7.11.2008

Friday Wrap :: Action Painters, Plastic Operator, Sparrow House, Broken West


It's been a long week and I appreciate you sticking it out. We've been a little short on new music around here (really, Bloc Party, Al Hammond and Airborne Toxic Event are good but you knew that.). So, we'll roll with a bunch of new stuff for Friday afternoon; a little news, some songs, and a few polite requests.

You remember Action Painters, right? We posted their song, "Supermarket" about a month ago and it straight up destroyed everyone. It was bouncy and will certainly anchor their new record due out in the fall. The band hasn't been sleeping. They're up for The Deli Magazine's Band of the Month. You can go here and vote for them. Last I checked, they were in an absolute dog-fight with Age Of Rockets. Let's make a difference and throw weight at this. Really, go vote. Right. Now. Also, they're playing the Bowery with another one of our favorite bands, Tigercity, on July 19th. If you're in New York, you really can't miss that. Look out for updates or just spin "Supermarket" again and remember why this matters.

Listen :: Action Painters - Supermarket

In other news, we've been spinning the shit out of this band Plastic Operator. They sound a little like Her Space Holiday but they've got harder edges than that. It's electro-pop with a few more organic elements thrown in and I guess you could say it's similar to The Postal Service or Mixtapes and Cellmates (the band that played about half a CMJ show). It's good and it'll storm it's way into your iPod without asking questions.

Listen ::
Plastic Operator - Home0207
Plastic Operator - Why Don't You
Plastic Operator - Peppermint

Sparrowhouse, the side project of Voxtrot jack-of-all trades Jared Van Fleet, has some new material out. It's predictably quiet and predictably weird. I was laying bed yesterday feeling sorry for myself and I played this strange, looping, bird-chirping, floor-squeeking entry, "emptycage." I couldn't tell if it was awesome or awful. It's both peaceful and foreboding. It's a rather simple, breathy organ progression but there's something haunting about it. Van Fleet and I are facebook friends and it doesn't get any weirder than that.

Listen :: Sparrowhouse - emptycage and off the last EP :: Sparrowhouse - When I Am Gone

Finally, we're going to send you over to The Indie Music Filter for a new song by The Broken West. I sent the mp3 to a friend yesterday and she said, "it's a little regular. I got nothing from it but a well constructed pop song." At some point this became negative. And on some levels, I agree, there isn't much complicated happening here. But, if well-constructed pop songs have gone out of style, we should all turn in our headphones and quit. I will admit, the opening 30-seconds are the best. It kind of levels off after that.

Listen :: The Broken West - Perfect Games (courtesy of The Indie Music Filter, a great blog besides this one)

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