Welcome to the second installment of Club MySpace, a feature we're trying to make semi-regular. This is The Typing Monkey's way of quickly calling your attention to bands and musicians who emerged from the piles of PR mail to make an impression on our ears.
In this edition, a retro/revival theme happened purely by chance. Or else this speaks volumes about our tastes. You decide.
YAY!
Major Lazer
Jumpin' Jehosaphat! A snappy, silly mess of electro, dancehall and dub. The Typing Monkey's had trouble getting behind dancehall, but Major Lazer's for-the-hell-of-it approach is actually fun. If the sloppy funk from Stones Throw (James Pants, Funkaho) pleases you, then there's much here for your ears.
Seeland
Ex Plone and Broadcast members make druggy, electronic pagan exotica, just in time for summer. They push the experimental science of BBC library music into looser territory. The result lands on the same occult turf as Clinic, but less manic and more sci-fi. "Pherox" is good and creepy.
The Shortwave Set
Excellent psych-pop that references the British Invasion while leaving room to wander through the four decades that have come since. Male/female vocals and a mini-orchestra of instruments backing them, with stellar production from Dangermouse and arrangements from Van Dyke Parks, whatever that's worth.
NODS OF APPROVAL
Ape School
Smartly arranged pop/rock from multi-instrumentalist Michael Johnson, who's spent years as a sideman for other musicians (Lilys, Daedalus, et al.). Technically, Ape School's self-titled debut is his second solo effort, but the first under a "band" name. His gently psychedelic songs leaven pastoral elegance with just enough racket to make it all sound unforced.
Grauwelt
Is this for real? Yes. A Chicago hip-hop beatmaker called Earmint has a dirty secret. He grew up loving Ministry, Cabaret Voltaire, Skinny Puppy and other similar industrial/electronic acts. So he set out to write a batch of songs in that same vein, and you know what? He's really good at it.
The Sweet Vandals
Between reissue labels and revivalists such as Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, the world's enjoying a wealth of '60s and '70s soul, funk and r&b, both authentic and recreated. As it turns out, Spain likes to get on the good foot too.
GET DRINKS
The Bloody Beetroots
This feels like electroclash redux, but then a lot of bit-crushed/gutter/ghettotech dance music feels like that, thus proving this stuff never really goes away. The audience's fashion choices simply change.
Afghan Raiders
The music is interesting enough to make us pay attention, but the vocals put an end to that. We've learned an important lesson.
WHAT DID WE MISS?
Alaska In Winter
At first this came off as trying too hard, but Brandon Bethancourt (the man behind the name) digs deeper than the '80s synth-pop design and buzzing techno gloss he puts out front. Electro-style drum machines clatter below Balkan horns, and blank-eyed keyboard chords hint that he's a fan of the Scandinavian cosmic disco sound. His second LP, Holiday from late '08 is worth checking out.
Gui Boratto
This Brazillian electronic musician has a couple full-lengths and countless singles and remixes behind him already. He dishes out cold, almost melancholy techno and house that are as good for a long drive as they are for the dancefloor. (Spin the nine-minute "Ballroom" for a good example.)
However, we'd like to bring your attention to this (unintentionally?) hilarious quotation from Pitchfork that Boratto's PR team used on his Website:
"[Boratto's] deliberate inflections of melody often emerge with a ring of truth, especially as he guides his repetitions through the peaks and valleys of his little mostly-nonverbal anecdotes."
If you can tell us what that means, The Typing Monkey staff will put together a nice little gift pack for you. Send your translations to: typingmonkey@live.com.
