Let’s all take a moment to thank the guy who invented the Internet. And we should probably thank the billionaires over at Google, too, for if it weren’t for these individuals, we wouldn’t have the machinery by which we can stumble upon new music purely by accident. Not only was I looking for another band when The Warmth came up, but I had misspelled that original band’s name — badly. Yet, there was The Warmth, offering up an electro-acoustic vibe not unlike Travis and David Gray — something vaguely familiar and comforting but hardly stuck in Dullsville. There’s precious little information available about the band’s latest album, Fox & Weathervane, on their website or, irony of ironies, through Google searches. But they do have some music to share, so take a listen while you try to figure out this mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in…a website.
New Buffalo
Here’s the message Liz sent us: “I’d like to direct your attention to a wonderful Australian musician, Sally Seltmann, aka New Buffalo. I saw her play here in Hobart at the start of the year and apart from being a stunningly beautiful woman, she has an amazing voice and writes songs that tear at your heart.” No kidding. And thanks, Liz, you really made my week. I saw a piece on Ms. Seltmann in The New York Times over the summer, but recycled the paper too soon and couldn’t remember her or the band’s name. After downloading these songs — especially the hypnotic, saxophone-laced “I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me” — I’m even happier you sent that message. It came just in time for New Buffalo to make my end of the year top ten list.
Caroline
After shunning major labels in her native Japan, Caroline Lufkin made her way back across the Pacific (she went to college in Boston) to California to begin work on an album with a wide array of producers (the producer in question here is Norway-born Andreas Bjorck). Maybe it’s because the weather has finally dipped below 50º here in L.A. but the shimmering, icy cool textures of “Where’s My Love” just warms the toes and has kind of ushered in the holiday season for me. It’s knocked me out my frantic rush of daily life and I half expect to see snowflakes falling during a perfect, sunny day here. Her voice, it’s magic.
Faux Pas
A week ago I posted Gotye. If I hadn’t been in such a serious carb coma on the heels of Thanksgiving I probably would have posted an Australian two-fer including Gotye’s friend and countryman, Faux Pas (aka Tim Shiel). These two take great care to make their quirky, sampleriffic musical explorations feel warm, organic, and spontaneous. Faux Pas even goes as far as to eliminate vocal samples lest we get lured into the obsessive spotting exercise that Gotye’s tracks inspired. The frenzied big beat sound of “Cup of Wonder” provides instant gratification but “White Light” definitely steals the show. I am now convinced that spacey theramin, Asian dulcimer, and R&B horn riffs were always meant for each other; all they needed was a tumbling drumbeat to rally around… As a bonus, it turns out Tim’s also a bit of an MP3 blogger himself. Check out the Blog section of his site to get a good sense of his musical reference points.
Climber
Right near the top of my list of “Reasons to Love Postal Service” is that they disposed of the pedantic audiophilia that torments many a knob-twister and opted for the red-blooded choice: to make songs. Climber have taken notice. The Portland, Oregon group holed themselves up for two years to refine a sound steeped in the boutique ambience of post-electronica pop and informed by the rainy-day-every-day melancholy of Radiohead (the similarities are almost too close…almost) and the aforementioned Seattle side project. Officially, these tracks are demos. Sonically, they’re a blissful walk down a bittersweet path.
Ehroehed
Ehroehed is Lonny Potter, who records music in British Columbia, apparently to give away to his friends. Erik Ratcliffe is a nice person from somewhere, wherever, who dropped Ehroehed in our Suggestion Box. If I knew Lonny Potter personally, I’d tell him to burn a disc of his music to give to Erik Ratcliffe because, you know, that whole sharing the sharing thing. Plus, it’s gonna be the holidays, so let’s all be Lonny’s friends, yeah? Like Will Oldham in the Palace days, Ehroehed reminds me that there are plenty of weirdos out there making beautifully strange songs just for the hell of it (and for that I’ll count my blessings).
Machine Go Boom
Columbus? Yes, twice. Cincinnati? Yes. Cleveland? Never been. But now Jason’s little note to the Suggestion Box has got me wondering when I’m going to be in Ohio next. Machine Go Boom (from Cleveland) is one Mikey Machine, with friends, really just doing whatever they want. The frenzied, frantic pop of “Captain Obvious” is dance-inducing fun, a real gem. As for “The Kazoo Star,” there’s really kazoo, the best use of a kazoo I’ve heard since 5th grade. And “This Song Is a Secret?” I’ll never tell…
The Go! Team
The Go! Team cook up an infectious blend of double-dutch hip hop, horns-a-blazing cop show themes, and raw garage pop. But you probably already knew that. These MP3s are from their 2003 Junior Kickstart EP, which had yet to incorporate the pep squad vocals. But you probably already know that, too. However, unless you’re responsible for one of the 548 plays tallied on MySpace as I write this, you probably haven’t yet heard The Go! Team vs. Kevin Shields, which takes the yummy bits of “Ladyflash” and “Huddle Formation” and puts the proverbial cherry on top. Say G-O…T-E-A-M!
Gotye
Gotye is Aussie one-man band Wally De Backer who, like his fellow countrymen The Avalanches, humanizes bedroom beats, quirky samples, and the odd live instrument and weaves them into epic pop structures. I guess it’s summer down under, which would explain the decidedly upbeat tone of these preview tracks from his forthcoming LP.
Au Revoir Simone
So long, Simone! Have a nice Thanksgiving in Brooklyn. (I’ll probably get yelled at by our loyal fact-checking readership, who will remind me that none of the three women in this band is named Simone.) I’d love to spend my T-day in Brooklyn, or listening to Verses Of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation — which the Japanese consider to be “8 tracks of perfect lo-fi synth pop” — but it looks like I’ll be at home with just one song by Au Revoir Simone to ease me through my tryptophan hit.