By Lee Levin

Dun dun dun. Exit Clov sent Knox Road (my music blog) two tracks from their new CD, Memento Mori, for your free consumption here. But here’s the deal: I put in a special code so that you can’t download them unless you purchase tickets to go to one of their two concerts this weekend in DC (or the free one next weekend in NYC and another, not free, in Philly). So, yeah, the files are completely non-show-goer proof!* Jamie (co-blogger on Knox Road) and I will be hitting up their show at IOTA on Saturday night, so if any of you KR readers are going give us a shout! Yes, yell at us; we’re totally fine with that.

As for Memento Mori itself, it’s a beautifully constructed oxymoron. The songs sound so blissfully sweet, yet there’s angst in the lyrics. I just dont think it’s possible for the Hsu sisters to ever sound angry. This album is much more subdued than previous Clov material, with keys as the main backing and slow, entrancing percussion. It complements the girls’ angelic voices well.

And guess what? The Hsus will be blogging every day this week on The Vinyl District. First post here.

Purchase Memento Mori

*Impossible for me to do. Anyone can download them. Just go to the shows!

Friday, January 29
Strathmore
CD RELEASE – Memento Mori LP
The Mansion at Strathmore
10701 Rockville Pike
North Bethesda, MD 20852-3324
w/True Womanhood
8 p.m. doors | 9 p.m. show
$10 advance | $12 at the door

Saturday, January 30
IOTA
CD RELEASE – Memento Mori LP
2832 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA
w/Olivia Mancini & The Mates, Poor But Sexy
9 p.m. | $10

Friday, February 5
Crash Mansion
CD RELEASE – Memento Mori LP
199 Bowery (at Spring St.)
FREE SHOW
w/ Heylady New York City

Saturday, February 6
Johnny Brenda’s
CD RELEASE – Memento Mori LP
1201 N. Frankford Ave
w/ Pepi Ginsberg, The Armchairs
Philadelphia, PA

Lee is an author and co-founder of the popular music blog, Knox Road. You can find more of his work at http://www.knoxroad.com/. This post is syndicated and slightly modified from the original content here.

[image courtesy of Amazon.com]

Lee Levin

Ah saiddd, you ain’t punchin’ those keys hard enough feller!

The six-piece Typefighter (from D.C.) deliver a unique brand of folk – I can’t really tell how I’m supposed to feel when listening to their music. Like, for some artists you just know you should feel, well, depressed (Damien Rice), and others, a bit happier (Conor Oberst Phoenix). But Typefighter’s a different breed – lead singer Ryan McLaughlin’s crooning on some songs may seem to be a bit of a downer at first, but then the band adds in some fun backing vocals and I can’t help but develop a smirk as my satisfaction increases. There’s a distinct catchiness from the simple acoustic chord progression (from guitars, ukes, and banjos?), yet the “indie” is still so very much intact. Dreamy and pensive, the music brings to mind breezy afternoons on the porch, absorbed in our own imagination while anyone or anything comes our way. If you have a day to forget, throw on some Typefighter – you won’t be disappointed.

Typefighter’s debut EP is titled I Want To See You Game, Boys, I Want To See You Brave. Check them out on MySpace.

Lee is an author and co-founder of the popular music blog, Knox Road. You can find more of his work at http://www.knoxroad.com/

[Picture courtesy of Typefighter's MySpace]