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?
E.S.L.
Although the shuffling Gypsy cabaret of “Prove Me Wrong” may not sound like either rock or punk (or folk, for that matter — genre categories can be so imprecise) a trip through E.S.L.’s full length album Eye Contact will offer up all that and more. A rollicking Polish love song (sung po polsku), experimental strings and craziness, rock, Beastie Boys, Neil Young and Velvet Undergraound covers — this all-girl Vancouver quartet’s got it. You know, today is my birthday; maybe they’ll play at my party.
The Hectors
Sean’s in L.A., so maybe he knows about The Hectors. I’m in Michigan, and all I know about is the Red Wings, the Pistons, and Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s text messages. Therefore, this old-school SoCal indie pop-rock sounds fresh to me, like Pavement meets a girl who can sing. But back to this whole regional thing… Sean, a Lakers-Pistons is possible, especially if the Celtics’ airplane gets lost and flies around over Canada for a few days. The Stanley Cup’s in the bag. Maybe check out The Hectors in San Diego in June? I’ve never been there….
Mass Solo Revolt
Time to hit Athens again with the indie rock of Mass Solo Revolt. Other reviewers, publicists, and music sources bring up the apparent 90’s indie rock influences of MSR, listing off the obvious suspects, but what else would one expect of a band that grew up on said influences? MSR, though, aren’t content with just mimicing; they have an earnestness that shows they’re doing what they want to do. The Flaming Lips, Dinosaur, Jr., Superchunk, The Wedding Present, and (personal fave) the Grifters have been known to have that effect on impressionable young ears.
The Awkward Stage
The Awkward Stage ended up being one of my happy finds, with “West Van Girl,” “1000 Teenage Hearts,” and the title track from Shane Nelken’s debut album, Heaven is for Easy Girls, all being worth at least $.99 at the legal download site of your choice. Hopefully the band’s sophomore spin, Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights — out in June, two days before my birthday! (hint, hint, Mint Records) — will offer up another set of smart Canadian pop from the sensitive and supremely talented Nelken. “Anime Eyes” is a rocking little piece of candy sweetly luring us in.
Anime Eyes [MP3, 3.4MB, 128kbps]
Original post: 09/28/06
About The Awkward Stage, my friend Tim O. has this to say: “Here’s an album in the grand tradition of geek rock, as in Weezer, Beck, etc., even though The Awkward Stage doesn’t sound like any of them. Strong melodies and pop hooks lead a slight voice through cleverly-titled, literate and ultimately pathetic songs. Even the cover art depicts lead singer Shane Nelken going to prom with a blow-up doll while wearing a retainer and head gear. In fact, I heard Joe had the same head gear in middle school.” Wait a minute, there… Well, that’s enough from Tim O. on the subject. Oh no, wait, he has one more thing to say. “While the title track claims ‘The Morons are Winning,’ The Awkward Stage are clearly figthing back.” Brilliantly pithy, T.O. Look for Heaven is for Easy Girls on October 10.
Six Star General
Before I ever listened to the sloppy, (mostly) instrumental rock of Providence’s Six Star General, I liked them. Check out these blurbs from their Rhode Island-based label, 75 or Less — regarding the 2007 album Sick Stars, Sister Cyst, note that it includes “covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Butthole Surfers and Jonathan Richmond”; the album Already on One, also from 2007, “clock[s] in at 26 minutes, … their longest release to date … includes a pair of instrumentals. Influences include Mudhoney, Spacemen 3, Silkworm”; and their self-titled album was “recorded in six hours with no overdubs – 11 tracks in 22 minutes – equal parts punk, quasi-metal and distorted pop.” Unlike a lot of the garbage that publicists and label folks offer up, these assessments and observations totally match up with the ten minutes of music available for download in the four tracks below. Who cares if these guyscan barely play their instruments? They make noise and have fun at it (and for my ears at least, the less singing, the better). Check out “Sun Up Pants Down” and see what I mean.
Twin Tiger
I recently caught the last hour or so of the classic documentary Athens, Georgia Inside/Out. That LP was probably the most used vinyl of the summer between high school graduation and my freshman year of college, Love Tractor and Pylon being two of my faves at the time.
Athens has continued to be an almost non-stop source of bands over the years, of all types and sounds, so it’s natural that the pysch-tinged, shoegaze-influenced rock of Twin Tigers would hail from the capital of alterna-rock, forming, playing, putting out an EP and touring from Georgia to Texas to Michigan, all in about 6 months. Ah, the innocence of youth, making music the way they want to, and seeing what happens. That’s Athens for you.
Molly Shannon, Molly Shannon
These guys dig women…or their names, at least. Not just the “Saturday Night Live” star after which they’re named (twice, for good measure), but every track on their debut album is named after famous-to-obscure female celebrities (if you can identify all of them without the help of Google, my hat’s off to you). What connection they all have with each other is a mystery to me (“Batgirl, Miss America 1954, and a French physicist walk into a bar…”). And that mystery is only furthered by their nearly unintelligible lyrics and eclectic compositions (ranging from Eno-esque to bluegrass to indie spunk). What I do know is some strangely compelling songs emerge from the artsy din, “Bianca Montale” probably being the most conventional of the lot.
Great Lakes Myth Society
Ok, so Great Lakes Myth Society is bringing their ornate, stylized, vaguely ’70s medieval rock to an outdoor stage about two blocks from my house this weekend! How cool is that? The 3hive crew often talks about trying to catch the shows of the bands we post, but usually our real lives interfere and we’re left with the wistful memories of life before kids, wherein we could function past 9:30 pm and therefore go to shows. With this weekend’s Green Street Fair in Plymouth, Michigan, all I need to do is open my window to rock out with my fellow Great Lakes Staters. About the band: based in Ann Arbor, GLMS offers up orchestrated, big rock, the kind that probably needs to be written out on sheet music in order to perform. I like “Brablec Farms” and “Across the Bridge,” as both are complex yet user-friendly pop-rock gems, full of texture and imagery. And hopefully that’s what I’ll see and hear on Saturday in town, while checking out these local boys.
Reeve Oliver
Did you notice? Reeve Oliver’s initials are R.O., the first two letters in the word “rock.” You know where I’m going with this don’t you? Well, they do! They rock like alternative radio circa the late ’90s when bands like Foo Fighters were ruling the airwaves and alternative radio wasn’t all that alternative any more. Reeve Oliver is one of those no-it’s-not-a-dude-but-the-name-of-their-band bands from San Diego who recently recorded their second album courtesy of a major label only to have the major label back out of the deal. Luckily, the band was able to get control of the record so it didn’t end up getting shelved, out of sight, out of mind for years. A few songs on this new album are re-recordings of previous releases, the band wisely choosing to spend big money production on their strongest songs, e.g. “Yer Motion.” I dig the band’s oh, so tasty melodies, melodies you wouldn’t usually hear on a rock record. They remind me a lot of Erik Voek’s lithe vocal melodies, a genius, under-the-radar pop recluse that I can never get enough of. And really, when you’ve got a secret weapon like O. (Olivelawn, Fluf) up your sleeve it’s pwnage time. Play often, play loud, play now.