May 22, 2011

Today's Hotness: The Answering Machine, Christie Front Drive

The Answering Machine
>> The news is going stale at this point, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mark the passing of beloved indie-pop luminaries The Answering Machine. The Manchester, England-based foursome posted a handwritten letter to its web site Monday morning disclosing that -- after six years -- its members have ceased making music collectively and under the The Answering Machine brand name. A vinyl release of the band's recently issued sophomore set Lifeline [review here] -- previously rumored to be announced this spring -- will now be realized as a posthumous release as a thanks to fans. When we saw the note first thing Monday we were startled, but the news also placed Lifeline in an interesting perspective. On the whole, the set's tone and tenor was resigned and sometimes sad, and you have to wonder if thoughts about the future of the band were already crystalizing during the recording sessions. Either way, Lifeline's introspective tone was far removed from the scritchy, exuberant and wide-eyed guitar pop of the band's cracking full-length debut Another City, Another Sorry [review here]. Both are great albums, of course, and we encourage you to obtain them if you have to this point disregarded our prior exhortations. The Answering Machine, we salute you. We are sad to see you go, and we look forward to any new musics your various components create. Let's feel the face-melting title track to Another City, Another Sorry together one more time, shall we?

The Answering Machine - Another City, Another Sorry by HeistOrHit

>> It's an odd coincidence that fewer than 12 hours after we were cuing up the amazing Boys Life/Christie Front Drive split 10" -- and posting a video for one of the songs to Facebook -- we encountered news at BrooklynVegan that Christie Front Drive will reunite for at least one show, which show will take place in July in Brooklyn to celebrate Magic Bullet Records' reissuing of the Christie Front Drive discography. The Denver-based quartet previously reunited for a single show in 2007 after initially shuffling off this mortal coil in 1997. If you don't own this record (released on the legendary Crank! label), well, then we feel really, really bad for you.

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