RF & Lili De La Mora

Whenever I receive a message from Lili De La Mora, the senses come to life knowing there is always something good coming our way. The beautifully unique whispering vocals we fell in love with long ago have been featured on MML in previous posts you can find both here and here. The undertaking we present today is a collaboration between Lili and exceptional multimedia artist Ryan (RF) Francesconi. Together this California duo are creating music under the aptly named project RF & Lili De La Mora. Along with several established musicians/friends you can find links for on the RF & Lili De La Mora MySpace page, they have released a brand new CD in Eleven Continents through Darla Records (Darla MySpace) with an upcoming August launch date on Japanese label P-Vine (P-Vine MySpace.) The following YouTube video was produced by Ryan and is the lead track of the new album. This is outstanding.



As an added bonus, Lili was kind enough to lend us a track from a limited release compilation titled V.A Schole Compilation Vol. 1 that was made available earlier this month on Tokyo, Japan label Schole Records. Enjoy.

MP3: Your Book Of Everything

The Antiques

While we are usually content in presenting a comparison of talented young bands to some of our favorite musicians of the past, today's featured music escapes the usual similarities we can put our collective finger on. I mostly agree with some of the previous reviews of The Antiques in that there is a feeling of early 80's British pop/rock threaded heavily with that time defying lo-fi garage sound we know so well. The difference found and contained within the the brand new CD "Sewn In Stitches" is that there are seemingly no limits or guidelines to which the sound is relegated. The healthy dose of organ accompaniment lends another dimension to the sound and the reverb levels don't hurt things at all. If, for no reason whatsoever, we were given three words to describe this music? Haunting, hollow and lovely would be the front runners although I might not be doing the slightest bit of justice to the music you are hopefully listening to right now.

The Antiques are primarily the Washington D.C. duo of Greg Svitil (vocals, guitar,organ) and Craig Garrett (bass guitar) along with assorted friends to complete the band lineup. For more tracks from the new release and further information stop by The Antiques MySpace page. Also, check out The Antiques Website for additional downloadable music and some insight. The May 22 released LP Sewn In Stitches is currently available from the band's label Sanfranin Sound and is an album we recommend highly. Listen for yourself...

MP3: Tied To Nowhere

MP3: One Day You'll Be Sorry Too

Samm Bennett

Before you listen to the following tracks and prior to my usual inane banter, please visit the following link for an amazing biography on today's featured artist. By his own admission, it is an exhaustive read, yet well worth more than a few moments of your time. We originally featured the music of Samm Bennett along with fellow musician and beautiful vocalist Haruna Ito from Tokyo, Japan and their ongoing music project Skist last year [November 2006 review + download]. If you take the time to read the extended bio on Samm, the first thing that might impress is the truly international scope of his travels. Starting with his move from hometown Birmingham, Alabama to Boston in 1977, Samm began a musical trek that would change his location again from Boston to various parts of Africa, Belgium, New York City and eventually Tokyo, Japan performing with numerous world-renowned experimental and traditional musicians along the way. Beyond the history, and moving expenses I couldn't begin to imagine, exists an updated catalogue of music which earns very high reccomendations from MML. Definitely visit all of the links and enjoy this music.























As mentioned above, Samm Bennett is presently settled and creating this unique brand of experimental electroacoustic music in Tokyo, Japan. The songs we have featured today are part of the upcoming release How To Get From Gone To Here which will be available a bit later this year on Samm's own music label Polarity Records. For a few more tracks, updated news, live performance dates and to become a friend, you can easily visit the Samm Bennett MySpace page. While there, take a moment to digest the broad range of musical collaborators and influences listed. We also recommend stopping in to the Samm Bennett Section of his Polarity Records website for a comprehensive discography and more information on all of the music projects available there.

MP3: Blues Wrapped Round My Head
MP3: Party People (Get On The Dancefloor)

Boy/Girl

After yet another stint away from our favorite little Internet addiction, we are once again kicking things off with quite the bang to follow our previous 4th of July post. If you are a regular visitor to this music weblog and appreciate a healthy dose of well measured noise rock, you are in for a treat today. We first featured Boy/Girl on February 2, 2007 [original review + download] and were more than excited to learn about a new EP and some additional news we will get to eventually. For now... sit back (if you can) and take a listen to this new little number.

MP3: Rorshack













Oh yeah... It's every bit as good as we remember. As a recap from our previous visit to Boy/Girl-Land, Eric Stiner (guitar/vocals) from Brooklyn, New York and Lisa Cusack (drums), who is originally from Oslo, Norway, met at Columbia University in 2005. Since that time, the music continues to evolve and the band is quickly becoming one of our favorite rock duos. If this new music brings to mind early 1990s material of the classic Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, it's most likely a result of Boy/Girl enlisting the big man and JSBX drummer himself, Russell Simins (Mr. Simins MySpace), to handle production duties. Now let's get to the important stuff.
















The brand new EP titled Secret Secret Secret Singles is available through 307 Knox Records and via iTunes for download. You might also find it necessary to stop into the updated Boy/Girl website for more information and news . There are more tracks and MySpace videos (that actually work!) placed appropriately enough on the Boy/Girl MySpace page. The band's next live performance will take place tonight (7/10) at local NYC venue Cake Shop with Florida outfit The Dark Romantics (TDR MySpace). Besides the above mentioned EP, some additional news I was not expecting was a welcome surprise. Boy/Girl are casually shopping labels for an upcoming full length release. I can't imagine this being a difficult task. Another listen?

MP3: The Shakes

MML Indie Classics (Vol. 3): Dü Hüskers / The Twin Cities Replay Zen Arcade

"Spring 1986, and two of San Francisco's more dedicated scene chicks are running up and down their shotgun apartment, goofing on perspective. Second acid trip, fourth hour. the tweak is peaking. They whirl into the living room, giggling, holding onto walls and their tall boy buds. "Would you mind if I put on Zen?" asks one (let's call her Jill). the other (uh... that's me) winces, considers. She's been hiding from Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade since it came out, afraid of it, really. To angry, too dense, too dark. What the hell, maybe it's time. Jill drops the needle, second song, fourth side. Terri drops to the floor, pinned by the jogging purpose of the drums. They dig in for the journey. Suddenly a wave breaks over their heads and drags them out to sea. It's "Reoccurring Dreams," and by the time those 13:47 whine up, our ladies have learned to surf."



















I first discovered the music of Hüsker Dü as a young teenager shortly after the 1984 released double album Zen Arcade. This one album changed everything I thought my young ears knew about music and would eventually shape my present-day tastes in music. It would also have a far reaching effect on plenty of bands who would, in turn, end up influencing today's current crop of indie rock artists. If you had asked me 20-some years ago, I would have told you the exact same thing I will explain now... After doing some searching through my semi-vast collection of music, I have finally realized Zen Arcade as easily being my favorite album of all time. Surprisingly enough, only 9 years after the original release of Zen Arcade, a 1993 tribute album was released on the now defunct Synapse Records label with various local Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota musicians loosely interpreting the songs from this great album. The above and below quoted San Francisco "scene chick" descriptions of a Zen Arcade experience were taken from the liner notes of today's featured CD: Dü Hüskers: Twin Cities Replay Zen Arcade. We are familiar with a handful of bands who took part in this project, but if you have any specific information on the musicians who contributed then and are still active in the Minneapolis music scene (and/or beyond) please give us an update. We would absolutely love you for it!


















"Back at that San Francisco apartment, the two girls are burrowing into the sound, listening with every cell. They've gone back to the beginning, side one, song one, and discovered the boy's life at the heart of the record. Heads down, hands talking, they're translating to each other: "Oh god --- his parents... it's so fucked up! But he loves them... Shit, don't fall in with the Krishnas!... Oh Jill, he's gone into the army!" By the time "Reoccurring Dreams" completes the cycle, they're speaking in tongues: They are Hüsker Dü and Hüsker Dü is them. And they know that the eye-watering whine that's pinched off at the end of side four continues somewhere else, will reel out forever, is in fact always present in the whir of thoughts and dreams.

And here it comes again.

--- Terri Sutton
Minneapolis, MN 1993"

From the 1993 tribute album Dü Hüskers: The Twin Cities Replay Zen Arcade:

MP3: Hammerhead - Something I Learned Today
MP3: The Mighty Mofos - Broken Home, Broken Heart
MP3: Prest Abestus - Never Talking To You Again
MP3: Muskellunge - Chartered Trips
MP3: Lies Incorporated/TVBC - Dreams Reoccurring
MP3: Superball 63 - Indecision Time
MP3: Dogfight - Hare Krsna
MP3: God's Favorite Band - Beyond The Threshold
MP3: Psuedonymphs - Pride
MP3: Salbando - I'll Never Forget You
MP3: Dylan Hicks + 3 Pesos - The Biggest Lie
MP3: Janitor Joe - What's Going On
MP3: Vertigo - Masochism World
MP3: Zuzu's Petals - Standing By The Sea
MP3: Walt Mink - Somewhere
MP3: Flour - One Step At A Time
MP3: The Blue Up? - Pink Turns To Blue
MP3: Balloon Guy - Newest Industry
MP3: Willie Wisely Trio - Monday Will Never Be The Same
MP3: Arcwelder - Whatever
MP3: Teenage Larvae - The Tooth Fairy And The Princess
MP3: Big Trouble House - Turn On The News
MP3: TVBC - Reoccuring Dreams
MP3: (Bonus Track) The Hang-Ups - Eight Miles High