Another band from Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois, and a member of the Mr. Hyde Records family, First Coat is a band that keeps getting better and better. This improvement could be due to maturity or significant line-up changes, but either way, their newest work is confident and well-constructed. The thick and rich 8 minutes or so of rock in “Catchy Pneumonia Pajamas,” from their recent album Move Like Sparrows, is a stark contrast to the demure country strains and simple pop off Great Lakes Disorder, their first effort. Check it out for yourself. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!
The Elected
I originally wanted to make this a topical post a couple weeks ago when the Dems took the power back. Now the gag is a bit dated. It’s just been that kind of month for me… But good music is good music and The Elected make good music. Their textured folk-pop stops time and encourages introspection. The Californian quartet is fronted by Rilo Kiley guitarist/songwriter and former child actor Blake Sennett. Go vote with your wallet if you like what you hear.
Free Prototypes EP
Over The Atlantic
Today, we sail South down the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand to tune into Over The Atlantic—a couple young lads recording music that’s completely unhip compared to today’s standards. I mean none of the kids are doing this. As far as I can tell, most of the kids this age still style out their jet-black hair curtains and whisper/scream, wearing their bloodied emotions on their sleeves. I was never cool in school, so I’m always glad to find fellow geeks, the kind that that lock themselves in their rooms and record their own music videos. The bonus with Over The Atlantic is their skills are those of a songwriter twice their age, yet they fill their hooks with youthful exhuberance. I have a feeling their parents’ record collections (which undoubtably contain the entire Church catalog) are to blame for their twenty-year old sound, which is an entirely good thing.
The Black Antipodes
Is Denmark the new Sweden? But borders aren’t important. We here at 3hive love all Scandanavians, especially the ones who have a way with a guitar. The Black Antipodes claim Sonic Youth, The Stokes, and Interpol, among others, as influences, and it’s easy to hear all three in “Black Coffee and Pie.” My grandmother-in-law, a full Dane, if she were still here, would be so pleased.
I Am Bones
After featuring Under Byen last month, the good folks at Morningside Records kindly left a handful of suggestions in the comments. Their roster balances between two forces of pop music: dreamy and power. I Am Bones does the power pop thing, along the lines of Figurines. I find it interesting that these two fine Danish bands draw heavily from the American indie rock sound from the 90s at a time when so many contemporary American bands lean towards the heady, arena-sized sound of Radiohead. I’m not afraid to admit my bias. Usually when I drop needle to groove, or hit play, or insert my ear-buds, I want to sing-along (dig the chorus to “The Ostrich Approach:” “I’ll hook you up / with alcohol and valium…”), jump around, get the endorphins flowing…I don’t want to think about music, I just want to move to it. I Am Bones will certainly get you shaking your own skeleton. If I might point out one song in particular here, “Oktoberfest Vs. Morrissey” would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving mix tape. ONLY if you’re a loud and proud meat lover. Vegans beware. May I suggest a subtitle? “Turkey Vs. Tofurkey.”
Millimeters Mercury
“Her hips were sharp in the dark / in a park on N. Clark”
Millimeters Mercury, “Not Too Fast”
When a bunch of my old students went off to college in Chicago — hi Katherine, Jared, Mia, Jen L., Tom G., etc. — I really wanted to make them a good Chicago mix, but it just didn’t work out. I had Sufjan Stevens and Ryan Adams, Liz Phair and Rhett Miller, Wilco and Soul Coughing. But I still hadn’t come across Canasta or Millimeters Mercury (mmHg, for my wife and her Ph.D. science friends) — especially “Not Too Fast.” What a great song! Part of the Mr. Hyde Records crew, the now-defunct Millimeters Mercury has since split into a bunch of other bands, like Cola Wars. Check out the band’s website for their math rock discography, including about 30 additional free downloads.
Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground
The first minute of “Hey Mamma” pays major homage to the Beatles of a certain era you can probably guess by looking at the photo. After the first minute, as Hunter S. Thompson might say, it gets a little strange. But strange is good, and Kay Kay manages to toss around strings, percussion, and even what sounds like a player piano to spritely effect. The songs on the band’s MySpace page are equally confounding yet somehow appealing to the ears. Kay Kay will be coughing up a cassette-only EP soon, so pick it up and, hop in your 10-year-old Subaru and crank it until you can’t hear the engine noise.
Norfolk & Western: Now Touring + MP3s
Health & Beauty
There’s something very, very good happening on Chicago’s south side, and that good thing is called Mr. Hyde Records. To quote from their mission statement, Mr. Hyde is a record label that “focuses on making definitive compilations of the rock music being made in Hyde Park.” When I lived in Hyde Park ten years ago, it wasn’t really clear that there was much music being made in the neighborhood; it didn’t help that there was only one bar, Jimmy’s, and the local university is pretty geeky. Then again, as 3hive proves week in and week out, geeks rock. Based on Mr. Hyde’s output, like the recent Jackson Park Express compilation, the U of C scene is rich, diverse and (surprise, surprise) notably cerebral.
So, Cola Wars was our first Mr. Hyde related post, even if I didn’t really know what it meant at the time. (In true home-grown fashion, all these guys are in ten bands and running their own label.) Anyway, Health & Beauty is another band in the family; Brian J. Sulpizio even looks like my cousin’s crazy ex-boyfriend. Though his music doesn’t really reflect this craziness — you’ll find a little noise here and there, among beautiful melodies and smart, smoothly-delivered lyrics — the Health & Beauty website itself is like a psychedelic corn maze of poetry and random association. I spent at least an hour wandering around “Eraser Metropolis”, following the links and taking it all in. Over the next few weeks I’ll post a few more Mr. Hyde bands; if you like what you hear, go ahead and buy a few compilations.