The Limiñanas

The Limiñanas | Crystal Anis | 3hive.com

The psychedelic/pop revival continues on with The Limiñanas. This French pop duo, consisting of Marie Limiñana on drums, and Lio Limiñana playing pretty much everything else, including vocal duties (other vocals provided by guests), have their genre pegged. Wearing their Gainsbourg, Velvet Underground, and any of the ye-ye girls of the 60’s influences on their sleeves, they also sound like what I think Stereolab would’ve sounded like had they been around in the 60’s.

The Limiñanas latest album, Crystal Anis, out now on the great Hozac Records, is pop perfection. The hardest part about writing this post was deciding which of the 11 songs to share. For your listening/downloading pleasure, (below) we have the straight forward, fuzzy, and over-before-you-know-it “AF3458”, and the sing-talking, Hammond and bass driven title track “Crystal Anis”. The more I listen to these, the higher this album moves up my favorites of the year list. Give these songs a spin. I know you will enjoy them.

The Limiñanas – AF3458 from Crystal Anis (2012)

The Limiñanas – Crystal Anis from Crystal Anis (2012)

Hozac

Y La Bamba

I learned of Portland, OR band Y La Bamba late one night while scrolling through the twitter feed and saw @NekoCase tweet the following:

This was a recommendation I could not pass up. I logged onto Spotify that night and listened to their newest album Court The Storm. I was instantly captivated by singer Luzelena Mendoza’s haunting vocals, which held onto me until the album finished some 46 minutes later.

Court The Storm‘s songs are flavored with latin-inspired rhythms and melodies that work wonderfully with Mendoza’s vocals. The band’s label, Tender Loving Empire, set me up with the two songs below, opening track “Squawk” and track #2 “Bendito”. Both songs are fantastic, and a great preview to how cool this album is. I highly recommend it.

Y La Bamba – Squawk from Court The Storm (2012)

Y La Bamba – Bendito from Court The Storm (2012)

Y La Bamba

Tender Loving Empire

Love Inks

It’s a Wednesday night, we are 4 days away from 2012 and the end of the world, my wife and kids are playing Rock Band in the background and I am searching through all the music that I’ve acquired this year trying to find any hidden gems that didn’t get enough attention when originally purchased. One of those gems is Austin, Texas 3-piece band Love Inks. They describe their sound as “minimalist dream-pop”, using just an electric guitar, bass guitar, and a drum machine, along with the simple, yet satisfying vocals of Sherry LeBlanc.

The songs below are great examples of their minimalist ways. While Love Inks isn’t the most musically or lyrically complicated band out there, their brand of pop music grabs hold of you, and before you know it you’re nodding your head and have listened to these songs several times and you don’t know where the last hour of your life went.

Love Inks – Blackeye from E.S.P (2011)

Love Inks – Leather Glove from E.S.P (2011)

Troubadour Dali

Troubadour Dali | Let's Make It Right | 3hive.com
Troubadour Dali | Let's Make It Right | 3hive.com

Troubadour Dali are out of St. Louis, MO. On their Facebook page they call their genre “a rhythm and groove pop hypnodeathjam explosion”. That’s a pretty good description. They released their second album Let’s Make It Right back in August. The album was recorded all over St. Louis, including apartments, and fallout shelters.

Thirty seconds into “Pale Glow” and I new that this was a band that I needed to hear more of. The smooth, haunting vocal harmonies mixed with the chug of layered guitars and percussion drew me right in, and I can’t get enough of it. “Ducks In A Row” is a little bit more upbeat musically, but still has the haunting vocals like in “Pale Glow”. Go buy this album.

Mariachi El Bronx

Mariachi El Bronx is the alter ego of punk band The Bronx. It all started when they were asked to play an acoustic set. Instead of stripping down their music, they decided to take it in a new direction, by exploring and adding Latin sounds.

I would normally try and describe the music to you, but I will be the first to admit, I don’t know anything about mariachi music. And rather than faking it, I will let the music speak for itself. Please enjoy.

Mariachi El Bronx – 48 Roses

 

Quantic

Quantic And His Combo Barbaro | Tradition In Transition | 3hive.com
Quantic And His Combo Barbaro | Tradition In Transition | 3hive.com

On my radio show, Quantic (aka Will Holland) is my go-to guy, so when I realized we had not given him the proper props on these pages. I did some music mining. Lo and behold, Holland himself provides a minor motherlode on his Quantic site. I use him as a staple on the show precisely because his catalog is extensive and diverse. Holland cut his teeth on an album of downtempo hip-hop and soul, recorded in his bedroom before he’d turned 21. He’s never looked back. Eight years and twelve full-lengths later, Quantic has proved himself a jack and master of all genres, at least the one’s he’s conquered thus far. Funk, soul, jazz, house, hip-hop, dub, electronic, and on his last few albums, reggae, salsa, tropical, and cumbia. His Combo Barbaro is made up of musicians from all over the globe, including Panamanian Singer Kabir on “Linda Morena.” I’ve not only learned to never underestimate Quantic, I’ve also learned to count on him for quality and an ever expanding sonic palette.

Various: Sleepingfish 8

Alisa and I read differently. She reads for plot. I for sentences. Sleepingfish publishes writers whose first concern is the sound of their sentences. Music without notes. Just tone and rhythm. Rhythm and mood. Consider this sentence from this issue:

She is unaware of the little bits of fabric he would sew into her palms: in private she squelches her poise and it is awful to hear silence exist in such a perfect American accent. [Julie Doxsee excerpt]

Sleepingfish not-so-regularly publishes such work from some my favorite writers: Peter Markus, Dawn Raffel, Diane Williams, and Terese Svoboda. Of note: the latest issue of Sleepingfish features an online supplement, a setlist of contributors past and present. We’ll feature a few here, but more tracks, along with ordering info for the issue, can be found at
Sleepingfish.

Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls

Well if this ain’t the musical equivalent of the Three Amigos. Three musical desperados gathered on the West Coast to create aural havoc and obviously had the time of their lives. The parties involved include: Money Mark, Tommy Guerrero, and Shawn Lee, three “sound scientists” who’ve all made their own marks flying below the mainstream radar, carving out a groove amidst all that is going to be cool tomorrow. Both Mark and Guerrero released music early on through Mo’ Wax and Shawn Lee recorded for Talking Loud and Wall of Sound early in his career. “Dirty Loco” is one of the two songs that serve as the dark heart of the record. The comparison is a bit ludicrous, but it sounds like a track off The Cure’s “Pornography” record if Robert Smith had grown up in Southern California, raised on funk and soul. The rest of the album is full of laid back, easy-listening funk tracks, improvised, trippy, and generally cheerful. Dare I say it, Lord Newborn is a rare-groove jam band that I’d be happy spending a summer or three trucking around the country following their wake.

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The Mattson 2 (The Present Sndtrk)

I feel like a schlub because I missed the screenings of Thomas Campbell’s new surf film The Present. And I’m making a desperate, last chance effort at redeeming myself by inviting all my fellow Southern California wave riders to San Clemente today at dusk to the Surfing Heritage Foundation to catch the screening of Dear & Yonder, the new surf film by Tiffany Campbell. Now, back to today’s music: The Mattson 2 are twin brothers Jared and Jonathan on guitar and drums respectively. This song in particular captures the spirit and tone of Campbell’s films, soulful surf jazz. The frantic back-to-school preparation for me and the kids is already leaving me nostalgic for this summer and the Mattson 2 along with Campbell’s films are sweet, Zen-like reminders that fall doesn’t arrive until September 22nd. Don’t rush it. Don’t rush it. If you like this track (note: the track that begins playing with the trailer below is not The Mattson 2, nor is it on the soundtrack, hmmm), I highly suggest you pick up the entire album which features other artists from Campbell’s boutique label Galaxia, plus Vetiver, David Axelrod, and Cass McCombs.

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PDX Pop Now! 2009

Today we’re happy to serve up a North West smorgasbord. However, unless you can get to the Portland area within the next 48 hours or so, this post won’t do you much good. There are the MP3s. Have at ’em. That’s the reason why you’re here ain’t it? This year marks the fifth time the good people of Portland have put their collective musicheads together for a weekend of free live music. The fantastic thing about the aforementioned people of Portland is that they’re doing this all out of the goodness of their hearts. Bands, businesses, and residents all volunteer their time to put on this grassroots festival which has spawned action packed compilations that help raise money and awareness for the festival. I wouldn’t mind it a bit if I were actually there this weekend enjoying the music, the weather, the wonderful city, and of course a healthy Powell’s browse would top things off nicely. If only… Included are songs from a few bands playing this weekend. And if your attendance is more than my pipe dream, here’s the link to the schedule.

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