The details are sketchy, but Dr. Dog is the raison d’etre for the label Park The Van. Now settled in as a five piece, Dr. Dog boasts an alumni membership of 20 strong, all contributing in some small or large way to Philadelphia’s premier basement band. Dr. Dog loves nothing more to get their hands good and dirty, digging around in lo-fi dirt, 4-tracking the night away. With roots reaching down deep to Beach Boys and Beatles bedrock, they sow and reap pop blossoms cross-pollinated with Grandaddy, Ween, and Pavement. I’ve had their album shuffling through my library for over a year and shame on me for not sharing until now. But now’s as good a time as any to be a Dr. Dog fan. Next month the band releases a new EP, Takers and Leavers, then heads out on the road with Cold War Kids on their way to joining The Raconteurs tour as main support.
Snowden Tour Dates
Eliot Lipp
Tacoma, Washington. Home of the underappreciated, yet thoroughly ruling punk band Seaweed. At one point I think I had eight Seaweed t-shirts. One of them had the band’s logo on the front, and in large, capital letters “VISUALIZE TACOMA.” I’ve never been to Tacoma, but from what I hear there’s nothing special to visualize. Then there’s Eliot Lipp. His two latest releases were recorded in L.A. while he had Tacoma on the brain. So what did he do? AURALIZE TACOMA. The soulful grooves on Tacoma Mockingbird, and the new Days EP, grew from his moods and emotions while reflecting back on his hometown and friends. His output is a simple, yet simmering synth stew of well-worn breakbeats with Lipp’s retro, yet timeless, twist. His goal was to create a classic electro sound which he pulled off with his economic use of synths and beats. Think New Order pitched down to Grandmaster Five’s tempo, and drop in a lick of their rhythm.
I Should Be Sleeping
Cold War Kids Sign to Downtown + MP3s
New Daedelus MP3
Peppertree
Summertime rules. And it’s got the best of the 3hive crew as we can’t seem to remember who’s posting when, who’s filling in for who when the latter who’s vacationing. But not even summer can stop us even while it’s trying to melt us all. New music everyday, or damn near close. Today’s selection is Peppertree: soaring, dramatic rock from Québec. A nice interplay between opposites (acoustic/electric, English/French, soft/loud) gives off an air of dramatic tension, without giving into overt thespianism. If you’ve been searching for Radiohead’s French Canadian cousin, you’ve found them.
Birdmonster Leaves Nest + MP3
The Hourly Radio
I get the same funny feeling in my tummy listening to The Hourly Radio as I did when I first heard Placebo. Or when I eat four packages of Ding-Dong’s then wash ’em down with a Big Gulp Coke. It tastes good instantly. I get all sugared-up and heady. But just like I keep putting away the Ding-Dong’s, I play The Hourly Radio over and over, singing along, straining to reach the high parts, and pulling off over-dramatic gestures as I pretend I’m on stage with the band. See, the problem is they’re catchier than any band should be allowed with lyrics teetering on the brink of cliché, and prance-along fun in that faux-British, just-this-side-of-pretentious way. You may think I’m being a bit flip . But I am serious. Just like Sam and I were dead serious dancing around to “Come Home” ten years ago in my basement. (Wait, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about that was I??) Welcome to my new guilty pleasure.