Datarock - Catcher In The Rye

Catcher In The Rye by Datarock  
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datarock_-_Catcher_In_The_Rye.mp3 (7992 KB)

The Talking Heads don't get enough credit. Maybe that's just because I feel like I hear them everywhere lately.

On "Catcher In The Rye," the Norweigian duo Datarock (that actually has six members) have channeled David Byrne in his prime, over what is effectively a disco beat and thick, thick bass line that makes me think of The Chemical Brothers - which isn't fair to the Chems, the 80s or, especially, Datarock. (Though it sounds completely different, I also hear this Modest Mouse song in the bassline.) Datarock, they've always kind of reminded me of Talking Heads, if not something else from the 80s that I just can't place, so "Catcher In The Rye" is really just another drop in what I guess is a guiltily unknown pleasure. (That would be 80s dance music, because I feel no guilt for loving The Talking Heads and The Chemical Brothers.)

For their new album, Datarock - Limited Edition, the band has teamed with the Super7 toy company to produce a toy that includes, on the inside, a USB stick with the "Catcher In The Rye" single, brand new Music For Synchronization full length, a concert film and 1,500 pictures. That's pretty cool.

Limited Edition and everything else is out March 11 - more information here.

Buy music by Datarock at Shockhound.

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop

The Reaganomics - Semi-Productive

Semi - Productive by Reaganomics  
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Reaganomics_02_Semi-Productive.mp3 (3479 KB)

There's a cover band called The Reaganomics. I have no idea what they sound like and I have no intention of finding out. Not since I discovered these four guys from Illinois, anyway.

Conjuring the part of the attitude of Blink-182 that doesn't involve girls or anything serious, and also ditching the pop edge in favor of a Bouncing Souls playful-hardcore feeling and Off With Their Heads vocal growl that is actually two voices a la, well, Blink, The Reaganomics are the new fun boys of punk.

New album Lower The Bar is due out on February 15, so all I've got is the 17-track, 21-minute debut Get Lost Stay Lost. It flies by faster than you can say "what the shit is that guy singing about." Listened to it four times today and twice last night. That wasn't enough, but I'll make up for it this weekend and next week.

Since it's Friday and all, the beer-and-television laze of "Semi-Productive" beat out the perfect piss-off-ness of "Smug Punx" and wouldn't-that-be-nice-for-life "My Best Friend Is A Bear." Really, I wavered between those three tracks. Come on, being friends with a bear despite the fact that he wants to chew your legs off, and noting that it's better than the real world? That's the stuff that superstardom is made of.

At some point, they're going to have to add some mental substance to the early-Fat Mike "eat me" of their lyrics if for no other reason than the perfect name. These guys are cynical and punk as fuck though so who cares. Enjoy.

Buy Get Lost Stay Lost at Amazon.

Stream some of Lower The Bar at Punknews.

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop

The Get Up Kids - Rally Round The Fool

Rally 'round The Fool by The Get Up Kids  
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06-Rally_Round_The_Fool.mp3 (9620 KB)

The Get Up Kids used to sound softer. Nothing against any of what they did in the 90s, but There Are Rules, their first album in seven years, has caught my attention and now I'm reexamining their discography because there has to be some clue that they could be this interesting. I think I'm about to be obsessed with this band.

Half of There Are Rules sounds like a great effort from The Faint and the other half sounds like a great post-punk album, and together it works out really smoothly. From the jamming first track, "Tithe," to the jamming last track, "Rememorable," this is an album that moves, man.

It's got ups and downs, and what stood out, through all the other enjoyment, was the electronic inspection of somebody else's efforts and intent on "Rally 'Round The Fool." As much as the album strikes a new chord for the band, this track is really a new direction. Posting one of the pounding electro-tracks seemed obvious, and this one is not.

After all the disinterest, it's a complete deviation from their past that has me very interested in The Get Up Kids.

Buy There Are Rules at Shockhound.

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop

The new Strokes single sounds classic, AKA like an "Is This It?" outtake

The band really wasn't kidding when they said it sounded like The Strokes. Check out the 30-second preview Amazon, where you can pre-order it for actual download on February 15. (Seriously? I bet it leaks before kickoff in the Super Bowl.)

This has me excited. How 'bout you?

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Chilean miners meat the South Florida press in Coconut Creek.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Am I missing something here?

Posted via email from Stephen Feller

Parts & Labor - Constant Future

Constant Future by Parts & Labor  
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parts and labor - constant future.mp3 (9476 KB)

Brooklyn's noise rock scene has birthed a lot of bands in the last decade such as TV On The Radio, Battles and Pterodactyl that can make a lot of beautiful noise, but the racket that comes from Parts and Labor is more rock and roll than anything else. 

They're the band that is rooted in both noise and rock - though they experiment, they're not trying to challenge the listener so much as pummel their ear drums. But like TVOTR, they've got an anthemic quality to them at the same time, minus the motown melodies, of course.

2008's Receivers was their first album without drummer Christopher Weingarten. On that album, it almost sounded like the band, at that point a quartet, was looking for a straight-ahead, stripped back just noise-y 4/4 rock. While that sounded like the band, something felt off. Thankfully, "Constant Future," the first single from the new album of the same name sounds like P&L is back.

Sounding like a galloping horse, lead singer Dan Friel sings of "no more constant future," which is a little bit different than the constant digging of gold he sang up a few years ago. If this is the band looking back, or just slowing down, then either P&L is on their last hurrah or just about to take off. Regardless, this is one of those highly anticipated albums of 2011 and "Constant Future" just raised my expectations thoroughly.

The new Parts & Labor album, Constant Future, is out March 8 on Jagjaguwar, one of the best labels that nobody ever talks about because people suck. In the meantime, buy music by Parts & Labor from Shockhound. (Check out everything, but go for Mapmaker first. That's the gold right there.)

Posted via email from One Stupid Mop