InRadio 4.4 Tricycle, November/December 2006

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Tokyo Police Club
Paper Bag Records
Tokyo Police Club nearly imploded before they had really begun. High school seniors at the time, the four young men from New Market, Ontario broke up the band to pursue their adult futures at college. But after just a semester at university, the crew opted to "break their mothers' hearts" and pursue the unthinkable: a career in the music business. The deal-breaker was an invitation to play in the prestigious Pop Montreal festival. Packing their instruments and girlfriends in a tiny university residence room, TPC hung out in Montreal for a week, played to their first sold out show, and generally found the music more suitable than the college life. Since then, their strange brew of jovial post-punk hand-clapping goofiness and disconcertingly apocalyptic lyrics got them noticed by esteemed Toronto label Paper Bag Records, who released their debut LP, A Lesson in Crime, earlier this year.

The Lovely Feathers
Equator Music
The tale of the Lovely Feathers a winding one -- a story of happy accidents among unlikely fellows. Frontman Richard Yanofsky was attending medical school when he decided to make the guitar, rather than the scalpel, his primary instrument; meanwhile, the musically inclined brothers Suss lingered on antagonistic ends of the spectrum, Ted playing drums in a smattering of hardcore bands and Dan training as a classical pianist while studying literature and philosophy and generally being quite "softcore."Bassist Noah Bernamoff and guitarist Mark Kupfert knew each other in kindergarten, evening playing in a twee pop band as teens before they realized twee pop wasn't cool. Bernamoff was a recovering college hockey star when he and Kupfert ran into each other by chance in 2004 and rekindled their old friendship. Their well-received 2006 release, Hind Hind Legs, marks the second effort from the Lovely Feathers, and featured some big names in the studio: James Shaw (Broken Social Scene, Metric) produced and Drew Malamud (Death From Above 1979, Stars) engineered.

Jim Noir
Barsuk Records
During the 2006 World Cup, Englishman Jim Noir found an audience for his sweet, 60s-inspired pop in the world's coterie of soccer fans. His "Eanie Meany," a reminiscence about kicking a "football" into a neighbor's yard and demanding its return, got him noticed in England, a place where masculinity and sweet pop music are often bedfellows (remember in the 90s, when the blood of rival supporters of Blur and Oasis spilled in the English streets?) Says Noir of his writing: "I listen out for the strange things people say, those little rhymes or saying people come out with." He finds inspiration in the mundane elements of life, in memories of childhood, and even in the process of making music itself; Noir's oeuvre includes odes to his computer and his favorite musical key, C.

Man Man
Ace Fu Records
Man Man found their place in the national spotlight at 2005's SXSW music festival, where the sideshow insanity of their live performance generated quite a buzz. The Philadelphia crew [Honus Honus (vocals/synthesizer), Tiberius Lyn (drums), Clint Killingsworth (bass), and Steven Dufala (guitar/trumpet)] count Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart among their disparate influences, meaning their music is idiosyncratic and all over the map. They've played with an equally erratic group of bands, including Cat Power, Adam Green, Mirah, U.S. Maple, Aereogramme, Need New Body, and Bardo Pond. Man Man's most recent, Feathers, is out on Ace Fu.

Hazmat Modine
Barb�s Records
Led by two harmonica players, rounded out with tuba, drums, guitars, and trumpet, guest appearances of claviola (a strange free reed instrument), cimbalom (a large hammered dulcimer of Eastern European origin) and the sheng (a Chinese mouth organ), Hazmat Modine is one of New York's most original bands. Given their catalog instruments, venturing a guess at their sound would certainly be a creative exercise, inviting an infinite assortment of theories. The band themselves call their tunes a "rustic, deliriously Dionysian blend of whorehouse Blues, Reggae, Klezmer, Country and Gypsy-tinged music."

The Constantines
Sup Pop Records
Tournament of Hearts, the third album from Sub Poppers The Constantines, surprised some critics upon its recent release. It's a bit gentler than its predecessors, a bit sweeter, and -- dare one say? -- a bit more classic rock. Still, the Toronto-based outfit retains its reputation for genuine ferocious energy of its live shows. It's positively word-of-mouth, but it might make you wonder whether the band feels pressured to live up to that reputation every night, even on off nights or sick nights or just plain cranky nights? "I hope people aren't arriving with too many expectations, you know?" Offers frontman Steve Lambke. "We have played quiet shows. And you hope that that's enjoyable in its own way, too, as much as running around, falling down, stuff-breaking kind of shows. You want it to be of that moment, so sometimes the right thing to do is to be kind of nice, and sometimes it's to be really loud."

Now It's Overhead
Saddle Creek Records
Now It's Overhead is basically the solo project of Athens, GA music guy Andy LeMaster, but frequently features his friends like Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor of Azure Ray. LeMaster, along with former Sugar bassist David Barbe and the Glands' Andy Baker, owns and operates the Chase Park Transduction Recording Studio in Athens, where he has worked with Azure Ray, Chris Martin, Drive By Truckers, REM and Bright Eyes, among others. In fact, LeMaster's relationship with Bright Eyes extends beyond the studio and onto the road, where he has been a touring member of the band. Upon the release of Now It's Overhead's shimmering debut in 2001, the Athens, GA band became the first non-Omaha act to be adopted by respected Saddle Creek Records, Bright Eyes' label. Now It's Overhead's latest effort, Dark Light Daybreak, was released by Saddle Creek in 2006.

Ecstatic Sunshine
Carpark Records
Matthew Papich and Dustin Wong, the two musicians who make up Ecstatic Sunshine, both play electric guitar desperately, as if they're trying to prove their musicianship to the listener. On Freckle Wars, the instrumental duo packs in riff upon riff, ideas crowding themselves out with an attack of fuzzy distortion or an unexpectedly pretty melody. Most of the time, though, this Baltimore duo melds attack and melody into a challenging and constantly changing type of hyper-minimalism. Freckle Wars is an exciting debut from a couple of former art school students. Look out for Ecstatic Sunshine on their current tour -- their live show is said to be electric.

Arrah and the Ferns
Standard Recording Company
Arrah and the Ferns began innocently enough when Muncie, IN friends Carl and Arrah signed up for an open mic night. They didn't actually have any songs written, so they enlisted another friend, David Segedy, to help out and got busy song-writing. They were pleased with what they came up with, and shortly after a band name was prescribed and Arrah and the Ferns made themselves official. Their main eye-catching feature -- outside of Arrah's ubiquitous yellow boots -- is the unique inclusion of the banjolin in their musical milieu. Yep, a banjolin is a banjo-mandolin hybrid that looks like a baby banjo but is tuned and played like a mandolin. Along with the banjolin, the crew claims "unicorns, potatoes, magic" among their many influences, and the outcome is catchy, silly pop fun.

Cities in Dust
Paper Bag Records
Cities in Dust take their moniker from a Siouxsie and the Banshees song title and, while the music is quite different, the spirit of that venerated English punk band lives on with the band. Cities in Dust originated as an amalgam of some unacquainted friends of frontman Zach Frank, who convened for the first time in a basement with their instruments in tow. It was an experiment in strangers making music and, quite luckily, the lads found that in that realm they had much in common. Cities in Dust looks to acts from the Banshee's era for influence, while incorporating elements from some of their contemporaries. Band favorites include The Rapture, Hot Hot Heat, Controller.Controller, Gang of Four, Richard Hell, The Hives, Husker Du, Bear vs. Shark, Rolling Stones, Brainiac, Blood Brothers, New Order and Mission of Burma.

The Hidden Cameras
Arts and Crafts
A mix of queer politics, explicit sexuality, symphonic indie pop, and theatrical spectacle, Toronto's the Hidden Cameras are the brainchild of singer/songwriter/guitarist Joel Gibb. With the release of their career-defining Ecce Homo LP, the group caught the ear of god-like English label Rough Trade, who made them the first Canadian artist on its roster in its 25-year history. Meanwhile, the group's elaborate live performances, which include up to 30 go-go dancers, strippers, and musicians, as well as videos, projected lyrics, and heavy audience participation, have won them a widespread and devoted following. "In Toronto, where we mostly play, we take each show on a show-by-show basis," says Gibb. "There's thought put into the idea of a show, as opposed to just a band playing. So there's always something thematic, and then there are different performative aspects that relate to it."

Husky Rescue
Minty Fresh Records
http://www.mintyfresh.com
Marko Nyberg, a.k.a. Husky Rescue, takes inspiration for his music more from images -- art, photography, and the landscape of his native Finland -- then from other sounds. "Images trigger a mood inside," Nyberg explains. "Then I start having a serious need for nailing the ideas down. Producing music is the most natural way for me." Country Falls, Husky Rescue's second release, is an ambient pop collection with subtle hints of country, released internationally on Catskills Records and in the United States on Minty Fresh. Live, Nyberg rounds out Husky Rescue with solid supporting staff, including Reeta-Leena Korhola (vocals), Ville Riippa (keyboard), Anssi Sopanen (drums), and Miika Colliander (guitar).

Viva Voce
Barsuk Records
Viva Voce met at a concert in an abandoned warehouse in 1998, and soon found themselves sharing their hearts and musical abilities with one another. Dating became nuptials and 4-track demos became albums. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. In the words of the band, "The demos first came to the attention of well groomed men in Nashville, Tennessee and shortly thereafter Viva Voce was surrounded by old legends and new money." Their label deal went sour, however, and the couple retreated to their family life, quietly building a collection of songs. In 2001, they began with what would become their first proper album, Lovers, Lead The Way! Self produced, home recorded and written in the months prior, the title announces the 'us against the world' perspective that was, at the time, the legacy of those frustrating experiences with the Biz. Get Yr Blood Sucked Out is their third LP, recently released on Barsuk.

Islands
Equator Music
Islands rose from the ashes of one of the most buzzed about bands of 2003, The Unicorns. Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? -- the goofy, endlessly creative effort from that group, left many fans chomping at the bit for the next Unicorns output. Thankfully, then, two Unicorns members, Nick Diamonds (guitarist/songwriter) and J'aime Tambeur (drums) decided to stick it out together, wrangled up six buddies, and made Islands. Their debut, Return to the Sea, was a perfect response to the death of the Unicorns: it didn't self-consciously bury it by forcing a totally new musical direction; on the other hand, it showed an evolution in style that was fresh and exciting. "I don't think I've eclipsed the monkey that is the Unicorns," Diamonds says. "That's fine, but I definitely want to make sure this band has an identity of its own and isn't just treading in the shadows of something that six of its members had nothing to do with."

Duplomacy
2024 Records
After years of keeping his music under wraps, Minneapolis' Andy Flynn began to unfurl his indie-pop vision to the world under the name Duplomacy a few years back. He gathered up some of the best results of his home-recordings and sent them off to TW Walsh, a renowned recording engineer and member of indie favorites Pedro the Lion. Walsh loved the music and brought Flynn out to Boston to record Duplomacy's sparse and stunning self-titled EP in 2004. Though the EP never really went to press, a few copies were sent to publications and musicians. Reactions were similar to Walsh's, and feature articles and offers to hop on bills soon arrived. The positive reaction to his first "professional" venture led Flynn to reconsider his one-man-band approach. Old friends quickly hopped onboard to help Duplomacy blossom on stage and create their much buzzed about new LP, All These Long Drives.

Andre Ethier
Paper Bag Records
Andre Ethier is better known as the leader of the rowdy Canadian rock outfit, Deadly Snakes. But you probably wouldn't recognize him on his sophomore solo output, Secondathallam. Secondathallam is a loose, intimate collaboration between friends, arranged in the style of a classic confessional singer-songwriter album. The songs come at you in warm tones, with Sandes' piano at the fore and Ethier's singing naked and honest. They're personal -- even romantic. Which makes sense, as Ethier is a newlywed. "This record, it's kind of about being marred, but it's a little more convoluted," Ethier says. Check out Ethier's warped ode to nuptials on Paper Bag Records.

Kite Flying Society
Self-released Kite Flying Society is a perfect example of what the internet can do for unheralded musicians these days. All it really took was for the sugary-pop five-piece was to be featured as Demo of the Week on the popular blog indiepages.com. Suddenly, though they'd only played a handful of shows, they had fans writing from Iceland, Belgium, Mexico, Sweden, Korea, Czech Republic and Australia. Soon after, the members of Brian Wilson's band, The Wondermints (a big KFS influence), posted to their Myspace page to say: "What a beautiful feel you guys have going in these tracks. Really, really nice." The San Diego-based band comes from humble roots: frontman Dustin Illingworth admits to being raised on top-40 hits, only to discover his destiny in the form of Belle and Sebastian in college and begin making music.

The Skygreen Leopards
Jagjaguwar Records
The Skygreen Leopards started in 2001 as a duo, just Glenn Donaldson and Donovan Quinn. Working out of the Hobo Victoria district of San Francisco, they've since recorded five full-length albums and one EP; they're newest effort, "Disciples of California," was just released in late October on Jagjaguwar. Over these recordings the band has been given to metamorphosis but has always managed to sound distinctly "Skygreen". Their newest album, Jagjaguwar explains, "continues in the alchemical tradition of change and inward-revolt. On it, the Skygreen Leopards mix pop melodies, minimal country truisms, jingle-jangling Californianism and angular folk with something the band refers to as "our horse called Dire Arrow," which roughly translates into family friendly (sans the "American Censorship" connotations)."

Psapp
Domino Records
Another couple duo, Psapp are London-based pranksters whose mutual obsession with odd noises and electronica has led them to create a unique and infectious brand of avant-pop. German-born Carim Clasmann cut his teeth in the music world as a successful engineer and producer, working with the likes of Einsturzende Neubaten and Natacha Altas. That production prowess, pared with Galia Durant's penchant for warm hooks and quirky delivery, made Psapp a band to watch.