A band called Mouthful of Bees will get at least one listen from me due to its connection, real or imagined, to Brian Evenson‘s wonderfully disturbing short story “Stung,” in which a boy kills his stepfather by…well, you don’t me want to give it away, do you? Mouthful of Bees got second, third, and fourth listens from me with a fresh take on that slurred (sm)art pop CYHSY and Tapes ‘n’ Tapes get so much credit for. While the genre is known for its frenzied pacing, their 2006 EP The End proves that Mouthful of Bees can speed it up and slow it down with equal dexterity (check “I Saw a Golden Light” on their MySpace page). “The Now” falls in the uptempo category. And, for all I know, their name may be the only connection to Evenson’s work, but singer Chris Farstad opens the song by crooning “In the time it took for me to write my novel/I did nothing in particular at all.” Hmm, fellow fiction buff or mere coincidence? Read the book.
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is back, with a new album — Armchair Apocrypha — to be released in a month or so, a prominent SXSW appearance, late-night TV gigs and a big tour (dates & locales here). Also back: musically complex, gently orchestrated and textured pop songs with obscure or unexpected lyric paths, and more whistling than a Roger Whittaker album. Some of the off-beat syncopation and general quirkiness aren’t here; in general Armchair Apocrypha sounds developed and mature. That said, Bird’s sound is still fresh and inviting, clever and complex.
Heretics [MP3, 3.2MB, 128kbps]
Original post: 05/05/05
A message from Sean to me, regarding Andrew Bird:
“Damn, you beat me to this! AB’s one of those artists that I just never took the time to listen to, even though I had access to his records….then when I do finally listen, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long…”
Incredibly fresh songwriting, with an abundance of clever lines and complex instrumentation that fits somewhere between Nick Drake and Arcade Fire. Thanks to Gordon for this suggestion.
Julian Nation
Oh Snap! It’s Valentine’s Day and surely I will do one of two things today… Share some music for lovers? Select something discordant and raw for those who are candy-and-rose averse? Neither actually. Aussie Julian Nation has been playing music since he was a youngin and he’s all about songs created in the short form — the album is 18 minutes long! Melbourne Pop Haiku anyone? While there are elements of romanticism, wistfulness and charm to all of his songs, its all in an ambient way, not in a v-day emotional beat down way. Unfortunately, of late the word “twee” has come to take on some pejorative connotations, but this, folks, would not be without the Brits who came before. On a snowy morning in New York, Mr. Nation is all kinds of sending me back to being 19 and listening to Belle and Sebastian on road trips before the revolution. And you know what? No matter the backlash, I really liked that moment and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m glad that their influence made it all the way across equatorial divisions. So there.
Westbound Train
Clay’s posting of The Busters prompted a little combative traffic in our Comments section. Eigner requested, “please no ska,” to which Ali responded, “please more ska!” Yep, things are getting pretty heated here on our humble blog. Being a ska band veteran (trombone), I’m gonna side with Ali and — not to rub it in, Eigner — honor his request. Boston ska-pop kids Westbound Train bring in a little smooth jazz and R&B into their mix, matched nicely by the mellow vocals of Obi Fernandez, on their Hellcat Records debut from last fall. Hey Clay, it’s your turn!
The Never
The Never are the erstwhile geek rock (think Weezer) outfit of songwriters Ari Picker and Noah Smith, along with college friends Joah and Jonny Tunnell. I say “erstwhile” not just because it’s such a geeky word but because The Never’s latest LP extends well beyond geek rock to an intricately crafted multimedia project, including a 50-page illustrated storybook (featuring 40 original oil paintings by Noah himself) and a corresponding suite of songs depicting a country boy’s journey to return a nuclear bomb to the city. Word is The Never are aiming to adapt Antarctica for the stage. And, given the cinematic leanings of Ari’s latest Lost in the Trees EP, I wouldn’t be surprised if a film version follows…
Matt and Kim
Do these two ever stop smiling? I sure hope not. Maybe it’s the pulsing keybord riffs, or maybe the snappy drums, or maybe it’s just being in a band together. I sure would like to see them take on Mates of State in a no-holds-barred tag team wrestling match for the keyboard-drums-and-committed-relationship-band title…
Miho Hatori
The last time 3hive.com saw Miho Hatori, she was singing some samba with Smokey Hormel. But that was ’04, and things have moved on a bit. On Ecdysis — Miho’s debut solo album released on Rykodisc last October — the multilingual chanteuse hops from genre to genre and continent to continent. Looking for Caribbean rhythms? How about Southeast Asian? African? Just keeping skipping through the tracks on the album; eventually you’ll get there.
Summer Hymns
I ‘m brand new to Summer Hymns, so the huge back catalogue of free, downloadable tracks on both the band and label websites might take some time to work through. Also, the critical commentary, like the idea that their recent album Backward Masks is “the Summer Hymns record you always thought they’d make” doesn’t do much for me because I don’t know what they’re supposed to sound like. In other words, this blurb for the band is essentially useless. That said, “Pity and Envy” and especially “Start Swimming” are textured, mellow pop songs that seem to fit the band’s name, and are perfect for dreaming of those June days when the sun sets closer to ten o’clock than five, and that much I know for sure.
Buildings Breeding
This low-key, low profile band with an impressively obscure background has dropped their album into the vast ocean of popular music with all the power of a pebble. The ripple is small and subtle, but if you slip off your sneakers and dip your toes in the water Buildings Breeding will delight your whole soul. Their name connotes the roar (or maybe moans) of earthquakes, but their restrained guitar work, soft melodies and gently doubled vocals make up the sweet sighs of dreams. A slight 60s flair and random acts of atmospherics add just the right amount of spice to the songs.
Welcome
I love it when I walk into a record store, hear something playing and am curious enough to buy it. It doesn’t happen often enough. And when I find myself bopping to something I’ve never heard despite an apocalyptically foul mood–well, shoo-oot, bring it on! Well, Welcome was that band for me this past weekend. These folks are a girl and boy band, of Seattle, and to me they sound like the English or maybe a little Twee-ish or, wait, is that some pixie-ish guitar? I have no idea. But it’s a happy mish-mash of influences that I was glad to add to the soundtrack of my downer day. The bummer? Not available stateside until March, so I didn’t get to buy it. But the rest of the world is currently enjoying it now. Can you say import? Oh and be sure to check “This Minute†on the myspace page when you are done with what is here.