There’s nothing like a good protest song. There are plenty such songs—heck, whole bands, that just aren’t any fun. They take themselves so seriously and make music for people with no sense of humor or joie de vivre. That ain’t me, ‘coz I get the joie, baby! So does Frank Hoier. I bet if he watched the U.S. Vice Presidential debate last night, he started strumming “Jesus Don’t Give Tax Breaks to the Rich†about halfway through. And I bet if his bandmates the Weber Brothers were there with him, they started strumming and picking right along. And I bet that if anyone else was there, they all clapped and stomped their feet and sang along. And I bet instead of getting angry at the people who might rule the free world in a couple of months, they all smiled, laughed, and felt the joie!
Rickolus
You reap what you share. Here’s proof. A reader tipped me off to this prolific Floridian after encountering Radical Face on 3hive. Something’s obviously been brewing off the coast down there in Jacksonville, FL. Rickolus is one Richard Colado, who sings for the band The Julius Airwave, and he can’t seem to sit still for long. Below are songs from each of his five albums, recorded in as many years, with probably double the friends (including Ben Cooper AKA Radical Face). The recordings are inspired both thematically and sonically by everything from Colado’s children, video game music, anime, friends, to his own backyard. Winter’s Daughter is an intimate and introspective epic fable of, presumably, Colado’s children. American Backyard has a certain back-porch-folksy feel, Video Game Birthday Party’s darkly festive mood depends heavily on Casios and Korgs, and Soundtrack… predictably, but not disappointingly, sounds more cinematic. With the exception of the latter, Colado’s melancholic vocals accompany most of the songs. The quality and quantity of Rickolus’ music is worth way more than the word-of-mouth plug I’m offering here. And considering every song from every album is yours for the sharing it wouldn’t hurt donating a dime or two when you drop by for more downloads.
Hifiklub
Hot off the French Riviera and into my suburban home, a bike ride away from a large, democratic swath of California beach, via our trusty suggestion box is Hifiklub. Their album was produced by Earl Slick, best known for his guitar work on Bowie’s Young Americans and Station to Station albums. The first single, “Babe Doll” starts off with a Blur-esque dance beat, moaning guitars lead to spoken/sung vocals, the guitars go all angular, and then they’re just Dave Allen’s deadly bass groove shy of ushering in France’s Gang of Four resurgence. The band was kind enough to offer up a second track off their album, French Accent, which we’re happy to pass along to you even though thematically it’s the antithesis to our little “sharing the sharing” project here. Yep, it’s all about stealing from your favorite bands, but in the artsy sense of the word, not in that smarmy blogging way of stealing.
The Upallnights
In this time of political posturing and ramblin’ rhetoric I’ve found someone with whom I can agree: Introducing The Upallnights, who have proposed the following plan for potential supporters: “Let’s go to the airport and catch a random flight…Let’s got to where the governments don’t lie and everything you eat tastes like blueberry pie.” If they’re including a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream in the deal, count me in! The Upallnights are nothing more than four unassuming lads from Stockholm armed with guitars, drums, blasting out jangly punk pop bullets that will keep your feet dancing. The cover of their new EP, Factory Sessions, should give you an idea of the band’s modus operandi. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of young boys with light sabers, let me tell you they mean business. Stay out of their way, cuz they, um, just wanna have fun.
The Laureates
This post marks my return from “The Last Frontier,” Alaska. Yes, I’ve spent the last couple weeks far removed from what I consider civilization, cavorting with cohos, bears, foxes, moose, and mosquitoes. And the hot-fudge milkshake at Lucky Wishbone in Anchorage (oh man, they’d burn the hot-fudge just a bit for a palate pleasing punch. Heaven!). We did spend a few days in the wilderness, about fifteen miles north west of Willow where I mostly hung around the banks of the Deshka River with a fishing pole, coaxing those silver salmon onto my hook. Don’t mistake me for an outdoorsman though. My idea of the outdoors is the not-so-desolate stretch of the Pacific Ocean where I’m never too far from the Ahi Steak Sandwich at TK Burger. Once home, I stopped by the over-flowing post office box to begin catching up on music. The Laureates lured me in first with their brightly packaged advance of their debut album There are No More Gentlemen. I was easily hooked by their raw, ’60s freakbeat sound and their jerky, syncopated rhythms. A couple early Laureates fans beat me to some apt descriptions like “equal parts paisley and punk” and “Interpol produced by Phil Spector.” Absolutely right up my alley. You can also download their first EP off their site.
The Locals
The Locals e-mailed me some time ago suggesting that their indie-rock and my literary-minded randomness would work well together. (Hey, thanks for reading the posts!) Plus, they’re from Chicago and I used to live there too. And they’ve got this thing for a Danger Boy doll (go ahead, check the website) and 3hive’s good friend Dave used to go by that exact same nickname. Also, The Locals totally have this tight ’80s kind of thing going on, and I just love that sound. Therefore, I’m happy to offer up their hard work for free and legal download. And to congratulate the band on the recent release of Big Picture, their new album. And to say, to any reader who made it this far, “Tidal Wave” is pop beauty, catchy and hook-filled and summery and fun. “Big Picture” and “Perfect World” are more calm, more retrospective, but with nice heavy guitars and big drums. And The Locals rock, straight up.
Zoos of Berlin
I’m at least six months late in writing about this Detroit-based quintet, which gives me the luxury (or burden) of reacting not only to their music, but to others’ reactions to their music. One rarely hears Zoos of Berlin mentioned without a reference to Brian Eno and David Bowie collabos. And while there are certainly similarities, especially in Trevor Naud’s cool, spacey vocals, to focus on that is to miss the range that Zoos demonstrate live, or even in the three songs on their debut EP. “Below the Old House” serves up ebullient psychedelia then resolves in a trance-inducing ending. “Speak Well of Manderlay” romps and stomps about with an amped-up Baroque air. Then there’s “On Large Amusements,” my personal favorite, which fits a sprawling shoegazerly jam into an efficient two-and-a-half minutes—leaving you hungry for more. They’ve kindly permitted us to make all three tracks available for download so you can decide for yourself which Zoos of Berlin you like the most. Have fun.
Wild Years
Basically everything I know about Ann Arbor’s Wild Years is found on their myspace page. So download the song below, a twirling, whirling electronic piece, then head to their myspace page and grab their two EP’s for free. The older one has definite folk leanings, so knowing they pretty much make whatever music they want goes right along their dabblings in performance art.
Zooey
I think it’s pretty safe to say that you won’t be hearing about Zooey from many other music sites. A few weeks ago the band sent out an email blast and they forgot to BCC their mailing list. Ouch! Poor Zooey got an earful about that faux pas. Instead of drinking the Haterade I thought I’d listen in on what Zooey had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised by their semi-easy-listening-electronica. Zooey recently remixed “Change of Destination” by Monade and, if you can imagine, they made it even bubblier than the original. “Little Thunder” is brand new music while “You Gave Your Love to Me Softly” and “Rendez-vous” are from their 2005 self-released LP Pique-nique et jeux dans l’eau, which you can download in its entirety. Zooey is sweet, playful, and with the exception of their little “accident,” perfectly charming.
Bell
Is Olga Bell a Bjork sound-a-like? Not exactly. She probably gets asked this a lot, so to combat the similarities between their grand and ethereal Scandinavian voices–she cleverly decided to answer this question by starting with tribute. covering a Bjork track! She’s firmly not-Bjork. Nor is she Bjork-lite. When I first heard Bell, I was so-so on the whole thing. As when smelling a glass of wine, I was getting over-strong notes of the aforementioned Icelandic star and Radiohead. But my friend Seth kept telling me how much he loved her, so I kept listening. Where I ended up with was this: Bell is a singer whose personality comes through in her voice, a love for the staccato beat and someone I have come to really like listening to. I also love that she is Russian born, Alaska-reared and has somehow ended up in my own beloved Brooklyn. She also calls her laptop and instrument. And while I have been a detractor re: “laptops are music!” for ages, I’m kind of willing to buy that in her case.