The Felice Brothers seem to have a good time spinning out bizarre, wistful Bob Dylan-esque songs about deals gone wrong and inevitably bad relationships. The sloppy fun of “Frankie’s Gun!” makes me wish I’d been in that studio, banging on something, making some noise as the tape rolled. Made up of three actual brothers from the Catskills — Simone, Ian and James Felice — plus “a 19 year old called Christmas,” according to the press info, these guys don’t mind playing a wrong not or two. It’s the thought that counts, right? And their thoughts seem as pure and sincere as a streetcorner singer in the middle of summer, telling everyone how it is.
Thao
I imagine everybody else has already heard these new tracks from Thao (formerly known as Thao Nguyen and also seemingly masquerading as Thao with the Get Down Stay Down). If not, then you should know they absolutely and completely rock (in a folk-pop way). Pulled off of We Brave Bee Stings and All, her Kill Rock Stars label debut, Thao brings in the kitchen sink and everything else to slap together a huge party in these two teeny-tiny songs. From the HGTV-inspired lyrics of “Bag of Hammers” — “Shake the frame of this house / Distress the wood, make it shout” — to the lost love of “Beat” and its accompanying brass (is that a tuba?), Thao doesn’t let you down. (Sadly, though, I think the links on her old 3hive page do.)
Orilla Opry
Emma Baxter and Daniel Noble, recording as Orilla Opry for Montreal’s Ships at Night Records, make an awesome noise. Folk-influenced, stripped-down pop, sometimes harmonized, sometimes dissonant, with hooks and crannies and texture and detail — if Orilla Opry was a house, it would have character and heavy duty curbside appeal. Try “Riverside 2,” off their latest album Lighthouse for Stragglers’ Eyes, for one of the prettiest, most ear-pleasing songs of the year (well, technically, from late last year).
Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers
I had Monday and Tuesday off this week, so it is with considerable surprise that I had the realization that, hey, today is Thursday! That would be my day to post, and since I had nothing planned or ready, well, meet Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers. Straight outta Shawnee, Oklahoma, this crew serves up solid roots music with a bit of a creepy edge to it. I’m not sure what “Traipsing Through the Aisles” is about, exactly, but Crain sings “I did something wrong” so many times at the end of the song that, no matter how sweetly she croons, I kind of believe her. Look for The Confiscation EP to be released in summer 2008.
Jim Bryson
Sorry I don’t have anything lovey-dovey for Valentine’s Day. Instead, here’s an update on Canadian singer-songwriter Jim Bryson, whose “Satellite” is one of my favorite 3hive songs ever. There are a few new songs from his Kelp records release Where the Bungalows Roam and a bunch of Canadian tour dates on his website, which also offers up plenty of downloadable live tracks and demos. Checking out this new material, all low-fi and laid back — I especially like “The Wishes Pile Up” — reminds me how comfortable it is to listen to Bryson. He’s like an old frind from college playing songs in your living room. How about some shows in Windsor, Jim? I’d cross the border for that.
If By the Bridge [MP3, 4.3MB, 192kbps]
All the Fallen Leaves [MP3, 5MB, 192kbps]
The Wishes Pile Up [MP3, 4.7MB, 192kbps]
Original post: 12/31/04
These long, slow, sad, and self-deprecatingly beautiful country songs from Ottawa-based Jim Bryson match perfectly with the blinding-sun, hoarfrost-covered days we had earlier in the week here in Detroit. Come to think of it, they also match fairly well with the longing-for-even-just-a-moment-of-sunlight, totally gray slush days we’re having now.
A Weather
A Weather are a whisper out of Portland, Oregon, playing the some of the softest and easiest sounds of the year. Slow, smooth, captivating, trance-inducing — the intertwined vocals of Aaron Gerber and Sarah Winchester are hard to break away from once they’ve caught you. There is an incredible beauty to these tracks, all off the band’s debut efforts on Team-Love Records. If you like things low, lush, hushed and hazy, this is the place to be.
The Apple Bros.
I’m filling in for Lisa today; she’s off doing the New York thing, you know. — working. Actually, so are The Apple Bros. They’re working the rock star gig, though it sounds more like New York, Alabama, than the Big Apple, NYC. Really, I thought I’d have a little fun with this post, seeing as Lisa’s about as far from a good ol’ boy as you can get. She’s probably too young to be a Dukes of Hazzard fan anyway. I think, however, that she’ll like the hip-shaking, bluesy rock from her five boroughs neighbors.
Hayshaker
“I can always tell when you’ve been a’drinkin'” — and so, Hayshaker had me from the first line of “Laurie’s Song.” Also known as the Rider family from Waycross, GA (along with a few friends), Hayshaker makes that boozy country rock you like to listen to when you’re totally supposed to be doing something else. Their recent EP, Black Holiday in Mexico City, offers up half a dozen and one tracks reflecting a variety of musical influences while firmly anchored in the twang of C.C. and Laurie Rider. “I can always tell when you’ve found trouble, ’cause soon that trouble comes to find me.” Yep, time to get back to work.
Pinto
Getting scooped is never a big deal at 3hive. For most of us, this job is a pleasant distraction from our real responsibilities: changing dirty diapers (Shan, maybe Sam, me), grading papers (Sean, me), hanging out with famous people (Lisa, sometimes Sam), being married to famous people (Jon) being Californian (Sean, Clay), and making huge bank (Sam). The only real competition comes from snapping up new tunes to post, and I always feel I miss out on the Swedes. Therefore, the posting of Pinto’s lo-fi pop is a kind of small victory for me. Whoo! This is from the band’s website: “Pinto is more or less a one man band but I have some friends around to keep me sane because Pinto is all about being sane… Say what?” (That “Say what?” was in the original text, I didn’t add it.)
Christine Fellows
I’ve been holding on to this song for a long time, at least a year or two, unsure whether or not I’d post it. Obviously, here it is… The album on which “Advice” appears, 2 little birds, is out of print; Fellows asks on her website that it not be purchased digitally, if available, as she has not consented to it sale in this manner. That said, I can certainly pitch her latest work, Nevertheless, released last November, which features the same cellist heard here, Leanne Zacharias, plus Weakerthan (and husband) John K. Samson.