SOUND BETS

MPFree: Prints, Crystal Stilts, Chandeliers, The Silent Years, Obi Best

Christopher Porter's inbox is inundated with MP3s, and the sheer amount can be overwhelming — and disheartening, at least when you listen to a half-dozen terrible songs in a row. But Porter held his nose and opened his ears and picked five recent (and legal) MP3s for your downloading pleasure. PC users: right click on the song title and "save as" to download; Mac folks: click and hold on the song title, then "save as."

Prints courtesy Temporary Residence
BAND: Prints
SONG/ALBUM: "Yippy" | "Just Thoughts" EP (Temporary Residence)
SOUNDS LIKE: Slow groove electronic pop with high, spirited crooning
D.C. BOUND: I don't think so, Bucky.
GET MORE: MySpace | Label | Label Wiki

Crystal Stilts courtesy Crystal Stilts
BAND: Crystal Stilts
SONG/ALBUM: "Crystal Stilts" | "Alight of Night" (out Oct. 28 on Slumberland … natch)
SOUNDS LIKE: Silver Spring circa 1990 (Black Tambourine); London circa 1986 (The Jesus and Mary Chain)
D.C. BOUND: Aug. 13, DC9, along with fellow minimalist reverb-noise-pop enthusiasts Vivian Girls
GET MORE: MySpace | Label | Label Wiki


Chandeliers courtesy Chandeliers
BAND: Chandeliers
SONG/ALBUM: "Mr. Electric" | "The Thrush" (out Oct. 14 on Obey Your Brain)
SOUNDS LIKE: Electronic art funk (so sayeth the press release, and I agree-eth); a lost instrumental B-side from an early Human League remix of Kraftwerk
D.C. BOUND: I don't think so, Carly.
GET MORE: Web site | MySpace | Label

The Silent Years courtesy Cornerstone Promotion
BAND: The Silent Years
SONG/ALBUM: "Black Hole" | "The Globe" (out Aug. 12 on Defend Music)
SOUNDS LIKE: The PR sheet mentions Elliot Smith, Tim Buckley and Flaming Lips, but I'm hearing some other artist or band whose name is escaping my "Pithy MPFree Descriptive Generator." Who do you think they sound like?
D.C. BOUND: Aug. 26, Black Cat
GET MORE: Web site | MySpace | Label

Obi Best courtesy Girlie Action
BAND: Obi Best
SONG/ALBUM: "Northing Can Come Between Us" | "Capades" (out Aug. 25 on Social Science Recordings)
SOUNDS LIKE: Nellie McKay with the oaky afterbirth of electronica; singer Alex Lilly also does background vox for The Bird and The Bee.
D.C. BOUND: I don't think so, Snarly.
GET MORE: MySpace | P.R. site | Label

Photo credits: Prints courtesy Temporary Residence; Crystal Stilts courtesy Crystal Stilts; Chandeliers courtesy Chandeliers; The Silent Years courtesy Cornerstone Promotion; Obi Best courtesy Girlie Action

ALSO IN SOUND BETS
COMMENTS (2)

  • Hi, I just wondered -- are you ever thinking of turning this into a podcast? Because I would l-o-v-e LOVE that! Maybe you could get a computerized voice to read the blog entries and then intersperse it with the songs.

    Thanks for MPFree!

    By podcast lover , Posted August 6, 2008 4:57 PM

  • That's a good idea, especially since I already sound like a robot. A really nasally, weaselly robot, but still -- a robot.

    By CP , Posted August 7, 2008 3:45 PM
POST A COMMENT
All comments on Express' blogs will be screened for appropriateness, spam and topic relevance, so there is likely to be a delay before your comment is displayed. Thanks for your patience.
Remember personal info?
(you may use HTML tags for style)