They say you should never go into business with your spouse, but — Jim and Tammy Faye, Sonny and Cher, Siegfried and Roy notwithstanding — here’s another reason why “they” aren’t always right. Viva Voce, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson to their neighbors, play woozy, psychedelic pop as though the ’60s were just a warmup. “Alive With Pleasure” takes their sound to even higher heights with a searing intro, which then swoops down into the lily-spotted valley that is Anita Robinson’s voice, then soars back up to the sky leaving behind a vapor trail of handclaps. Hmm, sounds like a treatment for a music video…everyone here is under non-disclosure, capice?
Racetrack
Bellingham, Warshington (as my dad would say) can just crank out pop-rock bands, while still maintaining a very high ratio of good-to-not-good bands. Racetrack, well, they help the ratio on the good side. Throwing around big hooks and a raspy guitar, this three-piece is driven by Meghan Kessinger’s steady singing, aided on their debut album by Death Cab for Cutie‘s Chris Walla. And how do Racetrack describe themselves? “Picture riding a go-kart while eating a pickle.”
Travis Morrison
Travis Morrison, the artist formerly known as 25% of The Dismemberment Plan, drops his first solo record just a year after the demise of TDP. A glimpse into Travistan (the first three tracks offered here) reveals PETA-inspired pop, an eager, piano-driven morality play, and a sing-song memoir cluttered up with live studio audience effects and Defender(TM) samples. Lick off Ben Fold’s sugar-coating, but don’t go as dour as Elliott Smith, and you got Mr. Morrison here.
Cat Five
Another shot from the suggestion box… Cat Five’s madcap samplerama Kataphonics finally has a sibling, a new 12-inch called “On the Rise.” This may seem like a thin body of work for a five-year-old group. That is, until you discover the hours of original or heavily refurbished live tracks available on their site and realize what a fool you were for ever doubting them. These MP3s in particular were recorded directly from the mixing board and could easily pass for studio material. Cat Five are Avalanches on a budget; Negativland with a beat; whatever comparison you use when you find yourself nodding and smirking at the same time.
The Shifties
West Coast slowpop vibe via Windy City. The pace picks up by “Can’t Go On”: the verses spunky like “Kids in America” while the chorus jangles like something off Reckoning. A fun find from the suggestion box.
DJN
The sign of a good DJ: making you (the listener) wish you could play the drums. Real drums. Another sign of a good DJ: naming Amon Tobin and Luke Vibert as influences. DJN: a good DJ.
Dolour
I was first exposed to Made In Mexico Records when I came across Pedro The Lion‘s album It’s Hard To Find A Friend. Instantly I was a fan, with the band and the label. Made In Mexico seemed like the perfect indie label: wonderful bands and a simple, small, intimate vibe. The label eventually closed its doors and has remained dormant for almost five years, until now.
Singer/songwriter Damien Jurado, along with a couple friends and the blessing of the original owner, has resurrected Made In Mexico. Dolour is their first offering. Band leader, Shane Tutmarc, continues the Northwest’s too frequently slighted tradition of indie-pop craftsmen proving once again that sunny songs and cloudy skies are not mutually exclusive.
Dutch Elms
I can’t find out a damn thing about the Dutch Elms, but does that really matter when they purvey such pristine pop? No indie snobbishness, no “we’re making art” pretentiousness; just jangling, dancing, harmonizing fun. This pop is as pure as it can get.
Donna Summer
It’s fitting that Aquarius Records, the same store that introduced me to the mash-up some ten years ago (before they were called mash-ups) with Evolution Control Committee’s brilliant pairing of Public Enemy and Herb Alpert, would effectively wean me off that guilty pleasure with the next level noise of this here lad. Neither mash-up nor IDM, neither kitschy nor political, Donna Summer (a.k.a. Jason Forrest) throws juxtaposed refrains and riffs from popular music into a high-speed blender with no lid. Somehow the result, while initially as soothing as highway rumble strips, begins to make sense and even sounds catchy after a few listens…and a 12-pack of Mountain Dew. WARNING: Not recommended for those with epilepsy. (Seriously.)
Windsor for the Derby
Waaaaay back in the late ’90s, WFTD built a modest rep on synthy post-rock instrumentals. Now they’ve taken to delicate (still synthy) melodies, narrative lyrics, and generally sounding all grown up. And, holy extreme makeover, does it sound alright to these ears…