Given the Great Polarizing Talking Heads Comparison of 2005, I will attempt to describe Protokoll without referring to any beloved bands from the past four decades. Okay, here goes… Protokoll is a GANG OF FOUR scrawny, unshorn lads from Boston. It’s a real JOY to see such a young band blur the DIVISION between style and substance. While Protokoll’s nervous, synthy punk often bears all the charm and warmth of a BAUHAUS structure, one mustn’t INTERPOLate from that a lack of feeling. Jose De Lara’s dark, stoic vocals belie very simple and very HUMAN sentiments which alone puts Protokoll in a LEAGUE apart from the more fashion-conscious derivative acts of their vintage. This will set them apart down the WIRE, if they continue writing such memorable songs. There, that wasn’t so hard.
The Valentines
Two events, no, three events have created this post about the Valentines. One, WindyLou, a 3hive reader, asked why my year-end list did not include more Memphis bands. Two, my friend Vince made a submission about the Valentines, a Memphis band who moved to Washington state. Three, the Monday holiday completely messed up my schedule so I’m a little late today. I really thought it was Tuesday.
So the Valentines (formerly the Dearest Darlins) make fun music with simple keyboards, guitars, and a crappy microphone. A little indie, a little rocksteady, a little toe-tappin, that’s what the Valentines are all about.
The Presets
2006 will be a good year if we keep getting MP3s from Australia’s Modular Records. Home to a wide range of goodness — from the epic rock trip that is Wolfmother to the Avalanches’ turntable bricolage — Modular is set on opening the world’s ears to Sydney duo The Presets, whose dark, moody (and sometimes sleazy) electro funk gets remixed here by labelmates Cut Copy. Sounds like they dialed up the “Underworld” setting, if there is such a thing. Now, if we could just get Modular to offer up a Cut Copy original, that’d be one more band I could cross off my 2005 wish list.
b.fleischmann
As I was putting together my best of 2005 list and got to the “artists we wish we could put on 3hive but who don’t offer fre and legal MP3 links so alas…” section, I instinctively started jotting down all my favorite Morr Music artists. Then I double-checked b.fleischmann’s website and realized, while Morr continues to embed their music in that damn lovely, illustrated Flash site of theirs, the artist is a bit more giving of his wares. Working bottom to top, these tracks demonstrate our man’s evolution from laptop glow to a richer blend of analog and digital textures. “Phones and Machines” is a fine example of the latter, a preview from The Humbucking Coil (pre-order from Boomkat). Here’s to more Morr in 2006!!
zooey
It’s funny how everything comes together around the holidays. I was assembling my Christmas-cast last night and wanted something…wasn’t sure what. Then, I check my email to find that Zooey (one Matthieu Beck from Bordeaux, France) has just wrapped up his melancholy Grey Christmas single and, like everything Matthieu creates, is giving it away for free. It fit nicely into the mix, a delicate, flickering little Christmas miracle. That track and his latest full-length, Pique-Nique et Jeux Dans L’eau, are .zip files. So you’ll have to go to Zooey’s downloads page to get your hands on those. However, if you’re looking to escape the weather of the season, we’ve got “Endless Summer on the Beaver Island” with it’s lazy, hazy ode to warmer days.
Cassettes Won’t Listen
I just finished posting Forget Cassettes and noticed the next artist in my queue is NYC’s Cassettes Won’t Listen. That’s too much of a coincidence to pass up, so I’m making it a cassette-themed 2-for-1 day at 3hive! Cassettes Won’t Listen couldn’t be more different than Forget Cassettes, except that they’re both good. These cats do sprawling, warm synthy pop epics (some with a beat you can nod your head to). You’d expect the label to read Morr Music — it’s that good — except those fools don’t offer free MP3s (come on, Morr, share a little why don’t you?). Thankfully, CWL’s label Dope Lotus does share. And so do we. Happy Cassette Day!
Letting Up Despite Great Faults
Electronic, acoustic, classical, it all goes together to create beautiful music. Letting Up Despite Great Faults create music from the heart, ignoring formulas and expectations, letting their freedom and creativity flow. There are no great faults, and hopefully no letting up.
Walter Meego
No one in Walter Meego is named Walter. Ironically, the 3hive reader who tipped us off to Walter Meego is named Walter. But, lest you think he’s just one of these vain guys who’ll go see any band named after him, he actually went to see Caribou — who was known as Manitoba up until about a year ago — and Walter Meego was the opening act. Confused? Good. Now you’re ready for Walter Meego (the band, remember, not the reader) and their wry, funky, glitchy brand of “mutant dance” music.
Caroline
After shunning major labels in her native Japan, Caroline Lufkin made her way back across the Pacific (she went to college in Boston) to California to begin work on an album with a wide array of producers (the producer in question here is Norway-born Andreas Bjorck). Maybe it’s because the weather has finally dipped below 50º here in L.A. but the shimmering, icy cool textures of “Where’s My Love” just warms the toes and has kind of ushered in the holiday season for me. It’s knocked me out my frantic rush of daily life and I half expect to see snowflakes falling during a perfect, sunny day here. Her voice, it’s magic.
Faux Pas
A week ago I posted Gotye. If I hadn’t been in such a serious carb coma on the heels of Thanksgiving I probably would have posted an Australian two-fer including Gotye’s friend and countryman, Faux Pas (aka Tim Shiel). These two take great care to make their quirky, sampleriffic musical explorations feel warm, organic, and spontaneous. Faux Pas even goes as far as to eliminate vocal samples lest we get lured into the obsessive spotting exercise that Gotye’s tracks inspired. The frenzied big beat sound of “Cup of Wonder” provides instant gratification but “White Light” definitely steals the show. I am now convinced that spacey theramin, Asian dulcimer, and R&B horn riffs were always meant for each other; all they needed was a tumbling drumbeat to rally around… As a bonus, it turns out Tim’s also a bit of an MP3 blogger himself. Check out the Blog section of his site to get a good sense of his musical reference points.