Hey, as I’ve admitted elsewhere on these pages, I was a child of the 80’s. When it came to the electronic music of the decade, I did have certain tastes. Big fan of Tears for Fears’ the Hurting, as well as A-ha (those Norwegians could write a fantastic pop song), the Thompson Twins (who weren’t really twins), the perverse Australian fun of Severed Heads, and even, gulp, for a brief while, the Communards. Despite their popularity at church dances, I was not so into Depeche Mode, and I sold Erasure back to the CD exchange store a week after buying it. After ending 2007 with the electronic pop of hollAnd, I’ll also start 2008 in the same vein, although the Fantasy Mirrors are much more blatant in their devotion to 80’s electronic music. Anyone care to take a stab at naming the Fantasy Mirrors’ influences?
Sneaky
Sneaky is the double-bassist from the UK pluckin’ and scratchin’ outfit Fingathing. His debut EP Feel Like a King is due sometime this spring and promises more pluckin’ than scratchin’…natch. The lead track, “Beduija,” has a nice curried flavor to it.
Holland Buffalo
Yay! It’s always a good email day when something comes from The Harvey Girls. You’re never sure what it might be – concept album, tribute, covers, et. al. – but you know that it will have a healthy dose of sweetly melancholic harmonies wrapped in a subtle sonic blanket that’ll keep you warm and cozy. Well, it turns out that for the past year or so they’ve been collaborating with the lovely and equally adventurous UK outfit Feedle, latter-day ambient wizards who make lo-fi electronic music that in more devious marketing hands might be called “lifestyle music.” What happens when the two come together? Layers upon layers of pop bliss. Plus, you can download the two tracks here and then go to Amie St. and get the other two for 26 cents, or be a real champ and buy the whole EP for a mere 52 cents. Yay!
Hello, Blue Roses
Today I will be brief in favor of yet another satisfying nap. I love slow, electronic-ish, mixed-voice fare. I really, really love it, actually. And from this vantage point, Sydney Vermont and “her man” [direct quote from Myspace bio, interesting…] Dan Bejar (who spends some time with Destoyer and the New Pornos as well) are yet another antidote to seasonal indulgence. This one was recommended by my dear friend Seth, who will leave New York City this week for more verdant vistas. How appropriate and delicious the melancholia.
Merry Christmas 2007
May you and yours have a festive and safe holiday this year. Please enjoy this Christmas song from our friends in Letting Up Despite Great Faults (gingerbread houses courtesy Sean’s kids):
Plastic Passion
On these very pages I have previously used the term “dance punk disco funk” to describe the Rapture. So please pardon me for applying the same label late on a Sunday night to London’s Plastic Passion. Owing an obvious debt to the Cure for inspiration and the name of their band, Plastic Passion are a rough and raw complication of their post-punk/new wave influences in an age where similar bands are perhaps a bit too slick in their production. I can unfortunately only imagine what grand fun their live shows are, combining said roughness with the palpable energy of their songs.
Pale Young Gentlemen
Orchestral pop is nothing new, but Madison, Wisconsin’s Pale Young Gentlemen manage to have fun with the genre by adding some theatrics and wit without overdosing on irony (though their cellist is, despite the fairly band’s descriptive name, a woman). That’s about all I have to say, as every other reputable music blog has already beat us to the punch.
Dujeous
Nothing says Thanksgiving to me more than Dujeous. Full disclosure: I’ve know these guys since before I was of legal drinking age, they are old friends and I am 100% totally, completely biased in their favor. Back in the good old days, there was always a Dujeous show to look forward to. You would see the family, put on your cute clothes and head out to whatever downtown venue the Duj happened to be playing at. You would have crushes on various Dujeous members. You would think you were really cool when you could sing all the words to “Spilt Milk”. But mostly, you would bliss out all night to the sweet sounds of good old-fashioned hip-hop, the kind that involves a drummer, a bass player, a trumpet and all manner of wonderful instruments. You may have heard the sounds of Dave Guy (trumpet) before, as he is super busy sidelining as a Dap-King, playing with Sharon Jones, a member of the Budos Band, appearing as a cartoon in the New Yorker and showing up on my television in Lily Allen’s band. The six other bandmembers, die-hard New Yorkers all, have been doing it up — producing, providing music for soundtracks of oscar winning films (see: Half Nelson), being MCs, touring what seems like ALL of Asia, popping up as staffers at my place of work, and just being Dujeous in general. (I’m told the name may serve as a noun, a verb or an adjective, depending on your mood.) I love them. Dujeous makes me highly nostalgic. More people should know about Dujeous. Hip-hop, instruments, big love for what they do — enough said.
Devin Davis
This is DIY at its best. Devin Davis did pretty much everything, from trombone to handclaps, on his 2004 release Lonely People of the World, Unite!. His old school indie-rock-soul sounds like it was backed by a crowd, but hey, that’s the point; lonely people usually have lots to say. Let’s hope a new release is on its way.
The Evens
To quote my friend Rick, “The best band ever.”Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina made this wonderful lo-fi pop (in punk rock style, of course), and frankly, we at 3hive have never featured a Dischord band until now. It was time to right this wrong.
Shelter Two [MP3, 3.6MB, 160kbps]Pushed Up Against the Wall [MP3, 3.3MB, 128kbps]