Today's Hotness: She, Sir, Deadbeat, The Radishes

>> [UPDATED: See End Of First Paragraph] If this photo (not the one above) is legitimate -- and we have no reason to believe otherwise -- then superlative Texas shoegazers She, Sir must have recently recorded a live session for Internet radio streamer WOXY.com. This is terrifically exciting because the band released in 2006 a seven-song set, Who Can't Say Yes, that was a flawless concoction of sounds made famous (to us, anyway) by Ride and Lilys. As we reported here in January, She, Sir has been working on a new record titled Go Guitars with the assistance of producer Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky, Voxtrot). We inspected the WOXY Lounge Acts page and there is no indication of when the She, Sir session will be posted, but we'll keep our eyes on it. In other news, the band reports at its web site that it has been auditioning candidates to serve as a permanent rhythm section, replacing a rotating cast of players. Hopefully the move to a permanent lineup will result in some East Coast touring. In the meantime, enjoy the stellar lead track from Who Can't Say Yes. Update: so it turns out the picture linked above was in fact old, and the She, Sir WOXY session was recorded last year. We've added a direct link to an MP3 of the session below, and we're downloading it now to hear it.

She, Sir -- "I Love You, Blowtorch Eyes" -- Who Can't Say Yes
She, Sir -- 2007 WOXY Session
[right click and save as]
[buy Who Can't Say Yes from the band here]

>> We went to EMusic the other night to check out the newly acquired Rolling Stones offerings (oh how we love the live sets Get Yer Ya-Yas Out and Got Live If You Want It) and got sidetracked by the presence on the main page of a newish single from dub-influenced electronic music producer Deadbeat. We've had a thing for the Montreal-based act (actually one dood, Scott Monteith) ever since reviewing the set Something Borrowed, Something Blue for Junkmedia back in March 2004 [review here]. While the single "Eastward On To Mecca" was released by Wagon Repair/Zebralution, we associate Deadbeat with Stefan Betke's ~scape label, which has also released a number of Deadbeat recordings. It is interesting to note that while Betke's Pole project left us cold after the introduction of rapping into a series of EPs in 2005 (and the full-length Steingarten never completely fired our imagination, either), Deadbeat has stuck closer to the dub-influenced sounds that have been one of the more prominent hallmarks of the ~scape catalogue, and thus Deadbeat has also continued to move us with its grooves. If you are a fan, we highly recommend grabbing "Eastward On To Mecca" from EMusic here.

>> The title track to The Manhattan Love Suicides' recently issued, limited edition 7" EP Clusterf*ck is now streaming at Leeds-based Squirrel Records' MySpace cabin here. The band sounds even more like erstwhile Slumberland Records noise merchants Henry's Dress than ever before, and that is a good thing. The Manhattan Love Suicides' EP has four tracks in all, including "Detroit Diesel," "Burning Wire" and "Heat And Panic." So the obvious question now is, "will anybody sell me this thing as MP3s?" Well, let's have a look. Nope. But we bet if you watch EMusic it will eventually pop up here.

>> Readers may recall we reported here that L.A.-based rockers The Radishes would be giving away their forthcoming Strychnine EP for free prior to its April 15 release. Well the band has made good. Hit this link to download four straightforward hard rockers from the quartet. The title track seems to betray a love of taut, sludgy mid-'80s stoner metal, and the tune features a guitar solo courtesy of former MC-5 man Wayne Kramer. The set also includes a slow-burning psyched out cover of the John Lennon cut, "I Found Out," which the deceased Beatle issued on his John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band LP in 1970. We ranted about The Radishes blistering rocker "Hook Me Up" here in November.

>> We were curious about references made to the band Lump when we saw pop-punkers Varsity Drag earlier this year [review], and after corresponding with Lisa Drag and poking around on the Interweb we got turned onto the recently resuscitated '90s indie rockers. For all the guitar distortion and '90s nostalgia you're looking for, look no further than this recently posted video for Lump's rocker "Thirteen." The clip was apparently cobbled together by film students during the band's heyday in and around Lump's Fitchburg, Mass. stomping grounds.