Lord only knows if the Ohio basement legends are still relevant, and only the same lord knows if relevancy is still relevant. Alls I know is that the adventurous stew of riffs, hooks, and twee vocals will cause an involuntary reaction from me as long as my feet can tap and my head can nod. There are a ton of archived MP3s at both Matador and gbv.com, so stick around for a while.
A.C. Newman
The New Pornographers resident pop auteur lead singer guy puts together his own set of finely polished gems that have the get-up-and-go (“Miracle Drug”) of his best efforts with the “supergroup” and the jaded sunshine (“Drink to Me Babe, Then”) of the late-great Zumpano. A few more like these from Newman and Ben Folds will have to work harder to get our attention.
Royal City
I stumbled upon these tracks (if one can call a mis-click of a mouse a stumble). Of course, you can’t be without their great cover of The Strokes, “Is This It?” — but that’s no fluke. More pop than country, more lemonade than bourbon.
Azure Ray
Not just for fans of “Felicity.”
Meow Meow
Christopher O’Brien’s gently wilting vocals find uneasy peace around screechy, scratchy, scrunchy sounds from a guitar that, like a good cowboy, just canít be tamed. Fans of dissonance, Meow Meow give you a twister-full of noise. Fans of pop craft, Meow Meow give you the bittersweet sunny day after the storm.
Mahjonng
Mahjongg is an ancient Chinese tile game responsible for the academic downfall of countless college students. The band Mahjonng has similar powers with their frenzied pop disarray (a la the supremely underrated Beatnik Filmstars). Be strong.
Puritan
With a penchant for literary lyrics, Puritan manage loose, almost off-handed pop songs to dark, dusty anti-ballads with a Malkmus-esque flair. Imagine Lloyd Cole making music in an American bedroom without the Commotions.
Dave Derby
The former lead singer of The Dambuilders (if you don’t have Against the Stars, you’re not really living life to the fullest, are you?) and solo-monikered Brilliantine assumes his own name for his token easy-on-the-ears acoustipop record — except this is one token that shines.
The Aisler’s Set
Amy Linton, indie pop/rock songwriter extraordinaire…and, damn, can she play the drums! You see, I love Amy from her days in the long defunct Henry’s Dress. Now we are blessed to hear her in the Aisler’s Set doing simple, pleasant songs tinged with the sounds of the ’50s and ’60s.
The Silent League
The former keyboardist for Mercury Rev creates his own sweetly damaged sway-songs for kids who prefer Brooklyn to the metropolis across the river.