Well, they’re not rock, but no one’s heard of them and they indeed do rock. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Æter. They’re an electronic improvisational music group that combines visual effects and synthesized effects. Really cool stuff; really creates a mood. Very good atmospheric music; if I ever create a movie, I’m gonna incorporate at least some of their stuff and pay them handsomely for it.
I was recommended the band dredg by someone on this very message board a couple of years ago, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
They have 2 albums out - leitmotif and el cielo. Their first album is the harder of the two. Sonically, their sound is similar to that of A Perfect Circle, although I’ve heard comparisons to tool and Tears for Fears(mainly because the lead singer sounds like Roland Orzabal).
I love Common Rotation (formerly called 28 Orange Street). They’re originally from Long Island but now based out in LA (tho thankfully they still make it back to NYC to do shows).
If any of you are Buffy fans, Adam Busch who played Warren Meers is one of the singers in that band.
They’re fairly well known on the SDMB, but there are two bands that deserve to be giants in the industry, but whenever I mention them to friends and coworkers I get, “Huh? Who?”
They are:
The Jayhawks
and
Wilco
Caroline’s Spine…an introduction to their music is one of the few truly good things about a former relationship.
I’d have to go with Shriekback, although I wasn’t too happy with their last album.
I was also quite fond of the Herb Tarleks way back when.
Super Deluxe
A now defunct (I believe) power-pop band out of Seattle with a Posies/Cheap Trick sound. “Famous” got better reviews than “Via Satellite” but I think “Via Satellite” is the better album.
I saw them on Jimmy Kimmel’s Cinco De Mayo show. This LA band “brews a vital concoction of Latin salsa, urban hip-hop, and jazz-funk.” I hope I get a chance to see them live.
Pash
Zen for Primates.
Good Rats, a NYC-area bar band. Their recording career peaked in the late 70s, but they’re still playing clubs in North Jersey and Long Island. Tasty is an excellent album, if you can track it down.
Good call Odinoneeye, Shriekback is the band I first thought of too.
There’s a great Toronto-based musician by the name of Ron Hawkins. He was in a band called ‘Lowest Of The Low’, did some solo stuff, and was in another band called ‘Ron Hawkins And The Rusty Nails’. I’ve seen both bands a bunch of times, and bought all the CDs I could find. Sadly, Ron’s retired from music (at least for the time being), but his music and lot’s of other great Canadian independant stuff can be found at
Thwartme
Visqueen.
I heard a song on KEXP, liked it, and made a note. Next time I was in Barnes & Noble, I used their headphone-thingy to check out samples from their debut (and so far only) CD, King Me. I enjoyed the available snippets, so I went and got the disc elsewhere. (You didn’t think I’d give the Barnes & Noble music section my money, did you?)
Dude: These guys rock. I’ve listened to the disc nonstop for two weeks; I can’t get enough of it. It’s been years since I’ve found an artist I liked this much this soon.
They’re a power-punk/pop trio, two women and a guy. They sound a little bit like a lot of other groups, but they have an identity all their own. Fast tempo, loud crunchy guitars, pounding bass, and these amazingly intricate sunshine-bright melodies.
The guy is the drummer; the bassist formerly fronted The Fastbacks, but jumped ship when she heard the material being created by the band’s guitarist and singer, who is also the band’s the sole songwriter. And she’s an absolute natural rock performer: great yet unpretentious singing voice, pure and crisp, and able to both murmur and shout with equal aplomb. Plus, her songwriting is great; she crafts these polished little gems, catchy and bouncy without being superficial, with lyrics that are just smart enough to be fun and just mature enough to avoid the usual punk-song cliches without being pretentious.
The debut album is short, something like 28 minutes; the ten songs average between two and a half and three minutes. At first, I was mildly disappointed, because I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want it to end. But I let it play around again, and again, and it’s actually pretty much the perfect length. The songs are all fairly different (unlike, say, The Donnas, who are fun but play the same three songs over and over), and each individual song is the right length, putting its point across and getting out of the way of the next song; and when it’s done, you want to listen again. If the album were longer, you might be sated too soon. As it is, I’ve just been letting it repeat for two weeks solid.
And when the guy who shares my office goes home for the day, I’m going to pop the disc in again.
Check out their site: Visqueen Online
Avalonian recommended the band in this thread, but as far as I know nobody else has commented on them. That’s too bad; they deserve to be hugely successful. I’m glad this thread came up, because I’ve been grooving to King Me so much I was actually considering starting a thread about the band.
Seriously. Visqueen. Just fantastic.
SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE
or, as they are now known
THE FIRE THEFT
06/17/03
MAJOR NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: The Fire Theft has officially signed to Rykodisc! The band is currently in the studio in LA with Brad Wood putting the finishing touches on recording and mixing. September 23rd is the targeted release date of the album in the United States, with October 7th as the targeted release date in UK, Spain, France, Germany, Japan (w/ bonus track), Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Holland, among others.
Slot machine! From Boston. Very cool rock band.
HMMMM,
Well you gotta love The Dregs AKA The Dixie Dregs.
Liquid Tension Experiment is also pretty damned cool.
Seventh Sign was a friend of mines band which released a CD in Japan. Damned good band.
Slee
Commander Cody
… rock that boogie …