Now this is refreshing. A band that cops to copping. “We copy everyone.” Now that that’s cleared up and out of the way get ready for some dance action. The Battle Royale are a toothsome young foursome from Minnesota that began as a folk ensemble but then discovered the little “techno” settings on a garage sale keyboard. They never looked back. They won their one album deal with Afternoon records by dominating a local venue’s “Battle of the Underage Underground” competition (three of the members were still in high school a year ago). They’ve got the groove-itude of CSS and the playfulness of Atari Teenage Riot if Atari Teenage Riot were playful like their name suggests. Here’s hoping The Battle Royale never take themselves seriously.
Bedroom Eyes
Someone recently asked me what I liked most about getting to participate in the fun house that is 3hive. Let me share just two of many. First, experiences like checking out at Home Depot and having a conversation with the guy behind the counter about the Walkmen cause of my t-shirt and telling him about Jonathan Fire*eater as he wrote down “3hive.com” on a piece of paper he then stuffed in his pocket. Second, emails from Sweden, like the one from Jonas Jonsson introducing us to his little project Bedroom Eyes. The EP Embrace in Stereo is provided gratis by Jonas and friends, so let me just quote Jonas himself: “Pop music from the heart – to the feet.”
Ruetschle
The Paisley Underground is alive and well…in Dayton, Ohio!? (By now, I know I at least have Sean’s attention…) Ruetschle (pronounced “richly”) is the bright-eyed garage pop brainchild of Mike Ruetschle. The first two albums feature Mike’s tight songwriting talents and faux British accent. (I wonder if he ever uses that accent away from the mic, say, while going through the checkout lane of the local IGA.) But it’s not until 2006’s Exotic Destinations that Reutschle hit their groove, introducing harmonies, dynamics, and other fun to the mix. I mean, if “Can You Remember?” can make my 11-month-old—stricken with a nasty post-holiday cold—bob her head and clap her hands, you’ve got my vote…
The Black Lips
Lester Bangs’ favorite song was “96 Tears†by ? and the Mysterians. John Peel’s favorite was “Teenage Kicks†by the Undertones. Both were love songs by garage bands that could barely play chords and likely couldn’t read music any better than I can. The message is clear: for the most vaunted of audiophiles, “bad†is the best kind of rock music because the whole point is that it’s supposed to sound bad to somebody, hopefully your parents and/or local law enforcement officials and church leaders. By those standards, the Atlanta group Black Lips is pretty damned good. Granted, their really-old garage sound is slightly more preening than authentic, but that seems to be purely a matter of birthdates. You don’t get the sense that they’re being anything but their goofy-ass selves when they sing about having a bad day or set off on some epic live shows of Brian-Jonestown-Massacre proportions. For that, we salute them.
The National Lights
BloodShake Records’s (or is it Records’? Yeah, it’s Records’, right? You do ‘s when following a singular noun ending in s? This is what happens when I teach only history classes for a semester…) other artist , Sonya Cotton, was well received here at the ‘hive, so I though I’d pitch The National Lights. Slow and brooding, the Lights provide a further vehicle for Cotton’s lovely voice — here as backing vocals — while setting somber scenes of desolation and vague desire. Well, at least it’s pretty music, even if it’s not exactly fun.
Final Fantasy
You can call me a philistine, but the term “experimental†scares me a little bit. Maybe y’all agree with me? More often than I am comfortable with “experimental†becomes some sort of catch-all term for… well, for lots of things that wouldn’t be nice to say here in this my first post of the new year. Alas, Canadian violinist Owen Pallet AKA Final Fantasy, who notably arranged the strings for Arcade Fire’s “Funeral†amongst other past musical endeavors, is unequivocally “experimenting†with his solo musical offerings and I can’t find a single unkind word for him, nor would I want to. These songs are non-linear, funny, offbeat, complex and unexpectedly beautiful. Pallet maintains all of the musicality of his classical training while successfully maintaining a lovely pop sensibility. Now don’t get me wrong, there are absolutely traces of some of the oft-loathed hallmarks of “the independent sensibility†(i.e. utilizing the word poo in the album title, naming oneself after something random like a video game, writing an album that is apparently “an eight-song cycle about the eight schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons,†etc.) but he’s smart. Really, really smart. So Pallet gets away with all his geeky wit and irony like a bandit. All things said, I’m really shy about dropping the L-word, folks, but let me say here, loud and proud: I love this. Don’t dig it? Then just listen one more time, for me, and then decide. Okay?
Money Mark
A quick Money Mark refresher: He was instrumental, literally and figuratively, on Beastie Boys albums like Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty, and the oh, so groovy The In Sound From Way Out. He also played on a couple Beck records, Blackalicious and the first Handsome Boy Modeling School. Money Mark’s always good for a laid-back, soulful groove and that sounds like what we’re in for on this, his seventh, solo release. Brand New By Tomorrow represents Mark’s efforts at dealing with and documenting a break-up head on. Official Money Mark literature says that this first single is one of the more upbeat, hopeful songs on the album (which I have yet to hear in its entirety), so if you’re in need of soothing salve for your heartache drop this one on the ol’ hi-fi.
Missing Numbers
Happy New Year from 3hive!
So as I was reviewing songs I had downloaded in 2006 but never posted—you know, just to see what I forgot about last year—I came across the Minneapolis band Missing Numbers hiding on my hard drive. Haunting, dark, moody, suspenseful, and darn catchy. So much music, so little time…
2006 on radioioEDGE
Blitzen Trapper
File this one under my favorite band that I completely missed in 2006. This despite the fact that plenty of fine sites have been trying to hit me over the head with Blitzen Trapper’s simultaneously spacey and homey sound. “Texaco” is a straight up country joint, the whining of a slide guitar punctuating the wavering vocals while “Summer Twin” floats and hovers about like one of XTC’s psychedelic efforts. The two tendencies come together on “Pink Padded Slippers.” Pure listening satisfaction. Don’t miss “40 Stripes,” a throwback to solid AM-worthy, classic rock standards and the electro-funk of “Love I Exclaim!” The band’s two self-released albums are available on CD Baby where a fan beautifully sums up Blitzen Trapper: “[they] sound like they’re trying to paint the Sistine Chapel with a box of crayons.”