There was a time (before MP3s or listening stations) when I’d buy records based solely on the name of the band. Don’t laugh, it’s how I ended up discovering Echo and the Bunnymen and Siouxsie and the Banshees before they became ’80s household names. It’s the name that drew me to I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness which, with their shadowy, elastic heartbreakers, could have been shelved alsongside Bunnymen and Banshees back in the day. Only they’re of this decade and from Austin, Texas (with ties to Windsor for the Derby). Britt Daniel of Spoon produced their debut EP and his taut and tuneful sensibilities shone through (see “Your Worst Is the Best”). Their new LP, Fear Is on Our Side, was produced by Paul Barker (of Ministry and related side projects) who made the dark corners darker (see “According to Plan”). Either way, it’s good stuff and gives you the opportunity to invite this exchange: “Who is this?” “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness.” “That’s nice, but who is this?”
The Stills
Perhaps the name is a subliminal bit of wishful thinking, because these Montreal, uh, rockers? new wavers? Franco-popsters? never seem to stay still for too long. But the great part is that none of their many aural wardrobe changes sound contrived because they’re not mimicking styles; they’re bringing their own sound to bear on what’s out there. Their latest, “In the Beginning,” is a southern rock anthem. “Retour A Vega” is wistful even though I only understand every third word. And “Still in Love Song” is full of intelligent teen angst. So if you’re having trouble deciding what kind of mood you’re in, don’t bother with the shuffle on your iPod. Just load in the Stills and let them do the shuffling for you.
Tapes ‘n Tapes
There are two good things about making an airport pick-up at one in the morning: 1) I got to see my sons for the first time in a week, and 2) I got to listen to CBC Radio 2’s Brave New Waves which doesn’t come on until midnight. Over the course of an hour, I was stoked to hear a couple of 3hive favorites, Metal Hearts and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. (Sadly, Patti Schmidt didn’t mention you can get free and legal downloads of these tracks at 3hive.com…) I also heard, as I always do on BNW, something new to me. This time it was a Minneapolis outfit called Tapes ‘n Tapes. They play nervous, clever pop that draws on a number of typical indie inspirations (Wire, Pixies, Talking Heads, etc.) but — just to save time and incite the inevitable “love/hate” debate — I’ll say they sound like a less fashionable Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Who knows? Good as they are, they may not be less for long…
New Talkdemonic Album + MP3
New MP3 and Album from The Essex Green
The Positions
Do not be confused by the lineup of the Positions. The list of players and their instruments reads like that of a ska band: trumpet, trombone, keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums. The Positions, however, are pop, with their own not-so-secret recipe drawn from decades of pop predecessors and perfected by producer Archie Moore of Velocity Girl. Just the thing to help calm me down after tonight’s soccer where I was blatantly fouled in the penalty area while atttempting to shoot and the ref didn’t call it. I must listen to this song again. Ah, yes, just the thing, “Back to Me.”
East River Pipe
Mr. Cornog doesn’t take himself too seriously. While his bio riffs on and on about the drug references in his new album, and rightly so, you’d expect his moniker to be a similar reference. Not the case. East River Pipe is an allusion to a broken pipe he once witnessed spewing sewage into the East River. “I imagined myself to be the pipe,” he admitted in a recent podcast, “the sewage to be my songs and the river to be the world—so i was essentially spewing out meaningless pop songs into an already polluted river.” His modesty is appreciated, but one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You never know where you’ll uncover hidden gems. F.M. Cornog has spent almost two decades with his Tascam 388 recording so-called disposable songs that you may not ever be able to get out of your head.
Podcast #18 Up in This Mug
Mogwai
We at 3hive like a lot of the same artists. So we have abided by a simple by-law to help preserve our friendship: first come, first served. If you want to write about someone, do it. If you don’t, they’re fair game. What this has led to though is a sort of squatting technique where one of us will create a post with the band’s name (and not much more) and save it as a draft. That’s our way of saying “dibs.” And the system works…until you dibs so many artists that you can’t remember anymore who dibsed what. So, when we got word of Mogwai’s new album, Mr. Beast, Sean had to remind me that I’ve been sitting on Mogwai since early 2005. Here are two new instrumental tracks (“Folk Death 95” and “Auto Rock,” remixed by Errors), alongside a couple of vocal classics taken from the band website — the frenetic “Lower,” from their first ever single, and a cover of The Fall’s exquisite bummer “Bill Is Dead.” I’m glad to say I love Mogwai as much now as I did a year ago.
Oh, and check out their fancy tour site for a fun “Where’s Mogwai?” Google map hack and more.
Charles and Annette May Thomas
Sunday morning gospel courtesy of funk-blog-master-deluxe, Oliver Wang. I’ll leave the description of this track to Mr. Wang himself, since he’s been there, done that. What I will give you is the skinny on O-Dub’s newest project. He’s teaming up Soul-Sides with Zealous records for a hand-picked compilation of classic soul old school style—that’s right, straight outta the blogosphere to vinyl and CD. A portion of the proceeds will go to The Rhythm and Blues Foundation, a charity assisting R&B artists from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s who lack healthcare and income. Also check out the jukebox for the rest of the album. Guaranteed to fill your soul.