MML Video: Dana Falconberry

Our initial feature of Austin, Texas based artist Dana Falconberry happened around a year and a half ago [September 2006 review + download], just as the outstanding EP Paper Sailboat was beginning to land some well deserved attention. As an update, we bring you a brand new single, titled Love Will Never Leave You Alone, in the form of a YouTube video. This new track will eventually belong to the upcoming full length debut album Oh Skies Of Grey which is set for release, without any specific date, later this year. Tomorrow night, April 27, you can catch a live performance, with musicians Erika Maassen and Gina Dvorak rounding out the full band experience, at Houston, Texas venue The Mink. If this new single is any indication of what to expect from the new LP, we just might have another year end "best of" mention on our hands. Take a moment to visit the Dana Falconberry MySpace page also for additional info and music. Happy Saturday to all...

From the 2006 EP Paper Sailboat:

MP3: Sadie

I Love You Airlines

In continuing what seems to be an occasional theme here at MML, we have yet another good NYC artist with a penchant for interpreting various and highly listenable moments of the 1980s. After glazing over the promotional email and management pop/glam rock description for the band I Love You Airlines, we had a few listens and decided that there was more of a feverish urgency involved somewhere within the recordings. An extended visit to the I Love You Airlines MySpace page revealed, to our delight, that this New York City duo of Edi Kearns (vocals) and Paul Rechsteiner (bass) have bands such as Bad Brains listed as influences. There are also a number of additional tracks you will find while visiting, including a favorite of ours in Diamond Disguise from the latest self-released EP titled A New High. The next live performance will take place May 25 at Washington D.C. venue DC9 as part of the monthly electro-pop event Taint.

MP3: The Snow Leopard

Dead Leaf Echo: Pale Fire EP

At some point in 2006, we received a kind message from NYC based artist Dead Leaf Echo (DLE MySpace) and, for reasons we can only chalk up to dysfunction on our part, communication was lost before we could feature the band's debut release Faint Violet Whiff. The sound, at that time, was decidedly 80s with more of a Roxy Music feel than anything we could attach to the crop of proto-shoegazers that would follow a few short years later... but now we have an updated story to report. The New York City trio of LG (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Mike DiLalla (bass) and Liza B (keys,vocals) recently mailed us a new offering we can recommend without hesitation. Pale Fire is the title of this brand new EP, and what we believe is the the lead track from it was actually mixed by UK shoegaze/dreampop extraordinaire Ulrich Schnauss (Ulrich Schnauss MySpace). The next live performance will be a definite highlight of an event, sponsored by the lovely and growing Loveless Music Group (LMG MySpace), that is set to take place April 23 at local Brooklyn venue Rehab. Expect plenty of future updates on DLE from MML.

MP3: Pale Fire

Oh, and before I forget. The band is currently exploring the idea of adding an additional member in the form of a quality percussionist. Please contact DLE directly if you are interested.

Red Kitchen

Sometimes, it really is what the featured artist doesn't have that is a secondary draw after a few listens to the music. With no official website, label, or even any type of one-sheet submission, a simple email communication was all that was needed to create a stir here at MML. Red Kitchen is the music project of multi-instrumentalist Matt McClure from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. As it was explained to me last week, every song Matt has recorded over the past seven years is part of an ongoing/extended concept album addressing an ageing man and his life as advanced Alzheimer's disease sets in. While this fact alone might pique your interest enough to listen, please know that the music we've heard is a cozily disheveled collection of anthems that stand well enough on their own without any further banter on our part. You can listen to more of these tracks and contact the artist if you so desire, by visiting the Red Kitchen MySpace page. Now that you have at least some sense of backdrop for the music, please give a listen and pay attention to the lyrics.

MP3: The Wake Or 110 Days

City Breathing

If anyone just so happened to ask if a song, ok... any song clocking in at over nine minutes, could hold our attention beyond a standard cocktail and cigarette, I would probably be looking carefully for signs of eye redness and/or a Frank Zappa printed t-shirt. This time, however, all bets are off as our collective attention is focused on an impressive entry in the form of a new Roses & Hello label release, titled Look How It's Snowing Upwards, Look How They Move Towards Heaven, from Brooklyn, New York based trio City Breathing. Current contributors Arun Antonyraj, Marwan Kanafani (no, not that Marwan Kanafani... - Michelle) and Ron Tucker have created a true gem in this debut full length album that had our heads spinning nicely after repeated listens. Additional music can be found on the City Breathing MySpace page and there is more information available upon visiting the City Breathing website. The next live performance will take place April 26 @ local Brooklyn venue Monkey Town. Once you give today's featured track exactly 3 minutes to build its lovely base, a shoegaze-threaded and quite epic departure ensues. Plenty of you MML regulars will appreciate this one.

MP3: A Memory of Fingerprints

For another track and our first mention of the band, please visit our previous post from Feburary... right here.

Phillip Eno

It's not often we have the chance to feature this much of the back catalogue for one artist but, when we do (and actually enjoy it), you can be sure that an audio experience well worth a few listening moments awaits. The first thing we need to explain is that Phillip Eno is not a distant cousin of popular namesake Brian... or any one person at all. Instead, what we have to share is the work of primary musicians/married couple Lito Vales and Nerissa Vales from Astoria, New York. Along with various friends, Lito and Nerissa have been churning out an amazing amount of music since 2002. The sound floats somewhere close to shoegaze, with strong electro-pop hints and a few other influences (Stephin Merritt) that are failing to register in my brain right now. We were originally only going to feature the few songs we received via email but, after visiting the band's label, Cactus Killer (Cactus Killer Myspace), we found a virtual treasure trove of outstanding music to download. The big news is that two new albums will be released, in the very near future, for 2008. For more information and plenty of additional music, you can visit the Phillip Eno website as well as the Phillip Eno MySpace page. Before beginning with the music, be sure to have a fresh cocktail and/or pack of cigarettes on hand for the ride. Very nice.

From the 2006 release Candelaria...
MP3: Young Thug
MP3: For The Love Of Renaldo Moon

From the 2005 release Comfort Room...
MP3: Fake #1
MP3: Holiday On The Moon

From the 2004 self titled release Phillip Eno...
MP3: My New Day
MP3: Ingrid

From the 2004 release Almost A Love Story...
MP3: You Say
MP3: Brood X

From the 2004 release ETC...
MP3: A Prophecy
MP3: Grand Avenue

Finally, from the 2002 debut release Manila Guerilla...
MP3: Quicksand
MP3: Sinking

Codpiece

Today it gets good and noisy here at MML as we bring you Long Beach, California rock ensemble Codpiece. The featured track is one of five that belong to a November 2007 self released EP titled Epic Code. Within this debut offering, you can expect to hear plenty of the influences listed on the Codpiece MySpace page as well as a few that had us sorting through our old music collection for comparisons. While the sound is decidedly JAMC, there is definitely Ramone(s) flavor as well as a hint of early Archwelder thrown in for good measure. You can catch the band live tomorrow night, April 10, by making your way to Los Angeles venue Mr. T's Bowl. Need a healthy dose of feedback? Yes?? We thought so. Now might be a good time to turn the computer speakers up a notch or two. Good stuff.

MP3: Whenever I'm With You

MML Preview: François Virot

Photo: Beatriz Lanchas

After a few days of welcomed but taxing family obligations and an unfortunate car engine explosion (don't ask), we finally have the opportunity to settle back in with some outstanding new music we've been listening to all the while. Our first feature of Lyon, France based multi-instrumentalist François Virot happened well over a year ago [December 2006 review + download] with a follow up on one of his noisier side projects, Clara Clara (Clara MySpace) almost a year later [October 2007 review + download]. Now we have the good fortune to report an upcoming full length release, simply titled Yes Or No, which will be made available through Clapping Music (Clapping MySpace) on June 5. Our first complete listen to the new album revealed a collection of songs that, while keeping with the previous theme of experimental campfire-folkiness, gave us a new take on Mr. Virot's warm and playful direction. For more music and information, visit the François Virot website as well as the much visited François Virot MySpace page. The next live performance will take place in Berlin, Germany on April 13 as François takes the stage at Madame Claude. The itinerary for a summer tour of the U.S. is also in the works and you can place a safe bet that we will be front and center for the Chicago show. The following two tracks are lovely and a highly recommended preview of the new album. Enjoy.

MP3: Not The One
MP3: Where o Where a

Affordable Hybrid

As a complete departure from our most recent offerings here at MML, we decided it best to club you over the head with an excellent post-punk rock band we've had on full volume for the past couple of days. Affordable Hybrid is a young quartet from Vänersborg, Sweden with a current lineup consisting of members Samuel Järpvik (guitar, vocals), Joel Eriksson (guitar, vocals), Lars Löfgren (bass, vocals) and Mikael Björklund (destroying his drum kit). The band has been active in both recording and performing live since 2003 and has easily captured our attention with a sound I can only place between Fugazi and some of the more coherent material we remember from Jesus Lizard. Here is a first listen to a track that might even give Ian MacKaye a reason to smile blushingly.

MP3: Say Ah



Say Ah is just one of 13 tracks that belong to the late 2007 debut album, titled The Snake Was A Mistake, which was recorded over the summer by fellow musician/producer Dieter Schöön and released by the band's current label Tell Me That You Love Me. We've had a chance to take in the entire thing and all songs are equally impressive. For those who'd like to hear more, there is also an Affordable Hybrid MySpace page where you can find plenty of music, both past and present, and an extensive list of their upcoming live performance dates. The new European tour kicks off this Saturday, April 5 at the local (annual) Vänersborg music festival widely known as Fairfest (2008). We now leave you with another track that could possibly give you a semi-understanding of our earlier Jesus Lizard hint. Can you tell we like this band?

MP3: It Might Be Too Late