We’ve been enjoying Beat Radio for a while here at the Hive, so it’s always nice to hear what else the guys have going on. Guitarist/vocalist Phil Jimenez and drummer Jim Mansfield, along with two more friends from Huntington, Long Island, New York, have been busy with Gordo Gringo, whose simple melodies and pensive chords mix just right with Jimenez’s gravelly, cathartic vocals. “Old Suitcase†is a particularly bittersweet anthem, and the other two tracks here aren’t far behind.
max Min
Austrian singer/songwriter Max Tertinegg, a.k.a. max Min, writes romantic, modern pop (that’s right, I’m on a pop kick… I’ll soon recover) replete with dreamy strings, horns, synths, harmonies, flawed English…whatever the moment calls for. It’s rather magical stuff. He’s got a political side, too, having crafted this amusing device that allows you to play speechwriter to The Decider himself (a little nod to “The Daily Show” there). Fun for the whole fam.
Bill Patton
Available in its entirety for free download from Bipolar Productions, Bill Patton’s cleverly fragile debut album Gets It On is looking for a good home. Part Neil Young from the “Sugar Mountain” days, part Dashiell Hammet meets Nick Drake (the title “A Crimefighter Who Pities Fools” should say enough), Patton’s sparse arrangements, with mumbled vocals and piercing pedal steel guitar, are about as emotive as you can get. Try two originals (especially “Dirty Woman”) and two covers — yes, from the Beatles and Prince — to get a handle on his unique sound and, of course, to enjoy. PS Thanks for the tip, Justin.
Penny Century
Someone left a tip for Penny Century in the comments to my Peter Walker post last week. I liked them enough to pull them up out of the comments and give them a proper review. Penny Century, their name lifted from the classic Love and Rockets comic book, is a five-piece from Sweden writing stripped down, almost fragile, pop songs lead by the charming vocals of Julia Hanberg. You know how Eskimos are supposed to have 100 words for snow? I think Swedes do too. Case in point, the lyrics to “Season of Mists:” “We drove through blizzering snow / I tried to warm my hands on a cigarette-lighter.” Spring is not the time you want to be reminded of blizzering weather, but that’s life. Sometimes the worst blizzering hits in April, crushing spirits and spoiling picnics. Here’s to a strong Spring for everyone. If it gets blizzery in your neck of the woods, be sure to snuggle up with Penny Century and a cigarette lighter.
The Wombats
This Liverpudlian marsupial is a distant cousin to the sorely missed Los Angeles marsupial, Possum Dixon. Note the similar lyrical delivery, a kind of snotty, melodic talking. The two species also share a certain jerky jangle in their guitars. The resemblance is most notable on “Derail and Crash.” The Wombats are known to travel as a trio and were first spotted in the wild, open myspace. Everyone here at 3hive looks forward to this fine specimen arriving to this continent for a prolonged stay.
Children of the CPU
Look at the cover. Look at the band name. WYSIWYG (a little tech nerd reference of my own there). Warm, synthy pop with sweet, disposable lyrics. Perfect for an analog road trip with your windows down.
Butterfly Explosion
Irish and Swedish bands. I’m a sucker for them. Irish caused I lived there for two years (even saw Bono’s house/castle/mansion on a road nicknamed, what else, Millionaire’s Row). Swedish cause they have some unexplained disposition to creating great pop music. Is it nature or nurture? Personally, I blame ABBA.
Butterfly Explosion are Irish, are unsigned, and recently played at SXSW. One reviewer names Duran Duran, Sigur Ros, Smashing Pumpkins, and My Bloody Valentine as comparisions. While I reject the MBV link (for reasons we won’t go into here), I would add Lush as a strong starting point. “Sophia” will be on a soon-to-be released EP.
Oh No! Oh My!
If you haven’t lately, why not stop by our links page? There’s a few of the usual suspects as well as some sites you may not be familiar with. Lots of good stuff to discover, like this gem I found via You Ain’t No Picasso. What I like best about Oh No! Oh My! is what they don’t put in their songs. They use their white space well. Not that there’s empty spaces in the music, it’s just that every instrument counts. No filler. The best way to describe them is clap your hands and say yeah. I’m not talking about the band. Imagine if that was a sound, a genre: clap your hands and say yeah. That’s where you’d file Oh No! Oh My! Listen to “The Party Punch” and you’ll get it. I bet they’re a ton of fun live. A total jam band vibe…if by jam band I meant The Boy Least Likely To instead of Phish.
Data Panik
You want the bad news or the good news first?
The bad news (you’re so predictable): Scottish electro-pop-punkers Bis are no more. Kaput. Finito. The band that gave us the theme song to the Powerpuff Girls is dead.
The good news: original Bis members Manda, Steven, and John have been joined by two other lads to form Data Panik. The torch has been passed. Now aren’t you glad you heard the good news last?
Guggenheim Grotto
This is soft music with slight edges. As such, it’s probably some of the most accessible stuff posted on 3hive for people into folk, Iron & Wine and understated strings. These tracks from GG’s A Lifetime in Heat EP are touching tracks that your average Sum41 or Good Charlotte fan will run screaming from. These tracks are perfect for bringing up next time someone says, “they don’t write songs like this anymore”.