Red Bennies
It appears the Red Bennies couldn’t care less. Their website lists shows from back in April. The only trace of live shows on their myspace page are from comments of other bands, posting flyers for recent shows. What gives? Where y’all at? Would somebody from Salt Lake check in and give us an update? Pretty please. I was slimming down my music collection and came across a couple albums I picked up back from my time in their town. They’ve veered away from their thick, noisy, gain-up-hot, Helmet from hell sound (“Provo Cries” and “Tyler”) and honed in on their lo-fi rock ‘n’ roll soul (“I’m Coming Home” & Shake It Off”). Soul-Fi if you will. To put them in a 3hive context for you, they’d align nicely with Cold War Kid’s improvisational reach for rock’s primacy, and Midlake’s recent take on nostalgia but leaning past the 70s to rough up Smokey Robinson a tad. And no, the Red Bennies were NOT thinned from my collection.
Jim Noir
I’m not gonna mince words here. Sam sucks. He’s on vacation and the poor fellow couldn’t get a post up before he left. Jim Noir rules. His songs make you feel like you’re on vacation. His latest album, Tower of Love, conjures, through simple melodies, long lazy, barefoot days spent flying kites, sipping and snacking on favorite treats, watching the sun set, and reading out on the porch against evening breezes. Track down the Fatboy Slim remix of his song “Eanie Meany” if you’re more of a party-all-night-on-the-dancefloor vacationer.
All Night Chemists
Len Monachello was the bassist for Thisway, which signed with Reprise in the waning days of the major label indie land-grab of the ‘90s. They released one critically well-received but publicly underexposed album and recorded another that is yet to be released. The same thing happened to Wilco around the same time and on the same label. The name of that album was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Just saying. Anyway, Monachello has no misconceptions about the business of making music, which could be why he’s so good at the craft side of it. The Brooklyn-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist has a mellow, reflective voice that speaks to experience and a way with instrumentation that, as they say, goes easy on the ears. Fans of Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy, Joe Henry and Ron Sexsmith should clear some space on their iPods, as should the rest of you.
Hands Down Eugene
Hailing from Nashville, uh Indiana, Hands Down Eugene is yet another of the fine acts featured on Delicious Berries, MusicalFamilyTree.com‘s cool compilation of Hoosier bands. MFT had the entire Hands Down Eugene EP Full Blast available for free download, so here it is. With a rotating cast of musicians and a little weirdness thrown into the pop-rock mix, there’s probably something here for everyone.
Play It As It Lays
Hit The Switch Album Part 2
The Autumn Project
No, summer ain’t over, but the kids are back in school, which means it’s essentially autumn. Des Moines, Iowa’s The Autumn Project and their post-rock sounds, then, provide us with our first assignment of the school year. Their 2003 LP Fable is a case study in the genre, full of monsterous guitar soundscapes and crashing cymbals. Their latest A Burning Light is darker and more focused, as demonstrated by doing a little compare and contrast between “Of Memorium” from Fable and the newer “Between the Smoke & Mirrors.” Five paragraphs, double-spaced. Due tomorrow.
New Mexican Disaster Squad
Over the weekend I ran into an avid 3hive reader, Rick R., who first blamed us for the recent departure of sizeable chunks of cash leaving his wallet in exchange for music we’ve posted on the site. I love hearing that. Then he complained, good-naturedly, that our Punk section was all over the place (which 3hive genre section isn’t??). I love hearing that as well. When I asked him what persuasion of punk most buoyantly floated his boat he mentioned New Mexican Disaster Squad. Ah yes, a new generation of classic, old-school punk. Musically, punk has moved beyond the early sounds of Minor Threat and Black Flag, so much so that, with the exception of just a few bands, music like this, fast, angry and completely skateable, has been relegated once again to the margins. Fine by me as long as bands like NMDS keep keepin’ it real.
The Screaming Eagles
This is not the screaming eagle from the beginning of “The Colbert Report” (though I hear he’s got a Christmas album in the works). This is a Vancouver, B.C. outfit who play fiery instrumental pop inspired by “pre-shitty Weezer” that’s good enough to not require lyrics…though I sure would love to know the story behind some of these song titles. Their debut album, Enemy Gold, is available at shows or — as wonderfully quaint as this may seem — by emailing the band members individually and making arrangements.