I’m an idiot. My brother had borrowed my turntable, and while he had it I was just jonesing to listen to Wire’s “Another the Letter” from Chairs Missing. So he returned it, I got it all hooked back up (or so I thought), put the Chairs Missing album on, pulled the needle over and…nothing happened. There was no spinning of the vinyl. I spent a half hour messing around with the darn thing before I realized that…get a load of this…I hadn’t plugged the power cord in! Power restored, I also threw on Severed Heads’ Come Visit the Big Bigot and Modern English’s After the Snow. I could have just listened to The Aluminum Group’s “Motorcycles,” a near perfect blend of the best of those two bands’ sounds, and saved myself some trouble.
Hot Hot Heat
For those who like your heat hot hot — and you know who you are — help yourself to a couple MP3s from the forthcoming Elevator. For those who like your heat canned…ahem, well, here’s to you.
Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel
So, my wife and I are taking our daughter on her second trip to Chicago (or “Ka-goh,” as she likes to say) a week AFTER Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel plays at Schuba’s, one of the greatest bars in the whole world. I bet the kid would love Anna’s clear vocals and rootsy country-rock (in fact, she’d probably say “better,” in comparison to something else that wasn’t as good). I’m not sure if they’d let almost-two-year-olds in, though.
Big Betsy
I know it’s not actually St. Paddy’s Day just yet, but it’s a perfect Irish day here in Memphis. Cold, about 40 degrees, with a stiff, strong wind that goes right through you. There’s also a light rain that comes and goes. Like I said, a perfect Irish day. Since I lived in Ireland for a few years, I go a little overboard with my celebrations, wearing my 1996 Ireland national soccer team jersey to work and forcing my family to wear entire outfits of green. Another way to celebrate is going to hear Big Betsy play at Murphy’s Pub, and if this song ain’t Irish, I don’t know what is.
Ilkae
Had they offered up even one full MP3 I’d be reviewing this right now. Just as well, Ilkae suits my need for chilled-out electronic sounds just fine. I’m not talking about the soft-bellied glut of easy-listening Musak(TM) that’s out there these days passing as chill-out music. I like mine with just enough twittering clicks and clacks to keep things interesting. Ilkae’s golden like that, without overpowering their gentle, cinematic melodies.
Lorna
Leslie (last name protected to prevent stalking) is one of those angels sent from heaven masquerading as IT support. She floats through the hallways with a skip in her step and a song on her lips. Her first question is always, “When do you need this?” And, while her office looks like an ER for abused laptops and fried hard drives, she’s as good at chill conversation as she is at virus removal. Now that I’m in our decidedly more DIY Detroit office, I count new ways to miss her each day… Anyway, I discovered Lorna a while back when I left my laptop with Leslie for some kind of unscheduled maintenance and it came back with a couple “bonus” tracks on it (see what I mean?). Appropriately enough, the Nottingham-based Lorna have an angelic quality to them as well: wistful and utterly gorgeous boy/girl harmonies strung carefully over rich, heady, and often surprising orchestration. There are even more MP3s on the band’s website (requires free registration), but if you want to hear the two tracks that started this whole train of thought — “2AM Beach Story” and “Glow Worm” — you’ll need to buy their 2004 album This Time, Each Year. While you’re at it, pick up their latest, Static Patterns and Souvenirs. Heck, spring for a t-shirt, you tightwad!
Piney Gir
I’ve been sitting on this one for months now…a testament to how much great music 3hive has in store for you this year! Angela Penhaligon (aka Piney Gir) comes to us from Kansas via the UK. Random right? Her album, Peakahokahoo, is all over the musical map as well; take this first song here as an example. Slippery with slide guitars, it starts off with a twang, breaking down to 808 electronic wizardry in the second verse. Then it all swells together for the chorus. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G” takes the familiar children’s rhyme, backs it with an Italian noir-ish soundtrack, and sets it in Vegas. The one constant? Her solid, silky vocals.
Love As Laughter
Sam Jayne was the singer/guitarist of Lync. I’m not ashamed to tell you that I still have a special place in my heart for Lync. But this is not about Lync; it’s about the progression (or perhaps, regression, depending on your point of view) of Sam Jayne from the northwest indie rock of Lync and the early days of Love As Laughter aka LAL to the full-on rock ‘n’ roll assault of “Temptation Island” from LAL’s last LP Sea to Shining Sea. So what will LAL’s rumored 2005 album on Sub Pop bring? Listen in the order below and then start placing your bets.
Scientific American
It’s good to see Andrew Rohrmann (formerly of Hush Harbor) take on The Establishment by opting for the proper, if copyrighted, spelling of Scientific American. (Those who know him from his bedroom-beats-turned-commercial-beds on Slabco, know he used to drop the first “c” in Scientific, presumably to keep the lawyers at bay.) Those who don’t know the score can get caught up real quick. Simply set aside 109MB of hard drive space and bask in the generosity of Slabco’s free music policy.
Imaginary Baseball League
If the kids in suburban Detroit are talking about an obscure indie band from Tennessee, it means: a) Imaginary Baseball League is going to be the Next Big Thing, b) someone here has a cousin in Murfreesboro whose best friend is dating IBL’s drummer, or c) the Internet really does work as a way for people with like interests to connect, thus overcoming the boundaries of distance, culture, etc. Whichever answer works for you, go with it, you know? And if you like what you hear of Imaginary Baseball League, first thank Megan and then check out their website for a bunch more downloadable tracks.