Bel Auburn is a quintet from Ashland, an idyllic Ohio town some distance southwest of Cleveland. I say idyllic despite never having been there because the sweeping soundscapes that Bel Auburn have created are anything but ugly and uninspiring. In fact, these tracks, all from the band’s second self-released LP, Lullabies in A & C, are about as anthemic, emotive, and polished as you’ll find from a group of friends living off the cultural grid. It’s reminiscent of Coldplay or early Jimmy Eat World, the latter of which Bel Auburn claim as an influence. The lyrics can drift into codes known only by their author, but once a warm blast of guitar kicks in and Matt the lead singer lets go with a cathartic chorus, you’ll know exactly what Bel Auburn mean even if you have no clue what they’re talking about.
(Selected tracks are linked below; visit the Bel Auburn Website to download the rest of the album.)
Our next artist from 
Medicine played in Memphis right before I got home from college one summer, but my brother Josh and our friend Andy saw them and even visited with them at the Admiral Benbow Inn (just recently demolished). They learned that Medicine’s wicked guitar feedback was achieved by running Brad Laner’s guitar through a four track and turning all the knobs up. We spent that whole summer trying to get a four track to mimic a distortion pedal with no success. Brad Laner, we determined, was a genius. Which is probably why I recently Tivo-ed the movie “The Crow,” just so I could see that scene of Medicine playing “Time Baby,” trying to get a glimpse of his guitar setup. Now Laner and fellow guitarist Christopher Willits, as North Valley Subconscious Orchestra, are releasing another feast of guitars on Ghostly’s digital download-only album The Right Kind of Nothing. More melodic feedback, anyone?
The details are sketchy, but Dr. Dog is the raison d’etre for the label Park The Van. Now settled in as a five piece, Dr. Dog boasts an alumni membership of 20 strong, all contributing in some small or large way to Philadelphia’s premier basement band. Dr. Dog loves nothing more to get their hands good and dirty, digging around in lo-fi dirt, 4-tracking the night away. With roots reaching down deep to Beach Boys and Beatles bedrock, they sow and reap pop blossoms cross-pollinated with Grandaddy, Ween, and Pavement. I’ve had their album shuffling through my library for over a year and shame on me for not sharing until now. But now’s as good a time as any to be a Dr. Dog fan. Next month the band releases a new EP, Takers and Leavers, then heads out on the road with 
Sultry, simple, and sometimes silly girl pop from the city of, you guessed it, Vancouver, BC. Vancougar split the difference between two perennial favorites from the 3hive archives, 
Tacoma, Washington. Home of the underappreciated, yet thoroughly ruling punk band Seaweed. At one point I think I had eight Seaweed t-shirts. One of them had the band’s logo on the front, and in large, capital letters “VISUALIZE TACOMA.” I’ve never been to Tacoma, but from what I hear there’s nothing special to visualize. Then there’s Eliot Lipp. His two latest releases were recorded in L.A. while he had Tacoma on the brain. So what did he do? AURALIZE TACOMA. The soulful grooves on Tacoma Mockingbird, and the new Days EP, grew from his moods and emotions while reflecting back on his hometown and friends. His output is a simple, yet simmering synth stew of well-worn breakbeats with Lipp’s retro, yet timeless, twist. His goal was to create a classic electro sound which he pulled off with his economic use of synths and beats. Think New Order pitched down to Grandmaster Five’s tempo, and drop in a lick of their rhythm.
Matt, aka Gigahaw, reminded us of The Coup, the Oaktown rap duo who are best known, unfortunately, for “