Black Kites is an LA band that’s got a little bit of everything — male and female vocals, droning guitar, heavy drums, mellow synth — and it’s all dreamy & dramatic. I like the retro vibe they’ve got, especially in “Sadie.” Kind of old school, sort of new wave, it’s like I’m buying my first pair of Dr. Martens all over again. Apparently their cover of the Sisters of Mercy’s “Lucretia My Reflection” was once available on the Filthy Little Angels website, and it’s a drag I couldn’t find it. That would have likely been a rare and special treat.
PS Thanks to everyone who pointed out to my numb skull that “Lucretia” is still available for free and legal download. I’ve added it to the rest of the tracks offered by Black Kites.
Last week while on a family bike ride, my ears suddenly heard the sound of drums pounding in a garage. As we got got closer, I was able identify this beat as a definite 80’s era hardcore punk beat, then gradually to hear distorted vocals and then the way too low guitar. Finally getting within range I saw a bunch of high school boys playing something I didn’t expect; I’m pretty sure they were covering Black Flag. Not like how Korn or Fall Out Boy would play Black Flag, but Black Flag like a bunch of kids in a garage would play Black Flag. I was impressed.
Office is to indie pop what Dilbert is to the comic pages. Early live shows featured the band decked out in office attire, suits, ties, blouses and sensible shoes. Each musician enjoyed an onstage secretary, ready at their beck and call. Lucky for the listener, they don’t sing about the drudgery of the 9 to 5 life (with the exception of “Company Calls” about a woman who insists on doing business on her cell phone 24/7 and the man who is in love with her), although they’re still prone to occasionally dress up on stage as if they just punched out. I won’t bother further trying to decipher what these songs are about when singer and guitarist Scott Masson 
Sean posted Psapp a few times, and they had a song on Grey’s Anatomy, and this post been one of 3hive’s most popular ever. Patrick Watson had a song on Grey’s Anatomy, so hey, give the people what they want, right? He also just won or was nominated for some Canadian music awards — Polaris Prizes, Juno Awards, that sort of thing. I’m thinking Waston and the rest of this Montreal quintet could call themselves M. Rufus Buckley and you’d all get the drift. These tracks are from the band’s 2006 album Close to Paradise, which had a US release the day before yesterday.
I’ve been following Oslo for a while and I’m geeked their debut album is out today via finer digital retail outlets. Next month SideCho records will release the CD. SideCho is a great label out of Long Beach and consistently surprises me in a good way with their offerings. Oslo produces moody, brooding music in the vein of early ’90s bands like Catherine Wheel. Enjoy this first bite then dig in for plenty more!
One last Memphis music history lesson. I saw Neighborhood Texture Jam at the Antenna Club in Memphis in 1988 (as nearest as I can recall), and one their most appealing features was the absurd song subjects, like “Torsoes of Murdered People” and my personal favorite, “Mall Boutique” on the life of a mall worker. The suggestion box at 3hive recently got an email about NTJ, so with their new website comes the opportunity to share the NTJ love. More MP3’s can be found at their website.
C.O.C.O. play funky dance music, as does their lumberjack-soulman-boss Calvin Johnson, with an unselfconscious swagger that wears its anti-hipster lameness like a faded black t-shirt, not to mention on instruments that won’t be rendered useless when the power goes out at the house party (although their propensity for dub fadeouts might get lost with the lights out). Olivia Ness and Chris Sutton are a rhythm section in no need of melodies. It’s what all the Olympia kids are dancing to these days, and with any luck these rhythms will sweep the nation and set basement parties afire from coast to coast.
My most awesome musical dream right now is of Bella and 
Biirdie’s brings the heartache like a slow-approaching thunderstorm. They lace their lush Americana sound with bits and blips of modernity a la fellow Californians Grandaddy. However, the double threat of Kala Savage’s angelic vocals and Jared Flamm’s world-worn pipes really put them in a class of their own. Plus they also made my baby girl sway at breakfast this morning while eating her Cheerios. So that’s a double thumb’s-up if ever I heard one.
I feel Clay’s pain. My ears have been ringing steady since February 2006. And I play guitar even worse, way worse, than Clay, but I do wear earplugs. Like a religion. Tinnitus still struck. It doesn’t bother me during the day, just when I lie down at night to sleep. The remedy? MP3 player of choice. Just be sure to keep the levels down so you don’t further ruin your hearing. I just found what I’ll be falling asleep to this evening: Red Collar. These Durham, NC rockers take me back a decade or so, sounding like a solid Dischord band if Dischord were down south in Alabama. Country Fried Hardcore? Springsteen fronting Fugazi? Sacrilege? Perhaps. I’ll definitely be breaking the first aural health commandment tonight: keep it below 11. This’ll drown out the ringing nicely.