Chicago trio FACS are back with their third release in three years (2 LPs and 1 EP) entitled Void Moments. It’s dark and menacing and could be the soundtrack to one of those nightmares where you are endlessly chased by some unseen being with certain doom inevitable. I can’t stop listening to it. Check out “Teenage Hive” (below) for a sample.
Josaleigh Pollett’s incredible new album, No Woman Is The Sea, is a powerful twelve songs about heartbreak and loss but delivered in a way that the listener can’t help but feel good about the future (even in the COVID-19 world we are all living in now).
Pollett’s vocals, guitar work, songwriting skills and band (they kill it!) are stronger than ever which can be heard on standout “Miles of Aisles” below.
No Woman Is The Sea is available digitally via her Bandcamp page and will be available on vinyl via Lavender Vinyl soon. We will also have this on our 3hive Record Lounge shelves as soon as it’s released. I highly recommend this album. It climbs up my favorites of the year each time I listen to it. Enjoy.
Broth are a 5-piece band out of Eugene Oregon. Their slow-build, horns-a-plenty, groove-filled brand of R&B/rock and soul is infectious. I’ve been listening to their new EP, Simmer Down, on repeat for the past week. They remind me of early 00’s band Scapegoat Wax, even though they don’t sound anything like them. Maybe it’s a groove thing, who knows where thoughts come from?
Check out “The Eug” (below) for a taste. Simmer Down is out now on most digital platforms. Enjoy.
We are huge fans of Seattle multi-instrumentalist Eric Elbogen and his Say Hi (a.k.a. Say Hi To Your Mom) project here at 3hive headquarters. Our first SHTYM post was back in 2004 and here we are almost 16 years later sending love to his newest album, Diamonds & Donuts.
Diamonds & Donuts is 13 songs of crunchy, synth-driven goodness, taking on bold and dangerous topics like happiness, missed lovers, broken hearts and seeing dead people — all wrapped up nicely behind titles like “Tiger Unicorn”, “A MacBook Pro to a Nineties Dell” and “Windsor Knots and Ruffles” — exactly what you’d expect from a Say Hi album. You can spin “Tiger Unicorn and “Grey as a Ghost” below for a taste.
Diamonds & Donuts is available worldwide now. We also have copies available at the 3hive Record Lounge. Be sure to catch Eric and Say Hi on his living room tour that kicks off in March. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Say Hi live and in person. I will never forget how cool Eric was with my daughter and I back in 2014 when I took her to see Say Hi for her first concert.
I think Sonny Smith (unverified) sings on some of the tracks.
Five Things You Didn’t Know About The Gonks is out now via Rocks In Your Head. You can also pick it up at the 3hive Record Lounge. Five Things… is a fabulous record that needs to be heard. Enjoy a spin of “Hot Sick Vile and Fun” and “Nuns Having Fun” below.
Trends is a 4-piece band out of Los Angeles. Their debut album, Palettes, is 9 tracks of slow building, gazey dream-pop tunes that are really pleasing to the ears. For example, on their single, “Branches” (below), Marina Paiz’s dreamy vocals gently guide you into a full on assault of scuzzy guitar accompanied by killer vocal harmonies that make you feel like you’ve just mainlined Karo syrup. It’s a really effective formula.
Palettes comes out on January 24. I highly recommend checking it out.
Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana are back with their sophomore release Juillet. It’s jam-packed with all kinds of bouncy indie pop that’s sure to cure any winter blues. Check out “Do You Understand” below for an example.
Juillet is out on January 24 via Trouble In Mind, I highly recommend it.
Montreal’s Double Date With Death bring the fuzz in large doses on their new LP L’Au-Delà. Their heavy-chugging, lo-fi, garage punk sound is similar to bands like (Thee) Oh Sees and Ty Segall.
Check out “Forêt” and “Flourescent” (below) for a sampling of how good this album is.
Kiwi Jr.’s debut LP Football Money is a nice trip down the 90’s indie rock memory lane, think Pavement meets Possum Dixon. Give the jangly “Salary Man” a spin for a taste. Football Money is packed with enough pop to keep you bouncing for days. I think it’s cured the sinus infection I’ve been battling for the past three weeks. Thanks, Kiwi Jr.
Vancouver four-piece, Necking, break necks and smash faces with their 9 chunky blasts of punk rock goodness (à la 90’s Sleater-Kinney) that make up their latest album Cut Your Teeth. Check out the ferocious “Big Mouth” and “Go Getter” below to get yourself hooked.
Cut Your Teeth is available now via Mint Records. This sucker shreds. I highly recommend it.