Big thanks to Sludge Swamp for turning me on to this stuff. I was perusing their archives for some cool stuff to put on a mix CD for an upcoming BBQ, when I stumbled upon the psychedelic doom of Jex Thoth. Formerly known as Totem, the band takes its name from its beguiling frontwoman, who seems to have a bit of Grace Slick coursing through her veins (and God knows what else).

It’s nice to see how diverse the metal scene is getting, especially since that’s all I’ve been listening to lately, and I usually like to mix it up. This stuff is spacey, hypnotic but still has plenty of rock punch, and it doesn’t completely drag ass like a lot of doom you’ll hear. Jex Thoth releases albums on I Hate Records, which is out of Sweden (Jex Thoth hails from California), but unfortunately, their debut LP seems to have been delayed due to a printing error. With any luck, they’ll be able to fix that up soon.

With all the ballyhoo about Sub Pop’s 20th Anniversary, it’s nice to see one of the bands that made Sub Pop SUB POP are still around and doing well. Today, Synthesis Editor Ryan “Daddy” Prado handed me a copy of Mudhoney’s forthcoming album The Lucky Ones, and it’s pretty damn good. In fact, it sounds like something that would’ve been put out by the label 20 years ago. It’s fuzzy and sloppy and probably hasn’t even caught whiff of Pro-Tools.

Mudhoney’s previous two albums for Sub Pop, Since We’ve Become Translucent and Under a Billion Suns were much more expansive in sound and scope with both albums featuring songs that incorporated a horn section. Both albums were nice pieces of psychedelic hard rock, even if they didn’t garner much attention, but you won’t find much of that here. The Lucky Ones is just filthy Seattle grunge done by the guys who’d done it best. The album’s due in stores May 20th.

This is a bit atypical of the bands that we generally choose for Synthesis Band of the Day. No horn-rimmed glasses, waifish broads with ugly indie-rock haircuts, ‘roid-bicep hardcore meatheads, striped sweater wussies or epic Dungeons & Dragons progressive metalheads. No, Phredley brings the funk-rock.

In my fledgling college days, back when tie-dye wasn’t as vomitous and my roommate’s constant Phish-Grateful Dead-Phish musical rotation didn’t drive me completely bonkers, I would have broken my left leg to check out a band like Phredley. Now bad photoshop effects kinda irk me, patchouli oil makes me want to hurl and hippie funk in general just pisses me off. But not Phredley. They’s alright.

Based around a brother-sister duo (Phred Brown on Vocals, Guitar & Horns; Alesha Brown on Keys & Vocals) and a rhythm section (Paul Loos, Drums & Vocals; Samuel Tobias Winn, Bass & Vocals) Phredley lays down funk that is far closer to the heart of nearby Detroit than that of longhair revivalists in Colorado or Vermont. And when they stray toward the pop side of the spectrum, it comes across more as radio-friendly than looking for a parking lot miracle. More importantly (for me at least), their lyrics hold water. With the aforementioned hippie-funk enthusiasts, it’s most often the lyrics that drive me to enraged hysterics; Phredley uses some clever (or nearly clever) turns of phrase. No, Phred’s not Leonard Cohen by any means, but in a sometimes poppy, sometimes rocky funk quartet, it works. Their track “The Truth About Capricorns” also has some pretty, Beatelesque, tonally complex passages. If you’re a big fan of Ben Harper/Jack Johnson/Maroon 5, or your ’70s R&B records don’t have much dust on them, do yourself a favor and look into Phredley.

One of my shitty bands got the chance to share the stage yesterday with a couple slightly less shitty bands, the surprisingly badass Phantom Planet and a band I’d never really heard of called Takota. I don’t think anyone else had really heard of them either, but I get the feeling that’s about to change: they’re second disc, Just Before Morning is set to come out on Island Records later this year and if it’s anything like their live set, its gonna be filled with epic vocal hooks ( ala Dredg ) set atop guitar-driven midtempo pop rock, with a little synth grandeur added in for good measure. Someone told me they sounded like the Scorpions gone modern emo, which might sound like a dig, but if you know shit about epic ’80s ballads you know the Scorpions are on point. Anyways, since they’re on some major label bullshit they only have brief clips of some songs on their Myspace but you can get a pretty good gauge of what the band is all about regardless. If you’re on the east coast you can also check them out on tour with Third Eye Blind next month. Oh and if yourre wondering who the sore thumb dude is in the above picture (for those too obtuse for old adages, sore thumb as in sticking out) he’s not just some random old dude who slapped on an H&M sweater to try to look more croosh, he’s Justin, one of the old drummers from Reel Big Fish. That’s cred.

I am trying not to just phone this one in, because this band hails from Quebec, and if there’s anything more fierce and brutal than a Canadian, it’s a French-Canadian, and I don’t want these guys to track me down and beat the living end out of me. Luckily, by the sound of their jangle-pop, I think I can take them. Fuck it, I’m just phoning this one in then.

After The Weather has some pretty definite Britpop/psychedelic and frenetic Pacific Northwest influences, a not unpleasantly awkward-voiced singer and a shit ton of energy. I’m hearing Television vs. Hot Hot Heat, debating over whether The Arcade Fire holds up after repeated listens. Their name that is more clever upon further inspection (i.e., reading their bio): “After The Weather is a phrase that has no meaning without the context of television news.” Nice.

I would totally do recreational drugs with these guys if one of my bands played a show with them. Then we’d talk about how shamefully underrated the Stone Roses were, how the newer Digitech Whammy pedals aren’t as cool as the old ones, then we’d go out and try and pick up girls and probably fail. Shit, when you all coming to California? I just mapped out our evening.

Instrumentation
Matthew Hills - Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Rob Helsten - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Trevor Zaavedra - Drums

Discography
Self Titled EP - After The Weather

You can check them out on their space HERE.

And if you’re in the Montreal, Quebec area, check them out live:

Apr 5 2008 10:00P Bistro de Paris Montréal, Quebec
Apr 18 2008 8:00P Barfly Montreal, Quebec
May 2 2008 8:00P 3 Minots Montreal, Quebec
May 9 2008 9:00P Pub Saint-Ciboire Montreal, Quebec
May 20 2008 8:00P Bar St. Laurent 2 Montreal, Quebec
Jun 15 2008 8:00P Café Chaos Montreal, Quebec

I don’t usually do the Band of the Day thing, but today I’m going to hijack it. Because I already love Flobots…

Hailing from Denver, Colorado, the group consists of:

Jonny 5 - Emcee, Vocals
Brer Rabbit - Emcee, Vocals
Andy Guerrero - Guitar, Vocals
Mackenzie Roberts - Viola, Vocals
Jesse Walker - Bass
Kenny Ortiz - Drums
Joe Ferrone - Trumpet

… who all made a killer album in 2007 called Fight With Tools, and were recently signed to Universal Republic Records. Check out the songs on their MySpace site, especially their hit “Handlebars” which recently made it’s debut on LA’s KROQ. Their sound (not their message) is like Eminem meets Cake and it’ll have you repeating the last four syllables of everything you say. Everything you say. Everything you say. (Ok, I realize that was 5 syllables.) Catchy beats, interesting lyrics, and a message of hope for a “fully engaged, non-violent society” equals ice cream to my ears. Here’s their website. Check ‘em out, add a song to your MySpace page and don’t forget to sing along.