Even though the year is rather
close to wrapping up I'm still receiving quite a few emails about new
records, which is a little weird. Usually, everything drops off after
Thanksgiving but this year it looks as if the promoters will be pushing all
the way into 2008. I can't say I blame them though, as the five
artists below are of high enough quality to warrant their antsy email
trigger fingers. Enjoy the EP.
:Hijk
- Smells Like Cigarettes:
It could just
be me, but so very much of this reminds me of the
now-defunct punk/emo act Matchbook Romance. Those guys
always did a great job of melding crafty arrangements with
good songwriting and catchy vocal work without making it
annoying and overly whiney, and this trio seem to be prone
to the same tendencies. Although, their press release
does cite Pinback as one of their influences, so it's
possible that this comparison only works in my head.
The Pen And The Letter is out now.
:Tim
Gilbertson - Analogue:
Oddly enough, here is another artist that mentions Pinback
in their press release. Personally, I don't hear it at
all. I think that it sounds more like a calm and
collected version of something that Dave Grohl would have
done in his early Foo Fighter days. But, as suggested
before, that could just be me and my zaniness working
overtime. At any rate, Tim is only 20 and he appears
to be on his way to bigger and better things. Jump on
the bandwagon now by picking up his self titled release for
Pop Echo Records.
:Pants
Yell - Magenta And Green:
In all honesty I'm a little surprised that more people
aren't excited about this band's third album, Allison
Statton, which is due out December 4 on Soft Abuse
Records. After all, they've apparently had two other
albums that were well received because of the same quirky
pop sound that they're displaying on this number.
Maybe it's just a weird time of the year for this sort of
take on the genre? Whatever the case may be, the disc
seems as if it should be a good one and is deserving of some
attention.
:Rebekah
Higgs - Parabales:
While I've
posted various songs that feature female vocal work I think
it's been quite some time since I've actually had anything
from a songstress not named Laura, Regina, Leslie or Chan.
With that being said, I think that it's important to point
out that while Rebekah has a great voice she doesn't
necessarily go about using it the same way, as her style is
definitely one that tends to float around and fill the room
in its own effortlessly breezy way. Her self titled
effort is out now.
:Marco
Mahler - Orange Chinese Car:
Sweden. That's where Marco is from. From here
you can probably guess what this gem sounds like. But,
just in case your brain isn't working I'll quickly point out
that it has great songwriting, even better vocal work and a
lush, but simple arrangement. If you can, take a trip
to the park with a good pair of headphones and pour over
Marco's album, Design In Quick Rotation. The
disc is out now, so finding shouldn't be too big of a
problem.
- John Laird -
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