Imagine Wesley Willis, but old, white, thin, and into country. Casio-inspired riffs and wisdom from someone else fighting demons (many of the female persuasion).
DJ Zeph
Raashan Ahmad unleashes a brief history lesson of dance moves whilst Zeph moves the crowd with his disco flash production.
FLIN FLON
This is what drum ‘n’ bass should be. Yet another offering from Mr. Teenbeat himself, Mark Robinson. Nothing new to the viewers of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” where “Floods” serves as the opening music. (Not to be confused with Flin Flon, the sixth largest city in the Canadian province of Manitoba.)
The Album Leaf
Pardon the impending pun, but after many wonderful offerings on a handful of small indie labels, Jimmy LaValle’s (Tristeza) latest solo effort blossoms on a big tree. His minimal pop stylings attracted such fans as Sigur Ros who took him on tour, and invited him to their Icelandic studios to record In A Safe Place. Who you know never hurts.
Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start
Come for the name (the cheat code for endless lives on the Nintendo classic Contra, fyi), stay for the thrilling emo…tional rollercoaster rides.
Continue reading “Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start”
Blue-Eyed Son
California South Bay punk rocker ditches his band (40 Watt Domain) and gets in touch with his melodic, singer-songwriter side. The preferable results fall on the pop scale somewhere between the Judybats and a more cheerful Elliott Smith.
Arto Lindsay
A taste of Rio served Manhattan supper-club style, Arto Lindsay’s sleepy vocals and seductive beats take David Byrne’s formula and run…er, saunter with it.
The Honorary Title
If the thought of Jeff Buckley fronting The Promise Ring gives you the good kind of goosebumps, then The Honorary Title is worth your download time — even if you’re on dial-up. Jarrod Gorbel has the vocal acuity of the late-great Buckley and a Rufus Wainwright-esque flair for drama that both merges with and hovers above the bounce and retreat of Aaron Kamstra’s lovely arrangements. Go ahead and sing along silently.
The Hold Steady
“My name is Steve Perry, baby, people call me Circuit City…” Snarky rock ‘n’ roll anthems swirl around singer Craig Finn’s breathless, cynical wordplay. And then, just like that, they’re over…
Death Cab for Cutie
Note: Thanks to our MANY astute readers, it came to our attention that these links don’t work from an outside source. You have to cut and paste the links into your browser window. We’re all about hassle-free here at 3hive, so grab these while you can. They’ll be pulled down shortly.
An astute 3hive reader, Si, suggests we don’t overlook the obvious and feature one of the current kings of the indie world. Emo, in the hands of mature, keen songwriters instead of boy bands, whose first concern is their hair-do’s, turns out to be a really, really good thing.