Radio Exile mp3 Hype Device IV

By Tom Williams - May 6, 2009 | Email the author

Seems like just yesterday that I posted Hype Device 3. Actually it was five minutes ago. I’m posting several of these at once. Shhh! Don’t tell!

Anyways, back to our weekly round up of “underheard” music that deserves some hype.

Set your iPods to stun as we go full steam ahead!

(Tom’s note: That was probably the lamest thing I’ve ever written in my life.)

[mp3] Mt St. Helens Vietnam Band – “Cheer For Fate” [MySpace]

I like to play a little game I call musical equations. To play, you take a band or a song and then figure out what “mathematical” equation equals that song. This is what I’ve come up with for “Cheer For Fate”: Television guitars + Hot Hot Heat-sounding vocalist + The Replacements (the drummer in this band is 13!) + a massive dose of “indie-ness” = “Cheer For Fate”. This Seattle band has been getting some buzz lately (including from our own Rob Blatt, who says that they are “AWESOME”), which turned me off slightly until I actually sat down and listened a few times. That’s about all it took for me to realize that Mt St Helens Vietnam Band, despite their terrible name, are “AWESOME”.

Yay awesome!

[mp3] Winter Gloves – “Let Me Drive” [MySpace]

Are you a child of the 80s/90s/00s? Do you like synthesizer? How about Tokyo Police Club? What about Canada in general or “indie” as a genre of music? If you answered “no” to even one of these questions then you might wish to stay away. But, if you gave me five “yes”, then this match might work. Catchy, fun, and nothing more. But what’s wrong with that, especially when the weather is approaching summer??

[mp3] Pomegranates – “Corriander” [MySpace]

I remember a couple of years back when pomegranates were still a somewhat exotic fruit. They’d not yet been co-opted by Big Grocery as the next new uber flavor/scent/thing-that-is-in-every-single-product. I remember a time before there was pomegranate scented shampoo and soap and there was no pomegranate salad dressing. I remember a day when my mother had no clue what a pomegranate was. Back when Pom only sold pomegranate juice and not coffee, but then the pomegranate wave hit and there was no holding it back. They began to appear everywhere. When I finally saw them appear in the name of a band, I gave up. Retreated into my room and hid under my sheets, whimpering, for a good three weeks. By the time they finally coaxed me out I had a foot long beard and was covered in my own excrement.

It was nasty, man.

But know what? I was so defeated that I finally over looked the “flavor of the month” name and LISTENED to the music. Fuck man, it was good. I ENJOYED it. Shimmering guitars, catchy melodies, and a level of songwriting not usually present in music today. Dammit, these kids actually know what they hell they’re doing. So long as they don’t name their next album Acai, me and Pomegranates might just be okay.

[mp3] Drink Up Buttercup – “Sosey and Dosey” [MySpace]

If I wanted to be a dick I could dismiss this song (and band, really) as nothing more than Man Man minus about half the craziness. That’s certainly what I did the first time I ever heard them, at the Delancey a month or two ago. And you know what? My original view might just be right, but it might not. I’m no longer sure. I just know this song has worked its way onto my weekly iPod playlist and I’ve been completely unable to remove it for some days now. So maybe I’ve underestimated these guys, if they are Man Man clones, then they sure are damn good ones at that.

[mp3] Francis and the Lights – “Night Watchman” [Official Site]

Ever since I moved to New York City almost three months ago I feel that whenever I go out I end up at the Joshua Tree, a sausage fest of middle age men on 3rd Ave and abotu 33rd St, by about 3am. Why does this keep happening? Because they broadcast old 80s music videos on their plentiful video screens. What’s better than singing/screaming along with ’80′s pop hits when you’re wasted at 3 in the morning? Not much I tell you, not much.

So with that context I present to you Francis and the Lights. These guys sound like the last 25 years never happened. A unholy combination (to my ears at least) of Prince, Phil Collins, and Suicide, these guys did not experience the ’90′s or ’00′s. Judging by the quality of their music, this is probably a good thing.

I saw Francis and the Lights live at Vassar College’s spring concert a couple weekends ago. They went on relatively early and despite several hundred people milling around nearby, only a handful were actually paying attention. This is a shame. Despite my complete ignorance of them, Francis and the Lights put on one of the best live shows I’ve seen in a very long time. Lead singer Francis Starlite has some serious moves. He’s a performer like no other I’ve seen in the New York music scene. The band – Francis on vocals backed by drums and a synth – has legit style. So many bands today are of a style but few actually have a style. Francis and the Lights have it in spades.

About once a year I see a band that unexpectedly blows me away. Vampire Weekend did it in 2007. The Acorn did it last year. Francis and the Lights did it to me a few weeks ago. They have both of their EPs for free download on their site. I highly suggest you go check them out.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download