Posted on

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

Best of 2012 from simco1974 on 8tracks Radio.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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!

Posted on

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…

Posted on

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.

Cub Scouts – Told You So
Cub Scouts – Evie

cubscouts.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/CubScoutsMusic

Posted on

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.

Invisible Hand – Eating Out

Invisible Hand – Psychic Cat

Invisible Hand

Funny/Not Funny

Posted on

Dinah Thorpe


I’m gonna open up this next review with a simple comparison, a comparison that’s going to date me something fierce, but it’s just so spot on. And I can’t get it out of my head, so here goes: Laurie Anderson meets The Lilac Time. Old and obscure, unfortunately. Like Anderson, Thorpe’s rich, multi-layered vocals playfully haunt your brain as they weave back and forth between your ears (headphones strongly encouraged) and the banjo and tempo remind me of the upbeat moments of Stephen Duffy’s work with The Lilac Time. Of course my 16-year old thinks this track sounds like Mumford & Sons, but he’s never heard Peggy Honeywell. Thorpe is literate, politically astute, and crafts siren songs around her dreams and visions with everything from a synth to a ukulele. The results will brighten your day as does her album’s sparse, bold cover.

Posted on

Daphni

Daphni is the new project of Caribou’s Dan Snaith. JIALONG (JOW-long), his debut release as Daphni, is out now on Merge Records.

As Daphni, Dan set out to record a more spontaneous album, without the careful attention to detail that goes into a Caribou release. The results are just as Snaith intended, a loose, spontaneous album perfect for the dance floor. Enjoy.

Daphni – Ye Ye from JIALONG (2012)

Daphni – Pairs from JIALONG (2012)

Merge

Posted on

Wazu

Don’t judge this album from its cover. Wazu’s music is stronger and more confident than their over-wrought Art Deco and ’80s brushstroked cover. And yes, the opening track to Wazu’s debut album plays like a lost recording from the Black Celebration sessions. They owe a lot to a handful of chaps from Basildon, England for the sound and name, but Wazu are no retro-plagiarists. They depend more on guitars and add a distressed sound to the synths. Their back-and-forth boy/girl vocals soften the darker tones and harsher industrial flourishes. Or you could say Wazu fleshes out the sensibilities of the xx, amps up the tempo and fills in the gaps with big, dance-floor beats. The band released their debut full-length Robobo earlier this year on Halloween, but this thing’s got legs to last well into 2013. It’s a great album for any retro-fetishists, or for anyone in the mood for a sultry, dark and smoky, dance album. So let me cut all the reviewer and critic nonsense, crank this album back up and encourage you to do the same. Revised 12/19/12.

Wazu – Symbol System [MP3]

http://vimeo.com/51010785

Posted on

Mark Lanegan Band

I love Screaming Trees. One of my favorite concerts was seeing them with Poster Children back in 1993. They are one of those bands that I can go back to and never be disappointed.

Mark Lanegan, the former singer of Screaming Trees has always been busy releasing solid solo albums, even during his time with the Trees. Along with his solo work, he has released albums with former Belle & Sebastian member Isobel Campbell, and The Twilight Singers’ Greg Dulli under the name The Gutter Twins.  His latest release, Blues Funeral, on 4AD is another notch on the “solid solo release” belt. The music is dark and powerful, and his voice is as smokey and gravely as ever. Have a listen to “The Grave Digger’s Song” below. Whether you were a fan of the Screaming Trees before or just hearing of Mark now, you will enjoy this song.

Mark Lanegan Band – The Grave Diggers Song from Blues Funeral (2012)

 Mark Lanegan

4AD