I’m not sure if you guys have heard this band yet, the Arcade Fire? They’re Canadian, and kind of popular. They’ve got this new album, Neon Bible, and more media coverage than Anna Nicole Smith (well, maybe not), and Sam forced me to go see them live a few years ago and they were really, really good. It was a small venue, and we all sang the words to the songs even though we maybe had never heard them before. Anyway, here’s the opening track off that new record. Hope you like it… I like the second song better.
Black Mirror [MP3, 3.8MB, 128kbps]
Sam’s original post: 08/02/04
Apologies for the atrocious bitrates, young audiophiles, but this was enough to sell me, so I thought I’d share… Actually, what first sold me on The Arcade Fire was the B-side off their new 7-inch, which is in fact a 1940s recording of the lead singer’s grandfather (pedal steel legend Alvino Rey) and his orchestra. These downloads, however, are genuine Arcade Fire material, combining The Flaming Lips’ theatric pop, Joy Division’s driving rhythms, Bjork’s blissful euphoria, and a million other influences into something at once exuberant and wistful. So pump up the preamp and enjoy.
The singer for Super Furry Animals has a knack for writing Super Catchy Songs all on his own. Well, he did take his recordings down to England to add some strings, courtesy of Sean and Marcus of the High Llamas, then down to Brazil for Mario Caldato Jr.’s percussive touch. So songs that began as meditations for acoustic guitar and voice ended up sounding greater than the sum of their parts.
School of Rock was on cable over the weekend, right about the time I started listening to Martin Sexton’s new album Seeds, and I couldn’t help but make a comparison. Powerful, funky soul-pop instead of face-melting rock, a band of adults (presumably) instead of Dewey’s / Ned’s 10 year olds — well, maybe that which draws Martin Sexton and Jack Black together in my mind is simply a similar physical appearance. Oh yeah, and total sincerity in expressing the joy of music. The five tracks below, from five different albums, are awesomely and gloriously full of Sexton’s soul, and you can take that line any way you want.
Here I was, sitting down at the computer, relatively late at night, at least for me, wondering what on earth I was going to do about 3hive, when into the suggestion box came an email suggesting Ford & Fitzroy. One quick listen and my problem was solved! So enjoy the crisp, psych pop with the pleasantly unsteady vocals. Not to be confused with 
Sure, the UK’s The Fatels are starting to get some buzz, as they say in the biz, but boy I am a sucker for their distinctly London-eque, pounding punk/post-punk pop. Especially refreshing is knowing that only three people made all this racket! More downloads available on their sites below.
Clay’s posting of this 
Sarah Assbring is a Swedish woman, from the very musical city of Gothenburg, who records as El Perro Del Mar (which translates to “The Dog of the Sea”). I don’t think “ass” means the same thing to the Swedes as it does to us Americans, but nonetheless, she has the voice of a person who has been through… something. This pick definitely falls into the “3hive better late than never” collection, since her album has been making the rounds for some time now and before the album she was collaborating with Jens Lekman, but its time now. High time. El Perro Del Mar is all about keeping it a little offbeat–she has a non-traditional voice (haunted, a little rough, singing like she’s *this close* to a breakdown even when she’s singing “lalalalala”), she’s old school in a way that not many are these days and she named herself “El Perro Del Mar”–but she’s also really tethered to the ideal of making music that people want to, and love to, listen to. Bonus points for the sweetest little animated music video that side of the Atlantic. Seriously, I dare you not to like this video. I double. dog. dare. you.
Props to Clay for digging up the Super 5 Thor gem! Speaking of The Jesus & Mary Chain…after ten long years the Reid brothers have made nice and have invited us all to their family reunion—including Jim and William’s sister Linda. We heard Linda on The Jesus and Mary Chain’s last album, Munki, and all I can really say is it’s about time. It’s about time the Reid brothers are back (along with TJ&MC alumin Ben Lurie), and it’s about time they get their sister in on the act. Her whispery delivery fits so well with her brothers’ fuzzed-out pop songs. The family recipe has been around for years, but it’s never sounded so fresh.
I’ve been wanting to write up a celebratory post for my 3hive brother Shan, who’s a recently new daddy with a beautiful son. This one isn’t; more accurately, this post does not link to the songs of happy, carefree love that I’d really hoped to offer. The Finches are all about simplicity and sincerity, but often to a degree that is far more forlorn than ecstatic. Even so, “Daniel’s Song” — from the band’s EP Six Songs — is so haunting and powerful and rich that I can’t help but give it to Shan as a grounding device, a reminder that sad realities have their own beauty. I’m an only child, so I’ll never really know the kind of sibling love that Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and Aaron Morgan sing about here, but I hope to God that my daughter and son get it, understand and feel it, one of these days. And I hope your boy does too, Shan. Peace.