Marumari makes electronic music just the way I like it, when I’m in the mood to chill to it, not dance to it (‘cuz let me tell you, it ain’t no easy feat to harness the energy of my dance moves in a little song. Nuh, uh. No way. But I’m not dancing now. And I imagine you aren’t either if you’re reading this—unless you’ve got moves I’m unfamiliar with). It’s smooth, warm, and he keeps things interesting without the glitch, klack, sputter. There’s an Eastern sensibility at work here, as if he’s creating extended mixes of haiku. All this from a young American raised on Pee Wee’s Playhouse with an unexplicable penchant for Gap clothes. Problem is, Marumari, aka Josh Presseisen, has been regrettably silent for the past four years, with the exception of this EP that he’s been giving away on his site since last year. Only for “awhile” he warns. Well, the links are still good, but who knows for how long. Get ’em while you can (btw: some of the smaller files sound like clips). I should mention here that Sam turned me onto Marumari back in the last millenium, and Brian over at Fun Time OK hipped me to the free Pathscrubber EP.
Blowoff
Blowoff is a studio collaboration between rock legend Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar) and house DJ/producer Richard Morel, born out of a DJ night the two of them host at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. For casual fans of Bob Mould, that entire opening line may strike you as odd but Mould has been as active as a DJ/producer in the past few years as he has been as a singer/songwriter. To some of us longtime fans, that opening line may instill fear of Mould’s signature vocals getting Cher-ified by overmodulation as they were on his latest solo LP Body of Song. But Blowoff promises to be different, by providing Mould with an ideal musical foil in Morel’s voice and production. The album is said to switch it up genre-wise — from rock to pop to dance. Fine with me, so long as it’s all as good as this teaser track which is almost Sugar-esque in its powerful pop sway and ridiculously catchy chorus. More please…
Brightblack Morning Light
A few helpful things to know about Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes, aka Brightblack Morning Light: 1) They live in tents in the summer, a small cabin in the winter. 2) They’re from Northern California via Alabama. 3) They pal around with Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom. 4) They care about the world around them. 5) They roll out amazing, narcotically tempered grooves. 6) If only “punkers” were as punk as these hippies…
The High Violets
Shimmering shoegazer goodness from up Portland way in a variety of flavors, from psychedelic to folksy to poppy. The High Violets may be a cast of many but they have two key components: Cliff Sargent’s blistering guitar and Kaitlyn ni Donavan’s angelic pipes. I’m so hooked, I put the TV on mute during the MTV Movie Awards so I can could listen to them (made for an interesting A/V mashup with Christina Aguilera’s live performance).
New Domino Signings
Attention UK iTunes Shoppers…
The Book of Daniel
When Jan suggested The Book of Daniel a few months ago, my first thought was of E.L. Doctorow’s novel of the same name, which was my least favorite of the texts we read in my most favorite grad school class, Prof. William Veeder’s “Contemporary Historical Fiction.” Every year I try (and invariably fail) to teach Eudora Welty’s wonderful and little-known short story “Where is the Voice Coming From” as finely as Bill did. Oh well. Anyway, here’s what Jan had to say about The Book of Daniel: “Daniel Gustafsson (who is the brother of Swedish Bright Eyes-type singer-songwriter Boy Omega) has written some awesome songs recently. Imagine John K. Samson of the Weakerthans playing beautiful jazz versions of Buckley or Wainwright songs.” Exactly. I’ve included three of the six songs available for free and legal download from Gustafsson’s EP; the rest are available at Daniel’s website, and there’s more info at Swedesplease, a really cool version of 3hive (free, legal MP3s) specifically for Swedish bands. (Who would have known there’d be enough to keep it going?)
Sarah Shannon
Today Minty Fresh announced the signing of Sarah Shannon and they tell us we can expect previews soon. Her second solo album is slated for a Fall release. Needless to say (for those who know me), I’m completely giddy at this news and it’s sent me digging through all my old Velocity Girls albums. You see, Sarah Shannon put the girl in Velocity Girl, one of the early bands that moved Sub Pop beyond their grunge roster. At one point, Velocity Girl’s 1993 album, Copacetic, had sold more than any other Sub Pop album with the exception of Nirvana’s Bleach. By no means did Velocity Girl reinvent pop music, they just did it so well. They made it sound so good. Lo-fi production and fuzzy guitars eventually lead to a perfect pop polishing by producer John Porter (The Smiths), then in 1996 it was all over. I’ll admit, Sarah Shannon’s voice sealed the deal for me. Pure aural comfort food. Timeless. Soft and smooth and never close to being cheesy. In 2000 Shannon released an under-appreciated solo record on her own label, Casa Recording Company. These MP3s are from that recording. She obviously steered clear of the shimmering indie rock Velocity Girl mastered in favor of a big ’70s pop sound. As I write this I feel like I’m reading a page-turner of a novel and I’m so ready for the next chapter. This is gonna be a good summer!
The Rentals
They’re back! After a rather long hiatus, the Rentals are playing shows and starting to record a new album. So while we wait until 2007 for said third album, enjoy these alternative remixes of two songs from their past. Oh, and check out their website for brilliant footage of Blur covering “Friends of P.”
The Futureheads
With the first hit of the drum, pluck of the bass and strum of the guitar, for a split second, I hear the opening of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” (gotta throw in an obligatory reference to today’s once-in-a-century date). All you rockers, don’t get your hopes up. The stadium rock doesn’t continue, at least not in an AC/DC sense. However, the herky-jerky pogo beats, the Hyde brothers’ thick, northern British accents, and their soaring harmonies kick in full force. The Futureheads are often compared to XTC, with good reason (and not in a bad way: they sound neither nostalgic nor derivative), and the similarities continue on their second record, News And Tributes, out next week. “Worry About It Later” sounds as if it was pulled from the English Settlement sessions, mixed with a little pop-opera. Don’t expect anything near a slump for these blokes as their powerful/playful style, which has earned them opening spots (on stadium shows!) for Oasis and The Pixies, has only matured and had this come out some forty years earlier I can imagine The Futureheads playing with the likes of Townsend and company. Here we are, back to the future and you’ll find them out on the road in North America, starting next week, with French Kicks for the first leg and Tapes ‘N Tapes for the next.