On the strength of Multiply and Divide alone, the Soviettes’ latest release would be more than sufficient. Fortunately, the rest of the album follows through on the promise made by this first track; namely, that it is going to be fast, catchy, and fun. I am generally a sucker for energetic punk bands fronted by boisterous women, and luckily with these folks, such a prediliction has not led me wrong.

Rather than barrage you with MP3s today, I will take the more minimalist approach and hope that simply the opening track will be enough to pique your interest.

Downloads

From LP III
Multiply and Divide – (MP3, 3.4 MB)

There have not been any posts in a good while, but that is because I didn’t know The Epoxies had any MP3s up (OK, that is not the only reason). If I had been privy to the knowledge that Radiation was just sitting out there on the Internet, waiting for me to pimp it like Hank Hill pimps sweet lady propane, then pimping would have commenced previously. I have yet to listen to their self-titled debut as much as Stop The Future, but again, their debut does not have Radiation on it (not a good quote to take out of context). As opposed to most of the catchy songs whored around the world, this one has lyrical value, can you believe it? With lyrics like “I know I’d know the difference somehow / If I was being rearranged / I’m sure if I had been reprogrammed / Something somehow surely would seem strange!” you just can’t not be hooked. Aaaaaaand they’re from Portland. I am all about the Portland bands, except for when I am not.

Downloads

From Stop The Future
Radiation – (MP3, 3 MB)

Everyone has heard Harvey Danger, for there was a short period in the 90’s where they drilled Flagpole Sitta into everyone’s heads by way of the radio. Then, according to the blasphemous ‘mainstream’ folk, they disappeared. This is not actually the case — they followed up 1998’s Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? with King James Version, a bombastic record that managed to surpass its predecessor, being significantly catchier, while retaining the same level of lyrical quality (“I had a lovely brunch with Jesus Christ / he said two words about inanity / fundamental christianity,” off of its opener Meetings With Remarkable Men, and “Pomposity is when you always think you’re right / Arrogance is when you know,” off of Pike St./Park Slope).

That failed to receive much attention. And then they truly did disappear, only to resurface in 2005 with Little By Little, with a more ‘indie’ sound. I have consistently loved everything they’ve put out, and it just seems a terrible shame that nobody I’ve talked to about them has heard anything of theirs after the band’s brush with fame eight years ago.

And what’s more, if you enjoy them at all, you can even download the entirety of Little By Little off of their site.

Downloads

From Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?
Carlotta Valdez – (MP3, 2.6 MB)
Terminal Annex – (MP3, 3.5 MB)

From King James Version
Meetings With Remarkable Men (Show Me the Hero) – (MP3, 2.7 MB)
Authenticity – (MP3, 2.5 MB)
Underground – (MP3, 4.4 MB)

From Little By Little
Wine, Women, and Song – (MP3, 3.1 MB)
Happiness Writes White – (MP3, 3.0 MB)
What You Live By – (MP3, 2.9 MB)

Holy Ghost Revival is one of those bands that you listen to and wonder why you’ve never heard about them until now. While it’s true that I tend to primarily focus on a band’s singer (HGR’s singer has what I will describe as a lovely glam-rock falsetto), this band’s greatness is not at all limited to their singer. If you are one of those lyric-oriented types, you’ll have to check out Hot Luv In A Berlin Bombshelter (in case the title didn’t entice you enough), an epic rock song straight out of the 80s. For the indie kids who like their depressing songs to be upbeat and catchy, check out Flowers Of Evil. And if you really like Christmas… you should be able to figure out what song to get.

Downloads

From Bleeding Light
Christmas Everyday – (MP3, 4.2 MB)

From Beast With Two Backs
Hot Luv In A Berlin Bombshelter – (MP3, 8.1 MB)
Flowers Of Evil – (MP3, 4.9 MB)
Ivy On Granite – (MP3, 7 MB)
Jewelry Shoppe – (MP3, 7 MB)

It doesn’t usually take too much to gain entrance into our not-very-coveted “premium blogs” section; mostly, it just means I’ve leeched the site for music and found at least three or four bands that I liked. In the case of i (heart) music, their post about The Rural Alberta Advantage was enough. On occasion, I will chastise a band for changing their sound, but that’s when they take their good, previous sound, and warp it into some mess that doesn’t please me one bit. The Rural Alberta Advantage does not deserve that chastisement, because when they change their sound, it’s to another good sound. The Dethbridge In Lethbridge is about as indie rock as 2006 gets, while The City throws a bit more folk into the mix, and Expand/Contract throws even more folk in. Though it makes me wonder, if they were to change their sound even more, would I still like them? Only time will tell, but until then, enjoy the tunes.

Downloads

The Dethbridge In Lethbridge – (MP3, 3.1 MB)
The City – (MP3, 2.8 MB)
Expand/Contract – (MP3, 5.1 MB)

What do you get when you mix a seductive French accent with Canadian hipness? In this overly specific case, Lily Frost. Her music is considerably more upbeat and pop-influenced than most of her French chanteuse counterparts, or at least the ones I’m privy to. She sings most of her songs in English, which is very fortunate in the case of Enchantment, though unfortunate as that seductive French accent is quite muted on the songs she sings in English. Trade-offs, trade-offs…

Downloads

From Cine-Magique
Enchantment – (MP3, 1.4 MB)
I Called You – (MP3, 1.1 MB)

From Situation
Black Narcissus – (MP3 sample, 889 KB)
Les Vaisseaux Nocturnes – (MP3 sample, 808 KB)

Pandora is certainly the most interesting Internet radio station I’ve come across; the songs it plays for you depend on your opinions of the last songs it’s played for you. It still can’t really pinpoint your tastes, since you can only tell the site if you liked the song or you didn’t. No in-between answers (outside of not answering), and no answers like “the guitar bits sucked, but the singing was good.” So when it played Jeff Hanson, a fellow described on last.fm as “Elliott Smith if he came back as a 16-year old girl,” I can’t help but wonder if the site played him for me because of his decidedly feminine voice, or because of his music. I would hope it’s both. Anyway, if you can wrap your mind around his voice, then you should have no problems enjoying this.

Downloads

From Son
Hiding Behind The Moon – (MP3, 3.5 MB)
Just Like Me – (MP3, 3.3 MB)

I am one of those guys who knows most of his friends over the Internet. While my real life friends waste no time making fun of me for this, when you are a music whore who lives in a village of 700 people, you need the vastness of the Internet to listen to music that’s not on the radio. So it should come as no surprise that most of my Internet friends are also music whores of varying degrees, and while they don’t recommend many of the bands I end up writing about here, my friend Kalyn recommended The Bloody Hollies and they are obviously being written about! Or at least the backstory is.

The Bloody Hollies are one of the most rocking bands I’ve heard in some time. Their singer is one of their strongest assets, going from singing that almost sounds British to screaming at a moment’s notice. As he yells on The Rain, “Sometimes you get what you’re asking for! / And everybody always gets what they deserve!” I will change the context to mean that while not everybody is asking to be rocked, they all deserve it. So don’t be ashamed of wanting to be rocked, you deserve it!

Downloads

From Who To Trust, Who To Kill, Who To Love
Mona – (MP3, 4.4 MB)
Satanic Satellite – (MP3, 2.9 MB)

To Ant’s chagrin, it is time for rap! I had to create the rap category just for this song, can you believe it? Me neither. Anyhoo, on my most recent blog whoring expedition, I found some Aussie rap on songs: illinois and decided to get it because it’s a genre that I hardly pay attention to anymore. Fortunately for me, Macromantics is not part of the cRap sub-genre that turned me off to the main genre in the first place. And though I can’t profess to understand a good chunk of what she is rapping, I find that hardly relevant because, as she raps in this very song, the track is gorgeous.

Downloads

From Moments In Movement
Scorch – (MP3, 3.8 MB)

To Hugh’s chagrin, it is time for more ska! This time, it’s one of the most solid ska bands that no one seems to have ever heard of. Hailing from that lie of an island (i.e., Rhode Island), they bring an extremely upbeat yet dark-sounding ska, using lots of horns and only occasionally slowing things down. It would be remiss to mark them as ska-punk, though there are definitely punk elements. Ska-swing-punk might be more apt, but the multiple-genre classification seems too ridiculous. I cannot understand half of what comes out of this guy’s mouth, but it is not necessary to enjoy it. Imperative recording!

While I do enjoy their newer release, 401, it just has not been able to come close to the impact For All the Massive has had on me. Such an excellent album all-around, and you can’t complain that every song sounds the same (though someone probably will anyway!).

Downloads

From For All the Massive
Gratidao – (MP3, 3.3 MB)
Skully – (MP3, 2.6 MB)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers – (MP3, 2.6 MB)
DaLomba (the Forbidden Dance) – (MP3, 3.3 MB)