Sharing the sharing.
Former Dim Peaks member, Niilo Smeds’ recently released new album Once You Were A Baby is a lo-fi, country-like album of finger-plucked ballads and haunting instrumentals that are definitely worth your time . Check out “Marker of Days” and “Toward A More Thorough Rejection” below.
[Snag Niilo Smeds’ Once You Were A Baby on shiny black vinyl in the 3hive Co-op Shop, while supplies last.]
John Dwyer might be the busiest guy in indie rock; releasing an album almost every six months with his band Thee Oh Sees while maintaining a yearly release as Damaged Bug – his weirdo, space-pop solo project.
For those familiar with Dwyer’s Damaged Bug project; his latest album, Bunker Funk, isn’t much of a departure from previous DB releases. For the uninitiated, Bunker Funk is a beat driven, otherworldly, bizarro noise-pop record that will thrill you and weird you out at the same time. Enjoy.
[We have Bunker Funk (2 x LP with etched bug on side 4) on beautiful black vinyl – in the 3hive Co-op Shop, while supplies last.]
I’m a big fan of The Blind Shake, when I found out that Jim Blaha had another another band – Jim And The French Vanilla – I was all ears. Turns out, this is Jim’s 3rd release under the Jim And The French Vanilla moniker, his previous two releases were solo, acoustic efforts that were super limited and released on CDR. For this new album, Afraid of The House, Jim recruited his brother (also in Blind Shake) Mike Blaha, and together they’ve turned out a 26 minute beat down of blistering, scuzzy, garage rock goodness. Give “When You’re Down” and “Eye For An Eye” (below) a spin. Enjoy.
[We have Afraid of The House on beautiful black vinyl – in the 3hive Co-op Shop, while supplies last.]
Prolific singer/songwriter Ty Segall released his 9th full length album earlier this year, with the help of usual suspects (his live band) Emmett Kelly, Mikal Cronin and Charles Moothart playing behind him.
As on previous releases, Ty and his guitar are king, as he shreds through tracks like ‘Break A Guitar’, ‘The Only One’ and ‘Thank You Mr. K’. There is plenty of jangle, and pop on this bad boy as well, like on ‘Orange Color Queen’, included (below) for your downloading/listening pleasure – build a mixtape with it, I dare you.
This is Segall’s strongest effort to date, definitely worthy of your time. Enjoy.
[We have Ty Segall’s S/T new release – in the 3hive Co-op Shop, while supplies last.]
Ty Segall – Orange Color Queen from S/T (2017)
Molly Burch’s debut LP, Please Be Mine, is an early favorite of mine for album of the year. It’s 10 tracks of reverb-soaked, country-psych twang, along with Burch’s strong, smoky vocals, sets the bar high for the rest of 2017’s releases.
Please Be Mine is available now via Captured Tracks. Please give album standouts “Downhearted” and “Try” a spin (below). You will be glad that you did. Enjoy.
[We have Please Be Mine on vinyl – at the 3hive Record Lounge, while supplies last.]
Lazy Salon (the solo project of Twin Atlas member Sean Byrne) is a post I’ve been meaning to get on 3hive since 2015 when his EP, LZY_SLN-003, arrived in my inbox. His clever usage of organic and electronic beats and instrumentation really hit the spot for me. As inbox’s go (at least for me) Sean’s email was lost, or buried in the shuffle and LZY_SLN-003 never made it onto the site.
Today I right the ship, as Sean is about to release his debut LP (as Lazy Salon) Invisible Like Peace. Like his 3 EP’s before, Byrne is still creating his musical landscapes with live and electronic instruments. Invisible Like Peace is rich in texture and melody as can be heard on album track, “Ong’s Hat” below.
I highly recommend giving Lazy Salon’s stuff a spin and picking up Invisible Like Peace from Byrne’s Bandcamp page as soon as it releases – Friday, March 10.
Lazy Salon – Ong’s Hat from Invisible Like Peace (2017)
Lazy Salon – Nesco Gloss from LZY_SLN-003 (2015)
French psych-poppers, Marie Mathématique, come to you courtesy of Six Tonnes De Chair’s Instagram feed. When I saw their album cover (above) on said feed, I knew it was something I needed to get my hands on – and I am so glad that I did.
Their latest album, Tous vos lendemains dès aujourd’hui (Google translated – “All Your Tomorrows Today”), came out last September via 2000 Records. It’s 33 minutes of swirling guitars, fuzzy synths and a massive, pounding, rhythm section is psychedelic gold. Give “Sous mon second soleil” (below) a spin, it’s a solid example of Marie Mathématique’s goodness.
Tous vos lendemains dès aujourd’hui is available on vinyl and digitally through 2000 Records. Enjoy!
Marie Mathématique – Sous mon second soleil from Tous vos lendemains dès aujourd’hui (2016)
Meg Duffy, aka Hand Habits, is known for her work with Mega Bog and as part of the Kevin Morby Band. Now the singer/multi-instrumentalist has ventured into a solo career releasing her self-produced debut, Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void), with Woodsist Records.
Wildly Idle is an intimate, lo-fi affair. It’s easy to hear that great care was given to its production. Give the standout, slow burner “All The While” (below) a spin, it’s a great taste of Duffy’s skills and one of my favorite songs of the year so far.
Wildly Idle is available February 10 via Woodsist. I highly recommend it.
Hand Habits “All The While” from Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void) (2017)
Virginia’s You’re Jovian’s swirling, reverbed guitars and pounding drums immediately brings to mind shoegaze classics like My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver. You can get a taste below.
Their incredible 2012 Punkadelia Records release, Stereochronic, is getting reissued on cassette by Funny / Not Funny Records. It’s also available digitally on You’re Jovian’s Bandcamp page. Give these guys a try, you’ll be glad that you did.
You’re Jovian – Sentimental Doubt from Stereochronic (2012/2017)
Baltimore’s PLRLS (pronounced “PLURALS”) are a zany 5-piece punk-wave band that sound like Devo having a backyard pool party with the B-52s.
Their new album Have You Seen My Fancy Pony is a 30 minute romp of heavy as hell bass lines, hand claps, his and her vocal harmonies, angular guitar blasts and enough keyboard to make you believe you just took the DeLorean back to 1980.
Get a load of the bombastic “Oh What A World” (below) in either downloadable MP3 form or via their new music video (why not partake in both?), it’ll have you pogoing (pogo-ing?) ’til you drop.
Have You Seen My Fancy Pony is out on Friday (Jan 27). You’ll be able get it from their Bandcamp page.
PLRLS’ music deserves to be in your ear holes! Enjoy.
PLRLS – Oh What A World from Have You Seen My Fancy Pony (2017)