Music Recommendation #15: Äänijännite

Äänijännite hails from Helsinki Finland. The first I heard of them was in 2008 and it was their song “Quantum Leap” that struck my fancy. When exploring more of their songs it becomes more and more clear the electronic basis in their songs and also a great emphasis on keyboards as well. Äänijännite’s sounds remind me of how Radio Dept could be if they were upbeat. It is normal for music in this “vein” to not catch my attention all that much, but there is something very special about this band. One significant attribute of this band is not only are they all over the place but also the clear fact that they keep things interesting.

Recommended if you like: Cleemann, Radio Dept, Television Keeps Us Apart, early Keane, SKWBN, Stereolab, early vhs or beta, Thurston Moore, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, early The Rapture;

Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/aanijannite

Music Recommendation #14: Chuck Morgan

Chuck Morgan hails from Goteborg Sweden. I must let the cat out of the bag; his real name is actually Anton Ekman. One of the most interesting qualities I find in the music of Chuck Morgan is the voice sounds very fresh, and clear. The melodies in the songs are very catchy, and accompany his voice very well. Also another interesting quality is that Anton is really quite young, in his early 20s. His song “Our Future Could Be So Bright” catches the irony. His sole full length to date is “Patchworks” and it’s a collection consisting of some of Anton’s finest songs to date.

Recommended if you like: Nick Drake, Kings of Convenience, Cleemann, Radio Dept., Ossian Ekenger, Oh! Custer, Jose Gonzalez, etc.

(3) Free and legal downloads here http://indiepages.com/seriestwo/070.html

Hear more here: www.myspace.com/chuckmorgan8

Music Recommendation #13: James and the Express

James & the Express hails from Olympia Washington. When I first heard their album “Are Your Tomatoes Safe?”, I was quickly satisfied by the sound. I felt this way because the playfulness in his songs, the emotions being shared, the joy that can be heard from the vocals and the melody, among other great qualities. In the lyric writing, there is clearly parts that appear to have spontaneous lines that are classic, for example “Something New”. Songs such as “Built for Two” for example contain bucket loads of charm and loveliness.

Recommended for fans of: Anything melodic and poppy, including: Lucksmiths, Eggstone, Marshall Crenshaw, Spearmint, Magnetic Fields, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, and Beatles. Pretty much most 60's pop and Swede pop.

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/theslappies

Spiders For Love "Shotgun Wedding ep"

Spiders for Love hail from Omaha, Nebraska. I’ve seen this band perform live three different times; try to understand this, ok? First time I saw them play, they had two members, 2nd time they had three members, and the 3rd time they had four members. You probably know where this is going ha! Anyways now that this tidbit is out of the way lets talk about the music.

Member DL Diedrich shares vocal duties with his wife Cryssy Jean-Diedrich and as you could possibly guess, they go back and forth in song. Originally when I first heard their songs, I thought Beat Happening meets Adam Green. On the “Shotgun Wedding ep”, DL Diedrich reminds me a lot of early Beck recordings, and it’s important to note that the vocals appear to come out forceful (at times) yet pleasantly capture moments of humor.

Despite the recordings being relatively lo-fi, they are still good to my ears. As a side note, the Diedrich’s operate Hell-o Ferocious Records of Omaha, which has made some hand releases to date; also recently they started a tape label. Both projects primarily focusing on releases for bands from the Omaha area, and they legitimately strive to be inclusive. Also Spiders for Love member Sara also plays in Omaha indie/pop band Honey & Darling.

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/spidersforlove
& here www.helloferociousrecords.com

CranKlan "s/t ep"

CranKlan hails from Japan. What interests me most about this band is their huge sound, which is instantly recognized when the album is first played. After the first two songs, the 5 song EP mellows out quite a bit, becoming very poppy. The first pair of songs reminds me of what it would be like if Jaga Jazzist met Radio Dept. Vocally, the remaining songs remind me of a Japanese version of Dominique from band Ivy and also surely remind me of a Japan artist named Hideka.

Recommended if you like: Dream Pop, MBV, Hideka, Ivy, Radio Dept, Jaga Jazzist, Asobi Seksu, Mahogany, mid-late 90’s indie/alternative;

Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/cranklan

Music Recommendation #12: Dexter Poindexter

Dexter Poindexter is Tommy Komorowski. He hails from the suburbs of Chicago Illinois. Unlike the previous recommendations, Tommy is significantly different. Instead of having years under his belt, he has very few of those in music, but those years he has spent already have been precious one’s. To me, his music lightly evokes Lou Reed, Jens Lekman, Lloyd Cole, Felt, and Klas.

Tommy’s earlier recordings appeared to be focused lyrically and musically on two common lovely themes, those are life and love. His most recent material appears to emphasize largely on enjoying himself more and being playful within the songs. A clear favorite song of mine would be “Life of an Annual”. I held a conversation with Tommy a few months back; because it was relatively hard for me to decipher what music he enjoys (influences, etc.). Usually it’s very common to just throw about names, but with Tommy, he’s apart of a younger generation that is just trying to do their own thing.

Tommy’s list of coolest bands ever includes The Modern Lovers, The Fleshtones, New York Dolls and specified his favorite band as being DEVO. Some of his biggest influences include Johnny Thunders guitar playing, American Football, Sam Zurick, the vocal harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel, the lyrical styling of Adam Cox, and largely “…most of my influence is drawn from my love of Wheeling Illinois and how I feel living there, and the love for my friends”.

Hear it here: www.myspace.com/dexterpoindexterband