The Break and Repair Method, "Milk the Bee" (Bluhammock)
Hyped on: Rockdirt.com; Wildy's World; Keep It on the B-Side
Official site
MySpace
Who: Paul Doucette’s day job—he’s the rhythm guitarist and former drummer for Matchbox Twenty—doesn’t exactly lend him much indie cred. But while Rob Thomas was off recording “Lonely No More,” Doucette was holed up in various studios around the L.A. area, working with some serious indie-cred collaborators (Jellyfish’s Roger Manning, Veruca Salt’s Nina Gordon) on the first album from his solo project, the Break and Repair Method. The release of “Milk the Bee” was delayed by some label woes (Matchbox’s label, Atlantic, had signed Doucette to a solo deal, then dropped him during a wave of downsizing), but it finally arrived last month courtesy of indie label Bluhammock.
What: OK, the strident lead single “You Won’t Be Able to Be Sad” sounds like a Matchbox Twenty outtake. But on most of “Milk the Bee,” Doucette's songwriting is light-years ahead of Rob Thomas’ Top 40 fodder, with pop hooks couched in melancholy lyrics and tricky chord progressions that owe more to ‘80s jangle-pop icons like the Smiths (“I’m at a Low”) and Crowded House (“Calling All Electrical Prints”) than to Matchbox’s ‘90s alt-rock brethren. Doucette—who wisely never overreaches with his pleasantly raspy voice—saves his best one-two punch for last: you won’t hear two better piano-led tunes all year than the bouncily sardonic “Won’t Get Worse” and the mournful closer, “The Most Somebody Can Know.”
Made for: Aging Matchbox Twenty fans whose musical tastes have gotten a little more sophisticated over the years. Lovers of other keepers of the classic pop singer-songwriter flame (see also: Neil Finn, Jon Brion, Badly Drawn Boy, Aimee Mann).
X-Factor: Doucette’s wife, Moon Unit Zappa, sings backup vocals on the album—yes, the same chick who did that horrible novelty hit “Valley Girl” back in the ‘80s. Gag me with a spoon! – AH
Ladyhawke, "Ladyhawke" (Modular)
Hyped on: The Lemur Blog; Zeon's Music Blog
Official site
MySpace
Who: New Zealand’s Pip Brown, a 26-year-old New Zealander obsessed with cats, videogames and the pop music of the 1980s (think Phil Collins and Kim Wilde)—in short, every geek’s dream girl. Raised by musician parents, Brown plays almost all of the instruments on her songs herself. Her career kicked into overdrive when Peaches found her on MySpace and the pair collaborated; now she counts Courtney Love and Kylie Minogue among her fans.
What: Ladyhawke ignited the blogosphere almost immediately with her neon-soaked debut single “Back of the Van.” A shimmering new wave anthem loaded with luscious synthesizers and one of the catchiest choruses of the year, it plays like a long-lost gem plucked straight out of 1985. The follow-up single, “Paris Is Burning,” is the hit single Bananarama somehow forgot to record. There are many feel-good pop-tastic moments to be found on this self-titled full-length, most notably the single-worthy and vocoder-powered “Better Than Sunday.”
Made for: Anyone excited by the idea of Kim Wilde, Laura Branigan and Kim Carnes forming a super-group in 1985. Hipsters that are so over squelchy electro acts. Adolescent videogamers looking for their first girl-musician crush.
X-Factor: Ladyhawke recently admitted that she has Asperger’s syndrome, which among other things hinders social interaction. "When I found out, it explained my whole childhood,” she told the U.K. Guardian. “I told my mum and she said, ‘That's why you used to sit on the floor doing puzzles for hours!’” – STS
Johnny Foreigner, "Waited Up 'Til It Was Light" (Nettwerk)
Hyped on: The POP! Stereo; Drowned in Sound; Parasites & Sycophants
MySpace
Who: Is Birmingham the next London or Manchester? Johnny Foreigner, a good-looking indie rock trio from that not-so-pretty U.K. industrial town, recently released “Waited Up ‘Til It Was Light” here in the U.S. after receiving the usual Brit-rag hype (“The best new band in Britain right now,” says Rock Sound! “A record equally suited to the house party at the end of the world or the quiet moment before dawn when the planet is at its most beautiful,” says NME!).
What: JF tempers its noisy guitar antics with some sweet boy-girl vocals, hints of Bloc Party’s jagged pop and, with “The End and Everything After,” some excitable chants. And “Cranes and Cranes and Cranes and Cranes”…well, we’re not sure if distorted speed-pop is a genre, but that high-strung track makes it awfully hard to sit still. Oddly, the band’s charmingly lo-fi debut comes courtesy of noted metal producer Machine (Lamb of God, Clutch).
Made for: U.K music fans who believe the hype—and want to be right for once. People who think guys and gals should always sing together on every song. Those who want the energy of punk without the, um, punk.
X-Factor: Speaking of Bloc Party: BP recently remixed Johnny Foreigner’s single “Salt, Peppa and Spinderella.” And speaking of awesome song titles, here are a few other JF tunes: “Our Bipolar Friends,” “Yes! You Talk Too Fast” and “The Hidden Song at the End of the Record” (which is, in fact, the last song on the record). – KM
