Strangelights is perhaps the perfect name for a psych-influenced rock band. One with sitar-like guitar, maracas, and a wah-soaked guitar riff. This Minneapolis trio has all that and more. And by more I mean a singer who is a dead-ringer (vocally) for Ian McCulloch of Echo & the Bunnymen, but don’t make that the only reason to download “Planet Vesusvius.”
Sam Bennett
Sam Bennett’s music is for the post-sarcastic, post-ironic believer in &mdash what did Obama call it? oh yeah — the audacity of hope within all (some? a few?) of us. As Detroit lurches towards extinction right down the expressway from my house, I’m thinking the honest, upbeat, youthful dreaminess of this British singer-songwriter will temper the total depression that’s surely going to soak southeast Michigan. (Either that, or a huge meteorite will blast us into oblivion; right now, I’ll take Bennett’s positivity instead.) Listen to “I Love” first to get a sense of what to expect, then check out “I Am A Lighthouse” if you’re still into it. And for those of you who are all snarky, who live in a state where the unemployment rate is lower than a typical mortgage rate, for those of you who are still listening to that which celebrates our impending darkness, don’t even bother. Personally, I think we need more lighthouses among us.
We Landed on the Moon!
Sometimes you just need to dance when you’re sweeping the kitchen floor. Sometime you just need to bounce in your seat on a long drive home. Sometimes you just need to let this Baton Rouge band fill your ears with their dance-y take on 90’s rock after spending time digging through your old shoegaze albums to get your head back to reality. And sometimes I talk about myself in the second person.
Skew
The opening track on Skew’s debut album is a bit of an understatement. Stadiums are more than just OK. Stadiums are where things first got skewed for Skew. I’m assuming as much. At six, a young Skew got turned onto the rock ‘n’ roll at an Iron Maiden concert. Afterwards, his grandfather financed guitar lessons, he ended up at Berklee College of music, and the rest is history. Skew sludges out ethereal rock riffs and then lays down hip hop beats to keep the party moving. The result is a grittier Ratatat with a raw, bone-rattling low-end. You can hear his progression on the baskets of tracks on his site. There are plenty of originals along with his under the radar remixes—Radiohead, M.I.A., Yeah Yeah Yeahs—and his mash ups of Nirvana and The Beatles against themselves. Get Skew today (the album’s fresh on sale) and expect plenty more from him in the future.
Mother Mother
I’ve been sitting on Mother Mother for too long. Please accept my apologies. They got lost in the shuffle that is my life, although I’ve been playing this track on my radio show for months. So I haven’t been completely hoarding the goods. “O My Heart,” the album’s title track, recalls the Pixies in a big way, especially the vocal play between Frank Black and Kim Deal. I don’t make that comparison lightly. I only do so because the band pulls it off beautifully and I only do so because the band is so much more than a Pixies rehash. In fact, the band probably shares more sonic sensibilities with their Canadian labelmates The New Pornographers. The band began as an acoustic trio, with brother and sister team Ryan and Molly Guldemond and Debra-Jean Creelman. All sing, contributing to the band’s arena worthy harmonies. It’s the play between Mother Mother’s big rock sound and their coffee house intimacy that gives the band that comfort food sound.
MC Z vs. Rocom
Sylvie
Yes, I was stoked on this song right away. Yes, it reminded me of Jawbox. No, I wasn’t surprised to see that J. Robbins produced the record. No, the Jawbox comparison doesn’t do the band justice. Yes, there’s much more to Sylvie than that. Yes, you can stream the whole record here. Yes, you should. Yes, I’m voting today. Yes, you should vote today. No, I’m not going to tell you who I’m voting for. Yes, I’m tired of hearing about politics, tired of talking about politics, tired of politicking about politics. Yes, I’m glad 3hive just talks about music. Yes, I’m glad I found Sylvie today. Yes, they float my boat.
Crystal Stilts
The perfect companion to last week’s post on Cause Co-Motion!, since the two Brooklyn bands are currently touring the West Coast together. (I had planned on seeing them tonight in Oakland, but alas, I’ve got torn knee ligaments.)
The Slumberland page for their new album Alight of Night makes reference to a whole slew of bands: Velvet Underground, 13th Floor Elevators, Red Crayola, the Gun Club, the Mary Chain, and also bands from Flying Nun, Rough Trade, and Factory Records. I’d also throw in early Walkmen and the Recoys. Feel free to add your own.
Nik Freitas
As I was putting this post together, and listening to “All the Way Down,” I started thinking about a conversation I had a few years ago with Jen Larson. At the time, she was my student; now, she’s a college grad in a half-dozen Chicago bands and is cooler by three-and-a-half times than I ever was. Anyway, one day I made a random comment about how I don’t really care all that much for The Beatles. I was like, “Who really listens to them anyway?” And you can probably guess how she looked at me — This guy doesn’t like The Beatles? How can he be qualified to teach me anything? This is a long way of saying that of course I was wrong, and that Nik Freitas reminds me of clean 60s and 70s pop in all the right ways. “Sun Down” might be one of the nicest little songs of the year, smooth yet inspirational (as if those are contradictory). For some fun, and a little Built to Spill style without all the noise, check out “Normal” from Freitas’ 2002 debut. And if you still want to hear more, check out his website for a few more free downloads.
1000 Robota
They’re young (barely 18), German (yes, they sing in their native tongue), angular (think Wire, The Fall), and they’re following in the footsteps of obscure ’80s post-punk compatriots (Palais Schaumburg anyone? Yeah, they were new to me too). I’m showing my age when I say that I remember when people actually pogo-danced at shows, but 1000 Robata’s Liquid Liquid groove coupled with their angry-Devo delivery bounce me back happily to those seminal years.