The Mojomatics
Italy’s Mojomatics automatically struck a chord with me. They amp up The Plimsouls’ folksy-punk, or Jon Spencer’s bluesy-swagger, with their hyper tempo and snarky tone. And get this: there’s only two of them!! I’m dying to see how they pull this off live. Make sure you grab all three of these tracks. I had a hell of a time deciding my favorite. Hit the banner below to stream a full album of honky-tonk-cow-punk, perfect for 100 MPH square-dancing. Giddy-up!
The Upallnights
In this time of political posturing and ramblin’ rhetoric I’ve found someone with whom I can agree: Introducing The Upallnights, who have proposed the following plan for potential supporters: “Let’s go to the airport and catch a random flight…Let’s got to where the governments don’t lie and everything you eat tastes like blueberry pie.” If they’re including a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream in the deal, count me in! The Upallnights are nothing more than four unassuming lads from Stockholm armed with guitars, drums, blasting out jangly punk pop bullets that will keep your feet dancing. The cover of their new EP, Factory Sessions, should give you an idea of the band’s modus operandi. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of young boys with light sabers, let me tell you they mean business. Stay out of their way, cuz they, um, just wanna have fun.
4 Bonjour’s Parties
Their name sounds as if something’s been lost in translation, but you won’t lose a thing if you invest a bit of time or money into Japan’s 4 Bonjour’s Parties. This seven piece Toyko ensemble shapes all manner of instruments into one gorgeous kaleidoscope of sound. Woodwinds and synths, glockenspiels and guitars blend into epic twists of modern-day chamber pop. The debut from 4 Bonjour’s Parties, Pigments Drift Down To The Brook, sounds like a long distance pen pal reply to the High Llamas or Stereolab; their sweet boy/girl vocals evoke a tone similar to contemporary Icelandic artists Múm and Sigur Ros. The band signed to Japan’s And Records right lickety-split after opening for Clue to Kalo and I expect you’ll take an immediate liking to them as well.
Marching Band
I dig the quick and dirty track Clay posted yesterday from The Real Losers. Good and raw. It reminds me of a knockout Kafka saying (for the original quotation replace “listen to” with “read” and “records” for “books”), “I think we ought to listen to only the kind of records that wound and stab us. If the record we are listening to doesn’t wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we listening to it for?”
Marching Band is a soothing antidote to those records that leave you bleeding. This Swedish duo is making quite a name for themselves on L.A. radio, which in turn has plenty of music supervisors geeked on Marching Band’s carefree indie pop. Obvious comparisons can be drawn to The Shins, but I immediately thought of Field Music when I heard “For Your Love.” “Make Up Artist” has a similar disco pop groove to the underrated Phoenix. The band generously shares tracks from the three EPs before their debut album, which is available now. I’ll quit yapping so you can make your own connections to your favorite artist, because there’s really something here for any purveyor of the popular side of rock ‘n’ roll.
Plastilina Mosh
No matter if you speak español or inglés, you’re gonna get a kick out of the new Plastilina Mosh tracks. That is unless, you’re completely lacking any sense of fun. For those of you unfamiliar with P. Mosh, the duo out of Monterrey, Mexico first imported their bombastic, south-of-the-border-B-52s-meet-Beck party tunes just about a decade ago. They worked with the Dust Brothers and Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf (all of whom worked with Beck early in his career). They enjoyed a healthy amount of commercial success with the track “Mr. P Mosh.” Staying true to their divergent sound, Plastilina Mosh once again mix it up on their new album, All U Need is Mosh. The band can cross styles and tempos just as easy as they cross cultures and languages. One fantastic groove to get on.
Inara George
It never hurts to have the right friends in the right places. Inara George takes full advantage of an old family friend on her new album An Invitation, out now on Everloving Records. Lucky for her, and us, the friend she’s collaborated with on this album is Van Dyke Parks, the arranger of the last forty years. Haven’t heard of him? Certainly you’ve heard him. Suffice it to say he arranged songs and wrote lyrics with Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys’ ever elusive Smile album. His work with Ms. George is quite different however. Parks arranged airy, playful compositions for a large orchestra to accompany George’s rich vocal performance. The album is an organic foil to Inara George’s work with her electronic work with Greg Kurstin as The Bird and The Bee. I love the loose, improvised feel to these tracks. It’s as if I’m watching Inara on stage in a musical, a love story, and I’ve suspended every shred of disbelief to the point that I’m sure she’s in love with me. And it takes days to chase her voice out of my head and shake those floaty feelings the have left me giddy.
The Laureates
This post marks my return from “The Last Frontier,” Alaska. Yes, I’ve spent the last couple weeks far removed from what I consider civilization, cavorting with cohos, bears, foxes, moose, and mosquitoes. And the hot-fudge milkshake at Lucky Wishbone in Anchorage (oh man, they’d burn the hot-fudge just a bit for a palate pleasing punch. Heaven!). We did spend a few days in the wilderness, about fifteen miles north west of Willow where I mostly hung around the banks of the Deshka River with a fishing pole, coaxing those silver salmon onto my hook. Don’t mistake me for an outdoorsman though. My idea of the outdoors is the not-so-desolate stretch of the Pacific Ocean where I’m never too far from the Ahi Steak Sandwich at TK Burger. Once home, I stopped by the over-flowing post office box to begin catching up on music. The Laureates lured me in first with their brightly packaged advance of their debut album There are No More Gentlemen. I was easily hooked by their raw, ’60s freakbeat sound and their jerky, syncopated rhythms. A couple early Laureates fans beat me to some apt descriptions like “equal parts paisley and punk” and “Interpol produced by Phil Spector.” Absolutely right up my alley. You can also download their first EP off their site.
Video Premiere: Karl Hector & the Malcouns
Stereolab
It’d be safe to say we’re all mad fans of Stereolab. A quick search of our archives reveals nine references to Stereolab as we introduced you to new artists by appealing to your taste in international, space-age pop. There are many more bands that aspire to Stereolab’s neu-lounge sound, but few can keep up with the quality and quantity of output. Never wandering far from their signature sound or formula, Stereolab astonishingly remains relevant and refreshing. For this, their 11th, album the band once again used Sean O’Hagan as producer and arranger. According to Tim Gane, the album began as seventy tiny drum loops on top of improvised piano and vibraphone chords. They sped up some tracks, slowed down others and worked their way to “a collection of purposefully short, dense, fast pop songs.” The track here is definitely one of my favorites from the album, a groovin’ romp where horns and organ build to bursting point, threatening to release contagiously good vibrations. All the while Ms. Sadier keeps her perennial cool, which always melts my butter.
FYI: While supplies last, pre-order the album (street date: August 19th) and receive a limited edition 7-inch. The band tours North America in September and October.