Trick or treat…or treat…or treat! Treat 1: The sweet, sweet heartbreak pop of “Goodbye,” a sneak peek of the self-titled debut from Floridian trio The Postmarks. Treat 2: A couple of remixes from Spookey Ruben and Cassettes Won’t Listen. (In a nutty marketing move, The Postmarks preceded their debut with a 9-track remix EP which flips their delicate sound on 45 so you can dance to it.) Treat 3: A wonderfully eerie take on Ministry’s goth-wave era hit “Everyday Is Halloween.” The trick? Waiting for the full-length to come out.
Johan
Johan is an Amsterdam quartet whose members have good haircuts and impeccable pop sensibilities. “Oceans†features swimming, crossing, crawling, a first verse built around “you,†and various other indications of true love, unrequited. Its infectious hooks and crooning might remind you of Matthew Sweet, Travis, or (lyrically) James Blunt, but Johan’s sensibilities are all their own…and they’re meant just for you.
Benjy Ferree
An interesting tidbit about Mr. Ferree to start things off, he’s Domino’s first American worldwide signing. Meaning, I guess, that Domino’s British mothership is finally warming to the American music scene. And Benjy Ferree’s got a solid, old fashioned, back porch, red, white and blue sound running through his songs. I can almost hear someone blowing into a moonshine jug in “Why Bother,” and a washboard player would fit in just as well. “Private Honeymoon” waltzes along nicely with the sounds of the West Coast’s neu-folk folks. Ah, it’s probably the playful, beatles-esque romp “In The Countryside” that’s got the label giving Benjy the green light for worldwide domino-ation. His tour of the Midwest and East Coast starts tomorrow with the Archie Bronson Outfit.
Under Byen
I need to thank David Byrne for tipping me off to Under Byen. And more thanks is overdue to Mr. Byrne for tipping me off years ago to a tasty soup special at Shopsins, back when Kenny & Co. were at their original location (I’m dying to see “I Like Killing Flies,” dying harder actually for a plate of Slutty Cakes and a tall tumbler of their Horchata!). Under Byen is a Danish ensemble, who maneuver orchestrally, and percussively, in the dark end of the pop music spectrum. Beautiful, hushed vocals draw you in and keep you warm in songs which befit the cold, cold landscape of Denmark.
Nom De Guerre
Not only do Nom de Guerre play some wonderful pop music, but they offer perhaps the best band shirts ever offered for sale by a band: tailor-made, double cuff dress shirts designed by the bassist for measley 70 euros! Other offers available for purchase include your name in a song, an entire song about you, and even an entire album about you. If only I were the Russian billionaire with some spare cash whom Nom de Guerre is hoping to court, I’d buy Blackburn Rovers, then buy half the Chelsea squad (and no, not Lampard) and have them warm the Blackburn bench cause that other Russian billionaire must be getting bored by now, and then have Nom de Guerre write albums about each member of my family. But in laying out the required payment, I would insist on the formula of “So Long Sister”: dirty bass, swliring keyboards, and plenty of la la’s and other sing-along harmonies. Oh, and some of those dress shirts. What is the dollar-to-euro exchange rate these days anyway?
The Little Ones
In recording their debut Sing Song EP, The Little Ones had two goals: 1) convince themselves that everything was going to be alright, and 2) make their own feet shuffle. I’m posting about them because they managed to help me achieve those two goals as well. Which, alas, brings me to my third goal: clean my house. At least I know what I’ll be listening to…
Perpetual Dream Theory
Blissed-out ambient pop from Vancouver. (How many times can we say that it seems all good things come from Canada?) I don’t know if there really is a scientific perpetual dream theory, but if you come up with some ideas of what the soundtrack to it would be, the band probably comes close. If you like what you hear and want to grab more free stuff, you can download their whole Tiny Hands EP for free. Thanks to Sarah for the suggestion!
The Low Frequency in Stereo
I’m still catching up with The Low Frequency in Stereo, but they may very well be my second favorite “In Stereo” band, after you-know-who. Their debut self-titled album featured careful, moving post-rock instrumentals. Then came 2005’s Travelling Ants Who Got Eaten by Moskus with decidedly more swagger — somehow splitting the diff between Siouxsie and the Banshees/Joy Division and Dick Dale (trust me). Their new album, last temptation of…, opens this formula up, at times, into new territory thanks to organ, horns, and even stronger pop leanings (e.g., the psychedelic euphoria of “Axes,” which could be mistaken for a Stereolab track). At this trajectory, I’m already looking forward to the next joint and this one hasn’t even been released yet.
Katell Keineg
It’s not a beautiful day in Michigan, with wind, cold rain and lightning, so there’s plenty of time to tell the Katell Keineg story. Daughter of a Breton poet and Welsh schoolteacher and current resident of Dublin (Ireland, not Ohio), Keineg received heavy-duty critical and music industry acclaim in the 1990s. Elektra released two of her albums, she was close friends with the late Jeff Buckley, and she worked with Iggy Pop and Natalie Merchant (not at the same time). Since then she’s put out albums on indie labels Field Recording Co. and Megaphone Music, been adored by Rolling Stone and The New York Times, and built a following for her live performances. Jennifer S. from L.A. — who suggested Katell Keineg back in June — was pretty stoked to see her live, and if the two tracks available here for download are a sign of what she heard, it must have been a unique experience. “Beautiful Day” couldn’t be much farther away from the experimental sounds of “Pablo Quilla’s Dream” unless it was amped-up metal instead of the sing-along, calypso-esque piece of happiness it is. So yeah, time to set “Beautiful Day” on repeat, close the blinds and pretend that’s what it really is outside.
Gertie Fox
Heart-warming, frayed guitar pop with frayed vocals to match. Their press release suggests they may be the United States’ answer to Wolf Parade, who were Canada’s answer to Modest Mouse (who were Seattle’s answer to the Pixies…). I’ll say this: they’re from L.A., so they must be actors, and actors are paid to pretend they’re someone else. So if they seem like they’re pretending to be Wolf Parade, keep in mind they’re just doing their jobs—and they’re pretty good at it. These two tracks are from their new self-released album called An Imaginary Meeting in the Woods, there are a half a dozen other downloadable tracks from previous releases on their site (one of these rainy days I might link to them directly).