Under the Quivers and Lines

Devin Davis - Giant Spiders. This being America, the land of Independence, we get our fair share of singer songwriters. Those folks that strike out alone, naming their band after themselves and keeping a band of revolving hired guns at their side. This being a review-based publication, we get inundated with such releases each day. With a stack of singer songwriter cds by my side, I'm not surprised that Devin Davis made it to the top of the pile. There's a couple reasons for this. For one thing, he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. And secondly, his album is extremely well made. All of the songs flow together effortlessly, with just the right levels of instrumentation and wit.

The song here, Giant Spiders, has this great Baba O'reily breakdown towards the end that keeps me coming back. It reminds of lots of things, like songs my dad used to listen to when I was little, in a roundabout way. While none of the songs are exceptional (aside maybe opener Iron Woman), the album as a whole is fantastic. Titled Lonely People of the World Unite!, the album isn't out yet, but you can preorder it directly from Devin.

Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Whirlwind (Haima's Remix).

No, I'm not really sure who Haima is. I'm assuming it's one of the bazillion members of Archicture in Helsinki. The band hails from Australia, and has released this limited edition single as a warm-up for their new album. It features four tracks, all of which are wildly different. The bassline on this track clearly made it the standout for me, but the others certainly have their merits. No one is really making music like this, but leave it to a gaggle of Aussies to lay it down first.

Also, the remix may not be the best indication of what they group is capable of. The music is extremely difficult to classify. It's sort of like the Polyphonic Spree with better technology and more wild sense of abandon, less strict sense of melody. This little cd is bananas, in a good way. However, being limited edition, there's only a few places to cop it. You can grab it here , and I'm sure a quick search will reveal even more places to pick it up. I believe most of the songs will be on their new album, in some form or another, eventually.