The Youngs, The Stares, Kneebody June 1, 2005

The Youngs are something like 20 Minute Loop if they got really high and found a big bag of talent. But that's a bad example. It's playful music with good songwriting. Reminds me of Bunky with female vocal styling somwehere between PJ Harvey and Alanis Morissette (I could come up with a better reference point if my memory worked right).

"The golden voiced Eryn Young sings and plays drums & samples simultaneously, with significant other Tim Young, the accomplished Seattle musician at her side playing guitar & bass pedals and singing simultaneously. It?s like two one-man-bands in one."

Try these:
The Last Migration
America
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The Stares are soft and sweet. The kind of stuff that would put most people to sleep, but most people need to be hit over the head to notice anything. They would love this if they knew.

"From Seattle, the Stares are a four piece with aforementioned vocalists/songwriters Drew and Angie on guitar and electric piano/keyboards respectively, and Don McGreevy on bass and Jason Merculief on drums. This ensemble is filled out with string and woodwind arrangements by Eyvind Kang, who authored along similar lines for the latest Blonde Redhead CD, Misery is a Butterfly."

Try these:
Forget the Souvenirs
123
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Kneebody features horns (trumpet & sax), woodwinds (flute & bassoon), keys (rhodes, piano), bass (upright & electric), and drums. Reminds me of Estradasphere's jazzier elements crossed with the John Scofield Band's super funky groove stylings from Uberjam and Up All Night, infused with a little jam a la Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. A rollicking good time. We need more of this shit.

"They've backed Ani DiFranco, Snoop Dogg and Jurassic 5. (Yes, this is jazz.) With members based in both New York and L.A., Kneebody knows a thing or two about reaching across divides. The band's self-titled debut bridges the gap between jazz, rock and hip-hop, stirring up a truly creative cauldron of new-millennial groove."

Try these:
Break Me
Never Remember
The Slip
Comedian into Wide-Eyed