Back in college, my friend and roommate Dave Stohl studied Japanese and taught me a few key phrases: “Good morning.” “Very cool, isn’t it?” “Make a U-turn here?” and “Please do not pee out the window of the bullet train.” I’ve never really had occasion to use these…until now. The first two phrases are fairly obvious. The third in reference to the band’s throwback post-punk aesthetics (right down to the sound of the cassette tape snapping into the deck at the start of “Cut the Party…”). The fourth is sound advice under any circumstances, but especially when you’re rolling at breakneck speeds as these lads do. Domo, Dave. And, domo to you too, Bullet Train to Vegas.
schneiderTM
When Old Man Heat and Bitter Hag Humidity slow everything to a muggy crawl — as they have of late in these parts — schneiderTM’s hazy electro pop seems to get a lot more spins on my iPod. Just thought I’d share…
The Russian Futurists
Last week I was fortunate enough to be driving around the Tuscan countryside with some good friends (including our aforementioned legal counsel), listening to Scott’s iPod via iTrip whenever the crowded radio dial allowed. The Russian Futurists’ “Still Life” burst through the static with a playground-simple blend of orchestral washes, a loping drum pattern, and intimate lyrics. Upon returning home to my broadband connection, I did some Googling to find that Matthew Hart (the man behind The Russian Futurists) has been turning out such triumphant heartbreak jams since 2001, and I am certainly not the first to notice. His latest, The Thickness, though, shows enough polish to position The Russian Futurists as a less sterile and equally infectious Postal Service. Mr. Hart is currently touring with Caribou and Junior Boys (June 9 at The Magic Stick, Detroit!), catch him if you can.
Kaze
A suggestion from the box (thanks, Emily!), this North Carolina rhymesayer recently saw an album’s worth of his raps remixed by the one-and-only 9th Wonder — check his soulful treatment of Kaze’s Mother’s Day ode, “Should’ve Been Here.” And, from his Enemy of the State LP, K-Hill’s funky chipmunkification of “On” is particularly, well, on.
The Twin Atlas
The Twin Atlas craft tiny, shimmering jewels of folk pop which are driving me wild of late. Speaking of which, the duo sport the same exact animal masks on their bio page that my two sons are fond of wearing any time of the year BUT Halloween [picture not available] at which point they inevitably want to be dress up as something that requires purchase of an overpriced costume. Way more MP3s on the band’s site, which is also the best place to buy their CDs.
Seedy Gonzales
Never mind the silly name, this is some serious — as in rambling-slice-of-life-Lou-Reed-style-narrative serious — rock ‘n’ roll.
New Langhorne Slim MP3
Ballboy
In honor (or honour) of the final Star Wars installment, the wonderful Scottish band Ballboy have posted a home-recorded power pop gem called “Light Saber” which closes each line with that walkie-talkie static that used to make it so fun to play stormtroopers (“there she is, set for stun…shhk”). When not giving in to good side of The Force, Ballboy’s approach to songwriting can be summed up by the chorus to “The Art of Kissing”: “A little despair will go a long, long way.” And does it ever…
New MP3 From The Hold Steady
His Name Is Alive
Summer’s here, kids, and you know what that means: farmer tans, frozen custard, and a free downloadable EP from His Name Is Alive. The ever eclectic and prolific Warren Defever has been so busy he must have forgot that he put out an LP of the same name less than a month ago. However, it was a limited (like, 50 total) pressing so it’s unlikely to cause too much confusion. As for the EP, it’s not going to be around forever either, so jump on it. I’m posting a link to the buoyant title track and a classic soul side from 2001’s Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth. The rest of the goods can be found on the band’s site, inlcuding the hilariously complex backstory for “Summer Bird.” (Thanks for the tip, Monahan!)