MML: Vacation YouTube-Fest

It's finally that time. Friday evening I fly off over the ocean watching horrid Jennifer Aniston movies while eating an assortment of pre-packaged, chemically restructured airline delicacies. Luckily, a few recently featured bands sent music care packages to me and I will be able to listen to them on the airplane. Many thanks to the artists who sent their music. My reason for London? I found it mandatory to visit Michelle in order to drink all of her beer, scare the local pigeon population then yell at her neighbor who likes to sweep debris off of her balcony onto our back porch area. My 2006 visit is documented on this Myspace Blog, so if you get bored give it a click. Obviously, there will be no updating of MML or the Listening Room during this upcoming week so we decided to post all of the YouTube videos we've ever mentioned here. At least those not removed as a result of various copyright infringements. YouTube is slow to load sometimes so you might need to hit pause after they start to give some of them a fighting chance to load. Anyway, cheers to all, I will be back (full of Marmite) and ready to post more music. There is already German shoegaze, experimental electronica from Greece and an assortment of kick ass NYC rock bands in the works for early March. Seeya soon. 44


Bobby Baby




The Afghan Whigs




Gisli




Like Honey




Low Frequency In Stereo




Flying




Citizens Here And Abroad




Sinks Of Gandy




Rush




Gertie Fox




Velocity Girl








Iowa Super Soccer




Dag Nasty






Via Audio




The Vandelles




For Those Who Know




Under Byen




Shinobu




Low




The Silent Years




X.Lover




I Am Bones




Ohbijou




Racetrack Babies




Miniature Tigers




Arizona




White Rabbits




Secret Mommy






Prototypes




Cezanne




Los Campesinos!




The Jealous Girlfriends




TBA - Natalia "Tusja" Beridze






Les Breastfeeders




The Muggabears




Schema




East Hundred

MML: Female Four

Since I am in the middle of cutting my hair (mop), doing laundry and cooking this before my Friday departure to London, UK, I decided to group another set of excellent musicians spotlighting exceptional female vocals together for a post. This, in no way, means they are not qualified for their very own feature. I just want to get some of the MP3 files out there before I leave. I plan on expanding on much of this music when I return. Feel free to discuss some of these sounds and let the musicians know what you think. This is a mix of music that has either been sent to me or that I have found during my internet travels. Thank you especially to Karin Ström for a wonderful care package from Stockholm, Sweden. I currently have En saga om en sten in my car stereo and it is going to stay there for quite some time. Most of this music is brand new while one track goes back as far as 2005. Each of these women are amazingly talented and the artists that back them up are equally great. I only hope you enjoy the following links to more of their music and information. In order... today's featured artists take us from Sweden to Scotland then the Netherlands and finally all the way back to Sweden again. I made too much pasta also... want some?


Karin Ström














Karin Ström Myspace
Karin Ström Website

Song: Betydelsen av rum


The Poems














The Poems Myspace
The Poems Website (label)

Song: Ballad Of A Bitter End


Sophie Zeyl
















Sophie Zeyl Myspace
Sophie Zeyl Website (label)

Song: You Could Have Run Away


The Kid
















The Kid Myspace
The Kid Website

Song: Kit Club Hotel

East Hundred

Would you believe me If I told you there is a perfect indie pop/rock song awaiting your ears? You really don't have to trust me this time... Just listen and be prepared for an old MML favorite to spark your fancy once again. We originally featured this band last June [read review + download] when the blogosphere was taking early notice of a few of our posts. This band was a favorite then and might receive even more attention with their new material. Today's featured track begins with a light driving guitar pop base that eventually climbs into a wonderfully unsettling series of turns within the chorus. At this point, you might begin to realize human qualities missing from most, if not all, other bands who attempt this type of sound, showcasing crystal clear vocals and straightforward delivery. The chorus eventually releases you gently into an extremely satisfying guitar jangle you may only find in 1 out of 10 (if that) old GBV tracks. When you get a chance to listen to more of this music, you will understand why it gets the MML Highly Recommended seal of approval (ok...there really isn't a seal, we just like this a whole heck of a lot.)
























East Hundred is primarily the trio of Beryl Guceri (vocals, piano, melodica, çok güzelsin), Brooke Blair (guitar, bass, synths) and Will Blair (drums, keyboards, programming) from Philadelphia, PA. Susan Gager (keyboards) and David Sunderland (bass) round out the lineup for the band's live performance regimen. The brand new release Copper Street Performer was recorded at Turtle Studios towards the end of last year and will be available next week. It's not yet clear how you will be able to get your hands on this disk so you will need to visit the East Hundred MySpace page to get updates, add as friends and listen to more new music. There is also an East Hundred website for more music to stream. The official CD release party will take place next Friday February 23 at local Philadelphia establishment North Star Bar. At the same time they are starting to play that night, I will be in a plane leaving the states for London UK and will watch my map to wave hellooo as I fly over the area. Finally, there are two YouTube videos to share from the band. The first one is an electronic press kit (EPK) that is really impressive. I think more bands should do this type of thing.



There is also an in-studio live performance video recorded at WYBF 89.1 to check out.



This is all good stuff that is, again, highly recommended.

MP3: Meantime

Liechtenstein

For the past few days, I've been more concerned with my upcoming (next week) trip to London UK and have lost focus in finding new music. Some other unexpected events have elevated my step as well, but it is too early to tell the additional news... Important information forthcoming!! For now, I will continue with a truly good find originally posted by Matt of the music blog Scatterbrain just this past week. I haven't been shopping the neighboring blogs recently, so it was nice to fall for one of the first songs listened to once I did. Today's featured track is an impressive lo-fi debut which was originally one of 22 songs included on a 2006 compilation titled C-06 released via tape by South American music journal Mira El Péndulo. There is also a Mira El Péndulo MySpace page to visit for more bands from that, and future projects. This particular song is wonderfully retro with just the right reverb levels and is yet another amazing music project from Sweden. Actually, what I've heard so far sounds more along the lines of a few all-female Massachusetts bands I can remember from the mid to late 80's... think Homestead label. You might be one step ahead of me there.



















Liechtenstein is an indie pop band from Göteborg, Sweden consisting of members (first names only) Naemi, Teresa, Renée and Elin. Since there is little additional information I could find in any language, I will just give you the links to visit. First stop should be the Liechtenstein MySpace page for another track from the band's upcoming 3 song 7 inch single which will soon be released on local Göteborg label Fraction Discs. There is also a Fraction Discs MySpace for some other small label Swedish artists to check out. Enjoy this song and have a good weekend. I'll be packing my bags for London. xoxo.

MP3: Stalking Skills

MML: Experimental Four

The mp3 files on my desktop have been building up and I have been meaning to feature some of them for quite some time now. I've also been a bit rubbish in posting daily music lately, so I figured it would be a good idea to bring you 4 artists today. You will notice that all 4 of these musical projects have a few things in common. First of all, they are all formidable experimental electronica (with some folk influence) artists. Secondly, the songs are mostly instrumental, and finally (hopefully) you will find the music to be, in each case, an excellent listen. For the past couple of years, my interest in this particular genre of music has grown and I find the following selections especially amazing. Let's get started...

Skytree

Skytree is the music of Evan Snyder from the outskirts of the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The song featured today is a part of the most recent 2006 EP release Wilder Forest which is available through Earstroke Records. Evan recently inked a deal with Herb Recordings who will make available a song via compilation and also a full length player for 2007. Check the Skytree MySpace page for more info and music also. This track is really nice and easily makes my own home collection of music faves.















MP3: St. Croix Boomsite


Ass

Ass is the music project of Andreas Söderström from Stockholm, Sweden. Alone, he utilizes guitars, his vocals, trumpet, keys, percussion and electronics in a beautiful mix of folk and experimental music. Your first stop will need to be the Ass MySpace page where you can listen to more. The featured song today belongs to their November 2006 Headspin Records self titled release. I have to admit that I found myself staring out of my window into the freezing rain with this song. I love it.

















MP3: Don't You Tell A Word


Lymbyc Systym

Lymbyc Systym are the Tempe, Arizona duo of Michael Bell and Jared Bell. They started making this music in 2001 and have since released a few EPs. Todays featured track is part of the brand new 2007 EP titled Love Your Abuser which was released on LA based Mush Records (vinyl LP is available 2/19.) If you visit the Lymbyc Systym MySpace page there is more music and quite a few downloads as well. Everything I've listened to from this duo is total quality. There is also an easy-to-navigate Lymbyc Systym website for additional band information and merch. Visit them often. You won't believe this but there is a part of this song that sounds exactly like an old Afghan Whigs tune!













MP3: Truth Skull


Pluxus

Pluxus is an experimental trio (mostly) from Stockholm, Sweden consisting of current members Adam Kammerland, Anders Ekert and Sebastian Tesch. They have been a noted and popular Scandinavian musical entity since 1995 and have an exceptionally dark November 2006 release titled Solid State. It is supposed to be a product of the band's own Pluxenburg Records label but that link is presently not working. Instead you will need to visit the Pluxenburg MySpace page to contact the band and close friends directly. I'm sure they can cough up a copy if you send them dollars. This is great music and well worth a listen.


























MP3: Bootstrap

Thrushes

When looking for up-and-coming bands that interpret the early 1990s shoegaze/post punk sound, it is very important to take a few moments to get a feel for the band beyond any type of "hit song" or recommended listening from most music blogger "resources". I get numerous MySpace friend requests and emails from math rock (is that still a genre?) bands and it makes me sick. I know it sounds like some random old guy spewing bitterness but if you were actually there for the original scene it will (or would) make perfect sense. Today's featured artists are an extremely good representation of what needed to evolve from those tumultuous (in my case homeless) times and probably sound better than plenty, if not most of the original crop... just to be honest. What starts with a delicate vocal introduction soon becomes a solid sparkling guitar delivery at around the 1:10 mark. From there it is a dreamy back and forth that highlights the original turn of events. If you are looking for music that has the past in mind while looking forward, this might be the perfect place to start. It gets high recommendations from The Milk which is beginning to mean something I think? I'm not sure what, but people are starting to talk and stuff. Back on topic.















Thrushes are a Baltimore, Maryland indie rock quartet consisting of Anna Conner (vocals/guitar), Casey Harvey (guitar/vocals), Matt Davis (percussion/chimes n' things) and Rachel Tracy (bass/shakers?) The brand new CD titled Sun Come Undone is set for a release date of March 13 through Bird Note Records. If you would like to hear more of the newly recorded material, check the Thrushes MySpace page. For further inspection and band merchandise you should also visit the Thrushes website. There will be a record release party which you readers/listeners, if in the area, are required to attend March 10th at local music venue Ottobar. The common folks here in Ohio and the UK would love a full report (pictures also!) You can place a safe bet this will not be the last time you see this band featured here. More to come.















MP3: Aidan Quinn

Schema

The weekends are usually down time for me these days but I wanted to post a song that I've had on my desktop for several days. In breaking from the usual indie rock fare, this track might bring to mind a smoke filled lounge (Taverna) at the end of any given evening. I've always wanted to refer to a song as a "number" and now is the perfect chance. My 9 year old daughter commandeered "our" laptop yesterday after watching her new favorite DVD series and found this song amongst the growing confusion of MP3 files on the desktop. This little number was repeated for the better part of our Saturday afternoon and is still embedded in my brain. It seems like forever (2 years) since I traveled to Greece and has been almost a year since my last music feature from that country. I hope you enjoy this jazzy blues treat from Northern Greece...















Formed in 1993, Schema is primarily the music of Stathis Chouliaris (electric guitar/vocals), Achileas Radis (electric guitar), Periklis Kourkoumelis (keyboards), Efthimis Sfairopoulos (bass) and Dimitris Mpaltzis (percussion) from Ioannina, Greece. Today's featured track is actually from the band's sophomore release Earth and includes the vocal contribution of Annalina Fotopoulou. It was recorded at Studio II in 2004 and is still available if you visit the Schema website. To hear more of this music check out the Schema MySpace page. Stathis is responsible for several theatrical, studio and children's recording projects and continues to offer music lessons locally. Finally, there is also a YouTube Video of another song for your viewing pleasure. Yiamas!



MP3: Spider

The Muggabears

ARTIST UPDATE: Last November we featured a band [read the review + download] that had more people messaging both Michelle and myself than any other feature in any given week of doing this blog. Afterwards, I set that same song as my own personal MySpace page music and the queries continued. Now (or just) when things began to settle a bit, I received a message from one of the band members that there is new soon-to-be released music available. Christmas in February? Today's featured song is one of several lo-fi rock tracks I had the chance to listen to from the band's upcoming March-April 2007 EP to be titled Night Choreography. In many cases, I get antsy at the thought of a sophomore, or even junior release from most any new musician, but this time the listening experience was more than impressive. A true standout once again from The Muggabears.



















In case you missed our last visit, The Muggabears are a Brooklyn, New York (by way of Norman, Oklahoma) trio consisting of members Travis Johnson (guitar/vocals), Emily Ambruso (bass) and Kevin Murphy (drums). For a more songs from the upcoming EP Night Choreography check out the Muggabears MySpace page and add as a friend while there.. Another well spent couple of moments can be taken advantage of at the Muggabears website where you will find more detailed info on the band. The sound here doesn't stray far at all from the band's original plan and that is a good thing. What starts out as a heavily Sonic Youth influenced song, suddenly breaks at around the 1:22 mark into what I would consider the true Muggabears sound. The noisy ending is just an added bonus. Just wait until you hear the rest of this thing. Great stuff.















Oh! Almost forgot... here's a YouTube video of the band playing last month at the Mercury Lounge in NYC - the song is called Now I've Got a Sword. Enjoy!



MP3: The Goth Tarts

Cuckoo Canoe

So I get home to my building from the office at the end of last week and checked the post box. I have to say, there's nothing like a bubble wrapped envelope with the return address listed as Brooklyn, New York to make me smile after a rough day. By the time I made it up the elevator and doors were opening to my floor, the package was already unwrapped, CD case open with me inspecting the contents. After a few listens, I had to contact Michelle for some input as to which song we should feature. Most of the tracks were sent back and forth via MSN Messenger and we finally settled on what you are listening to. I do have to say... the balance of music contained on the disk I received from this band is equally solid. The vocals are especially fantastic and, besides the driving guitar, are probably what makes this track a standout for me.















Cuckoo Canoe is the trio of Josh Iden (vocals, guitar), Mike Cohen (bass), and Patrick Wood (drums, vocals) from Brooklyn, New York. The band was formed almost exactly one year ago in February 2006 when Josh's previous band, The Pop Wheelies, called it quits. The song featured here today is part of Cuckoo Canoe's yet to be released full length debut titled Basketball Freedom Overdrive. It was recorded in both Manhattan and rural New York locations over this past summer and was eventually mastered during the latter part of December 2006. After a few emails with Josh I learned something that impressed me. He mentioned the songs were recorded with minimal mics and rudimentary equipment so I was originally wondering how the quality could be so good. I soon learned that accomplished studio engineer Bryce Goggin (Lemonheads, Pavement and my old favorite Alice Donut) was responsible for mixing duties. Basketball Freedom Overdrive will be self-released in May 2007 unless ongoing talks with a few labels produce anything in the meantime. If you would like to hear more from the album, check out the Cuckoo Canoe MySpace page and add on as a friend while you are there. The Cuckoo Canoe website is currently a work in progress and the band really doesn't have much in the way of photos for now sooo... I decided to invert colors on the logo seen below to make them look like a cool Reggae Band. I'm liking this for sure.

MP3: Aderol

The State of Samuel

One of the best parts of doing the almost-daily music thing here on MML and on the MySpace group is when I get to update previously featured musicians. We originally posted this artist in early April of 2006 [read the review] and now there is a brand new song to share. Along with this new song is a sort of competition on The State of Samuel website (news section) where he is asking that you guess what records he has in his own collection. Some of you that speculate with accuracy will receive a free copy of the new CD once it is released. I just made my attempt (entry #16) but am probably way off the mark. Oh and, in case you hadn't figured it out, we are staying in Sweden for another day of music. Today's featured song was recorded on a 4 track and is the shortest we've ever posted at 1 minute 49 seconds. To be honest, It probably could have been stretched a few minutes longer without giving me the slightest reason to lose interest. The lightly fuzzed guitar sound and classic 60s garage-esque vocals have only improved with Sam's new material. I look forward to the upcoming release even though I probably blew my chance at winning a free copy. (The Jam?...what was I thinking.)















The State of Samuel is a long-time music project of Samuel Petersson from Stockholm, Sweden. He has been making this music since 1996 and has completed several previous cassettes, CDs and compilation appearances since that time. Assisting Sam in the recording of the upcoming full length "Here Comes The Flood" release are local musicians Isak Klasson (bass, guitar, backing vocals), Peter Eriksson (drums, percussion, engineering, mixing), Aina Myrstener (trumpet, cello), Betty-Marie Barnes (vocals), Sofie Wennström (vocals) and Alice Eggers (piano). I think that's everyone? To hear a few more new songs, check out The State of Samuel MySpace page as well. As a bonus, we've posted the original version of Square Roots from our first State of Samuel review for you also. Enjoy.

MP3: The Residents of Gloom
Bonus MP3: Square Roots

Henry Morgans Solokarriär

The temperature dropped dramatically here in Ohio over the weekend and It finally feels like winter... maybe a little too much so. Luckily, the song featured today is warm enough to thaw your bones and leave you looking for more of this extremely catchy Swedish pop music. There really isn't much information I could find for this artist, but I will give you what I could gather. It's always interesting to discover the inspiration behind the music. Sometimes it is as simple as a student on his way home from class to make his girlfriend a mixed disc, suddenly deciding to record his very own music that same day. That student, Christoffer, currently resides in the University town of Uppsala, Sweden and is also the only artist behind this DIY home recorded music project. Henry Morgans Solokarriär was born when Christoffer recorded the first song mid-September of last year. Since then, he has recorded 3 more tracks, including a cover of the Bright Eyes song "An Attempt To Tip The Scales", for a late 2006 demo. Unfortunately, there were only 20 copies of the demo that were made available, but there is good news. You can download these songs for free if you visit the brand new Henry Morgans Solokarriär website. Also, make sure to stop by the Henry Morgans Solokarriär MySpace page to add as a friend and get updates from his blog section. This is an excellent pop song... definitely go listen to the rest.

MP3: One Day, Any Day

Boy/Girl

It seems the indie rock Friday we've been trying to keep afloat lives to see another week...and in a big big way. Today's featured duo are an incredible exercise in both reckless noise rock and minimal needs where bells and whistles are concerned. Plenty of you might make an obvious initial comparison to a certain Jon Spencer project (minus the cheesy ego), just as I first did. That might be a result of them using the same Manhattan practice basement many of Spencer's previous bands and related artists inhabited at one time or another. That likeness quickly faded as the vocals kicked me in the stomach, bringing to ear and mind front man Thomas Squip of legendary mid 1980's D.C. hardcore outfit Beefeater (minus the politics.) The sound is aggressive yet measured and a free-for-all (or two) in a nice loose package. I would absolutely love to see this band live.













Boy/Girl is the Brooklyn, NYC duo of Eric Stiner (guitar/vocals) and Lisa Cusack (drums/things within reach to beat on). From what info I could gather, Lisa is originally from Oslo, Norway but moved here to the states to study at Columbia University. The two met in 2005 and by the end of that year had formed the band you are listening to. To hear more music, your first visit should be to the Boy/Girl MySpace page where you can also find multiple links to buy the band's music. The MySpace videos there don't work (as is usually the case) and I couldn't find a YouTube version (you try searching "boy/girl" on YouTube... I dare you) After that, your next stop should be to the band's new label/distributor Family Business (FB MySpace) which is an offshoot of the much larger Ace Fu Records (Fu MySpace). Finally, there is a Boy/Girl website which only has two links and a pink bunny being stabbed...not really, well yeah really. The next live performance will be held at Brooklyn venue Southpaw on February 15th with many other lablemates for the Family Business Showcase. Great song and quite a way to kick off the weekend ah?













MP3: Feel