hump day toon check

willowz - s/t: The red-headed step child of 'garage rock' ushers in the underlooked realm of 'carport' or perhaps even 'dirt driveway rock'. Clocking in at around 20 minutes, this release is an easier swallow than last year's sprawling, TalkInCircles. Here we are privy to a shotgun wedding between the white stripes and moldy peaches.

devotchka - Curse Your Little Heart: A six song EP from a denver band to watch. Kind of like slovakian goth music. This is a pleasant little surprise to tide us over until the next studio affair. Covers of Baldo Rex, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Frank Sinatra, and Velvet Underground, rounded out with the the original title track and the traditional 'El Zopilote Mojado'.

yo la tengo - Is Murdering the Classics: Ouch, they sure are! A collection of live covers originally played on air during the annual WFMU fundraiser from 1996-2003. Basically a donor makes a request and yo la plays it. They don't seem to necessarily know how to play all the requests, however, and are pretty much winging it throughout. Released through their website to keep die-hard fans occupied until their next studio project, they're quite honest about its relative crudeness - "It's dreadful. No song titles will be provided, don't ask. Beautiful cover art by Adrian Tomine. Order at your own risk. No refunds." (check the comments for track listing)

maritime - We, the Vehicles: I wondered were davey von went. Last I recalled he did some backing vocals on a jimmy eat world tune that received commercial radio play. I kind of gave up on the promise ring after wood/water did not live up to my post Very Emergency expectations. Having seen their energetic performance at the echo lounge that same year, the three year wait for a slow & mopier than usual album was disappointing. Well, here he is returning with one of the other members from the ashes of PR and the bassist from the also sadly deceased dismemberment plan. The result is much like the ennui imposed by wood/water. Gone are the peppier and seemingly heartfelt days of yore, leaving us with this unfortunately vapid replacement.

ween - Dirty Money (single track): I've said it before, and I'll say it again. These guys could shit on a plate and I'd put it on the turntable for a spin, even if it gets messy. I'm not sure where this track came from, or where it may end up, but it parades around their prince-ish funk fixation quite mirawkulously (oh yes I did).