Velvet Davenport – “Warmy Personal Routine” MP3/download
The Chameleons – “Perfume Garden” MP3/download
Reading Rainbow – “Wasting Time” MP3/download
OK guys, now that you've poured this thick, sticky-red liquid all over your friend, SMILE and say, "VELVET DAVENPORT!"
Normally posting MP3s is more of a perfunctory thing for yer favorite Gumshoe, something I do because I know that’s what the KIDZ expect and yadda-yadda, but I’m super-ecstatic about this lineup for two reasons:
- One, Velvet Davenport. This has been a Band To Watch in 2010 to say the least, and their latest offering “Warmy Personal Routine,” is more of that uncommonly faithful Los Angeles rock ‘n’ roll, the kind that is so familiar because it’s so good, not because you actually HAVE heard it before. Byrds, Beachwood Sparks, Jesus & Mary Chain, The Concretes, The Warlocks, Brian Jonestown Massacre; it’s all here, folks, and it’s ripe for the PLUCKin’ … “WPR” ain’t quite “Get Out” but it’s on the same level of quality and quite clearly is the work of a band with uncommon Vision.
- Two, The Chameleons (UK) … wow, where do I start with this one? This is a band I discovered via College Radio … literally. I was working at KZUU late-night and, as with so many bands I discovered during my time there, I chose to dip my beak into The Chameleons’ water feeder simply because I liked their band name (this was a familiar scenario back then and still is; through this strategy I discovered other worthwhile bands like Legendary Pink Dots, The Rhythm Of Black Lines (whom I might just have to feature now that I think about it, now that they’re loooong broken up), Appleseed Cast, A Minor Forest and so many more) and came to realize they were just as responsible for the sound of New York indie-rock circa 2000 as Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division AND Gang Of Four. That’s … that’s really saying something if you were there and heard the stuff coming out then. Anyway, The Chameleons were/are great and Interpol should be sending them checks.
I definitely don’t have a problem with Reading Rainbow either, though I find “Wasting Time” to be a disappointment when juxtaposed with “Totem Pole,” an Animal Collective-ish zinger with more mustard on it than a Coney Island bagel dog.
“Wasting Time” is the Vivian Girls, half the Hozac/Goner/Captured Tracks/In The Red/Woodsist bands SMOOSHED together like different colors of playdough until a seasick grey-brown hue emerges. It’s not entirely off-putting but I’m not getting much of a charge from this.
And THAT’s the ballgame, folks! Be sure to check out my new Top-10, “I’m Just Telling You What I Heard,” Album of the Week #25 and my various sidebar album offerings. We’ve got a hell of an archive going here! Be a bright-blue bison …
Check The Thermals out tomorrow (10/13) @ Irving Plaza w/ Cymbals Eat Guitars. Tickets are still available! http://www.livenation.com/event/000044FBA1477A77?artistid=923542&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=60
ha, i wish. i did see The Thermals at Sasquatch 2002 though … or was that 2003? it was the year minus the bear played there … oh man, it’s been 8 years! more parts per million …