indiescovered

Horse Feathers: Do I say "Devendra" too much?

If you like: Devendra Banhart, Damien Jurado, Jason Collett, Decibully, Castanets, The Elected, M. Ward

MP3: Horse Feathers - Finch on Saturday
MP3: Horse Feathers - Blood on Snow
MP3: Horse Feathers - Falling Through the Roof

Is it just me, or do I compare about half the bands I post to Devendra Banhart? It would seem as if I was Devendra-obsessed, which is not really the case. A quick look at my last.fm profile (although I haven't been using it much in the last month or two, and even then not nearly all the time), and Devendra, while ranked 8th in the week of November 12, is ranked 111th overall, five spots behind former poet laureate Billy Collins. And I hate poetry.

Either way, I don't know if this means that this new Americana quivering-voiced, hat-tip-to-Drake folk is being played by more bands than it was, say, five years ago, or if these bands are just starting to get the attention many of them rightly deserve. Obviously, as with any style of music that becomes increasingly popular in the span of a year or two, bands are going to pop up that are unoriginal and imitative, and bands are going to pop up that are worthy of more. Portland's Horse Feathers are the latter. They're not the most original band playing in this genre, but they're definitely worth a listen, especially Finch on Saturday.

Horse Feathers: MySpace | Label | Contact

In Ink Please: Carlo Rossi Jug Band

If you like: Liz Phair, Mates of State, Rilo Kiley, Tilly and the Wall

MP3: In Ink Please - Carlo Rossi Jug Band
MP3: In Ink Please - The Kurdish Army
MP3: In Ink Please - Rick Allen

In Ink Please's Vanessa Palmer and Jerik Hendrickson write infectious lo-fi pop songs. I stumbled across their website one day, checked out their MySpace and was super excited about these guys until I read that while they were formed in Fargo, they are now separated by the Rockies, with Vanessa living in Seattle. It doesn't sound like that meant the end of In Ink Please. Their MySpace profile says this:

The members of In Ink Please get together as often as possible, and usually end up writing catchy acoustic songs about recent developments in their lives or playing Black Sabbath covers. Once they even went camping.

Here's to hoping they stay together.

In Ink Please: Website | MySpace | More Videos | Contact

The Word Play:The Word Play is Less Impressive Than the Instrument Play

If you like: Karate, Modest Mouse, Pavement, Hockey Night, Joan of Arc

MP3: The Word Play - Long Winded
MP3: The Word Play - Instructor/Bring the Boys

Canton, Michigan's The Word Play have somehow missed my radar. I live not too far from Canton, and go to a lot of shows when the Michigan bands head down to my part of Ohio, but have never seen The Word Play play. I can make an educated guess though and say I'd probably enjoy their live show. A lot of the bands they seem to associate with are great live bands worth checking out. Maybe I'll post mp3s from them later. Until then, check out Detroit's Javelins, the somewhat-recently hugely-blown-up Thunderbirds Are Now, Livonia, MI's El Boxeo, and Ann Arbor's amazing seven-piece musical collective, Canada.

There's very little in common musically between these bands, but for some reason they fit together. I don't know what it is, but here's to hoping that some of Southern Michagan's talent bleeds across the border and livens up Northwest Ohio. So close, but so far away.

The Word Play: Website | MySpace | PureVolume | Purchase from  Smart Punk | Contact

The Happies/Unhappies:A Blast From My Internet Past

If you like: The Delgados, Beulah, Brian Wilson, The Unicorns, Aberfeldy, BC Camplight

MP3: The Happies - Wahaka
MP3: The Happies - Jayleen
MP3: The Happies - Hey Little Buttercup

I first heard the Happies on the old mp3.com, back when it was an online showcase for independent, unsigned bands (a sort-of PureVolume before PureVolume was PureVolume, sort of (and actually I think it might have become garageband.com)), and in fact, both the tracks I put up are from their first album "Meet the Happies," which I've had and enjoyed for maybe five years now. I always meant to email them and let them know I was a huge fan, and that they sang me to sleep lots of nights, but never got around to it. I guess I will now, if only to tell them I'm giving their music away for free. I guess it doesn't matter. They are too.

The only thing that gets me is that their new stuff seems to have lost something. I'm not usually one to complain when a lo-fi band makes a studio album, or at least upgrades their equipment, but The Happies may be the exception. And I guess to prove a point, I'll post their new stuff. I'm trying pretty hard to get into it, but it's just not happening. I'm sure if I heard their newest album first, I'd be a huge fan, but I miss the old Happies. Give me a week with the new album. I'm sure I'll disagree with the today me by then.

MP3: The Happies - Sun Don't Shine

Anyway, for my buck, nobody writes sad under-3-minute pop songs that somehow make you happy quite like the Happies.

Also of note: The Happies somehow less interesting (but still definitely worth the listen) alter-ego, The Unhappies.

The Happies: Site | MySpace | Download "Meet the Happies" | The Unhappies | iTunes | Contact