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Introducing the 3hive Co-op Shop!

3hive Co-op Shop | shop.3hive.com

Hey friends,

Do you still love buying vinyl in this age of all-you-can-stream music subscription services?

Yeah, so do we. That’s why we’re introducing the 3hive Co-op Shop – so we can buy records together!

Here’s how it works: when we buy records for ourselves, we buy a couple extra for the Co-op.
This allows us to get wholesale rates from labels and distributors. Then we sell these records – brand new, sealed, unplayed – at a “co-op” discount on a first-come, first-served basis. Share the buying, share the savings!

There are lots of other things we can do as a co-op but saving money on records we all want to buy sounds like a good start, right?

We’re going to kick this off with some of our top albums of 2016:

Todd’s Top 3 Bundle

Monster Rally Mystery Cove LP (Gold Robot GRR046)

Woods City Sun Eater in the River of Light LP w/ download code (Woodsist 085)

Doug Tuttle It Calls on Me LP (Trouble in Mind TIM105)

Co-op price for all three is $50 ($68 retail)

Buy Now

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Sean’s Top 3 Bundle

Charlie Hilton Palana LP (Captured Tracks CT-229)

Ultimate Painting Dusk LP (Trouble in Mind TIM117)

Beach Slang A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings LP limited edition green vinyl (Polyvinyl PRC-319)

Co-op price for all three is $48 ($63 retail)

Buy Now

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Sam’s Top 3 Bundle

Tyvek Origin of What LP w/ download code (In the Red ITR296)

Homeboy Sandman Kindness for Weakness LP w/ download code (Stones Throw STH2369)

ot to, not to Goshen LP (Other People OP044)

Co-op price for all three is $48 ($68 retail)

Buy Now

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Clay’s Top 3 Bundle

Real Numbers Wordless Wonder LP limited edition white vinyl (Slumberland SLR223)

Soccer Team Real Lessons in Cynicism LP w/ download code (Dischord 182)

Bent Shapes Wolves of Want LP limited edition colored vinyl w/ download code (Slumberland SLR218)

Co-op price for all three is $42 ($62 retail)

Buy Now

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Shipping costs (USPS Media Mail) are included in the bundle prices.

Quantities limited. Once we sell out, we’ll move on.

If there’s a 3hive artist you’d like to buy with us, send us an email at co-op@3hive.com

Thanks for entertaining our latest experiment in sharing the sharing.

We look forward to buying records with you.

Your friends at 3hive

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Tyvek

If the name Tyvek sounds familiar you’re either already up on one of Detroit’s finest art punk outfit or you’re in the construction business. Maybe both, who knows? Tyvek have been called “Detroit’s Talking Heads”, probably due more to singer Kevin Boyer’s hypnotic, poetic lyrics than their mostly raucous garage sound. Last year’s Origin of What is the band’s sixth studio album in eight years, though they’ve sold scads of CD-Rs and tapes on tour to document the creative process between proper label-backed efforts. Having released his other band’s debut (a raw, psychedelic gem in its own right) on the same day as Origin of What, Boyer clearly has no problem working with a revolving cast of characters. For the latest Tyvek release, he reunited with Fred Thomas (drums/engineer), Larry Williams (bass), and Heath Moerland (guitar) – the latter two also played on The Intended record – to hone a sound that sounds both urgent and considered at the same time. There are so many great tracks to choose from, it’s hard to pick just one – though I suppose I did for my Top Songs of 2016 post. I posted a couple more below, but from there you’re on your own…

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ot to, not to

When James Blake first came on the scene, he was exactly what I needed to resolve my schizo relationship with modern R&B: tuneful and earnest with just enough glitch to appeal to my appetite for imperfection. Then he relied too much on his formula, as have numerous followers on, and things became predictable once again.

Along comes Ian Mugerwa – a/k/a ot to, not to – and his debut album of intimate, deconstructed R&B “experiments”, Goshen, on Nicolas Jaar’s Other People label. The compositions take turns evoking dirt-floor blues, avant-garde jazz, even Pablo-era Kanye. The unifying thread is Ian’s vocals which read as personal, hypnotic journal entries, sung/muttered/chanted as he carries us through his coming-of-age years.

This nuanced, eclectic effort could’ve easily veered into self-indulgent territory if it didn’t so clearly yearn to connect. It’s soul music in the most literal sense of the word. In fact, when recommending Goshen to a friend I said, “Listen closely.” It’s the best (and only) way to appreciate this album.

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Sam’s Top 23 Songs of 2016

(Sequenced for flow – not ranking – purposes.)

Tyvek “Choose Once” (In the Red)
My single of the year, from my album of the year. So raw, so good.

Mass Gothic “Every Night You’ve Got to Save Me” (Sub Pop)
Family Sing-Along Song of the Year honors go to this raucous doo-wop jam.

DIIV “Under the Sun” (Captured Tracks)
Shining down from a shimmering crack in the clouds that hung over 2016.

A Tribe Called Quest “We the People…” (Epic)
I could have chosen any of a half dozen tracks off this album but this here’s the anthem, get your damn hands up.

Francis and the Lights w/ Bon Iver “Friends” (KTTF)
Alan Parsons meets auto-tuned R&B meets, well, Bon Iver.

KAYTRANADA “LITE SPOTS” (XL)
Half this song is impossible to dance to; the other half is impossible not to dance to.

De La Soul “Royalty Capes” (AOI)
I wish this album had been more fulfilling than my anticipation of it, but there are some real gems amidst the scattershot experiments. This one’s about why a guy can’t find vintage De La on any of the streaming services.

Homeboy Sandman “Heart Sings” (Stones Throw)
Homeboy Sandman w/ I Am Many “Real New York” (Stones Throw)
Sometimes he rhymes slow, sometimes he rhymes quick.

Beach Slang “Spin the Dial” (Polyvinyl)
“I was born at the bottom
But I never belonged
I’m hardly ever right
But I’ve never been wrong”
Could’ve been ripped straight from Paul Westerberg’s notebook.

The Men “Dreamer” (We Are the Men)
What you’d imagine to be playing anytime a parent pounds on their teen’s bedroom door and yells, “Turn it down!”

The Radio Dept. “Committed to the Cause” (Labrador)
A slinky statement of a song with hints of Prefab Sprout and St. Etienne.

Parquet Courts “Steady on My Mind” (Rough Trade)
Mmmn, Velvet-y.

Grandaddy “A Lost Machine” (Sony)
Man, this album can’t come soon enough…

James Blake “Love Me in Whatever Way” (Polydor)
That laugh track makes this even more heartbreaking than your average James Blake song.

ot to, not to w/ Noah Smith “Regretta I” (Other People)
Listen very closely.

The xx “On Hold” (Young Turks)
I know their 15 minutes of fame should be long gone, but that Hall & Oates sample…

Sonny & the Sunsets “Needs” (Polyvinyl)
The album where Sonny fell in love with a drum machine and made some goofy babies like this one.

Sunflower Bean “I Was Home” (Fat Possum)
Critics fawned over their debut but I found most of the album kinda boring. That said, this single is some transcendent psych rock amazingness.

Terry Malts “Used to Be” (Slumberland)
Terry Malts has been to me in the early 20-teens what The Wedding Present was to me in the early 1990s – completely durable and indispensible.

The Intended “Don’t Wait Too Long” (In the Red)
Rollicking goodness from Detroit’s garage (or basement, as the case may be) scene.

Leonard Cohen “It Seemed the Better Way” (Sony)
I’m a man of faith but after a year like this one, I get it. I really do.

David Bowie “Lazarus” (ISO/Columbia)
As my grandmother was bedridden and dying of cancer she’d ask my mom to open the curtains so she could watch the birds in the tree outside her window. When I first heard the bluebird line, I crumbled into a sobbing mess. Bowie gave until the very end…ain’t that just like him?

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Top Albums and Songs of 2015 (Sam List)

Inspired by Todd and a really great year for music, I’m coming out of hibernation with my tops of 2015…

Top Albums

Jamie xx In Colour (Young Turks)
I figured this collection of dancefloor etudes wouldn’t hold up to repeat listens but here I am, on the last day of the year, still unable to shake the hooks from my head.

Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment Surf (self-released)
A remarkably eclectic and powerful album. The fact you don’t see any of the guest stars credited in song titles tells you everything you need to know about how this “experiment” fared.

Protomartyr The Agent Intellect (Hardly Art)
Riveting post-punk from Detroit; kinda like Interpol without the pretense.

Young Guv Ripe 4 Luv (Slumberland)
Ben Cook set out to satirize bands like Cheap Trick, Big Star, Marshall Crenshaw, etc. only to end up creating a completely epic power pop album of his own.

Jose Gonzalez Vestiges and Claws (Mute)
I respect Jose’s absolute commitment to the whispery folk formula that made him famous, especially when it produces a gorgeous album like this one.

Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell (Asthmatic Kitty)
Like Jose, Sufjan keeps doing his thing and it keeps getting better.

Thundercat The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam (Brainfeeder)
Yearning, confident, proggy, funky – like nothing else out there.

Colleen Captain of None (Thrill Jockey)
An art album that plays like a pop record.

Kamasi Washington The Epic (Brainfeeder)
I may be the only so-called music snob who thought Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly was just okay (or is that just me being extra snobby?) – but if the Kendrick Lamar phenomenon means former studio musicians like Kamasi see more sunshine, I’m all about it.

Beirut No No No (4AD)
Even a B+ record from Beirut will make my top 10.

Top Songs

Young Fathers “Shame” (Big Dada)
Nosaj Thing feat Chance the Rapper “Cold Stares” (Innovative Leisure/Timetable)
Baio “Sister of Pearl” (Glassnote)
The Arcs “Stay In My Corner” (Nonesuch)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra “Can’t Keep Checking My Phone” (Jajaguwar)
Lonelady “Groove It Out” (Warp)
Bicep “Just” (K7)
Swervedriver “Last Rites” (Cobraside)
Spectres “Where Flies Sleep” (Sonic Cathedral)
Beliefs “Tidal Wave” (Hand Drawn Dracula)
Low “What Part of Me” (Sub Pop)
Helen “Motorcycle” (kranky)
Four Tet “Morning Side” (Text)
William Alexander “Strangest Things” (Yellow K)
Open Mike Eagle feat MC Paul Barman & Milo “Trickeration” (Mello Music)

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Sam’s Faves of 2012

Okay, okay, I know…I slacked hard this year. I used to average a couple posts a week and in 2012 I clocked one a quarter…embarrassing. Thanks to Todd and Sean for holding it down and thank you all for frequenting 3hive. I promise to make it up to you in the months to come. Meanwhile, please accept a Spotify playlist of my 30 favorite tracks of 2012 as a down payment, featuring Holograms, Japandroids, Hollows, The Black Tambourines, and Homeboy Sandman. Happy listening and Happy New Year!

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Homeboy Sandman


I can often spot a musician’s child after just a few bars. But I couldn’t have told you what the son of heavyweight-boxer-turned-community-lawyer sounds like until I heard Homeboy Sandman. And yet it somehow makes perfect sense. HBSM’s low-key timbre and minimalist production aesthetic belie his wicked talent for socially responsible wit and infectious wordplay. He goes hard without the crutches of stacks, gats, or tricks. His verses duck and weave, bouncing you off double negatives and triple entendres until you don’t know which way is up — and don’t care. It’s a good kinda dizziness and he’s been serving it all year long: to the tune of two EPs and a full-length(!). These downloads offer a good taste of his steez but make sure you check his coup de gras, “Look Out” from the Chimera EP, before you cast any final verdicts.

Cops Get Scared of Me from Chimera EP (2012)
The Miracle from Subject: Matter EP (2012)

And here’s a special treat from a limited edition split 7-inch with Jaylib on the flip…

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Holograms

Swedish punk rock…kind of hard to imagine from a country whose top exports have been outfitting the world’s middle class for decades and whose social system is famously egalitarian. But Sweden has its share of factories and, no matter how good your health benefits are, working in a factory sucks. That’s how the Holograms met: going out for drinks after their factory shift. Their brand of working class punk is accented by gravelly basslines and frayed synths (they are Swedish after all). The self-titled debut is packed with chilly, desperate war cries like “ABC City”. If you dig, get your hands on the entire album — it’s one of my top five of 2012 so far.

ABC City from Holograms (2012)

http://capturedtracks.com/

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DMA

After the dissolution of his previous band, Jookabox, Indianapolis’ own DMA (aka David “Moose” Adamson) dashed off an album of self-described “crust funk” tracks that mostly defied listening. I say “mostly” because DREM BEB (as in “Dream Babe”) yielded “Riding Holiday”, an altered state take on the classic rock highway jam that wormed its way into my ear last summer with its hypnotic beat and headstrong chorus.
Now DMA is back with a follow-up called The Boardwalk which is far more gentle and refined in its approach. Waves of warped melodies wash over dubby pulses, beats, and clicks. Every so often DMA’s deadpan vocals wander through the soundscape, soaked in reverb, serving as yet another layer of instrumentation. Kind of like listening to Orbital after taking a handful of Sudafed.
DREM BEB was released as a limited-edition cassette and it appears that The Boardwalk is only available for streaming on Bandcamp. Not the most user-friendly distribution strategy, maybe it’s all part of the mystique.

Riding Holiday from DREM BEB (2011)

http://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com
dmanaptown.bandcamp.com

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Karen Dahlstrom

Karen Dahlstrom has been a fixture in the NYC folk scene, writing and performing with Bobtown, The Evangelines, American String Conspiracy, The Do-Overs, and The Maybelles. Last fall, she released her first solo effort, Gem State, a five-song strong EP inspired by her Idahoan upbringing. In less than 18 minutes, Karen shows her narrative range—embodying everything from a hardass war veteran to a reluctant bride—with songs so immediate and real they seem to have been there all along, waiting to be discovered. Karen’s hauntingly earnest voice brings added weight her lyrics, especially when they’re as stark as this: “The devil clapped me on the back/when I was nigh 13/Died my eyes from blue to black/and he made me hard and mean” (“Streets of Pocatello”). Though it serves her just as well in the sweet summer-ish come-on, “One More Time”.

While self-released with almost no promotion budget, the EP has cast a spell on folk journalists, bloggers, and DJs alike. So much so that she’s already managed to put together a small US tour. Of course, my chronic laziness means half her shows will have happened by the time you’re reading this (check here to see if you’ll be lucky enough to catch her live). But that’s me…don’t take your frustration out on Karen, buy her EP and she might add your town to the itinerary next time around.

One More Time from Gem State EP (2011)

karendahlstrom.com