THE HAPPIES MEET THE HAPPIES The Happies = Nick Drake + Brian Jonestown Massacre The questions you should ask yourself right now are: Why haven’t I heard of this band before, how has my life been incomplete without them, are they still around, and why did this stupid reviewer wait several months to write them up?
The Furies Sunday Satellite Dumb Angels The Furies = (Pavement + Lou Reed) x emo The songs on Sunday Satellite are well thought-out, well produced and could serve as an accessory to a deep, deep depression. This minimalist, sad indie rock of The Furies could either woo the right concert audience into a feeling
The Contingency Plan Self-titled demo (2002) The Contingency Plan = Drive-Thru Records + sincerity Oops … this is what happens when you lose a band’s press kit in your car’s trunk for two years. This four-song demo is a neat, tight conglomeration of polished emo pop-punk with sharp production (Boho Digitalia), tight performance and
The Jukejoint 45’s Self-titled EP The Jukejoint 45’s = The Cramps + Elvis + Robert Johnson Grammar, children! If I see another Salt City CD’s or Go-Go’s emblem again, I’ll maul. Plurals don’t have apostrophes! Anyway, The Jukejoint 45’s make some really kick-ass rockabilly that’s not different from a dozen other rockabilly bands you’ve
The Legendary Porch Pounders A Little Gift: Authorized Bootleg Self-Released LPP = Muddy Waters + Bob Dylan I swore off drinking yesterday, but halfway through the emotionally exhausting second track, “Up for Days,” I had one leg swung back up on the wagon. Dan Weldon’s lyrics are more folk-poetic than would traditionally accompany many of
The Brobecks Happiest Nuclear Winter Self-Released The Brobecks = Weezer + They Might be Giants + Flaming Lips + Alkaline Trio This album isn’t over-cute, it’s just cute drawn out. Happiest Nuclear Winter struts clever through 12 tracks of electro-pop subtle-saccharine with bummed-out lyrics and occasional near-jazz piano ditties. Sad, socially conscious, mostly strange and
The Body Call Off the Search Self-Released The Body = Aesop Rock + Atmosphere + the Roots Funky sometimes slipping into raga full-instrumental backtracks flow behind flows laid by emcees LoKaL and MiMiC rounding out over an hour of recorded sweet hip-hop smoothness. The first half of tracks find the lyrics a bit lazy, crutching
At least, mine came with a section of T-shirt with hand-drawn flowers on it courtesy of Dave Styer, one-half of The Horns’ double-pronged axe-destroying machine. … read more
The Invisible Rays play often-slow, almost dirge-ish creep punk filled with plodding buzzsaw bass riffs, mournful or shouted vocals and sometimes-droning synths. … read more
Covers include the Southern-accented “Wish You Was Here” and “Under the Milky Way.” The Awesome Possum Band is funny but not in an annoying way. … read more
The Hotness Fashion Over Comfort Sound Vs. Silence Street: 02.06 The Hotness = La Severence + The Get Up Kids guitar + high school band with 700 Myspace friends I’m a sucker for a good dance song. I could care less what the artist is singing about, as long as they can keep my ass
The Gorgeous Hussies Self-Titled Self-Released Street: March 2007 The Gorgeous Hussies = Mothers of Invention + The Pres of the United States + Barenaked Ladies Remember those big guys in high school that weren’t the cool kids, but they were still friends with everyone because they were so funny and too damn happy all the
