Mike Taylor - The Bees - Got To Let Go, from the CD “Octopus”

I’ve never bought into calling these guys A Band of Bees as they are legally named in the US. I mean, did you ever buy into “London” Suede? Their second disc, 2005’s Free The Bees, was one of my favorites that year (in addition to #49 on the 97 Best countdown) yielding the funky yet near-novelty “Chicken Payback”. They’ve just released Octopus in their native UK, and it’s another disc of 60’s-informed psych-pop. “Got To Let Go”, however, has more of a breezy Brasil ‘66 vibe, with its jazzy Latin brass section driving the beat. A US release should happen before the year is out but should you seek out the import, make sure this is one of your go-to tracks.

The Bees - Got To Let Go

Matt Shiv - The Eames Era - Both Hands Full, from the CD “Heroes and Sheroes.”

Straight out of Baton Rouge, this indie pop quintet are self-releasing their second album “Heroes and Sheroes” on April 17th. The disc is already available from all the major digital download services and I’ve probably
listened to the full disc over 50 times since getting an advance copy. The new album is just as catchy as their debut “Double Dutch”, but it finds them getting a bit more experimental in their instrumentation.

You’ll hear that on “Both Hands Full”, which begins with a catchy riff, begins to layer in harmony background vocals, and then shifts gears with the help of an odd electronic loop effect. It all comes back into focus quickly
and, by then, the song will be lodged in your brain and you’ll be singing along to every word.

The Eames Era - Both Hands Full

Joe Long - Feist - My Moon, My Man, from the CD “The Reminder.”

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 8:30 am and is filed under MP3's, Music, Song Of The Week, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.