This, people, is the post I have been waiting for. It’s no secret that I love me some Swedes and even less of a secret that I adore what shall heretofore be referred to as “The Gothenburg Sound.” (see: El Perro Del Mar, Love is All, Jose Gonzalez, Detektivbyran…) Above all, though, I love me some Jens Lekman. In the world of “Lisa Likes” regulations, artists should be a little nuts, a little grounded, part innovative freak genius and part renegade throwback revisiter. Jens, for sure, is all of these things. It’s a rare day that the hype aligns with the music. Hype, meet music. Music, meet hype. You two shall surely be friends. On a personal note, Jens Lekman’s music feels connected with my recent personal history and I couldn’t be more happy–it’s wistful, charming, silly, sad, bombastic and, occasionally triumphant. We all need something to listen to for all of these moments. And I’m grateful to Mr. Lekman for making such sounds that match up with more than one of these moments at the same time. Just listen. And try to love. I really want you all to.
Cale Parks
Cale Parks — multi-instrumentalist for the band Aloha — released a solo album — Illuminated Manuscripts — about a year ago. It’s shimmery and delicate and quivery and pretty much electronic, save for the snappy live percussion. These characteristics contrast so nicely with the rasp and grit of the acoustic folk rock that’s lately been pouring through my earbuds that I don’t care how old it is; I’m just happy to be in the haze.
Red Collar
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.
Ladyslipper
This one’s perfect after a day of my better half and I struggling to talk to each. “What did you say?” “Can you say that again?” “What was that?” “I couldn’t hear you.” We’ve finally concluded that our poor hearing has a common cause: too much rock ‘n’ roll. Years of going to shows sans ear plugs. Years of head phones and ear phones and ear buds. Years of going to sleep with the stereo on. Years of car stereos on full blast. And in my case, years ago, not being very good on the guitar and trying to compensate for it through loud feedback. So what better anthem for the toll music has taken on our hearing than Ladyslipper’s “Tinnitus?” Tinnitus is ringing or buzzing in the ears and the reason that I recently purchased a twenty pack of ear plugs. But this Minnesota’s band’s melodic, fuzz-drenched indie rock with their proud, echo-heavy shouts of “tinnitus” hopefully will serve as a reminder to all of us to use ear protection when listening to loud, catchy music from Ladyslipper.
This public service announcement has been brought to you by Ladyslipper and 3hive.
Mojib
Staffan Ulmert (aka Mojib) shares a taste in music with many of us here at 3hive. He lists Explosions in the Sky, UNKLE, Sixtoo, and The Avalanches as inspirations. Instead of blah, blah, blahgging about about these artists however, Ulmert settles down in front of his computer in Gothenburg, Sweden, and composes his own music and remixes some of his favorite artists (check out his remix of Ian Brown and his UNKLE / Notwist mashup). No new formula here: solid hip-hop beats, pop melodies, strings, pianos, and samples galore (what’s that main riff in “Break of Dawn”??? It’s driving me nuts. Sigur Rós? Radiohead?) Mojib provides plenty of teaser tracks on his website, but the litmus test, his first proper full-length (Whimsical Lifestyle) drops next month on Canada’s Non-Existent Recordings.
A.A. Bondy
A.A. Bondy’s new album, American Hearts, is easily one of my favorites of the year, and it comes just at the right time. Summer’s going to fade soon, the leaves will change and Michigan will be at its absolute most beautiful before we get buried in winter. Bondy’s sparse folk rock will make a nice soundtrack for that transition, like Springsteen’s Nebraska or Will Oldham’s Days in the Wake. The other artist that comes to mind here is Steve Earle; “Vice Rag,” my favorite of the two songs below, is essentially a lilting country version of “CCKMP,” and is as disarming as the original. Bondy makes less more on American Hearts, much to this listener’s pleasure.
The Hudsons
The Hudsons often describe themselves as a hard-working band, making this an appropriate Labor Day post. Offering up a solid blend of folk & country, I ran across this Austin trio while researching Texas bands for my friend Tim. He’s got a friend moving there, and wanted to clue him in to the scene (which is probably pretty big, considering the size of the state and all that). I was hooked on the clean sound and classis lyrics of the Hudsons from “It Just Takes One”; that is, after all, all it took. If you like what you hear — and this goes for you too, Tim’s friend — head over to the band’s website for a half dozen live tracks, or to Sonicbids for more studio recordings.
Ghastly City Sleep
Clocking in at a hair under 30 minutes Ghastly City Sleep’s debut can be considered, to tweak a literary term, an album-ella. An itty bitty album in number of tracks only (four), the self-titled work otherwise towers in sound and scope, but leaves one wanting more. The song featured here, “Hushing Weight,” lumbers open with slow bass blows underneath haunting vocals. Layers of tones, synth and piano, sneak in and then the song rises into a sweeping Pet Sounds-like chorus, but slowed way, way down. Sweet, reverberating harmonies frequently shine through the droning, post-rock fog of these Virginian sons. From the brief glimpse their debut offers, Ghastly City Sleep are working towards re-making the Beach Boys in Sigur Rós’s image. I should also mention that anyone who buys the CD is in for a treat. The artwork is a 12 panel poster of a painting by band member Brandon Evans, which is tucked behind a frosted transparency etched with the band’s name and logo.
Plane
“Blood on the Waves” starts with a guitar melody that anyone with the slightest knowledge of the Manchester sound will know. But just in case, Plane doesn’t make a mystery of their influences: listed right at the top of their “Sounds Like” section on MySpace is Joy Division. It would be slightly more accurate if they could convey that it sounds like that uncharted territory between the premature fall of Joy Division and the far-from-inevitable rise of New Order. And that should tell you a lot about the depth, intelligence and even newness that you can expect from Plane. That first tingling guitar progression is as familiar as they come, but what comes after proves that Plane is no nostalgia act. Chicago’s still a blue-collar town, like Manchester, and Plane is workingman’s new wave—you can take your nihilism to the dance-floor without feeling even a pinch self-conscious.
Cary Brothers
So, I’m clueless enough to not have realized for at least a year or two now that Cary Brothers isn’t, you know, like a duo of siblings or whatever. Anyway, here’s the story: Lisa S. gave me a copy of the Garden State soundtrack, and I love that song “Blue Eyes” and I’ve wanted to track down the singer ever since, but I just never got around to it. (See name of record label for full joke.) And then I’m looking through the 17,000,000 bands that played South By Southwest this past spring (all those MP3s are still live, by the way) and there they — oops, no — he, is. (This might be why 3hive writers don’t get paid.) So, here’s Cary’s track from the SXSW page, plus a few live & demo tracks from his website. He’s got a fabulous sad voice, perfect for this cover of “Skyway,” and good folk-country-rock sensibilities. He can even get a little trippy, like in “Ride.” So, yeah, enjoy the product of my cluelessness.