speed of dark

I am always thrilled to hear when we've found an artist just starting out, and then they begin to move up the ladder of success. It makes me feel kind of smug and validated, like, hey! I know what I'm talking about here! Let's catch up with two of them:

Hearts of Palm UK

Their name in lights! From left: Billy Kaye, Erica Elektra, and Frankie Rose

Last September, I introduced the fresh, light sound of Hearts of Palm UK in this post. At the time the band consisted of the two "dames," Erica Elektra and her childhood friend Frankie Rose (AKA Ambi D--glockenspiel, keyboard, percussion), who had just won prize money for best "undiscovered" female music talent in America in a contest sponsored by GenArt & Biore Skin Care. They used that prize money to hire Dan Horne to co-produce with Erica the album they wanted to make. In February, I saw them open for the Helio Sequence at Spaceland. They knew at that time they would be adding at least one new member.

Fast forward to this week, and Hearts of Palm UK has grown to a three-piece with the addition of Billy Kaye on cello, autoharp, keyboard. Furthermore, the little band has just been signed by Hypnote Recording Concern, and their full-length album titled For Life is set for release October 15. It was mastered by Henrik Jonsson, who seems like a perfect fit for their electronica-with-heart style, since his other clients include Peter Bjorn and John, Robyn, The Knife, The Concretes, Camera Obscura, and Lykke Li.

The cherry on top of the sundae is that they are headlining for the first time tonight at the Echo. What a long way to go in just one year! This is the brand-new, dressed-up-and-ready-for-anything version of "People and Logistics," which first appeared on their self-released EP.

Hearts of Palm UK: People and Logistics from For Life

MySpace | Website | Label: Hypnote
See also: Soundboard (formerly L.A. Buzz Bands)


Herman Jolly

A late addition to last night's show at the Echo was Little Pieces, the new project by Seattle's Herman Jolly (center in the photo below), who I featured here back in June 2007 when he had just released his second solo album, Bunker Life. Jolly has also been a member of Hazelwood Motel, who are a fine band too.

Little Pieces released their first album, self-titled, in June, a fine, solid bunch of rockers with the playfulness of XTC and Guided By Voices and the edge of the Pixies. It includes "Candy Stairs," which Jolly also recorded on his 2007 solo album Bunker Life. I wish I could be at the Echo both nights because I would like to see these two bands, but sometimes I can't do everything I'd like to do.


Hey guys, I hope you left those jackets at home

Little Pieces: The Skier from Little Pieces (2008)
Herman Jolly: Candy Stairs from Bunker Life (2007)

MySpace | Website | Label: One Eleven Records
Buy at Amazon.com, iTunes