First off, THE LONG BLONDES should not be confused with THE LONG WINTERS. THE LONG BLONDES are a new wave-influenced, art-rock collective from Sheffield, England -- home to one of my favorite groups of all time, PULP. Little wonder, then, that former Pulpster STEVE MACKEY served as producer for the THE LONG BLONDES' debut album, SOMEONE TO DRIVE YOU HOME.
Led by sly, not-at-all-shy singer KATE JACKSON -- who I'm pretty sure is NOT the KATE JACKSON who starred on the '70s TV show CHARLIE'S ANGELS -- THE LONG BLONDES have been making positive waves in their home country with their aggressive-yet-poppy, girl-centric brand of rock. Fans of CATATONIA and "LADYKILLERS"-era LUSH should take note.
THE LONG BLONDES on MySPACE.
Dec 10 8:00P/Molotov/Hamburg
Dec 11 8:00P/Magnet/Berlin
Dec 12 8:00P/Gebaude 9/Cologne
Dec 14 8:00P/Les Inrocks Indie Club @ La Maroquinerie/Paris
Dec 15 8:00P/Razzmatazz 3 (Anniversary party)/Barcelona
Dec 16 8:00P/Moby Dick
[MP3] "Once and Never Again"
[MP3] "Weekend Without Makeup"
Rhode Island's THE BROTHER KITE specialize in slow, pretty soundscapes that would generally fall under the heading(s) of "shoegaze" or "dream-pop." These genres are (generally) not my cup of tea, what with my forever-dwindling attention span and my (general) aversion to using record albums as background Muzak.
THE BROTHER KITE released their second album, WAITING FOR THE TIME TO BE RIGHT, back in September. As is not uncommon in their genre(s), the band string their songs one-to-the-next, creating a satisfying tapestry of sound that's understated but also undeniably pleasant. I've posted my two favorite tunes from the new record below. The second, in particular, does not play by the traditional verse-chorus-verse rules, but, if you give it a chance to unfold a bit, you may just be taken in by its beauty as I was.
(Oh, and... in an altogether-sub-Twilight-Zone-type-of-way, I would just like to note that I find BROTHER KITE lead singer PATRICK BOUTWELL's voice a dead ringer for BAND OF HORSES' not-altogether-differently-named BEN BRIDWELL's.)
THE BROTHER KITE on MySPACE.
THE BROTHER KITE on the road >>>
Dec 13 10:00P/Roger Williams University Radio/Bristol, Rhode Island
Jan 6 9:00P/Maverick's/New Bedford, Massachusetts
Jan 10 9:00P/El-N-Gee/New London, Connecticut
Jan 12 9:00P/Brillobox/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 13 9:00P/Nite Owl/Dayton, Ohio
Jan 14 9:00P/The Note/Chicago, Illinois
[MP3] "Bringing It Back Home"
[MP3] "Lay Down Your Burden"
Vendettas are one of those groups that seems determined to keep a low, mysterious profile. That, or they've just been a bit lazy when it comes to maintaining/updating their MySpace page (which seems to serve as their primary website).
I CAN tell you that Vendettas feature five band members; that their singer is female; that they call Sydney, Australia their home. I can also tell you that they play a fairly hard-driving brand of punk-fringed pop that may put more than a few of you in mind of Sweden's the Sounds.Unfortunately, at this time, that's about ALL that I can tell you about Vendettas -- other than that they'll be playing the following shows in December...
Dec 9 8:00P/Starvation Christmas Party - Warehouse/New South Wales
Dec 9 9:00P/Rebel Rebel Home Nightclub/Sydney/New South Wales
Dec 13 8:30P/Spectrum/Sydney/New South Wales
Dec 16 8:00P/The Brag - Christmas Party/Australian Capital Territory
Dec 29 11:00P/World Bar/Australian Capital Territory
[MP3] "Running"
[MP3] "Too Many Days"
Years ago, when I was still writing fiction, I wrote a story called "Terminus" about an average, sad-sack American who awakes in bed one day and decides right then and there that he doesn't want to die -- not that day, not ever. Subsequently, he sets about trying to arrange his life in such a way as to absolutely maximize his own longevity. His very first thought is that he will move to Sweden. Sweden, he thinks, is very probably the greatest and safest place on the planet. Even the cars are highly safety-conscious [this message brought to you by the good people of Saab]. In the end, though, our protagonist begins to question the health benefits of a national diet consisting solely of meatballs and salted fish, while simultaneously worrying over Sweden's reputation for suicides (this last after subjecting himself to an Ingmar Bergman movie marathon).
Anyway, all of this is my long way of proving my on-going obsession with the Kingdom of Sweden. As most any regular MP3-blog visitor already knows, pop and indie artists have been crawling out of that country's woodwork for years now. I don't know what they're putting in the water (or vodka) over there, but I wish they'd start exporting more of it to the U.S. Maybe then we wouldn't be stuck with such bland, Budweiser-bred, alt-rock Neanderthals as Nickelback and Hinder (with apologies to my brother, Steve, who has an ear for just such Neanderthals).
My latest Swedish crush comes courtesy of the Gothenburg band Pinto. I was introduced to them through a very unassuming and self-deprecating e-mail by band leader Andreas Magnusson, who had apparently just learned that "pinto" means "penis" in Portugeuse. How very "punk rock," thought I (and so much better to be named for the male member than for the pencil-dicked Ford car of yesteryear that had the unfortunate habit of bursting into flames when bumped from behind).
Now, Pinto's name may be "punk rock," but their music is anything but. In fact, their sound has been said to suggest a "weird Tom Petty, an insane Ben Lee, or a Swedish R.E.M." Or, as Andreas himself put it: "ABBA crossed with Nick Drake -- which pretty much comes out Evan Dando" (though I think he was at least half-kidding about that one). Overall, though, Pinto specialize in short indie-pop tunes -- bright, bittersweet, and buoyed by some thoroughly charming vocals. For me, those vocals put me strongly in mind of a young Lloyd Cole (as conjoined with Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard).
Finally, the four members (not THOSE kind of members; we've moved on from that now) of Pinto have a highly strange and un-American sense when it comes to the capitalist system. You see, these particular Swedes don't like to sell their music; they prefer to give it away. All of it. As soon as they're done recording it. Crazy-ass socialists.
So, be sure to go to Pinto's website and/or MySpace page and download the generous assortment of songs that you'll find there. Also, look for their full-length debut (with any luck) in early 2007.
[MP3] "Armchair Anthropologist"
[MP3] "Never Leave"
[MP3] "I Belong to You"
A selection of songs that just missed the cut last month...
[MP3] The Rapture/"Whoo! Alright - Yeah... Uh Huh"
[MP3] Consequences/"Release Me From Love"
[MP3] Malajube/"Pate Filo"
[MP3] Shiny Toy Guns/"You Are the One"
[MP3] Youth Group/"Dead Zoo"
[MP3] Asha Ali/"Fire, Fire"
[This post was delayed as a result of a 13-hour power outage yesterday. So, if you'll permit me: Fuck winter. Fuck cold November/December rain. Fuck wind. Fuck Detroit Edison. And fuck the Amish -- for living like that all the time... and not bitching about it.]Another month in the books. How time flies.
Left-click [HERE] to download the following November collection...
TRACKLISTING >>>
01) Stefy/Chelsea
02) Shiny Toy Guns/Rainy Monday
03) The Like/The One
04) Albert Hammond, Jr./In Transit
05) Marit Bergman/Green Light
06) Jarvis Cocker/Tonite
07) The Information/A Simple Plan
08) Shivaree/Goodnight Moon
09) Bang Gang/Find What You Get
10) The May Fire/Right and Wrong
11) Kevin Devine/You'll Only End Up Joining Them
12) Dover/Let Me Out
13) Consequences/Parasite
14) The Bluetones/Head on a Spike
15) Sam Roberts/Fall Before You Finish
16) The Soundtrack of Our Lives/Nevermore
17) Rock Kills Kid/Raise Your Hands
18) The Awkward Stage/Heaven is for Easy Girls
19) The Arrogants/Easy
20) Jim White/That Girl from Brownsville Texas
21) The Bicycles/I Know We Have to Be Apart
Friday is the time here on Sprockets when we dance (and touch our monkeys). Thus, a few tracks this morning from Always on Our Minds -- A Tribute to Pet Shop Boys. You can get some info on this limited release by going [HERE].
[And come back later today for the Best of November mix. It's bound to be swell.]
[MP3] Sara Noxx/"Rent"
[MP3] Intuition/"Love Comes Quickly"
[MP3] Chinese Theatre/"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"
