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January 30, 2007
toothbears: not quite as good as teddybears
Quick news: since I'm working on a different computer these days, I won't be able to directly host any music for a little while. Trying to figure out a solution though, hopefully one which doesn't involve clumsy Yousendit links (it may come to that, unfortunately).
Free Blood: a year and a half ago, I saw this name and a description somewhere (and that two members were from !!!), and started imagining the sounds this band would produce. I originally thought their music would follow along the lines of !!!'s, with long, guitar-driven jams, full of nice, dancey grooves, maybe a little more emphasis on electronic effects, etc. When I finally heard two of the songs ("Quick and Painful" and "Never Hear Surf Music") last year, I was astonished- Free Blood produce swampy, bass-rich, thick, percussion-heavy, sex-sweating pop songs. It's exactly the kind of music I had hoped for, and it matches up with every considered judgment I've ever had about what the term 'dance-punk' should actually designate. Free Blood work with the same sounds as Excepter, to some degree, but build their songs in a much different, more accessible way.
Anyway, fawning aside, this band has produced only a few, tantalizing songs, the newest of which is 'WDWD', which they put up on their website recently. 'WDWD' is a weird little song, with a beginning that's reminiscent of Alternative TV's 'Facing up to the Facts', distended piano chords ringing out through the foundation of the track, and Madeline and John's vocals doing their familiar back-and-forth. Lyrically, 'WDWD' is a bit of a change of pace for them- it's a semi-linear narrative that's got a nursery rhyme setting with some lascivious touches, then it takes a quick detour into John chanting a phone number (best vocalized digits hook since T. Tutone's "Jenny/867-5309"? Yes). The end of the song is the usual Free Blood bliss: wild bass, lusty voices, undeniable beats, comfortable fuzz.
Free Blood are playing two shows in the next few days. Tomorrow night they're at the North Six, in Brooklyn, playing at 9:00 p.m., and Thursday night, they're playing at 11:00 p.m. at the HIRO Ballroom in Manhattan.
Also, if you're interested, there's a nice video of the band playing at the Knitting Factory a few weeks ago (it sounds like the song is called 'Monster in/of the Basement').
Previously here and here, and go read Banana Nutrament's great interview with John Pugh.
Posted by Kevin at January 30, 2007 09:08 PM