Jupiter One
I’ll admit to occasionally hatin’ on NYC bands, usually of the gratuitously post-punk variety, what with their fashionable arrogance and snarls of prissy posturing. But, these days, it appears that “fun” is the new black. Case in point, Jupiter One, whose bounce-on-the-balls-of-your-feet numbers can stand tall alongside new wave forefathers like The Cars with nary a double-take. Lead singer K’s low tenor is as crisp as a starched white shirt and he can dodge canned guitar riffs (that’s a compliment), B-movie synth sounds, and even an electrified violin much the way Dave Derby did in the Dambuilders. All of it makes for great music to drink coffee to — or possibly a coffee substitute. Either way, things are looking up in downtown NYC.
Dropkick Murphys
For those of you who find Flogging Molly too restrained, melodic or musically talented, here’s Dropkick Murphys. Full-on Celtic punk rock, yelling and brogue and steel-toed boots, it’s all here with the Murphys. Their version of “The Auld Triangle” is what I always thought the Red Roses for Me out-take of the same song by the Pogues would sound like, I guess. But “The Warriors Code” is for true believers (and is just way too cheesy for me).
Arma Secreta
Christopher Wark, singer/guitarist of Arma Secreta, and I have three things in common: we both have hot wives, our oldest daughters share the same name, and we’ve both had more than one colonoscopy. Sorry to bring that up, Chris, but the reason for your colonoscopies was much more serious than mine, and that helps us understand the music of Arma Secreta just that much more. Chris is making the music he wants to make, music that bears the burdens and the stuggles and the freedom of the past. That and he just likes to rock!
Fixed Podcast #9’s Levels
Voicst
Voicst is a decade ahead of themselves. Pop music takes about twenty years to recycle its sounds. Punk came back around in the mid-nineties and new wave’s back today with a vengeance. Voicst’s Mid-’90s-Alternative-Radio-Power-Pop sound was cycling through a second generation comeback ten years ago with bands like Presidents of the United States of America, The Posies, and Sparklehorse (from whom Voicst keenly, and wisely, lifts key riffs for “Whatever”). Can Voicst stick it out long enough for power-pop’s scheduled resurrection, or do they have the chops to usher in the third coming right now?
Mohawk Lodge
It’s been a wild past few weeks, so I’ve been self-medicating with Mohawk Lodge’s “Making Music,” a lithe and oddly optimistic track for these drowsy folksters. “At any rate, we’re dying/Why not drown ourselves in song?” Couldn’t have put it better myself.
(Buy the CD at Scratch Records.)
The Coral Sea
The Los Angeles area has recently spawned a new breed of rock bands defined by androgynous vocals, haunting guitar work, and fragile melodies which often crash into walls of sound. Autolux and the Silversun Pickups are among the stand outs. If you’re a fan, welcome to your next favorite band, Santa Barbara-based The Coral Sea. And here’s why I like 3hive: I can shut up now and let the band prove my point.
History Invades
What’s the difference between History Invades and any other post-punk band with that frenetic, angular sound you either love or hate? THE COMPUMAN. Who dat, you ask? Not so much a “who” as a “what” or a monolithic “it.” If there is a recurring theme to the song titles, lyrics, and moods found on History Invades’ The Structure of a Precise Fashion it’s THE COMPUMAN: the band’s embodiment of the pervasive hand of multinational corporations, monopolies, and omnimedia…real upbeat kinda stuff. So, while Bloc Party use their tense rhythms and wiry guitar licks as a stark backdrop to warm, human emotions, History Invades use similar techniques to sound a warning cry — which comes out as cheeky yet ominous refrains like, “Make room for computer know-how…” Have a nice weekend.
Hopewell
Jason Russo was in Mercury Rev around the time that the be-yoo-tee-ful Deserter’s Songs was released to much joy. It shows all over “Safe As Milk,” a euphoric guitar hymn that could be called “indie gospel” (see also The Polyphonic Spree, The Flaming Lips, Spiritualized, and of course Mercury Rev). But that was five years ago and it’s telling that their latest, Hopewell & the Birds of Appetite, is classified on iTunes as “rock” whereas The Curved Glass was “alternative.” With a self-contained riff that’s a close relative to Nirvana’s “Rape Me,” horns with a mind of their own, and drums bigger than the space between your earbuds, the euphoria finds an edge that’s more suited to Saturday night than Sunday morning.