Cacoy is a Japanese electro trio possibly named for a Filipino martial arts legend and signed to a Danish record label. Their song Piracle Pa doesn’t seem to be from any language, but the soothing organ and lilting female vocals sound like French/Canadian/British indie-pop darlings Stereolab. “Yoko Majikick Ono†seems to be named for the Japanese-born U.S. resident, and with its rubbery, buoyant cornucopia of digital burps, it sounds like a track from U.S.-born Josh Presseisen’s Japanese-named project, Marumari. In other words, it makes for good listening no matter where you lay your headphones.
Lullaby Baxter
I have a sneaky suspicion my friend Pat Campbell, jazz & hip-hop drummer extraordinaire, is gonna email me as soon as I post this, “Sean, I gave you Lullaby Baxter’s CD seven years ago! Where have you been??” In fact I remember sitting in Pat’s San Francisco apartment listening through his music library and I’m sure he gave me her album, Capable Egg. You can hear Pat’s work on “Knucklehead,” a subtle, space-agey jazz number. See, Lullaby Baxter used the band Pat played with back in those days, Oranj Symphonette, as her studio band on the record. Seven years later, and Lullaby Baxter is back with a new album. She’ll smite you immediately with her sultry-smooth voice that lends a timelessness to her songs. Musically, she’s a more straight forward Stereolab, slightly less whimsical, but equal in charm. I’m not sure if Lullaby is her given name, although I’d be impressed if her parents had the foresight to give her such a name. Your life would be made all the more sweeter if Lullaby sung you to sleep everynight.
Beach House
Beach House’s warm-toned, wandering and languid guitars recall the work of L.A. Paisley Underground resident David Roback. Like Roback, Beach House guitarist, Alex Scally, is accompanied by a silver-tongued siren, Victoria Legrand (whose vocals recall Nico rather than Smith or Sandoval). Together the duo produce haunting, psychedelic pop, an appropriate sound, and mood, to usher in autumn. Album and tour hit early next month.
Sprites
It’s been a good two and a half years since I checked in with Sprites and what do you know, they’re on a new label and just popped out a new album, Modern Gameplay, this week. They have a bunch of great songs on their site, so I thought they deserved a new posting. If you’re familiar with Jason’s music you know to expect a sweet, nostalgic take on the Breakfast Club Generation. No change this time around (except for his return to riffing out sweet licks on the keyboard), even when he sings about zombies and the end of the world in his tribute to horror-masters George Romero, Sam Raimi, et al. It’s a twisted take on Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten complete with Korzen’s uncanny ability to write these epic hooks. I’ve listened to that song like thirty times in a row now. Alisa’s ready to put a brick through the computer right about now. Don’t write off Sprites as a band stuck in the past. They’re intimately familiar with contemporary culture. This song, just one example, captures the heartbreak of Generation Blog with deft aplomb.
Royce
Taking pop cues from fellow Chicagoans, The Sea and Cake, and tapping into hip-hop’s rhythms (courtesy of DJ White Lightning, whose desert island discs by the way are Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors and Daft Punk’s Homework) Royce delivers up a second dose of everything from introspective campfire songs to bouncy romps praising girls on bikes (one of my favorite songs this year!). They frequently put Chicago’s underground MCs on mic duty to keep things fresh and now. Royce forges music of the future, a pastiche of pop past, present, and tomorrow, launching from where the Slabco family left off. Now if they’d just get out of the Windy City more often…
King of Prussia
My sister-in-law’s family live in one of those farm suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Whenever we visit them we need to drive to a larger suburb called King of Prussia for our “big city” amenities (i.e., first-run movies or non-Wal-Mart shopping). The running joke is, “Come on kids, we’re off to see the King of Prussia!” You can imagine their disappointment when they learn there is no castle, no king — only a mall just like the one they have back home. I mention all this to contrast with the band King of Prussia (from Athens, GA, ironically), recommended by 3hive reader James A.. Unlike the aforementioned mall, King of Prussia live up to the promise of their name with lush, romantic, and, yes, regal pop. In fact, the only disappointment you’ll experience is figuring out how to get your hands on their debut CD, Save the Scene. (Hey KofP, shed some light if you’re reading this.)
Mason Proper
Greg and Tom Z. both pitched suggestions for Mason Proper, so it seemed, um, appropriate to check the band out. (Sorry.) In that Nick Hornby sort of way, they had me at the album title — “There is a Moth in Your Chest.” From Ypsilanti, MI via Up North, Mason Proper sounds unlike any of the other megabytes tripping lately through my almost-dead iPod. (It keeps cycling through the songs without actually playing most of them. Occasionally I’ll get half a song or so.) Crazy pop? Art rock slapstick? Just categorizing these tunes seemed like a waste of time. Expect obscure lyrics, sweeping melodies, noise, dream-pop buzz, and the kitchen sink, too. After hearing My Brightest Diamond and Mason Proper, I’m wondering what else Ypsi has to offer.
The Bishops
Yes, yes, I admit it. I’m a sucker for mod and mod-ish bands, bands who take that great foundation built by the Who and the Kinks and many others, and then add their own modern interpretation. Bands like the Bishops, who are from of all places (wait for it) London. The Bishops have tight harmonies and sharp licks, no doubt due to the twin brothers Matt and Pete who are responsible for said harmonies and licks. And since the poor drummer probably feels overshadowed by the twins, who probably hog the spotlight and the front of the stage, I’d just like to add that the drummer is Chris McConville, everyone’s new favorite Scottish drummer.
Casper & The Cookies
This CD’s been staring me in the face for months. Staring up at me from the bottom of a towering stack of albums on my desk at home. Exactly why it took me so long to listen to it remains a mystery (I’m scared of alliteration? I became accustomed to it acting as a foundation to the mess that is my desk?). I mean I like cookies, especially since my friend Jennifer gave me this exquisite recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and I couldn’t resist another day. So it’s time to share the sharing as Casper and Co. have been very generous with a scrumptious batch of songs. The best way to describe Casper & The Cookies is kitchen sink pop because they’re all over the place. They seemingly worship a great variety of pop idols. Wonderful moments of The Beach Boys (“Summer Spider” ), Big Star (“Sid from Central Park” ), XTC (“Little Lamb”), Violent Femmes (“Oh!”) and The Damned (“Take It Away, Kathy”) all manifest themselves in the songs. And in “Kroetenwanderung” the band literally turns to the kitchen for its instruments, snapping green beans and slamming cupboards to create an organic loop that provides the rhythm. Casper & The Cookies, like their name suggests, are playful, yummy and delightfully irresistible.
Monster Movie
Don’t let the name fool you. Monster Movie plays music antonymic to its moniker. Now I won’t spend too much time comparing Monster Movie to their guitarist’s old band, Slowdive, but wow it’s as if someone awoke Slowdive from an extended slumber. But see, they’re still drowsy from their nap. In a sort of been-there-done-that move Monster Movie dropped the wall of guitars from an eleven to a five or six. Fear not shoegazers, you still get a liberal dose of dreamy, lush, blissed-out pop, along with the occasional dance-floor number like “Driving Through the Red Lights.”