I remember my friend Tim Ortopan was so excited after he bought Rainer Maria’s latest (well, April ’06) album Catastrophe Keeps Us Together that he had me listening to it within 24 hours of purchase. It’s a shame there don’t seem to be any free, legal and full-length MP3s from Catastrophe… available to post here, because they’d be a good fit at the top of our list, showing the all-important change over time (“delta” from science class, right?). If you can’t hear the development and maturity of a band while working bottom-up through the selection of songs below, go get your earwax cleaned out! Obviously, I think Catastrophe… continues this trend with wonderful results. From pounding drums and entwined screaming voices back in the ’90s to today’s complex and melodic sounds, Rainer Maria just makes good music.
Hem
My friend down the hall, Joe LaDuke, has tossed two excellent suggestions my way in just the last few weeks. The first was Pandora, a subset of the Music Genome Project. If you haven’t seen it yet, Pandora is basically a personalized Internet DJ. Type in an artist or song that you like, and Pandora will break down your selection via a number of musical criteria and then offer up a selection of other artists that match up with your tastes. While it naturally can’t acknowledge my desire to have something cool and ambient after a hot ska set, Pandora is fantastic for exposure to new music. We kind of like that here at 3hive. Joe’s other offering was Hem, and based on what I’ve read about the band, it seems like someone should have told me about them sooner. Favorably compared to Mazzy Star and Cowboy Junkies, among others, Hem offers fat, lush, beautifully-written, unadulterated songs sung wonderfully by Sally Ellyson. “The Golden Day is Done,” from an album full of covers and other band favorites, gives a good hint of Hem’s unique sense of place along the backroads of the American South.
Under Byen
I need to thank David Byrne for tipping me off to Under Byen. And more thanks is overdue to Mr. Byrne for tipping me off years ago to a tasty soup special at Shopsins, back when Kenny & Co. were at their original location (I’m dying to see “I Like Killing Flies,” dying harder actually for a plate of Slutty Cakes and a tall tumbler of their Horchata!). Under Byen is a Danish ensemble, who maneuver orchestrally, and percussively, in the dark end of the pop music spectrum. Beautiful, hushed vocals draw you in and keep you warm in songs which befit the cold, cold landscape of Denmark.
Perpetual Dream Theory
Blissed-out ambient pop from Vancouver. (How many times can we say that it seems all good things come from Canada?) I don’t know if there really is a scientific perpetual dream theory, but if you come up with some ideas of what the soundtrack to it would be, the band probably comes close. If you like what you hear and want to grab more free stuff, you can download their whole Tiny Hands EP for free. Thanks to Sarah for the suggestion!
Monster Movie
Don’t let the name fool you. Monster Movie plays music antonymic to its moniker. Now I won’t spend too much time comparing Monster Movie to their guitarist’s old band, Slowdive, but wow it’s as if someone awoke Slowdive from an extended slumber. But see, they’re still drowsy from their nap. In a sort of been-there-done-that move Monster Movie dropped the wall of guitars from an eleven to a five or six. Fear not shoegazers, you still get a liberal dose of dreamy, lush, blissed-out pop, along with the occasional dance-floor number like “Driving Through the Red Lights.”
Pagoda
Super low-key, starry, fuzzy music from DC, good for cool, late summer nights, waiting for fall. (Sorry if the blurb here is a little too thin; work beckons. If anyone wants to editorialize a bit, go ahead and hit the Comments.)
Derek Fairbridge
My eyes burn. They’re too sensitive. Been staring at my computer too long. Reminds me of the night, years ago, a cop pulled me over on my way home from work. It was late. I had been doing inventory at the record (yes, record) store where I worked. Music Plus. Strolling up to my window the cop took one look at me, at my bloodshot eyes and said, “Son, what have you been smoking?” I told him the truth and nothing but the truth. Had he heard the soundtrack to our record counting adventure I doubt he would have believed me when I told him I hadn’t been smoking anything. The soundtrack was Crashing Dream by Rain Parade. That memory blossomed today thanks to the warm, dusty psychedelic songs of Derek Fairbridge. These could pass as lost songs from Crashing Dreams sessions. I love that about music—its power to unveil the past, offer hope for the future (No Sean, this inventory won’t last forever. Your eyes won’t fall from their sockets). Unfortunately that was Rain Parade’s last album, and seemingly it’s Derek Fairbridge’s only album.
Marumari
Marumari makes electronic music just the way I like it, when I’m in the mood to chill to it, not dance to it (‘cuz let me tell you, it ain’t no easy feat to harness the energy of my dance moves in a little song. Nuh, uh. No way. But I’m not dancing now. And I imagine you aren’t either if you’re reading this—unless you’ve got moves I’m unfamiliar with). It’s smooth, warm, and he keeps things interesting without the glitch, klack, sputter. There’s an Eastern sensibility at work here, as if he’s creating extended mixes of haiku. All this from a young American raised on Pee Wee’s Playhouse with an unexplicable penchant for Gap clothes. Problem is, Marumari, aka Josh Presseisen, has been regrettably silent for the past four years, with the exception of this EP that he’s been giving away on his site since last year. Only for “awhile” he warns. Well, the links are still good, but who knows for how long. Get ’em while you can (btw: some of the smaller files sound like clips). I should mention here that Sam turned me onto Marumari back in the last millenium, and Brian over at Fun Time OK hipped me to the free Pathscrubber EP.
Brightblack Morning Light
A few helpful things to know about Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes, aka Brightblack Morning Light: 1) They live in tents in the summer, a small cabin in the winter. 2) They’re from Northern California via Alabama. 3) They pal around with Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom. 4) They care about the world around them. 5) They roll out amazing, narcotically tempered grooves. 6) If only “punkers” were as punk as these hippies…
Seekonk
It’s certainly no coincidence that many of the melancholic and dreamy strands of the American indie set make their homes far away from the sun belt. What better way to fill in the long winters and gray springs than by stretching out your vocals and music until it cuts through the stillness with…pretty stillness? Portland, Maine’s Seekonk conjure delicate longing with mandolin and vibes on “Love,†and elsewhere Sarah Ramey’s vocals wrap around you like a blanket (especially on “Air,†which as yet is only available on MySpace). Yes, summer is on its way, and though Seekonk finds its muse in the snowy north, the life it evokes sounds good in all seasons.