December 9, 2007

Today's Hotness: The Answering Machine, Adrian Crowley,Ted Pauly

The Answering Machine
>> Manchester, England-based indie pop quartet The Answering Machine report here that it has been in the studio overnights recently demoing new material. No word on how and when we might be able to get our mitts on it, but with three singles under its belt, we expect the act is poised to release an EP or even full-length recording in 2008. The Answering Machine's third single, "Lightbulbs," was issued in the UK Nov. 5 on Regal. The first two singles, 2006's "Oklahoma" and the transcendent "Silent Hotels," are available for download at EMusic here. We expect it is only a matter of time before the digital music storefront will be offering "Lightsbulbs," as one of the editors over there is a huge fan of the band.

>> This Drowned In Sound item about Adrian Crowley caught our eye because five years ago almost to the day we reviewed the reissue of the Dubliner's debut A Strange Kind for SplendidEZine. We've never followed Mr. Crowley's career closely but one track from A Strange Kind has consistently beguiled us each time we listen to it. It is an ethereal, piano-anchored instrumental called "Trilogy," and we're posting an MP3 of it below. Crowley released his fourth record Long Distance Swimmer Nov. 15 on Tin Angel; his prior records -- including the sophomore set When You Are Here You Are Family recorded with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago -- were released on Ba Da Bing! and are available via EMusic here.

Adrian Crowley -- "Trilogy" -- A Strange Kind
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[buy Adrian Crowley records from Newbury Comics here]

>> Former Haywood fronter and current bedroom multitracker Ted Pauly has posted two new downloads to his Last.FM page here. The first is a new 76-second track called "Tomorrow I'm Starting Over," a basic acoustic guitar and vocal number with a bit of a twist: there are two, hard-panned vocal tracks that offer competing strategies for the new beginning. The narratives complement and occasionally overlap. It's clever. The second download is the "Laki F Megamix" of the previously posted (and issued in different form on the allegedly final final Haywood record) track "I'm All About Democracy." The gag here is that the "megamix" sounds like it is just the most-stripped version of the tune, with Mr. Pauly and acoustic guitar getting the job done with quiet determination. You can download both tracks at this link. Here's "Tomorrow I'm Starting Over."

Ted Pauly -- "Tomorrow I'm Starting Over" -- Bits, Bobs
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[MySpace dojo / Last.FM hangar]

>> Glaswegian indie rock trio Frightened Rabbit's holiday single "It's Christmas, So We'll Stop" is available for download at EMusic here, so make sure to grab it before you start burning those indie rock Christmas CDs for your mates.

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