The Dudley Corporation. The name alone sounds like something out of “The Office” (the original British series, which I just spent all weekend watching for the first time ever…eerily genius). Their website gives off a similarly ironic corporate vibe. Musically, these Irish lads have a wonderful pop-hazard sensibility, recalling at times The Smiths without being redundant. Watch for East Coast dates with Pinback in May. Album’s in stores today.
New Old New Pornographers MP3
The Foxymorons
While their name is more befitting a rec league softball team than a lo-fi pop duo from Mesquite, Texas, don’t go writing them off as a novelty act (unless, of course, you’re into that sort of thing — in which case you should skip straight to their covers album). These guys take their craft quite seriously, as evidenced by the warm, inviting hooks and smart yet honest lyrics. Their newer material is more polished, relatively speaking. “Harvard Hands” mimics early Wilco and “Hesitation Eyes” is pure power pop a la Posies, Cheap Trick, et al. But, no matter how you package it, the honesty goes down smooth and easy. As referenced earlier, the band’s site features an entire album’s worth of MP3 covers — including some fractured renditions of Sonic Youth, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, and more. Play ball…
No New Sam
David Last
Is there such a thing as dumbed-down IDM? Not inferior, but approaching it from a slightly different angle is David Last, less brainiac and more booty-shaker, moving away from digital detritus and towards more organic dancehall rhythms. Perfect for intimate gatherings. Served to chill. I’m jonesin’ summer BBQs. Can you tell?
Lilys
I just love it when people ask me, “What’s your favorite kind of music?” It’s always people who really don’t know me, and I love it even more when my hesistation to answer immediately leads them to further clarify. “Rock? Rap? What about Jazz?” But I always answer, simply, “Lilys.” Kurt Heasley, the force behind Lilys, is a musical chameleon, changing colors and styles at will. He started as an American My Bloody Valentine, then shifted to psych-tinged Kinks, then drifted into Pink Floyd, came back again to the Kinks, then passed on into mellow pop-influenced electronica, and with the last release, 2003’s Precollection, touched on UK indie pop. Each shift usually throws me for a loop, but I keep coming back, and I keep answering, “Lilys.”
Someone Else
“An undying fear of commitment has fueled 24-year-old Sean O’Neal’s eclectic discography…” So began an interview I did with the Illadelph native, then of Flowchart, back in 1998 for URB. Seven years later, not much has changed — in that quite a lot has. Sean recently added netlabel unfoundsound to his stable of ventures (he also runs Fuzzy Box Records) while steering his music away from the richly layered drum ‘n’ bliss and quirky electronica of his Flowchart days toward wry, minimalist techno under the alias Someone Else. You gotta love a fool who can make your head bounce and put a smile on your face (just listen to those tweaked mouth noises on “Goofball”). These tracks make up the first of six unfoundsound releases to date; all are available as free, high-quality MP3s under a Creative Commons license (if anyone gets “sharing the sharing,” it’s Lawrence Lessig). There’s also an entire release of Philadelphia field sounds which unfoundsound invites you to mess around with and submit as a demo.
Malcolm Middleton
Malcolm Middleton is one half of Scotland’s Arab Strap. On his second solo album, Malcolm expands on his earlier work and the sounds he churns out for Arab Strap. Folksy one minute, almost danceable the next, Malcolm shares the highs and lows with equal beauty. But make no mistake, this being Scottish, the self-loathing is still there; just listen to the chorus of “A Happy Medium.”
The Happies
A handful of us here at the 3hive were involved, musically, many years back. First, at an AM radio station we basically hijacked for a summer, then at a CD exchange (remember those?) called Sonic Garden. Blurb designed the logo. Soon after that fell to pieces, Sam and I started up an indie distribution company called Happyville (I’m sure we’d unanimously agree that 3hive is our best venture yet). ANYWAY, The Happies are sorta namesakes, and are not-so-coincidentally, from the state of Utah, where we initially made our acquaintances. They also make endearing, quiet, lo-fi pop songs, for which I am a complete sucker. Thanks to Todd Simmons for dropping this into the ol’ s-box.
The Weakerthans
In light of the recent discussion in Wisconsin to legalize cat hunting (if you haven’t heard about this, check here), it seems appropriate to post The Weakerthans, whose “Plea From a Cat Named Virtute” is actually told from the perspective of a cat. Katherine slipped me a disc of their melodic Canadian punk/pop, replete with a little steel guitar here and some blazing noise there, and it’s been the only rotation in my car’s CD player for a few weeks now. As for the licensed hunting of feral cats, it seems like The Weakerthans would likely not approve. To my knowledge, 3hive has no official position on the matter.