Shenandoah Davis on Offtempo Records

Got this latest single in from Offtempo Records continuing their neverending mission of documenting the american Northwest underground. This single is from Shenandoah Davis from the Seattle area, and from looking at a lot of her releases she seems to be a ridiculously classically trained musician, combining that skilled sensibility with pop music, or vice versa. On top of being book smart, she was born with a seriously unique vocal ability...one of those almost scary musicians that you watch from a distance.
So it's no surprise that she's destroying me with this A-Side cover track, "Are You Devo?", as much as I have a knee jerk reaction against these sort of dramatic sitcom soundtrack moments (piano and heavy vocal) during a breakup scene, she won me over almost as immediately with this voice. I dont know the original track from Shelby Sifers, but Shenandoah sold me on this being her own emotionally. When someone is just born with vocals like this, it almost isn't fair. She's evolved beyond the normal voice, if you scientifically can't create a sound with your throat within this range than you're out of luck. To combine that talent with a handpicked track she's already trying to do some kind of justice to the sentiment, is a deadly combination for an A-Side.
Not only are the lyrics for "Are You Devo" are included on an insert (which in hindsight need to be consumed sober) But a huge personal note about how both of these tracks came into her own experience. It starts to almost reach that Kimya Dawson tipping point but just teeters here on the cliff, she even gets away with the red riding hood references, what can't she do after this? Where do feelings come from, I thought I was a robot.

The B-Side, "This is the Life" by Paleo is another cover of an artist I've never heard of, this one is slightly more upbeat, but will break hearts in a different way, you don't end up in the same place as the A-Side, and that's probably for the best, if you aren't used to it. Being able to be this naked, with only a thin sounding upright piano against this fluttery massive ranged vocal, she can pretty much do anything. It would be a real shame to overdress it with too much of a band. It doesn't ever become cabaret or too open mic singer. A real argument for the thing no ne can put their finger on that anyone can see in five seconds. The only thing holding back complete praise of this, is that now I want to know what music she is going to make, or if we have another Chan Marshall, capable of delivering established material, but apparently out of originals....cause I didn't come here for karaoke versions of old standards.

This effort, all the way down to the heavy stock silkscreened sleeve with a draw of ink splatter that ended up on the reverse and the insanely tiny block lettered, love letter to the discovery of these songs and the artists that created them. Just based on her choices in this entire package I'd take this relationship further. It's perfectly executed, two covers she is in love with and rightfully so, she wants to share them in this tiny intimate way, devoting a lot of energy to their presentation and recording, and it really shows. You will feel lucky to have this on vinyl, 5$ is a steal for this ultrahandmade object.

Listen to this on her Bandcamp page or check out the video below:

Shenandoah Davis "Two Cover Songs" 7" (promo) from Off Tempo (records) on Vimeo.

Team Gina - Sensual Seduction on Offtempo Records

This one I've been saving for a while, since I got this heavy cardstock single with what looked like layered spraypaint graphics of old boy band covers...the freaking work that must have gone into this packaging alone led me to believe this one was going to be really special. Not only that but there was sealed letter inside, after tearing into it this morning and reading a copy of a letter to Karl Blau from Clyde Peterson...I won't divulge exactly what's in the letter, you have to pick this up, but R. Stevie, Calvin Johnson and the Cars are mentioned...at first I thought Clyde was that weirdo producer who put together 98 degrees or something, and I'm reasonably sure this single is from an electro pop duo called Team Gina...but I'm not sure of anything at this point. It's a great mystery, and I have 25 tabs open trying to figure out who's involved in this exactly...on top of that I think Team Gina has called it quits and this might be the only single they ever released, which is a damn shame, this is completely in line with Ariel P and Luscious Jackson's long lost collaboration.

"Sensual Seduction" from the A-Side (pot leaf rubberstamps on the center label, further murk the waters of what exactly is going to be on this record) has more layers of dubbing than deciphering where this came from. A subtle buried cheap beat and synth rises out of the hiss and dolby r(s?)eduction and a deep up front male voice seductively says something in french? (nice) then soulfully breaks into a smooth chorus part. The mic is up close, it's a barely sung vocal, almost whispered, holding back the croon. This would be enough to set the scene for this reinterpretation of the '80s, capturing everything in spirit, but doing it in this contemporary no-fi way...and if you commit like this, the result is hilarious, and awesome..being able to pull this off...and then damn...the Gina's come in loud as hell, back and forth in the bedroom, no pop screen mic'd, rapping about all the ways they are going to seduce you...it's just plain funny as hell, and I almost did a spit take with my coffee...all over the turntable.

Baby let me tell you how im going to seduce you / its starts with funny videos on youtube / then I leave a message on your answering machine / telling you to pick a number one two three / lead you on a scavenger hunt all over seattle / its like choose your own adventure / I'm a maude to your harold

It's that fake sexy they really give in to, a trashy, kitch, glitter pants sexy....that actually exists, but these ladies know better. They're messing with the whole idea of seduction...and what about flipping the hustler script to this world where ladies are crushing hard, and out to get what they want. Is that why it's funny? No, they're putting together great ridiculous player lyrics, but the bigger concept is what they're obviously getting it. Maybe it shouldn't be so hilarious buddy.

The B-Side, "You Got It, The Right Stuff" starts with a Gina singing a capella in what has to be a cover of The Right Stuff. This version is slowed down and for the chorus there's a group of friends half singing oh oh ah oh oh, the right stuff....come on you know it. It's ridiculous that music during that period was so pervasive...into every part of your stupid adolescent life. You had no choice! We all know this song...how the hell did they do that? What kind of pay per play society do we live in to have something invade every high school dance? It makes me sick. I know Team Gina is singing this ironically...and what makes this maybe better than just earning a wink is they sound like they're half falling asleep...a sort of experiment to see if this song can still get to you if we really distort it into something else. You still know it. I think it's safe to say that no matter what you do to this song....it will never be good, and middle school will come rushing back in a bad way. Damn you Team Gina, you had me with the A-Side.

Get this sexy single from Offtempo records.

Iji - Bird-Man Movement Team EP on Offtempo Records

Got this single in the other day from Off Tempo Records, who say they're documenting underground music of the Pacific Northwest. I think I have to start a google earth plug in with all the labels like this, broken down by geographic region...Fort Lowell, Electric Cowbell, Super Secret Records, Nashville's Dead? I guess it would depend on if the label described themselves that way, not on where the bands were actually from....it's what singles do best, humbly document the micro movements of a local scene, better than anything.
The band on this clear green 7" is Iji, a music project of Zack Burba, who's collaborating of course, with a bunch of people on this recording and packaging. Friends hand stamped the center labels, spraypainted the inner white sleeve and probably stuffed all these in one drunken night. Songs were written about them, while they provide backup vocals and even played instruments...he's just one guy after all.

The first track, "Viber" gets into a pop tropical lounge feel, a little bit Ducktails and Tennis....the jangly brisk rhythm guitar, a slight reggae bass line, that early Crowded House sound of enjoying the experiment of these genre's that seem out of reach. The handmade touches don't stop with the packaging, the handclaps, a really alive sounding sax, all the way down to a flute breakdown. "Toony Loom" has a real Daniel Johnston feel to the raw live recording, Zack's warbly high register vocals against this rehearsal room slightly out of tune piano. All the things that make this recording sincere and unmanufactured...a precious commodity. There's no faking the warm sound of a livingroom, and people playing together instead of isolation booths...Zack's yelp when a chorus of friends join in, that's a real moment of excitement. Zack might have put this scene together, but it's still surprising to even him in the end....and clearly they were enjoying themselves. It's all coming through loud and clear on this.
It's mixed pretty quiet, so you'll want to turn this up, but that's what happens when you get the best take with a couple of room mics straight into the mixer. I wouldn't call it lo-fi, just DIY... that's a genre right? The sort of handmade record in every possible way where it's just a bonus it happens to be filled with honest, sunny pop songs.

The B-Side, "Wavy One", takes me back to Calvin Johnson's anti-pop sound, that rejecting the usual trappings of pop, not necessarily flying in the face of it or complete rejection, but deliberately not caring to follow the formula, the tired expectations. It doesn't follow a verse/chorus structure, Zack instead tends to stay loose and free form. In the liner notes he mentions a lot of this record is based around bass rhythms and that puts a lot of these pieces together, all the permutations of bass directions ending up driving these 4 tracks. "Whatever" rounds up the two week residency at the Funny Button in Seattle, this one throwing in all the kitchen sinks in a rolling carnival ride. It gets pretty epic and probably wraps up the experience, a little sad to leave, but a blow out while it lasted.

Get this one from Offtempo Records.