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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.”)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Grizzly Bear

Sorry for stepping into my own head a little to describe Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear, but it occurred to me that the pop-ish noise at which they excel is the polar opposite of the explosions you hear coming from Parts & Labor, another Brooklyn band (borough represent, yo). Where P&L is controlled chaos at light speed, GB is a molasses meltdown. “Don’t Ask” has a subtle hint of the Dream Academy’s “Life in a Northern Town,” and the rest is pretty noise made with pretty instruments. Also check out their Gentle Ben-esque website and listen to “Deep Sea Diver,” which, ahem, isn’t available as an MP3 download…yet.

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