Neva Dinova

Neva Dinova

Omaha, Nebraska

(Folk/Rock)

The Scene: SXSW 2008 and I have the extraordinary ill luck to be sick as shit. Aimlessly meandering on one of those nights, slightly grouchy (Probably from the lack of either medicine or alcohol in my system) I wander into Emo's Jr. and happen upon the very end of the set by a band called Neva Dinova.  Immediately I was hooked into a song that I couldn't tell you then name of even if I tried to remember but in the good kinda way. Caught up in the unfailing coolness of the track (And overwhelming need to either pee or vomit) I now regret not going up and shaking that young man's hand but as we know, So it goes.

Now if ever one was in need of composing a mix of "Songs To Kill Thyself To" that list would undoubtedly be dominated by two bands: Bright Eyes and The Cure (Unless of course you're 12 then My Chemical Romance might rear it's ugly head) but hear this, for a newcomer should join that list and that newcomer should be flamingly obvious to you. Neva Dinova composes music that makes me think "Bright Eyes: Plugged in for the first time", While not sparse tracks like "Cloud" sound... selective and very intentional all while not letting you realize it. Now Lucky for us the Neva Dinova and Bright Eyes collaborated on a split EP entitled "One Jug Of Wine, Two Vessels" that when one of my humble readers purchases and sends to me :) will undoubtedly force my and many others premature death's via the virture of sadness. The EP and the band's signing to Saddle Creek records suddenly thrust the band into a spotlight that helped it produce some of it's best work to date.

Get several free tracks from the band's

Myspace

Purevolume

and a Punknews review of One Jug Of Wine, Two Vessels

Cold War Kids "Free Music Stub"

The Cold War Kids

(Soul/Punk/Gospel/Rock)

The Cold War Kids is another one of those so-called "Indie" bands that everybody knows and loves. If you don't know about The Cold War Kids then the case may be that you like Kraftwerk or something equally gay and waste all your time swooning over Wumpscut. But I digress; Universally understandable, eloquent,  poignant, and enduringly beautiful; all of them suitable adjectives to describe the music of The Cold War Kid's but each in it's own way falls short. Indeed it is hard to capture in words exactly how cut's like "We Used To Vacation", "Hospital Beds", or even jaunty struttin' tunes like "Saint John" make you feel. You can hear the Gospel, The Soul, and Especially the hard bitten Blues in their voices and guitars (and every other instrument but the kitchen sink for that matter) but also there is undoubtedly present, that special something that turns normal songs into classics that will be heard for a very, very long time. 

As I mentioned above you really have to hear a Cold War Kid's song in order to really, "get it" and lucky for us the band happens to be one of the most prodigious free music givers that I have had the pleasure to come across, with enough live versions, B-sides, and sample tracks to make you a fan without ever having to purchase any of their music (Or steal it for that matter.)

Official Site (With a Free Live EP and two tracks off of The Mulberry Street EP.)

Daytrotter Sessions (Four Free Live Cuts including the unreleased track "Pass The Hat" and killer versions of the moving "We Used To Vacation" and "Hospital Beds")

Last.FM (Steam Dozens of Songs)

RCRD LBL (Download the entire "Mulberry Street EP" and two tracks off of their debut "Robbers and Cowards")

WOXY (Free Concert)

KEXP (Another (better) free concert From KEXP)

KEXP 2 (Yet another free concert. This one however is interesting because it is a joint effort between CWK's, Dr. Dog., and Elvis Perkins each doing a few of their own songs with the other groups backing them.)

Myspace (Nothing that cool)

The Kickass

The Kickass

(Greenville, North Carolina)

Seldom if ever am I so completely taken with a new group as I was with The Kickass. After just one listen to this Prog Rock/Metal/Instrumental beast of a band I was impressed beyond my expectations for a band that hasn't played a show in almost six months. The music is a sterling example of metal musicians at their best, crafting a highly technical entertaining instrumental album that is never overbearing or inaccessible to the mainstream. 

After a well reviewed debut album in '03 and a successful '05 tour of Japan The Kickass seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. With their website un-updated since early 2005 and the band's myspace containing only a single blog unceremoniously announcing only two shows for the entire length of 2007 one is left wondering and wanting  more. 

While whatever happened to The Kickass might remain a mystery (At least until they pop up again and make me look like a jackass) what they left behind sure is, well, Kickass; Get five free downloads from the bands Myspace and Website.

Mini-reviews/ Free Music Stub

Some random gatherings for you all, since I've been slacking.

Toby Dammit

First up is Toby Dammit. Mr Dammit is a symphonic percussionist (am I losing you yet?) with a penchant for experimental/classical workings. He's worked on several soundtracks, toured and recorded with Iggy Pop, and has even worked for the likes of Rufus Wainwright. If you're in the mood for some strange (and strangely relaxing) instrumentals and you want to work your way away from synthesizers for a spell, try out Toby Dammit. He's got four tracks available for download from his MySpace, and more available on his website (links below).

Toby Dammit's MySpace

Toby Dammit's 'Sounds' Page

The Morning Benders

Moving on, we've got some light indie pop rock coming from The Morning Benders. Aside from the obvious good solid musicianship and songwriting (I wouldn't be writing this otherwise), there's nothing particularly striking about this band, but you should definitely check them out if you're a fan of The Kooks, or, say, The Beatles. And speaking of The Kooks, after The Morning Benders' debut LP drops on May 6th, they'll be touring behind The Kooks in various parts of the country. So if you hadn't heard and you're interested in that, be sure to look it up on the band's site (or blog, links below). Unfortunately for us, I was only able to find one mp3 for download by the band (that's Antonio's forté, not mine). Enjoy it, along with the tracks you can listen to on the band's MySpace!

The Morning Benders - MySpace, Official Site, and Official Blog

Edit: There are two tracks available for download on this site ! Enjoy!
[Note: Make sure to right-click and 'Save Link As' on their song links.]

The Last Shadow Puppets

In other exciting indie rock news, Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys fame) has unveiled his new project's first single! The band is called The Last Shadow Puppets, and the single is titled The Age Of The Understatement. Fans of Turner's more well-known band absolutely must check this out, and I'd recommend it to non-fans too. The song itself, for obvious reasons, is not available for download, but the video for the single can be downloaded in various format and quality combinations. Everything you need to know (and can know, at this point) can be found at the band's MySpace! Check it out, spread it around.

The Last Shadow Puppets - MySpace

That's all for this post, kiddos. Let me know in the comments how you feel about this post format (preferably in comparison to previous posts) so I can figure out exactly how I should go about this!

The Black Angels

The Black Angels 

(Austin, Texas)

Psychedelic

The slow build, the frantic clattering climax, the constant drone. Yep, it's all there. All the elements of the 60's/70's Texas Psychedelic freakout band. The music consists of reverb drenched guitars set to "Scary" mixed with clanging sitars and deep repetitive Native American drum beats. The lyrics, which are nothing short of disturbing, focus mainly on the Vietnam conflict that force one to draw heavy parallels between that and todays war in Iraq.

While TBA isn't necessarily adding anything new to the mix, they are definitely jumping in, rolling around the in established conventions and producing a sparkling example of what good Psychedelic music should be. They do this in such a familiar way I am often left with the impressions that  if Jim Morrison did Mescaline instead of LSD the Doors would have produced records like Passover, TBA's first LP. The band can be easily placed among the genre's current leaders including The Spacemen 3, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The only difference being that they accomplish a "Classic" sound without wandering to far into Experimental movement.

Myspace

Website 

Live recordings:

Concert 1 with KEXP 

Concert 2 with KEXP

32 Live Bootlegs via The Internet Archive: Link

Live at KVRX

El Paso Hot Button

El Paso Hot Button (Norman, Oklahoma)

One cymbal, one guitar, two drums, one extremely overactive young man; El Paso Hot Button, Rock and roll.

It takes a lot of courage just to walk out on stage and put on a show with a couple of you best buddies. Imagine however strolling out in front of a crowd, wether it be ten people or a thousand, all by yourself. That friends, takes what I call Cojones De Oro and for Mickey Reece it's the only way to do it. The young Oakie already on tour behind his third record entitled "When I Needed Sympathy" sings like he just might be Jack White's younger brother and performs like a maniac. Driven by strong and simple rhythms songs like "Rubies and Pearls" and "Beat on the Drums" work their ways into your ears and don't let go all while retaining their danceability. Check him out, buy his music, show some love.

{Addition - I saw him live. He rocked the boat. Catch him during SXSW '08 at The Backspin Records day party or at The Chuggin' Monkey, both on the 14th.}

Website

Review W/Free Download: Link

For Another rockin' one man band check out The Matt Kurz on Quote Unquote Records:

The Matt Kurz One

Also Matt Kurz

Quote Unquote Records