Kevin is drunk someplace right now and not able to type straight, let alone bring you the jams, so he’s enlisted me to take care of y’all today. (Disclosurey stuff about me after said jam.)

The band I want to talk to you about today is probably my favorite band coming up in LA right now, The Parson Red Heads. The band, led by Evan Way, migrated down to LA from Oregon and have really come unto their own in the last year or so. They play great pop songs informed by CSNY, The Birds and that brand of jangly 60’s pop in general. They toss down pretty harmonies, catchy songs (I was hooked from my very first listen which is documented here), and a rhythm section that is out of control. Now, when I say out of control, I mean it in a few different ways, The first way, is obviously that they play well. A tambourine has never made you want to shake your hips more than when watching this band. No joke. There’s also the fact that the ladies of the Parson’s rhythm section are totally foxes. Yeah, like I said, out of control. If you get a chance to go see them, do it, but I warn you now, you will leave with a crush on the whole band. Songs like “Punctual as Usual” will also infect your head and you’ll find yourself singing it as you walk to your car (hey, it worked on me) or maybe even when you wake up in the morning the next day. Your chance to see them is quickly approaching as well, The Parson Red Heads will be playing a residency at LA’s The Echo every Monday in December for FREE. I’ll be there.

LA music blogs You Set The Scene and Passion of the Weiss both have recent posts on the Red Heads.

You should listen to the aforementioned song here but also go check the band’s official website for some more stuff.

The Parson Red Heads – Punctual As Usual

(In full disclosurey sort of stuff, this is kind of a total conflict of interest as I also promote records to So Much Silence now and again. Kevin is probably WAY too drunk to care though, I’m also telling you about it, so please don’t punch me in the face, okay? In further disclosurey stuff I am totally friends with The Parson Red Heads. Clearly, I think they are the shit. No, really, don’t hit me. The best thing for you to do is listen for yourself to see if I’m actually the hack that I’m semi-making myself out to be.)

So, Dodge posted Tuesday about Mazarin calling it quits, which upset me because I really dug into the group’s last LP, We’re Already There. Turns out, the band is actually being forced to change its name becaue of a cease and desist order by an attorney hired by another band called Mazarin, “often referred to as ‘Long Island musical legends’ ” (by whom I don’t know).

This from The Good Mazarin’s Web site, wherein “Mazarin A” refers to those “Long Island musical legends”:

Considering MAZARIN B had no disposable income to fight the case, plus information had come to light revealing that one of the members of MAZARIN A was in poor physical health, yet still paying his attorney some four hundred dollars an hour, all the while desperately soliciting donations for their legal and medical funds via their website, MAZARIN B and their management concluded the whole predicament was so sad and despairing that instead of dragging out a lengthy litigation, which they had neither the time nor money to commit to; fuck it. Clearly, the name is cursed.

And, really, how could The Good Mazarin win this one? I mean, Mazarin A “was awarded ‘Best Rock Band’ by Good Times Music Magazine 1982-1986” and “has shared the stage with the world’s top music acts and has performed thousands of shows in front of hundreds of thousands of loyal fans.” Good Times Music Magazine? Wow. What were the Walkmen thinking? They should have covered this Mazarin.

Sigh. This reminds me of the rapper Common, who went by the name Common Sense on his first two albums but was sued by a ska band nobody had heard of by the same name. Hence, Common.

Ah, well. The Good Mazarin is having a show (retirement party?) on Dec. 2 in Philadelphia to bid farewell to its name. I really hope they just change the name and keep playing. Garrison had asked me a few months ago if, looking back, there were any albums I wished I had put on my best-of list for 2005. We’re Already There definitely was my first choice.

As for music, The Good Mazarin is offering a new track, Your Advice, at its MySpace page.

Mazarin | Another One Goes By

Look, I think we should talk. Me and you. I just don’t want you to be surprised or alarmed if Baby Dayliner’s Critics Pass Away LP ends up on my best-of list for the year, OK? I know all the anonymous commenters will hate it. But I think you, you will understand. Have you heard the lounge-heavy beats? Or his voice, unapologetically romantic?

Baby Dayliner, who signs his checks Ethan Marunas, is streaming a new track at his MySpace page. It’s just as good as anything off Critics Pass Away. It’s called Dolemite, and it’s a rhythm junkie’s dream: big, splashy snare drums and hand claps. Hand claps! The rhythm is intricate, but it all stays on time until the chorus, when the tempo picks up under nostalgic strokes of what sounds like that Casio keyboard you got for Christmas that one year. (You know what I’m talking about.)

I’m serious. I won’t quit till you’re convinced.

Stream Dolemite here.

Or try this:

Baby Dayliner | At Least (via Brassland)

I’m a little late to the Catfish Haven bandwagon, and my introduction (literally) to the Chicago three-piece is a pretty funny story.

After the Cold War Kids show a couple weeks ago, we ended up at Casey Moore’s, a great (and rumored to be haunted) bar in Tempe where hipsters, frat boys and co-eds collide. I’d had a bit to drink but still was able to recognize the mutton chops of Catfish Haven’s Miguel Castillo. So on the way out, I played the “Hey, you’re in a band” card. “Catfish Haven, right?” He seemed genuinely excited to have been recognized (or maybe he was just drunk, too). So I chatted with the band about Chicago, the Bears and Palatine, my old home town in Illinois. They were playing Modified the next night, which I wasn’t gonna be able to attend. So I bought their latest CD, Tell Me, instead, right there in the parking lot, where their tour van was located. Besides, drummer Ryan Farnham was wearing a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt. Gotta love that.

I really had no idea what to expect from Tell Me because I’d never listened to Catfish Haven before. Was this gonna be another run-of-the-mill indie flyby? After my first listen, I was happy to know Catfish Haven is nothing of the sort. The retro-soul and commingling of blues and folk makes for a refreshing change of pace. This is the best type of album: full of hooks and grooves and, more important, concise. I love a band that can get to the point in four minutes or less.

Though I can’t quite pinpoint a comparison, Catfish Haven’s style recalls soul from a different generation, tunes better heard out of a jukebox than an iPod.

Catfish Haven | Crazy for Leaving

So, everyone’s favorite modern prog/art-rock group with the cumbersome band name (we’re not talking about Rush here) has a new single available for download on its MySpace from the forthcoming So Divided (out Nov. 14; pre-order from Insound and get a free 7″).

The guys in the group may or may not have leaked the albums themselves. Seems like a hoax, but who the hell knows anymore?

Anyway, Trail of Dead is scheduled to perform at Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Nov. 27 (same night as Mates of State/Asobi Seksu at Rhythm Room). Also, they’ll be making an in-store performance the same day at Hoodlum’s at Arizona State.

Wasted State of Mind seems like a great successor to the work on Worlds Apart, an album I enjoyed and seem to be in the minority with that opinion. Frantic bongo and piano lines open the track, giving way to Conrad Keely’s always epic/overwrought/pompous-sounding lyrics. And I love it. For reasons unknown, I make the helpless mental transition from this song to Dave Brubeck’s Take Five.

… Trail of Dead | Wasted State of Mind

DON’T FORGET: Enter the Calexico contest if you live in Arizona. Or if you don’t live in Arizona … um, move to Arizona because it’s like 85 degrees here right now. The Arizona Fall League is in full effect. And then you can enter the contest.

t’s about 2 a.m., too late to fully recap the Album Leaf show we just saw. I also recorded Badly Drawn Boy’s set from KCRW on Wednesday that I’ll post very soon.

Until then, I’ve been really into this track Fadeout (via Largehearted Boy) by +/- (aka Plus/Minus) from Let’s Build a Fire, coming out next week on Absolutely Kosher. Honestly, I don’t know much about this band, other than the trio is from New York and exists somewhere in that vast expanse between electronic and indie pop.

I enjoyed Fadeout enough to backtrack into the group’s catalog and pick up one of it previous albums, You Are Here, from eMusic. After a couple listens, I’d say the band most reminds me of Mobius Band. Fadeout is five wonderful minutes of push and pull, tension and release. At about the four-minute mark, the buildup finally boils over into a guitar-driven haven.

+/- is on tour with Irving, which includes a Nov. 14 stop at Modified in Phoenix.

Our homeboy Matt at Skatterbrain has all the dates and another track.

+/- | Fadeout

My copy of Elvis Perkins’ Ash Wednesday came yesterday from Insound – finally. I’d been waiting for what seemed an eternity. Seriously, you guys. This album is pretty amazing. I’d already been obsessed with the song While You Were Sleeping, and the rest of the album … well … sheesh. If I had one regret about missing the ACL Festival this year, it was missing Elvis’ set. I can’t help but be moved by lines like this (from It’s Only Me):

“It’s only me, it’s only me /
The sound of my heart /
That startled me.”

But then I do a little digging and find out he’s coming to Phoenix on Nov. 25 to Modified with Pernice Brothers. Problem: I think I’m gonna have to work. Um, cough, I think I’ll be sick. Or something.

The closest comparison I can come to Elvis Perkins’ lyrical clarity and how it moves me is what I feel when I listen to Richard Buckner. Perkins’ voice isn’t as husky and dominating as Buckner’s, but there’s a bit of a quiver, a vulnerability that pulls you in whatever direction it wants.

Elvis Perkins | While You Were Sleeping

Indie backlash is a bitch, ain’t it? I’ve been listening to the Cold War Kids’ full-length Robbers & Cowards this past week, and some small part of me feels like I should be apologetic for liking it. It’s that indie complex. But, you know what, eff that. I’m getting too grouchy to worry about that anymore.

Robbers & Cowards (Downtown) is comprised mostly of material from the group’s previous EPs, presumably under the theory of striking while the iron is hot. Who can blame ’em? Even if the writing is clunky at times – Still, things could be much worse / natural disasters, on the evening news – there’s at least an unflinching honesty to it. The music feels bluesy and loose, and it’s sometimes hard to reconcile singer Nathan Willett’s conversation-style singing within that context. But I see nothing wrong with pushing the issue of conventional song structures.

So, go ahead and hate. We’re still going to check them out tonight at the Clubhouse tonight. Which means possible pictures tomorrow.

Some media:

Mini-doc (by “mini” I mean 6 minutes): Oh, This Life.
(From CWK: “We put this film together to introduce ourselves to you, perhaps for the first time, and give you a glimpse of what we’ve been doing for the last two years; also to say thanks to those who have been with us since the beginning.”)

Video: Hang Me Up to Dry.
MP3: Cold War Kids | Hospital Beds

Related:
Cold War Kids, Dr. Dog, Elvis Perkins on KEXP.
Cold War Kids @ Daytrotter.