Today's Hotness: LoveLikeFire, The Answering Machine

>> In the context of this publication, anyway, LoveLikeFire has wanted for attention. This is in large part due to our deep affinity for the San Francisco dream-pop quartet's labelmates, the ace British indie pop outfit The Answering Machine. In our minds LoveLikeFire has to date existed as "The Band That Is Not The Answering Machine On Heist Or Hit." To be sure, that wouldn't be the case had we connected with LoveLikeFire's first record, 2009's Tear Ourselves Away, which we did not for some reason. Things have changed, however, as we've been streaming a lot LoveLikeFire's forthcoming sophomore set Dust and it is tops: a wonderful, reverby record of guitar pop with strong female vocals out front that in places owes as great a debt to mid '80s Cure as it does to its scene contemporaries. In between the first and second record there were some major personnel changes for the band, and a new approach to recording (the new collection was produced by drummer David Farrell), and LoveLikeFire's updated approach is substantially more appealing to us. You can stream the entire collection below, and we recommend that you do just that. Dust was released digitally in the U.S. Oct. 26; it wil be released in the UK Nov. 22.

Dust by LoveLikeFire by HeistOrHit

>> Since we've already name-dropped The Answering Machine twice above, let's just go there. The Manchester, England-based foursome (five, if you count new "touring member" Luke Bellis) has posted to its web site a terrific, electropop remix of its recent single "Animals." The production is very mid-oughts Morr Music: chiming tones, delicate but occasionally busy rhythms. The synth-led, '80s roller rink pop-referencing original version of "Animals" is compelling, but we missed the guitars, and the remix -- posted below -- goes to the logical solution, namely that "if we're not going to give you guitars, let's just go to the complete opposite end of the spectrum." With thrilling results, in our opinion. The remix also is in a different key and touts re-recorded vocals, and the overall effect emphasizes a pronounced feeling of regret not nearly as palpable in the original. Have a listen below, and check out a video Gemma Answering Machine put together right here. The Answering Machine's sophomore full-length will be released in a number of territories (the phrase we've seen is "worldwide," but really, is the record going to be available in Myanmar? Ghana?) in early 2011, and it is called Lifeline.

The Answering Machine - Animals (The Answering Machine Remix)

Today's Hotness: Thunder Power, Answering Machine, Abbey Lounge

>> Keeping up with the Omaha/Saddle Creek indie rock scene seems complicated and difficult. Or at least it seems that way from a thousand miles away. So many projects, so much overlap in personnel, all of it makes our head spin, and as a result we don't really pay too much attention. However, there is a new EP out today titled Love Yourself released by an Omaha sextet called Thunder Power that certainly warrants consideration. The jewel of the EP's five fizzy pop tracks is "(Why Don't You Go) Take A Hike?" [video embedded above]. The light bounce of the tune -- the acoustic strummery of which reminds us of If You're Feeling Sinister-era Belle And Sebastian -- is counterbalanced by the weary, melancholy vocal of fronter Kacynna Tompsett. Ms. Tompsett's singing voice carries an unplaceable accent and is cradled in a close reverb on these recordings; combined those two things give her lyrics a timeless, yet otherworldly quality. Slumber Party Records, which is distributed by the aforementioned Saddle Creek, releases Thunder Power's Love Yourself EP today. The band already has another release in the pipeline in the form of a planned split EP Friend Ships, which also includes music from British singer-songwriter Alessi Laurent-Marke. That EP will be issued sometime this winter on Laurent-Marke's Zooey Records. Thunder Power was cool enough to allow us to post an MP3, so here is "Take A Hike."

Thunder Power -- "(Why Don't You Go) Take A Hike?" -- Love Yourself
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[buy the Love Yourself EP from Saddle Creek right here]

>> The Answering Machine will likely sign a record deal with the small indie Heist Or Hit, according to a recent blog post from fronter Martin. The fledgling label is based in either Ashford or Middlesex, England -- we don't really understand how British addresses work, we're afraid to admit. Or it is based in London, according to the label's MySpace hacienda. Heist Or Hit's only other signing at the moment appears to be San Francisco-based dream pop quartet LoveLikeFire. As we reported here last week, Manchester-based The Answering Machine is currently recording its debut full-length, whose title is Another City, Another Sorry.

>> We don't know much, but we do know that we are not happy that soon we will have to live in a world with no Abbey Lounge. We've seen a lot of great bands there over the years, including The Kickovers and Neptune and The Farmhands. Sadly, the club will close its doors Nov. 28. More at On The Download here.