Been diggin’ further into the eMusic crates to boost my indie cred. I made some solid discoveries including a few of those bands listed on the right side of his page (where them links are: Ratatat and Of Montreal).

A few weeks back I grabbed a track off of the hype machine, by the recommendation of some music blog, as these things in the digital world tend to happen. Shortly after listening, I found myself downloading the entire 120 Days album from eMusic, beacuse I not only liked their sound, but it was just too easy. (Sidenote: Even though eMusic will soon be dropping the total amount of downloads you can get per month, the site is still a good deal for those of us that are into independent music or just plain curious for new sound)

Anywhoo…120 Days caught my ear because of their interestign mix of millennial electronic sounds and old-school, 80s-New Wave vibe. There’s something in here that reminds me of the Cure, the vocals sometimes conjure Perry Ferrell, but the keys and synths are far too fresh and washed-out to be the original New Wave. They create lots of washes and tons of layered textures to the point of sonic overload…but all in a good way. Also, it’s not very often I find a band that seems to fall into the “hot new indie band” category but also stretches out their songs nearly into “jam” territory. And the long drawn-out dance tracks from 120 Days’ eponymous debut are a great middle ground for my tastes. However, 120 Days is definitely not a jamband; they are simply a band that can jam or strecth their songs, and they’re also just friggin loud (perhaps a bit TOO loud for some of the jammier set). My only complaint is the lack of variation in the vocals and the sometimes trite lyrical content. But half the time you can hardly understand a word, and in this case, I’m not really complaining (odd, but true).

But all my musings are really quite meaningless unless you actually HEAR what 120 Days sounds like. So here are a few tracks to check out (for promo purposes only, please). If you dig the sound, go grab their full album from eMusic (also, if you sign up for a subscription soon, you can lock in the higher monthly downloads for the original price before the bump them down; and you can also help me out by clicking through on my page). Also, for you Chicago folk, 120 days is at the Empty Bottle this Saturday. Enjoy!

• Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)
• Keep on Smiling
• Get Away

Side note: If you dig the instrumental side of this band (maybe because you’re not into the vocals or sheer volume levels), the washy synths and 80s dance beats, remind a bit of a local Chicago electro-rock band, Future Rock. As it turns out, Future Rock will be playing in support of Particle at the Park West, the same night as 120 Days. But, if both shows are of interest, Future Rock will also be at Sonotheque next Friday along with one my fav Chi-town DJ crews, the Orchard Lounge. So, Chi-town peeps, go get your dance on!

Update: Stereogum has a nicely timed post about 120 Days that includes a YouTube video of them doing part of “Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)” – that first track listed above. Good times!

The Bays have taken over quite a bit of space on my iPod and have become a constant in my day-to-day listening. They’ve made it onto my “Live electronica” playlists, and continue to help me zone out in front of the computer screen for reading, writing, and other boring activities that need not be mentioned.

While several bands on this side of the Pond have been fusing live, electronic beats and improvisational rock (with the Disco Biscuits, the New Deal, and Sound Tribe Sector Nine leading the way since the late 90s), the Bays not only bring an entirely different feel of live electronica (being that they’re European), they also have decided to remain entirely improvisational, professing to never rehearse before walking on stage. While the New Deal, Canada‘s “live, progressive, breakbeat house” champions probably come closest to this open, improvisational approach, I really dig the Bays’ purely spontaneous take no matter how contrived it might seem when they’re bassist picks up the mic to explain it at seemingly every single show (you’ll see what I mean). They also have a uniquely open approach to releasing their material, professing that they do not sell albums, merchandise, or anything beyond the concert experience for their audiences. Best of all, much of their music is posted online for download, allowing people like me (who do not live in Europe) the chance to check them out…and you can be sure that if they ever tour the U.S., I will definitely not miss the chance to check them out in person.

If you’re a fan of electronic music, but really enjoy the “liveness” of a more traditional rock’n'roll concert, I would certainly point you to any of the aforementioned bands. But, the Bays just seem to come from a purely electronic perspective and it plays out in their performances. I will undoubtedly post about them again (esp. if anything new gets posted on their site), but for now, interested folks can stream their live show from the BBC Peel Sessions, catch an interview about their approach, and download a few shows from their website (note: you need to add your email address, but rest assured, no spam and they rarely ever send out emails).