The backstory to this post is that there’s an Eagles album in my old Sony 5 disc changer, and while I’ve been loving it I’ve also wanted to hit up some country rock that’s a little more recent. Jesse over at Killbeat Music in Vancouver, BC, didn’t know this, but he sent Cameron Latimer’s upcoming album Fallen Apart anyway. Perfect. Latimer is a Canadian music veteran, with background in a mess of genres. That said, he sticks to the roots on his solo debut, and offers up a strong set of steel guitar-soaked bar tunes, full of heartbreak and prairie light. While the available download, “Empty Saddle,” is heavy on the C&W, there’s a lot of shuffle and slide on the other tracks on Fallen Apart, making Cameron Latimer’s work a nice indie accompaniment to Henley, Frey and the other guys.
Stereolab
It’d be safe to say we’re all mad fans of Stereolab. A quick search of our archives reveals nine references to Stereolab as we introduced you to new artists by appealing to your taste in international, space-age pop. There are many more bands that aspire to Stereolab’s neu-lounge sound, but few can keep up with the quality and quantity of output. Never wandering far from their signature sound or formula, Stereolab astonishingly remains relevant and refreshing. For this, their 11th, album the band once again used Sean O’Hagan as producer and arranger. According to Tim Gane, the album began as seventy tiny drum loops on top of improvised piano and vibraphone chords. They sped up some tracks, slowed down others and worked their way to “a collection of purposefully short, dense, fast pop songs.” The track here is definitely one of my favorites from the album, a groovin’ romp where horns and organ build to bursting point, threatening to release contagiously good vibrations. All the while Ms. Sadier keeps her perennial cool, which always melts my butter.
FYI: While supplies last, pre-order the album (street date: August 19th) and receive a limited edition 7-inch. The band tours North America in September and October.
Dub Narcotic Sound System
Sam’s recent post of Shelleyan Orphan had me looking through my vinyl, something I do maybe four times a year these days. I don’t own either of the bands from his post, but I did stumble across an old gem from Dub Narcotic Sound System, formed in 1993 and named after the Dub Narcotic Studio, the studio of Calvin Johnson, founder of K Records. While my personal favorite “Teenage Timebomb” is not available for free download, the funky smoothness of Calvin’s Pacific Northwest, baritone white boy rap on “Handclappin'” is.
Shelleyan Orphan
As some of you know, I spent the first half of the ’90s living in Provo, Utah. I worked at two CD stores during that time and it’s quite possible that I sold more CDs by The Sundays than any other band. Perhaps there was a common misinterpretation of the Fourth Commandment but Provo couldn’t get enough of The Sundays. Which leads to my story…
There was this guy who came in to the CD store one night and he said, “I love The Sundays. Do they have any other albums out?”
“No,” I said, “but if you like them you might enjoy Shelleyan Orphan. Similar female vocals and even more interesting instrumentation and song structures.”
“Hmm,” he said. “I don’t know. Do they sound just like The Sundays?”
“They’re even better,” I said, handing him a copy of Century Flower (the most Sundays-ish of their three albums). “If you don’t think so, you can return the CD.” Keep in mind, according to store policy I could not return opened merchandise, so this would have meant me buying back as used and paying him the difference. My co-workers warned me, this guy wasn’t going to go for something as adventurous as Shelleyan Orphan. But I was sure he’d not only appreciate my recommendation but tell all his friends about his new find.
Same time the next day, he walks in. “I didn’t like it. It doesn’t sound anything like The Sundays.”
That’s when I realized, to go back to the Bible, I was casting pearls before swine. I wasn’t going to be able to talk him into liking Shelleyan Orphan. So I paid the man from my own pocket and told him he wasn’t getting any more advice from me. “Let me know when the new Sundays album comes out,” he said, as he walked out the door.
Shelleyan Orphan disbanded shortly thereafter, no doubt disheartened that some dork in Utah didn’t think they sounded enough like The Sundays. After 15 years of soul-searching and playing in other bands, Caroline Crawley and Jemaur Tayle have recorded a new Shelleyan Orphan record, We Have Everything We Need, available in October 2008. Please enjoy the bluegrass-inspired single, which I will admit sounds nothing like The Sundays.
The Locals
The Locals e-mailed me some time ago suggesting that their indie-rock and my literary-minded randomness would work well together. (Hey, thanks for reading the posts!) Plus, they’re from Chicago and I used to live there too. And they’ve got this thing for a Danger Boy doll (go ahead, check the website) and 3hive’s good friend Dave used to go by that exact same nickname. Also, The Locals totally have this tight ’80s kind of thing going on, and I just love that sound. Therefore, I’m happy to offer up their hard work for free and legal download. And to congratulate the band on the recent release of Big Picture, their new album. And to say, to any reader who made it this far, “Tidal Wave” is pop beauty, catchy and hook-filled and summery and fun. “Big Picture” and “Perfect World” are more calm, more retrospective, but with nice heavy guitars and big drums. And The Locals rock, straight up.
The Morning Benders
The Morning Benders are no strangers to covers as they’ve been known to record a quickie or two or seven as the case may be. The Bedroom Covers represents their latest round of covers all compiled in one handy-dandy free EP. The ‘Benders have teamed up with a few of us bloggers to spread the love one lo-fi recording at a time. The band recorded the songs using a laptop and one microphone. Most of the songs were recorded in one take, with the exception of an occasional vocal or guitar overdub. My favorite of the lot? Their charming (they’re all charming!) version of the Phil Spector-produced “He’s a Rebel” by The Crystals. This was a #1 song back in 1962. The song ends up sounding like at outtake from Zumpano’s Look What the Rookie Did. More importantly, these tracks remind me how much I love The Morning Benders’ crisp, freshly laundered pop songs. I’m gonna pull out their album, Talking Through Tin Cans, and pin the songs up on the laundry line out back where they can twist and flutter in the wind all summer long.
Below is the track list for the covers EP. Keep checking back and I’ll update when and where you can track down the other songs. I’ve also included a few covers previously recorded by the band.
Pas/Cal
Pas/Cal was my very first post on 3hive back on April 26, 2004. It’s about time they’re getting around to releasing their first LP, I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luka, and Laura. My words then are just as true today: Detroit’s pop ensemble, pure fun with just enough pretentiousness to put one over on the Elephant 6 family.
Zoos of Berlin
I’m at least six months late in writing about this Detroit-based quintet, which gives me the luxury (or burden) of reacting not only to their music, but to others’ reactions to their music. One rarely hears Zoos of Berlin mentioned without a reference to Brian Eno and David Bowie collabos. And while there are certainly similarities, especially in Trevor Naud’s cool, spacey vocals, to focus on that is to miss the range that Zoos demonstrate live, or even in the three songs on their debut EP. “Below the Old House” serves up ebullient psychedelia then resolves in a trance-inducing ending. “Speak Well of Manderlay” romps and stomps about with an amped-up Baroque air. Then there’s “On Large Amusements,” my personal favorite, which fits a sprawling shoegazerly jam into an efficient two-and-a-half minutes—leaving you hungry for more. They’ve kindly permitted us to make all three tracks available for download so you can decide for yourself which Zoos of Berlin you like the most. Have fun.
Darker My Love 2
Azeda Booth
Here is the sum total of what I know about Calgary, Alberta, Canada: it was the host city for the 1988 Winter Olympics; it is the host city of the annual Calgary Stampede, a crazy-ass Old West chuckwagon race and rodeo; and if you want to cross the street in Calgary but you’re not at a light or a designated crosswalk, just wave your hand and the cars in both directions will stop for you. That last thing may be a lie, but it says something pretty outstanding about Calgarians, and Canadians in general. Could you imagine waving your hand in midtown Manhattan, along Wilshire Blvd. in L.A., or even along Whatever Major Thoroughfare in your U.S. or European city and have drivers stop for pedestrians? Crazy! Such civilized behavior may explain the pleasant surprise of Azeda Booth, which as far as I know is the first band from Calgary of which I’ve been a fan. Azeda Booth’s ambient pop is certainly civilized, with its soothing electronic chimes, muted guitar and high, light vocals. Their new album feels like the heyday of Darla’s Bliss Out series—perfect for bringing calm to a cluttered, chaotic mind. Their older tracks, which were all I could find available to the masses, are just as blissful. All in all, it’s not what you might expect from Calgary, if you know the place as well as I do.