BloodShake Records’s (or is it Records’? Yeah, it’s Records’, right? You do ‘s when following a singular noun ending in s? This is what happens when I teach only history classes for a semester…) other artist , Sonya Cotton, was well received here at the ‘hive, so I though I’d pitch The National Lights. Slow and brooding, the Lights provide a further vehicle for Cotton’s lovely voice — here as backing vocals — while setting somber scenes of desolation and vague desire. Well, at least it’s pretty music, even if it’s not exactly fun.
Bitter Tea for Breakfast
Comparisons never work out right, you know? The most well-intentioned end up sounding like the biggest slams, e.g. when we still had a print newspaper at the high school at which I teach, and the student review of a new restaurant noted the “Applebee’s-like customer service with Outback Steakhouse quality.” I’m totally certain the kid was giving serious props to the place, while simultaneously guaranteeing that I would rather be hit (gently) by a truck than eat there. Anyway, Bitter Tea for Breakfast is Travis Carter, formerly of Millimeters Mercury, another Mr. Hyde Records band. Bitter Tea etc. reminds me of — well, don’t take this the wrong way — Bright Eyes. Not really in terms of sound or lyrics, but maybe in spirit. Meticulous chaos, that sort of thing. The thing is, the big C.O. doesn’t offer entire albums for free download over at Saddle Creek, like Travis does at his site. Oh well… By the way, I’m dedicating this post to 3hive’s new pal Lisa, like me a former Maroon (she’s hardcore though, she was in the college!) and wishing everyone a good 2007.
Angela Desveaux
So, the photo here might not do Angela Desveaux justice. Then again, if you see country girl instead of modern Lizzie Borden, maybe this does work. Montreal-based Desveaux’s layered country-pop calls to mind fellow countrywoman Kathleen Edwards, or fellow North American Lucinda Williams. (Yeah! Go continent!) (If you can’t tell, I need a holiday break right about NOW.) Angela’s debut album Wandering Eyes is likewise avaliable NOW. Peace for the season.
Kunek
Tim Ortopan is back for another guest DJ session. About 9 months ago he brought us Joseph Arthur. Now we have Kunek. O:
I went to high school with a kid named Kunec and at first I wondered if there could be any connection to the band Kunek. They sound like they could have been the socially awkward students sitting alone at lunch reading computer magazines that I remember. Could he have produced these beautiful songs of loneliness and sadness? It seems unlikely as I did not go to high school in Oklahoma nor could the student that I remember ever be described as “a delicate intersection of science and emotion—at times organic, dynamic, buoyant or ethereal.†I hope things are going well for the Kunec that I remember, but I know you will enjoy this Kunek straight from the flowering Oklahoma art-rock scene.
The One Night Band
So this is what old school ska/reggae sounds like in Montreal. Reminds me a bit of those early Bob Marley recordings when he had short hair and wore matching outfits with Rita and Peter Tosh. “Who feels it knows it…” Singing in both English and French, The One Night Band’s debut album, Way Back Home came out summer 2006. Hey Sam, how do you say “rude boy” in French?
Sonya Cotton
You know how, with some singers, you can pick up on speech or vocal patterns like accents or dialects really easily, while with others it’s almost impossible? Think about how British Billy Bragg sounds compared to, say, Paul McCartney. Or how a lot of the Swedish and Canadian bands we’ve posted actually sound like generic suburban America. Research has probably already been done on the impact of mass media on localized speech patterns ever since the popularization of radio; heck, this research could probably go back to the effects of court (ruling class) language on the merchant or even lower classes. Anyway, to get to the point, I like how Sonya Cotton sings the phrase “Guard your heart, darling,” in the song below with a similar title. It reminds me of Gillian Welch, and they both remind me of people singing the way they really speak. And sometimes that sounds nice.
First Coat
Another band from Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois, and a member of the Mr. Hyde Records family, First Coat is a band that keeps getting better and better. This improvement could be due to maturity or significant line-up changes, but either way, their newest work is confident and well-constructed. The thick and rich 8 minutes or so of rock in “Catchy Pneumonia Pajamas,” from their recent album Move Like Sparrows, is a stark contrast to the demure country strains and simple pop off Great Lakes Disorder, their first effort. Check it out for yourself. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Millimeters Mercury
“Her hips were sharp in the dark / in a park on N. Clark”
Millimeters Mercury, “Not Too Fast”
When a bunch of my old students went off to college in Chicago — hi Katherine, Jared, Mia, Jen L., Tom G., etc. — I really wanted to make them a good Chicago mix, but it just didn’t work out. I had Sufjan Stevens and Ryan Adams, Liz Phair and Rhett Miller, Wilco and Soul Coughing. But I still hadn’t come across Canasta or Millimeters Mercury (mmHg, for my wife and her Ph.D. science friends) — especially “Not Too Fast.” What a great song! Part of the Mr. Hyde Records crew, the now-defunct Millimeters Mercury has since split into a bunch of other bands, like Cola Wars. Check out the band’s website for their math rock discography, including about 30 additional free downloads.
Health & Beauty
There’s something very, very good happening on Chicago’s south side, and that good thing is called Mr. Hyde Records. To quote from their mission statement, Mr. Hyde is a record label that “focuses on making definitive compilations of the rock music being made in Hyde Park.” When I lived in Hyde Park ten years ago, it wasn’t really clear that there was much music being made in the neighborhood; it didn’t help that there was only one bar, Jimmy’s, and the local university is pretty geeky. Then again, as 3hive proves week in and week out, geeks rock. Based on Mr. Hyde’s output, like the recent Jackson Park Express compilation, the U of C scene is rich, diverse and (surprise, surprise) notably cerebral.
So, Cola Wars was our first Mr. Hyde related post, even if I didn’t really know what it meant at the time. (In true home-grown fashion, all these guys are in ten bands and running their own label.) Anyway, Health & Beauty is another band in the family; Brian J. Sulpizio even looks like my cousin’s crazy ex-boyfriend. Though his music doesn’t really reflect this craziness — you’ll find a little noise here and there, among beautiful melodies and smart, smoothly-delivered lyrics — the Health & Beauty website itself is like a psychedelic corn maze of poetry and random association. I spent at least an hour wandering around “Eraser Metropolis”, following the links and taking it all in. Over the next few weeks I’ll post a few more Mr. Hyde bands; if you like what you hear, go ahead and buy a few compilations.
Great Lake Swimmers
My wife and I are lately big fans of the parenting blog Sweet Juniper! The writers are Detroiters, they’re friends of 3hiver Jon, and they’re just funny. I even offered Dutch a guest writing gig after checking out his post on hip urban music. Anyway, they’ve got a few music suggestions on the site, very indie stuff for the most part, like Great Lake Swimmers. This up-and-coming Canadian band has a mellow sound full of rootsy influences, two good albums, and handful of music awards heralding them as the next big thing. Sweet! Thanks to the Juniper crew, and hopefully we’ll get them to visit here one day.