After a dozen years of being a team player for LA hip-hop legends Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, turntable maestro Cut Chemist is about to follow in the footsteps of his cratedigging buddy, DJ Shadow, and drop his major label solo opus. If these two tastes are any indication, this joint’s gonna have both range and flavor. “The Garden” features deft cuts, lush instrumentation, and lilting Brazilian vocals. “Storm” is classic Chemist: a wicked b-boy playground wherein top-shelf underground MCs Edan and Mr. Lif run amok like schoolkids. In fact, Mr. Lif drops the line our eight-digit 3hiver Sean has been waiting his whole life to hear: “opposable thumbs don’t mean you can get dumb” — WORD! The Audience’s Listening hits June 13 . Meanwhile, fiends like me will have to wear these tracks out and seek the occasional comfort of my Brainfreeze bootleg.
Radiogram
In trying to decide what to post this morning, I asked Tim O. a few questions. 1) Australian or Canadian? 2) Boy singer or boy & girl singers? 3) “Radiogram” or “Horse Stories”? Radiogram took two of three (boy & girl singers and name, obviously) but I think I’ll post both.
Radiogram’s sound reminds me a bit of Blanche, the first band I ever posted here at 3hive.com. Country noir with a lot of texture, from Vancouver this time instead of Detroit — doesn’t it seem like half the bands we’ve posted this year are Canadian? Check out “Summer Song Summer” for an example of Radiogram’s pleasant if not uplifting calm (“My idea of a perfect day / would be to lie in bed and just pass away.”)
Horse Stories
Pairing nicely with the barren alt-country of Radiogram is the energetic, jangle-pop of Melbourne’s Horse Stories. Even though the bit-rate is lousy, download the total perfectness of “Bloody Time of the Year” and “You Explained Away Everything,” if only to put a smile on your face. Thanks to Jennifer for the suggestion here; it was one of many that we could eventually track back to Jon’s wife Heather, who politely chatted us up on Dooce not too long ago.
Metal Hearts Socialize Their Way Across the USA
Play It As It Lays #235
Director
You do one Irish band, you have to do another. This comes from the suggestion box, courtesy of David from Dublin, pointing out to 3hive what he calls “the most interesting new band here in Dublin.” Be sure to also check out Director’s new single “Reconnect” at their myspace page.
The Cansecos
“You know what I feel like doin’? I feel like struttin’…”
Another wonderful find courtesy of the CBC Radio 3 podcast. This Toronto quartet serves up warm, disco-tinged percolators guaranteed to put a little pimp in your limp. Or something like that.
Penny Century
Someone left a tip for Penny Century in the comments to my Peter Walker post last week. I liked them enough to pull them up out of the comments and give them a proper review. Penny Century, their name lifted from the classic Love and Rockets comic book, is a five-piece from Sweden writing stripped down, almost fragile, pop songs lead by the charming vocals of Julia Hanberg. You know how Eskimos are supposed to have 100 words for snow? I think Swedes do too. Case in point, the lyrics to “Season of Mists:” “We drove through blizzering snow / I tried to warm my hands on a cigarette-lighter.” Spring is not the time you want to be reminded of blizzering weather, but that’s life. Sometimes the worst blizzering hits in April, crushing spirits and spoiling picnics. Here’s to a strong Spring for everyone. If it gets blizzery in your neck of the woods, be sure to snuggle up with Penny Century and a cigarette lighter.
The Wombats
This Liverpudlian marsupial is a distant cousin to the sorely missed Los Angeles marsupial, Possum Dixon. Note the similar lyrical delivery, a kind of snotty, melodic talking. The two species also share a certain jerky jangle in their guitars. The resemblance is most notable on “Derail and Crash.” The Wombats are known to travel as a trio and were first spotted in the wild, open myspace. Everyone here at 3hive looks forward to this fine specimen arriving to this continent for a prolonged stay.
Children of the CPU
Look at the cover. Look at the band name. WYSIWYG (a little tech nerd reference of my own there). Warm, synthy pop with sweet, disposable lyrics. Perfect for an analog road trip with your windows down.