Bands to check out for those of us with sound at work

So, I subscribe to a keen little daily newsletter called A New Band A Day. If you're into music, definitely, go sign up. anewbandaday.com . The guy who runs it comes up with some sublime, off the radar stuff on a pretty regular basis. Sometimes, it's loud, crunchy, hearing aid jarring stuff that I'm not too keen of, but there's more jewels than duds from this guy.

With that said, two things that should be on your radar.

Airport City Express. When one thinks of Belgium, usually it's in the order of beer, chocolate, and waffles. I'd rather have the waffles first, but ACE kind of makes me rethink the order a bit and put them ahead of the waffles. They've got a full melodic sound with a "nothing complicated" drum sound, which plays well. Simple and quiet valleys rush upwards into a loud, pleasant peak in You're Unwise. Bud Spencer starts to lull one into that "I've heard this sound before" state of mind, but then after a bit of syncopated drumming and an insertion of keyboard solo punctured every few seconds by a sharp guitar chord impaling it. Every other song (available on their MySpace) persuades some kind of head bobbing or body rock out of you as they play on. Even if you have to listen to it in the background, they're really worth checking out.

http://www.myspace.com/airportcityexpress

And, since I'm just excited by this, Street Sweeper Social Club should be somewhere in sight. Ok, sure. Rage Against The Machine was a force in social awareness and pointing out the things going wrong in our global society. And yea, they were pretty quiet during a large part of the Bush administration. But, Tom Morello's back with something new, with a strong fist, a strong message, and an even stronger frontman. Boots Riley, emcee for the audible and politically vocal The Coup, brings the words of a revolution with a fire and flavor of it's own. In teaming up with Morello, Riley now has shifted from launching his lyrical attack over some velvety smooth funk styled beats, to letting them loose over Morello's equally potent guitar tracks. The result is a nuclear attack on the brain. 100 Little Curses reminds us how far the working class gets pushed down while the rich get richer. The Oath stands out like an operating procedure for the revolution. All of these tracks off of the self-titled album are a strong punch in the crotch to those who can understand it's not just about the music, it's about what's right.

http://www.myspace.com/streetsweepersocialclub

Theodore - Defeated TN & Songs for the Weary

Theodore hails from St. Louis, and their sound echoes the souls adrift in the American Midwest. Catching them live is a stirring experience, not being able to escape the bony grip of each song while being transfixed by Justin's vocals, which flutters between softly charmed verses and spirit wrenching lyrics from somewhere at the bottom of his lungs. JJ's lap steel brings the loneliness of the open country road into focus, with the only light coming from the headlights of the rare passing car. The occasional accordion influence almost shows you the little single room church off to the side between corn fields. Andy stands off to the side on the old bass fiddle, as country parlance would have it, and adds in the strong-backed support of the farmer of those corn fields, up before dawn, in bed most days by dusk. Except for those nights when the whiskey demons show up on the porch. Jason ties it all together, as the rake scrapes against the drum, with the ebbing flow of life at a slower, more honest pace.

Music reviews tend to be cut and dry with the "great sound, clean crisp vocals, strong bass lines, skilled guitar playing" nonsense. Bands like Theodore that fill your head with an image, a story, and take you on a trip with them in the passenger seat of a beat up '72 Ford pickup down the back roads, are the ones worth listening to. If you're into the sound, I really emphasize that you need to get both of these albums. Whether these guys stay a great secret on the scene, or they blow up to Wilco proportions, you'll listen to the entire album a couple times on the first go around and come back for more.

Defeated, TN has an amazing deep sound that really showcases what they're all about. The album is released on vinyl only, with an available digital download with the purchase of the record. But really, this is an album that's meant to be heard in the glory that is lo-fi, on a good old fashioned turntable. 9 tracks that give you the feeling of life and relationship in a real place on the outskirts of Carthage, TN. After giving the tracks here a glimpse, stroll on over to the Rock Candy review from St. Louis Today. The story behind the album is a moving tale in itself.

Defeated, TN Pt. 1
The Story


Songs for the Weary is the epitome of the sound that many americana slash folkish bands seek to emulate. Strongly reminiscent of the cosmic sound fashioned by Gram Parsons, it moves you on the inside, and connects you to the phantoms that are Theodore. For their debut album, it's a strong step out of the gate in a long overlooked genre. It's not about the polish or catering to images, it's about the sound. Which, the band did solidly on this release.

back from the war
home, tonight, I go

(samples are from the official Theodore site)

Theodore live @ The Space parlor

Say Hi / The Big Sleep show.

With a strong guitar sound driving them forward, Say Hi's melodies are sway inducing at the least, while the vocals lull you into a place where the lyrics just slide into your ears unnoticed. Their sweet, straight-forward sound will take you back to a distant memory of some trip north during the fall.

Their most recent disc, The Wishes and The Glitch, showcases Eric Elbogen's drifting, yet sometimes sultry voice. Northwestern Girls is a perfect example, followed by the familiar vocal and instrumental sounds in the track Shakes Her Shoulders, which have become easily identifiable with the essential indie-pop sound. Northwestern Girls, Toil and Trouble, Spiders, and We Lost The Albatross should easily be adored from this 11 track outing.



The Big Sleep is rightfully described as bedroom metal. Granted, it's from a bedroom that many of us only wish we were sleeping in, but the lax, yet strong guitar comes in and makes sweet love to your ears. When the vocals and rhythm show up, it's an auditory three way with you as the lucky recipient. The live show is best summarized as an angry night of passion set to skillfully crafted instrumentals with entrancing guitar work leading the charge. Each song being strong and throaty right up until the end. The last song of the set, crunched out by heavy chords worthy of Korg emitted a hint of sadness, like the end of any good relationship.

Bad Blood
Pinkies
Murder

Ready Fire Aim - As If It Were That Easy

In listening to my backlog of podcasts, I came across this fine gem, which led to reading/listening more about the band, Ready Fire Aim. Their sound is clean and electric, without being so synthy to make you feel anxious that Big Brother may be watching. It's a cozy sound all in all, like what you'd expect if Ben Gibbard replaced Dave Gahan from an earlier version of Depeche Mode, ala Music for the Masses/Violator era. (Or maybe more appropriately, the well mannered and polite offspring of Death Cab and DM.) Give it a listen, make some feedback.


Ready Fire Aim - As If It Were That Easy
Ready Fire Aim on Myspace

Briana Winter - Hide

Definitely a strong pulse of a soft spoken breed, Briana Winter's voice floats above her rolling guitar lines, and drift along rather introspectively. It's what's good about folksy indie rock, and that's why we listen to it. Strong voices over music that's sublime but has it's own sense of intuitive complexity. It may remind some of a newer Suzanne Vega from the prime years, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Hide (Right click and save as if you don't have an inline player such as Quicktime that will just play it when you left click the link)

Briana Winters on Myspace

Six Twilights - Tonight I'm Letting You Drive

The Six Twilights have this sleepy, wintery feel that bring to mind images of driving through a quiet and snowy north Jersey where the sun's breaking across the horizon to start the day. Honest and basic, their music makes you feel like shedding the skin of the dirty industrial world and going to somewhere where the air is clean. Still Talk (the second song available at the Fat Cat site) takes you to the same place, except while on a really deep buzz that's peaked during the ride. Listen, love, or comment.


Tonight I'm Letting You Drive (Right click and save as if you don't have an inline player in your browser, like Quicktime)
This song and more, are also available for a listen via the Fat Cat Records Demo Archive under the band A.Sweater.
Six Twilights on Myspace

Nice job Cal State!

It's filmed from the wrong side of the field, but it's awesome none the less.

I particularly liked the Pokeball segment.