So I have this friend who is pretty much the indie rock grinch. You can throw on the newest.freshest.latest and he’s all BAH! INDIE BY NUMBERS!! Off with its head! It’s a battle you can’t really win. If he hears so much as a hand clap, a trace of irony, or god help you, whistling – it’s over. Enter exceedingly indie, uber DIY, outer-borough band (specifically: Brooklyn, Queens): Takka Takka. Hand clapping? Oh yeah. Whistling? Totally. Irony? Much. And they’ve got a country twang that’s not living in Mississippi. They are the arch nemesis of my hater friend. But that is his issue, not mine. Despite some musical tics that might seem a bit obvious, there’s just something about these boys that resounds with me. It’s a kind of clapping that I can get down with clapping along with. And who doesn’t like something catchy to whistle along with. Indie by numbers, it’s possible, but Takka Takka are also doling out some solid, catchy pop too. And after forming a veritable trifecta of oddness when they joined forces with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Architecture in Helsinki for a recent tour, the proof is in the pudding – silly/weird/random can be some good stuff.
Bossanova
More Canadians, eh? I’ve been sitting on Bossanova for a while now, ever since their debut album Hey, Sugar was released on Teenbeat way back in March. Please accept my sincerest apologies for hiding this Vancouver band’s catchy pop sensibilities for so long.
Kunek
Tim Ortopan is back for another guest DJ session. About 9 months ago he brought us Joseph Arthur. Now we have Kunek. O:
I went to high school with a kid named Kunec and at first I wondered if there could be any connection to the band Kunek. They sound like they could have been the socially awkward students sitting alone at lunch reading computer magazines that I remember. Could he have produced these beautiful songs of loneliness and sadness? It seems unlikely as I did not go to high school in Oklahoma nor could the student that I remember ever be described as “a delicate intersection of science and emotion—at times organic, dynamic, buoyant or ethereal.†I hope things are going well for the Kunec that I remember, but I know you will enjoy this Kunek straight from the flowering Oklahoma art-rock scene.
The Crabapples
Yes, OCD, you don’t need to tell me. “Hi, my name is Clay, and I’m obsessively compulsed with Slumberland Records!” Hey, the first step is admitting you have a problem. And my problem is the self-described “loud but melodic…catchy tunes played with sloppy abandon” that are Slumberland Records and the Crabapples. Continuing with the self-descriptions, the Crabapples rush “along in a breathless blur, fuelled by lager, explosive tunes and a love of great pop.” I’ll be sure to bring that up at my first meeting…
Hello Saferide
Remember a few weeks ago when I gave you some music that my pal Lisa had recommended? Well, she’s done some more spot-on MP3 hunting, and rather than give my own take on it, let’s hear directly from the woman herself. Take it away, Lisa…
Everyone loves love. We really do. We love us some love. And because there simply aren’t enough misanthropic recluses out there who can’t find other humans to care for their sorry selves, there is a truckload of songs made to feel how we feel. And that’s great. Really. It’s great. That said, it was breath-of-fresh-air time when I finally to listened to Hello Saferide – a guitar-playing Swede who’s a little nutty, a little neurotic, totally self-conscious and, OMG, she’s not even a little bit afraid to be such a girl.
Hello Saferide wishes her ex-lover the very worst on Valentine’s Day, she hopes you keep your socks on in bed because, well, she’s still scared of feet, and she knows that “somebody” ordered too many drinks last night and “somebody” reckoned that dancin’ on the bars was all right. Yep she’s a total mess, but she delivers her personal brand of nuttiness with such quirk, flare and snark that I’m right there with her. It’s nice to hear someone feeling how SHE feels, not how she thinks the rest of us will. And somehow, underneath all of that idiosyncrasy and Hello Saferide-ness, it’s all totally relatable.
Tahiti 80
Since 3hive’s own Sam lived in Tahiti for a short time and speaks French, I almost feel like I’m stealing a Sam band, a la this entry from Sam last week, since Tahiti 80 are a Parisian quartet named after a t-shirt that singer Xavier Boyer’s dad got from a Tahitian trip. Sam and I both fell for Tahiti 80’s lovely pop masterpiece “Heartbeat” from their 2000 album Puzzle, and the band’s gift for wistful, delightful pop has grown and matured with their new release Fosbury. A Tahitian Treat indeed!
Addendum:
1. For our non-US readers, Tahitian Treat is a fruit punch flavored soft drink. Mmmmmm.
2. Pardon the kinda crappy 96 kbps Changes MP3 made available to us. So be sure to grab the recently added “Here Comes” VBR MP3. Thanks Min!
Mitch Easter
I recently rekindled a new friendship after googling an old friend. Except this wasn’t a friend from high school or college, it was a friend from the old hi-fi: Mitch Easter. Mitch Easter gained recognition for his production skills in the early ’80s producing R.E.M.’s first single, “Radio Free Europe,” and their first two LPs with Don Dixon. And thinking back to my own history as a music fan I don’t remember which came first for me, R.E.M. or Mitch’s band Let’s Active. I do remember that Let’s Active played a key role in formulating my taste for pop music. Smart, snappy, and cheerful without being sappy Let’s Active helped forged the template for American indie pop while flying mostly below the radar. Constant line-up changes, usually coinciding with changes in Easter’s relationships, occurred throughout the band’s one EP and three album history. Mitch has kept busy over the years as producer, working with everyone from The Connells, Dinosaur Jr., Superchunk, engineer, Pavement and Ride, and as guitarist extraordinaire (the two tracks from Shalini feature Mitch on guitar. Shalini currently plays bass in Mitch’s band). Coming across brand new music from Mitch Easter was an unexpected and thrilling surprise. He’s still got it. He’s like the King Midas of pop music. Everything he touches sounds like gold. Watch for his first release in eighteen years, Dynamico, in the next couple months on 125 Records.
Cake on Cake
Really simple, almost childlike arrangements revolve around a single line or thought, some delicate piano, flute, etc., and the irresistible layered voices of Swedish songbird Helena Sundin. Makes for exquisite bedtime music. More MP3s where these came from…follow the links below.
Henry’s Dress
Slumberland Records changed my life. My first Slumberland purchase was the compilation Why Popstars Can’t Dance, which introduced me to Rocketship, whose 7″ “Hey, Hey Girl” I have completely worn out. My second Slumberland purchase is still the most prized piece of vinyl that I own: Henry’s Dress “1620.” (My failure to obtain the Henry’s Dress/Rocketship split single released on Slumberland in 1996 and re-released in 1999 still haunts me.) Slumberland also introduced an entire new world of bands to me, many of whom have been my “favorite” band at particular points in time. The aformentioned Rocketship and Henry’s Dress, plus Lilys, Small Factory, Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Swirlies, The Ropers, Jane Pow, Boyracer, Beatnik Filmstars, Hood, The Aislers Set, and The How.
I’ve mentioned Henry’s Dress several times in my last few posts, so with the rebirth of the Slumberland website, it was time to finally get my beloved Henry’s Dress on 3hive. Henry’s Dress is my favorite band of all time, cause I simply keep coming back to them over the years, and each time it’s like discovering their feedback-drenched, bass-heavy, punk-pop songs that could rarely reach three minutes all over again for the first time. I’ll spare you a long history of the band and even more of my sentimentality, other than saying that former members can be found in The Aislers Set and The How so you can get on with the downloading.
The Asteroid #4
Some bands are just Clay bands, whether or not he posts them. Upon first listening to The Asteroid #4, I catch that British re-invasion vibe that make Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and the Lilys all Clay bands as well. In fact, Lilys frontman and fellow Philly Kurt Heasley produced The Asteroid #4’s first two releases. So, with all this said, I feel a little weird invoking Clay’s rep without getting his take first. So, Clay, what do you say? The A4, yay or nay?