Hair Rocket

Although today's featured artist maintains a band name that could easily conjure up mental images of various hairstyles many of us, including myself (circa 1984-86), might want to forget, the inspiration comes from a completely different direction with an odd practice, introduced as Hair Rocketing, which is mentioned in this snippet from the brief bio we found.

"...Prompting the audience to participate with magic tools and volunteer locks of hair that are attached to a rocket which forms the pagan idol; a patron of boundaries for the traveler who crosses them; followers meet via the web at an online museum to see their live rocket launched and documented chronologically as a bizarre hermetic experience."

Hair Rocket is the music project of Lumberville, Pennsylvania multi-instrumentalist Chris Blasucci who has been writing and recording this music since 2008. The most recent result is an impressive debut EP titled Novelty which was self-released earlier this month and includes accompaniment from a handful of regional artist-friends. The next live performance kicks off a string of fall dates and will take place on September 16 at Philadelphia venue Silk City. For additional listening and a new YouTube video stop by the Hair Rocket MySpace page, but for the complete experience we strongly recommend a visit to the Hair Rocket blog/website for a free download of the five songs that make up this debut EP offering. Have a listen to one of our favourite tracks after a few spins.

MP3: Electrical

Sir Salvatore: Good Luck Charm EP

We really need to start checking our email inbox on a more frequent and/or thorough basis. If it weren't for a friendly follow-up message from today's featured artist, our little music world could have easily remained stagnant for the balance of this weekend. Sir Salvatore is the San Francisco, California based trio of David Lean (guitar, vocals), Alejandro Soini (drums, bass, vocals) and Eric Szyslowski (guitar) who we originally made mention of in January 2008. The brand new, self-released EP is titled Good Luck Charm and we strongly suggest you pay close attention. It's not often we find ourselves listening to anything close to reminiscent of alternative folk or rockabilly without wanting to end our lives in a flurry of razorblades, but with today's offering we find an unexpected and downright charming collection of songs that deserve to be shared. A first listen to what could possibly be the lead track... shall we?

MP3: Fireflies, Reading Books

Additional information can be found by visiting the Sir Salvatore MySpace page and an outstanding new video exists for the song Parallelevator which we've gathered from YouTube for your enjoyment. We love this band.

Le Rug: Nuke Whales

It certainly has been a while, but we are now fortunate enough to have an update on the most frequently featured artist in the three and a half year history of our little music blog. Le Rug is the ongoing music project of Brooklyn, New York-based musician Ray Weiss along with his ever-evolving cast of musical journey(wo)men. This time around, Ray enlists the assistance of members belonging to an impressive NYC trio known as Fiasco for a brand new collection of 44 songs titled Nuke Whales which was recently released through Pittsburgh, PA label Tamur Records (Tamur MySpace). 44 songs? That's right... one for each President of the United States and all tracks are titled (or named) accordingly. Although the length of each one of these songs can mostly be counted in seconds rather than minutes, you could probably stretch any given one of them out infinitely and we would continue to ask for more. Much more. The reckless, dishevelled and off-kilter sound that seems ready to come unglued at any moment always ends up taking shape as some of our favourite listening moments. A perfect example from the new release Nuke Whales:

MP3: Ronald Reagan

The entire album can be downloaded completely free by visiting Tamur Records. Also, be sure to check out the following links to our past features for some insight, further info and a ton of outstanding music. Enjoy.

Previous Reviews:

August 2008 (Sex Reduction Flower)

June 2007 (C.R.E.E.P.)

March 2007 (Bleenex)

January 2007 (part 2)

January 2007 (part 1)

August 2006 (The Medics)

May 2006 (The Medics)

The Sky Drops: Bourgeois Beat

We've been anticipating this moment for a very long time and are now fortunate enough to present new music from a pair of artists who happen to be personal favourites of the MML blog. Our original review of Wilmington, Delaware musicians Rob Montejo (guitar, vocals) and Monika Bullette (drums, vocals) took place in May 2006 with a follow up in April 2007 as well as another mention in January 2009. As a follow-up to their 2006 EP Clouds Of People, The Sky Drops will release their brand new, full-length debut, titled Bourgeois Beat, tomorrow, August 11, 2009. After having an excited and extended listen to the new music, we have a simple question. Is it too early to start talking about best-of-year releases for 2009? A first listen for you...

MP3: Swimming With Fishes

Whenever those wonderful chills start shooting up our collective spine as anticipated new music takes shape in our ears, the reason for maintaining this music blog becomes quite clear. We highly recommend this new collection of songs and suggest a visit to The Sky Drops MySpace page as well as the newly-remodeled TSD website for more music and information. As a bonus, we've included a YouTube video for the track Truth Is from Bourgeois Beat. Snap up a copy of this thing straight away. Seriously.

Distant Guns: The Redundant Pioneer EP

We've been away from our little music hideaway for exactly one week now, but have some listening to share that will most definitely make up for our prolonged absence. Distant Guns are a UK-based duo who would like to remain mostly anonymous and are seemingly perplexed, or at least unimpressed, with the current social networking culture. For this reason, you will find none of the usual crop of fans or friends on the Distant Guns MySpace page. No friends at all, in fact. Instead, what you may happen to notice is an impressive collection of songs that flirt playfully with classic influences such as The Fall, or even moments of Ultra Vivid Scene, while these two musicians manage to put forth a sound that defies any certain genre saddle. As a follow up to their previous EP offerings including The Complacent Pacifist (2007) and The Peaceful Technophobe (2008), the band recently released a brand new addition, titled The Redundant Pioneer, which is now available (in limited quantities) through UK-based label Egress. The folks at Egress were kind enough to drop this new EP into the MML post box and our copy includes a miniature compass (that actually kinda works) as well as an Ordnance Survey(ish) map as part of the inlay! Fantastic presentation and a welcomed listen. Enjoy the new music from this ongoing project and be sure to check out the Distant Guns Soundclick page for additional free *shhh* downloads. We absolutely love this band.

MP3: Shakerley

Small Radio: Le Migré EP

Give us a Sunday evening free of any responsibilities and... oh wait! A message arrives with updated information on a previously featured artist/collaboration that we've been waiting very patiently for. Our original review of Scotland natives Colin Sweeney (aka Small Colin) who now lives in Hönö, Sweden and Scott Buchanan of Salem, Massachusetts-based Radio Scotvoid (Radio Scotvoid MySpace) took place in December 2007. Since that time, both multi-instrumentalist/laptop musicians have been quite busy evolving this transatlantic, experimental music project into something of a serious must-listen-now, by our estimation. The brand new four track release is titled Le Migré EP and you can download it completely free by visiting German netlabel REC72. It's not often our ears are completely warmed as the floorboards of this little music outpost rumble so uncontrollably. Expect future updates while this seed continues to sprout and enjoy our favourite song from the new EP.

MP3: I Am Ricky Richardo