Who Needs Radio?

I know I once again flaked on posting, but I've had a cold for the past couple of weeks that just doesn't know when to leave. Kind of like the creepy, wasted guy at the afterparty who can't seem to catch a hint. I'm feeling quite well today, so I took advantage of the better health and spent pretty much this entire day catching up on email and snail mail submissions. And to make up for my delay, today's post is going to be a massive one.

I hate to say that I won't be able to give each band their well deserved textual review, but my ears ache from being squeezed between massive headphones for the past 5 hours, and my head is slightly spinning from a recent dose of DayQuil. But all of these bands are respectively fantastic and diverse, so please enjoy.

On a personal note, I really don't recommend drinking straight from a bottle of Robitussin when you're sick and already somewhat out of it. I now understand what mc chris was talking about in his song "The Tussin."

First up on the list is a delicate and heavenly band that already had me enamored by a minute and a half into the first song. To be honest, usually when I sort through submissions and figure out which songs are post-worthy as a full representation of the band, I tend to skip through a majority of the songs. It's not that they are bad, I just usually don't have the time to dedicate an hour to each band. But when it came to giving Until The Autumn a listen, I couldn't bring myself to fast forward any part of it. The Story Of are a band of five friends originally from Athens, OH, (now in Austin, TX) who could probably write the perfect soundtrack to your life. It doesn't come as a surprise that their music has already been placed in a variety of independent films. This is definitely a band worth getting caught up in, as the entire album feels flawless.

From Until The Autumn, out 3/3/09 (pre-order it here):
Berkeley
Lights On The Landing
+ Myspace

Emil Hewitt is producing some stunning stuff with his electropop/soul influenced project Emil&Friends. According to his bio, music has been a large part of his life since he was a kid, taking on different projects as he grew and listening in on all of the different genres he could find. His appreciation for a vast variety of music shows in the Downed Economy EP, as it stretches across anywhere from indie rock to electropop to R&B and Soul. The lyrical content is also pretty entertaining, especially in the title track that any independent musician could relate to at this time of financial crisis. "I wanna make a tape for my best friend's label. Gotta make some changes, how I spend my savings." Don't we all, Emil. Don't we all.

From the Downed Economy EP (downloadable here):
Downed Economy
Short Order Cooks
+ Support Emil by purchasing a Downed Economy Shirt

Oh Erlend Oye, your voice is like a seraph dancing in my ears. And I'm glad to have it back in the new The Whitest Boy Alive album Rules, due out in March. From the sound of the new single, the Rhodes and Crumar synths are going to be a great addition on the new release.

From Rules (due out early March):
Island
And a remix of a song from their last album Dreams:
Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
+ Myspace

If you like Italo disco, electropop, or hot brunettes with great voices... you'll definitely want to pay Los Angeles' Love Grenades some attention. The music is unquestionably geared towards getting you on a dancefloor (or dancing around your room seductively in your underwear). And get this: 25 year old Elizabeth Wight sang on the song "I Love Boys" from the classic 80s movie Teen Witch when she was 5. I have no shame in admitting that I was a fan of that movie as a kid. Anyway, enough about me. Give it a listen already. You know you want to.

From Tigers In The Fire (out now on iTunes):
Tigers In The Fire
Young Lovers (Sam Sparro Edit)

There's not really much information on the web about Ohio's Love Between Equals, and the submission email only mentioned that this dude was making some "BANGIN tracks" (which I agree)... but I just wish I had something more to write about the guy. I was able to dig up that he has over 12 years experience producing, and it's clearly shown in the quality of these tracks. Oh, and that Mr. Mystery apparently has a hand for a head. But other than that, all I can say is the shit is indeed undeniably BANGIN.

From ???:
Young Love
Get It Fit
+ Myspace

I normally can't handle most hip hop remixes/mashups since I'm pretty clueless to it, but France's DIGIKID84 actually made Fat Joe tolerable for me. And seeing as how Busta Rhymes is supposedly my new neighbor, I should probably get used to his material. I don't know if the Pat Benatar sample was a part of the original, but if not... props to DIGIKID for throwing that in. Again, I'm clueless. And this kid is only 24. Makes me feel like a real jackass for not doing more myself.

It's unfortunate that the Captain Funk remix is only a snippet, because I really like the heavily 80s sound of that too. Hopefully we'll hear more from Billy Bone aka DIGIKID84 in the near future.

Runaway vs Fat Joe and Busta Rhymes - Shorty (DIGIKID84 Remix)
Captain Funk - Hey Boy Hey Girl (DIGIKID84 Remix)

The lush sounds of New York's Xylos will certainly wrap you in upon first listen. In The Bedroom lightly reminds me of the percussion of a Beta Band track, while some of the other songs hold more of a 70s-folk or lively indie pop tone. They're giving the full EP away for free on their website, so be sure to cop that before they realize they really should be charging for such incredible material.

From Bedrooms:
In The Bedroom
This House We Built
+ Myspace

Another great indie band giving away their album away for free is Ham1 of Athens, GA. (Although, if you really wanted to be nice, you'd visit their Myspace page and purchase some of their tracks there to show your support.) But nonetheless, it is free, and it is something quite wonderful. It's captivating, hard-to-describe, southern indie rock with a flair of beach and touch of Velvet Underground to it. The instrumental Mel Bay is definitely a favorite of mine.

From The Underground Stream (downloadable here):
Mel Bay
Adirondack Chair
+ Myspace

It's obvious by the name that Favours For Sailors are from the UK. This power-pop band with jangly guitars (that give a big nod to melodies of the 60s) have definitely structured something well... thanks to the influences of Television, Cheap Trick and The Cars.

From Furious Sons (due out March):
I Dreamt That I Dreamt That You Loved Me

NYC's The Bloodsugars get their name's influence from frontman and diabetic Jason Rabinowitz's intense childhood cravings for sweets. Just as well, as their songs exude sweet, syrupy synthpop mixed with danceable indie rock. And it doesn't hurt that this band has played shows alongside WNR favorites and all around sweethearts The Lisps.

From BQEP (buy at site store here):
Purpose Was Again
Bloody Mary
+ Myspace

When I was first listening to the album and reading the bio sheet for Austin's Diagonals, I got to "The members of the band are..." section and discovered that a dear acquaintance of mine, Wiley Wiggins, is their organ/key player. I guess I'm bad at paying attention. Or maybe I'm just horrific at keeping in touch with people.

It's impressive that they've created such a great first LP that meshes fetching organ melodies (I'm not biased, I swear!), garage rock riffs, and danceable beats together. Give it a listen and decide for yourself, because if I say much more it might seem like I'm kissing Wiley's ass.

From Valley Of The Cyclops (out 2/28):
Suitcase Packed
Neil Diamond Blues
+ Myspace

Hey look, it's another band from Austin! Does every band start there now? Anyway, The Frontier Brothers combine humorously bizarre lyrics (as shown by the song title technicalelectronicsupersonicrobot t.e.s.s.) with music that seems to be slightly influenced by indie rock favorites such as Pavement. I also like that some of the songs on their album also get pretty synth heavy.

These guys are starting a tour at the beginning of February, so be sure to check out their Myspace for locations and dates.

From Space Punk Starlet (available on CDBaby & iTunes):
Space Punk Starlet
Get Up Go
+ Myspace

Last but not least, you've got to respect a band that names themselves after a classic scene in Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2. Although, I have to say... the name should probably be "Real Shark - Fake Zombie!" instead of Fake Shark - Real Zombie!, but who am I to nitpick? I'm kind of on the line with this band as they sound pretty much post-hardcore (which is not a preferred genre for me). But Angel Lust is a haunting track (with the same Stevie Nicks riff that Destiny's Child borrowed), and they seem to have a lot of energy. I'll have to wait and see what else they put out in the future to really make a solid decision. One thing I do know, the remixes I heard of them a while back were pretty good.