We’ll go Detroit local for today’s post, and check out New Grenada’s punky rock riffs and rips, boops and bips, toy instruments and just about anything else they dig out of the closet. Like a lot of awesome indie rock outfits, John Nelson, Nicole Allie and Dave Melkonian seem to make a lot more sound than you’d expect from so few people. With three LPs and a handful of 7″ and other recordings to their credit, New Grenada seem to be about to hit the sweet spot (even if their photo suggests they’re survivng solely on the kindliness of others). Check out their latest tracks — “Emergency Brigade” and “Meat is Murdermobile,” from the 2006 release Modern Problems — for a sense of their sonic range.
Plastic Passion
On these very pages I have previously used the term “dance punk disco funk” to describe the Rapture. So please pardon me for applying the same label late on a Sunday night to London’s Plastic Passion. Owing an obvious debt to the Cure for inspiration and the name of their band, Plastic Passion are a rough and raw complication of their post-punk/new wave influences in an age where similar bands are perhaps a bit too slick in their production. I can unfortunately only imagine what grand fun their live shows are, combining said roughness with the palpable energy of their songs.
Dead Meadow
Somehow, this holiday season snuck up on me. No more pigs in blankets! No more cheap red wine! I revolt. I can’t listen to DJ’s play the greatest hits of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s anymore! I revolt! I am deeply desirous of a comfortable pair of pajamas, a cup of tea, some only-me-and-no-one-else time and the piece de resistance… new Dead Meadow playing on repeat. Shan called it way back in ’05—“blissful rock and roll melancholyâ€. I couldn’t agree more. What better place to escape to in the midst of small talk, velvet dresses, candles and fake snow? These guys had it right when they took their fifth-album making selves to rural Indiana to create these tunes—there is something deliciously escapist about them.
What Needs [MP3, 5.9MB, 192kbps]
Albert Hammond, Jr.
Greg is having a good day. He won a debate on global warming, wasting his opponent, and will soon gorge himself on all-you-can-eat Chinese. Furthermore, he’s got the chance to tell the whole Internet about Albert Hammond, Jr.: “This is so much pressure… You actually typed that? Well, for lack of better words, Albert Hammond, Jr. is like The Strokes in caffeine-free form. Which makes sense, considering that Albert Hammond, Jr. is, in fact, the lead guitarist for the band mentioned prior. And, you know what, I’m gonna get Guitar Hero for my mom for Christmas.” Thanks, Greg. You rock. Thanks also to AudioExposure, where we noticed that this song was posted.
Band of Horses
We just got this e-mail from Jared and Stacey Schwartz, and they’re doing this neat thing with a new website, AudioExposure. For every song that visitors add — preferably with a free & legal link — the Schwartz crew is donating a dollar ($1.00) to Critical Exposure, “a DC-based non-profit which teaches students to use the power of documentary
photography to advocate for school reform and social change.” How cool is that?
In looking through the 70+ songs that have already been added, I noticed that Jen from Chicago had posted “The Funeral” by Band of Horses, which leads me to today’s B of H update. When last posted, band of Horses was a recent addition to Sub Pop, with a few demo tracks available for download. Today, I can offer “Is There A Ghost,” the opening track for their latest album, Cease to Begin, as well as “The Great Salt Lake,” and the other links are live and well. The band is touring the US and Europe over the next few months, and that’s about it. Check out AudioExposure and have a nice day!
Is There A Ghost [MP3, 2.7MB, 128kbps]
The Great Salt lake [MP3, 5.4MB, 160kbps]
Original post: 09/01/05
These demo tracks from Horses — or is it Band of Horses? Even after digging around on their website, I’m not sure… — are pleasant and pleasantly genre-defying, hence the Pop/Rock catch-all designation. Try “Funeral” and “Bass Song” for an idea of the cross-section of their ’70s and ’80s influences. Led Zepplin? New Order? Maybe I just need more sleep… Anyway, hopefully the Horses found much audience love on their recent tour with Iron and Wine, and will complete their Sub Pop debut soon.
The Warlocks
Having started out on BOMP Records, former home of kindred spirits the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Warlocks made a big jump to a major label. So what happened with that? As expected, the big label boys got all up in the Warlocks business, and after one album, they’re back in indie-land at Tee Pee Records…home of kindred spirits the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Feeling lazy after the holiday, I’ll leave it to the Warlocks themselves to describe their new LP Heavy Deavy Skull Lover: “Eight electric tales moving from space-marooned heavy blues to angelic, opiated dream haze—all propelled via the crud-fuzz of White Light/White Heat Velvets and Jesus and Mary Chain and the sprawling, melted constructions of Spacemen 3 and Red Krayola.”
The Vandelles
Four out of five doctors recommend The Vandelles as an effective tinnitus tonic. There just isn’t anything better to beat a nagging case of tinnitus than the thick dose of white noise that is “Lovely Weather.” I’ve submersed my head in The Vandelles’ ocean of fuzz and wave upon droning wave of shimmering surf guitar has washed over me with soothing results. If that’s too noisy for your tastes, pod up the swell “Swell to Heaven” and get a load of what it sounds like when you cross-pollinate the Beach Boys with the Jesus & Mary Chain. Sweet summertime melodies swim lazily underneath the thick surface of guitars. I’ll withhold final judgement until I hear more, but The Vandelles are on the verge of christening a new genre: Wave of Sound.
Duquette Johnston
Supposedly, jail can change a man. To my knowledge, none of the 3hive men have done time in the joint — I can’t speak for Lisa. Duquette Johnston did, in Etowah County, Alabama. According to the publicity people, his album Etowah “is a reflection on where life can take a wrong turn…” I guess Duquette would know. A few years back, Johnston and Superphonic labelmate Scott (A.A.) Bondy were recording for Merge Records as Verbena; now, he’s laying down heavy southern rock all on his own. That is, when he’s not in jail.
Service Group
Service Group songs start like any other indie pop song, then suddenly the ’70s era Top 40 guitars and choruses come roaring in, and its awesome, like when Datsun became Nissan. Service Group remind me of Boston the same way Ben Folds might remind you of Elton John, and that’s a good thing.
-Pei Yen (guest 3hive writer)
The Mary Timony Band
You know, Mary Timony. Helium. Mary is still going strong, still telling us about the world, still giving us little glimpes into her soul, into her life, combining her raw talent these days with the experience that comes from years of making the music that she makes. The Mary Timony Band says it all. She is the band.