My newest loves

by Susan M

I don’t have a band spotlight this week, since I’ve been on vacation. But we haven’t had a new-acquisitions post for awhile. What’s new for you?

Here are my newest loves:

Voxtrot - They’re typical indie stuff, but there’s just something about them I love. I don’t know what exactly it is. If I were a musician maybe I could put my finger on it. It might be the guy’s voice, although it’s a little on the cutesy side for me (that guy from Death Cab can really bug me). Maybe it’s the way he sings. Or the way the songs make me want to raise my arms up in the air like a dork.

Agents of Oblivion - This is a defunct band that I’m only now discovering (thanks to Brian V). The singer, Dax Riggs, is now on my list of best rock singers ever. There’s this quality to his voice that blows me away. AoO only released one album, and I’ve been listening to it non-stop.

Deadboy and the Elephantmen - Dax Riggs’ current band. Their first album has a full band, the second has just him on guitar and a girl on drums. I think they may get written off as White Stripes wannabes. They shouldn’t. They’re actually everything I wanted the White Stripes to be (White Stripes lovers feel free to hate me now).

Zero 7 - I’m hoping someone can help me out with this band. I have one song called “Home” from a Seattle radio station comp (Live at KEXP Vol II) that I picked up on vacation. I love it. But I’ve not heard anything else by them. Anyone know what they’re like?

15 Comments

  1. There is a Zero 7 song on the Garden State soundtrack, “In the Waiting Line.”

    Comment by Heather P. — August 29, 2006 @ 1:07 pm

  2. I love about half of the new TV on the Radio album, and I like the rest of it.

    I’m listening to Danielson quite a bit, but I’m still on the fence about his latest. It has a lot of the noisy Deerhoof feel that I like (Deerhoof collaborate on some tracks (as do several other artists, including Sufjan Stevens)), but it’s kind of big and unwieldy. It sounds like something that I might start liking a lot as it starts making more sense.

    Comment by Tom — August 29, 2006 @ 3:50 pm

  3. Re: Deadboy vs. the Stripes. I think Deadboy are more consistent, but I’ll take the Stripes’ best over Deadboy’s best. [To me, the Stripes' best are their heavier rockers.]

    Comment by Tom — August 29, 2006 @ 3:54 pm

  4. Yeah, the Stripes are best when they’re rockin’. But Jack’s voice bugs me, and I’m totally in love with Dax’s voice right now. Over the moon. I can’t listen to more than a couple WS songs at a time. Deadboy I can listen to the whole album on repeat.

    As my husband once said, “The White Stripes are ok for a song or two. But by the end of an album I want to kill that guy.”

    Comment by Susan M — August 29, 2006 @ 5:31 pm

  5. I agree with the general consensus re: White Stripes having moments of brilliance lost in the seas of mediocrity that are their albums. If people still released singles, the White Stripes would be a great singles band.

    Deadboy & the Elephantmen are much more listenable to me. Dax Riggs has soul. Jack White doesn’t.

    Comment by Brian V — August 29, 2006 @ 5:46 pm

  6. I don’t think they are new at all, but the Toy Dolls are new to me. I’ve been enjoying a number of their songs.

    Comment by danithew — August 29, 2006 @ 9:05 pm

  7. Dan,

    The Toy Dolls formed in 1979… But they are great to discover (even if you are 27 years late)

    Comment by Geoff J — August 30, 2006 @ 12:43 am

  8. Geoff J. … yes, I looked them up and saw they had been around a long time, though I didn’t know it was 27 years. Their music really is quite fun to listen to.

    Comment by danithew — August 30, 2006 @ 7:16 am

  9. I love the Toy Dolls. Their earliest stuff is my fave. Fiery Jack, Nellie the Elephant, Spiders in the Dressing Room.

    Comment by Susan M — August 30, 2006 @ 7:58 am

  10. Susan, you just named two of my favorite Toy Dollas song. I’m not sure I’m familiar with the Spider in the Dressing Room, though I might have it. If so, I’ll have to give it a whirl.

    I also like “Tocatta in DM” and “Drooling Banjos”.

    Comment by danithew — August 30, 2006 @ 12:13 pm

  11. Here’s some stuff that’s new to me that I’ve been digging:

    Bob Dylan, 1966-The ‘Royal Albert Hall’ Concert
    The Libertines, Up the Bracket
    Neutral Milk Hotel, On Avery Island
    Broken Social Scene, You Forgot It In People

    As for newer stuff:
    Bob Dylan, Modern Times
    Golden Smog, Another Fine Day
    Chad VanGaalen, Skelliconnection
    Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones (kinda new)

    Comment by Greg Call — September 1, 2006 @ 3:14 pm

  12. You like that Yeah Yeah Yeahs album?

    Comment by Susan M — September 1, 2006 @ 4:01 pm

  13. I do. Not as much as Fever to Tell, or their early EPs, but SYB is a good record.

    Comment by Greg Call — September 3, 2006 @ 10:17 pm

  14. The way she sings can get to me, I can’t do an entire album. Especially when she starts repeating the same word or phrase over and over. She does it in almost every song. (At least it seems that way–on Fever to Tell, I mean)

    Comment by Susan M — September 4, 2006 @ 9:21 am

  15. Also not terribly new, but I can’t stop listening to Antony and the Johnsons.

    Comment by Justin H — September 15, 2006 @ 11:44 pm