3, 4.0MB, 206kbps]
Oh! [MP3, 5.4MB, 213kbps]
Summer Spider [MP3, 5.4MB, 201kbps]

From How's Your Hand?:
Little Lamb is Terminator [MP3, 4.1MB, 128kbps]
All Messed Up Over Girls [MP3, 1.2MB, 130kbps]

Web only:
Wave of Mutilation [MP3, 2.8MB, 200kbps]

www.hhbtm.com
www.casperfandango.com