New, this week only (?): The Friday Five!

Don't look for this to become a regular thing or anything, since the last thing I need around here is structure, but I thought it would be fun to kick off the weekend with five tunes I've been enjoying that (for the most part) you probably haven't heard yet.

I've decided to go from quiet beauty to grand noise, so if you feel like playing the songs in the order they're presented prepare yourself for a nice little crescendo. So let's get this going.

Our first selection is from Butterfly Child, Joe Cassidy's pre-Assassins project. The beautiful melodies buried underneath the sonic squall of most of Assassins' tunes comes to the fore in Butterfly Child. I almost think Joe was a little too ahead of his time since this orch-pop stuff didn't really take off until after he had already started to cool the jets on Butterfly Child. He still appears around town in the BC guise from time to time, but those appearances are too few and far between.

Butterfly Child "Drunk On Beauty"
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The Mugs are from Brooklyn, but don't hold that against them. They came to my attention when their bassist and I had an email exchange over the calamitous ubiquity of the whole NYC blogger-music publicist circle jerk that seemed to hurt the few bands they championed while ignoring many more just as deserving (if not more so) of attention.

Whatever, story of the world, right?

Anyway, the bassist invited me to check them out when they were in Chicago a few weeks ago and I decided to give the band a look-see. I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't really knocked out, but I did find their tunes to be enjoyable and just quirky enough to keep my attention. Bonus points were awarded for the bassist's aerobic workout (literally running in place and doing the Ringwald ... you have to see it to believe it) and the singer's adoption of the house piano at The Hideout for a few tunes. Spontaneity always scores high with me, and these jumped into their set with both feet without so much as testing the water.

The Mugs "Frank"
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I feel the need for full disclosure at this point, and must let you know the next artist, Eric Metronome, is on the donewaiting affiliated record label, Sunken Treasure Records. Honest, though, that didn't color my perceptions of his debut. To be honest, at times I feel the album veers into territory a little too precious for my tastes, but anyone who likes earlier Elliot Smith will love You Should be Happy.

I've always enjoyed E. Smith, just never really adored him like most.

I'm off topic.

This little tune, "Call It A Day," deserves to become ubiquitous on some quirky car commercial or Nike ad. You may think that sounds more like an insult, or the suggestion of indie sell-out, but to that I say; Can you name me a popular medium in which adventurous and entertaining music is getting broader exposure?

I didn't think so.

(Pssst ... if you happen to be near Columbus, OH this weekend, Mr. Metronome will be playing his actual CD release show tomorrow night at Little Brother's, so check out what the man sounds like in a full rock and/or roll configuration.)

Eric Metronome "Call It A Day"
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We're getting noisier, and we're entering a territory, female singers in rock bands, that it's well known I particularly like. The Duke Spirit's Liela Moss has a voice that's gutsy, inhabiting a lower range than most female vocalist's, while still keeping a certain sweetness around the perimeter of her delivery. Her closest think to a yank counterpart would be Erika Wennerstrom of The Heartless Bastards. However, while The Bastards mine a definite Midwestern brand of rock, The Duke Spirit injects a healthy dose of pop into a smear of shoegaze guitars and pounding drums.

Sexy walls of noise with self-assured swagger and sway...

What's not to love?

The Duke Spirit "Cuts Across The Land"
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Finally, we have a band that, unlike the previous four, I haven't been able to shut up about lately. I finally saw Earl Greyhound play at Double Door earlier this week and they were just as blisteringly entertaining a live act as I'd hoped they'd be. The one thing the album hints at, but the live show drives home, is that the band's secret weapon is drummer Ricc Sheridan. Sheridan comes across as John Bonham crossed with every drummer Jimi Hendrix ever jammed with.

The dude just fucking slams.

What I hadn't realized until that night, though, is that bassist / vocalist Kamara Thomas is a Chicago native! Had I known that I would have mentioned it in my Chicagoist piece on the band. No matter, listen to "back And Forth" and tell me that it doesn't make you fall in love (if even just a little bit) with Earl Greyhound.

Earl Greyhound "Back And Forth"
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And that's it for the week! I've got a pretty quiet weekend planned in advance of next week's hectic beehive of activity (Lily Allen, The Killers, DJing with Chatman, birthdays, art openings, The Changes CD release show, etcetera etcetera) so everyone take it easy with me, throw some headphones on, and let me know what you think of today's tunes.