MV & EE |
It was only a matter of time before Thurston Moore dipped into a little freak folk. And from the sound of it, he intends to use his Ecstatic Peace label to dive headlong into psychedelic-infused oddball pop like that of MV & EE (a/k/a Matt Valentine and Erika Elder). He’s got MV & EE with the Bummer Road coming out January 23, and let’s just say that the all the freak folks out there were so excited that Thurston had to put a couple of downloads up to whet their appetites. Meanwhile, All Tomorrow’s Parties’ “Nightmare Before Christmas” Festival in England seems to have left Deerhoof in a good mood: not only have they given free access to one of the tunes from their new MP3-only EP but they even recorded a version of a holiday classic for their fans. Better late than never, right?
MV & EE, “East Mountain Joint”
Don’t get me wrong, but this is way more hippie than any of the hippie music the hippie kids in college I knew listened to. Which maybe makes it punk in some sort way, shape, or form. With J Mascis playing mellotron, and all kinds of fuzz guitar floating in and out of the twisted mix of acoustic picking, it’s giving me flashbacks of Royal Trux. So it must be punk.
MV & EE, “Canned Happiness”
Just take a simple three-chord blues progression, play it over and over and over for six-plus minutes with trashcan drums, lazy guitar soloing, and what sounds like a tape being run backward, and, well, I guess that’s some people’s idea of canning happiness. Remember, “You can’t pay the rent with happiness.” Then again, it sure feels good once you’ve paid it.
Deerhoof, “+81”
With horns blasting, guitars growling, and girly vocals whispering sweet somethings, this is like lo-fi prog-rock with punk roots and a nice melodic bridge. Nice enough that you might want to buy the whole EP once you’ve checked this tune out at the Kill Rock Stars site.
Deerhoof, “Little Drummer Boy”
Sure, it’s just a goof. But Deerhoof play it straight, and Japanese vocalist/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki brings a pleasantly ridiculous edge to a tune we all heard way too often over the past couple of months.
