Happy day after...

Hope everyone had a nice day off yesterday. We all went for a run in the morning, then cooked, then ate, then watched about eight episodes of 30 Rock Season Two, then watched them again...not a terrible day all in all.

Nothing is happening today, of course, but I did have a short review up earlier this week.

Her Space Holiday
XOXO, Panda and the New Kid Revival
Mush Records

A sharp departure from the lush, electronically-derived sounds of Her Space Holiday's earlier work, this seventh full-length recalls the laid-back pop of Beulah. Serene in tone, arranged with tambourines, banjos, acoustic guitar, toy xylophones and found sounds (sirens, tea kettles, crotchety old voices), the disc has, nevertheless, a melancholy underbelly. "Two Tin Cans and a Length of String" may sound like a shout-along celebration, but it's about the preciousness of connection in the face of illness. ("I remember the day the spot was found/the kids moved back just to help us out/You held yourself with such dignity"). This and other songs on the album make it clear that Marc Bianchi has lost someone recently, a parent or grandparent. They are warm, wonderful songs about loving and saying goodbye.

More

“Sleepy Tigers”
http://dailyrindblog.com/audio/herspaceholiday_sleepytigers.mp3

Her Space Holiday…or Emma Blowgun rides again

Spent the morning on a first go-through of Her Space Holiday’s XOXO, Panda and the New Kid Revival, which is very fine, mildly psychedelic pop. My only beef, and it’s not really a beef when you think about it, is that it sounds so much like Heartstrings-era Beulah. But what the hell, I like Beulah, and I’m enjoying this. Try it yourself, okay?

“Sleepy Tigers”


Also having a very superficial flirtation with Dead Confederate, whose Dixie rocking, psych-tripping album Wrecking Ball comes out today on The Artists Organization.

Here’s “The Rat" which I like a lot.