Vibrations 19.3

These Vibrations and Weekly posts have been getting progressively "better," I think. That is, since I'm forced to sort through all this new music and stuff I read about, I really deliver "better" music than I used to, I think.
We'll start off with ... Hemstad. With a name like that, they've just gotta be from Scandinavia, right? They're actually from Sweden (I think), to be more precise, and they (a) don't sing because they lost their "ability to speak when we was [sic] twelve years old," and (b) consist of "five talented, sexy, vigorous, virile, exciting, adorable and sexy boys." I especially like their neat-o Swedish edgy design, but I also like their, uh ... music. Like Junior Senior, in that they're plenty of fun, but less obnoxious (sorry, Mr Junior, Mr Senior).

Hemstad - Patrik Sjöberg

is a four-piece based in Switzerland. Cool, huh? They're like a dark version of the Beach Boys, if the Beach Boys were more of a garage band. The vocalist sings like Paul Banks on fast forward or something. Very interesting.

Figurines - The Wonder
Figurines - Rivalry
Figurines - Divided By The Shore
Figurines - The Danger

Oh, cool! A Lawrence, Kansas band, White Whale. No -- honestly, for such a cool little college town, there should be more cool little indie bands comin' out of it! White Whale is a sort of experimental pop group ... accessible, but aloof (reverb? drumming style? wailing vocals? tinny keyboard?), and their singer reminds me of the guy from British Sea Power, a band I like quite a bit. Post-something-or-another, I'm sure ...

White Whale - What's An Ocean For?

Knife Skills' publicity shots remind me so much of something that Buffalo Daughter would have taken. The pictures were taken shortly after the threesome was released from a NYC mental institution they booked themselves into three years ago. Here's a good description of the group ...

Brooklyn band Knife Skills strike with nervy songs that feel like falling into a hidden pit in the jungle floor filled with sharpened stakes. While the daylight fades, you lay bleeding, your brow beads with malaria sweat, and the animals grow louder -- this could be your soundtrack.

Knife Skills - Debt to Evil (unmastered)
Knife Skills - Dr. Evil (unmastered)