Three hell-raisingly stupendous artists for you on this beautiful Friday:
1. Diehard - Old Habits EP
(free download from Bandcamp)
This week, I've found Old Habits, an EP
full of covers by Diehard. Taking a cue from Yo La Tengo's perennial
covers-for-pledges marathons on WFMU, Diehard recorded covers requested
by those fans of theirs who donated at a high enough level on their
Kickstarter campaign (for their album The Times We Didn't Have Fun, available on a pay-what-you'd-like basis here).
The covers are home-recorded fun, and Diehard tackle Fugazi, The
Promise Ring and The New Pornographers with ease. The highlight, though
-- what really grabbed my attention -- was a hybrid of The Beatles and
Pavement: Penny/Shady Lane. The promise of that combination alone should
be enough to get you to click the link above.
-Andrew McNair
2. Butterknife - Do The Needful EP
(free download from Bandcamp)
This week, I've also found a new EP by Boston band
Butterknife. This is simply five tracks of straightforward powerpop that
does everything that powerpop should: snappy songs with catchy guitar
riffs, punchy drums and good vocal harmonies. Highlights are the final
two tracks: "Restless" and the epic "This Was a Romance."
-Andrew McNair
3. East of Underground - "Hell Below (cover)"
(click to stream or right click to save as)
The
always reliable Now-Again Records brings us this awesome, skittering
Curtis Mayfield cover from a group of Vietnam vets in the early 1970s
known as East of Underground. Apparently, some of their songs were used
in U.S. Military recruitment centers as an example of the diversity and
"coolness" of the soldiers overseas. "Hell Below" was probably left out
of such demonstrations, considering its challenging lyrical content,
which addresses racial and political issues. Filled to the brim with
nervous energy, it's driven by a funky bassline, an infectiously
propulsive drumbeat and soulful falsetto vocal stylings. A compilation
of East of Underground and two other Vietnam soldier bands is available here. Check out the original Curtis Mayfield version below!
-Tomi Mendel
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