Nikoo

There's a bit of MML history involved with today's featured artist, so be prepared for a number of links to previous mentions and music that can be recommended without hesitation. Joep Van Son is an Eindhoven/Noord-Brabant, Netherlands-based musician we originally became aware of when first featuring Subroutine Records artist The Sugarettes back in January 2007, then again in September 2007. With these early introductions out of the way, our follow up happened in June 2008 for spin-off endeavor The Very Sexuals and we now have a long-awaited update to report. Nikoo is a new music project that once again finds Joep Van Son surrounded by friends for a raucous self-titled, debut EP release that deserves a close listen. After the noise-tastic opening tracks Gimme Hell and Cow sent us swiveling around in our office seats with ear-to-ear smiles, this brief collection of songs ended up producing more than enough warm moments to seal the deal. A pair of favourites from the new EP have been singled out here and there is good news for interested ears. The entire release can be downloaded completely free by visiting the Nikoo website. Although there are no live performance dates yet listed for the early months of 2010, Nikoo is set to participate in the annual Tilburg music/arts festival Incubate later this year in September. Enjoy.

MP3: You've Got A Strange Effect On You
MP3: Marquee

Pop Empire: Live at Southgate House 3/23

Our intention of frequently posting notable bands performing at local venue The Southgate House was meant as an occasional feature but, as it turns out, an amazing amount of good music is happening there and back-to-back updates here at MML are definitely in order. Tomorrow night, March 23, Baltimore, Maryland rock outfit J Roddy Walston and The Business make their way into town for a live performance @ SGH along with a local band we excitedly found a distant connection with. Pop Empire is the Cincinnati, Ohio duo of musicians Henrie Wilson and sometime-Shed Cameron Cochran who we featured as part of his other lovely duo back in September 2006, then again in March 2007. The new release for this particular music project, titled Rainy Child EP, was made available late last month with original artwork and it can be freely downloaded for daily listening upon visiting the Pop Empire website (scroll to the bottom). With echoing, ever-present feedback guiding a perfect balance of solid guitar, shared vocal tangle and responsible levels of experimental accompaniment, Pop Empire provides a collection of songs that could easily top our early best-of lists for 2010. Have an extended listen to a pair of tracks from the Rainy Child EP...

MP3: Twirling
MP3: City Girl City Boy

Doors open @ 8pm... be there.

Southgate House: The Never Setting Suns 3/20

Upon relocating to Cincinnati, Ohio back at the beginning of 2007, one of our very first questions for local residents was a simple one. Are there any good places to check out live music in town? The recommendation we received, more often than not, was to travel over the Ohio River into Newport, Kentucky for a visit to The Historic Southgate House. We must have asked just the right people. Built two years after the war of 1812 by British prisoners, this beautiful home was once visited by soon-to-be President Abraham Lincoln and later the birthplace of John Tariaferro Thompson, inventor of the 'Tommy Gun' (more history here). Since that time, the original structure has been converted into a multi-stage music venue including a cozy lounge, substantial ballroom, intimate second floor parlour and third floor art gallery to compliment most any type of event. After having spent the past three years frequenting SGH for various live performance dates, we've found not only a favourite local spot for music, but one of the most unique venues in the entire United States. For this reason, we have decided to begin presenting regular updates for local, regional and visiting musicians who happen to grace any given stage within this historic and downright lovely old pile of bricks. No better time than the present to get started...

The Never Setting Suns



Cincinnati, Ohio-based trio of musicians Corey Larrison (vocals, guitar), Chris Courts (bass) and Tyler Griffin (percussion) make up The Never Setting Suns who happen to be front and center at Southgate House this evening for their record release party. The album, titled And Now We're Not Alone, was recorded last summer at local Cincinnati studio Ultrasuede with producer Gary Shell and engineer Chad Wahlbrink both lending their talents to the finished product. Now having listened to the impressive preview track we have featured, as well as a pair of additional songs on The Never Setting Suns MySpace page, our curiosity is very much piqued. Could the crisp, clear and frequent transitions in song structure be an influence stemming from fIREHOSE? Are the teetering vocals an homage to David Thomas of Pere Ubu? These questions, however ear-provoking, can probably be postponed as the band presents a sound that forges a path of its own with this new release. Tonight's show opens at 8:00 pm so be sure to arrive early as local bands Charlie Hustle and Irela will be performing as well. Looking forward to it.

MP3: What The Earth Can't Hold

Panda Riot: Far & Near EP

Plenty of music finding its way into our ears for 2010 seems to belong to new EP releases and, if today's featured artist has anything to do with it, we might just need to create a "best of" list for this particular category by year's end. Our original review of Chicago, Illinois based duo (now trio) Panda Riot took place back in November 2006 with a listen to an impressive demo track that would eventually be included in their full-length album She Dares All Things we featured exactly one year later in November 2007. Since that time updates have been scarce at best, but we now have a preview for an upcoming treat, titled Far & Near EP, that is set for release on May 11, 2010. While taking in all six songs that comprise this lovely new offering, our sometimes fleeting attention span was almost instantly overcome by the drifting introduction that promised a sound consistent with the exact same listening experience we fell deeply for a few years back. Have a listen...

MP3: Motown Glass

The balance of the music included within the upcoming Far & Near EP presents more of a decided shoegaze influence with Brian Cook providing another exceptional round of swirling guitar accompaniment to highlight Rebecca Scott's guiding and downright crush-inducing vocals. Enough gushing for you? Listen further by visiting the Panda Riot website and be prepared for a new favourite.

CNC: No Mood EP

We've spent this past week on hiatus, mostly avoiding computers and neglecting our little music world, but now need to dig back into things with a recently released EP that sent enough chills up the spine to register along with a number of our classic favourites. CNC is the studio-only recording duo of songwriter Borys Dejnarowicz (formerly of The Car Is On Fire) and multi-instrumentalist Piotr Maciejewski (from bands Drivealone and Muchy) who reside in Warsaw, Poland. The late 2009 release that happened to catch our immediate attention was made available through Warsaw-based label Draw Records and is titled No Mood EP. After a number of listens that built into our eventual fervour, it became mandatory this collection of songs be heard as a single entity instead of any given attempt at random sampling. With a balance of experimental pop and noise-tastic interludes that will surely bring back loveless-loveliness from the year 1992, CNC seems to have delivered a powerfully relevant EP that is, tragically enough, a one time collaboration. How can this be?

Have a listen to the somber finale of No Mood EP. Beautiful.

MP3: Xenility

Tennis System

The term "psychedelic" seems to have gradually taken firm hold with artists and new fans of a time-honoured mid/late 1980s swirling guitar sound we continue to mention as "shoegaze". Not a single thing wrong with the generational shift in music classification... just an amusing observation that leaves us feeling a bit old. All genre discussion aside, we bring you a serious listening treat in Washington, DC four-piece Tennis System who have recently made available a full-length debut album titled The Future Of Our History. With repeated listens to only a handful of songs belonging to this new release, our attention was immediately drawn to the driving bass lines, gentle vocal accompaniment and a building guitar presence that could easily please the most insufferable purist. Give this track a listen...

MP3: FS

As it turns out, the band will be making their way through the midwest with a March 15 stop just down the road at Lexington, Kentucky salon/art haus The Hive along with Philadelphia based outfit (The Sounds Of) Kaleidoscope who we featured almost four years ago in May 2006. A road trip might just be in order for this show.