In the late ’90s I became briefly obsessed with Ednaswap, the L.A.-based group fronted by Anne Preven and known less for their own well-crafted pop gems than for what other people did with said gems (Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” was originally Ednaswap’s). It made sense that the daughter of composer Andre Preven would have an impeccable sense of composition herself, and that’s exactly what otherwise inexplicably kept me and my former-college-football-playing roommate wailing along to Ednaswap’s catchy heartbreakers like a pair of teenage girls hooked on Dashboard Confessional. That’s not to say that The Drawing Board, the Austin-by-way-of-L.A. group sounds like Ednaswap, but what they share with my former obsession is an undeniably intelligent take on pop music. Think of Elvis Costello or Ben Folds and you’ll get a good sense of how The Drawing Board is mature, engrossing and hummable. Better yet, download “The Writer,” a bouncy little ditty whose playful piano belies its nihilistic lyrics. Still sound too cerebral? Don’t worry, just disregard this writer’s pedantic take, download the rest and you can trust the music.
The Sheds
My friend Cheech is driving around the USA this summer with his girlfriend and a Geoffrey Roberts Award, tasting and blogging about our country’s endangered foods. How great is that?! (Check out his adventures at www.eat-american.com, and maybe buy a thing or two. A few years ago he sent me a bottle of datil pepper hot sauce, and that stuff was awesome.) In honor and support of his cool summer, I’m posting The Sheds, a do-it-yourself pop-rock outfit from Cincinnati that, in my mind, embodies in music what Cheech is doing with food. Pumping out quirky Americana for the last few years, The Sheds seem a little endangered too; they offer everything they’ve got for free on this here Internet. How do they eat, or at least make a buck? So, here’s to good free music and good, honest food. May both live long and prosper.
St. Vincent
Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, used to play guitar with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens, which might account for her pleasingly random-seeming musical influences. Contrary to standard operating procedure, I don’t have a whole lot else to say other than I really like this woman, she has pluck and style and and I think you should listen to her. Plus, you’ve gotta love a woman who names her album “Marry Me.” Brassy!
General Elektriks
This gem’s been on the back burner for two years! Ouch. I started a post on General Elektriks back in August of 2005, the year his debut album came out. I remember the label pulled the MP3s, and since we like to play nicely with others, I pulled the review (crying, all the while, on the inside, gettin’ all emo). Since then, Quannum has partnered with a solid digital distributor, ioda promonet, and the goods are back! This is such a great album. French-Brit, and current resident of Berkeley, CA, RV Salters, is General Elektriks, a man with an impressive quiver of vintage keyboards and the playing skills to go along with it. Smooth ‘n’ easy grooves made for lazy summer afternoons. Quantic said it best, “Like the Beatles in a pub brawl with the Neptunes.” And as a bonus, plenty of the Quannum crew make guest appearances on the album. Two-years-old, but packaged with stay-fresh beats. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Looks like General Elektriks will strike again early next year. He’s been busy with his other project Honeycut.
The Coach and Four
It’s my last post from Memphis, so I’d better make it a Memphis band, eh? I especially like the changing moods of “In Transit” by The Coach and Four. First delicate and almost plaintive, then building until becoming strong, fierce, and frantic, it reflects the hidden stories of the band’s namesake, a local run-down hotel.
Via Audio
I so don’t want to repeat the stories of: “this-indie-rock-star-found-the-band” and “this-cool-producer-dude-recorded-their-album.” Sure, they helped Via Audio gain some traction and a bit of attention, but the story’s a year old and it’ll continue to be regurgitated in the future as the music media re-hash the band’s one sheet (not always a bad idea—sometimes it’s late and you just want to be in bed and you can’t think of anything to write about a really cool band and whew! the publicist wrote something decent you can borrow…). OK, here’s what you’re in for: sweet boy/girl vocals over a relentless tempo, some nice fuzzy guitar tones, sparkling tones for the chorus, then a big rockin’ bridge into chorus with echoing vocoder. Repeat chorus. Oh thank you Via Audio for repeating the chorus again and again. It drives me wild. RIYL: mature electro-gum pop by goofy/cute, thrift-shopping Brooklyn quartets.
Varnaline
I can’t write about Space Needle without plugging Anders Parker’s Varnaline with equal, if not greater, vigor. It’s almost easier to do, given Parker’s more prolific output—whether as Varnaline through 2001 or his subsequent eponymous work for Baryon Records. Sadly, Varnaline’s music received limited notoriety in their time due in part to their now defunct record labels, Zero Hour and Artemis, neither of which were really a perfect fit for Varnaline’s sound. The Varnaline take on alt country was blistering, raw, and true, with really excellent texture and sobering lyrics for those left standing.
Justice
Justice is a French DJ duo known for, among other things, a rumbling synthetic bassline that hits you like an electric shock. They released the addictive if woefully abbreviated Waters of Nazareth EP just over a year ago, and I’ve been dancing to it, especially the piece de resistance title track, ever since. Now, mind you, I was born without a stitch of rhythm or grace, so when I say I’ve been dancing to it, what I really mean is that I’ve been bobbing my head to it. But trust me, it’s been a wicked head-bob. “Waters of Nazareth,” unfortunately, has never been available in its original form as a free download (understandable for club DJs who live track to track) so you’ll have to go to MySpace and listen to it through your browser. Likewise “D.A.N.C.E.,” Justice’s latest cool-kid craze (with an awfully cool video to boot). And there’s plenty more where that came from: It may have taken over a year for the boys to get together an LP’s worth of originals, but they’ve been rather busy mashing, remixing, and getting remixed. Here’s just a sampling—go to Vice’s great MP3 “Blog Up Your Jaxxy” for loads more hard-to-find Justice tracks and remixes.
The Foundry Field Recordings
During the Civil War, Missouri was a border state, supplying formal regiments and informal militias to both sides of the conflict. Therefore, I’m not sure if Clay would consider The Foundry Field Recordings — hailing from Colombia, MO — a Southern band. Regardless, they tend to be a shimmery pop delight, with long, serious compositions, a little precious but a lot of fun. I especially like “Buy/Sell/Trade” (which appears on both of the EPs below) and “Dancing Lights/Slow Machines.” Sure hope y’all do too, now.
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
Don’t get me wrong, I really like the arrhythmic bobbing of one thousand hipster heads at, say, a Menomena show outside in the summertime. Equally pleasing is the boho hippie happy love vibe and patchouli smell rising like steam above an Amadou and Mariam or Manu Chao show. But I’m not talking about hippies or hipsters here… I’m talking about the hot. sweaty. funk. Sharon Jones has been bringing the hot sweaty funk for years now and as soon as the band starts playing–hips WILL be swaying, arms WILL be flailing, and, yes, booties will be shaking, because Sharon and her million person band of 3-piece-suit-wearing talent consistently brings it. These songs may not be brand spanking new, but when the music is classic, who needs them to be?