If you’re wondering where all the mods have gone, Nic Armstrong has your answer. Since winning a songwriting contest in his native England a couple years back, Armstrong has launched a little British Invasion by way of Austin. And that’s not just a fancy classification: Armstrong and his Thieves have circumvented a few decades of Brit-Pop and cock rock and gone straight for the birth of the mod. The result is a roadhouse rhythm and beat in line with the earliest offerings from the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Beatles and, most of all, the Kinks, which in turn was a British working class take on American R&B and Boogie Woogie. Throw in a little country and western and you have something that is reverently old but shakes it as good as new.
Rogue Wave
Really, this whole music thing is pretty simple. Some people who like to play music get together, make music they like, other people who like music buy it, usually if they like it. Rogue Wave, they’re four guys who like to play music, they keep it simple, and that simple music produces some catchy, melodic, and thoughtful songs. “10:1” brings to mind Radio Dept‘s “Liebling” and Viva L’American Death Ray Music’s “SAGGSA” (the first song here).
Clearlake
(A reminder: Tune in tonight at 10pm PST to hear Mark from Music.For-Robots and myself go mano a mano for what’s sure to be fine musical joust.)
Anyone remember the movie Judgment Night? Yeah, me neither. The soundtrack’s a different story. It paired up Sonic Youth with Cypress Hill, Dinosaur Jr. with Del the Funky Homosapien, and Teenage Fan Club with De La Soul. Two great genres that go great together: indie rock and hip hop.
The album’s really burned in my mind however because back when the album hit I’d just been promoted to Music Director at a commercial alternative station, and a young, eager radio promotion rep at Epic Records, Stu Bergen (hi Stu!), attempted to cut his aggressive promo teeth by yelling at me for an hour demanding my station report Epic’s “single” in heavy rotation or something. Back then playlist reporting was all theoretical because there was no way for anyone to tell exactly how many times a radio station played a song, but Stu was out to impress his higher-ups, and impress them he must have ’cause he’s been breaking bands, taking names, and running promotion departments for Island Def Jam and Columbia Records (and here I sit blogging away…). I don’t even remember the fate of that Judgment Night track, but I do remember Stu and I breaking bread at Smith And Wollensky’s, A Steakhouse to End All Arguments. And end them it did. Stu and I have been pals ever since.
Now that I’ve bored many of you to tears, and awakened a raging midnight snacking, back to Clearlake: between this remix by Nobody and the recent remix of Against Me! by Mouse On Mars, I sense another remix trend bubbling among the indie rock world. I’m sure there’s plenty more out there. Use the comments to let us know about your recent favorites.
And yes, I realize I’ve said absolutely nothing about Clearlake. More demo tracks from their forthcoming album are available here.
Dog Traders
Drew is from Columbus, Ohio. He draws comics (Toothpaste for Dinner) and makes music (Dog Traders). You probably already know that. Prior to Jason B.’s suggestion, I may have been the only American of my particular demographic to have slept on Drew’s wicked ballpoint funnies. I may be in broader company by saying I’d never heard his sandblasted garage pop either. But that, too, has changed and I’m a better man for it. Drew’s distant, mumbled vocals remind me at times of J. Mascis or Michael Stipe on REM’s circa Murmur. His lyrics are as odd, clever, and compelling as you would expect from the man who brought you this. Not only is the music good, it’s free. All of the songs on Dog Traders’ A Panic in a Pagoda is available as a downloadable .zip file on Drew’s site (though at $7 I’d recommend buying a copy of the packaged CD, if only to get your hands on the lyrics).
Cold War Kids
I stumbled across Cold War Kids while at the office yesterday. Once the music kicked in one of my fellow desk jockeys exclaimed, “Turbo Indie!” Indeed. With their minimal jangles of guitar, sparse percussion and fluttering Buckley-esque vocals, Cold War Kids are about as “indie”-sounding as you can get. The other offerings on their myspace page recall the “freak” folk-ishness of Devendra Banhart and friends. Either way, Cold War Kids come close to reaching that primal place where music originates in all of us.
Dropkick Murphys
For those of you who find Flogging Molly too restrained, melodic or musically talented, here’s Dropkick Murphys. Full-on Celtic punk rock, yelling and brogue and steel-toed boots, it’s all here with the Murphys. Their version of “The Auld Triangle” is what I always thought the Red Roses for Me out-take of the same song by the Pogues would sound like, I guess. But “The Warriors Code” is for true believers (and is just way too cheesy for me).
Arma Secreta
Christopher Wark, singer/guitarist of Arma Secreta, and I have three things in common: we both have hot wives, our oldest daughters share the same name, and we’ve both had more than one colonoscopy. Sorry to bring that up, Chris, but the reason for your colonoscopies was much more serious than mine, and that helps us understand the music of Arma Secreta just that much more. Chris is making the music he wants to make, music that bears the burdens and the stuggles and the freedom of the past. That and he just likes to rock!
Voicst
Voicst is a decade ahead of themselves. Pop music takes about twenty years to recycle its sounds. Punk came back around in the mid-nineties and new wave’s back today with a vengeance. Voicst’s Mid-’90s-Alternative-Radio-Power-Pop sound was cycling through a second generation comeback ten years ago with bands like Presidents of the United States of America, The Posies, and Sparklehorse (from whom Voicst keenly, and wisely, lifts key riffs for “Whatever”). Can Voicst stick it out long enough for power-pop’s scheduled resurrection, or do they have the chops to usher in the third coming right now?
The Coral Sea
The Los Angeles area has recently spawned a new breed of rock bands defined by androgynous vocals, haunting guitar work, and fragile melodies which often crash into walls of sound. Autolux and the Silversun Pickups are among the stand outs. If you’re a fan, welcome to your next favorite band, Santa Barbara-based The Coral Sea. And here’s why I like 3hive: I can shut up now and let the band prove my point.
History Invades
What’s the difference between History Invades and any other post-punk band with that frenetic, angular sound you either love or hate? THE COMPUMAN. Who dat, you ask? Not so much a “who” as a “what” or a monolithic “it.” If there is a recurring theme to the song titles, lyrics, and moods found on History Invades’ The Structure of a Precise Fashion it’s THE COMPUMAN: the band’s embodiment of the pervasive hand of multinational corporations, monopolies, and omnimedia…real upbeat kinda stuff. So, while Bloc Party use their tense rhythms and wiry guitar licks as a stark backdrop to warm, human emotions, History Invades use similar techniques to sound a warning cry — which comes out as cheeky yet ominous refrains like, “Make room for computer know-how…” Have a nice weekend.