Hey Lover

Hey Lover is the latest boy/girl duo to be covered here on 3hive. So while Hey Lover proves the genre is still going strong, with plenty of opportunity in the single guitar and drums space, this Portland band is also the most likely to destroy their kit with their frantic punk-pop pounding. And that's a good thing.

She's in the City [MP3, 3.3MB, 224kbps]

heylovermusic.com
www.hovercraftproductions.com

The Like Young

"For Money or Love," the second song on The Like Young's Last Secrets really says it all about the Like Young: for the love of their music, for the love of the band, for the love of each other (they're married), Amanda and Joe made sacrifices to do what they loved, despite the struggles with money. Last Secrets explains it all, and perhaps, fittingly, was their last album before they retired the band back in August. Many more songs of their duo-punk-rock from earlier releases can be downloaded from their site.

For Money or Love [MP3, 3.0MB, 192kbps]
Dead Eyes [MP3, 3.5MB, 192kbps]

www.polyvinylrecords.com
www.thelikeyoung.com

The Thermals

Like that sullen kid in high school who was aggressively straight edge and pissed off because no one else knew what it meant, the one who deliberately got every question wrong on the ACT because it's harder than getting every question right, like Minor Threat 25 years earlier (jeez, is it already that long?), The Thermals have something to say and they want to make sure you don't miss it. Offering loud, sloppy, aggressive "post-pop-punk" as they like to call it, this Portland band's brand of anti-establishment, high-octane anger is gaining so much ground it made The New York Times a few weeks ago. The top two tracks below are from their most recent effort, The Body, The Blood, The Machine, recorded by Fugazi's Brendan Canty. (See, there is a Minor Threat connection.)

Here's Your Future [MP3, 2.8MB, 160kbps]
A Pillar of Salt [MP3, 3.3MB, 160kbps]
How We Know [MP3, 4.5MB, 192kbps]
A Stare Like Yours [MP3, 3.8MB, 192kbps]
No Culture Icons [MP3, 2.1MB, 128kbps]

www.subpop.com
www.thethermals.com

The Fatels

Sure, the UK's The Fatels are starting to get some buzz, as they say in the biz, but boy I am a sucker for their distinctly London-eque, pounding punk/post-punk pop. Especially refreshing is knowing that only three people made all this racket! More downloads available on their sites below.

Sunni Cher [MP3, 3.8MB, 160kbps]

www.myspace.com/fatels
www.myspace.com/fatels2

The God Damn Doo Wop Band

I did a workshop at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum about ten years ago — how to be a rock & roll teacher, hell yeah! — and there was this guy who just kept asking questions about doo wop bands. He was one of those guys who feels the need to comment at every single meeting, and so it was all like, "What about The Marcels?" and " What about Vito and the Salutations?" or whatever. Most of my classmates had enough of him by the end of our first session together. Anyway, I have a feeling he would not appreciate The God Damn Doo Wop Band. Though tapping in to the grand tradition of the venerable genre, these Midwest girls (on the voices) and guys (on everything else) are clearly doo-wopping their own way. Straight out of the Twin Cities, their 2006 album Broken Hearts received a bunch of critical acclaim that, in true 3hive tradition, we totally missed last year.

Rooftops of Bangor [MP3, 3.5MB, 160kbps]

www.afternoonrecords.com
www.myspace.com/thegoddamndoowopband

The Crabapples

Yes, OCD, you don't need to tell me. "Hi, my name is Clay, and I'm obsessively compulsed with Slumberland Records!" Hey, the first step is admitting you have a problem. And my problem is the self-described "loud but melodic...catchy tunes played with sloppy abandon" that are Slumberland Records and the Crabapples. Continuing with the self-descriptions, the Crabapples rush "along in a breathless blur, fuelled by lager, explosive tunes and a love of great pop." I'll be sure to bring that up at my first meeting...

London Belongs To Me (Pt. 2) [MP3, 2.5MB, VBR]

www.slumberlandrecords.com

Henry's Dress

Slumberland Records changed my life. My first Slumberland purchase was the compilation Why Popstars Can't Dance, which introduced me to Rocketship, whose 7" "Hey, Hey Girl" I have completely worn out. My second Slumberland purchase is still the most prized piece of vinyl that I own: Henry's Dress "1620." (My failure to obtain the Henry's Dress/Rocketship split single released on Slumberland in 1996 and re-released in 1999 still haunts me.) Slumberland also introduced an entire new world of bands to me, many of whom have been my "favorite" band at particular points in time. The aformentioned Rocketship and Henry's Dress, plus Lilys, Small Factory, Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Swirlies, The Ropers, Jane Pow, Boyracer, Beatnik Filmstars, Hood, The Aislers Set, and The How.

I've mentioned Henry's Dress several times in my last few posts, so with the rebirth of the Slumberland website, it was time to finally get my beloved Henry's Dress on 3hive. Henry's Dress is my favorite band of all time, cause I simply keep coming back to them over the years, and each time it's like discovering their feedback-drenched, bass-heavy, punk-pop songs that could rarely reach three minutes all over again for the first time. I'll spare you a long history of the band and even more of my sentimentality, other than saying that former members can be found in The Aislers Set and The How so you can get on with the downloading.

from 1620:
1620 [MP3, 4.5MB, VBR]

from Henry's Dress:
Definitely Nothing [MP3, 2.0MB, VBR]
You Killed A Boy For Me [MP3, 1.5MB, VBR]

from Bust 'Em Green:
Hey Allison [MP3, 2.3MB, VBR]
Zero Zero Zero [MP3, 1.6MB, VBR]

www.slumberlandrecords.com

Rainer Maria

I remember my friend Tim Ortopan was so excited after he bought Rainer Maria's latest (well, April '06) album Catastrophe Keeps Us Together that he had me listening to it within 24 hours of purchase. It's a shame there don't seem to be any free, legal and full-length MP3s from Catastrophe... available to post here, because they'd be a good fit at the top of our list, showing the all-important change over time ("delta" from science class, right?). If you can't hear the development and maturity of a band while working bottom-up through the selection of songs below, go get your earwax cleaned out! Obviously, I think Catastrophe... continues this trend with wonderful results. From pounding drums and entwined screaming voices back in the '90s to today's complex and melodic sounds, Rainer Maria just makes good music.

The Double Life [MP3, 3.1MB, 128kbps]
Ears Ring [MP3, 3.3MB, 128kbps]
Artificial Light [MP3, 3.3MB, 128kbps]
Breakfast of Champions [MP3, 3.3MB, 128kbps]
Tinfoil [MP3, 4.4MB, 128kbps]

www.grunionrecords.com
www.polyvinylrecords.com
www.rainermaria.com