Ever so quietly, this Paris trio is beginning to bubble up into the consciousness of American music hounds. But I doubt the noise they’re making will stay quiet long. In a word, Isaac Delusion is delicious. The band conjures a lovely warmth with their gentle rhythms and bright string work. Their synths mimic birdsongs and evoke sunrise on a summer’s day, an image I imagined even before I saw the video which features a bit of playful surfing and young boys breakdancing on the beach. The breathy vocals recall those of Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals and add a certain sultriness to the mix. The EP hits North America around the end of the month via a label yet to be named.
5 Songs Vol. 3
Here is another 5 Songs for your listening pleasure.
Low Culture
Nothing beats an old comfortable chair. You can sit in other chairs and they’ll treat you right, but you always go back to the comfortable one. I have a chair like this in my house. It’s way old, a bit tattered, and you can feel a couple of the springs when you sit in it, but man, when you need to relax it always does the trick. Punk rock is like the old comfortable chair. I can go far away from it, listening to music on the opposite end of the spectrum, but when I hear a good punk rock song, it’s like being back in the comfortable chair. When I heard Low Culture for the first time today, I was back in the comfortable chair. Low Culture just released their debut LP (vinyl only for now) Screens on Dirtnap. The band is made up of members of The Marked Men and Shang-A-Lang. The title track below is a great punk rock song. It’s quick, it’s tight, it’s kind of grimey–not over-produced. Hear for yourself, then hurry over to Dirtnap’s store and get you a copy of the LP, they only pressed a few hundred, or you can wait until the digital version is released on January 9th. Enjoy.
Low Culture – Screens from Screens (2012/2013)
5 Songs Vol. 2
Here is today’s 5 Songs. Enjoy
Todd’s Favorites of 2012
Here are the albums that pleased me the most in 2012. Followed by a mix of my favorite songs from each album.
1. Ty Segall & White Fence – Hair
2. Mac DeMarco – 2
3. The Fresh & Onlys – Long Slow Dance
4. The Limiñanas – Crystal Anis
5. Allah-Las – s/t
6. Monster Rally & RUMTUM – Coasting EP
7. Thee Oh Sees – Putrifiers II
8. Beach House – Bloom
9. Tame Impala – Lonerism
10. The Super Vacations – Heater Pt. II
11. Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits
12. The People’s Temple – More For The Masses
13. Ty Segall – Twins
14. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
15. Marco Benevento – TigerFace
5 Songs Vol. 1
I drive about 2 hours to and from work everyday. The drive is a drag, but it gives me the opportunity to listen to lots of music. I had the thought while driving home today, why not pick my 5 favorite songs from the daily commute, put them in a Spotify playlist, and share the mix with you? Enjoy.
Sam’s Faves of 2012
Okay, okay, I know…I slacked hard this year. I used to average a couple posts a week and in 2012 I clocked one a quarter…embarrassing. Thanks to Todd and Sean for holding it down and thank you all for frequenting 3hive. I promise to make it up to you in the months to come. Meanwhile, please accept a Spotify playlist of my 30 favorite tracks of 2012 as a down payment, featuring Holograms, Japandroids, Hollows, The Black Tambourines, and Homeboy Sandman. Happy listening and Happy New Year!
Homeboy Sandman
I can often spot a musician’s child after just a few bars. But I couldn’t have told you what the son of heavyweight-boxer-turned-community-lawyer sounds like until I heard Homeboy Sandman. And yet it somehow makes perfect sense. HBSM’s low-key timbre and minimalist production aesthetic belie his wicked talent for socially responsible wit and infectious wordplay. He goes hard without the crutches of stacks, gats, or tricks. His verses duck and weave, bouncing you off double negatives and triple entendres until you don’t know which way is up — and don’t care. It’s a good kinda dizziness and he’s been serving it all year long: to the tune of two EPs and a full-length(!). These downloads offer a good taste of his steez but make sure you check his coup de gras, “Look Out” from the Chimera EP, before you cast any final verdicts.
Cops Get Scared of Me from Chimera EP (2012)
The Miracle from Subject: Matter EP (2012)
And here’s a special treat from a limited edition split 7-inch with Jaylib on the flip…
Cub Scouts
Today’s downloads come from a new EP from an Australian quintet that may find themselves in legal hot water with a certain US-based scouting organization when said organization finishes boiling in its own stew of legal, ethical and PR problems. Cub Scouts formed just over a year ago and have been cobbling together songs on their bandcamp page. “Evie” got lots of spins on Triple J and they’ve been playing around locally, but it may be a while before they hit stateside. That’s OK. They have time to craft another batch of songs while their fellow Aussies in San Cisco test the waters here next year. We’ll see how well Americans take to cute, indie-popsters from down under. I say the more the merrier, especially considering the depth of Cub Scouts’ gems. Did I tell you how great the title track is? I’d hate to tell you I told you so, but I told you so.
Invisible Hand
There is nothing better than coming across a band that completely takes you by surprise the moment you click (or push) play. Charlottesville, VA’s Invisible Hand did just that. Their album was sent to me in October from one of my new favorite labels, Funny/Not Funny. It took me until November to finally load it up and listen to it. I had no idea what to expect, I had never heard of or read about this band before. Right from the beginning bass line and drumming of “Eating Out”, the first song on their new EP Aja, I was hooked. Aja is full of pop hooks, vocal harmonies, and complicated rhythms- everything that makes a good pop record. Check out the two songs below, I hope you are as pleasantly surprised as I was.