28 Degrees Taurus

We were originally going to shut down operations here for a couple of weeks while moving into our new (It's not new! It's 88 years old! - M.) Malibu Barbie Dream-barn but decided, after receiving a CD in the post and listening to the music, to take one last spin in our pink-plastic Corvette before calling in the moving vans. So here we find ourselves with a sparkling indie rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that deserves a number of second listens. 28 Degrees Taurus is the musical collective of Jinsen Liu (guitar, vocals), Greg Murphy (percussion, drums) and Brazilian born cellist Karina Dacosta (bass, lovely vocals), that formed in 2005. With a handful of previously self-released audio contributions, in various forms since their inception, the band now has a brand new offering to share and our ears are very pleased. How Do You Like Your Love? is the title of the new full length album which was recorded over the past year or so and, now that we've had the chance to listen, a high recommendation is in order. The psychedelic drift of seamless guitars are never overpowered by any single attempt at forced shoegaze, and this is a delightfully rare find these days. For more music, stop by the 28 Degrees Taurus MySpace page as well as the 28DT Sonicbids profile... and, if you just so happen to be in the general vicinity, today's featured artist will be performing live next Thursday, May 29 at almost local Lynn/Boston venue Gulu Gulu Cafe. Have a listen... very nice.

MP3: Waves Of Love
MP3: Low Light

Bullship

My last visit to Charlotte, North Carolina was just over ten years ago and I remember walking the streets of the downtown area they called Fourth Ward, thinking to myself how much of a lovely city it was. This was just before a big sports stadium was to be built nearby but I'm sure the place is still as progressive as I remember it. Some of you might ask what this has to do with our feature, while most might have already guessed that today's musicians call this beautiful city home. Bullship is currently a four piece, consisting of Sloan Mclaughlin (drums, vocals), Chris Holston (guitar, lead vocals), Jason Michel (bass, vocals) and David Collins (lead guitar), who originally formed in 2000. After a self-titled debut album and live performance dates with the likes of Adam Franklin of Swervedriver fame (who we featured right here), the band has a brand new full length release titled is/was. Both offerings are now available for purchase at CD Baby. You can check out more of this music at the Bullship MySpace page, then download a quite a bit and get some additional info while visiting the Bullship website. From the Ashes is our featured track of the new is/was release and it builds from the most basic of beginnings into a fuzz-tastic guitar flurry we can recommend for sure. The next live performance will take place next Thursday, May 29, at local Charlotte venue Visulite Theater.

MP3: From The Ashes

MML Update: The Secret Life of Sofia

As strange as it seems now, it was almost two full years ago when we originally featured Brooklyn, New York based artist The Secret Life of Sofia, including members Kyle (vocals, classical guitar, electric guitar, keys), Eric (guitar, vocals, bass, keys, percussion), Steve (drums, bells, keys, vocals) along with live addition Fraser (bass, percussion, vocals) and the outstanding track Hospital Inside Me [July 2006 review + MP3 download]. As an update we've been sitting on for a few weeks now, there is a brand new, full length release, titled Seven Summits, to announce and we highly recommend you take a good extended listen. The songs involved are actually true stories Kyle decided to interpret after a mountain climbing experience in Colorado. Although a complete departure from some of the earlier material we were originally smitten with, the new songs we've taken in are absolutely beautiful. For more music, you can visit both The Secret Life Of Sofia website as well as The Secret Life Of Sofia MySpace page. There are currently a handful of live dates so far this summer but that list will be expanding quickly... hopefully into the Midwest and specifically the Cincinnati, Ohio/NKY area.

Hats off to the band for remembering MML and sharing the new music with all of us....

MP3: Outside

Adam Heart

No, we haven't disappeared. Instead, your friendly neighborhood bloggers are currently still buried with nerves, finance and general moving type worries that have kept us away from this magic button machine during most of yet another week. As reparation for those bewildered souls who actually wondered enough to message us with their concerns, we now kick off a week of daily music with a glam-tastic artist from Central/Northeastern Ohio (pronounced "Ahia") we've been meaning to showcase for quite some time. Adam Heart is an impressive multi-instrumentalist who was originally born in Frankfurt, Germany, but now calls Ohio (please say it with me again... "Ahia") home. Adam's four piece backing band, The Children Of Light, currently consists of Dom Vercillo (lead guitar), Phoenix Rainbow (bass), Alexander Nevermind (guitar, effects) and Kyle The Great Elkins (percussion) who are loosely based around the small college/industrial town of Ashland, Ohio. With enough spare change, willpower and maybe even some sort of trashed, yet elegant, tour van... this troupe might just be paying a visit to your local venue very soon. Let's throw a couple of songs at you before momentum finds them featured all over the place.

MP3: Electric Prophet From On High
MP3: Okay To Be

Oh yes, this is a very good thing. To find the track we feel is a certain show-stopper you will need to visit the Adam Heart MySpace page and be sure to click on the song Strictly Ballroom Baby while there. As an added bonus, we have a late night television YouTube video version of the same song with the band playfully lip-synching as improvisation. Enjoy!

Heroes of Popular Wars

Another week away with a mountain of paperwork and un-resolved housing issues makes for a nervous murder of MML bunnies and a not-so-updated blog... however, we can now take a deep breath in bringing you a treat in the form of Brooklyn, New York based quartet, Heroes Of Popular Wars. I'm not sure that many bands we've featured recently can eclipse the balance of experimental electronica vs. acoustic/hungry guitar offerings that seem to fall effortlessly into the ear with what is believed to be a natural lead track in Goodbye. We've also attached the telephone-tastic song There's The Bell in order to seal the deal... just don't try to place an outgoing call while listening. More music is available upon visiting the Heroes Of Popular Wars MySpace page. The next live performance will take place at Philadelphia, PA venue M-Room (M-Room MySpace) June 11, followed by a second chance to fall in love June 13 at Brooklyn/Williamsburg staple Don Pedro's.

MP3: Goodbye
MP3: There's The Bell

The Sad Cobras

So we've been away from the blog for a week of painful home buying negotiation and a mountain of related paperwork we certainly wouldn't wish upon anyone. The chase (no pun) to become true adults and happy homeowners is far from over but we needed to take a deep breath in returning to another submission of music we love... in other words, please be patient with us. Today's featured audio treats belong to a Roanoke, Virginia based quartet known as The Sad Cobras. Aside from the tracks made available below, the members of this band are also involved with an impressive local music collective in The Magic Twig Community which includes additional projects The Young Sinclairs, Boys Lie, Sunking! and The Power Animals among others. After visiting all of these incarnations, a thought came to mind that we just might need to take an entire week to showcase all of this music. Our first listen, where TSC are concerned, revealed wonderfully off-kilter vocals in a DEVO-infused and highly recommended track Body Cast... which is a great place to start sharing the sounds. Here we go.

MP3: Body Cast




Body Cast is just one of the songs you will find on the brand new, self released album titled No More Graves and you can listen to more of it by visiting The Sad Cobras MySpace page. The next live performance will take place at Richmond, Virginia venue Nara Sushi (on the Terasu?) June 7 with previously featured VA favorite Hot Lava. The following are a pair of additional tracks from the new release. The mood is decidedly more subdued but equally lovely.

MP3: Bernice
MP3: My Fondest Memory