You’ve heard the Submarines by now. They’re getting a lot of buzz nowadays, but even if you haven’t, just think of the commercial for a certain fancy cell phone that everyone seems to have these days. See, you have heard them.
Our motto here at 3hive is “Sharing the Sharing,” where we share free and legal MP3’s. And there are so many times when we want to share an awesome band, but they don’t have any free MP3’s on offer. I’ve been wanting to share an old fave of mine since the start of 3hive, Jackdrag aka Jack Dragonetti, for ages. “Aviating” is one of those songs I just keep coming back to over the years. But no MP3’s to share. Then he formed the Submarines with Blake Hazard, moving on from his eccentric folk-pop to more electric, pure pop. Their song “Peace & Hate” from their Declare a New State LP is one of my faves from 2006. But no MP3’s to share. However, the day of sharing has finally come. For their current tour with the Morning Benders, this now husband-and-wife duo has released a free single covering the Benders’ song “Waiting for a War.” Patience pays, eventually.
Bishop Allen may very well be the first band that’s been reviewed by three of us. Yeah, we’re pretty geeked about them. Take a look at the artwork for their new album Grrr… Do you like what you see? Do you appreciate its colorful, simple whimsicality? Then you’ll love the new tracks; the music marches hand-in-hand with the visual. Notice the clean white space. The music has that same crisp, airy feeling. I quickly donned headphones, wanting to squeeze my brain in between the bright melodies, the bouncy bass, snappy guitars, and the lyrics’ ‘ancient commonsense’ poetics. The question is, will the songs last the replays while I wait another month for the other eleven songs? I’m highly suspicious the answer is yes. Songs like these remind me why 3hive exists: must…tell…others… The new album and tour begins March 10th. But a 
Not to burden you with the boring details of my life (
L.A.’s Intricate Machines seem to find inspiration in their own name, taking an intricate approach in their creation of pop music. They don’t necessarily pay more attention to the details in their music than anyone else; that’s impossible to judge. It’s just that the details and textures on which they elaborate are less obvious than most. Really, it’s just my roundabout way of saying they have a roundabout way of getting to the hooks in their songs. Intricate Machines require time to soak, simmer, and settle. If you’re willing to give them that time you’ll find plenty of pleasures to sink your chops into. Considering the minute attention span of music consumers these days, Intricate Machines take a big risk attempting to break into the indie scene with less than immediate hooks. This ain’t no microwave meal; this is some slow-cooking, crock pot rock. You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned exactly what Intricate Machines sound like. This is deliberate. I don’t want to contribute to the instant-gratification impulse they’ve obviously worked hard to avoid. Enjoy the journey.
Slumberland is putting out some great pop these days from New York bands. Recent releases from 
Not being especially tech savvy, I kind of freaked out a few minutes ago when I checked the web for an article I’d written about Freedy Johnston for the old Salt Lake City-based music monthly grid. (Disclosure: about half of the 3hive crew were employed by grid.) Google says opening the defunct magazine’s website might “harm your computer.” Yikes! The article was called “Hoboken Dreaming,” and it profiled Johnston’s 1997 album Never Home. If I remember right, my interview with the NJ pop singer wasn’t half bad. Anyway, the track available here comes from a disc full of covers — in this case, one by Marshall Crenshaw — released in 2008 called My Favorite Waste of Time. It’s full of the kind of pop songs that Johnston’s been offering up for years, tracks by The Eagles, Matthew Sweet Paul McCartney and Tom Petty, among others. And while these songs don’t necessarily have the geographic specificity of some of his own work, he still plays them like he owns them.
Frederik, yet another musically gifted Swede brings us tunes we love. Na Na Ni varies from quiet, dark and pretty instrumentals to more pop-ish songs with quirky lyrics–he does them both well. And for that very reason, this December, whether on bus, train or subway, Frederik was always in my headphones, never leaving my side. The album varies from quiet, dark and pretty instrumentals to more pop-ish songs with quirky lyrics–he does them both well. Frederik has become my own personal patron saint of public transportation–always making what was happening outside my headphones prettier, more magical, less annoying. I’ll be listening tonight and, again, tomorrow while I’m turning twenty-AHEMPH. I think the record makes a delightful beginning AND end of a year. Happy New Year’s kids.
Not only does “Are You Sure?” take the prize for being the sunniest song about winter I’ve heard all year, it also wins the best Beulah song since Beulah broke up four and half years ago. It also happens to be one of my favorite songs of the year. A Block of Yellow’s bright melodies come directly from the Elephant 6 Collective songbook and the general ’60s garage pop sound. A Block of Yellow chased with a hot cup of cocoa will run the chill right out of your fingertips and toes this winter.
Wintermitts is a quartet from Vancouver, that inexplicably chipper Canadian raintown that is lax on the doobie laws and serious about its pop music. Wintermitts is so serious that it features accordion and flute regularly and bring in horns, harmonica, melodica, and even glockenspiel for extra-special occasions. If that weren’t enough, they’re also serious conservationists — they gave away an Heirloom tomato seedling with their previous CD, aptly, Heirloom. But wait…there’s more. They sing in French sometimes, and sometimes is perfect because us monolinguists can enjoy how they make an octopus a symbol for true love (really, it’s not far-fetched at all once you know that octopi have three hearts) in English and then enjoy whatever blah blah blah they’re saying in French on tracks like “Petit Monstre.” Seriously, Lise Monique Oakley can be singing about emptying the litter box for all I know and I still want to grab her and say “Kiss me, mon amour!”
Regarding that which we would term “Americana,” do they call it “Canadiana” in the land to the North? Just curious. Ox = American lo-fi alt country from Canada. They showed up on a nice little sampler from Weewerk that I’ve been listening to like a homemade mix-tape lately. My favorite among these tracks is probably “Transam,” which with its wavering vocals and shady narrative (not to mention the Bond-themed guitar solo) kind of reminds me of those Neil Young songs about drug shipments and getting burned. The thing is, download any of these freebies from Ox’s two albums and you’ll find great narratives wailed over stripped down simplicity. This time less is more.