I’ve been meaning to post the Fruit Bats for a while now because, well, because they’re as reassuring as a warm cup of tea. The acoustic guitar has a lovely lilt to it. The slight, overdubbed vocals don’t demand attention but get it anyway. And the alternately peppy and melancholy rhythms float on and on and on. All in all, you get the sense that the Fruit Bats respect their mothers, and a little motherly love in our indie pop could do us all some good.
Shotgun and Jaybird
Lo-fi music from “smalltown Canada.” That’s how Paul from Shotgun and Jaybird described Sackville, New Brunswick, in his e-mail pitch to 3hive (I added the lo-fi part). It seems like these guys are kind of into the small — small sound, small town, a new EP of (only) 6 songs. Even their wonderful crayon slideshow bio is too short, in the sense that it’s not long enough. What happens next? Do they still live in the Road King? Download “Secret” for a Pavement-inspired soundtrack of what’s going on in Sackville.
Mark Robinson
Like Sam says here, I, too, have been impressed with eMusic’s recent additions, which have allowed me to get a bunch of albums I should have already had, but just never got around to getting. Like more Mark Robinson, founder of Teenbeat Records (not the teen mag), member of Unrest, Air Miami, Flin Flon, Grenadine, Olympic Death Squad, and all around swell guy. I’m a big fan of his work and probably should have shared this long ago, so like Sean says, shame on us!
Eagle*Seagull
Sometimes I’m absolutely stumped about what to write about a particular artist. Complete writer’s block. That’s not the case with Eagle*Seagull. A laundry list of bands they remind me of, and are likely influenced by, are tumbling around in my skull, waiting for someone to just open the door. In this case, I think any one of them would cheapen the listening experience. I will say this: the band’s seven members strong, they’re from Lincoln, Nebraska, and a large majority of our 3hive audience is really going to like them. Props to DoCopenhagen for the tip.
Belle and Sebastian
Look, we don’t worry ourselves with being “first” on anything. 3hive’s about sharing, not competing for some cool trophy. But damn are we late on this one! Shame on us! I know Clay’s gonna be kicking himself for missing this. Sam too. If you were unaware of the forthcoming Belle and Sebastian album (The Life Pursuit, in stores February 7th), enjoy its first sounds. If you’ve already got your hands on the whole thing, memorized all the words, and saw them in Scotland last week, or this week in England, well, you’re cooler than us. Believe me, that ain’t hard.
Tender Trap
Apologies to you, dear 3hive reader, for slacking on the job. Tender Trap, an ecletic pop band whose members have been in too many great indie bands from the past to name them all so I’ll just say Amelia Fletcher is the heavenly voice behind Heavenly, and their label Matinee Recordings have dispatched with the free MP3s. No more sharing the sharing. Well, they used to share MP3s with us, but here I was, sitting on Tender Trap, just biding my time, thinking I had all the time in the world until, alas, I was too late. Or so I thought. Thanks to Spain’s Elefant Records, the driving electro synth pop of “Face of ’73” can be shared with the world, albeit in crappy 80kbps, for which I also apologize. Just think of it as really good AM radio.
Kids These Days
We’re all about the collective thing here at 3hive, intentionally subverting capialistic dominance within the U.S. economic system and all that… you know, sharing the sharing. Kids These Days are sympathetic to the cause, offering free MP3s and proclaiming themselves “card carrying members of the White Whale collective,” a Vancouver-based musicical syndicate comprised of, among others, 3hive vet Mohawk Lodge. While the tunes these kids are playing won’t shatter any socio-political hegemonies or even urge you to paste a “Subvert the Dominant Paradigm” sticker on the bumper of your car, they are pleasant, melodic, poppy and fun.
Metal Hearts
Sorry, no stories about scars on fingers today, even though I have two nice scars (and stories to match!) on my right thumb. I can just picture in my mind young Sean standing with his finger stuck in the car door waiting for Mom to notice.
Today we have Metal Hearts, two youngsters from Baltimore whose debut album Socialize is due out on February 21. Their label compares them to Modest Mouse, Arab Strap, and Cat Power, and I’m gonna throw in that they resemble a toned down version of Bishop Allen. Part moody, part carefree, the title track “Socialize” is a tasty appetizer from the new album.
The Apparitions
So I have this scar that runs diagonally acroos the tip of my left index finger. I slammed the finger in the car door of my parent’s orange, ’73 Ford Pinto. I had locked the door so I couldn’t just open it again. I screamed at my mother to open the door for me, but it took awhile for her to figure out what was going on. Imagine that scene in A Christmas Story where Flick gets his tongue frozen to the flag pole; instead of his tongue it’s my finger; instead of the pole it’s the Pinto. This not so pleasant memory came rushing back when I heard “Electricity + Drums.” In the song they reference the Boy Scout Oath. See, that day I slammed my finger was a day my mother had been haranguing me all day about wearing my Scout uniform to school (because Scouts was immediately after school). I tried explaining to her that doing so guaranteed certain banishment from any group of friends who were halfway cool. She let me dress in civilian clothes that day, but she let me have it when inevitably we were late for Scouts. Things got really tense between us when we arrived at Scouts only to remember that it had been cancelled. We should’ve laughed it off, but I got on her for harrassing me for nothing! At home I tried to punctuate my comments with a good slam of the door. That’s what I get by not following the Scout Law, which encourages you to be, among other things, kind, obedient, and cheerful. Well these good fellows in The Apparations are brimming with cheer on “Electricity + Drums.” Sounds like southern-fried Pixies, or super-cheerful (early) R.E.M. And on “God Monkey Robot” you get their Kentucky version of de-evolution, or, depending on your point of view, evolution. Both tracks are from their forthcoming album, As This is Futuristic.
Protokoll
Given the Great Polarizing Talking Heads Comparison of 2005, I will attempt to describe Protokoll without referring to any beloved bands from the past four decades. Okay, here goes… Protokoll is a GANG OF FOUR scrawny, unshorn lads from Boston. It’s a real JOY to see such a young band blur the DIVISION between style and substance. While Protokoll’s nervous, synthy punk often bears all the charm and warmth of a BAUHAUS structure, one mustn’t INTERPOLate from that a lack of feeling. Jose De Lara’s dark, stoic vocals belie very simple and very HUMAN sentiments which alone puts Protokoll in a LEAGUE apart from the more fashion-conscious derivative acts of their vintage. This will set them apart down the WIRE, if they continue writing such memorable songs. There, that wasn’t so hard.