For some reason, I thought I’d already posted Jennifer O’Connor. I remember looking at her website, and the older songs she has available for download there were already on my iPod. Ah well, my apologies to Jennifer and her fans, and here you go. If you work her song selection from the bottom up, you can see O’Connor’s development from girl-with-acoustic-guitar to full-on rocker, especially with the track “Exeter, Rhode Island,” off her next album, Over the Mountain, Across the Valley, and Back to the Stars, due in August on Matador. Until then, she’ll be touring through July with 3hive faves Hotel Lights and Liz Durrett.
Stella (U.S.)
Hard-driving, guitar-driven rock and roll followed up with introspective, melodramatic ballads — what could be better? (There are many, many answers to that question, for sure.) Stella (U.S.) reminds me of an indie version of the bands you’d see on Headbangers’ Ball. Download these tracks — “NYC” is the ballad, btw — and think about how much hair these guys would have had in the late ’80s.
Leeroy Stagger
“Everyone in this town needs to shut up.” It’s nothing personal, just that this former roadie for Hot Hot Heat has me all excited about the oft forgotten craft of the singer-songwriter. I can’t get the chorus of gorgeous and melancholy “Just in Case” out of my head. And “I Break Hearts” is a straight-up raw crossroads kiss-off. “Oooh, don’t tell… ”
Saxon Shore
This is a guest post from 3hive junkie Amber North:
I caught these guys a few weeks ago in little Bowling Green, Kentucky where I attended college. I was confused because we never got any good bands to play there, but somehow, miraculously, Saxon Shore made it to town. It was beautiful, loud and instrumental. Can’t go wrong with that. Made me not feel so bad about missing Mogwai back in March, and that’s saying a lot. Â
The Living Blue
Every summer, we here at 3hive look for a song for summer, you know, be it summer anthem or road trip soundtrack, etc. While the Living Blue do not offer such a song, they do offer the feel for a great summer song. They’re rockin’, stingin’, full of energy and buzz, they just sing about other topics. “Serrated Friend” is sure to keep you awake on that long drive to beach.
Birdmonster
Ah, music my great distraction. You wouldn’t believe all the things I should be doing right now. I’ll spare you the boring details. I put it all aside to prove to the world that 3hive is the pinnacle of uncool. The Mount Everest of square. There are an umpteen number of cooler music blogs than this place. “Umpteen?” I told you. We’re dorks (I speak for myself here, shouldn’t drag the rest of the guys into this). Birdmonster is living proof of our cool-lessness. The cool blogs were talking up Birdmonster a year ago. Some blogs tried to be as uncool as us, but they’re eight months cooler. So Birdmonster, a year later and they’re still great, still holding up under the pressure of being the next “thing.” “Resurrection Song” has been their introduction to the world. Its spare production and the band’s playing bring an immediate sense of urgency, like there’s no tomorrow for these boys. When Peter Arcuni’s singing hits three-fourths the way in you get Malkmus-smart lyrics, and a similar delivery. More agressive and less pretentious than Pavement. That’s the soundbite. If you haven’t heard Birdmonster yet, well, you’re in good hands with 3hive.
*Note: Tune in today at 4pm Eastern at WOXY.com for a live performance of Birdmonster. More upcoming shows available here.
The Mag Seven
This group of instrumental tracks is a far cry from those gathered on the folk compilation Imaginational Anthem, Vol.2. I’d be interested to hear from those of you who actually like both. I hope there’s more than a few. Members of Black Flag, Descendents, All, GWAR, Only Crime, and Hagfish come together for a full album of surf/punk/rock instrumentals. They’re quick and raw. For fans of Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen. Rock it!
The Delgados
Alas, the Delgados, Glasgow’s finest indie rockers/popsters/scenesters, ended their 10-year run when they announced their breakup last August. Thankfully, they’re continuing on with their other projects, including the record label Chemikal Underground, which has released the likes of Arab Strap and Malcolm Middleton. Plus, we can all still enjoy their music, like this beauty off their debut album Domestiques.
The High Violets
Shimmering shoegazer goodness from up Portland way in a variety of flavors, from psychedelic to folksy to poppy. The High Violets may be a cast of many but they have two key components: Cliff Sargent’s blistering guitar and Kaitlyn ni Donavan’s angelic pipes. I’m so hooked, I put the TV on mute during the MTV Movie Awards so I can could listen to them (made for an interesting A/V mashup with Christina Aguilera’s live performance).
The Futureheads
With the first hit of the drum, pluck of the bass and strum of the guitar, for a split second, I hear the opening of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” (gotta throw in an obligatory reference to today’s once-in-a-century date). All you rockers, don’t get your hopes up. The stadium rock doesn’t continue, at least not in an AC/DC sense. However, the herky-jerky pogo beats, the Hyde brothers’ thick, northern British accents, and their soaring harmonies kick in full force. The Futureheads are often compared to XTC, with good reason (and not in a bad way: they sound neither nostalgic nor derivative), and the similarities continue on their second record, News And Tributes, out next week. “Worry About It Later” sounds as if it was pulled from the English Settlement sessions, mixed with a little pop-opera. Don’t expect anything near a slump for these blokes as their powerful/playful style, which has earned them opening spots (on stadium shows!) for Oasis and The Pixies, has only matured and had this come out some forty years earlier I can imagine The Futureheads playing with the likes of Townsend and company. Here we are, back to the future and you’ll find them out on the road in North America, starting next week, with French Kicks for the first leg and Tapes ‘N Tapes for the next.