Today's CD of the Day comes from Finland, home of the Latebirds. Their August 2005 release Radio Insomnia, though, was a Made In The USA affair: recorded at a studio in Woodstock, New York, produced by ex-Wilco member Ken Coomer, and featuring the assistance of these luminaries: Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), Wayne Kramer (MC5), Ken Stringfellow (Posies, Big Star), and John Stirratt (Wilco). And the pre-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco sound is evident here, as well as the sound of Stirratt's side project, The Autumn Defense. And yes, I hear the Posies in here as well.
Things start off with the stomping "Set Free The Radio", a plea for good music (like The Latebirds) to be played on the radio instead of "insult(ing) our intelligence". Amen to that. Next up is the lush pop of "Dream Dream", which is where the Stirratt-Coomer influence comes to the fore. Following is the power pop of "Got a Message" (co-written with Coomer), which reminds me of a great Maypops song from last year called "Stuck In First" (that reference may be a bit obscure, but it leapt to mind) and also sounds a bit like Michael Carpenter. Other highlights include the jangly "Falling by the Wayside", and the poignant pop of "Will to Fall".
They're playing SXSW this year and I linked to the mp3 of "Set Free The Radio" back in that series of posts. And here I'll link to it again:
Set Free The Radio
And here's another mp3:
Dream Dream
These two, along with "Got a Message" and the melancholy "Beat The Time" are streaming at their myspace page. And to sample the rest, and to get the band's own commentary on each individual track, visit their site here. The only problem is that I'm having the damndest time trying to find out where this can be bought (I was sent a cdr copy by a european friend). I did uncover the fact that they're trying to work out a North American label deal, and I know it's available via iTunes Finland (but not the US; only their previous album is available here). I guess you can buy/download it here or here, but I don't speak the language nor know what the currency conversion is. Oh well, grab the mp3s, stream the tracks and when I see it released in the US, I'll link back to this post.
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