Every so often a band’s name alone grabs your attention, and even less often it actually makes good on its promise. One of those rare cases is The Je Ne Sais Quoi who, as it turns out, have that certain je ne sais quoi. If you were listening from another room, you might write them off as another vapid electro-clash happening. However, in more intimate settings, their tense, funky sound digs its fingernails into you and won’t let go. That said, “We Make Beginnings” wouldn’t be my first — or second, or third — choice for the single from their strong full-length debut. But no one asked me… (And if they had it would have been in Swedish, so I wouldn’t have understood anyway.)
Zapan
Those guys at Fourthcity are such good fun we’ve just got to do another, namely the founder of Fourthcity, Zach Huntting, know to us as Zapan. This quote from Zapan, about Mister Afternoon, his collaberation with DJN, tells you all you need to know about him: “Our music is soothing, not unlike Christian radio or Kenny G, but with more of a drumnbass, booty hiphop-type flavor.”
Caribou
Some 3hive history for you: Dan Snaith, a.k.a. Manitoba, was the inaugural posting to this site. Today Snaith announced that he was legally forced to change his nom de plume, hence Manitoba has been reincarnated as Caribou. I was hoping this announcement would coincide with a release date for his new album. No luck. Sounds like he’s only halfway finished. Sigh. Until then…
Dosh
This kid that lives seven houses down from me has this dope, super clean Cadillac. One sticker graces its rear window, dead center: Anticon. My neighborhood certainly isn’t a hotbed of fellow fine music admirerers (it’s more prone to Amway-esque consultants), so this discovery was a pleasant surprise. I’ll let him listen to my advance of Pure Trash if he lets me take my lady out in that ride of his.
Cat Five
Another shot from the suggestion box… Cat Five’s madcap samplerama Kataphonics finally has a sibling, a new 12-inch called “On the Rise.” This may seem like a thin body of work for a five-year-old group. That is, until you discover the hours of original or heavily refurbished live tracks available on their site and realize what a fool you were for ever doubting them. These MP3s in particular were recorded directly from the mixing board and could easily pass for studio material. Cat Five are Avalanches on a budget; Negativland with a beat; whatever comparison you use when you find yourself nodding and smirking at the same time.
DJN
The sign of a good DJ: making you (the listener) wish you could play the drums. Real drums. Another sign of a good DJ: naming Amon Tobin and Luke Vibert as influences. DJN: a good DJ.
Donna Summer
It’s fitting that Aquarius Records, the same store that introduced me to the mash-up some ten years ago (before they were called mash-ups) with Evolution Control Committee’s brilliant pairing of Public Enemy and Herb Alpert, would effectively wean me off that guilty pleasure with the next level noise of this here lad. Neither mash-up nor IDM, neither kitschy nor political, Donna Summer (a.k.a. Jason Forrest) throws juxtaposed refrains and riffs from popular music into a high-speed blender with no lid. Somehow the result, while initially as soothing as highway rumble strips, begins to make sense and even sounds catchy after a few listens…and a 12-pack of Mountain Dew. WARNING: Not recommended for those with epilepsy. (Seriously.)
The Somnambulants
Slightly nervous, very danceable synth pop that’ll remind you of early-’80s OMD one moment, as lead vocalist Joseph White blesses the mic, and modern-day German indie electro (Morr, City Centre, et al) the next, as co-founder Channing Sargent gets chirpy with it.
Mice Parade
Adam Pierce once again takes the bedroom dweller aesthetic more as a spiritual guide than a sonic one: skittish percussion bounces off the walls like random thoughts and warm vibes and synthesizers fill the background while his ever-gentle acoustic guitar seemingly plays for an audience of one.
FLIN FLON
This is what drum ‘n’ bass should be. Yet another offering from Mr. Teenbeat himself, Mark Robinson. Nothing new to the viewers of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” where “Floods” serves as the opening music. (Not to be confused with Flin Flon, the sixth largest city in the Canadian province of Manitoba.)