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Bird
Song
A&R
by Velvet Crush drummer, Action Musik founder, Reaction
partner Ric Menck.
"I guess what I set out to do with the label
was rather typical -- find and put out exciting records
by contemporary bands who are, for one reason or another,
having trouble finding an outlet for their music. In
my travels I meet lots of musicians and see lots of
bands. Occasionally someone will give me a CD and ask
me what I think. A lot of times I'll think it's great
and dream about putting it out. With Birdsong there
is an outlet for the music to be heard." –
Ric Menck, Bird Song Recordings |
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Ben
Forrest Davis - Roughs
BSCD105/Stereo
CD / Regular
Price
$12.00 
Nationwide
Release: Oct 16, 2007
Listen:
Wide Open •
Half
• Lay
Down
Nationwide
release of Roughs for former drummer and founding
member of the Los Angeles rock band Sugarcult. Here, Ben's
doing his very own laid-back singer-songwriter thing,
very different from Sugarcult, but not so far afield from
orch-popping Parasol faves like Kevin Tihista's Red Terror,
June & The Exit Wounds, The Velvet Crush, etc. |
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Camp
Burlesque - OST
BSCD104/Stereo
CD+DVD / Regular
Price
$14.00
Nationwide
Release: Oct 16, 2007
Listen: Velvet
Crush "The Thing That You Do (To Me)"
Featuring
songs and performances by Matthew Sweet, Velvet Crush,
Dave Alvin, Big Sandy, Peter Case, John Doe, Rick Vito,
Tito & Tarantula, The Cruzados (featuring Bob
Dylan), the Martini Kings, and many more. DVD
is the original [R]-rated documentary chockfulla post-modern
burlesque babes! |
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The
Now People- The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair
BSCD103/Stereo
CD / Regular
Price $12.00
Listen:
Something
Happened •
The
Last Great 20th Century Love Affair
After
three years in suspended animation, The Now People have
arrived with 12 diverse and meticulously crafted gems
from a baroque pop netherworld. Recorded at the Wondermints’
Studio Thru Inner Space, the debut album from The Now
People challenges the listener to draw comparisons.
They are simply like no other, now or since. To
everything there is a season, and the season of The
Now People is upon us. The Now People is a vocal and
instrumental quartet consisting of Steve Stanley (guitar,
keyboards and leading vocals), Alan "Ruby"
Rubens (keyboards, bass and vocals), Probyn Gregory
(horns and other exotic instruments, also in the Brian
Wilson band, Wondermints) and Nelson Bragg (drums and
percussion) also in the Brian Wilson band. Together,
these four gentlemen are carving out a unique sound
that has been described as "sonically balanced,
totally integrated pop," marked by 60s-flavored
melodic hooks and memorable choruses with a contemporary
perspective. Although the band traces much of its influence
to the late monophonic era, their captivating harmonies
and inventive arrangements, punctuated by an expansive
use of major-seventh chords and smooth, hook-laden lyrics
are totally state of the art. Stanley, Rubens, Gregory
and Bragg are too knowing, too modern, to give in to
lame retreads of the past. |
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The
Quarter After - Self-Titled
BSCD101/Stereo
CD / Regular
Price $12.00
Listen:
Your
Side Is Mine
Debut long player from Los Angeles psychedelic pop mavens,
The Quarter After. With an obvious love for the classic
sounds of The Byrds and The Beatles they are similar in
style and content to the Brian Jonestown Massacre (if
and when they remember to take their prescription meds).
The Quarter After is in league with the New Paisley Underground
scene, along with The Tyde and Beachwood Sparks. Expect
soaring vocal harmonies confronted head on by a searing,
full-frontal guitar assault. Alternative Press described
The Quarter After as: “A fusion of dreamy ‘60s
folk-pop melodies, reminiscent of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield
and a few lesser known Sunset Strip bands”. |
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Snow
& Voices - Self-Titled
BSCD100/Stereo
CD
/ Regular
Price $12.00
Listen:
Goodnight
New York
The debut album from Snow & Voices, and the debut
for Velvet Crush/Action Musik dude Ric Menck's new Birdsong
imprint. Snow & Voices is a loosely knit amalgamation
of musicians who gather in support of singer/songwriter
Lauri Kranz, the voice and stylistic visionary behind
the project. Lauri's singing style is subtle and intimate,
yet still manages to convey waves of soulfulness and sensuality.
The music mixes electric and acoustic instruments, and
on this release favors piano and old analog synthesizers
over the guitar (although there certainly are guitars
on the record). The songs combine classic pop melodies
with a slightly darker psych-folk underbelly. Snow &
Voices fits nicely alongside the likes of Mazzy Star (or
anything to do with Hope Sandoval) Mia Doi Todd, Bebel
Gilberto, Beck's 'Sea Change', and even the likes of Travis,
Coldplay and Dido. |
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