The Little Heroes

ROCK / INDIE POP
Artist: The Little Heroes
Album: Thank You
Tracks: "Say I'll Be Gone," "Thank You"
Street Date: November 11, 2009
Label: Wednesday Records


Certain thoughts and (harsh) generalizations come to mind when thinking of the city in which The Little Heroes are based. Santa Barbara... where the sun shines bright, college kids pound down BL w/Limes like there's no tomorrow, and SoCal bros run a muck in their Rainbow flip flops, cargo shorts, and wife beaters, yeah?

Somehow members of the Little Heroes were able to avoid that ever so appealing Jack-Johnson-esque path down their musical life - possibly for the better. In past months they've been getting positive reviews from music outlets such as Billboard, Space City Rock, Amplifier Magazine, PopMatters, Allmusic, Lost at Sea, and the Red Alert.

In the title track "Thank You," the band interweaves Lombardo's mellow vocals with dulcet melodies and choruses to create a light-hearted and catchy tune, similar to say... "Boston" by Augustana but with more edginess and testosterone and way less piano, falsetto, and bottled up/passive drama. (Moving to Boston probably won't help your situation at all, what were you thinking?!) Okay, maybe not so similar then.

I had guessed
we'd always be friends and
all the plans that we made
again and again
I had guessed
we'd always be friends
you're an angel and your words
cause little earthquakes
all the world stops everyday when you wake
and we fall down... down at your feet
to say goodnight

The lyrics are extremely multi-faceted. He explains that he and the girl (OR guy!) have made plans together, exchange glances, and read books - all that relationship junk... but we get the sense that the sequence of events doesn't seem to amount to anything romantically significant as he suggests with the continuous series of doubt with phrases such as "I had guessed," "the books we read could not explain our thoughts," "all the glances exchanged wouldn't suggest to the bare remains," etc. Torn and forlorn.

So either the guy has to ignore her weird/dangerous earthquake-making quirks because he loves her OR he can just ditch her because she's psycho and the payoff sucks. Just do what you have to do Little Heroes! We're here to clean up the spill.

The album comes out on Wednesday! Check out their MySpace for more deets.

Mock Orange

ALT / ROCK
Artist: Mock Orange
Album: Live in Brooklyn
Track: “Captain Love”, “World of Machines”
>Street date: September 15, 2009
Label: Wednesday Records

--

* Main Entry: mock orange
* Function: noun
* Date: 1731

1: any of a genus (Philadelphus) of ornamental shrubs of which several are widely grown for their showy white flowers and that is either placed in the saxifrage or hydrangea families or in a family (Philadelphaceae) of its own —called also philadelphus, syringa
2: any of several usually shrubby plants considered to resemble the orange



---

*Main Entry: Mock Orange
* Function: aural pleasures
* Date: est. 1998

1: classic American indie band founded by four friends based in Evansville, Indiana; immensely popular on college radio stations, receiving critical acclaim with every release
2: band releasing album recorded live, named Live in Brooklyn, featuring music from their past albums, Captain Love and Mind Is Not Brain; a collection of refreshingly optimistic indie anthems
3: simultaneously refined yet edgy vocals by Ryan Grisham; a melting pot of instrumentation
4: happy-go-lucky lyrics (which the world can all use more of)
5: upbeat claps and quirky whistles
6: band whose album is released under Wednesday Records, a label which is also host to Sylvie, Jon McKiel, First to Leave, The Little Heroes, The Orange, Fire in the Radio
7: UTTERLY STAPLE TO ALL SELF-PROCLAIMED INDIE FANS

Other notables from Wednesday Records: Sylvie, Jon McKiel, First to Leave, The Little Heroes, The Orange, Fire in the Radio



www.myspace.com/mockorange

Daniel Johnson (Pre-Podcast - Text Only)

Alt / Rock / Electronic
Artist: Daniel Johnson
Album: Lazrus
Track: “Heart Of A Dog”
Street date: July 21, 2009
Label: Moodgadget

RIP Vanilla Rock. Long Live Daniel Johnson!



Observation (by fellow coworker): There are very few radio stations out there nowadays that exclusively feature simple, modern rock—it’s all either classic rock, hip hop, pop, or oldies. Apparently in New York, there are no more modern rock stations left ever since K-Rock 92.3 went under! Now while we may all take a moment of silence and prepare for the seemingly global domination of Lady Gaga and other Lady Gaga wannabes (and an ensuing army of Kermit the Frog capes), maybe Rock’s temporary, self-imposed leave isn’t entirely a bad thing…


Maybe Rock has gone into rehab (the glamorous kind), only to reemerge from its musical cocoon—edgier and sexier with an electronic twist—in the form of such likes as Daniel Johnson*. The track, “Heart Of A Dog”, from his debut full-length, Lazrus, is the perfect illustration of how rock can be bettered; this bluesy electro-rock track almost sounds like something of Beck’s, but younger and hipper (and less trippy lyrics). His own stylistic vocals in tow, Daniel Johnson offers the listener no remorse regarding the alternative / rock genre—his electronic production is just so tasty!

Seriously, anyone can rock out to this album.

Go check out his MySpace.

*Not to be confused with cult favorite singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston, who has produced over 30 albums, is bipolar, and draws the weirdest little pictures.

Other notables at Moodgadget: Mux Mool, The Synchronicity Suite, and Machinedrum.

Lord Cut-Glass (Pre-Podcast - Text Only)

It’s a small world after all…
Alt / rock
Artist: Lord-Cut Glass
Album: Lord-Cut Glass
Track: “Look After Your Wife”
Street date: June 23, 2009
Label: Chemikal Underground Records


From across the pond in Scotland, one band has been seriously taking off since the release of their first, self-titled album late June. Lord-Cut Glass is the moniker for former Delgados band member Alun Woodward, and let us just say, his stuff is proving to be truly interesting. The songs are all incredibly catchy, and some tracks—like “Look After Your Wife”—definitely have a smoldering vintage feel - marching drums and mini-fanfare paint a picture of colonialized past. Instead of sounding pretentious, however, the instrumentation of Lord-Cut Glass is refreshing—quirky, yet timeless, as suggested by Woodward’s 1800s Scottish garb on his MySpace page:

His music is cleverly insightful, and his Scottish accent balances the occasional bite of his words:


Look after your wife, you've got her for life
When it's rung you cannot unring the bell
Keep her from spills, keep her from pills
Be a lover and companion as well
If she's a hell bat, free-thinker
Or an all-time bad drinker
'Cause in the morning I'll see her
Look defeated on her way to work
And wishing that you loved her...


Either Woodward is trying to prove that chivalry isn’t dead, or he’s just preparing to be the biggest ladies’ man. Tellin’ gents to look after their women in the first single? Smooth. And totally right!

Other notables at Chemikal Underground: Mogwai, The Phantom Band, Aidan Moffat, De Rosa.

The Beginnings... INTRO to Stage 4

Memo from the Surgeon General

Prescription of Stage Four powered by BlinkerActive to be administered in weekly doses to listeners with the following symptoms:

1. Unexplained urges to escape the monotony of mainstream music
2. Desire to impress all those surrounding listeners with his or her impeccable taste and exclusive access to the best alt/rock or electronica
3. Desire to make fun of people while they make fools of themselves and to win truly random/ridiculous prizes with each podcast release
4. Uncontrollable tendency to indulge in freshest sounds around.

Side effects include an overall sense of euphoria and urgency, sex appeal, and a greater appreciation for addiction to the best new music out there, hands down. Welcome to the Insanity! Greetings to all of our listeners! Pat yourself on the back—you’re making history. This is Stage Four’s very first podcast, powered by Iris! Stage Four will be regularly combing through millions of tracks (that’s an exaggeration) that come our way (fate) for the best alt/rock and electronica—all 100% certified indie, delivered straight to your headphones. Each podcast will highlight an artist yours truly believes to be strongly buzz-worthy. And who knows? Maybe you too will discover that this—steady eye contact here, don’t break away—is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.