Mini People In Coney Island

As a child growing up in Ohio, I was surrounded by large regional amusement parks and themed county festivals, so being dragged unwillingly to any one of these destinations for premeditated entertainment was a regular occurrence. Today's featured artist also experienced joy/trauma surrounding a certain massive theme park and has fashioned the feeling of his music around some of these childhood moments. Mini People In Coney Island is the experimental music of Rafael who is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Along with Jeff Rosenfeld, Ella Davidson and various other local musician friends, Rafael has recorded and self-released a new 12 song album titled Nada Dreamland. He explains that the name for the new release comes from a long time theme park that recently closed in Nada, Japan and the music is a result of his dreams and nightmares involved with Walt Disney World. For a listen to a few of the new tracks, you can find a new friend at the Mini People In Coney Island MySpace page. If you like what you've heard there, we highly recommend a visit to the Mini People In Coney Island website where you can freely download a zip file of the entire Nada Dreamland collection of music. It must be mentioned that vocoders are usually something I loathe regardless of genre, however, with today's offering it comes off more naturally than I am accustomed to hearing and serves as a beautiful centerpiece for this experimental backdrop. Very nice.

MP3: Traditionalist
MP3: This Is The Original

*Semi-Related Bonus: I couldn't help but think of this Magnetic Fields song from the 1994 album "Holiday" while doing this writeup....so here ya go:

MP3: The Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers

Astro Firs

Later in the week, we will bring some outstanding experimental electronica from South America and Scandinavia to the table, but for now there is the pressing matter of straight forward indie rock that needs to be addressed. Even if you are not familiar with today's featured artist and are listening for the first time, an easy guess might be made that a substantial amount of attention is right around the corner... and for good reason. Astro Firs are a young, highly energetic rock band consisting of musicians Scott (vocals, guitar), Tate (guitar), Luke (drums, vocals) and Jos (bass) from the coastal town of Falmouth, England. Although they have only been together for little over a year, the stir and momentum beginning to surround the band, along with additional new music for listening, can be taken in while visiting the Astro Firs MySpace page. The track featured today, What They Say, will soon be part of a double A-side single that is set to be released through UK label Dice Music (Dice MySpace) in the earliest part of 2008. The next live performance will be a precursor to next year's limited UK tour and will take place this Wednesday, November 28 at local Falmouth establishment Gylly Cafe. Check out the live set if you can and be prepared to hear much more about this band in the near future.

MP3: What They Say

Renminbi

Since the MML music blog is essentially an afterwork adventure, there are sometimes obstacles when attempting a listen to some of the music artists send our way. From something as simple as a phone call to dinner burning while the cats chew on electric lampcords around the house, there usually is no shortage of events to distract us. Today's featured track has an intro of almost a full minute and plenty can happen in that short time span, but once things kick in you can expect to find yourself in the middle of a solid indie rock song. Renminbi (Chinese for "peoples currency") is the music project of founder Lisa Liu (guitar, vocals) along with Jim Archer (drums, vocals) and SMV (keyboads, vocals) from Brooklyn, New York. Upon visiting the Renminbi website, several clips from previous singles/EPs can be found, as well as some not-so-updated band news. For the latest, including information on the upcoming 2008 full length release, you will only need to visit the Renminbi MySpace page. Included in today's feature is an unmastered track Lisa was kind enough to send in advance of its completion. After listening a few times, I'm not sure the song requires any further polish before making its way onto the new album. The band's next live performance will take place on the 1st of December at local NYC venue The Delancey. In summation, if cooking (forgetting) a leftover porkchop in a toaster is not on the dinner agenda and there are no cats with a death wish present, you will more than likely enjoy the following...

MP3: Lachine

Fredrik Ståhl

After taking a couple of days to recuperate from posting 46 bands and to prepare for an upcoming holiday here in the US, we only had to return to our previous offering to find today's featured musician. A few months ago, the Swedish duo Honeymoon Over! made their way onto our fortunate little music blog [August 2007 review + download]. At the time, it was mentioned that a solo project for half of the band existed but we neglected to elaborate or share the music. Now you get to hear it. The brand new full length release from Fredrik Ståhl, titled Shortcomings & Longshots, was just released last week on Gothenburg based Frukt Records. It is a follow up to Fredrik's most recent EP, Start Making Sense, both of which are available completely free for download through Frukt. The solo material contains hints of the low key song structure we enjoy from Honeymoon Over! while extending a bit further into the realm of true pop. For some reason, a few lesser-known guilty pleasures from the 1991 Dave Wakeling solo release, No Warning come to mind when listening... and this is a very good thing (shhh!). Besides the free downloads available through the label, you can also preview a few new tracks upon visiting the Fredrik Ståhl MySpace page. Check it out for sure.

From the brand new full length release: "Shortcomings & Longshots":

MP3: (Or Maybe) Fort Knox
MP3: Reverend Camden

*Bonus*From the EP: "Start Making Sense":

MP3: When People Go To Work I Go To Bed

MML: Celebrating The Duo

Every once in a blue moon, we notice a pattern developing with the artists featured on MML and make an attempt to organize somewhat of a quick reference guide for those who may have just stumbled upon our little music blog. In May 2007, we presented the Shoe(gaze) Cupboard which was a compilation of artists who create music from a particular genre we love. Following the internet(s) attention to that post, it was decided to give another go with Sweder's Digest in order to organize a list of favorite bands from Sweden. In the same spirit, we now present a random sample of two piece musical outfits/projects, each who have graced the Milk Milk Lemonade Music Blog. It's always impressive when a complete and satisfying sound can be created without enlisting an army of ex-dormmates who each happen to possess uniform talent for a single elementary school instrument. To be completely honest, we even shy away from most any band fronted by a "Lead Singer" (male) who performs with only a microphone stand to romance. It just seems silly.

Today's feature contains 46 of the best multi-tasking two-member music projects we have been fortunate enough to present over the past two years. The music will vary greatly with each MP3 you click so be prepared for a diverse audio experience. Although the artists are listed alphabetically, the tracks always seem to be a good mix when listened to in order. Grab a beer, find your black feather boa and pull up a chair... It's showtime, girls.

About

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Website: http://www.whataboutabout.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/aboutabout
MP3: Think Niles Drink

Bad Veins

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Website: http://www.badveins.net/main.html
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/badveins
MP3: Gold and Warm
MP3: The Lie

Bowerbirds

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Website: http://www.bowerbirds.org/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bowerbirds
MP3: In Our Talons

Boy/Girl

Location: Brooklyn, New York
Website: http://www.pleasehate.us/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/pleasehateus
MP3: Feel
MP3: Rorshack
MP3: The Shakes

Brother-Sister

Location: Adelaide, Australia
Website: http://www.brothersistermusic.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/littlebrothersister
MP3: Likewise

Dah Da Candy

Location: Kobe, Japan / Bangkok, Thailand
Website: http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~journy2sound/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dahdacandy
MP3: Red Flower

Devics

Location: Los Angeles, California/elsewhere
Website: http://www.devics.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/devics
MP3: Distant Radio

Eux Autres

Location: Portland, Oregon
Website: http://www.euxautres.net/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/euxautres
MP3: Ecoutez Bien!

Eye Was An Ion

Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eyewasanion
MP3: Happening Soon

Frightened Rabbit

Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Website: http://www.frightenedrabbit.co.uk/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit
MP3: Go Go Girls

Giant Drag

Location: Los Angeles, California
Website: http://www.giantdrag.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/giantdrag
MP3: Kevin Is Gay

HeartsRevolution

Location: New York City, New York/Los Angeles, California
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/heartsrevolution
MP3: C.Y.O.A.

Honeymoon Over!

Location: Gothenburg,Sweden
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/honeymoonover
MP3: Järntorget
MP3: Sophistication

It's A Musical

Location: Berlin, Germany
Website: http://www.itsamusical.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/itsamusicalberlin
MP3: Pain Song
MP3: Take Off Your T-Shirt

Jed & Lucia

Location: Chatsworth, California
Website: http://www.jedandlucia.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jedandlucia
MP3: Answers

Katie The Pest

Location: Pasadena, California
Website: http://www.katiethepest.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/katiethepest
MP3: Sober

Kings & Queens

Location: Nevada City, California
Website: http://www.kingsandqueensmusic.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kingsandqueensmusic
MP3: Kings Theme

La Musique Populaire

Location: Champaign, Illinois
Website: http://www.polyholiday.com/artists/LMP/
MP3: Beautiful Noise

Larytta

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/larytta
MP3: The Money

Le Man Avec Les Lunettes

Location: Brescia, Italy
Website: http://www.lmall.it/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/occhialuto
MP3: Could I Call You Honey?

Liger

Location: Vienna, Austria
Website: http://www.iheartsinewaves.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/postfolk
MP3: Smapples
MP3: Temporary Happy Ending

Lymbyc Systym

Location: Tempe, Arizona
Website: http://www.lymbycsystym.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thelymbycsystym
MP3: Truth Skull

Marching Band

Location: Linköping, Sweden
Website: http://www.marchingband.se/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/secondlanguage
MP3: Home Alone VI

Neulander

Location: New York City, New York
Website: http://www.diskob.com/c/neulander/db122.html
MP3: Flying

OMR

Location: France
Website: http://www.omrmusic.com/
MySpace: http://myspace.com/omrtheband
MP3: The Way We Have Chosen

Opsvik & Jennings

Location: New York City, New York
Website: http://www.opsvikandjennings.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/opsvikjennings
MP3: Self
MP3: The Pendler

Orangebox

Location: Norway + Jämtland, Sweden
MP3: Our Lines

Over The Atlantic

Location: New Zealand
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/overtheatlanticband
MP3: I Cannot Believe

Panda Riot

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Website: http://www.pandariot.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/pandariot
MP3: Like Flowers At Night
MP3: She Dares All Things

Psapp

Location: London, United Kingdom
Website: http://psapp.net/
MySpace: http://myspace.com/psapp
MP3: Hi

RF & Lili De La Mora

Location: Berkeley / Long Beach, California
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/rfandlili
MP3: Your Book Of Everything

Russian Spy Camera

Location: Athens, Georgia
Website: http://www.russianspycamera.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/russianspycamera
MP3: Curanderismo

Schwervon!

Location: New York, New York
Website: http://www.schwervon.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/schwervon
MP3: Groundhogs

Sinks Of Gandy

Location: Huntington, West Virginia
Website: http://www.sinksofgandy.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sinksofgandy
MP3: Though We'd Start

Skist

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Website: http://www.polarityrecords.net/skist/skist.html
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/skist
MP3: If There Is Any News

Spotlight Kid

Location: London, United Kingdom
Website: http://www.spotlightkid.info/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/spotlightkidsound
MP3: Can't Let Go (This Feeling)

Stol

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Website: http://www.stol.nu/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/stolmusic
MP3: Tefau Ohne Laut

Talkdemonic

Location: Portland, Oregon
Website: http://www.talkdemonic.com/index.htm
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/talkdemonicmusicmaking
MP3: Ending The Orange Glow

The Berg Sans Nipple

Location: Paris, France
Website: http://www.bergsansnipple.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thebergsansnipple
MP3: Along The Quai

The Harvey Girls

Location: Portland, Oregon
Website: http://www.theharveygirls.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theharveygirls
MP3: Parking Lot

The Lovekevins

Location: Malmö, Sweden
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lovekevins
MP3: Private Life Of A Cat
MP3: Tamagotchi Freestyle

The Olive League

Location: Portland, Oregon
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theoliveleague
MP3: Island To City
MP3: Our Demon Authors Rendered

The Rosebuds

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Website: http://www.therosebuds.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/therosebuds
MP3: Boxcar

The Sheds

Location: Burlington, Kentucky
Website: http://www.theshedsmusic.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theshedsmusic
MP3: Between the Moon And Love
MP3: Do You Have A Marlboro
MP3: Drunk For Lunch
MP3: Reflection Of The Sun

The Sky Drops

Location: Wilmington, Delaware
Website: http://www.theskydrops.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theskydrops
MP3: Now Would Be
MP3: Hang On
MP3: Million
MP3: Sentimental

Toy

Location: Bergen, Norway
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/toymusic2
MP3: Golden Fish In Pool

Komon

Earlier this year we featured two different female musicians from Sweden in the same post [March 2007 review + downloadable goods]. One of those artists was Antonia Pehrson (aka Tango) from Göteborg. Antonia's ongoing music project, Komon, started in 2001 with a few bedroom recordings that incorporated various organs, synths and drum machines to accent her wonderfully candied vocals. The track originally featured here, Are We Friends, is an understated gem that belongs to the 2005 self released Silly Girl EP. Upon visiting the Komon MySpace page, you will find this 4 track release can still be purchased in CD-R format by contacting Ms. Pehrson directly.

MP3: Are We Friends

More recent material from Komon is a noticeable departure with the addition of slightly fuzzed out guitar and lo-fi recording that creates an endearing bedroom twee pop experience. The influence involved in this transformation can be attributed, in part, to Antonia's introduction to the 1997 book of punk history Please Kill Me. The latest release, titled Punk EP, was just made available November 1st through Miami, Florida based and new blogosphere favorite Cloudberry Records (Cloudberry MySpace). The label only produces 100 copies of each single/EP they put out there, so you might want to grab one at some point in the near future.

MP3: A Good Start

As a bonus and extra treat, we have been given the go-ahead from Komon to post a track previously unavailable for download. The following song, Springtime Told Me, is only a demo for now but will most likely make it's way onto a future release. If you hadn't noticed the first time around, there are a few additional new demos available for listening if you return to the Komon MySpace. Pay close attention to "If My Heart Was A House" while there. Lovely song.

MP3: Springtime Told Me (demo)

The Gloaming

As I've mentioned before, we usually don't make a habit of posting purely instrumental music on MML, so when you find it here you can be sure we are fairly smitten with it. Today's featured musician is just such an example of why some of our ideas for content change on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. If you are in the middle of a few things around the nest, now might be a good time to silence the television and/or any other peripheral distraction in the room. For some reason I imagine a late evening, with one last cocktail or cigarette, just before sliding off into tomorrow as the perfect moment to take in any one of these beautiful tracks. The Gloaming is an experimental music project of Bristol, UK artist Benjamin Shillabeer. Incorporating various instruments and audio sources including (are you ready?) guitars, bass, keyboards, piano, rhodes, synths, drum kit, drum machine, percussion, melodica, glockenspiel, harmonica, vocals, loop-station, tape loops, computer programming & field recordings, Benjamin creates an organic sound that will please even the most reluctant ear. To listen and download a total of eight songs, visit both The Gloaming Myspace page as well as The Gloaming Secondary Myspace. All of the tracks are equally impressive and the audio quality is surprisingly good where myspace downloads are concerned. We highly recommend a complete listen to the following.

MP3: Night School
MP3: Goldbricking
MP3: The Lost Glove

Life After SUGAR: Tribute CD

It's time to kick things up a notch in presenting you with a true rarity. For those who are even semi-fanatical about the various musical endeavors of Bob Mould, today's feature might be just the thing to brighten your day. After Husker Du disbanded in 1988 and with a pair of epic solo releases under his belt, Bob Mould (guitar, vocals) started the band Sugar in 1991-92 with musicians David Barbe (bass, vocals) and Malcolm Travis (drums). Although there were only a handful of releases during the short life span of the band, plenty of people continue to regard the music as some of Bob's finest work. Now let's get to business. I received a package from Moscow, Russia the other day and had no idea what it was. I quickly realized that the curator of a certain (highly active) Sugar Myspace Fanpage, known to me as "D", had completed an amazing project. It's no small feat to organize 17 bands from around the world in order to present a tribute CD for a band this worthy of celebration. We are more than highly impressed and are fortunate to have received a copy. Before I forget, there is also Life After Sugar Myspace page dedicated to the actual CD and the bands that participated. Life After Sugar: Tribute was created simply because our friend D loves the music and this is evidenced by the fact that there were only 100 copies produced and they are not for sale. Now let's meet a few of the outsanding bands that made this happen... shall we?

Atomic Garden

Location: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/atomicgarden
Website: http://dumb-inc.propagande.org/atomic/
MP3: Atomic Garden - Gift

Murdock

Location: Izegem, Belgium
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/murdockmurdock
Website: http://takeoff.to/murdock
MP3: Murdock - Changes

Stewart Pack vs. Shayne Ivy

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Stewart Pack Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/stewartpack
Shayne Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/shayneivy
MP3: Stewart Pack vs. Shayne Ivy - Granny Cool

Four Star Alarm

Location: Chicago, Illinois USA
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fourstaralarm
Website: http://www.fourstaralarm.com/
MP3: Four Star Alarm - Tilted

MML receives Nielsen/Billboard.com Best Music Blog Nomination!!

I arrived home from work yesterday to discover some very exciting news. It seems that the folks at Hey! Nielsen and Billboard.com have paid a visit to our little music world and found it worthy of nomination for their 1st annual Best Music Blog Contest!! If you visit the contest page at the H!N Website, you will find plenty of more recognizable music blogs than our own that are run by some of the people who were an original influence when we started this whole thing. Anyway, this should be interesting and I hope those of you who visit us on a regular basis will show up to vote for The Milk. We will definitely need your help in getting the word out there also! Voting starts this Monday, November 12th and will run through December 12th.

More information and details to come soon... Go Milk!!

Panda Riot

The Philadelphia based shoegaze/"swirl-pop" duo of Brian Cook and Rebecca Scott along with their trusty drum machine have finally released the long awaited full length album She Dares All Things. It was made available a couple of days ago on both iTunes and Amazon for electronic download but, if you are anything like us, there is nothing better than having a proper CD to hold in your hand. To purchase a hard copy, you only need visit the Panda Riot website. While there, you will also find more tracks to download including Rebecca performing an outstanding cover of The Magnetic Fields' classic Book of Love. Our first Panda Riot feature happened last year [November 2006 review + demo download] while the band was still completing and reworking content for the new album. After having listened to more of the music from She Dares All Things, it becomes clear that a certain amount of revision will need to take place prior to presenting our year end highlight feature. The new album gets high recommendations all the way around. Big big thanks to Brian for sending the finished versions of following tracks.

MP3: Like Flowers At Night
MP3: She Dares All Things

MML News: Big Dipper Back For 2008!

Oh yes, it is true... and some of the best news we've received in quite a while. If you were a fan of mid to late 1980s guitar-pop rockers Big Dipper, this news will send a more than adequate number of chills up the old spine. In a recent interview with Gary Waleik for Rock Town Hall, it was explained that he, along with Bill Goffrier, Steve Michener and Jeff Oliphant, will once again take the stage for a handful of live performance dates at some point in late April 2008. As if that were not enough, there will also be a 3 disk CD set released on which you will find plenty of tracks from the band's first three records (almost impossible to get your hands on these days) along with a number of other true rarities. It will also include a twelve page booklet that will hopefully serve to highlight some of the history surrounding Big Dipper. We originally featured this band over a year ago [September 2006 endless ramble + download] as an MML indie classic and have since wondered if the reunion could ever actually happen. After jumping around on chairs pouring beer over each other's heads (not really... the beer, I mean), we settled down enough to realize that some serious plotting and scheming will need to be done in order to make it to one of these shows next year. As far as band reunions go, this might be as good as it gets in our little world.

Interview Link: Big Dipper's Gary Waleik Hears the Sirens' Call

There is a Big Dipper MySpace page for you to add as a virtual friend, get updated information and listen to more music from this classic indie rock band. Now would probably be a good time to turn up the volume on your computer speakers just a little. While the following audio and video clips are of low quality, they might just be a good introduction for those who are not so familiar with this band. Both of the tracks featured today belong to the 1987 album titled Heavens. The YouTube video clip that follows is of the song Faith Healer from the same album. I love this band...

MP3: All Going Out Together
MP3: She's Fetching

Wanna Be James?

It's always great to hear from artists we have featured in the past. Sometimes we are contacted as a result of a new single, video or album, however, this time we have a completely different project on our hands. If you are a regular visitor to MML, you might remember the Greek band Wild Honey we mentioned last year [June 2006 review + download]. Lead vocalist/guitarist Annita had one of the sweetest voices we had heard in a while, so it was decided to include Wild Honey in our year end 2006 Relapse also. The latest band, Wanna Be James?, is a complete musical departure as Annita (the owner) teams up with Anthony (the pet) to present a sound that effectively bridges electronic pop and punk-threaded indie rock. This duo/couple from Athens, Greece met and formed in the summer of 2006 and now continue sharing vocal, guitar and programming duties. They enlist the assistance of three additional local musicians for live performances. The forthcoming EP, which will be the sophomore release from Wanna Be James?, is not yet titled but will include the following two tracks. Deep Blue Sea is a finished product while Spin remains a semi-acoustic demo for now. Both songs, finished or not, are fantastic.

MP3: Deep Blue Sea
MP3: Spin (acoustic demo)















The band's self-released debut EP, titled Killing the Wasters, is currently available at local Athens music shops Jinx Records and Vinyl Microstore. You can also pick up a copy if you contact them directly by visiting the Wanna Be James? MySpace page. While there, you can listen to the new material as well as the entire Killing The Wasters EP which they have uploaded onto a flash player. As a bonus, the following is one of the more raucous tracks from the debut.

MP3: Get Close To You

Make Me

After several days away from our little music fixation, we returned to find some minor (massive) computer problems which required our immediate attention. The bad news? Our magic button machine lost plenty of the music files that were not backed up at the time. The good news is, we are now back to semi-full speed and have a really good band from Northern California to share with you. Make Me is primarily the duo of Zola Goodrich (lefty bass/vocals) and Claire Haynie (keyboards/vocals) from Oakland who have been creating their own brand of noise together since 2004. With the addition of Wes Chase (drums) and Jeremy Sullivan (guitar), they have completed the full band for the purpose of both recording and their active live performance schedule.













The two tracks featured today belong to the band's debut self released album itonlyhurtsthefirsttime which was made available a few months earlier this year. If you visit the Make Me MySpace page there are additional songs from the debut as well as information on the various means by which the album can be purchased. At first listen, Oakland/San Francisco gave a nearly overwhelming sense that a rare outtake from the soundtrack of the 1983 movie Valley Girl had been found... but don't take this as a criticism or quip at all. Some of the music is quite similar to a number of artists who once inhabited Sarah Records' lineup during the late 1980s. The refreshingly simple guitar-pop structure combined with what I can only describe as "darling" vocals and keyboard accent easily lead us to highly recommend this band. Have a listen.

MP3: Oakland/San Francisco
MP3: One More Hour

If you are going to be in the Los Angeles area and would like to check out Make Me performing live, your next chance will be this Saturday, November 3, as the band travels down the coast to take the stage at LA venue Pehrspace [Pehrspace MySpace] along with local act Stop, Revolt and El Olio Wolof from Merced, CA. Should be good.