Sam’s recent post of Shelleyan Orphan had me looking through my vinyl, something I do maybe four times a year these days. I don’t own either of the bands from his post, but I did stumble across an old gem from Dub Narcotic Sound System, formed in 1993 and named after the Dub Narcotic Studio, the studio of Calvin Johnson, founder of K Records. While my personal favorite “Teenage Timebomb” is not available for free download, the funky smoothness of Calvin’s Pacific Northwest, baritone white boy rap on “Handclappin'” is.
Shelleyan Orphan
As some of you know, I spent the first half of the ’90s living in Provo, Utah. I worked at two CD stores during that time and it’s quite possible that I sold more CDs by The Sundays than any other band. Perhaps there was a common misinterpretation of the Fourth Commandment but Provo couldn’t get enough of The Sundays. Which leads to my story…
There was this guy who came in to the CD store one night and he said, “I love The Sundays. Do they have any other albums out?”
“No,” I said, “but if you like them you might enjoy Shelleyan Orphan. Similar female vocals and even more interesting instrumentation and song structures.”
“Hmm,” he said. “I don’t know. Do they sound just like The Sundays?”
“They’re even better,” I said, handing him a copy of Century Flower (the most Sundays-ish of their three albums). “If you don’t think so, you can return the CD.” Keep in mind, according to store policy I could not return opened merchandise, so this would have meant me buying back as used and paying him the difference. My co-workers warned me, this guy wasn’t going to go for something as adventurous as Shelleyan Orphan. But I was sure he’d not only appreciate my recommendation but tell all his friends about his new find.
Same time the next day, he walks in. “I didn’t like it. It doesn’t sound anything like The Sundays.”
That’s when I realized, to go back to the Bible, I was casting pearls before swine. I wasn’t going to be able to talk him into liking Shelleyan Orphan. So I paid the man from my own pocket and told him he wasn’t getting any more advice from me. “Let me know when the new Sundays album comes out,” he said, as he walked out the door.
Shelleyan Orphan disbanded shortly thereafter, no doubt disheartened that some dork in Utah didn’t think they sounded enough like The Sundays. After 15 years of soul-searching and playing in other bands, Caroline Crawley and Jemaur Tayle have recorded a new Shelleyan Orphan record, We Have Everything We Need, available in October 2008. Please enjoy the bluegrass-inspired single, which I will admit sounds nothing like The Sundays.
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.
The Morning Benders
The Morning Benders are no strangers to covers as they’ve been known to record a quickie or two or seven as the case may be. The Bedroom Covers represents their latest round of covers all compiled in one handy-dandy free EP. The ‘Benders have teamed up with a few of us bloggers to spread the love one lo-fi recording at a time. The band recorded the songs using a laptop and one microphone. Most of the songs were recorded in one take, with the exception of an occasional vocal or guitar overdub. My favorite of the lot? Their charming (they’re all charming!) version of the Phil Spector-produced “He’s a Rebel” by The Crystals. This was a #1 song back in 1962. The song ends up sounding like at outtake from Zumpano’s Look What the Rookie Did. More importantly, these tracks remind me how much I love The Morning Benders’ crisp, freshly laundered pop songs. I’m gonna pull out their album, Talking Through Tin Cans, and pin the songs up on the laundry line out back where they can twist and flutter in the wind all summer long.
Below is the track list for the covers EP. Keep checking back and I’ll update when and where you can track down the other songs. I’ve also included a few covers previously recorded by the band.
Pas/Cal
Pas/Cal was my very first post on 3hive back on April 26, 2004. It’s about time they’re getting around to releasing their first LP, I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luka, and Laura. My words then are just as true today: Detroit’s pop ensemble, pure fun with just enough pretentiousness to put one over on the Elephant 6 family.
The Chap
Check The Chap’s label page and there are two lines in the “About” section, one of which reads, “The Chap: have never been influenced by anyone or anything at any time, ever.” While I appreciate and even support their refusal to apologize for or explain their influences, I don’t believe them. I do believe in letting the music speak for itself. So stop reading this and download these songs and make up your own mind while I explain the comparison I’m about to make. My take, highly influenced by the mass quantities of ’80s music I’ve been listening to lately, is this: The Chap deftly juggles bits and pieces of Gang of Four, XTC, Queen, Men Without Hats, and Kraftwerk for a capricious rock ‘n’ roll dance party. Their third album, Mega Breakfast, is evidence of a quirky, lo-fi band that’s pulled out all the stops and plans on playing stadiums. Do yourself a favor and lower your guard down while listening so you can fully revel in The Chap’s merrymaking. Their album cover is a mylar balloon dog whose nose has been dipped in chocolate and sprinkles for crying out loud. If you don’t get a kick out of this record it may be time for a swift kick to the head. (Be sure to watch the video for the album’s standout track).
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.
GROK
I hope you don’t like this song very much. Or, better put: I’d advise you not to get too attached to this song, show up at a GROK show, and expect them to recreate this recording live. See, GROK’s got a thing or two to prove, and that thing or two has plenty to do with improvisation. They have no songs (at least not in that written, structured, rehearsed, performed sense of “song”), the songs they do have are performed only once so that every GROK show is a one-of-a-kind, highly unique experience, and audience members act as collaborators by suggesting a theme for a song, playing an instrument, or spinning the Wheel of Chordal Destiny. Their music sounds just as fun and whimsical, as is the case in “Pink Shirt.” Don’t worry if you find yourself listening to “Pink Shirt” more than once. To disagree with GROK is ultimately GROK. Don’t think about it, just listen…
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.
Two Hours Traffic
There’s something to be said for a 4-40 a.c. song — all four windows down, driving 40 mph — especially in these eco-focused times. Sure, it’s a throw-away song, the music version of IKEA’s disposable furniture, but like those $7 end tables such songs are absolutely necessary. How else to get through humidity higher than my grandpa’s age without sunny pop-rock flowing through the mini van? Two Hours Traffic helps out with “Stuck for the Summer,” off their most recent release Little Jabs, winner of the Best Pop Album in the Canadian East Coast Music Awards. Two Hours Traffic hails from Prince Edward island, a locale in which the 4-40 a.c. plan would likely be grand: windswept maritime scenes, salty breezes, gas prices even higher than here in the States. And so, congrats to the winners and thanks for the needed function of songs like yours. One more thing, for Sean: after your job this year, I bet you and your patient ears recognize where the band gets its name from, eh?