Check Out: Jesse James Wax Museum

   I apologize for the brevity of this post..... -Calvin  

    The first time I had even heard of Jesse James Wax Museum was at a Cursive concert in Springfield, MO, home to the band as well as the birthplace of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. I wasn't really stoked or excited for the opening bands due to the insurmountable anticipation of seeing Cursive and the fact that I had never heard of the bands, so I just talked and waited around. Everyone, including myself, were chilling when abruptly we hear slowly shouted..."OOONNNNEEEEEEE, TTWWWOOOOOOO, TTTHHHRREEEEEE, FOOOUUUURRRRRRRR". Then the whole band erupted into the this dununununnuunun! They repeated the count to four as-well as the spastic band jam of guitars, cello, drums, tambourines, bass and trumpet. Everyone was hooked. Once they finished this very intriguing introduction, the lead singer Trey began to place this little up-beat jam on his acoustic guitar followed by the trumpet which eventually led into an incredible indie-folk-rock jam. I WAS HOOKED! I immediately asked whoever was next to me who they were and deemed them as an opening act for Cursive on Saddle-Creek. I soon found out that they were a local band from the area....... I fell in love with them and frequently checked their myspace for new MP3's on a daily basis. Soon after they put out an LP entitled "Paul" and boy, did it deliver!

PLEASE! Check these guys out and give em some feedback and love. I know that sounds lame but they are too good to let die. They have been currently changing up their sound and have released a FREE EP of their new stuff!
Lemme know what ya think!

Listen to them at.....

www.myspace.com/jjwmjjwm 

Click the pic to snag their free EP!

MP3 Mash Up!

    Currently I have noticed myself replaying a couple songs that I recently found at random places. So I thought I would share them with you guys and post some links for you to snag them for your own!

    Comment and lemme know which ones you like and which ones you don't!

GROOMS - "Dreamsucker" (90's sounding indie jam that Reminisces Sonic Youth and Pavement)

Young Man - "Five" (Dreamy, somnolent song with latent percussion and wavy organs)

Pure Ecstacy - "Easy" (Beach House meets Times New Viking)

Jay Electronica - "Exhibit C" (Hip-Hop bliss!)

Bad Temple - "Creatures Of Heart Pt 3"(Chilling forlorn song with spooky yet beautiful piano)

Sleep Whale - "Cotton Curls" (Spacey song with loud percussion)

Check Out: Surfer Blood

    I feel somewhat belated just now hearing about these guys. From West Palm Beach, Florida these 4 dudes dish out legit surf-indie-pop. They have an LP, called "Astro Coast", due out January 19th on Kanine records which they created entirely on their own, in their dorm room at the University of Florida, with equipment bought from money they scrounged from their scholarships.

They don't surf. They don't care. They make sick music. Check em' out.

Myspace

"Swim(To Reach The End)" Free MP3 (right-click and select "Save Link As")

"Floating Vibes" Free MP3 (right-click and select "Save Link As")

Twin Sister Offer Free EP

 That's right! Up-and-Coming band from New York is giving away their first EP entitled, "Vampires With Dreaming Kids" for FREE!

Snag It Here Yo.

Listen the track "I Want A House"

Check Out: The Meeting Places

    Shoegaze. Yes, shoegaze. What comes to mind when you hear that word? Well, in a linear sense, probably one staring down at one's shoes. Or in a musical sense, that lethargic, relaxing music that makes you feel like swaying your head back and forth while looking at your shoes.....right? Maybe? I don't know. But what I do know is that The Meeting Places, from Los Angeles, are masters of this "shoegaze". But I feel that it is an injustice for the The Meeting Places to be labeled this "shoegaze". So for the length of this review I am going to label them "sungaze". Yes, this is a far more suiting label for this band and I hope you will agree once you give em' a listen.

    "Dude? Why would you label them "Sungaze?", you might ask.

   Allow me to explain further. These guys create beautiful, languid music that makes one imagine(or atleast me for the matter) of staring out across a sunny sky. Most of their music is set on this canvas of far-off reverb while the band members layer their instruments on it. I can just imagine these dudes in some building with a view over a sunny ocean with waves calmly flowing in, writing their music.
    They currently have two LP's out: "Find Yourself Along The Way" and "Numbered Days". When I asked them if they were planning or workin on a new album, they replied: "I think we all also share the drive to make a new record that is far superior than the last two. We are definitely in the writing stage of a new album or release of some kind. No dates or schedule is set as we don't want to rush this one.  So far, the new material sounds better and better each week and we will be testing more new songs live this year."
    Definitely stoked to hear that. Can't wait to hear more from them!

They have a show coming up on Wednesday, January 13th at Spaceland in Los Angeles and go on at 11PM. If you live in that area go check em out!

Details: http://www.clubspaceland.com/?m=20100113&cat=2

Show them some love on their myspace: www.myspace.com/themeetingplaces
Check out their website: www.themeetingplaces.com
Buy their LP's (Highly Recommended): Find Yourself Along The Way and Numbered Days
Enjoy a free MP3 of song "Millions" courtesy of the Meeting Places themselves: "Millions"

Check Out: Motel Motel

     I am very excited about this band right here. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York I am proud to bring you Motel Motel. These 5 honky-tonk rockers often receive relevance to bands such as Wilco and Cold War Kids, and with good intention. In fact, there are quite a few bands that come to mind when listening to Motel Motel: Two Gallants, Delta Spirit, The Rural Alberta Advantage....  However, I believe these guys bring to the "alt-country" genre, something different. They create this spastic, eccentric sound, full of energy in its purest form. Whether it's the piercing and crooney voice of lead singer Eric Engel, or the incredibly talented band players backing him, this band has found a sound of their own. They do have their soft moments with songs like "Mexico", a song that sounds (in my opinion) as a plea for a detachment from, well, Mexico, for some reason. You can feel the sentiment in Engel's voice as a sings, "My heart my soul please let it go, To the river let it ride let it roll let it roll". Their song "Coffee", and not to deviate from their other music considering it's one of their more renown songs, is a perfect incorporation of both their softer side and their energy.
    They currently have one EP out called "Old Yorke" and an LP out called "New Denver" (remarkable album I might add) and are working on a new LP that will be released sometime during the summer. I'm pretty stoked for it and hopefully you guys will be to once you check em' out.
Show them some love on their myspace: www.myspace.com/motelmotel
Check out their website: www.motelmotelmusic.com
Buy their LP (Highly Recommended): New Denver
Free MP3 of "Coffee" Here

What To Expect....

     I'm going to do my best to try and bring to the table, more obscure bands than the usual.

So I'm going to provide a (tentative)list of bands to expect.

January Band List Expectancy

• Motel Motel
  
• The Meeting Places
• Big Spider's Back
• Jesse James Wax Museum
  
• The Veils
• {{{Sunset}}}
• So Many Dynamos

Here we have the lovely giddy song "Heart Made Of Sound" by a band by the name of Softlightes. You can snag a download of the song below the Youtube video. ENJOY!

 

"Heart Made Of Sound" Free MP3

In Case You Missed It......

    The Japandroids made a TV debut on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon with their song from their recent album "Post Nothing" called "Wet Hair". They tear it up! Check it out!
    Also, you guys should show Indie Arto some love and check out his blog, and while your at it, tell all your friends about it. Post a twitter, make it your status on Facebook, or go scream "INDIE ARTO" out in the street! Thanks Guys!

Check Out: The Shaky Hands "Allison and the Ancient Eyes"

    Just wanted to share a song by The Shaky Hands with you guys called "Allison and the Ancient Eyes. Give it a try...I bet you'll be hooked right when it starts. You can also snag a free download of the song below the youtube video!

"Allison and the Ancient Eyes" - Free MP3 (right click and select "Save Link As")

Check Out: The Thermals

    The first thing that crossed my mind when I started listening to The Thermals' "Now We Can See" was, "Man, these guys remind me of old Green Day". Of course, as I continued to listen to the album that idea faded. However, it still in some places, does sound like the old 90's Green Day. You remember don't ya, "Welcome To Paradise", "Basket Case", and the punkish, repetitive guitar melodies. There's not much similarity between the two bands, just the sound...maybe? Ok, forget about the whole "Green Day" thing. Anyways, let me begin (again) by saying there isn't much diversity on this album, it's pretty straightforward. This is a good though, basically because The Thermals stick to their roots and continue to do what they do best: make simple punk-rock music.
   Of course you still receive the notorious and unique vocal style of Hutch Harris, which is one of my favorite things about this band. But all your really going to hear on this album is Harris' fuzzy guitar, Kathy Foster's thumpin' bass and percussion of Kathy Foster (wait...what? you just said she played bass?). That's right, during the recording of this album Foster played bass and due to the lack of a drummer, recorded the albums' percussion. Pretty sick huh? Westin Glass, the bands' current drummer, joined after recording for the album was finished. The only other instrumental addition you will hear on this album is on the very last track, "You Dissolve", which holds mildly, some piano.

    Lyrically, the album takes on broad topics but remains somewhat ambiguous as to what exactly they are. They are interesting and witty nonetheless but, in my opinion, less potent and harsh as some of their earlier work. This may be a beef with some fans considering their earlier songs were somewhat more crude and controversial, but for most listeners, shouldn't.

    Do not be misled by their simpleness, this is a very good album. CHECK IT OUT!