So, Gnarls Barkley. You might have heard of these guys, eh? Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo? Yeah, they’re kind of popular, with two records of sweet beats and smooth vocals, and an EP with versions of the song below. Oh, and a pair of Grammys, also. Yep, here at 3hive, we’re glad to introduce you to the cutting edge of new music!
Point Juncture, WA
Not to burden you with the boring details of my life (I’ve already alluded to them, so now I’m beating a dead horse to boot) but my equilibrium has been shot to hell over the last three weeks and it’s hampered my efforts in getting you the tunes. Thanks for bearing with 2009’s slow start. Point Juncture, WA was the first thing I pulled out of the growing pile of submissions at the ‘hive’s HQ. What a pleasant surprise and glowing gift this album is. Unfamiliar with their previous work I can’t compare it to their past efforts, but this album most definitely demands some history homework on my part. The album was recorded in the band’s Portland basement, set up as a makeshift sound lab with cables running into and out of windows, amps in stairwells, a diy plate reverb in the garage, and mics in every corner. The resulting recordings sound like an earthier Stereolab with a bit more rock replacing the pop. They’re also somewhat of a throwback to ’90s indie rock with shimmering guitars and boy/girl vocals. Their album, Heart to Elk, is out February 10th. They’ve been playing a bunch of dates in and around their hometown, but no further dates have been announced. We’ll keep you posted!
Travels
Mona and Anar were destined to make this music together. That’s the only explanation of how they can (seemingly) effortlessly create such beautiful, personal, intimate, and delicate music. Their second LP The Hot Summer is out now, again self-released; why there aren’t labels lining up to get their John Hancocks on the dotted line is beyond me.
Original Post Sept 17, 2007:
Travels is the duo of Mona Elliott of the band Victory at Sea and Anar Badalov of Metal Hearts. The two met and fell in love while their bands toured together, and Mona has recently battled breast cancer. So they have quite a lot of emotion to put into their deliberate and simple music, which is full of a sense of togetherness and enjoyment that could only come from their combination.
The Deep Dark Woods
It’s supposed to be -5 degrees Fahrenheit in Detroit tonight, which means it must be about -500 Celsius in Saskatoon, home of The Deep Dark Woods. (Actually, I picture Saskatchewan as being one big wheat field, with about ten trees scattered here and there, but what do I know, I’ve never been there.) Such cold is clearly irrelevant to this quartet, who offer up easy-going country rock more suited to the bronze glow of fall than the brutalities of winter. In fact, I’d go so far as saying these are warm songs, with steel guitar or, as in “All the Money I Had is Gone,” a fantastic old organ sound wrapping around you like an old blanket. Vocal harmonies smooth country grooves, lyrics of wistful longing — all perfect for curling up and staying under the covers, and due on Feb. 17.
Intricate Machines
L.A.’s Intricate Machines seem to find inspiration in their own name, taking an intricate approach in their creation of pop music. They don’t necessarily pay more attention to the details in their music than anyone else; that’s impossible to judge. It’s just that the details and textures on which they elaborate are less obvious than most. Really, it’s just my roundabout way of saying they have a roundabout way of getting to the hooks in their songs. Intricate Machines require time to soak, simmer, and settle. If you’re willing to give them that time you’ll find plenty of pleasures to sink your chops into. Considering the minute attention span of music consumers these days, Intricate Machines take a big risk attempting to break into the indie scene with less than immediate hooks. This ain’t no microwave meal; this is some slow-cooking, crock pot rock. You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned exactly what Intricate Machines sound like. This is deliberate. I don’t want to contribute to the instant-gratification impulse they’ve obviously worked hard to avoid. Enjoy the journey.
*Show notes: Intricate Machines play this week in L.A. Click here for details.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Slumberland is putting out some great pop these days from New York bands. Recent releases from Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion! will be followed up this month with the self-titled debut from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. POBPAH continue the Slumberland tradition of fine noise-pop, in the mode of Velocity Girl, the Ropers, Black Tambourine, with boy/girl harmonies, choice bits of fuzz and jangle, and crisp drums, all wrapped together by clever songwriting. Said debut album will be out February 10th, in the middle of their East Coast tour.
Some More Favorites from 2008
Michna
Asking me to pick my favorite track off Magic Monday is like asking me which child I love the most, or which food I love the most. Ask me on any particular day and I’ll have a favorite, sushi for instance, in fact I’ll be enjoying my favorite faux-sushi of all time, the Bungee Roll, this evening. Actually I wouldn’t do the same with my children. My favorite quote from Michna himself comes when his label’s owner asks him to list the samples he’ll need to clear, to which Michna responds, “What samples?” I’d like to hope Michna’s reply represents a new, knowing artistic naïvety in which a new generation moves past the plundering of hip-hop’s history and forges on with their own original beats and breaks (not that there’s anything wrong with samples!). He’s been paying his dues DJing parties in New York with tapes (yes!) and cutting remixes for Diplo (with his previous Secret Frequency Crew), Bonde Do Role, and surprisingly Jandek. Made playful by his trombone playing and use of found sounds (especially the answering machines, air hockey, and skateboards) his bass heavy pastiche work remind me of our old friend Alan Sutherland aka Land of the Loops (where ya at Al?). If you’re in the market for a good slow and steady, fun groove: Michna’s your man.
Freedy Johnston
Not being especially tech savvy, I kind of freaked out a few minutes ago when I checked the web for an article I’d written about Freedy Johnston for the old Salt Lake City-based music monthly grid. (Disclosure: about half of the 3hive crew were employed by grid.) Google says opening the defunct magazine’s website might “harm your computer.” Yikes! The article was called “Hoboken Dreaming,” and it profiled Johnston’s 1997 album Never Home. If I remember right, my interview with the NJ pop singer wasn’t half bad. Anyway, the track available here comes from a disc full of covers — in this case, one by Marshall Crenshaw — released in 2008 called My Favorite Waste of Time. It’s full of the kind of pop songs that Johnston’s been offering up for years, tracks by The Eagles, Matthew Sweet Paul McCartney and Tom Petty, among others. And while these songs don’t necessarily have the geographic specificity of some of his own work, he still plays them like he owns them.
Loyal Divide
This makes me sick! (Well, the sick feeling probably comes from the dizzying bout of Neuritis I’ve been battling for the past week. Makes typing a bit tedious.) Peeved may be a better word. Either way, I can’t believe I let 2008 lapse without mentioning my favorite EP to come our way at the end of the year. Chicago’s Loyal Divide is at once cold and earthy, shoe-gazey and trip hop, Nine Inch Nails and Autolux, Laurie Anderson and Portishead. Your not so typical post-industrial-shoe-goth if you don’t mind me taking such liberties. “Labrador” is tethered to time as the track unwinds into a chugging locomotive pace, driven by Can’s tribal basslines, until ethereal vocals hauntingly give way to a languid narrative about a dog with “blackest eyes and softest mouth / she buried her bones behind the house / she grabbed a bird trying to steal my food / she squeezed its head until it cooed.” The vocals float along through punchy bass-lines and electronic tickings and tweets as everything but the bassline drop out, then rush back in. The Loyal Divide creates the most compellingly textured music I’ve heard from a new artist in some time.