Jeremy Enigk’s solo debut, Return of the Frog Queen, is more than a decade old now, but it still sounds as groundbreaking as the day it came out. Enigk gave a visceral new dimension to orchestral pop by bucking accepted wisdom: Where most took the opportunity to turn rock into chamber music, Enigk converted chamber music into breathtaking anthems full of sound, soul, and fury. Shortly after, Sunny Day Real Estate released How It Feels to be Something On, one of the best rock albums of the ‘90s, if not ever. Enigk’s cryptically searching vocals seemed to sing duets with sprawling guitar wails, making it sound much larger than anyone had come to expect from an indie rock outfit. The “rumor†(in college, anything with religious undertones automatically became uncorroborated and vaguely suspect) was that Enigk was in crisis but had been born again, and this was his grand purge. Whatever the motivation, How It Feels… sounded like the album I’d always wanted to hear and I still listen to it at least once a month. Which brings us to the aptly titled World Waits, Enigk’s second solo album and two bands removed from his debut. The cheesy thing to say would be that it’s been worth the wait, but the truth is that it has. “Been Here Before†is a perfect sample of where Enigk has found himself. His two lives – the orch-pop wunderkind with the most distinct cracked tenor in music meets the indie-rock frontman of intense introspection – intersect beautifully. Enigk’s secret is that he is capable of grasping for something beyond himself. Yet, like the more emotionally dramatic moments of Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here) and the universally reflective side of U2, Enigk doesn’t need to know what it is he’s grasping for. He’s happy just knowing that there’s something out there to grasp.
The Low Hello
I’m hoping the Detroit Tigers will put on a better show in the coming days than they did Tuesday night. Yuck, that was ugly. What’s not ugly from Detroit are the sounds of The Low Hello and their lead singer Sunil Sawani, featured in the post below. (Sunil’s voice isn’t exactly pretty, but that’s a comment for the next post.) We haven’t posted much from Detroit lately, so these low-fi, homemade pop songs — comprising The Low Hello’s EP, which they apparently give away for free at their gigs, as well as online — should make up for our D-town dearth. Anyway, if you like what you hear here, move on to the next post…
Sunil Sawani
…and check out some of the solo work of the band’s lead singer. (If you don’t know where the first part of the first sentence is, direct your Internet browser to The Low Hello. See what I mean?) Sunil Sawani’s solo stuff sounds similar to that of his band, maybe with a bit more intropection and melancholy, but still with his weak, nasal voice (that was kind of getting to me after a while). But hey, according to his website, Sunil is getting married on Saturday, so let’s not pick on him. Instead, let’s hope it doesn’t snow (assuming he’s marrying in Michigan).
Serengeti
Remember back on Saturday when I posted Polyphonic the Verbose? Man, those were the days… Anyway, Chicagoland MC Serengeti guests on Polyphonic’s album and I found myself wanting to hear more. And more is what I got this week in the form of an email from Serengeti’s publicist. Get your “rewind” finger ready, if only for the ill shout-outs on “Dennehy” (yes, as in Brian Dennehy). Here’s a taste: “Vacation place: ‘sconsin, sausage: Johnson, chicken: Swanson’s…”
New MP3 + Album from Dosh
Tim Fite
He’s a little bit country; he’s a little bit rock ‘n’ roll; he’s a little bit hip-hop. He’s straight outta Brooklyn. He’s Tim Fite. Basically, Mr. Fite builds songs around hip-hop loops and beats, infusing the tracks with folk’s lyrical sensibilities. “Away From the Snakes,” for example, follows country’s song template: “I lost my dog, I lost my wife, I lost my money.” Then, on “No Good Here,” he’ll fracture an upbeat, diddy-of-a-riff, with rock’s explosive power. Consider him Beck’s East Coast brother-in-arms, ten years later, but mining the same, largely untapped source of urban-folk gems. If cursing offends, beware. If cursing delights, dig in.
The Blood Thirsty Lovers
With that fancy new banner we got here at 3hive, prominently listing Memphis first, it’s about time we got around to something Memphis, ain’t it? Who can be more Memphis (besides Elvis, smarty-pants) than Dave Shouse, in this carnation with friends as the Blood Thirsty Lovers? Shouse is well known round these parts for Think As Incas, the Grifters, and Those Bastard Souls, among others, and his lifelong devotion to guitars and noise. And speaking of Elvis, did I ever mention that my mom taught his cousin 7th grade math?
The Mary Onettes
Sam, Clay and I bicker constantly about who’s gonna post the latest treat from Sweden’s ever-so-sweet Labrador Records. Thanks to Jason over at Mystery and Misery (and newly Minimal) I’ve won this round. The Mary Onettes not only have a playful ’80s era air about their name, they’ve also captured the artful earnestness of the decade’s music. “Lost” devos open with a driving drum beat that leads into a jangly, New Order guitar riff and A Flock of Seagulls keyboard flourish. On paper it sounds like a disaster, but to the ear it’s pure, um, music. They drop things down a few notches on “What’s So Strange?” an acoustic-y, track bordering on gentle, psychedelic XTC. Next time your parents complain that “They just don’t make music like they used to!” give ’em a dose of The Mary Onettes.
Polyphonic the Verbose
Polyphonic isn’t just a swell sounding stage name, it really gets at the complexity of Will Freyman’s production. He weaves live instruments and bizarre samples into intricate patterns no doubt drawing from his diverse musical background (classical European piano, jazz trombone, Indonesian gamelan music, medieval European choral music — you name it, he’s played it). The net result is what a lazy record clerk might file under “dub” for its spacey vibe and stilted gait, but there’s more to it than that. So much more, in fact, that intrepid MCs like Nico B, Serengeti, and Psalm One lined up to add their rhymes to Polyphonic’s solo debut, Abstract Data Ark.
Cacoy
Cacoy is a Japanese electro trio possibly named for a Filipino martial arts legend and signed to a Danish record label. Their song Piracle Pa doesn’t seem to be from any language, but the soothing organ and lilting female vocals sound like French/Canadian/British indie-pop darlings Stereolab. “Yoko Majikick Ono†seems to be named for the Japanese-born U.S. resident, and with its rubbery, buoyant cornucopia of digital burps, it sounds like a track from U.S.-born Josh Presseisen’s Japanese-named project, Marumari. In other words, it makes for good listening no matter where you lay your headphones.