Music Blogs

Ah, my iPod clutching friend, it's that time of year when thunderstorms--thunder-boomers!--crisscross the country, often turning into tornadoes, but just as often wimping out and leaving us stranded in endless weekends of soggy indoor living. With that wet mindset we typically power up the entertainment center, slap on some tunes and get on with it. Puttering around the house, fixing good food, frolicking in the bedroom, going to sleep and waking to eject the CD tray and play more sounds to accompany our sodden weekend insouciance. On offer today? Five MP3s from mostly unknown bands who have cornered the Markey on mushy sounds: songs to while away the hours, music to accompany a 40 yard thru-the-window stare into nature's endless panorama!

Peasant--"On The Ground": Doylestown sad sacks Peasant have been compared to those original '60s mopers Simon and Garfunkel, and with good reason. "Exposure" is so tremulous and frightened you wonder how these sweet boys ever get out of bed, much less out of the house. Their tender, finger-plucked guitars and quivering high pitched harmonies attract girls still suckered by that sensitive guy persona, never knowing that Peasant are dogs (sniff sniff), just like the rest of us. Peasants? Let them eat flakes!

Peasant
"Exposure" (mp3)
from "On the Ground"
(Paper Garden Records)

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Everthus The Deadbeats--"John Kill & The Microscopic Lullaby": Yeah, I know the name is ridiculous, but this band's bio alone should pique your interest. Singer John Muylle is a trained wood sculptor who recreated 30 statues of Sandy the Squirrel. Bassist Benny Sanders is one of a handful of people in the U.S. who can set type by hand. Lisa Berlin invented the Skrote, a piece of clothing favored by trendy Milanese and Parisian femme fatales. Guitarist Allen Bannister recreates famous Dada paintings for fat cat suburban home owners, and drummer Daniel Fahrner was a former circus freak.

What do they sound like? "Dinosaur" comes on like some old ELP acoustic track, all ominous guitar and rubbed hand drums. John Muylle goes the UK reference one step further, his droll delivery recalling a road side barker in Olde England selling squishy peas and waterlogged chips. Mad humming soars over a dry heaving synth, dancing rhythms below putting me in mind of a carefree jig at noonday. Everthus launch into a harmonious vocal chorus, complete with farting flute and wood nymph sound effects. Their lush vocals and simple, pastoral delivery make for a roaring campfire effect that is charming, rustic and as easy on the ears as Jethro Tull's "Wondering Aloud."

Everthus The Deadbeats
"Dinosaur" (mp3)
from "John Kill & the Microscopic Lullaby"
(Standard Recording Company)

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Sholi--"Hejrat": Don't know much about this San Fran band beyond their puzzling name and the fact that their latest EP offers two covers: "Hejrat" by Iranian pop diva Googoosh, and "Sprout And The Bean" by Joanna Newsom. Iranian-American lead singer Payam Bavafa sings in Farsi on "Herjat." Klezmer free form jazz with monosyllabic vocals and a nervous drummer. Sleep inducing lounge frivolity, nonetheless. Pass the tea, dance the blind drone, inhale the hookah.

Sholi
"Hejrat" (mp3)
from "Hejrat"
(Payam Bavafa)

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Iuengliss--"Wake-Up Time": Iuengliss is Tom Metz. He is obviously a devoted fan of Johnny Greenwood, Christmas music, John Martyn, Pennsylvania Dutch performing troupe Marva (who has mastered the collective art of the zither), skydiving, Hinterland, sunspots, and cozy drum programming. Wake-Up Time is beautiful music which depends more on its total sheen than its intricate, multi textural details.

Iuengliss
"Wake-Up Time" (mp3)
from "Wake-Up Time"
(Bocumast LTD.)

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Iuengliss
"Friend for the Night" (mp3)
from "Wake-Up Time"
(Bocumast LTD.)

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American Music Club--"The Golden Age": What could be more sleepy, wondrous and rain inducing than American Music Club? Returning after an interminable time spent wandering the desert, Mark Eitzel continues to suspend time and wear his sodden heart on his sleeve. You know what to expect from AMC: tender textures, sullen thoughts, hopeless vistas. We leave you here, uneasy listening leading to potential nightmares.

"All My Love"