Sharing the sharing.
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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).
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.
No. 1 candidate for my new favorite song (at least for the month of June): “Noo Noo” by S.S. Cardiacs. Jessie Stein sounds like she’s about 12 years old until you hit that chorus, “Word play is the foreplay of the gods,” and then it’s like we’re all back in high school again. Off-kilter rock, bizarre brainy lyrics, lots of t’s and i’s left uncrossed or undotted; great fun. The suggestion for S.S. Cardiacs comes from 3hive alumni Shotgun and Jaybird, representing full-on for Canadian indie rock. (We’ve posted so much from up north this year that we’ll be named Knights of the Canadian Empire soon, just you watch.)
We’ve been enjoying Beat Radio for a while here at the Hive, so it’s always nice to hear what else the guys have going on. Guitarist/vocalist Phil Jimenez and drummer Jim Mansfield, along with two more friends from Huntington, Long Island, New York, have been busy with Gordo Gringo, whose simple melodies and pensive chords mix just right with Jimenez’s gravelly, cathartic vocals. “Old Suitcase†is a particularly bittersweet anthem, and the other two tracks here aren’t far behind.
Nothing fancy here. No frills. Just stripped down pop hooks and straight-ahead melodies. Kid Casanova have nothing to prove. They’ve written and recorded a solid set of songs, keeping ’em loose and relaxed, and it’s up to you to loosen up your belt, so to speak, and take them in with a few dogs at your weekend BBQs, or not. If you’re asking me though, I’d tell you crank it up at your picnic blanket as you’re knocking back a few cold ones.