Category: MP3s

This Week’s Finds: February 13-19 (The Layaways, Laakso, Damon and Naomi)

“Silence” – the Layaways

An untamed growl of guitar noise lays at the heart of this pop confection, like a bit of crunchy frog sealed within succulent Swiss chocolate, as it were. It’s a simple song, but the vibe works well for me, a vibe constructed through a combination of an appealing melody and a knowing ability to romp through some of the choicer specimens in rock’n’roll’s sonic back catalog: from Jesus and Mary Chain-esque squalls of sound to Yo La Tengo-ish understated vocalizing to (this is the kicker, for me) a Cars-like use of catchy synthesizer riffs. While I’m generally all for the ’80s touches that seem to be inspiring lots of today’s independent bands, I particularly enjoy when there’s integration going on rather than re-creation, however exuberant. The Layaways are a trio from Chicago; “Silence” is the lead track on the band’s second CD, We’ve Been Lost, released in December on Mystery Farm Records (which appears to be simply a label set up by the band for its own releases). The MP3 is available via the band’s site. Thanks to visitor Jen for the tip.

“Aussie Girl” – Laakso

From Sweden comes this idiosyncratic, joyful blurt of a bittersweet song. Wrap Conor Oberst up with the Decemberists, give him a fetching little Swedish accent, speed him up and spin him around blindfolded, and maybe he’d sound like this. Any four-person rock band featuring one member who plays trombone, trumpet, accordion, and glockenspiel is going to immediately catch my attention, and I must say I do enjoy the subtle texture said member (David Nygård) delivers. For what is in fact a fairly precise song, there’s an endearing fringe of sloppiness oozing out around the edges here, due I think to lead singer Markus Krunegård’s wavery energy and unbridled spirit. And while a song bemoaning the torture of a (very) long-distance relationship is unlikely to break new ground observationally, I find that good pop music has the happy ability to keep me unworried about cliche. “Aussie Girl” can be found on the band’s first and only full-length CD, I Miss You, I’m Pregnant, released on Adrian Recordings, a Swedish label. The MP3 is available via the band’s site.

“Beautiful Close Double” – Damon and Naomi

I like how Naomi Yang’s dreamy voice floats against a rooted instrumental base here. Too much of what is sometimes known as “dream pop,” while perfectly agreeable, does tend to drift off into an airy sort of neverland. Damon and Naomi–two-thirds of the landmark indie band Galaxie 500, back in the day–keep things grounded in a variety of subtle ways. (Key word subtle: be warned this song can in fact sound as if it’s merely drifting off into neverland if you don’t pay close attention.) To begin with, the song is set against Naomi’s classic-rock bass riff (sounds like “Cinnamon Girl” to me, actually). Second of all, drummer Damon Krukowski, while starting off cymbally and understated, echoing the bass line for a while, kicks out a few jams (subtly) now and again. Distant layers of muted trumpet add a distinct substance as well. As for Michio Kurihara’s rubbery-sparkly guitar licks, well, they’re pretty dreamy I guess, but what the heck, they’re still cool. “Beautiful Close Double” is the song that opens Damon and Naomi’s new CD “The Earth is Blue,” set for release this week on the duo’s own label, 20/20/20. The MP3 can be found on their site.

This Week’s Finds: Jan. 30-Feb. 5 (Veal, The Octopus Project, Blonde Redhead)

“Judy Garland” – Veal

“If you looked like Judy Garland/I’d be over it in half a shake/But you stood there dumbfounded/You looked nothing like Judy Garland” is how this song that appears at least partially to be about being knocked unconscious begins. We’re instantly right in the middle of something (although exactly what is part of the quirky mystery), a feeling enhanced by the smart cascade of (mostly) major chords, which change on the first beat of each measure, and the asymmetrical use of seventh chords (at “half” and “nothing”). I feel pulled in, delighted, and yet still completely unprepared for (okay, I’ll use one of the music industry’s hoariest cliches because nothing else quite applies) the killer chorus this leads into. I won’t describe it (much; but do listen for those extra two beats, the crazy lyrics, and how sharp the harmonies suddenly are), but yes, absolutely, it’s a killer chorus. Veal is a Canadian trio led by singer/guitarist Luke Doucet, whose cheery voice has a wonderfully elastic upper register. (The drummer, I feel compelled to point out, is simply named Chang.) “Judy Garland” comes from the band’s third and most recent CD, “The Embattled Hearts,” released in 2003 on Six Shooter Records. The MP3 can be found on the band’s web site.

“The Adjustor” – the Octopus Project

A lo-fi-ish, white noise-y, scratchy-boopy instrumental with genuine warmth and charm. Which shows that all things are possible (good news for Eagles fans, I should note). A quartet from Austin, the Octopus Project sounds like a surf-dance band attempting to play jazz on R2D2’s spare parts. First we spend an agreeable minute or so establishing the basic groove–a chiming sort of repeated melody propelled by a perfectly fetching sort of clickety-scratching percussiveness (sounding a bit like someone trying to play the snare drum on a broken guitar neck). Then come some (for lack of a better word) solos: the minimalist solo played by a squeaky-honky gizmo (sampled tricycle horn?) which begins at 1:13 is well worth the download by itself; so is the one played by what sounds like a sampled dial-tone, at 2:13. What makes it work so well for me is that, for all the electronic manipulation going on, the song still happens in an expansive aural space–due no doubt to the fact that the band uses actual drums and guitars along with the machines. “The Adjustor” can be found on the band’s new CD, One Ten Hundred Thousand Million, their second, released last week on Peek-a-Boo Records (the label which spawned the group Spoon). The MP3 is available on the band’s site.

“Misery is a Butterfly” – Blonde Redhead

Talk about a simple, repeated melody–“Misery is a Butterfly” succeeds, to my ears, largely because of the plain, recurring piano riff that serves as a backbone for this atmospheric, borderline melodramatic piece. There are strings, there’s almost a dance beat popping up here and there, there are breathy-emotive vocals from guitarist Kazu Makino, there are Rachmaninovian chords, but time and again we get back to the piano riff, and everything seems all right again. Blonde Redhead is a veteran NYC-based trio that has gravitated over time from a Sonic Youth-style dissonance to a lusher sound that early fans of the band might not like very much. Me, I’m kind of intrigued by the still-somewhat-strange-ness of the whole thing. The song is the title track from the group’s sixth CD, released last year on 4AD Records; the MP3 is found on Better Propaganda.

This Week’s Finds: January 23-29 (Bettie Serveert, Cass McCombs, Engine Down)

“Attagirl” – Bettie Serveert

With a charmingly slinky verse and disarmingly catchy chorus, “Attagirl” might not, still, have succeeded so well without the captivating presence of Carol van Dyk (alternatively spelled Dijk)–the Canadian-born, Netherlands-raised singer who fronts this veteran Dutch band. Rilo Kiley fans take note: Jenny Lewis may yet sound like this (she’s cut from the same cloth), but there are ineffable aspects of tone and timbre that remain out of reach when you’re only in your 20s. From start to finish we are in the hands of a comfortable and confident crew here; I like the scratchy-frenetic guitar in the background, subtly undermining the faux-bossa-nova ambiance, and of course I love that wordless “ohhh” in the bridge, alternating back and forth on a fetching fifth–the song gets expansive and smooth right there in just the right way, with layered vocals and a quivering complement of things being strummed (do I detect a mandolin, even?). This leads into a most excellent chorus, with an urgently sing-songy melody, words that sound, somehow, better as sounds–“Don’t get stuck somewhere in the middle/You’ve paid all your dues and you’re not a second fiddle”–than than they do as a sentiment, and a superb and snazzy off-the-beat finish: the way van Dyk breathes out “Attagirl” at the end is just too cool for words. “Attagirl” is the title track off the band’s new CD, scheduled for release on Minty Fresh records on Tuesday of this week. MP3 via Better Propaganda.


“Sacred Heart” – Cass McCombs

This is the kind of song that convinces me that we are, truly, entering a new golden age of rock’n’roll. And I’m serious. When a 20-something guy like Baltimore’s Cass McCombs can take all his influences (I hear ’80s stuff here–a touch of Smiths, a dollop of New Order, a sprinkle of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark–and then ’60s stuff too, such as his unexpectedly Dylanesque turns of phrase and word selection) and wrap them into something this timeless and thrilling (geez, I find simply the open, vibrating chord that starts the song bizarrely thrilling), and when he is one of many doing this very sort of thing, and yet each differently, here in the middle ’00s, what else to call it? A new golden age. If I’m wrong, at least I’ll go down swinging. In any case, rock has weathered a lot, including being eviscerated by Madison Avenue and shoved off the pop-cultural main stage by hip-hop, but even so there is something timeless at its core. Sure, you have to sort through an incredible amount of nonsense to find it (were there quite so many inept troubadours in the Middle Ages as there are unlistenable singer/songwriters in the Information Age?), but it is here to be found: specifically here with this gentle-urgent vocalist, singing his sweet descending melody with aching assurance; and generally out there, as McCombs is hardly alone on the scene with serious rock’n’roll talent and know-how. “Sacred Heart” is an advance single from his new CD, PREfection, set for release on February 1 on Monitor Records. The MP3 can be found on the Monitor web site. Thanks to the estimable record review site 75 or less for the lead on this one.



“Cover” – Engine Down

It’s very easy to be very loud and very fast; it’s significantly less easy to be not-quite-very loud and not-quite-very fast, and harder still to do so while exhibiting a strong sense of melody and craft. The Virginia-based foursome Engine Down churn up a lot of dust here, but right away I hear plenty to separate this from the output of the many (many) loud and churning bands nowadays filling the web with their MP3s. They know some interesting chords, to begin with, and push us through them right away–you can hear how the whole musical ground shifts and shifts as the melody in the verse progresses. They have a sense of production perspective as well, allowing various elements to flow through the aural center of the song as the piece blazes along–a lead guitar line emerges from the noise here, a nice wall of vocal harmonies there. And to me the great hook is the off-beat delivery in the chorus: singing on the second and fourth beats here (the “Your cover has been blown” line) is an ineffably delightful twist in a hard-driving 4/4 song. Consider it all another vote for experience: Engine Down have been around since 1996; “Cover” comes from the band’s fourth full-length CD, self-titled, released on Lookout Records in August 2004. MP3 via Better Propaganda.

This Week’s Finds: January 16-22 (Audible, Provan, Chad VanGaalen)

“Sunday Bell” – Audible

The way the crisp guitars and simply articulated piano refrain leap into motion is instantly heartwarming; I already know I’m going to follow this song wherever it wants to go. I am quickly rewarded, as the first place it goes is into Mike Kennedy’s appealing tenor–he sounds like an upbeat Elliott Smith, replacing Smith’s wavering fragility with a bell-like resolution. The song gains a lot of power by its capacity to sound both sad and happy at the same tinme: the melody is bittersweet and descending, but the rhythm drives forward with vigor. Kennedy’s wonderful voice bridges the dichotomy perfectly, effective at both the upper (listen to how he sings the word “decision” in the second line) and lower ends of his register (as the melody heads downward, his voice seems to expand and envelope the sonic landscape). I also like how the driving rhythm is interrupted in the bridge section, itself split into two parts: opening with a sharp, punctuating beat, the melody continues but the accompaniment glides into a swinging sort of two-step. This whole section is underscored by a subtle dissonant sustained note on the synthesizer (sounds like maybe a ninth), before resolving into a reprise of the main melody. “Sunday Bell” will be found on the band’s debut CD, Sky Signal, scheduled for release on January 25th on Polyvinyl Records. The MP3 is available on the Polyvinyl web site.


“I Won the Context” – Provan

Sometimes, very often, maybe even most of the time, it’s just a little thing that makes a song fly. That’s what we’re looking for: songs that fly. Lots of songs walk reasonably well (even as, of course, many can’t even crawl), but not many soar. That said, there is no–absolutely no–formula for how to fly. Often it’ll be the plainest sort of extra touch (an almost random-seeming melodic twist, a particular chord in a particular place, the quality a singer’s voice attains during one specific syllable) that launches a song, unexpectedly. In this case, it’s singer/guitarist Joe Kelly’s one-octave vocal leap in the verse–when he gets to the word “prize,” to use the first example. It’s a simple thing, could’ve even been an afterthought, but when he does that, to my ears, the song takes off. Of course, one might reasonably ask whether this little vocal leap would have had the same effect without everything else cool going on in this song: the punchy, inventive drum work, the way the melodic lead guitar works against the band’s churning-crunchy sound, and the subtle strength of Kelly’s voice itself the rest of the way–while he sings with the high yearning sweetness of many a power-pop frontman, he’s got an underlying muscle to him (reminsicent, to me, of Peter Case, for those who know his stuff). So maybe it’s not a simple thing after all, come to think of it. “I Won the Context” is a song from a yet-unreleased EP from the Brooklyn-based Provan, who have two previous EPs to their name. The MP3 can be found on the band’s web site. Thanks to visitor Mary, from the PowerPop blog, for the tip on this one.


“Traffic” – Chad VanGaalen

With an endearing Neil Young-ish-ness to both his voice and the resolute idiosyncracy of his music, Chad VanGaalen is a Canadian bedroom rocker beginning to attract attention very much outside the bedroom. Crankily engaging from the get-go–there’s something satisfying and brilliant about how he matches his high voice in the verse against a bass playing the same notes way below–“Traffic” pumps along with both grit and perkiness, a lo-fi production with hi-fi instincts. After 10 years of writing and recording literally hundreds of songs, VanGaalen put 19 of these songs together onto a debut CD, Infiniheart, released in a very limited way last March by Flemish Eye Records. Slowly word began to spread; with the buzz really picking up by year-end 2004, the CD is now slated for a larger re-release this spring. “Traffic” is the closing song on VanGaalen’s CD; the MP3 is available on the Flemish Eye web site.

This Week’s Finds: Jan. 2-8 (Imaginary Baseball League, Seachange, Controller.Controller)

“Fat Boys Are Not Athletes” – Imaginary Baseball League

Muscular and precise, this song is driven by a snare-less drumbeat and an itchy, energetic low-register guitar line. This is right away a wonderful thing, as rock’n’roll history is pockmarked by guitarists who tend to wail unaccountably in the upper register. But listen to how compelling and grounded and unpredictable the instrument sounds when the guitarist keeps his or her fingers up at the top of the neck. Singer/guitarist Aaron Robinson’s urgent—but, also, not too high—voice adds to the tension and drive; he has the nervous edge of a David Byrne or Adrian Belew while staying largely out of their sort of upper-register singing. Robinson actually reminds me of Gary Clark, lead singer of the by now obscure Scottish band Danny Wilson (they had a hit in the ’80s with the song “Mary’s Prayer”); there is something reminiscent of the Blue Nile in Imaginary Baseball League as well–perhaps they have an affinity for Scottish rock bands. I for one wouldn’t have expected it from a four-man band from the Nashville area, but clearly there’s more to the music scene down there than the Grand Ole Opry. “Fat Boys Are Not Athletes” comes from Imaginary Baseball League’s self-released 2004 CD Revive; you’ll find the MP3 on the group’s web site. Thanks to visitor Ben for the suggestion.


“Walking in the Air” – Seachange

A reverberant dream of a song, “Walking in the Air” sweeps me in and slows me down; it seems literally to require the listener to meet it on its own, decelerated terms. Using echoey synthesizers, aching minor chords, subtly shifting time signatures, and inventive production, Seachange succeeds in the more-difficult-than-it-seems task of creating real drama in a soft and langorous aural environment. The one-minute, ten-second introduction is itself a marvel of slowed-down luminosity; by the time the violin emerges from the background to add a sad, clean note over the gathering rumble, I feel my heart rate has already been slowed, my breathing deeper and more mindful. Singer/violinist Johanna Woodnutt’s breath-filled soprano, singing largely indecipherable words, seems the ideal addition to the half-folk, half-psychedelic ambiance; what else, after all, could this song be called but “Walking in the Air”? Seachange is a six-piece band from Nottingham, England; the song, apparently not otherwise released yet, is available as a Christmas present on the band’s web site. Thanks to the ever-vigilant Largehearted Boy for the tip.


“Silent Seven” – Controller.Controller

The Pretenders meet the Gang of Four via Public Image Ltd. Or something like that. In any case, this Toronto-based quintet has definitely found inspiration in some of the post-punk music of the late ’70s and early ’80s. But these guys seem to want more than anarchy or dissonance with their dancebeat; both in terms of melody and structure, “Silent Seven” is disarmingly well-crafted, unfolding with a simmering sense of grandeur. Funny, here’s another song with a minute-long introduction, but how different the vibe than with the Seachange song. And here’s another group with a nervous-edged vocalist, but here we have the exotic and powerful Nirmala Basnayake evoking Chrissie Hynde rather than David Byrne. As with many songs that I end up writing about, “Silent Seven” is another that delivers all the way through, rather than coasting towards a finish–note in this case the guitar chords that ring out, rhythmically, at around 3:45, and the nifty, satisfying change the instrument glides into at 3:50. This with the song nearly over. “Silent Seven” is the third track on an EP called History, the band’s first recording, which was released in 2004 on Paper Bag Records. You’ll find the MP3 on the band’s web site.

This Week’s Finds: Dec. 26-Jan . 1 (Dead Meadow, Bill Ricchini, Emma McGlynn)

“At Her Open Door” – Dead Meadow

I am always partial to bands that can establish a distinct sonic presence quickly. The D.C.-based trio Dead Meadow does well this way, with its Led Zeppelin-meets-R.E.M. vibe: big, searing guitar lines mixed into the background, propelled by a fuzzy folk-rock vibe and chords that take you right back to the late ’60s or early ’70s (for instance, count along with each of the opening beats and when you get to seven—there, that’s a combination of notes and sounds that speaks to us from the past). I also like the quality of singer-guitarist Jason Simon’s voice, how it is not of the usual tone or timbre that I’m used to hearing with this sort of slurry, heavy-chiming environment–he’s more Robert Smith (the Cure) than Robert Plant (Zep). The song weaves an insistent if nebulous spell through its largely indecipherable lyric section, then opens out at about 3:30 into an extended instrumental coda. Churning, psychedelic guitars come to the front, but listen too for the dreamy, choral-like synthesizers up on top. “At Her Open Door” will be found on the band’s CD Feathers, scheduled for release in February on Matador Records. The MP3 can be found on the Matador site.


“Ballad in 2D” – Bill Ricchini

This song has a lot of things going against it, to my ears. I’m not a particular fan of lo-fi, “bedroom”-style rock’n’roll, which this most definitely is; while I like Elliott Smith’s music, I’m not usually happy with anyone who sort of sounds like him; and I also tend to hold in suspicion songs with lyrics that don’t scan well (i.e. when the singer has sometimes to put the emphasis on the incorrect syllable to make the line fit with the music). All these things apply to “Ballad in 2D,” and, what do you know, I still think it’s haunting and memorable–perhaps all the more haunting and memorable because it manages to transcend its potential drawbacks. Ricchini knows his way around the sounds at his disposal, but he doesn’t overdue it–he uses layers organically, while other bedroom recorders tend to overcompensate and pile on in a way that sounds phony. But what sells me finally is the beautiful and beautifully presented chorus. Here Ricchini allows the simple but brilliant, Bacharach-esque melody to take center stage, much the way Ron Sexsmith so often does with his simple and brilliant melodies. “Ballad in 2D” comes from Ricchini’s one and only CD to date, Ordinary Time, which was recorded (yup) in his bedroom in South Philadelphia and released in 2002. The MP3 can be found on Ricchini’s web site.


“Whole Heap” – Emma McGlynn and the Monorails

Blistering and glistening, “Whole Heap” is an emotional freight train of a song. While Ani DiFranco inevitably comes to mind (ferocious acoustic guitar work, emotive singing, hyper-self-involved lyrics, self-owned record company), I think McGlynn is carving out her own sound within this particular niche. Both musically and lyrically harsher than “Impatience” (a Fingertips Top 10 selection earlier this year) “Whole Heap” uses blazing electric guitars and thrashing drumwork to crank the intensity up a few notches. Even in the more frenzied setting, McGlynn sings with uncanny precision–a sort of out-of-control control. And then I like how she pulls back at around a minute-fifty, running her voice through a filter, only to plunge forward into a full-fledged PJ Harvey-ish catharsis as the piece careers toward a distorted, plug-pulling end. “Whole Heap” is the lead track on McGlynn’s Kamikaze Birdie CD, which was originally released last year on McGlynn’s own Impatio Sound label; it was apparently re-released in September of this year with distribution through Genepool/Universal. The MP3 is available on McGlynn’s web site. (Be aware that there are a number of audible “naughty words” along the way, in case you’re playing this on your speakers where others can hear.)

This Week’s Finds: Dec. 19-25 (Explosions in the Sky, Amy Miles, Autolux)

“Memorial” – Explosions in the Sky

At once contemplative and majestic, the instrumental “Memorial” unfolds with precision and grace; it feels like a story someone is telling you in a language you can’t quite understand. With chiming guitars, an expansive sense of song, and a controlled use of both ends of the volume dial, Explosions in the Sky sound like they must be from Europe somewhere. But what the heck, they’re just a little old band from Texas, which gives me more faith in Texas than I might otherwise have (no offense to the many other Texans I don’t know who would also give me faith in the place!). This is an edited version (it’s still 6:23) of a longer (8:50) piece; one of just five long songs on the band’s second CD, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, released last year on the Temporary Residence label. You’ll find the MP3 on the Temporary Residence site. “First Breath After Coma,” another excellent song from the CD, is available as an MP3 through the Bella Union Records site (Bella Union is the band’s label in the U.K.); the only reason I didn’t choose that song over this one is because to access the MP3 at Bella Union, you have to give them an email address. I have no particular issues about doing that, but I prefer if possible not to feature MP3s with obstacles.)


“Kill to Know” – Amy Miles

Like Liz Phair before her extreme makeover, Amy Miles writes down and dirty songs and sings them with an appealing sort of blase-ness. The verse here is sly, itchy, and confrontational; the instrumentation effectively sparse but spacious. Well and good, left at that. But check out the chorus–even as the rhythm continues its unassuming chugging in the background, Miles here sneaks in a casually perfect melodic line (with the words “What is it that you want to know?”), something you might hear in a song by the band Garbage, or maybe in one of the Pretenders’ older, poppier moments. A nugget of surprise in this homespun number, the chorus is subtly augmented by well-placed noodles on the electric guitar underneath and blossoming synthesizers above. This musical moment makes me smile each time it comes around, as does her voice the more I listen to it. “Kill to Know” is the lead track on the CD Dirty Stay-Out (2002), her only album to date. The MP3 is available on her web site. (No more MP3 available but here’s the video….)




Here Comes Everybody” – Autolux

Breathy-noisy neo-psychedelic rock’n’roll from a well-connected new Los Angeles band. Don’t miss the opening notes–they may sound like a throw-away electronic bangle but there’s a lot going on here. First of all, listen to the sound itself: it’s a strange and wonderful blending of a plucked string and a retro-future-y sort of synthesizer-static noise. Very cool. And even cooler that the octave interval the noise describes is seamlessly incorporated into the open-chorded introduction, and again later in the song. Turns out this bit is one of many engaging and sophisticated production touches you’ll hear here. And guess why? Autolux was signed to DMZ Records, a label co-created by T Bone Burnett and movie makers Joel and Ethan Coen; Burnett is the producer here. Great to hear a gifted (older) hand at the dials for a new band–I think there are bountiful synergies to be encountered via such couplings; too bad the mechanics and economics of the music world don’t often allow it. The song comes from the band’s debut CD, Future Perfect, released in October; the MP3 is available on Insound. (There is no direct link available, so you can’t hear it, but the MP3 is still on Insound for downloading if you click on the song title.)

This Week’s Finds: Dec. 12-18 (Danny Allen, De Novo Dahl, Muckner)

“Howdy” – Danny Allen

This song is driven by a vivid, swampy-slowness that I wouldn’t have previously identified as a sound that would pull me in. And yet “Howdy”–without a glistening melody or engaging complexity–pulls me in most assuredly. How does this work? Well, to begin with, the opening minor-key guitar arpeggio is satisfyingly skewed. Then Allen enters with his full-throated voice detailing a series of odd but concrete images. Before long an atmospheric steel guitar begins to issue languid phrases in the background. Then we arrive at the wordless bridge (around 1:25), a melodic moan in the middle of this overheated summer night of a song; the song sways, coalesces, gets under my skin. Danny Allen is a Californian who apparently led an L.A. band called Harvette a couple years back before striking out on his own. He’s since returned to his hometown of Oakland, for what it’s worth. “Howdy” is the title track of a CD released earlier this year on the Stanley Recordings label. The MP3 can be found on Allen’s web site.


“Waiting For My Friends” – De Novo Dahl

Exuberant, theatrical rock’n’roll–one part Super Furry Animals, one part Queen, and one part something they must put in the water down there in Nashville. De Novo Dahl is a six-piece outfit that named themselves after author Roald Dahl, of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame; whimsy is part of the mix, in other words. So are a lot of sounds, and no I can’t begin to identify them all. But what I like is how worked into the gleeful momentum of the song they all are–I didn’t fully notice most of the shall we say more peculiar noises (chugging beeps, trilling boops, et al) until I listened a few different times (okay I noticed the screams right away), so otherwise transported was I by the whole over-the-top enterprise. I don’t think I’m going to hear a more satisfying chorus for a while, for both its power-pop-goes-to-heaven chord progression and its unexpectedly silly-yet-poignant lyrical climax (I’ll let you listen and discover it for yourself). “Waiting for My Friends” comes from a six-song EP the band released last year; the MP3, as usual, is waiting for you on the band’s site.


“Transamericana” – Muckner

An exceedingly well put together song, with one masterful touch arising after another. This song is not only about traveling, it sounds like traveling: listen to the wordless vocal (hey! it’s wordless vocal day) that drives the beginning of the introduction, underneath the drumbeat. It doesn’t sound like a car, but it sounds like driving. “Transamericana” is propelled by a steady acoustic beat, some especially effective use of fingers-on-metal-guitar-strings sounds, and guitarist Dan Erb’s gritty but gentle voice. The melody is at once urgent and soothing, full of subtle knowledge (listen to how it dips at the end of the second and fourth lines in the verse). And then the touch that seals it for me: how Lisa Smith (who plays bass and cello in the band) joins Erb in the chorus, but just on alternate lines. For some reason I really like that effect. Plus, on the first line she sings with him, she doesn’t harmonize, merely sings the same notes. For some reason I really like that effect as well. “Transamericana” comes from If I Can’t Talk to You, Then I Can’t Talk to Anybody, released in mid-November on Buttermilk Records. You’ll find the MP3 on the band’s web site.

This Week’s Finds: Dec. 5-11 (Gina Villalobos, Dealership, Jane Siberry)

“Why” – Gina Villalobos

Every now and then someone new comes along doing something not-very-new so sparklingly well that it seems new all over again. Operating in the well-worn roots/Americana corner of the rock’n’roll world, Gina Villalobos invites a “usual suspects” list of comparisons–in her case, Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams seem to be the first names out of everyone’s mouths–but I find her closest to the wondrous Kathleen Edwards, both in her rasp-inflected, emotive voice and in her capacity to channel some older and deeper rock’n’roll forces (think Neil Young in particular) and give them new life and force in the new century. From the minor key Tom Petty-ness of the intro, “Why” drives ahead with an authoritative stutter in the drum beat and a brilliant confluence and melody and voice in the second half of the verse: when she sings the phrase “If I can talk to what I see in the ceiling,” my goodness. Listen to the second syllable of the word “ceiling” and see if your heart doesn’t melt just a little. I won’t try to describe it. The song is the third track on Villalobos’ second CD, Rock’n’Roll Pony, released in June on the Kick Music label. The MP3 is one of six available on her web site, and all of them are good, including a satisfying cover of the old World Party nugget, “Put the Message in the Box.”


“Forest” – Dealership

A certain sort of confidence is required to open a song with the line “Let’s go, and I’ll play all my songs,” but singer Chris Groves has such a sweet-sailing voice that he has me right there–I’m thinking, sure, go ahead, play away. A do-it-yourself style trio from San Francisco, Dealership transcends its indie trappings through gorgeous melodicism and songwriting aplomb. The song is propelled by the juxtaposition of a jittery/infectious guitar line against a bell-like (and inexpensive-sounding) keyboard underneath a melody that cascades on itself, like noiseless fireworks arcing pattern upon pattern. When Groves arrives at the chorus, singing, “An electronic forest, a pixelated version” and then whatever he sings next (I can’t decipher the words at that point), we are in a certain sort of pop heaven. That guitarist Miyuki Jane Pinckard adds some solid yet airy (go figure) harmonies to the proceedings only adds to the feeling of being transported somewhere quite lovely, if a little bittersweet. I like how the band doesn’t waste the last minute of the song (which is when a lot of songs go into automatic pilot): listen to the edge Groves’ voice acquires at around the 2:15 point, and then feel the band pull the energy back at around 2:30 only to kick into a punched-up sprint to the finish at 2:50 or so. It’s all pretty subtle but I tend to like subtle. “Forest” is from the CD Action/Adventure, the band’s third, released in August on Turn Records; the MP3 can be found on the band’s web site.


“Hockey” – Jane Siberry

Anyone missing the hockey season yet? Well, in any case, it’s past time to get some Jane Siberry up here on Fingertips. For those unfamiliar with the work of the magical mystical Ms. Siberry, this song at least hints, in lots of small and idiosyncratic ways, at her deep and abiding allure. It’s all about childhood in-the-dying-light-of-late-afternoon-on-the-river hockey games, and Siberry’s earthy poetry evokes the scene beautifully, not just pictorially–“You skate as fast as you can ’til you hit the snowbank (that’s how you stop)”– but logistically: the song turns in part on the idea of how the game would wind down as more and more kids are called in for dinner, a subtle (that again) and masterful touch. I’m particularly enchanted by characteristic Siberry lyrical asides; I’ve never seen anyone else write lyrics like this and probably never will: “He’ll have that scar on his chin forever someday his girlfriend will say hey where…/He might look out the window…or not.” “Hockey” originally appeared on her 1989 album Bound by the Beauty; this is a slightly re-mixed version, with dog barks introduced to remove a potentially offending (but actually quite charming in context) word. You’ll find the MP3 on her self-owned record company web site.

This Week’s Finds: Nov. 28-Dec. 4 (David Byrne, Greta Gertler, Trembling Blue Stars)

Free and legal MP3s this week from David Byrne, Greta Gertler, and the Trembling Blue Stars.

“My Fair Lady” – David Byrne

There’s an almost Baroque stateliness to this churning little ditty from the estimable Mr. Byrne. While probably not a classic addition to the Byrne oeuvre (the subject matter–entrancing woman in a magazine–seems tired by now), this contribution to Wired Magazine’s Rip. Sample. Mash. Share. project has its charms, beginning with the former Talking Heads leader’s inscrutably ingratiating voice. I mean, there’s nothing about this somewhat whiny, high-pitched, more than a little nasally voice that should engage us, and yet I find above all it’s always his voice that draws me in, through all his incarnations over lo these many years. For a geeky, intellectual sort of guy he’s proven himself to be a fearless singer; maybe that’s what lends such deep appeal to the Byrne vibe. If nothing else, don’t miss the grunt at 2:38–it’s perfect. I’m also getting a kick out of how Byrne bleeds his voice directly into the synthesizer at the end. And hey there are one or two more well-delivered grunts in the last few seconds too.


“Away” – Greta Gertler & Peccadillo

The beginning of this song sounds interestingly slidey and sloppy, like a small orchestra warming up, but keep the piano’s off-kilter theme in mind–it returns very effectively later. The intro gives way to a stripped-down, beat-driven verse, followed by a simple chorus sung over an oscillating violin line, at which point this so-called “chamber pop band” (an unusual combination of strings and winds, plus Gertler’s piano and some percussion) kicks in to flesh the song out with a wonderful assortment of organic flourishes. (Check out the great, punctuating sound at the two-minute mark–I think one of the stringed instruments does that, but which one? and how?). Combining a crystalline sort of yearning quality to her voice (think Lisa Loeb) with a knack for layered vocals and striking instrumentation (think Kirsty MacColl), Gertler packs a lot into a three and a half minute pop song. While the melody is relatively modest, the package is assured and engaging; when the opening theme returns about two and a half minutes into the proceedings–that wonderful, lop-sided piano theme augmented by all sorts of knowing squeaks and squiggles from the band–I’m won over for good. “Away” comes from a brand new album, Nervous Breakthroughs, that was begun way back in 1998 but was only recently finished. The MP3 can be found on Gertler’s web site.


“Helen Reddy” – Trembling Blue Stars

Naming a song after a singer seems a particularly fetching thing to me. For all I know this stems from my lasting devotion to the Replacements’ “Alex Chilton” (one of the mysteriously great rock songs of all time), but what the heck, the world is full of strange and wonderful inter-connections. In any case, “Helen Reddy” is its own kind of good. Driven by singer Beth Arzy’s simultaneously warm-yet-distant vocals, the song succeeds in evoking the evanescent nostalgia of listening to distant radio stations at night as a child; the way certain lyrics spring forward clearly (“These nights are made for sleeping”) while others recede into the blurry aural landscape accentuates the mood and subject matter. The soft but steady beat, the subtle buzz of vague keyboard noise, and Arzy’s Georgia Hubley-ish voice all bring Yo La Tengo to mind, but there’s an airy warmth here that’s different from that band’s murkier sort of reserve. “Helen Reddy” is the lead track on the band’s latest CD, Seven Autumn Flowers, released on Elefant Records in Europe and, apparently, on Bar/None Records here in October, although the Bar/None web site still doesn’t list it anywhere. The MP3 can be found on the Elefant Records site.