Do not be confused by the lineup of the Positions. The list of players and their instruments reads like that of a ska band: trumpet, trombone, keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums. The Positions, however, are pop, with their own not-so-secret recipe drawn from decades of pop predecessors and perfected by producer Archie Moore of Velocity Girl. Just the thing to help calm me down after tonight’s soccer where I was blatantly fouled in the penalty area while atttempting to shoot and the ref didn’t call it. I must listen to this song again. Ah, yes, just the thing, “Back to Me.”
East River Pipe
Mr. Cornog doesn’t take himself too seriously. While his bio riffs on and on about the drug references in his new album, and rightly so, you’d expect his moniker to be a similar reference. Not the case. East River Pipe is an allusion to a broken pipe he once witnessed spewing sewage into the East River. “I imagined myself to be the pipe,” he admitted in a recent podcast, “the sewage to be my songs and the river to be the world—so i was essentially spewing out meaningless pop songs into an already polluted river.” His modesty is appreciated, but one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You never know where you’ll uncover hidden gems. F.M. Cornog has spent almost two decades with his Tascam 388 recording so-called disposable songs that you may not ever be able to get out of your head.
My Orchard
Boppy skater-pop from Sweden, courtesy of My Orchard. “A List of Things” is taken from their new EP Silhouettes, while “Something New” can be found on Paperheart Music’s compilation Hi-Fi Songs for Lo-Fi Hearts. Maybe our next 3hive summit should be in Stockholm?
Iron Hero
Sam from Iron Hero got my attention with two words and one number: Athens, 40, Watt. Although I’ve never been there, the 40 Watt Club is a hallowed place for me since my teenage years spent worshipping Love Tractor, Pylon, and many other Athens, Georgia, bands who played there. Iron Hero, you see, had a CD release show just recently at said 40 Watt Club. Then Iron Hero got my adoration with two things: delightful pop and some oh so delightful fuzz. With songs like “Heart of a Ghost,” surely Iron Hero’s days of self-releasing albums will be a thing of past, ie., there’s a label somewhere out there who has gotta snatch them up soon.
Pet Politics
As I spent this weekend in NYC for the big wedding, I was able to get in a lot of quality iPod time on the subway and walking about (we don’t walk much back in Michigan). Just as I ducked out of the bitter cold wind into a subway tunnel, this lovely, VU-esque pop song came on labeled “Pet Politics – In My Head.” That’s all I knew at the time. When I got home, I did what I always do in these situations: I searched through my old email for “Pet Politics” and found a note from one Magnus Larsson (dba Pet Politics) of Gothenburg, Sweden, sent back in August 2005 asking me nicely to listen to his music. Well, Magnus, I did…eventually. And, while “In My Head” is no longer available, 3hive readers, here is a quaint Robyn Hitchcock-esque songs about ghosts that I may like even better. Unfortunately, blog/label Catbird has since sold out of his extremely limited edition EP, released late last year. If you want to hear more, check out *sixeyes’ interview with Magnus for a couple other downloads or go to the Pet Politics MySpace page.
Spinto Band
Props to Shiv and Mike over at WOXY.com for turning me onto the Spinto Band. Actually, let’s talk about WOXY.com before we get back to the music—after battling the economic realities of internet radio for a couple years, WOXY.com is turning to its listeners for support. Their goal is 7,000 members to keep the music streaming. If you’re already a listener, subscribe. If not, start listening and if you like what you hear, subscribe. Sure the internet puts power in the hands of the people, but those hands gotta be generous and help foot the bandwidth bill.
Back to the Spinto Band—they’re a bunch of East Coast boys with ties to the Mississippi delta and who like a little rhythm to their pop. “Crack the Whip” is a close runner up to what I consider the most danceable pop track from last year, Of Montreal’s “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and other games).” And since Beulah called it quits, the Spinto Band make for a respectable replacement in the post-Elephant 6 world. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for an upcoming tour with Arctic Monkeys and a new album for Bar-None in the near future. Oh, and more props to *Sixeyes for unearthing the MP3s.
The Capes
I’m still recovering from recent fatherhood, I’m just now climbing through my in box and was reminded — by a series of associations too mind-numbing to recount — of this rambunctious pop outfit from South London. Okay, I won’t bore you with how I found them, but I will drop this equation on you: I’ve got a well-documented soft spot for snarling, synth-seared melodies. The Capes are all about snarling, synth-seared melodies. Therefore, I’ve got a soft spot for The Capes. I believe that’s called the transitive property.
Sing-Sing
Released in the U.S. by Reincarnate Music a mere two days ago, Sing-Sing and I, this British duo’s second full length album (ugh, too many twos in that sentence!) should please you U.K. pop fans who like smooth-voiced female singers, and just about anyone looking for bright yet not banal songs, some of which are downright groovy.
The M’s
The dilemna? Keep running with this whole anti-Valentines thing that the kids and the nation’s biggest retailers got going on and throw in a little post-Valentines Norwegian death metal today on 3hive? Or try to actually extend the blessed day–after all I do have four Valentines at home–by finding a band whose name had something to do with Valentines Day, other than the Valentines? But what’s this? Chicago’s the M’s have got a new album coming out next week, so today just had to be them and their fuzzy, psychedelic-tinged ode to the music of the 60’s and 70’s, completely unashamed of wearing their influences or their hearts (hearts, get it?) on their sleeves. Happy Wednesday!
Hotel Lights
Darren Jesse, ex-Ben Folds Five drummer, is the brainchild behind Hotel Lights. This is no solo project however. I imagine after being one of the nameless two-thirds in Ben Folds Five Jessee soured on the solo-type thing. That’s pure speculation on my part. He’s put together an impressive band featuring Mark Price (Archers of Loaf drummer) and Alan Weatherhead (a once-member of Sparklehorse) as producer and guitarist. Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne had his hand in a few tracks as well. The pedigree should get your attention, but the product will hold it. This is the kind of music I’ll never burn out on: richly-textured, finely-crafted pop songs that play effortlessly and smooth.