W♥M

Music Go Music have been getting a lot of great press, especially coming off a Franz Ferdinand UK tour - and they are heading back for two dates in London. A reader asked me to look into them and after checking out their live performance on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, I was hooked.

This band's sound seems to be influenced by 60s pop and ABBA-esque melodies, as I have previously mentioned on our podcast. Of course, I hadn't done any research on that podcast, I thought only the Swedish were re-inventing 60s pop, but apparently so are Americans, as Music Go Music are based in Los Angeles.

Formulaically, Music Go Music got everything right for me. "Repeating" band name for memory, check (you really have to hear my theory or read about it.) Danceable melodies, check. Lovely girl singer/lovelier voice, check and double check.

Between the three singles (featuring very similar legs artwork), I'm more drawn to their first single "Light of Love", mostly for that "whoa-whoa-whoa" chorus. It is the first song I've heard from them, so the song has a soft spot in my heart.

"Reach Out" is good, but it seems to lag nearly one minute (2:49 to 3:43 mark), before that "galloping" disco sound picks the song back up. Maybe that boring minute is there to remind me of how awesome the rest of the song is ? Apology to the guitarist for playing that solo.

Their latest single is "Warm in the Shadows", a mini-epic of a song at nearly 10 minutes. Fans of Eurodisco, like myself, will love this song for its mindless big beat and bass. Especially with singer Gala Bell's vocals, you can play this song to someone and tell them it's Blondie - and they'd believe you. If you don't believe me, check out the song as a free download from their record label.

Music Go Music - Just Me

If I might suggest, their fourth single* should be "Explorers Of The Heart" and not "Just Me"? I can see why they'd perform "Just Me" on Face Time, as that song works as a live song... To see more videos from Face Time, head over to their youtube.

I also wanted to mention that some of their songs are very complicated, like layers of electronic synth, disco sounds - but it doesn't sound dense or unlistenable. In fact, quite the opposite.

Expressions is out now, you can get it from their record label, Secretly Canadian. If there were a band that would make me leave my Winter hibernation, it would be for Music Go Music, so I'm eagerly waiting for them to come to Minneapolis!

* I suspect releasing four or five singles from an album of nine songs might be stretching it.

Sorry for the double-wammy podcast, but this is part two of the Playlist show.

Brody is our guest host, updating us on some of the shows he's been seeing: Alberta Cross and Daredevil Christopher Wright. He is heading over to New York for a visit, stalking Laura Marling and Citizen Cope. Plus, an event that he's organizing on February 23^rd at the Fine Line Cafe.

Details below:
18+ Show!!
Cover $7 for 21+ / $10 for 18+
Now, Now Every Children - Just got back from tour with Paramore in Europe
Gold Motel - Greta from The Hush Sound
Total Babe - Just played in the current studios last month

Brody's song of choice is The Dodo's "Fables".

Also, what Vu's been listening to: Looper, Baxendale, Music Go Music, Belinda Carlisle, Tilly and the Wall, Reverend and the Makers, Helium .... and rediscover Spandau Ballet!

Download this episode at archive.org. If you want an automatic feed to our podcast, headover to mypodcast and click on the itunes logo (or add manually with the rss).

Sally and Kristen reveal what they've been listening to lately. In part two, we cover our ears as Vu tells us what's hot on his ipod.

Sally: "stuck in the 90s", Motown music, Franz Ferdinand, The Jesus and Mary Chain, 80s music, Hall & Oates, Huey Lewis the News, and Icehouse.

Kristen: Pulp (obviously), Florence and the Machine, John Barry, At the Drive-In, The B-52's, Richard Hawley (Longpigs), New Order.

Also update on Playground Weekender. Reminder that you can win a pair of tickets by simply sending an email to sally@weheartmusic.com with the subject header of "Playground Weekender" and you'll be entered into the contest. Please note that it ends February 10^th.

Download this episode at archive.org. If you want an automatic feed to our podcast, headover to mypodcast and click on the itunes logo (or add manually with the rss).

In readiness for the upcoming Playground Weekender Festival, I managed to have a little chat with the delightful Fraser from the Sydney band Cameras. For the benefit of those who have never heard Cameras, their aim was described to me as being to achieve music that is both epic and grand. With two song writers: Eleanor, with a more piano-based focus akin to Cat Power; and Fraser with a guitar-based rock focus, Cameras have songs that meet in the middle to produce quite a unique sound.

Cameras are a Sydney-based band that have been on the up and up in recent times. From vocalist, Eleanor’s win (as a solo artist) in Triple J’s Unearthed competition in 2008 to airplay on some of Australia most prominent radio stations (Triple J, Triple M, Triple R and Fbi) as well as the use of one of their songs, Defeatist, used in MTV's 'MyCity' campaign.

June, released late last year, is Cameras debut single, soon to be followed up by an EP, which the band will be focusing on recording in months to come; with an expected release date around August this year.

What have they been doing up until now, I hear you ask? Well, aside from the run of recent shows (including the Peats Ridge and Southbound festivals) late last year, the band has been mainly keeping busy with writing, demoing and making the video clip for June (which you can see if you cast your eyes down this page). An interesting little piece of information is that one of their interests lies within the writing of film scores, which saw them recently doing some scoring with NIDA and will see them heading to Adelaide for the fringe festival in March to perform.

Now, after reading a little spiel on the band that mentioned a “montage of red wine-fuelled studio sessions”, I had to ask the question that was on everyone’s lips…. Yes, what type of red wine was the red wine of choice for the band? It seems that Shiraz is Fraser's wine of choice with the option of wine or cask being dependant on the cash flow status at the time of wine purchase. (Yes, hard-hitting journalism at its best)

The last, but questionably the most important question that needed to be asked of Fraser was clearly, whom he was most looking forward to see at the upcoming festival. So, if you were wondering, you’ll see Fraser enjoying the likes of…. The Polyphonic Spree, The Cribs (with notable mention of Johnny Marr) and Black Ryder.

So yes, Cameras, worth keeping an ear to the ground for these guys and if you’re heading to this years' Playground Weekender, be sure to check them out.

www.myspace.com/camerasband

www.twitter.com/camerasband

Sally

sally@weheartmusic.com

Also don't forget to check out the competition we have running at the moment which could see you winning a doube pass to the upcoming Playground Weekender Festival. Details here.

Two things:

1. When I see "fresh" and "o", I just think of "fresh onions", so for a while, I had mental images of onions when I think of The Fresh & Onlys, a band out of my home state of California. Legend has it that the band was formed because singer/songwriter Tim Cohen wanted to write a song called "Be My Hooker".

2. The band have just announced their 2010 Spring tour dates. This should be fun for all, as listening to their self-titled debut album on Castle Face Records, they sound so raw and garagey that sometime I think they don't care if their guitars are out of tune.

I'm not going to lie, but their self-titled album isn't going to win any awards for production, the bass sounds trembling loud and vocals sounds like it's coming from a damp, hollow basement. I suppose that's the kind of DIY production that fans will find attractive, but listening to it on monitor headphones can be unbearable.

Among the things I found that I liked are whenever I hear the non-traditional rock & roll instruments, like perhaps a tambourine ("Shattered Moon") or harmonica ("Nuclear Disaster"). My easily favorite song is "Peacock And Wing", simply because there's a great melody and a faint duet with (I think) Heidi Alexander. Also, I believe this is the song that the band name comes from:

You should really be my fresh and only.
You'd have a smile on your face that I can always see only.
Lay with me on my bed and roses.
You'd have a smile on your face that I can only see only.

The album was released last July, and with a blink of an eye, and two months later, their second album, Grey-Eyed Girls was released on Woodsist Records. That's incredibly fast, they're no Elastica or Stone Roses, for sure. I don't have their second album for comparison, but I suspect, it's more or less garage rock... especially if the recordings were done in a span of a few months.

Sally, Kristen, and I preview Playground Weekender.

Reminder that you can win a pair of tickets (worth over $400) by simply sending an email to Sally at  sally@weheartmusic.com with the subject header of "Playground Weekender" and you'll be entered into the contest. Please note that the competition ends February 10^th, so hurry.

Download this episode at archive.org. If you want an automatic feed to our podcast, headover to mypodcast and click on the itunes logo (or add manually with the rss).

So, something quite exciting.... we've got a double 4-day camping pass to give away so that you too can experience the award-winning atmosphere (and the excellent line-up) at the Playground Weekender Boutique 4 Day Music Festival that's being held this year from Feb 18th-21st.

You all know how big a fan WHM is of Jaz Dhami, don't you? Well... some of us. ...5% of us. Ok, I am. Still, the man with the best performance I saw all year isn't to be sniffed at. Even if it was the only performance I saw all year, damn Crimea, only telling me about their Christmas gig the day after their Christmas gig... Yeah, nice one lads...

Ok, anyway, plastered on every fly poster in Leeds is currently the very man, Jaz Dhami, who's apprently headlining something called the "Asian Ball" over the next couple month. Kicks off at Manchester on 5th Feb, hits Leeds on 18th March, and ends in Nottingham in April. Anyone wanting some UK Bhangra kicks need look no further. Other than the track to right, which I nabbed off thier website, produced by some previous 'Ball attendees called UntouchablesUK. Who I think are actually a record lable. In fact, there's very little I can find out about the track, called Meray Dilbar, available on the Urban Flavas 2 album (available now on both CD and Cassette (!) ). And I'm convinced the vocals are sampled. Possibly by Khadija Haider. Which is nowt but a wild googled guess. Any help in tracking down the original, if there is one, much appreciated.

And if you see anything at said Ball sticking out whiter than a British winter, make sure to say hi to your local WHM reporter :o) .

- Christopher

N.A.M.B.
namb.it ♥ myspace.com

Doing a search for N.A.M.B. brings up "National Association of Mortgage Brokers", and certainly these musician from Italy should be not be associated with economic woes and stuffy dressed businessmen. They seem to me to be a bit wild and mental and fun.

Their sophomore album is BMAN., released in Italy last October, courtesy of Monotreme Records. The details I have is that the album will be available in the UK in February. Retail copies will come with a 96-page booklet, illustrating a story line (which I'm assuming the artwork were inspired by their 18 songs on the album).

My promo copy does not have the said booklet, so I feel like I'm missing out or something. So, just imagine, I'm listening to the album, from beginning to end and I have different feeling on their songs. Everything from "funky" to "rock" to "experimental" to "epic", but never at any point do I feel like it's uneven.

Most, if not all, of the songs are in English, I believe "Mushichetta In Pausa Sigaretta", despite the title is also in English. That song is just silly, judging from the singing style of Davide Tomat (aka "dMan") ... but it's OK because you get the impression that the song isn't to be taken too seriously.

Apparently the band get compared to The Flaming Lips a lot, and I can see why. Take a free download at Magnet Magazine of "L.O.N.", and you can hear its spacey epic influence (especially towards the end of the song).

This space-age, weird, trippy type of music is probably best experienced at a live setting and/or under some kind of chemical influence - and unfortunately I have neither. Just listening to the album on headphones, I tend to like the more comprehensive songs, such as "Serrato" and "Primula" (these songs sounds like pop-rock song).

I feel that most bands don't bother with the packaging of their CD, so I'm glad to see that N.A.M.B. is releasing BMAN with the 100-page-ish booklet. So if you like what you've read and heard, you can get the album directly at Monotreme Records.

J.E.L.L.i.
jellimusic.com ♥ myspace.com

Compared to N.A.M.B.'s 70+ minutes of music, listening to J.E.L.L.i.'s The J.E.L.L.i. EP was a breeze.

J.E.L.L.i. is basically the stage name for "one-man band" Christopher Sauter. No idea what J.E.L.L.i. stands for and Sauter isn't volunteering the answer on his website ("It's a secret until the right time").

The EP starts off light, a love song-ish about "Jenn". It's quickly followed by an upbeat Greenday-esque track called "I Am Blank (Nothing)". Sometime Sauter slips to that Blink 182's "nagging" singing style (on "White Lines"), but it's fine because he isn't afraid to hide it. He wears his influences proudly on his sleeve - and I like that honesty.

J.E.L.L.i. is still a young artist, so it should be interesting to see where he's at in a few years. In the meantime, if you want to support by getting his 5-track EP, it's $5 at amazon.com or itunes.