"She's coming after me, she's like a honeybee..."

Quick Blurbs about Friendly Rich, The Hoa-Hoa's & Krupke

Friendly Rich & The Lollipop People - Pictures At An Exhibition

To describe Friendly Rich Presents: Modest Mussgorsky's Pictures At An Exhibition as an eclectic piece of music is an incredible understatement. His personal reworking of the Russian composer's 1874 suite is as bizarre as it gets, sounding a little bit like the unique instrumental pairing of Frank Zappa and Pee Wee Herman. The project is ambitious for sure, but unlike Emerson Lake and Palmer's 1971 attempt at reworking this intense piece of music, Rich manages to draw out the whimsical elements hidden throughout the work, making this a surprisingly fun listen. His arrangement includes a who's who of guest musicians playing instruments as varied as the euphonium, harpsichord, penny whistle, harp and accordion, along with the standard drums, guitars and bass. The CD contains moments of solemnity (Bydlo), carnivalistic intensity (Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks) and beauty (The Great Gate of Kiev), as well as downright strangeness (Cum Mortis in Lingua Mortu) but it all works together in producing an interesting listen that is jarring yet enjoyable.

His live show has been known to include puppetry, cartoons, crank calls and more so if you're looking for something truly eclectic and new, you should attend the CD Release Party at The Tranzac on Saturday November 7th. The Hamilton Trading Company are opening.

Myspace: Friendly Rich
Video: Some bizarre footage of Friendly Rich @ Sneaky Dee's is on youtube.

The Hoa Hoa's - Pop/Drone/Pedals (early review!)

I've made no bones of the fact that dreamy psych-sters The Hoa Hoa's are one of the most underrated acts in the city, if not THE most underrated. I was going to sit on their P/D/P CD until it was officially released on December 1st but, like it's predecessor, it's one of those albums that you want everyone to listen to as soon as possible. Admittedly it doesn't deviate all that far from their debut in the sense that is still boasts a psychedelic fusion of shoegaze and 60's garage aesthetics, but I would say that the playing is a little bit tighter this time around, and the sounds are just a tad more varied. As the CD sweeps into the headphones, opening with a subtle guitar part, quickly accompanied by the steady shaker and a droney bassline, the percussion comes in with that unmistakenly thumpy early 90's Manchester beat, and The Hoa Hoa's once again blast off into the stratosphere with Postcards, which is a killer opening track. That momentum remains constant throughout the course of the album. There are moments of multi-layered shoegaze (Hey Joe, Wasting Time, Vinyl Ritchie), summer of love by way of Anton Newcombe cuts (Velocity (Downtown), Feels So Good Inside) and stunning occasions of mesmerizing beauty (Waves). The best song on the album to me is one that they've been apparently showcasing on the live stage for awhile now, called Grew Up On The Seeds, which is a tribute to the Sky Saxon led 60's garage band. It's notable to mention that the late Sky Saxon even joined them on stage for a live rendition of that song at this year's SXSW festival before his untimely passing on June 25th.

The underground psych-rock movement is noteworthy for many reasons, but the timeless nature of the quality music consistently put out by The Hoa Hoa's is certainly a major ingredient in this trippy sonic stew. The band will be celebrating the release of P/D/P on Optical Sounds at The Silver Dollar on December 4th. If you just can't wait till then, make sure you make it out to Rancho Relaxo tonight (Nov 6th) as they'll be sharing the stage with a whole slew of great psychedelic acts including Montreal's Postcards, Easy Targets and Volcano.

Myspace: The Hoa Hoa's
Video: New Years Eve Ball 2009 on youtube

Krupke - Slap Bracelet Release Party (November 13th)

Most of modern music these days can be lazily summed up into two basic categories: those that wholeheartedly pay homage to the past (which is what most bands do) and those that look forward to the future by creating something new. Now I realize that this statement is faulty in more ways than I care to articulate right now, but it seems to me that local band Krupke is at least putting forth a noble attempt at working towards the latter.

So far they've only put together a handful of songs (which can all be heard on their myspace page) but trying to lump these songs into a specific genre is not an easy task. The reason that I've chosen to promote them here so early on in their career is because their music is a perfect choice for those that like to be challenged when it comes to what is being fed to their musical palate. For example, their song Dirt and Culture starts out sounding like it's going to develop into a bit of a progressive jazz number, until the off-kilter vocal yelp kicks in, turning into a piece of music that is all over the place. The real surprise though is in the second half of the song where an actual melody starts to peek through and suddenly the very song that was initially impossible to follow is now actually stuck in my head. Weird. Waltz is a mellow number that is folksy yet slightly carnival-like in the sense that it tricks you into thinking that it's a relatively simple song until you really pay attention to its varied complexities. They also have a song called My Dearest Fergie, I'm So Sorry I Haven't Called But The Pony That You Always Wanted Died Today. Yah. With that song the band manages to cram an entire art rock tragi-comedy punk opera into a nifty little three and a half minute package which is exactly as daunting and delicious as you would imagine it to be.

Krupke is a band that demands a listener's full attention and admittedly, this may be a hard sell within the ADD driven world in which we live. Still, I think that if you're willing to put forth the effort, the payoff is worth it, and will continue to be even moreso as the band continues to solidify their sound. They don't yet have a CD to release, but they have released a limited edition personlized slap bracelet that they will be celebrating the release of on November 13th at Bread & Circus. Everyone who attends the show gets one. Opening for them are a few more of the city's finest, namely The Lovely Killbots, Ex~Po and B'mo Crazy.

Myspace: Krupke
Video: Krupke performing for minilogues on youtube