Anna Leong

Since moving into my new apartment, I've had the chance to go through several boxes of old CD's and cassette tapes. One gem I found was the 1992 release "Horseshoes and Handgrenades" by former Replacements drummer Chris Mars. It was a favorite in my college days and still sounds completely relevant 15 years later. I've been listening to it quite a bit, so when I heard today's featured Swedish band I made a slight comparison. Just so you can hear the similarities, I've added a classic Chris Mars track as a bonus. Today's song was originally posted on the Swedish music news/mail order giant It's a Trap the other day and when I saw the release date for the new album I had to feature it here for you... Yes, today is the day you can purchase it. I'm not going to try to explain further what you can probably already hear for yourself. This one gets high recommendations for sure.



























Anna Leong is an indie rock quartet featuring Jonas Bergsten, Erik Hörnsten, Daniel Nylén and Filip Sundberg from the northern area of Umeå, Västerbotten Sweden. They formed as a band in 2003 and now have a brand new (as in today, Jan. 31st) full length release titled After the Forest Fire on the band's very own label White Weekend.. The CD release party takes place tonght 1/31 at local venue Scharinska (60 SEK). The Anna Leong website is not yet fully available so make sure to check out the Anna Leong MySpace for more music and information. You will hear plenty more about this band in the near future. Great music.

MP3: They Will Know Us
Bonus MP3: Chris Mars - Reverse Status (1992)

Les Breastfeeders

It's almost that time of year once again. SXSW 2007 is less than 2 months away so I decided to wander around some of the other blogs in search of scheduled bands I am unfamiliar with. Hundreds of different musicians will descend upon Austin, Texas and we will mention plenty of them in the coming weeks. It will be a small miracle if I am actually able to make it to the festival this year, so we might need a willing participant who is going and can operate a digital camera to report back during the fun? As for our first submission on this year's SXSW, I only had to look as far as Canadian music weblog Mocking Music. There was a good and informative review posted there almost a month ago regarding today's featured band. The sound is pure energy with an extremely addicting 60s garage rock flair and might end up being a major highlight for anyone making their way to Austin, Texas March 15th, 16th or 17th. Yes... they are listed on the program to play 3 sets on those days this year.

Les Breastfeeders are a garage pop/rock five piece from Montréal, Québec Canada consisting of members Luc Brien (vocals/guitar), Suzie McLelove (vocals/guitar), Sunny (lead guitar), Joe (bass) and Johnny Maldoror (tambourine). 2004 saw the band's debut release Déjeuner Sur L'herbe become avalable via Blow The Fuse Records. On the same label they have an excellent 2006 follow up in Les Matins De Grands Soirs from which the song you are listening to is a part. Les Breastfeeders MySpace has more good music to check out as well as info on numerous upcoming performances. The live touring regimen begins again Feburary 9 in Jonquière, Québec with Xavier Caféïne (XC MySpace). There is also a Les Breastfeeders website for additional links, band news and where to buy the CDs. Finally, a YouTube video is available for the track Funny Funiculaire from the new release. Another great song. Enjoy.



MP3: Viens Avec Moi

Unique Chique

In case anyone noticed, I took the weekend off here. I've been exploring the new neighborhood and trying to get a better feel for my surroundings. Last week I ended up walking past a club with the side doors open and a sound check taking place. After grabbing a bite to eat at the oldest pub in town (1861), I returned to the place and paid a couple of dollars to see the bands. I was only going to stay for a beer or so but when the opening act turned out to be good, the decision was made to stick around for a while. I made big mention of the "days gone by" Chicago music scene with a UK band (go figure) in my last post and would now like to share something completely different with you. When today's featured band took to the stage, there was dead silence in the room... It was probably because most folks in attendance were there to support local music. After a few songs the room lit up famously and, at one point, I imagined glitter pasted paper moons and stars hanging by strings above the band (future video concept?) The set was amazingly tight and professional, as is usually the case with Chicago bands, but also inviting. Afterwards, I had a beer and brief conversation with front man Joe Starita. Still having no idea as to what the band name was, Joe finally pulled out a guitar tuner to show me "Unique Chique" scribbled hastefully with a sharpie on the side of it. After saying the name 3 times to myself, it must be mentioned that the almost too-clean recorded sound of today's featured song is enhanced tenfold on stage. This was one of the better live performances I've seen recently... and a warm welcome to the neighborhood I couldn't have expected.













Unique Chique is the indie rock quartet of Joe Starita (vocals / guitar), Mike Sanfilipp (guitar), Ernie Lohrer (bass) and Paul Szlachta (percussion) from Chicago, Illinois. They started the band in 2001, and after a previous full length release and appearance at CMJ, have a brand new EP in Ethica. Curt at Loosetooth Records was kind enough to send a copy of the EP via promo package. There is also a Loosetooth Records MySpace page to visit for more info. The Unique Chique website is currently undergoing a few changes so you might need to visit the multimedia page to listen to some of the band's past material. Your next and most important stop should be the Unique Chique MySpace page for the new music and band info. After stopping here in Cincinnati, they played a handful of northeast coast dates and have since returned to Chicago. Your next chance to see UC will be February 20 @ local establishment Subterranean. For some reason, there is plenty of major print media attention for this band, but no mention whatsoever in the music blogosphere. Maybe they should buy a glockenspiel or take accordion lessons?













MP3: Long Dead Naomi

Future Of The Left

Today is indie rock Friday and I have one hell of a band for you. If you remember any of the mid to late 90s Chicago, Illinois indie rock outfits we used to refer to as "stop-n-go", you will probably love today's featured band. If not, this song might leave you a bit confused. While you are listening to this raucous, but well orchestrated noise rock, I'll explain that there were a couple of record labels, Amphetamine Reptile and Touch-N-Go, that were specific to this sound within a 3 year window of 1995. Michelle even brought, into last night's conversation, that Mr. John Peel himself mentioned these labels more often than not on his late night show. As this sound spread from the Windy City, classic hardcore musicians took notice and reformed into bands similar to (and including) The Jesus Lizard. Today's featured artists are a close study and accurate delivery of that time period. It's not difficult to figure out why, since two out of three members of this power trio were also members of the highly underrated (cult status) band Mclusky. You music bloggers know them well... The guitars are a canned growl that accompany vocals which could easily see Pere Ubu's David Thomas and Brian Johnson of AC/DC having cocktails at a Shudder to Think reunion. Ok, I'm dreaming now.













Future Of The Left is the indie rock trio of Andy Falkous (guitar/vocals), Jack William Egglestone (drums) and Kelson Louis Tregurtha Mathias (bass/vocals) from Cardiff (Wales), UK. Please check out more music on the Future Of The Left MySpace page if you get the chance. The Future Of The Left website has little to offer for now besides a new message board. The band currently lists itself as having no label, but there is a close connection to the old Mclusky Label Too Pure Records where you will be able to buy the 7 inch single of this song this Monday 1/29 . The 100 Club is a 1940's London Jazz spot that evolved into the UK equivalent of CBGB... Why am I telling you this? Future Of The Left will be headlining there this Tuesday Jan 30, 2007 Admission is £6.50. If any of you end up at that show I would like a full report! (take your camera). I won't be in London for a few more weeks...damn.
Almost forgot. There is also a YouTube video to watch if it will load for you. I couldn't get it to work, but as always, the comments there say plenty.













MP3: The Lord Hates A Coward

Creeping Weeds

I wouldn't normally clip something from another blogger's front page but this one was too good to pass up. I figure, if you don't write the music you have no claim to it...most bands would agree (or so I would hope.) I hardly ever read the other reviews anyway so there is no thought beyond "...hrmm this sounds nice." Regardless, I discovered the exceptionally good Bars & Guitars mp3 blog yesterday and the song and insightful review (which I did read) were both posted by Peter.















Am I allowed to pick my first band for the eventual MML Best of 2007 list? This might be a complete déjà vu from last January when I mentioned NRSK as being a serious contender for 2006. Today's featured song is amazing and deserves repeated listens/blog exposure. There is a very important part of my ear that is set aside for just such a sound. You can almost hear a distant emptiness in the first few moments of this track, after which, reminders of late 90's overhauled sub-pop label bands come to mind. In any case, this is probably some of the best music I've heard coming from the states so far this year. I know, I know... It's only January but I do allow myself a certain amount of baseless speculation when the music sounds just right.

Creeping Weeds are an indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania consisting of members Pete Stewart, Justin Seitz, Chris Wirtalla, Kate Stewart and Cara Sakoian. Your first visit should be the Creeping Weeds MySpace page to hear more music. For previous material and news there is also a Creeping Weeds website. You will thank me. The song you are listening to is from the brand new 2007 debut full length release We Are All Part Of A Dream You're Having. The CD release party will be held tomorrow night Jan. 26. @ local establishment Johnny & Brendas with opening acts Future Tips and Walker Lundee. ($8 door/ get there early).















MP3: The Desert

Paddington Distortion Combo

I watched The State Of The Union Address broadcast last night and played a drinking game while viewing it... big mistake. As a result, I am not going to be much use in posting music information for this Wednesday. I was originally going to feature a Swedish band called Lonely, Dear that has been on my desktop for quite some time. I thought I Am John was the perfect pop song until I listened to last part of the track and it instantly switched into Bee Gee mode. I'm not being negative... It was just funny. I'm sure the other songs have happier (or less happy) endings. Instead, I decided to present the side project of keyboardist Carl Olsson of The Bear Quartet from the unlikely northern town of Lulea, Sweden He joined that band in 1999 and has since created Paddington Distortion Combo. The song you are listening to does not stray far from it's initial course and might bring to mind an indirect comparison to The Jesus & Mary Chain had Stephin Merritt been involved. Your first stop should be the Paddington Distortion Combo MySpace page to listen further. The 2006 release Songs in D-struction is available through the ActionPop label/tea room/studio for a mere £4.00 GBP or $1, 599.99 USD (j/k). Unfortunately, the Paddington DC website has been down for quite some time so check the other links. More great sounds from a formidable component of the powerful Swedish music scene.

MP3: Clean Sound Suckers

STAR

One of the most rewarding things about doing this daily music blog/group page is when I get the chance to revisit a band that is moving forward famously since our last visit. It was July 12th of last year when we originally posted a wonderful shoegazey song from the band STAR (original review + download). In that brief writeup, I mostly made mention of accomplished musician Scott Cortez. This time there is a brand new song, and also the perfect opportunity to bring frontwoman Shannon Roberts into the spotlight. Shannon's vocal talent maintains a commanding presence while, at the same time, offering an off-balanced sweetness at just the right moments. Her voice is very similar to one of my favourite ambient vocalists... Lili De La Mora of The Year Zero. Could they possibly be lost sisters? STAR was quite a find before, but it seems they have gained solid footing now, and it really is nice to listen to them progress into one of the most promising dreamy rock outfits we've featured. If Hype Machine is any indicator, we might be the first music weblog to present this new song. Many big thanks to STAR for allowing us to make it available.











STAR is the indie rock trio of Scott Cortez (guitar noise), Shannon Roberts (vocal terror, lyrics) and Theodore Beck (percussion, bleeding finger bass) from Chicago, Illinois. If you visit the Star website there are a few songs to download and the latest news. There is also a non-YouTube (wow) video of the song Pure Gold Reason to check out. Just let it start and hit pause to load. While you are waiting, jump over to the Star MySpace page to listen to a few more tracks and add as friends. You might also want to look into the Shannon Roberts website to hear more music. We have two of her amazing solo songs for you as bonus tracks today. Little Pig is one from the 2004 release Astralator and another would be Apocalypse Girl from the upcoming Anonymous Boom Box that has yet to be released. This is all great music. Enjoy!




















MP3: In Your Arsenal
Bonus MP3 #1: Shannon Roberts - Little Pig
Bonus MP3 #2: Shannon Roberts - Apocalypse Girl

Bring Me The Fucking Riot... Man

Ok... we decided to come out of the gate swinging wildly this week. I usually reserve Friday for all-out indie rock stuff but this week starts with a wonderful roar. If you are just waking up or coming home from work this one will widen your eyes and hopefully add some momentum to your day. If you haven't heard these guys yet, you are in for a rockin treat. I stumbled upon this band while visiting the (highly recommended) Absolut Noise Swedish music blog. The song featured today is actually from this band's self titled 2003 debut release. I have no idea how you can get you hands on this CD besides a used copy of the single Lolitta Riotta on Amazon, so you will need to visit the Bring Me The Fucking Riot Man website for more information (it requires Quicktime...ikkk!)















Bring Me The Fucking Riot Man is an indie rock quartet from Stockholm, Sweden with original members Jens S, Jon G and Jonas B recently adding guitarist Mats D-L to the lineup for the purpose of live performance. The band is currently working on a brand new sophomore release at Stockholm based Studio Dubious and you can listen to some of the new songs on the Bring Me The Fucking Riot... Man MySpace page. There are no live dates to list here, but this band is very familiar with the local Emmaboda Festival and will probably book some warm-up shows prior to their next appearance there... or so I would guess. It also might surprise you to learn that this band is currently unsigned. Great indie rock and one hell of a band name this is, however, I still have my favorite band name from this past year.















MP3: In Love With The Riot

Toy

The weekend is in full force and I have been out and about exploring this new city they call Cincinnati. I just wanted to stop in and change the music at least once before Monday rolls around. I normally wouldn't post anything entirely instrumental but this was too much fun not to feature. At the end of last year, I was doing my usual music blog-hopping and found this song on Aurgasm. I even left a comment on that particular post since my 9 year old daughter Abigail was instantly and uncontrollably taken into fits by it. Something about the cartoon/lounge/elevator/gameboy sound of this music makes it hard to do anything else but grin wholeheartedly. I've posted plenty of experimental electronica over the past year and a half but am not sure I can place this alongside anything else I've featured. Oh wait! Larytta from Switzerland might be the closest (distant) cousin, not to the sound of course, but in the fun department for sure. Come to think of it... are there any elevators that still play music? I haven't been on one that does in ages.



















Toy is a music project consisting of quite the accomplished international duo. Jørgen Traeen is a producer from Bergen, Norway that has ties to just about every Norwegian musician there is. This might be, in part, a result of Jørgen running his own Duper Studios locally in Bergen. He shares this space with plenty of artists and there is also a Duper Studios MySpace page. London, UK composer Alisdair Stirling also has roots to Bergen, NO and is responsible for the collective music workshop known as House Of Hiss. To hear more music and add them as friends, check out the Toy MySpace page. Their recent, 11 song, self titled debut is currently available through the Smalltown Supersound label. My prediction? Someone at Sony (PS division) or Cartoon Network finds them and puts this sound to work. I like it lots.















MP3: Golden Fish In Pool

The Black Watch

It's time to kick off the weekend once again, but before this is done, I need to mention that one of Michelle's rare submissions garnered attention from the Buzzfeed website this week. She might want to consider sharing her reviews more often ah? Getting on with things... If there ever was a template for that textbook sound which falls within a 3 year radius of the year 1990, I think I might have found it. Dream inducing rock that shows only slightest hint of what is most usually overdone and misinterpreted where the footwear-fixation genre of that time period is concerned. After listening to a few more tracks, I was both impressed and surprised I had never heard this band before. Our usual project is to hunt endlessly for music like this and, as it turns out, this artist has been around for a very long time. If you have an extra few moments, check some of the links below.



















The Black Watch was formed in 1987 by John Andrew Fredrick (guitar/vocals) of Los Angeles, California. His supporting lineup includes Scott Taylor (bass/vocals), Rick Woodard (drums) and David Steinhart (guitar). After reading the official bio on the not-so-updated Black Watch website, it became clear that this band had been through a fair amount of transition with the supporting musician turnover and label changes over the years. While you are on that website, visit the Novel section where you will find exactly that. Fredrick is an accomplished writer by trade and also has his Ph.D in English from U.C. Santa Barbara. (I only hope he doesn't read my garbage grammar). Your next stop should be The Black Watch MySpace page where you can listen to more music from the November 2006 release tatterdemalion. This full length CD is currently available through all the usual outlets amazon/virgin/insound or (like me) you can google to find it on CD Baby. Finally, The Black Watch will begin a string of UK dates February 1st at The QI Club in Oxford. If you are close to that venue and like what you are hearing, be sure to get tickets now. The place only seats 25-30 or so.













MP3: Williamsburg

PacoVolume

A few weeks ago I visited a French music blog/online magazine and found a musician I hadn't seen anywhere else here on the domestic blog front. François Virot, at around the time we reviewed his music, entered into the mainstream Les Inrock's controversial CQFD 2007 band competition and was doing quite well. His fortune continues in good measure and after our brief communication here online, I consider him a very cool person. The one thing I neglected to mention was that another band, which also had a final spot in the CQFD 2007 competition, is well worth a listen as well. The first thing that leaped out at me as today's featured song took shape is how similar the vocals are to those of classic 80s frontman Dave Wakeling of The Beat. You could probably draw another comparison to The Jam (had they been from Sweden) if PacoVolume's voice were just an octave lower.















PacoVolume is the the incredibly catchy indie pop project of an artist of the same name from Paris, France. He composes and records all of the music, playing the instruments himself as well in true DIY fashion. For the purpose of live performance, he calls upon the support of fellow musicians Henry Caraguel (guitar), David Argellies (bass), Kim Stanislas Giani (keyboard, percussion) and Hugo Berrouet (drums). Since the PacoVolume website is currently under construction, you will want to take a peek at the PacoVolume MySpace page where you will find more great music. PacoVolume has a 2006, full length release titled Manhattan Baby and has recently signed to Discograph (also under construction) so you might want to check out the Discograph Myspace for updated information. The next live performance will be held at La Flèche d'Or in Paris next Monday, January 22nd.















MP3: Cookie Machine

The Jealous Girlfriends

First off, in non-related news, we were mentioned by folks at the comprehensive Idolator.com (the article) music resource yesterday and it made my afternoon much brighter. If you follow this blog or the MySpace group with any regularity, you know our 2006 end of year list built a substantial amount of steam towards its quiet finale. It was only mentioned by a handful of other blogs but that might be a result of many other folks doing the same year end shtick at the same time. Actually, it turns out some of the most unexpected posts we did last year received the majority of attention... kinda cool and I just had to give a quick shout to Idolator. Let's get to business. The Jealous Girlfriends are an experimental indie rock quartet from Brooklyn, New York consisting of Josh Abbott (guitar/vocals/percussion), Alex Lipsen (keyboards/synth/bass), Holly Miranda (guitar/keyboards/trombone/vocals) and Mike Fadem (drums). Besides the dreamy epic nature of the song you are listening to, I'd like to point out how well both of the vocal contributions fit together. This is usually one of the most impressive qualities when a band steps foot on a stage and was exactly what came to mind as the song made it's way past the 2 minute mark. The track ends beautifully with what seems to be only a toy piano accompanying Holly's voice. I would love to see this band live.













From what I read, Holly (solo artist) and Alex (producer) met in 2004 and a year or so later the complete band had already taken the stage numerous times and recorded their first 8 song EP Comfortably Uncomfortable in 2005. You can still get your hands on that release through CD Baby for $10 USD. The song you are listening to belongs to the band's 2006 self titled full length release. If you visit The Jealous Girlfriends website you can pick up a copy in the merch section and get more info on the band. To hear more music, check The Jealous Girlfriends MySpace page. The next live performance will be held tomorrow night 1/18 in Philadelphia at The Khyber ($8/9pm/+21) with additional bands Nixon's Head and The Anderson Council. Finally, I found a really good YouTube video of the band before and during a Boston, MA. show...















MP3: Hieroglyphics

The Sugarettes

After arriving home from work and opening a beer yesterday evening, I was ready for my nightly search for new music. I had no plans and noticed a few new friend requests on our MML MySpace profile. Today's feature is the music of the first band I decided to investigate. It might have only taken the first 30 seconds of this song for me to jump on MSN and send the link to Michelle so she could listen as well. We were both in agreement on this one. I usually will not feature bands that sound similar to the mainstay turned mainstream alternative groups we all know. In this case, it is a bit different. The song you are listening to is deserves an obvious comparison to early 90s era Sonic Youth. It was about the time the vocals reached my ears with the lyrical segment "raising cane" that I realized the song could have been a good bonus to the 1992 SY release Dirty (Sugar Kane). The other tracks I took in were all different and showcase some of the band's other influences as well as their own validity as an outfit ready to advance. If you have a few extra moments and end up following the links listed below, you might find yourself returning for repeated listens. This is great stuff for sure.













The Sugarettes are a lo-fi indie rock quartet from Eindhoven, Netherlands consisting of primary members Joep van Son (guitar/vocals/melodies) and Iskaa (vocals/guitar/very pretty). To round out the full band experience, they utilize the musical assistance of Marnix van den Broek (percussion/programming) and Cox Dieben (bass/also very pretty). In truly charming DIY spirit, The Sugarettes released a mid/late 2006 EP with Sugarettecity including this along with 3 more songs you can download at The Sugarettes website. To add them as a myspace friend and listen to more music, visit The Sugarettes MySpace. The band is currently recording their debut full length 2007 release Love and Other Perversities. There is a Dutch multimedia music resource (similar to Pitchfork) called 3voor12 that featured The Sugarettes last November for something called HOLLANDSE NIEUWE. Check out the 3voor12 MySpace also for more good music links. Surprisingly enough, this band is currently unsigned.



























MP3: Claps

TBA - Natalie "Tusja" Beridze

Almost exactly one year ago, I found a song that had been posted around a month earlier on the House of Leaf & Lime music blog. It really grabbed me so I lifted and featured it on the MySpace group. Unfortunately, we had not yet created MML so the review, pictures and and some expanded information were never recorded. Last week I was surprised to find that Motel de Moka (great music blog) had included another song from today's artist in a post. I went digging and found the original song I posted. You can listen to it on my own MySpace profile. Some of you folks that have been around a while will remember it. Both songs were recorded mid 2005 but for separate releases. The music is danceable in a sensible low key while maintaining an overwhelming dark presence. The vocals are also beautifully emotionless. Since these two tracks are all I have to go on and there is little information out there in English, I will have to piece together what I found. I hope it makes sense for you.













TBA is the minimal experimental electronic music of Natalie "Tusja" Beridze from Tbilisi, Georgia (Republic of.) From what I read, she is both an audio and visual artist that is connected with the German collective known as Goslab. The original song featured (Smashed) was released as part of the CD titled Annule in 2005 by accomplished German producer Thomas Brinkmann's own label Max.Ernst. It is currently available at Forced Exposure for $15 USD. The song you are hopefully listening to today (Wound) is from a mid 2005 compilation put out by Monika Enterprise titled 4 Woman No Cry - Vol. 1. There is little else I could locate about Tusja but I did find two YouTube video clips with music that obviously include her vocals.

YouTube 1:



YouTube 2:



There is no MySpace or direct website so if anyone knows or can hunt down more information on Natalie Beridze or TBA (which means "lake" in Georgian language) it would be much appreciated by myself and plenty of people who are listening to this right now. Thank you.













MP3: Wound

Bad Veins

Well, I finally found a (now) local band for myself to fawn over. As those who actually read this know, I've been looking for good music in Cincinnati since I moved here last week. Sure I've featured great and well known artists from the area in the past, but it seems a bit different now that I reside in the heart of the Queen City. Today's featured gem is only a demo track if you can believe it. This dreamy noise pop caught my attention right away and to be truthful, I had no idea they were local when I first listened the night before last. They would have received high recommendations and a feature regardless of location. As mentioned previously, Bad Veins are the musical duo of Benjamin Davis (guitar/synths/vocals) and Sebastien Schultz (percussion) from Cincinnati, Ohio. In the bio I read, they mention a third unofficial member of the band in "Irene", a 1973 Pioneer reel-to-reel audio recorder they use in the process of creating their music (see example picture below). They also utilize an old telephone for the purpose of vocal effect. If you visit the Bad Veins Website there are more songs to stream but little more info. They were recently featured on NPR so they might be gearing up for something much bigger online. For now, you can visit the Bad Veins (god I keep wanting to say Bad Brains) Myspace Page for a few more tracks you might really like. A couple of those songs made the WOXY.com top 20 late last year. The next live performance will take place at Northside Tavern here in Cincinnati tomorrow night 1/13 @ 10pm. Oh yeah...admission is free and they usually have demo hand made cds to give away at shows.

















I'm fairly certain the Pioneer RT-1020L is the model they use. This picture is NOT of the band's beloved Irene. It is her distant cousin Beatrice who ran away from boarding (recording) school, moved to Cleveland and had 5 delinquent micro-cassette recorders with a Panasonic named Gary.


MP3: The Lie

Ruetschle

Since moving to Cincinnati, Ohio a little over a week ago, I've been itching to post some regional music here on MML and the MySpace group. I failed to come up with a Cinci band but ended up very close. If you drive around 45 minutes north from here you will arrive in Dayton, Ohio which is home to the band you are listening to. As if the faux British vocals weren't enough to help you guess these guys are from the same home turf as Guided by Voices??...ahem. For today's feature, I decided on the song that was least similar to GBV and is probably the most pop influenced out of the music I heard. If you are planning a new television sitcom, this might be your new theme jingle. It really is good in the catchy-pop department don't you think?






















Ruetschle (pronounced *rich-ly*) is an indie rock quartet from Southwestern Ohio that include members Mike Ruetschle (vocals, guitar), Andy Ingram (drums), Cooper (bass) and new member Shawn Johnson (guitar). The song you are listening to belongs to the band's 3rd full length, mid 2006 release titled Exotic Destinations and is available on the Seattle, Washington based label Poptek. Also check out the Ruetschle MySpace page for a listen to more good music and the Ruetschle website to download some of the most recent songs. While looking for a band picture on Google, I found a background to the band's website that left me a little bit confused. After pondering how one could actually dream in British, I consulted my Londoner girl Michelle who was equally baffled and informed me that she had never, in fact, had the opportunity to dream in British either (but said "bless 'em" anyway.) All joking aside, this sound is outstanding and a true compliment to the music that influences them. The next Ruetschle live performance will be held at the Canal Street Tavern on January 20. From some of the local press I read, it seems they put on a great show.

MP3: Can You Remember?

Le Rug (again)

Just in case you missed the chance to check any of the links yesterday, there is now yet another song available from Le Rug that might send you out of your chair. It is as lo-fi, tinny and catchy as any dose of indie rock could be. Tomorrow brings a poppy GBV sounding band from right here in Ohio... Just up the road in Dayton, Ohio to be exact. Stay tuned for the faux British vocals and enjoy this song in the mean time.

MP3: Birds

Le Rug

It's not usually the case where I will feature bands more than once here, so when I do so it is because they are beyond wonderful to me and have solid new material to share. I first featured a band from NYC, The Medics, on May 27, 2006 (the pictures are gone now). I was more than impressed with what I was listening to and added them to our MML MySpace page around the same time. From a band bulletin I read, they released a new song and on August 16, 2006 we featured them once again. Since that time, the band unfortunately decided to part ways when front man Ray Weiss was committed to a psychiatric ward (no I am not kidding) for treatment. Both before and after this incident I maintained some communication with Ray and consider him a good friend as well as an extremely talented musician. The songs featured here are just some of the twelve or so he created very recently over the course of a week in his bedroom. They are all brand new and really nice if you enjoy the fuzzed out lo-fi thing. All three tracks are slightly different... One will have you thinking you are listening to Scandinavian indie rock while the other could be a US college radio pop classic. Check em both out for sure.
















As mentioned above, Le Rug is the brand new music project of Ray Weiss of New York City, New York. He enslists the musical assistance of friends including primary folks Matt Gaffney (drums) Max Kagan (guitar) and Sean Ormiston (bass). Le Rug is currently unsigned and there is no website yet so you will need to visit the Le Rug Myspace Page to listen to some of the new songs. Ray also has another band, Hundred Dollar Elephant, which you might want to look into as well. Are the off-kilter vocals something that take a little getting used to? Of course they are and might be the best part of this music when given a chance. If Ray can keep his mental state in balance you can probably place a safe bet... his music will reach plenty of the right ears. While writing this, I received a really nice message from Joe Ahearn who is responsible for The Rats Of NiMH promotion, booking and support for NYC bands including Le Rug. The two live photos you see here are courtesy of Mr. Ahearn and his trusty camera. Enjoy!!













MP3: Amp
Bonus MP3 #1: Gloss
Bonus MP3 #2: Telephone

Crestview Trust

Yes... It took a week of unpacking and fighting with my computer and we are all set to go with the music. After spending most of my life in Columbus and Athens, Ohio, I moved to Cincinnati and this town is nice. I was amazed at how many music blog/resource folks exist in this area and might have to take a week to highlight them. For now, I'd like to present a really solid Canadian band. Starting things off in a big way with something extravagant was the goal but I kept returning to this subdued sound. Today's featured track is almost folk-based enough for current radio appeal while the sparse song structure begs patience and is intelligent at each turn. The band lists classic mainstream artists as influence but I would be surprised if one of the members didn't own a copy of any given old fIREHOSE record. I usually bang on about vocal talent where female contributors are concerned, but have to make an exception in mentioning how wonderful these male vocals are. Wesafari is another band from Alaska/Seattle, Washington that sounds very similar. Let's get to the links... shall we?

Crestview Trust is the unsigned indie quartet of Colin McMahon, Greg Fowler, Jean VanHaelen and Rob McMahon from Toronto, Ontario Canada. The band members have all been performing in different bands for 10 years in Hamilton, Ontario and for the past three years have been involved in the recording and performing for Crestview Trust. Your first stop should be a visit to the Crestview Trust MySpace page where you can listen to a few more songs. You will be shocked (as was I) to find how few page visits/song plays their MySpace has, so you might want to add them before they take off. The band's debut self titled, full length release is available for around $15 USD through CD Baby or you can contact the band directly for a copy. To download this song along three more tracks from this release free of charge, check out the Crestview Trust website. All songs are equally good. It's nice to be back and this is great stuff.

MP3: Somersaults