Austrian hip hop and breakz DJ, Paul Nawrata, has been crafting mean sets since 1991. He’s been producing since 1997 and his first solo album, Toujours le Même Film, in a word, KILLS. Fans of film scores and other cinematic sounds are definitely gonna wanna jump in on this one. As are the hip hop kids. Quality downtempo, trip-hop for folks who are partial to Portishead, RJD2, and surround sound.
Every Move a Picture
Nigh on two years ago, I wrote about my wife asking me, “Are you listening to 80’s music?” whilst posting about Kawaii. When I was getting Every Move A Picture’s album Heart=Weapon from eMusic recently, she asked me that yet again. I really should have posted about this San Francisco band this time last year, but I passed. However, I recently discovered them again, filling that space between Bloc Party and Interpol. So flying back from SFO on Friday night going through Bay Area bands—reminding me how much I still miss the late great Henry’s Dress—on my MP3 player I decided to finally get around to Every Move A Picture. Their website points to their myspace page, where you can grab at a lower bitrate two of the better songs, “Outlaw” and “Simple Lessons in Love,” from their album.
The Postmarks
Trick or treat…or treat…or treat! Treat 1: The sweet, sweet heartbreak pop of “Goodbye,” a sneak peek of the self-titled debut from Floridian trio The Postmarks. Treat 2: A couple of remixes from Spookey Ruben and Cassettes Won’t Listen. (In a nutty marketing move, The Postmarks preceded their debut with a 9-track remix EP which flips their delicate sound on 45 so you can dance to it.) Treat 3: A wonderfully eerie take on Ministry’s goth-wave era hit “Everyday Is Halloween.” The trick? Waiting for the full-length to come out.
The Hold Steady MP3 and Tour Dates
Johan
Johan is an Amsterdam quartet whose members have good haircuts and impeccable pop sensibilities. “Oceans†features swimming, crossing, crawling, a first verse built around “you,†and various other indications of true love, unrequited. Its infectious hooks and crooning might remind you of Matthew Sweet, Travis, or (lyrically) James Blunt, but Johan’s sensibilities are all their own…and they’re meant just for you.
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.
Boyskout
I originally posted about Boyskout two years ago when they released their debut. As you can see below, I was quite smitten. I still am…this time by the range and sophistication of their follow-up, Another Life. They go from fragile innocence (“Everybody Knew”) to smoldering spite (“Happy Yet?”) without letting up on the sexually charged energy. Welcome back, girls.
Original post from 8/25/2004:
Boyskout are not boys at all. In fact, I don’t even think they are “into” boys, if you get my drift… So why is it that I feel all special inside every time I listen to “Back to Bed”? Because something about their black magic new wave transcends sexual politics and brings out the freak in me.
Bing Ji Ling Scoops Up More Treats
Benjy Ferree
An interesting tidbit about Mr. Ferree to start things off, he’s Domino’s first American worldwide signing. Meaning, I guess, that Domino’s British mothership is finally warming to the American music scene. And Benjy Ferree’s got a solid, old fashioned, back porch, red, white and blue sound running through his songs. I can almost hear someone blowing into a moonshine jug in “Why Bother,” and a washboard player would fit in just as well. “Private Honeymoon” waltzes along nicely with the sounds of the West Coast’s neu-folk folks. Ah, it’s probably the playful, beatles-esque romp “In The Countryside” that’s got the label giving Benjy the green light for worldwide domino-ation. His tour of the Midwest and East Coast starts tomorrow with the Archie Bronson Outfit.
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.