Venus Hum - Honey

Nashville, TN, might not be the first place for a dream pop band to come together, but the birthplace of American music was a nice fit for Venus Hum. Comprised of vocalist Annette Strean and multi-instrumentalists Kip Kubin and Tony Miracle, the trio formed in 1999. Strean, who grew up with a logger father in Whitefish, MT, found Nashville to be her cultural calling. She grew up singing show tunes for fun, but her fondness for the Cure and Kate Bush pushed her creatively. Strean fell for kitschy films from the 50s, too. Later, she designed her own clothing from vintage apparel. Miracle had a similar upbringing. He was locked into typical family suburbia in Cincinnati, OH, and sought comfort in England's new wave reign. Depeche Mode and the Cure allowed him to explore various electronic dance acts of the '80s. Kubin was a Jersey kid. A friend of his had a dad who made his own keyboards, so Kubin naturally picked up the instrument. From there, Strean, Miracle, and Kubin connected. Miracle set up Chessington Synth Labs Studio in his basement, and Venus Hum created a lush, dynamic pop sound. Their self-titled debut appeared on Mono-Fi in spring 2001.
Shows in and around Nashville were successful for Venus Hum. Lucky for them, electroclash producer/scenester Larry Tee took Venus Hum under his wing. The band appeared at Tee's Electroclash Festival in New York City during summer 2002, and Stereolab asked Venus Hum to open for them in Nashville. The Hummingbirds EP coincided with a joint U.S. tour with Sing-Sing that October. Six months later, their proper full-length album Big Beautiful Sky was released. After a series of problems that included issues with their label and nodes on Strean's vocal chords, Venus Hum went on a two-year hiatus. During that time, Strean underwent physical and vocal therapy, Kubin became a filmmaker, and Miracle recorded an album under the name Satellite City. In 2005, the trio reconvened and began recording together and individually; the results were the acoustic/electronic manipulations of their second album, The Colors in the Wheel, which arrived in summer 2006.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/venus-hum-mn0000315218#biography 

Secret Colours - Dream Dream

I have a thing for psychedelic music, but if I really wanted to hear a band that sounded like 13th Floor Elevators, I’d probably just listen to Roky wailing, ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ – especially since today is his 69th birthday. At the moment, however, I’m actually listening to ‘Who You Gonna Run To,’ a Britpop – Blur/Stone Roses style cut from Chicago’s own Psychedelic scenesters, ‘Secret Colours.’ The song is off the band’s 2013 release, ‘Peach.’ I’ll admit it. I’ve been secretly following ‘Secret Colours’ since their self-titled debut in 2010. Six years and four albums later, with a series of sold-out shows appearing alongside such Psych heavyweights as Spindrift, Asteroid #4, The Raveonettes and The Warlocks among others, the secret’s out – These guys are clever enough to know that ‘inspired by’ is only a starting point. Listen closely and you might hear shades of ‘Lush’ ‘Charlatans’ or ‘Ultra Vivid Scene,’ morph unexpectedly into early 70’s T-Rex or the jangly harmonies of Glasgow’s Belle and Sebastian, proving ‘inspired’ doesn’t have to mean stifled. Core members Tommy Evans and Justin Frederick not only craft songs that refuse to be pigeonholed into any particular genre or time frame, they don’t really care whether it’s not ‘cool’ to pay homage to The Beatles or The Kinks, because nothing goes out of style quicker than ‘cool,’ whereas the best things don’t have an expiration date. Released in two parts, ‘Positive Distractions’ is the band’s fourth and most cohesive release to date. Describing the making of the record and his new line-up, Tommy explains: “We recorded 12 songs in 11 days. We worked fast. We didn’t think about much. When you have something that feels right, it’s definitely not going to last forever, so you’ve got to do the most you can with it before it goes away.” As with music – as with art…Sometimes you don’t need to over think it – you just need to feel it.

Interview with Tommy Evans:

Q: When I first heard Secret Colours, I was hearing bits of Stone Roses, Blur, Tame Impala and a little Brian Jonestown Massacre (and I realize I’m treading on holy ground when I make that last comparison), but I also detected some T-Rex and maybe even the Beatles. Basically Psych to Garage to Britpop and five decades all coexisting in a wonderfully strange new way. In your own words, how would you define your sound?

A: You pretty much nailed it on the head. We love all those groups and we seem to take bits of those groups and put them together to paint our own picture. When creating something new it’s always good to start with something familiar, put it in a blender and see what new flavors you can make.

Q: You’ve gone through some line-up changes recently. Can you tell us about the band’s evolution from your first album ‘Peach,’ which I understand you collaborated with producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse), to your latest ‘Positive Distractions?’

A: Peach is actually our second record. Brian is awesome to work with. He really pushes good musicianship, rather than snapping amateurs to grid in Pro Tools and auto-tuning the fuck out of everything like many young producers are doing these days. He makes sure the music stays organic. Positive Distractions was recorded down in Dripping Springs, Texas and Dandysounds Ranch, home to the group, Cross Record, who are friends of ours. We basically had a fresh lineup, so I felt we needed a newer approach to making a record than we did with Peach – isolating ourselves from city life, drawing inspiration from nature and not doing anything other than drinking heavily and making a rock record. We also just went back down there to record our follow-up with a similar approach. That should be out sometime in the fall.

Q:: The term ‘polychromatic’ has been used to describe your sound, but the word also applies to colours – What is the significance of your name?

A: We always try to make our sound colourful – that makes for the most interesting music. We want our listeners to put on headphones and drift to wherever it takes them. As far as where the secret comes from, listen to the lyrics and decide for yourself.

Q: What was it like being a midwest band playing SXSW and recording in Austin? Were you influenced by any of the Austin psych bands like the Black Angels… not to mention 13th Floor Elevators were from Texas?

A: All of them. We love the city and the vibe. The Angels were kind to us. We played what is now Levitation in 2012 and 2014. It definitely inspired our musical direction and made us fall in love with Austin. Whenever we have the chance to go back there, we will without hesitation.

Q: So there’s this thing about Chicago and ‘stripes’ – I actually paid homage to Chi Town in a previous post and noticed Patti Smith, Billy Corgan and Mario Cuomo of The Orwells all photographed wearing stripes. As well, you are all wearing striped shirts in a photo from the Chicago Tribune. Is there something I should know about this?

A: Ha! I’m not sure - strange coincidence. If there is an underground society of rockers with striped shirts I’d like to know about it.

Q: Last but not least, this question is for all of you: If you could have one album to listen to until the end of time, what’s it going to be?

A: Collectively, I think if we were all stranded somewhere we’d be hoping to have a copy of the White Album. That album has a diversity of styles and is double-sided, so we’d get a few more songs to get sick of rather than a lot of 8 or 9 song records that are coming out today.

From: https://americannoirpaintings.com/blog/secret-colours-painting-with-sound/

Farafi - Sembere

 

 

One of the women in Farafi comes from the US, the other from Britain, with French-Indian roots. Darlini Singh Kaul and Jot Tyson met in Goa in India, started singing together unaccompanied, found their voices and musical ideas clicked and decided to do more with it. Now they both live in Berlin, and after a pair of official bootlegs, this real debut does credit to their mix of percussion and singing, along with ngoni, kashaka, and ghungroos. The duo often sing in languages which aren’t theirs, mostly from Africa, as well as one of their own invention.
So far, so cultural imperialist, right? Well, not really. The music might nod vaguely towards different cultures, but everything here is their own invention. While the heart of it all is just the pair of them, they actually sound at their best and most adventurous when accompanied by a full band, as on the opener, “Desert Sun,” which quickly catches fire. There are plenty of African inflections, yet it still possesses something that’s completely its own – a manifesto for what’s to come on the disc. At times it can get pretty wild, with the electric guitar pushing hard towards the boundaries of atonality, as with the solo on the closer, “Kele.” But it works. The band fires up the women and they respond. Individually together they have excellent voices, but it’s together that they shine, becoming more than the sum of the parts; strong, confident and certain, no matter what tongue they’re using.
Yes, it does get hippy-dippyish at times. But thankfully it’s only for brief moments, then the music is blazing again. There’s real power here, vocally and instrumentally, and in the duo’s songs. For all the cues they take from Africa, they keep the listener’s attention. Farafi really do have a warmth and will that’s all their own.  From: https://www.rootsworld.com/reviews/farafi-20.shtml

Gene Clark - Full Circle Song

"Full Circle Song" (also titled "Full Circle") is a country rock-style song written by Gene Clark. For the lyrics, he used an allegorical wheel of fortune motif to comment on the unpredictable nature of fame and fortune. Recorded in Los Angeles in 1972, the song was originally released on Clark's Roadmaster, which was only issued in the Netherlands in January 1973. Clark, with his former group the Byrds, re-recorded the song as "Full Circle" for the 1973 reunion album, Byrds. According to biographer John Einarson, "Full Circle Song" was written by Clark in early 1972. Critic Matthew Greenwald commented that, although it is hard not to believe that the song is an autobiographical commentary on Clark's own critically lauded, but financially unrewarding solo career, Clark himself always denied that this had been his intention.
Clark first recorded the song in April 1972 at Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles, as part of the recording sessions for Clark's second solo album for A&M Records. For these sessions, Clark and record producer Chris Hinshaw assembled a top flight crew of L.A. studio musicians, including Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Clarence White, Byron Berline, and Spooner Oldham, but progress on the proposed album was slow.The recording sessions were eventually abandoned due to A&M's frustration at the lack of progress, and consequently the album was shelved. Some months later, Clark's friend and former Byrds manager, Jim Dickson, approached Dave Hubert, the head of A&M's foreign markets division, regarding a possible European release for the eight tracks completed during the abandoned sessions. Despite protests from some A&M executives, these tracks were compiled with three other previously unreleased Clark songs and issued in the Netherlands as the Roadmaster album.
In late 1972, prior to the Dutch release of Roadmaster, Clark decided to re-record "Full Circle Song" for inclusion on the Byrds' reunion album, since, at that time, the song was gathering dust in the A&M tape vaults. During the reunion recording sessions, the song was renamed "Full Circle" and, for a time, it provided the album's working title. Ultimately, the album would be released with the eponymous title Byrds, as Clark was uncomfortable with his song being used as the title track in case the public mistakenly assumed that it had been written specifically for the reunion. Clark confirmed that this was not the case during a 1979 interview with Byrds' biographer, Johnny Rogan: "I'd already recorded that song a couple of years earlier and it wasn't really written about anything specific. It was just an idea I had." The Byrds' recording of the song is similar in feel to the Roadmaster version, with Rogan commenting on the addition of a soaring David Crosby harmony vocal, while Byrds expert Tim Connors described it as "a strong country rocker" highlighted by mandolin playing from the Byrds' bassist, Chris Hillman.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Circle_Song

Ebb - Mary Jane

Ebb (as in ebb and flow) are a 6-piece band based in Scotland. They stormed onto the prog scene in the UK in 2022/23 and have continued their upward trajectory since, becoming a firm favourite at the UK's biggest prog festivals. Their music can vary so much as to be dramatic, eclectic, moody, quite heavy (but not metal), and tuneful. It's often filled out by the classic Hammond organ sound provided by Nikki Francis, who also plays wind instruments. However, despite this nod to the 1970s, their music is fresh, inventive and arty, with poetry and stories occasionally recited by Kitty Biscuits, who also provides backing vocals, and when on stage, glides around in slow motion, dancing with various props, playing percussion, and even blowing bubbles. The lead singer and lead guitarist is the charismatic Erin Bennett, whose voice can range from gentle to powerful but always in tune. The band's sound is completed by the drums of Anna Fraser, the synths of Suna Dasi and the sole guy, Bad Dog on bass. After releasing their first EP in 2019, their debut album Mad and Killing Time was released in late 2022, with an accompanying EP to follow at the beginning of 2024.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=12717

For many bands, living communally is part of the rock’n’roll dream – for Ebb it’s simply what they do and an important element of their shared identity. Wintering in their base, an arts collective in rural Scotland, lead singer and guitarist Erin Bennett, Kitty Biscuits (percussion, backing vocals) and producer-bassist Finn McGregor (aka Bad Dog) bask in the warmth of the hugely positive reception for current album, Mad & Killing Time. Its central tale of how love can be found between the most unexpected people in the most bizarre circumstances is told through a winning combination of eclectic storytelling and strong songwriting. “God, we’ve had incredible receptions from various different online and print publications; good, great, really killer reviews,” Bennett enthuses. “People have really listened to it from beginning to end, which is what we wanted. It’s like a film that takes you on a journey,” continues Biscuits. Although Ebb’s official recording career covers barely three years, the band share connections that go back much further.
Initially finding common cause personally and musically after an accidental meeting in the US in 2005, they formed strong bonds as friends and collaborators in various combinations over the next few years. A personal tragedy ultimately forged the present band, when Jo Heeley, Bennett’s civil partner and bandmate in folk rock trio Syren, passed away after a short illness in 2012. “When Jo died it was just appalling and Erin went down like the Titanic,” reflects McGregor. “And we formed the Erin Bennett Band around her to kind of get her going.” Although Bennett continued writing and performing, the evolution into Ebb was marked by 2019’s Death & The Maiden EP and fully bloomed during lockdown. “We completely smashed that backing band model, we were locked down together… and played for 18 months,” says Bennett. “It was very much about live jamming and the prog,” agrees McGregor. That prog derives from the rich and varied influences and experiences of Ebb’s members, which include folk, classical, performance art, shock rock and poetry or “symbiotic twins of American classic music and European innovation and eccentricity,” suggests Biscuits.  From: https://progzilla.com/ebb/

The Seldom Scene - Live at Winterfest 1988

The Seldom Scene were established in 1971, and they would practice in Ben Eldridge's basement. These practice sessions included John Starling on guitar and lead vocals, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, and former Country Gentlemen member Tom Gray on bass. The mandolinist John Duffey, who had also performed with the Country Gentlemen, was invited to jam sessions at the time when Mike Auldridge arranged for the group to play as a performing band. Another member of the Country Gentlemen, Charlie Waller, is responsible for the band's name. Expressing his doubt that this new band could succeed, Waller reportedly asked Duffey, "What are you going to call yourselves, the seldom seen?" The band had weekly performances at clubs and performed regularly at the Red Fox Inn, a music club in Bethesda, Maryland. The band switched over to the Birchmere music hall in Alexandria, Virginia, which resulted in a residency.
Each of the band members had a job during the week; Duffey repaired musical instruments, Eldridge was a mathematician, Starling a physician, Auldridge a graphic artist, and Gray a cartographer with National Geographic. They agreed to play one night a week at local clubs, perform occasionally at concerts and festivals on weekends, and make records. After playing for six weeks at a small Washington, D.C., club called the Rabbit's Foot, the group found a home at the Red Fox Inn in Bethesda, Maryland. They performed at that venue Friday nights from January 1972 through September 1977 before starting weekly performances at the Birchmere music hall.
The progressive bluegrass style played by the Seldom Scene had become increasingly popular during the 1970s, especially Duffey's high tenor and the vocal blend of Duffey/Starling/Auldridge. Their weekly shows included bluegrass versions of country music, rock, and even classical pop. The band's popularity soon forced them to play more than once a week — but they continued to maintain their image as being seldom seen, and on several of their early album covers were photographed with the stage lights on only their feet, or with their backs to the camera. Though the Scene remained a non-touring band, they were prolific recorders, producing seven albums in their first five years of existence, including one live album (among the first live bluegrass albums).
In 1977, John Starling left the group to focus on his medical career, and was replaced by singer and songwriter Phil Rosenthal, whose song "Muddy Water" had been recorded by the Scene on two earlier albums. Starling and Rosenthal shared their lead vocals on the group's sixth studio album, Baptizing (recorded in 1978). Around the same time, the group switched record labels from Rebel to Sugar Hill. Starling recorded a solo album for Sugar Hill in 1980 called "Long Time Gone" and another in 1982 called "Waitin' On a Southern Train", on both of which Mike Auldridge played.
The lineup of Rosenthal-Duffey-Gray-Auldridge-Eldridge recorded five albums of a comparable popularity to the ones with the founding members, including John Starling. Rosenthal proved to be as good lead singer as Starling and his baritone voice contrasted well with Duffey's high tenor extravaganzas. He also wrote typically two to three songs on each of the albums and also added acoustic guitar solos to the group.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seldom_Scene

The Dresden Dolls - Girl Anachronism

An anachronism is the representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order, or one that is out of its proper or chronological order, especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time. The song Girl Anachronism was written by Amanda Palmer, who was half of The Dresden Dolls, and it relates to how she often feels out of place. In our interview with Amanda Palmer, she told us: "My mother had a superstition about numbers, so she wanted me to be born on an even day of an even month. And the surgery was slated for an odd day of an odd month, so she moved it back. Just a couple of days. I think the surgery was slated for May 1st, and she moved it to April 30th. And there was nothing unhealthy about it. The doctor was like, 'Yeah, sure.' Got a couple of days here or there, it really doesn't change anything. But I always thought that was a great poetic excuse for lopsidedness."
Regarding the lyrics, "Accidentally on purpose," Palmer explains: "that was an actual snarky remark that my parents used to make to me when I was a kid any time I hurt myself. Like if I fell down the stairs or if I came home with scrapes and bruises, they would roll their eyes and say, 'Oh, sure that was an accident – accidentally on purpose.' And I would go, 'No, really! I fuckin' ate it on the sidewalk!' And it bent my head in a strange way, because when you're a kid, your intuition is saying, Well, that's not true, that's not right. But then you're constantly second-guessing, because the adults know which way the wind's blowing. So I was really twisted about what my intentions were as I was growing up, and I never trusted myself. I never trusted my own instincts and my own intentions, especially when it came to attention-getting. Because I felt trapped in this strange narcissistic hole where I knew I liked attention, but I was taught that it was a very bad, naughty thing to want it. So I was coming out of a very warped space for a long time before I sorted out my own stuff, which was the better part of my teens and 20s. That line is a reference to all that stuff."  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-dresden-dolls/girl-anachronism