You Listen To Trash, But It’s My Rock And Roll

Howling Bells “Low Happening” – What is a “Low Happening”? As far as I can tell from this song, it’s when a bitter romance hits rock bottom, but then blasts its way down deeper with The Jackhammer Of Mutual Contempt. The guitars sound like bad weather, and the vocals convey soul and a delicate, wounded pride where a lesser singer would only get across anger and self-righteousness. Very impressive for a debut single. (Click here for the official Howling Bells site.)

Danielson “Bloodbook On The Half Shell” – Though nothing on it matches the unhinged, childlike glee of Danielson Famile highlights such as “Cutest Lil’ Dragon,” “Good News For The Puss-Pickers” and “Fathom The Nine Fruits Pie” (the latter of which could very well be the most joyous song that I have ever heard) , the restrained, decaffeinated version of the Danielson aesthetic presented on the forthcoming album Ships is not without its own charms. Much of “Bloodbook” unfolds at a slow, laid back pace that recalls some of Grant Lee Phillips’ best work, but Daniel Smith can’t hold back his impulse for manic reverie for long, so the song vacillates between the two extremes, resulting in a peculiar variation of the old alt-rock “soft to loud” formula. (Click here for the Danielson MySpace page.)