Justin Kline of Murfreesboro, TN has the kind of sweet sound made almost popular by Boston’s Candy Butchers back in the last decade of the prior century. Frankly, I’m a sucker for this kind of tuneful pop, and Kline delivers. The catchy, well-crafted melodies of tunes such as Heart Attack, Sunshine and How I Became The Wind are well arranged and impeccably performed, backing harmonies and all. While Kline lacks the edge that made the Candy Butchers the appealing conundrum that they were, Kline’s pure, affecting tenor more than makes up for any lack of irony in his lyrics. Meanwhile, his musicianship and song-writing talent are unarguable. To listen to the new 6-song ep, visit Justin Kline’s web site where it is available for streaming. Sorry, no mp3s available (at least not for free).
I knew I would like “(Angry Kids Of The World) Unite” and of course I did. It’s part 80s synth pop, part shouty anthem, and I share the Tunes’ enthusiasm. I wish them luck with American kids tho’, but hey, we can join the world late, can’t we? At any rate, do check out this free track, available at Tiger Tunes incredibly great web site. I am so in awe of their header navigation — diagonals! Also the way cool hot wheels car track — with car! But seriously, they seem like a nice bunch of kids and even have demos for their next album up for preview. Enjoy.
Robert Michael Reed -aka- Sike Dyke of Trouble Funk passed away of Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 50 on April 13, 2008 at 10:42pm. Dyke founded Trouble Funk in 1977 and served as keyboardist and vocalist including one of his most notable signature rap deliveries in the song “Pump Me Up.”
The band was most famous for their 1982 album, Drop The Bomb, and hits like “Hey Fellas,” “Trouble Funk Express” and “Pump Me Up.”
Homegoing service will be Friday April 18, 9a -11a Jericho Baptist Church, Landover (next to Fed-Ex Field)
I remember seeing Trouble Funk at the old 9:30 Club (and all over Washington). Reed was always friendly, saying hello when he came in to the club, and always put on a great show. His guitar playing was never overreaching, and always worked perfectly for the unique Trouble Funk groove.
Here’s a video of them,featuring Robert “One Time, One Time” Reed, and a pretty vicious guitar lick. He didn’t get a lot of vocal parts, but he’s all over this one.
New hiphop artist out of New York, also known as Santi White. Despite her Brooklyn base, her music just reminds me of London hip hop. Maybe it’s the slight dub influence or the industrial backing. She’s also got the same out-there girl appeal that Betty Boo had back in the day, and good producers to boot. Her new tune is “Creator” and it rocks, as you might imagine. Find it here. Or download an earlier but still very notable track from way back last year, as remixxed by XXXChange.
I ran across a bunch of mp3s from California’s Empty Rooms and was piqued at once by their 2005 demo, “Docks In The Distance”, which had the SY vibe down so perfectly I had to go look to make sure it wasn’t them. Empty Rooms are a guitar band above all, and they do all the styles. “Off With His Head” has a more swirly British feel. “Try Again” goes in for noodly distortion with long vowely vocals. I’m a sucker for guitar bands generally, and especially ones who can write. Empty Rooms have it down in both departments. Look for the new ep Lacuna, out now. And definitely download some tracks from their MySpace page.
Lovely interwoven vocals distinguish “All or Nothing”, a strummy folk ballad by Pinto, who describe themselves as “crazy-ass socialist swedes.” Although it sounds like it was recorded in someone’s living room, that’s really more of a feature than a detraction. But despite the relaxed feel, the arrangement is complex. I’m a big fan of harmony singing, and Pinto must be too the way they execute that gorgeous pop turn on the chorus.
Enjoy their album Hook Me Up, which is available for free download. That’s right, Pinto doesn’t believe in charging for art, however, they would welcome donations. Being something of a starving artist myself, I appreciate their generosity with their music and plan to donate just as soon as I can. So don’t wait, go to Pinto’s web site and check out all their stuff, including new unreleased tracks such as “All Or Nothing.” You’ll be glad you did.
If you were wondering what had become of Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, wonder no more. She’s recording as Monade and as entrancing as ever, especially if you’re a fan as I am of her pure and futuristic tunes/tones. “Regarde” is sung entirely in French which leaves one to wonder what she is asking us to regard. But it doesn’t matter, because soundscapes were always what Sadier was about anyway. Although “Regarde” leads off sounding very stereotypically Stereolab-ish, it stretches out over the course of the track into new, more ethereal territory. From the new cd Monstre Cosmic on Too Pure.
Tree House Infidels are four guys from Glasgow who seem to be in this mostly for the fun of it. Their ep Tree House Infidels is out in April and they would like people to know. So I checked out three tracks from said ep. First up is “Apparently Dignity” which rocks out with super crunchy guitars and the kind of vocal performance you used to hear a lot back when rockers wore tight pants and had hair down to here. “Guage” still rocks but we’ve moved up a decade — now they sound like Metallica. I know, they don’t really, but you get the idea. And then there’s “Chasing Landmines” which sounds like it could be by a different group altogether, a more indie group that might have liked XTC once upon a time.
If I were these guys, I would pursue the “Chasing Landmines” side of themselves, which is to say, a best-of-both-worlds approach — lead off pretty, then jump on the pedals. Awesome distortion blows twee references right out the window, and Tree House Infidels emerge triumphant from the mist.
Alas, you must be a logged in MySpace user to download any of their songs, but at least non-users can hear them via stream. Find all three tracks and more at their page.
Justin Kline of Murfreesboro, TN has the kind of sweet sound made almost popular by Boston’s Candy Butchers back in the last decade of the prior century. Frankly, I’m a sucker for this kind of tuneful pop, and Kline delivers. The catchy, well-crafted melodies of tunes such as Heart Attack, Sunshine and How I Became The Wind are well arranged and impeccably performed, backing harmonies and all. While Kline lacks the edge that made the Candy Butchers the appealing conundrum that they were, Kline’s pure, affecting tenor more than makes up for any lack of irony in his lyrics. Meanwhile, his musicianship and song-writing talent are unarguable. To listen to the new 6-song ep, visit Justin Kline’s web site where it is available for streaming. Sorry, no mp3s available (at least not for free).
New hiphop artist out of New York, also known as Santi White. Despite her Brooklyn base, her music just reminds me of London hip hop. Maybe it’s the slight dub influence or the industrial backing. She’s also got the same out-there girl appeal that Betty Boo had back in the day, and good producers to boot. Her new tune is “Creator” and it rocks, as you might imagine. 
I ran across a bunch of mp3s from California’s 
Lovely interwoven vocals distinguish “All or Nothing”, a strummy folk ballad by Pinto, who describe themselves as “crazy-ass socialist swedes.” Although it sounds like it was recorded in someone’s living room, that’s really more of a feature than a detraction. But despite the relaxed feel, the arrangement is complex. I’m a big fan of harmony singing, and Pinto must be too the way they execute that gorgeous pop turn on the chorus. 
Enjoy their album Hook Me Up, which is available for free download. That’s right, Pinto doesn’t believe in charging for art, however, they would welcome donations. Being something of a starving artist myself, I appreciate their generosity with their music and plan to donate just as soon as I can. So don’t wait, go to 
If you were wondering what had become of Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, wonder no more. She’s recording as Monade and as entrancing as ever, especially if you’re a fan as I am of her pure and futuristic tunes/tones. “Regarde” is sung entirely in French which leaves one to wonder what she is asking us to regard. But it doesn’t matter, because soundscapes were always what Sadier was about anyway. Although “Regarde” leads off sounding very stereotypically Stereolab-ish, it stretches out over the course of the track into new, more ethereal territory. From the new cd Monstre Cosmic on Too Pure.
Tree House Infidels are four guys from Glasgow who seem to be in this mostly for the fun of it. Their ep Tree House Infidels is out in April and they would like people to know. So I checked out three tracks from said ep. First up is “Apparently Dignity” which rocks out with super crunchy guitars and the kind of vocal performance you used to hear a lot back when rockers wore tight pants and had hair down to here. “Guage” still rocks but we’ve moved up a decade — now they sound like Metallica. I know, they don’t really, but you get the idea. And then there’s “Chasing Landmines” which sounds like it could be by a different group altogether, a more indie group that might have liked XTC once upon a time.