The Living Blue

A great way to start off the weekend is to have a solid indie rock band and that was just what I was looking for. After seeing numerous reviews on this band I was surprised I had never even heard of them. When a song is this straightforward the predictability factor gets thrown out the window. Sometimes a simple formula that relies heavily on energy rather than intricate soundscapes can turn quite a few heads as this band did mine. Simply put... these guys rock.













Although the vocals sound British at times, The Living Blue are an indie/garage rock quartet from Champaign, Illinois. They've been around since 1997 and used to be known as The Blackouts. The song featured today is from their latest full length release Fire, Blood, Water which came out in October 2005. It's available through the band's label Minty Fresh records. There is a nice Living Blue website to get a limited amount of info. I suggest going to their MySpace page to start off with. Some more great songs can be found there. Also, The Living Blue will be touring the US for the better part of the summer, so check the dates for your area.













MP3: Tell Me Leza

Catholic Gaydar

When I ran across this band the name had me laughing. With a name like Catholic Gaydar, I couldn't resist checking out their music. This is probably the shortest song I've featured at 2 minutes and 12 seconds but is really nice and catchy. They probably could have stretched it out to around the 4 minute mark without compromising anything. If you replaced the vocals on this song with those of Stephin Merritt it could easily double as just about any early Magnetic Fields track. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is home to indie pop group Catholic Gaydar (I'm still laughing a bit). The band is primarily the music of Matt Packman who is also part of Sharp Like Knives.















I heard another one of their songs that sounded more along the lines of experimental folktronica (hate that word). They have a MySpace page to hear more but I couldn't find an official website for them. From what I read Catholic Gaydar's debut album is due to be released some time in 2006. If you can get past the name and pink man panties, the music is really good.















MP3: Don't Let Go

Bonus MP3: Cigarettes and Sleeplessness

More hosting site woes...

Sorry, everyone... yet again EZArchive is giving us grief: the whole site seems to be down this morning, which means that (as just about every song on here is hosted on EZArchive) most of our MP3 links aren't working right now.

So, apologies if you've been trying to listen to stuff and not getting anywhere, but please do keep checking back, because as soon as EZArchive sort out their latest glitch (which, fingers crossed, will be VERY shortly), the links will all magically start working again.

Not happy... there has to be something more reliable than this!

Avec A

If you like noisy rock that is heavily influenced by Sonic Youth you are really going to enjoy the music here today. We actually left the house in search of a few cocktails last night so the write up might be a bit more to the point than usual. Today's song is really good and one I knew was going to be featured here as soon as I heard it. Avec A is an indie rock trio that used to be named Avec Aisance. They are from Amsterdam, Netherlands and formed in 2002. The last album from Avec A titled Vivre Dans l'aisance was released at the very beginning of 2004. It is available through distributor Konkurrent.nl (Dutch language). If you visit the Avec A website, you can contact them directly via email to order it. Also on the website are quite a few songs and 3 videos to download. All of the other songs are this good and even more influenced by the early 90's era SY stuff!



















I read in a couple of the brief reviews I could find that the band makes some of the instruments they use to accent their songs. They are also currently working on new experimental material for a 2006 release. They have a MySpace page with not much info but more good songs to hear. I was jumping around the living room to this... unplugged bass in hand. My downstairs neighbors must love me.

Oh yeah, this is the album to look out for...



















MP3: In The Line of Judy

Bridges and Powerlines

I don't usually accept MySpace friends requests from random bands too often these days unless there is some sort of communication beforehand so when I received a request from this one, I was a little confused by the familiarity. I featured a band from New York City on the MySpace group in February that was probably one of my favorites so far. Sunspots had a song called Carmen and it was only a demo. You can hear that song on the MySpace page we created for this blog. Check that and tell me you are not appalled at this horrible case of plagiarism. Shocking to say the least!! We at Milk Milk Lemonade were simply disgusted, I can tell you.

Of course I'm joking.



























The band decided to change up names to avoid needless legal hassle since they are actually going somewhere and not sweating a minor detail unlike another band that previously trademarked the name. Pffft! Check out the new Bridges and Powerlines website to get more info and obviously their (new) MySpace page to hear more music. All songs are extremely good so there is no need to be reluctant when it comes to release time. Love it.













MP3: Carmen

Wild Honey

Sometimes the most rewarding part of this whole music searching thing is when I can find small bands in really great locations. After spending the entire weekend at the largest non-corporate music and arts festival in the United States (across the street from my apartment), I was definitely in the mood for some outdoor-friendly festival type sounds. I had to search no further than my own MySpace friends list to find the perfect music for the start of the week. We'll just need to go visit one of my favorite cities in the world for this one.















Athens, Greece is home to the exceptional quartet Wild Honey. Annita (Voice), Monsieur Poirot (Guitar, Voice), Paul Joe Alketas Clint> (Bass), Ottomo (Drums) have a crisp clean acoustic sound that deserves multiple listens. There is no official website that I am aware of but you might want to visit the Wild Honey MySpace page to download this and another equally mesmerizing song. If this doesn't make you smile... um.

MP3: 1000 Spaceships

Grr.... technology sucks

Okay, we have been having something of a love/hate relationship with EZArchive, the site (I just typed 'shite', which might be more accurate right about now) where the vast majority of the songs (as well as a lot of the pictures) on here are hosted. That means that for most of tonight, anyone trying to listen to or download any of the tracks on here will most likely have had no luck at all and encountered some nonsensical error message instead.

Sorry about that. Normal service will be resumed just as soon as EZArchive have ironed out whatever glitches they're suffering from right now, so if you've been having problems, please keep checking back. And while I'm on the subject... if anyone knows of any reasonably-priced and (most importantly) reliable hosting sites that don't suffer from downtime on a daily basis, we'd be more than delighted to hear about them.

We have a bloody excellent song to put up on here for today/tomorrow... watch (and listen to) this space.

Ride

I've probably used the term Shoegaze a bit too loosely in the past and need to clear up any confusion I created for people who are just begining to enjoy independent label music and want to know its origins. There are quite a few people here that will be able to correct me or at least add to my geeky thoughts.













The term shoegaze(ers/ing) was jokingly introduced in the UK by a journalist from the NME around 1989 or 1990. It was meant to poke fun at the apathetic and/or shy attitude towards live performance where the musicians made more eye contact with the floor (shoes) than the audience. The droning guitar sound borrowed heavily from US rock bands of the previous few years such as Dinosaur Jr. and Hüsker Dü. There was a dreamy pop spin adopted by some of the more mainstream UK bands to calm it all down and Ride would be a textbook example of the lighter side of the spectrum. I have to be honest and group them in with Teenage Fanclub or The Jesus and Mary Chain instead of attempting to compare them to MBV. I loved the 1990 release Nowhere and think I still have the original casette tape of it in my basement somewhere. I'll probably go search for it later this evening.













Ride were from Oxford, England and formed in 1988. Creation Records was their label and probably should have been the focal point of this writeup but it's too late now (I stopped home briefly from a festival to write this). The song featured is from the band's March 1991 EP Today Forever. There are plenty of sites dedicated to Ride but I recommend starting at the MySpace fan page to hear a few more songs. The Vapour Trail track is there and was really the only song to receive frequent air play here in the states. Frontman Mark Gardener has his own music on his MySpace page you should check and if you like what you are listening to, also visit rideOX4 and ticket2ride. Plenty of good info on both sites. Ride is a great part of the shoegaze phenomenon's beginings.













MP3: Today

Brother-Sister

I featured The Hymns with a song called Brother Sister a few months ago and so when I received a MySpace add request from a band that has the name of that song I added them without recognizing the difference. I thought they might be pleased that they were featured here but nahhh...wrong band/name/etc.. I manage to forgetfully do those type of things on occasion. It was actually good fortune on my part and after several listens they get a feature spot here and also on the MySpace group.















Brother-Sister is the music of Dante Nou and Xavia Nou from Adelaide, South Australia. I'm assuming that means that they really are brother and sister? Yep, it's true. From what I read, Dante is a part of an international theatre group based in the UK and Xavia left art school in Australia to perform with bands in Nashville (yes I mean Tennessee). They kept in touch via laptop and shared music thoughts and ideas which evolved into what you are listening to now. The 2005 self-titled release is available through CD Baby. Also check the Brother-Sister website as well as their MySpace page for band news. I promised myself I would not use the word 'folktronica' but I really just might... If only they didn't know where to find me for my arse-kicking. I'm buying this for sure btw. Very high recommendation on this one...all songs are good!!
















MP3: Likewise

Zoppo

I just got back from Athens, Ohio and am around $200.00 poorer thanks to my old University having such great t-shirts, keychains and sports bottles for sale in the college bookstore. I'm a sucker for anything associated with my alma mater. Go Bobcats... um Anyway, this band is really great. I had no idea where to start when I heard them since there was hardly a single thing I could find written in english about them. I finally found the band's MySpace page and added them to my friends list (like the good MySpacer I am).












Zoppo is a fantastically solid indie rock sextet that hails from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Their discography and sound makes it easy to tell that they've been around since the 90's. The early part of this song has a definite Ride or Swervedriver feel to it. Slowly you start to realize that they are every bit as good as some of the current big name bands like Interpol. After a few songs you might just like it even more. To me it seems like a perfect bridge between early 90's dream rock and today's attempt to recreate it.















Go visit the Zoppo website for a few more details. This song is from their 2006 CD/LP release Don't Trust Scarred Surviviors and is available on the Dutch record label Transformed Dreams. After finding a few translated reviews on Zoppo, most of my agreement would have to be with the Seam comparison. Can you tell I like this?










































MP3: Relapse

East Hundred

Michelle and I are headed 2 hours southeast to Athens, Ohio this morning to see what kind of trouble we can get into. I only mention this because we will stay overnight and the music on the MySpace group won't get changed until mid Thursday. With that in mind, I needed to find a really nice band for this day and a half away. Alan @ Sixeyes recruited some new music writers for his blog and one of the first to post there recently did a piece on the band I settled on. If you go to Labelworthy you will also find them featured along with some other artists I've had here and in the group.

















East Hundred is a trio from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band's frontwoman Beryl Guceri has an amazing voice and to top it off, after looking at the band pictures... Güzel bir kýz gördüm!! I'm not sure if that's right and only say it because she mentions her Turkish descent on the East Hundred MySpace page. The only other Turkish I could come up with is was Kurtlu baklanin kor alicisi olur which has something to do with blind people buying or eating beans? Anyway, this band is a really nice find and all of the songs are highly recommended. You can buy the seven song debut self titled release on CD Baby for $13 USD. Also visit the East Hundred website for more info on live dates and suchlike. They currently list their label as Blue Green Records but I couldn't find it anywhere on the web... The site must be a work in progress. I am not going to make any comparisons this time since they are wonderful without them. Great music!
























MP3: Numbers

Arizona

Mondays are usually recovery days for me due to my usual weekend tequila intake so after sitting quietly in my office drinking a ton of water and laughing my hungover ass off at one of my favorite websites I made my way home. I didn't do the slightest bit of music searching yesterday but came up with one hell of a song that has been gaining steam in music blogland at the same time I was getting steamed over the weekend. Give this song a chance to build from it's humble first minutes into a full blown rock extravaganza that will leave you wanting to visit the Arizona MySpace page immediately to hear more. I love finding bands like this. It really makes this whole thing worthwhile. I love the song Thimble... I originally thought the chorus was "crying to my bimbo". I probably need help.


























Arizona is not from Arizona. They are a Brooklyn, New York quintet that will have you at the edge of your seat waiting for the next transition and/or catchy hook during any given song. If you go the the Arizona website you will find some upcoming dates, a bit more info on the band and some outstanding artwork. They are currently not signed to a label but I can assure you that won't last long. I think they can afford to be choosy. Their debut full length release is titled Welcome Back Dear Children and should be available any day now. Not much to else to say here...The music speaks well enough for itself. This one is highly recommended.















MP3: Splintering

The Light Wires

I mentioned a while back that I wanted to slip an Ohio band or two into the mix so as to remind folks of the huge amount of talent here in the Buckeye state. What is a Buckeye you ask?? This one comes courtesy of a guy named Joe who runs a really nice music blog called each note secure. He was filling in for another vacationing blogger and contributed The Light Wires there just over a week ago. I kept going back and listening to one of the songs and eventually started looking for the perfect day to host and feature it. So here you have it.



The Light Wires are yet another great band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They formed around 2002 and are primarily the brainchild (I hate that word) of Jeremy Pinnell. I really don't know much else about the band besides what you can already hear. They really are outta-hand wonderful. To hear another song, check out their MySpace page but do yourself a favor and put your hand over the left side of the screen so you don't have to view their influences. j/k...well maybe not. They are signed to the Tiberius Records label and from what I gather, this song is from a compilation that came out in 2004? There are a few dry tank Ohio folks here in the group that might be able to answer that one for us... The Light Wires website will also be up and running soon.



For those of you that have recently been invited or stumbled upon this weblog please realise that I am not a music critic or proper blogger. This is just a fun way to blow off steam at the end of the day.

MP3: The Hum Of Black Machines

Drop Nineteens

Sunday is a perfect day to feature 8 minutes and 55 seconds of early 90s shoegaze bliss. I don't purposefully search for that genre but when I find a good example you can probably place a safe bet that it will end up here in the group. If someone asked me to provide a song as a template for an up and coming band that wanted to adopt this particular sound I would have to say that it gets no more textbook than Kick The Tragedy. Around 5 minutes into the song there is some spoken word but this is mostly instrumental and absolutely beautiful.














Drop Nineteens were a Boston, Massachusetts quintet that formed in 1991. They gained notoriety for being one of the few US bands that adopted the now famous sound as it was happening during that time period. The song featured today is track number 4 from the 1992 release Delaware on Caroline Records. On November 15 of that very same year Drop Nineteens did a Peel Session and received further attention abroad. If you go to the MySpace fan profile you can hear the song Winona that was dedicated to Ms. Ryder herself. They also did noise-tastic covers of Barry Manilow's song Mandy and Madonna's Angel. Out of the band members, the only update I could find was that Paula Kelley has plenty of solo material which can be heard at the Paula Kelley Orchestra MySpace page. If you are a fan of the vocal stylings of Juliana Hatfield and can imagine some deeper musical content, you will not be disappointed with your visit.




























MP3: Kick The Tragedy

Tilly & the Wall

Initially, I had a difficult time figuring out whether or not to feature this one. From everything I read in the numerous reviews and blogs, you will either love or dislike that I posted Tilly & The Wall. I'm not sure why this band attracts such strong opinion in either direction but that's probably a good thing seeing as it lands them exposure on just about every internet music resource out there. After reading a Pitchfork article that was loaded with backhanded half-compliments I decided to check them out for myself. This track sounds great to me so it gets the green light here.















Tilly & The Wall are a 5+ piece from Omaha, Nebraska and are best known for having Jaime Williams tap dancing instead of a drum kit. The song today actually does have drums added so it might not be a complete representation of the stripped down sound you might hear from them live. They utilize several recently popular "uncommon" instruments such as glockenspiel, various bells and maracas. If you are a fan of Architecture in Helsinki you will probably really like the rest of this band's music. I think some critics see them as a novelty because the tap dancing: but after five years, several singles, an EP and two full length releases it might be safe to rule that out. The latest release Bottoms of Barrels came out just under a month ago and is available from the Team Love label.















If you go to the Tilly & The Wall website and can figure out how it works and/or what you are supposed to do there you are one up on me. Instead, I suggest visiting their MySpace page to hear more. They seem like a really fun band that would be a great time to see live. Happy Saturday.


























MP3: Black and Blue

The High Violets

It's been a while since I've featured any artists from the Pacific Northwest states so today is a really nice shoegazey sounding band from Portland, Oregon. I read a few different bios on The High Violets and each one had a different year for the formation of the band so I'll just be safe and say somewhere around 2000 (give or take a year). One thing the reviews and bios did have in common is their praise for the band's shoegaze interpretation as well as the beautiful vocals of Kaitlyn ni Donovan.















After visiting their MySpace page and listening to more of the music, I'll have to agree wholeheartedly with both. The latest full length album was released at the end of January 2006 and is available on the band's label Reverb Records. There are some other great artists to check out there also when you visit. Both the label and The High Violets website have available music for listening, as well as band news.















One thing I neglected to mention is that Kaitlyn ni Donovan has been around the Portland music scene for quite some time and has her own solo material through Hush Records also. Her debut release Songs For Three Days is one I'll definitely need to check out.















MP3: Love Is Blinding

Blowoff

Ok, I wont go banging on as usual about legendary rock musician Bob Mould, but this new release had to be mentioned and obviously featured. Blowoff is a project and musical collaboration that got started as an ongoing DJ/Club party event of Bob and Richard Morel of Pink Noise fame. They hold events at the 9:30 Club in their current hometown of Washington DC and have taken this partnership to a new level.















Plenty of you are familiar with Mr. Mould's history but also might need to check out Morel for some wonderful music from a completely different direction. These two artists combined sound incredible as a pop duo. The hype has already begun and you can find out more on Boblog as well as the Morel MySpace page. I might have been expecting more of a dance tone with this but am so pleased with this song I can't wait for the full release on Septemper 5th 2006. The guitars on the track sound almost like Sugar but Bob Mould's vocals are kept to a backing minimum. This is as catchy as it gets and is an equal effort you will hear more about. Enjoy!!














MP3: Hormone Love

Blowoff on MySpace

Marching Band

Yet more wonderful music coming from Sweden. Marching Band (formerly known as Second Language) is made up of Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind, two flatmates who (according to the biog on their MySpace profile) like to annoy the other residents by making music at inappropriate hours with the help of two "two bikes, one laptop, three microphones and a shameless use of other people's instruments".














They've been working together for one and a half years now, during which time they've released three EPs which you can get hold of from the Marching Band website, and they also have a song featured on the Pet Series 5 compilation, available from Dutch label Volkoren.














MP3: Home Alone VI

OMR

Lets's start this week off with an amazing electronica duo from France. Virginie Krupa and Alexandre Brovelli have only started their journey with the recent formation of OMR. I was clued in by another guitar rock fan, surprisingly enough. It's always a good thing when that happens. Kind of nice to know that when you put music out there in either direction, the other folks don't run for the hills.


























If you check out the OMR MySpace page you will find that the songs there are not all like this one. Some guitar stuff too. The song today is from the second OMR release Superheroes Crash and is available through the band's label Uncivilized World. You can also purchase this highly recommended (by me) CD from the following distributors in Japan, Switzerland, Poland and Italy. This is great indie pop that I can't put into any one genre.














Oh yeah, If you visit the OMR Website you will be impressed by the layout... really good graphics and setup. Again, great way to start the week ah??

MP3: The Way We Have Chosen