May you and yours have a festive and safe holiday this year. Please enjoy this Christmas song from our friends in Letting Up Despite Great Faults (gingerbread houses courtesy Sean’s kids):
Christmas Cereal Treat from Compost Records
Chairs in the Arno
Have you ever pursued a particular boy or girl because he or she was hot in a way that another particular boy or girl was hot, but for whatever reason the former boy or girl avoided your clutch? Well that’s the situation in which I currently find myself. Musically speaking. It’s been over a year since I’ve heard anything from Jason Korzen in any form and I’ve been in need of an synth-geek fix. And as my dear Cuzzin Brad used to say, Chairs in the Arno are “putting me where I need to be.” Moogs, a microKorg, an MC 505 groovebox and sweet boy/girl vocals are like Hershey Kisses to me. Once I’ve popped one in my mouth, I can’t stop. Those wily Kisses are prone to push my pants slightly past size thirty. Chairs in the Arno remind me that hey, that’s OK.
The Bell
Despite my penchant for cheerful pop I do enjoy moody sounds more than occasionally. The Bell joins fellow Swedes, The Mary Onettes, as another Scandinavian ’80s flashback band with a darker edge. Who am I kidding? The Bell is about as dark as a fluffy white cloud getting between you and the sun. It may throw a shadow, but it won’t ruin your picnic. The Bell is as threatening as anything on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. The Bell does capture the mood, what you remember as melancholy when your mom made you tear down your Cure posters or when she drove you to the barber to “fix” your self-coifed Tears For Fears hair-do, you may have often experienced as a teenager during the Reagan Years. This is all speculation of course, because really, what would I know about that?? Watch for The Bell’s U.S. release in February, twenty-two years after Andie, Duckie & Co. hit the big screen, on Badman Records.
The Sugarman Three
We really dig what Daptone’s been up to this year. But they’ve been working at reviving soul for some years now; their comeuppance is due. One of their earliest releases is an album from The Sugarman Three, an outfit built around saxophonist Neal Sugarman and a Hammond B-3 organ. It’s a crying shame that tracks from their debut album, Sugar’s Boogaloo, aren’t available, and that your first taste of the band comes in the form of remixes, but you just shouldn’t take another breath until you get yourself a lil’ Sugarman action. These remixes are from a complete remix compilation that’s been freely available for a couple weeks courtesy of Daptone and friends. Dig deep from the Daptone well friends.
Silversun Pickups Remix EP
Springfactory
I dragged myself out of my toasty-warm bed this morning only to be welcomed by a rare Southern California chill and this early holiday treat. Springfactory! And they’ve got what I never tire of: bright, sunny, Swedish-pop, delivered to the U.S.A. this winter, just in time to warm the fingertips and toes, via Series Two, a Nebraska-based CD-R label. Among the members of Springfactory are singer Lina Cullemark and Peter Gunnarson from Suburban Kids With Biblical Names. Lina also plays in a band called This Big Picture and boy it’s about time she’s got the mic. Her voice is playful and sweet and is especially endearing in the rousing “Get Out of Bed.” Springfactory released their first EP in 2005 and Series Two just put out a limited run of handmade, 10 song CD-Rs featuring the band’s two soldout EPs and two unreleased songs, including the glitchy and oh-so catchy “Peggy Pear,” an eleventh hour entry to my year-end favorites.
Jack Peñate
I run the risk of dating myself, my better half specifically, when I report that upon hearing “Second, Minute Or Hour” she promptly compared Peñate to The Housemartins. An apt comparison. It’s the frantic, breathless delivery, the quick, jangly guitars, they heavy accent, and the playful lyrics, although Peñate lacks the acerbic subtext of many Housemartins’ songs, a fact Peñate is more than comfortable with. In his bio he says, “I like stuff that’s soulful, happy and intelligent—and I don’t like music ironically.” I should mention Ted Leo in an effort to bring a more recent artist to bear on the comparison. Another recent artist (and XL labelmate), RJD2 contributed to the song “Learning Lines.” A fine pairing when you’re working towards a soulful and intelligent sound. Jack Peñate’s making quite a stir in the UK, with the press and the young ladies in particular, but when the masses here in the U. S. of A. consider American Idol to be soulful and intelligent, Jack Peñate may fly undeservedly low, avoiding the radar, when his album touches down here next month.
Michael Brook
Michael Brook fits my mood to a T these days. Melancholic, introspective, thoughtful, and downright chill. I first discovered Brook via his work with David Sylvian and Rain Tree Crow (and later with Robert Fripp). This prompted a purchase of his album Cobalt Blue, which I often turn to for a dose of sheer mellow bliss (Do yourself a favor and track down the song “Breakdown” from that album). Brook lures listeners in with his infinite guitar, an instrument of his own making, designed to sustain a note indefinitely. I’m not sure if he uses this instrument on his current album, but his guitar work remains gorgeous nevertheless. The first two tracks come from his newest album, Bell Curve, which is a companion piece to last year’s RockPaperScissors. He also scored the movie An Inconvenient Truth where you can find the song “Election.” His soundtrack to the Michael Mann movie Heat allows deserves investigation. Oh, and I just about forgot his score for Sean Penn’s Into The Wild. Michael Brook is quite possibly your favorite movie composer you never realized you’ve heard. Until now.