The Ex-Girlfriends Club

Oddly enough, setting foot into an unfamiliar music venue still leaves us distracted by the compulsory grotty black carpet, tangled rope lights and occasional waft of patchouli drifting from a booth along the wall. It never gets old but, truth be told, one of our favourite preoccupations is music that emanates from the PA system before, between and after sets. In most cases, the selections are classic or easily recognizable while, in other instances, we end up humming random anthems from bands we don't know at all on the way home in our car. Enter tonight's featured music project which could easily be a favourite sound from either the main stage or a demo CD left behind the bar. The Ex-Girlfriends Club are a Portland, Oregon-based music collective that have an impressive self-titled debut EP that will be released next Tuesday, March 2. Although the band members seem to be listed by nickname only for now, we will make mention of a little connection with local PDX band Saturna (originally featured here in April 2007...shhh!) and ask that you join us, bottle in bag, for an especially thick coat of sparkle-blue nail varnish and listen to this raucous, glam-tastic loveliness.

MP3: Your Prescription
MP3: Tower

Yes, we are now officially in love with this band and hope you have a similar experience (with or without nail decoration). The next live performance will take place Friday, February 26 at long-time Portland venue East End. Aside from this event, you can find more music for listening and information on the upcoming EP by visiting the following links...

The Ex-Girlfriends Club website
The Ex-Girlfriends Club blog
The Ex-Girlfriends Club MySpace

Hallo... I Love You!

Although the term ear-bleed has been an ongoing staple in describing indie rock outfits that suit our fancy, we quite often neglect to detail our much-welcomed toothache when it comes to the sweetest of electronic pop. Tonight we have a perfect example of what happens to be an adored sound with Hallo... I Love you!, a Liverpool, UK music project that formed almost exactly one year ago. Musicians Chris McIntosh of 28 Costumes, Andy Donovan from Elle S'Appelle (who we featured in September 2007), Robert Whiteley and AnnaMarie Owens have a brand new debut single that will will be made available through their very own label Rekord Meister on March 8, 2010. A brief description of you can expect from a purchase of the new release quoted in the press release we received... how lovely is this?

"The single, Walk Me To The Sea will be released on deepest sea-blue 7” vinyl on March 8th 2010. It will be presented to you inside lovingly hand made fuzzy-felt bags complete with under-the-sea themed fuzzy felt shapes with which you can design your own sleeve and have 'insane' and 'endless' amounts of fun in the process! The release will also be available through all decent download sites."

For additional listening and information, visit the Hallo... I Love You! MySpace page and also plan a visit to Sheffield venue Bungalows And Bears for the next live performance tomorrow night, February 19. The band was kind enough to supply us with the B-side from this new single and we now have the fortunate pleasure of forwarding it straight into your ears. Stringent beats accompanied by a lightly threaded hint of classic 80s fare in the vocals and we are in the bag for sure. Here you go...

MP3: What Does It Mean?

MML Update: Monzano

Digging ourselves out of a snowstorm seems to have left us exhausted, chilled and exactly one day behind in reporting a decidedly warm new release from a band we featured many moons ago. Our original mention of Oslo, Norway four piece Monzano took place over three years ago, in November 2006, with a mostly distracted ramble and preview for the track Poster Boy which would eventually belong to their full-length debut High Horses & One Trick Ponies. Since this 2007 release (2008 through Japanese label Friend Of Mine Records), musicians Sjur Lyseid (of The Little Hands Of Asphalt), Eivind Bøe, Magnus Rauan and Eivind Almhjell have taken the time to craft another 10 songs that serve as a perfect evolution for this guitar-pop sound we had almost forgotten all about. The brand new album, titled By This Time Last Year Everything Will Seem Younger, was just made available yesterday 2/15 through Oslo based label Spoon Train Audio (Spoon Train MySpace) and we have a listening experience to share. Such a lovely pop song that might just give you a good indication of what to expect from the new album.

MP3: Cold Waters

KC Quilty: Clover/Coriander LP

It's early morning, late at night or wherever you find yourself at this particular moment and for once we happen to be punctual in presenting a brand new album release on the exact day of its birth and subsequent journey into many ears. Before getting started, attention needs to be directed towards our October 2009 introduction of today's featured artist in which reference was made to an adorably shy fund-raising campaign, via Kickstarter, that is somewhat responsible for the collection of songs we are ready to bang on about. New York City based duo KC Quilty has a brand new, debut album titled Clover/Coriander that was just made available minutes ago through NYC label Cooling Pie Records (CPR Blog) and we've now had a chance to shake loose a few floorboards of our tiny office space with the sound. No need to waste time here... let's dig into the very first track.

MP3: Clothes

Clover/Coriander was recorded in various locations with the assistance of local musician-friends over the past several months. The end result is ten ridiculously solid songs that highlight the guiding Hersh-esque vocals and downright monstrous guitars of Sadie Dupis as well as the driving rhythms, auxiliary accompaniment and underlying direction of Julian Fader. The CD release party/live performance takes place this evening as KC Quilty takes the stage at local Brooklyn venue Spike Hill along with Magnetic Island (formerly Renminbi who we featured in 2007 & 2009) so check it out and pick up a copy at the show. We leave you with another lovely song from Clover/Coriander that was randomly plucked for, if no other reason, a simple word association with the previous track, Clothes.

MP3: Tags

As a quick side, it's not often we find ourselves with a debut release that escapes any single tedious or awkward moment... this really is a good fucking record.

Yahoos

As an occasional treat that comes with maintaining our little MML blog, we sometimes have the fortune of discovering impressive new music in different stages of completion... or considered a work-in-progress by the artist. Tonight we just so happen to have a good one to share. Yahoos is the solo music project of Bobby Theberge, a multi-instrumentalist from Atlanta, Georgia, who served as drummer for the now-defunct Marietta based outfit Moros Eros a few years back. With a handful of new demo tracks for download or stream and additional contact links on the Yahoos Bandcamp page, Bobby is preparing to release a debut, self-titled EP for early 2010. Consider this a brief introduction, but look for more comprehensive updates in the coming months. Lo-fi goodness awaits...

MP3: Red Bulging Eyelids

Sex Jams: Post Teenage Shine LP

Early last year, in April 2009, we featured the Vienna, Austria four-piece Sex Jams and their lovely debut single On Our Way Home Is Nowhere. Since our initial mention, musicians Lukas (guitar), Katie (vocals), Christoph (drums) and Flo (bass) have remained busy in putting the finishing touches on a brand new, full-length release titled Post Teenage Shine. The new album will be made available in 180 gram vinyl accompanied by a complimentary digital download through Austrian label Noise Appeal in March 2010. There will only be 300 copies for sale so it might be a good idea to contact the label straight away for pre-ordering purposes. The following song alone might just serve as a good reason to grab your copy of this new offering. Have a listen...

MP3: Aeroplane Waves



Oh yes, this album really is good and the heavy influence of Sonic Youth remains thoughtfully incorporated into every track. A solid release from beginning to end, Post Teenage Shine delivers a wonderfully accurate series of kicks to the abdomen followed with a gentle pat on the head threaded into each turn. For those having a difficult time waiting until March, local Vienna labels Noise Appeal and Fettkakao Records will have 200 copies of the 7" single Julie Had A Brother available on February 19 to coincide with a live performance at Wiener Neustadt venue Triebwerk to launch a handful of regional dates in support of both new releases. We leave you with a preview of the new single... sink those teeth in.

MP3: Julie Had A Brother

The Dogs

While there were no plans to feature music on MML this evening, we've been listening to an impressive young band over the past few days and decided to sneak one in on you... shhh! The Dogs are a Chicago, Illinois-based four piece who released a self-titled debut album in November 2008 and now have another full-length collection of songs, titled Free Write, to share. With their somewhat subdued sound that enlists the accompaniment of a handful of additional supporting musician-friends, the band manages a series of downright juicy turns and twists within each of the tracks that belong to this latest offering. Free Write can be freely downloaded by visiting The Dogs website and you can also follow occasional updates via their ongoing journal Dogblogblog. Especially lovely sounds can be found with the following song we were particularly fond of...

MP3: Walla Walla, WA

True Womanhood: Basement Membranes EP

Our bad little habit of researching music blog aggregators for the saturation-factor before a listen to music files landing in the old inbox nearly had us missing out on today's featured artist. Luckily enough for our collective ear, the accompanying message sent was kind and brought a smile as we ended up surrounded with the sounds of an energetic young band that most definitely deserves an extended listen. True Womanhood is a Washington, D.C. trio consisting of musicians Thomas Redmond (guitar, vocals), Melissa Beattie (bass, aux) and Noam Elsner (percussion, aux) who have only been a musical troupe for the better part of this past year. In a fairly brief period of time, the band has been steadily building a well-earned stir and have just released a debut EP, titled Basement Membranes, which was made available last week through Baltimore label Environmental Aesthetics (EA MySpace). Beyond the easily spotted vocal inflection of a certain Mr. Yorke and underlying influence of Sonic Youth, it might have been the unexpected rough-edged ...Trail Of Dead guitar feed and jilting off-beats that turned our passive smile into an evil grin. All comparisons aside, True Womanhood is a band well worth following closely. Here you go...

MP3: Shadow People
MP3: A Diviner