speed of dark

The heatwave has blessedly relented, but that is no reason for the music to cool down. Here are more hot-weather tunes for your weekend.

Jon Spencer (Yes, that Jon Spencer, of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) goes retro on this smokin' rockabilly number.
Heavy Trash: Kissy Baby from Going Way Out With Heavy Trash (2007)
MySpace | Website | Label: Yep Roc Records
Buy at Yep Roc, Amazon, and eMusic


If you liked the Lilofee song I posted in Monday's Hot Summer Nights mix, then here is another one with lots of attitude! So Katy Perry kissed a girl? Big deal!

Hey mister, hey mister
I kissed your kid sister
Watcha gonna do?
Watcha gonna do?

Lilofee are currently mixing their first full-length album, to be titled The Only Years, due for release at the end of this summer.
Lilofee: Lock and Key
MySpace | Buy: direct from Lilofee
Photo: Kimi Recor of Lilofee


When I first heard this song by State Bird, I scribbled a note to myself: "Get more." The ukelele and accordion at the beginning make you think of Beirut. And then something totally unexpected starts happening: a hot horn section starts twining around a sinuous Far Eastern melody. Folk, country, and totally tribal.
State Bird: The Golden Glowing Mask from Mostly Ghostly (2008)
MySpace | Website | Label: The Record Machine
Buy Direct from State Bird, The Record Store Merch, Amazon, and eMusic


Oliver and Chris Wood, the Wood Brothers, may be considered country, but in truth they can't be pinned down to one style. Folk-blues "Walkaway" is like a nice stroll in the shade. Try also acoustic-flavored "Postcard From Hell," while "Pray Enough" is electric blues-soul that will remind you of Dr. John. This album also includes a duet with Amos Lee on Lee's "Angel."
The Wood Brothers: Walkaway from Loaded (2008)
MySpace | Website | Label: Blue Note Records
Buy: iTunes and Amazon


Lucy Michelle sounds a little like Billy Holiday and a little like Maria Muldaur in "Osbick Bird," a song from a poem by Edward Gorey. She and her Twin Cities band the Velvet Lapelles have just celebrated a CD release party for their first album Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes. It will be available in stores around Minneapolis, and hopefully the rest of us will find it on iTunes soon.
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles: Osbick Bird from Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes (2008)
MySpace | Label: Unsigned--snap her up!


Bronwen Exeter's vocals give a little Bebel Gilberto flavor to Science For Girls' "14 Days." Although the lyrics mention rainy September, I can also imagine a gentle samba on the beach under palm trees and stars. A perfect ending to a hot summer night.

Never a dull moment
Life is a game of chance,
Wrinkly and inconvenient...
And even the stars are alive
Even the stars at night
Even a star like you can be looking for something

Science For Girls: 14 Days from Science For Girls (2007)
MySpace | Buy: eMusic