Hip To Be Square

Three piece band's aren't normal creations among the indy world. Jazz has always been the style of music that would use this line up. Why, because usually the three musicians were confident in their ability to produce the sound that they were looking for.

But this trio, We Are Scientists (W.A.S.), comes from California. Their sound is as far removed from jazz as you can get and they look like they just stepped out of a hostel where they've gone a few weeks without a shower and no new clothes. They are now living in New York City - not a bad move - and plan on unleashing their fury onto the hip scene in the big apple.

So what do they sound like? Well, starting with the guitar, there are some hints of Radiohead inside the body of the melodies that they produce. The guitar melodies float in the background but are extremely important to the foundation of all the songs. Both the drums and the bass are played very aggresively throughout most of their 12 song LP coming out in mid-January.

I've never met these characters but they seem like they probably have a good sense of humor. The video for "The Great Escape" brings me to this conclusion.

Here are a few tracks for your listening pleasure. Make sure you check them out at your local music venue and to purchase their album, "With Love and Squalor", coming out in mid-January on Virgin Records.

Downloads:
Textbook
The Great Escape
No Body Move, Nobody Get Hurt

Since my last post was about a corporation, I thought it would be appropriate to start the next one off with another world dominating company - The Magnolia Electric Company. The CEO is a gentleman named Jason Molina. Jason is a native of the great state of Ohio.

He loves being able to skip around the major record labels and make just enough money to get by and still be able to play his music for a living. You can only purchase his music through Secretly Canadian. He's tough on people that steal his recorded music that took a lot of time to make and a lot of money to make. But he loves letting you steal his live shows. The live show is a different beast and should be heard by as many people as possible. You can download an entire live Magnolia Electric Company show, here.

I don't think I could agree any more and that's why I've posted only two of his songs instead of my usual three. In Jason's own words, "It is sad that for a band that sells records on an independent label, so many people try getting their feet wet by bootlegging us. It won't hurt Madonna, but I still buy her records if I want to hear them.

These two tracks are from the bands second album, What Comes After The Blues.

Download:

Northstar Blues
Leave The City