Hockey Night

Here's a group of guys from Minneapolis who don't seem to take themselves too seriously but they obviously know how to engineer a solid jam. In an unconventional move the band is made up of two guitarists accompanied by dual drummers. While I don't know how much character this lineup adds to Hockey Night's sound, it definitely doesn't hurt...

An Interview With Darcy

A few days ago I caught up with Dustin Aguilar, half of the new band Darcy. I've been keeping tabs on these guys for awhile so I thought what better way to introduce the band than with an interview. I asked them a few questions, let them speak for themselves, and let you decide if they really are SoundSuck material.

January In Review

Well it's February which means today SoundSuck celebrates its 1st month of existence. We've acquired a few new writers along the way, found some great artists, made a few new friends, and really appreciate the people that have been coming back to the site and who've helped us get this far. We'd also like to thank John Otjen for hosting us.

In celebration of this momentous occasion we're sharing the first SoundSuck Mixtape- a compilation of what we feel are the ten best tracks from the past month:

Download SoundSuck Mixtape 1/08 Now!

Sleeperstar

Album: To Speak, To Love, To Listen

Sounds Like: A flag blowing in the wind against a sunset.

Their music is the kind that you play really loud either when you need to be inspired or you just accomplished something and want to bask in the glory of what you did. I wouldn’t say that Sleeperstar has an extremely unique sound, but I would say that they blend what they have better than other bands with their sound. Having only been together for a short time, they are already making big impressions and selling/giving away their EP like wildfire. Touring with the likes of Andy Davis recently, they have made some friends in places and are working on recording more songs to make a full CD but only time will tell when that actually occurs.

Texas Rain.mp3 (removed at artist's request)

Why They Don't Suck: Sleeperstar is one of those bands that seems to consitantly produce songs with catchy riffs and perfect hooks. After listening to one of their songs, don’t be surprised if you get it stuck in your head for a while. I found myself in the same position so don’t worry, it is normal and you will be alright. I promise.

Disengage.mp3 (removed at artist's request)

Professor Murder

Sounds Like: island music and synth pop got into a street fight and Professor Murder was the only one to make it out alive

There are few songs and even fewer indie artists that are so funky you have to restrain yourself from making a fool of yourself by dancing. Professor Murder is one of those bands; hard to pin down to a genre and what I only know how to describe as dance music with a slight island music twist. This is the third artist from New York to be posted on SoundSuck this week, but I've gotta admit I would not have expected this kind of music to come from the east coast but it is interesting to see how irrelevant geographic influences have become in music today. The band's debut EP was featured on Pitchfork awhile ago so they're definitely moving out of the shadows and into the limelight, but they've still got a few steps ahead of them, mainly the releasing a full LP.

[audio:Free Stress Test-Professor Murder.mp3]
Free Stress Test.mp3 (right click to save)

Why They Don't Suck: Super funky tracks with some real diversity; this is ear candy. Talented use of synthesizers in combo with percussion instruments makes for an entertaining listen. Watch for them at Coachella.

[audio:Dutch Hex-Professor Murder.mp3]
Dutch Hex.mp3 (right click to save)

The Tastydactyls

Album: One and Nine We Had a Hell of a Run / new demos

Sounds Like: Really Nerdy Rock & Roll

Everyone has a little nerd inside them somewhere, and after listening to a band with a name like Tastydactyls I'm sure it will come out. You might find the nerd in you will come out at Common Grounds, a local coffee house in Waco, TX, as you are listening to the Tastydactyls. In fact A close friend of mine had that very thing happen to him. After hearing 2 of the 5 songs played in the the Tastydactyls set, Tyler proceeded to stand up and shout quotes from Mortal Combat. He yelled GET OVER HERE! and added a subtle GIRLS! at the end for reasons only he knows. The Tasty's have a very unique style to say the least. When instruments like the glockenspeil get involved great things are bound to happen, well at least for the Tastydactyls they do. Be-warned, anyone who dares listen to this band, these songs may get stuck in your head do to catchy lyrics. You may find your self saying "tasty" a little too often.

[audio:Zombies-Tastydactyls.mp3]
Zombies.mp3 (right click to save)

Why They Don't Suck: The band's implementation of multiple singers adds an extra element to each track that allows them to stay harmoniously simple while at the same time bringing discord to other areas. The Tasty's use a central melody in every song which helps counter the spasmodic lyrics to create a good balance. And finally, their name is THE TASTYDACTYLS! how cool is that?

[audio:Clockwork-Tastydactyls.mp3]
Clockwork.mp3 (right click to save)

[audio:Sorry Song-Tastydactyls.mp3]
Sorry Song.mp3 (right click to save)