She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke

Garnering their deserved share of blogosphere buzz these days is Seattle band, The Dutchess & The Duke. Following up their acclaimed 2007 EP, they signed to Hardly Art and released She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke last month. Kimberly Morrison is the Dutchess and Jesse Lortz is the Duke, and together they craft folksy blues tunes with despair-riddled lyrics over a production full of crackles and pops that transport the listener to a wholly different time and place. Imagine a record store listening booth in late 1950s Paris, a restless teen getting his first taste of American rock music - when he drops the needle down on "Reservoir Park" his reality changes. Rock 'n' roll once had that power, and The Dutchess & The Duke have tapped into its current.

MP3: "Reservoir Park" (Stream)










Go get the album.


Be sure to check them out when they come through Chicago September 10th at Schubas.

Make friends and hear more @ www.myspace.com/thedutchessandtheduke.

-J2

Vampire Weekend Cover Fleetwood Mac

As further evidence espousing our theory of the inexorable influence of Fleetwood Mac, we present Exhibit B: Vampire Weekend cover Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere".
(via Pretty Much Amazing)



When will it end?

-J2

Next Big Thing Alert! Hum.V

Representing the Middle by way of Indianapolis (aka, Naptown) is Next Big Thing, Hum.V. Dropping his sophomore album One Verse @ A Time this week on iTunes, Hum.V (né, Greg Humrichouser) proves himself to be one of the great unsigned artists in the business. Getting his start some years back as the anchor to party hip-hoppers, the Cleptoz, Hum.V released his solo debut, Simple Man, last year to much acclaim (enough, in fact, that it remains a mystery why he remains unsigned), and even got some help from Chicago's own Rhymefest on "If I Had a Dollar". That album established him in the Indy music scene with his share of local radio play and high-energy live shows. Now Hum.V is poised to spread his word elsewhere, and One Verse should be the album allowing him to do so.

Today's hip-hop scene is in disarray, to say the least. With the industry transforming so rapidly, record labels seem to be utterly clueless as to what to promote unless Lil Wayne is involved. What's most unfortunate about this is that good quality hip-hop artists stay marginalized as underground. In Seattle, for example, acts like The Saturday Knights, Blue Scholars, and Common Market are kings of that underground. But without some help from the majors they'll be unlikely to break into the mainstream and subsequent millions. Despite the 2,200 miles separating the two, Hum.V would fit nicely into the Seattle scene. Both share an organic sound most easily labeled as 'Old School' and lyrics that possess a complexity and significance beyond money, hoes and rims again.

At essence, though, One Verse is a pop album, and Hum.V is (or should be) a pop star. A majority of the tracks feature the talents of friends, and the vocals from both Lynda Sayyah and Stacia Demos shine brightly. The impossibly catchy hooks of "Look In Your Eyes" and "Choices (In My Head)" both highlight their abilities. But Hum.V is the star most on display here. There is an intimacy to the lyrics that is extremely rare in hip-hop, as Hum.V opens the window into Greg Humrichouser frequently. "Little Things" and "Take Ya Back" are practically journal entries, but they work specifically because of how personal they are.

Don't get the wrong impression, though: Hum.V is no shoe-gazer. The rap star swagger never dissipates, and with the same ease that he rhymes his way through the slower jams he spits fire over the heavy beats. "U Can't See Me", "Get Back", and "Droppin' Knowledge" (featuring Sweet Eggz) are all filthy beats where Hum.V accelerates the lyrical content. On "Droppin' Knowledge":

I'm droppin' knowledge like a skydivin' Socrates
Take a listen get inside my philosophies
I'm not lucky so why try the lottery
Still this feelin' it's my time - it's gotta be

Check out a couple of tracks here, and go buy the album so this dude will get signed already.

"U Can't See Me" (feat. S.O.N.-One & Rusty)

"Droppin' Knowledge" (feat. Sweet Eggz)

Make friends @ www.myspace.com/humvmusic.

-J2

And We're Back!

Sorry for the lengthy hiatus, you loyal mC readers. Sincerest apologies and continued thanks for checking in. Time to get right back at it now....

For the first time in almost 30 years, David Byrne and Brian Eno have collaborated on a project. It released a day or so ago, and it's called Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. Oh, and it's beautiful. You can purchase the album in a variety of formats, download a free track ("Strange Overtones"), and/or stream the entire album (which we've embedded below). It's yet another innovative move that established artists are able to make to sidestep the standard record label protocols.



Enjoy.

-J2