the benefit of a media subscription service is the ability to side-step the traditional forms of distribution. a few years back netflix began their own Red Envelope distribution service, which picked up independent films and hyped them up on the website. it's a pretty great business model which serves the indie community well. so in the last few months our source has begun offering eMusic Selects; unreleased albums by unsigned bands. so far they've released 3 records and they occupy three of the five slots on the main page's "must haves" column. i'm sure emusic has a larger profit margin on these titles, and although they [probably] believe in the music, calling these records "must haves" is a little disingenuous. of course the butcher is going to tell you his prime cut came for his Holstein.
nevertheless i support the idea, and took them at their word when i picked up 03/07 – 09/07 from brooklyn duo High Places a few months back. i've rocked that record so many times it hurts. "If we never take the first step, we cannot go too far" from 'Jump In' has become my 2008 mantra.
so it came time to once again put my trust in the guiding benevolent hand of e* and pick up their other two acquisitions. I didn't preview the records, just clicked the download button. two very different records. where Breathe Owl Breathe has a patient country vibe Hands on Heads attacks like a Ritalin deprived monkey.
The Ghost Glacier EP opens with slow burner reminiscent of The National, but the following 7 tracks is where Breathe Owl Breathe get interesting. "Window" has a later-day David Byrne feel to it with its blend of violin, and xylophone.
The frontman sounds a bit like David Berman (Silver Jews) meets Jemaine Clement (especially on "Sabertooth Tiger")and has a good but forgettable voice. He's accompanied by a high tenored female vocalist throughout the record who adds enough interesting harmonies to levitate the lyrics.
The record is solid throughout, and upon the third listen the lyrics have invaded your head. I'm not sure if its a sign of a good record when it's immediately recognizable or so memorable. So I feel I could easily tire of the record, but for now it's as pleasant as an evening breeze.
Hands on Heads eponymous release on the other hand is a surf-shiv to your frontal cortex. If The Animals or ? and The Mysterians unleashed their inner Frank Zappa and increased their shouting five-fold, you'd be approaching the 12 songs that span 15 minutes. I hate to use comparisons like that as they always fall short. but i'd say e* is three for three in their selections.
[UPDATE] All FIVE albums in the "Must Haves" are on the eMusic Selects "label." c'mon guys, at least have a rotation of other records.
and for those keeping track, my 40 downloads this month total 80 minutes of music.
