The Morning Benders are no strangers to covers as they’ve been known to record a quickie or two or seven as the case may be. The Bedroom Covers represents their latest round of covers all compiled in one handy-dandy free EP. The ‘Benders have teamed up with a few of us bloggers to spread the love one lo-fi recording at a time. The band recorded the songs using a laptop and one microphone. Most of the songs were recorded in one take, with the exception of an occasional vocal or guitar overdub. My favorite of the lot? Their charming (they’re all charming!) version of the Phil Spector-produced “He’s a Rebel” by The Crystals. This was a #1 song back in 1962. The song ends up sounding like at outtake from Zumpano’s Look What the Rookie Did. More importantly, these tracks remind me how much I love The Morning Benders’ crisp, freshly laundered pop songs. I’m gonna pull out their album, Talking Through Tin Cans, and pin the songs up on the laundry line out back where they can twist and flutter in the wind all summer long.
Below is the track list for the covers EP. Keep checking back and I’ll update when and where you can track down the other songs. I’ve also included a few covers previously recorded by the band.
Check The Chap’s label page and there are two lines in the “About” section, one of which reads, “The Chap: have never been influenced by anyone or anything at any time, ever.” While I appreciate and even support their refusal to apologize for or explain their influences, I don’t believe them. I do believe in letting the music speak for itself. So stop reading this and download these songs and make up your own mind while I explain the comparison I’m about to make. My take, highly influenced by the mass quantities of ’80s music I’ve been listening to lately, is this: The Chap deftly juggles bits and pieces of Gang of Four, XTC, Queen, Men Without Hats, and Kraftwerk for a capricious rock ‘n’ roll dance party. Their third album, Mega Breakfast, is evidence of a quirky, lo-fi band that’s pulled out all the stops and plans on playing stadiums. Do yourself a favor and lower your guard down while listening so you can fully revel in The Chap’s merrymaking. Their album cover is a mylar balloon dog whose nose has been dipped in chocolate and sprinkles for crying out loud. If you don’t get a kick out of this record it may be time for a swift kick to the head. (Be sure to watch the video for the album’s standout track).
I think it’s pretty safe to say that you won’t be hearing about Zooey from many other music sites. A few weeks ago the band sent out an email blast and they forgot to BCC their mailing list. Ouch! Poor Zooey got an earful about that faux pas. Instead of drinking the Haterade I thought I’d listen in on what Zooey had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised by their semi-easy-listening-electronica. Zooey recently remixed “Change of Destination” by Monade and, if you can imagine, they made it even bubblier than the original. “Little Thunder” is brand new music while “You Gave Your Love to Me Softly” and “Rendez-vous” are from their 2005 self-released LP Pique-nique et jeux dans l’eau, which you can download in its entirety. Zooey is sweet, playful, and with the exception of their little “accident,” perfectly charming.
I hope you don’t like this song very much. Or, better put: I’d advise you not to get too attached to this song, show up at a GROK show, and expect them to recreate this recording live. See, GROK’s got a thing or two to prove, and that thing or two has plenty to do with improvisation. They have no songs (at least not in that written, structured, rehearsed, performed sense of “song”), the songs they do have are performed only once so that every GROK show is a one-of-a-kind, highly unique experience, and audience members act as collaborators by suggesting a theme for a song, playing an instrument, or spinning the Wheel of Chordal Destiny. Their music sounds just as fun and whimsical, as is the case in “Pink Shirt.” Don’t worry if you find yourself listening to “Pink Shirt” more than once. To disagree with GROK is ultimately GROK. Don’t think about it, just listen…
Stones Throw’s funk imprint, Now-Again, follows up the mind-blowing 
Amazing it’s been six years since The Notwist’s break-through album, Neon Golden. Time flies. And in the meantime, these Bavarian boys have kept busy bloodying their fingers in a variety of pies like 13 & God, Lali Puna, and Ms. John Soda to name a few. The Devil, You + Me, their sixth album (out domestically today) in twenty, yep, twenty, years, opens with this solid, extremely listenable track, “Good Lies,” in which Ascher, in his signature casual delivery, sings this platonic refrain: “Let’s just imitate the real until we find a better one.” If you enjoy gentle melodies flavored with large dollops of electronic gadgetry and a sprinkling of orchestral arrangements, then you won’t likely find anything much better than this. The last offering here is another fruitful pairing of The Notwist with a member of Oakland’s hip-hop collective, Anticon.