Sparks - Eaten By The Monster Of Love
Josie Cotton - He Could be The One
I haven't been a fan of these guys for very long. I was clued in about them by a former co-worker who has excellent taste in music. We did one of those Facebook challenges, which mostt of the time I never complete, but it was fun for the few days I did do it. He suggested I check these guys out and I am really glad he did because I can't get enough of them. This might come off as sounding like an insult but I assure you it's not. The best way I can describe them is if your favorite pop punk band from the 90's sold out and became radio friendly. Now I have long since been out of the know with current music trends but I don't recall ever hearing about this band before (and you know that I am always on the lookout for music). I am pretty sure they were never played on the radio and to that I cast shame on those who decided what is hears on the airwaves. These guys are ear candy with an attitude. Their music is super pop driven, accessible energetic fun, filled with brain searing hooks and polished vocal melodies. If you are ever looking for a feeling cool don't care rock out with the car windows down rock song this is the band you want. I should also mention that one of their album covers looks like the Goonies movie poster. I mean come on...what more do you need to know.
Marianas Trench - Celebrity Status
This song is a folk rock sundae of wonderful, drizzled with Leonard Cohen sauce and topped with a sweet vocal cherry. Emmy IS great and I doubt that title is self proclaimed.
Emmy The Great - First Love
EDIT: After writing this I discovered that I had talked about this band and album a few posts back. In fact I think I ranted about my dislike of 80's music there too. However this blurb was a lot more researched so I am leaving it in and just going to post a different song from the album. Sorry for the repeat.
I'm usually not a huge fan of 80's rock music. I get that it was a time when the introduction of electronic instruments was huge and I appreciate the era for what it did for music and technology, but I just cant get around the manufactured sounds. The electronic drums beats and synths just all sound to similar for my tastes and I find myself getting bored of it rather quickly. Don't get me wrong there are some songs and bands that love from the 80's, but I would say it's really my least favorite decade. However, I did end up picking up a small handful of of 80's rock albums on one of my many thrift store runs. One of the, or should I say The The, albums I picked up is the second full lenght album Infected by The The (see now you get the joke). I have been putting off listening to it for close to half a year and this morning I actually gave it a spin, and I am not sure if it was my sleepy brain tricking me but to my surprise I really liked it. Now most might know this band best for their hit song off their first album Soul Mining titled "This Is The Day". An early morning accordion drenched tune that is a staple for any morning routine. However, the majority of their music has a darker tone. If you like bands like INXS but want something a touch more on the sinister sounding side and a little bit harder, you will really like this. On Infected in particular you can hear hints of later artists like Nine Inch Nails on songs like "Twilight Of A Champion" or Morphine on "The Sweet Bird Of Truth". It's also go a nice post punk edge most notable on the title track "Infected". There are two interesting things worth notating about Infected First is the artwork. The artwork for most of The The during 1983-1992 was done by front man Matt Johnson's brother Andrew Johnson, A.K.A Andy Dog. I really like the artwork a lot and it is one of the biggest reasons I picked up the album without really knowing what they sounded like. The single for the title track featured artwork that was deemed inappropriate and had to be edited and was eventually changed. The artwork depicted a picture of a masturbating devil. The second interesting fact is that the album was one of the first to feature the use of a film to promote the album. Every song on the album featured a video and was then released as a film, which at the time was unheard of. Not to mention that the amount of money, £350,000, was rare to be given to such a small band to create anything. I wasn't able to find the actual movie but I did happen to find this interesting 5 minute documentary from ArtBeat.TV. All in all this is a band that I really recommend delving into, I know I will for sure be checking out more by The The.
5-minute doc: THE THE’s pioneering Infected film/video album
The The - Twilight Of A Champion
I will always be a fan of math rock. If your not familiar with the term math rock it's a musical style that branches off of the indie rock tree that combines post-hardcore with progressive rock. Or another easy way to explain it is Emo Jazz. Math recognizable by it's complex rhythmic and atypical song structures. You'll notice a lot of starting and stopping with in the music and angular melodies and dissonant chords that often change and morph throughout a single song. Think bands like King Crimson and early Yes but more modern. Early influences are noted in bands like Canadian punk rock group Nomeansno and even somewhat on Black Flag's album My War. Modern examples would be Don Caballero or, one of my favorites Toe. This song is by London, UK banc Clever Girl, which is definitely a nod to the movie Jurassic Park when game warder Robert Muldoon utters those final words just before getting jumped by Raptors. While the bands mentioned above might not be as accessible to new comers to the genre of math rock, Clever girl manages to make the introduction to the genre very very easy. The band mixes jazzy melodies that feel very breezy and laid back but engaging and interesting at the same time. The musician ship is tight with great drumming and pretty twinkling guitars all backed by a soft horn section that adds a nice golden touch. It looks as if they only have one album out at the moment titled No Drum And Bass In The Jazz Room that was released in late 2018. The album is the perfect length clocking in at just over 20 minutes and the songs flow together very nicely. I tend to like to try to match albums up with the seasons, if you haven noticed by reading this blog I really like to base me music on themes, but this is one of those albums that really would fit well as a soundtrack to any season and weather condition. I will for sure be keeping any eye and ear out for this Clever Gril, unlike poor old Muldoon.
Clever Girl - Elm
