Midlake’s debut album, Bamnan and Slivercork, has spent the last two years flying well below the radar. Not as quirky as Grandaddy and less pretentious than Radiohead, Midlake gently nudged their way, sonically and alphabetically, between those two bands in my music collection. With the recent unveiling of their new album, The Trials of VanOccupanther, in stores July 25th, Midlake won’t be able to avoid the spotlight for much longer. For the most part they’ve ditched the keyboards replacing them with more guitars, acoustic and electric, as well as more vocals. The resulting sound boldly embraces the country/folk rock of the mid-70s as Midlake channels the likes of The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. Midlake wears their influences on their sleeves while managing a classical, button-down sound all their own.
*A note on the downloads: with the exception of “Roscoe” all links point to .zip files containing the MP3s so you won’t be able to preview them directly. They’re all worth downloading. Trust me.
My eyes burn. They’re too sensitive. Been staring at my computer too long. Reminds me of the night, years ago, a cop pulled me over on my way home from work. It was late. I had been doing inventory at the record (yes, record) store where I worked. Music Plus. Strolling up to my window the cop took one look at me, at my bloodshot eyes and said, “Son, what have you been smoking?” I told him the truth and nothing but the truth. Had he heard the soundtrack to our record counting adventure I doubt he would have believed me when I told him I hadn’t been smoking anything. The soundtrack was Crashing Dream by Rain Parade. That memory blossomed today thanks to the warm, dusty psychedelic songs of Derek Fairbridge. These could pass as lost songs from Crashing Dreams sessions. I love that about music—its power to unveil the past, offer hope for the future (No Sean, this inventory won’t last forever. Your eyes won’t fall from their sockets). Unfortunately that was Rain Parade’s last album, and seemingly it’s Derek Fairbridge’s only album.
Another guest post (I’m trying to be on vacation). This one’s from Sean M. in New Hamburg, Ontario. I thought it appropriate that a Canadian school us on an American group this 4th of July.
The Long Winters are long overdue for an overhaul on the ‘hive. They were one of the first five original posts, back when we were just so excited to be live, sharing music that we loved, we’d post a micro-review of the band, and move on to the next one. So more background on The Long Winters: it’s the brainchild of John Roderick along with a revolving cast of musicians. Roderick’s an Alaskan native living in Seattle, so there’s lots of talent to tap up there. Producer Chris Walla and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) are among the many who have put up with Roderick who’s a self-proclaimed “little grouchy Napoleon” (and I don’t think he means of the Dynamite variety). Says a lot about his strength as a songcrafter—that he attracts that caliber of musician. Musically he’s a little bit folk, a little bit psychedelic, like Apples In Stereo caught up in A Mighty Wind. You’ll get caught up in the music and the charming earnestness of his vocals and lyrics. 
This is a guest post from 3hive junkie 
Self-pigeonholed as “romanticore,” L.A.’s Bedroom Walls are equal parts dreamy and playful. Raised in the suburbs, guitarist and songcrafter, Adam Goldman says the band tries to recreate the schizophrenia of his high school mix tapes. “You just love what you love without thinking too hard about classifications or sub-genres…I wanted to get all of that—the anglo-pop of Squeeze, the mythic pre-tensions of Led Zeppelin, the druggy bombast of Floyd, the teenage narcissism of the Smiths.” That should peak your interest. Busy making your summer mixtapes? We love a good summer song and “Your Idea of a Holiday” is just a gem.