Laura Gibson
Since everyone else is doing it — all the other reviewers and critics and press types, that is — I’ll avoid comparison when discussing Laura Gibson, and instead just say that her smooth, precise, detached vocal styling should appeal to anyone who likes an eccentric female singer-songwriter. “Spirited,” off the forthcoming Beasts of Season, suggests an orchestrated lushness to this young Oregonian’s songs, as opposed to the more classic shuffle of “Hands in Pockets,” from 2006. Speaking of the new album, NPR will feature it next week in streaming audio as part of its Exclusive First Listen series.
The Von Bondies
Yeah yeah, you’re thinking, the Von Bondies, something about Detroit rock ‘n’ roll, the lead singer got in a fight with that White Stripes dude, their big song a few years back “C’mon C’mon” was in some American car commercial (Detroit, right?), give me something new, 3hive. We here at 3hive have often shared some guilty pleasures with you over the years, and the Von Bondies do that for me. There’s just something about their simple, hook-filled rock with the anthem-like lyrics you can shout along to that gets me going.
Faunts
On their second full-length, Alberta, Canada’s Faunts reign in their epic song structuring, meandering less while managing to maintain their expansive sound. Their new album tends to use more electronics (a more dour Postal Service?) without sacrificing the ringing guitars. In “M4 (Part 1)” guitars loop repeatedly a la Michael Brook’s infinite guitar and Faunts’ ethereal tendencies in many of their songs remind me of similar moments in The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds. Faunts get plenty of comparisons to The Cure, but unlike many of their contemporaries the similarities lie with the instrumentation rather than Smith’s warbled vocals; however, bald-faced comparisons to any band do a disservice to potential fans, because Faunts transcend simple analogies to any band that’s come before, and Feel.Love.Thinking.Of raises expectations for any band choosing to follow Faunts’ lead.
Jason Holstrom
Clay recently wrote about not being able to post the bands you’d really like to, and I can sympathize. A few years ago I wanted to share The Hazzards, a ukulele-playing pair of girls from, of course, Brooklyn. Alas, nothing was available. If you’re looking for a uke fix, though, a little Jason Holstrom can do the trick. While decidedly more island-themed than The Hazzards, who were, you know, ironic (from Brooklyn), Holstrom plays it kind of straight, dishing up clean pop songs with some palm-inspired lilt. A veteran of a bunch of Seattle bands I’d never heard of, Holstrom gave us a travelogue with his 2007 album The Theives of Kailua. Uke it up!
The Submarines
You’ve heard the Submarines by now. They’re getting a lot of buzz nowadays, but even if you haven’t, just think of the commercial for a certain fancy cell phone that everyone seems to have these days. See, you have heard them.
Our motto here at 3hive is “Sharing the Sharing,” where we share free and legal MP3’s. And there are so many times when we want to share an awesome band, but they don’t have any free MP3’s on offer. I’ve been wanting to share an old fave of mine since the start of 3hive, Jackdrag aka Jack Dragonetti, for ages. “Aviating” is one of those songs I just keep coming back to over the years. But no MP3’s to share. Then he formed the Submarines with Blake Hazard, moving on from his eccentric folk-pop to more electric, pure pop. Their song “Peace & Hate” from their Declare a New State LP is one of my faves from 2006. But no MP3’s to share. However, the day of sharing has finally come. For their current tour with the Morning Benders, this now husband-and-wife duo has released a free single covering the Benders’ song “Waiting for a War.” Patience pays, eventually.
Bishop Allen
Bishop Allen may very well be the first band that’s been reviewed by three of us. Yeah, we’re pretty geeked about them. Take a look at the artwork for their new album Grrr… Do you like what you see? Do you appreciate its colorful, simple whimsicality? Then you’ll love the new tracks; the music marches hand-in-hand with the visual. Notice the clean white space. The music has that same crisp, airy feeling. I quickly donned headphones, wanting to squeeze my brain in between the bright melodies, the bouncy bass, snappy guitars, and the lyrics’ ‘ancient commonsense’ poetics. The question is, will the songs last the replays while I wait another month for the other eleven songs? I’m highly suspicious the answer is yes. Songs like these remind me why 3hive exists: must…tell…others… The new album and tour begins March 10th. But a pre-order ensures you get the goods a week in advance.
Dimmer [MP3, 4.1MB, 192kbps]
The Ancient Commonsense of Things [MP3, 4.7MB, 192kbps]
Lloyd Cole
If it weren’t for our self-imposed “free and legal” mantra here at 3hive, without a doubt Lloyd Cole would’ve been post number one, origin of the 3hive species. Why? Briefly, because the guy is my musical and literary guru. His debut album, Rattlesnakes, recorded with his band The Commotions, has miraculously survived decades of repeat listens by this finicky music fan. Its healthy shelf-life is due in part to Cole’s smart, literate lyrics, the sweet jangle of guitars, and keyboardist Blair Cowan’s keyboard magic, which included his ability, either through his playing or re-wiring, to make his first keyboard, a Korg, sound uncannily like a Hammond. Also, because Lloyd Cole and The Commotions completely avoided the New Wave, New Romantic and other sounds du jour of the 80s, the album retains a timeless quality rare for the decade.
I discovered the album in high school and when I read how Cole found inspiration for Rattlesnakes’ title track in Joan Didion’s novel, Play It As It Lays, I promptly borrowed it from the library and discovered a strain of literature that infected me more than anything I had previously read in school, or otherwise. It very well may have been the first non-required novel I’d read and ever since I’ve never stopped searching for my next good read. The highlight of my appreciation for his music and literature tips came when Cole and I shopped for books together at Sam Weller’s in Salt Lake City in conjunction with a piece I wrote for the now-defunct Grid Magazine (I should dig that up and republish it here).
Since his days with The Commotions, Cole has output a wide array of solo albums ranging from not-so-different-than-his-work-with-The-Commotions (Lloyd Cole) to lushly soaring orchestral pop (Don’t Get Weird on Me, Babe) to ambient electronic (Plastic Wood) to meandering rock (Bad Vibes) to acoustic driven, straight-ahead singer-songwriter stylings (Antidepressant). This month Cole is releasing two expansive collections. Cleaning Out the Ashtrays is a four volume collection gathering b-sides, album outtakes and “pretty much every studio recording from 1989 until 2006 which was intended for commercial release, but which did not end up on an album.” You can find the track provided here, “Coattails,” on the last of the four compilations representing the most recently recorded songs. Finally, Cole strips down his entire 25-year recording career to nothing but his soulful crooning and an acoustic guitar in Folksinger, a two volume retrospective recorded live last year and five years previous in Ireland and Germany respectively. As Cole himself puts it, “The Folksinger Series is my attempt to document what it is that I do for a living these days…folksinger…I have two guitars and a plane ticket.” And I now have a mix of ninety-seven new and familiar songs to revisit and discover and to be re-inspired by my old friend Lloyd Cole yet again.
Mr. Russia
To say that Mr. Russia are low-end fiends is an understatement. Mr. Russia is heavy on drums and bass. Make that plural on the bass, drums and basses. Plus a bit of synth and lots of snark. Death From Above 1979 fans may find Mr. Russia’s a bit tame for their tastes, but I personally like their poppier take on the sans guitar sound. The timbre and attitude in the vocals remind me a lot of the late, great Possum Dixon, which is never a bad thing. A perfect pair of rock ‘n’ roll numbers to shake the tedium out of your Tuesday. Dig ’em.
The Soft Pack
After seeing the Ettes last Thursday night (awesome show!), I had a host of events, and my own laziness, prevent me from catching the Raveonettes and the Soft Pack Friday night. Formerly known as the Muslims, the Soft Pack has a wonderful cover of Spiritualized’s “Walking With Jesus,” one of my top songs of all time. Their song “Parasite” is my current favorite song; the throbbing bass makes me wanna move, and the steady pounding drums and vocals are heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground. The singer of this San Diego outfit sounds like a young, modern Lou Reed influenced by all the great bands (too long to list here) who were influenced by the VU.