An irregular new feature where we single out lesser-known bands that lurk in the miscellaneous section:

Ass Ponys

Chuck Cleaver is the singer / lyricist for this (mostly) 90s band. I think he's pretty great at both the jobs--certainly he's an underrated songwriter. I first heard of the band by listening to the Afghan Whigs do a cover of their song, Mr. Superlove, which is wonderful.

Here's Shoe Money, which is the first track from their "The Known Universe," which we currently have in on CD.



Ilyas Ahmed

Can't say anyone's ever asked for Ilyas Ahmed's records, but I like them none-the-less and he sells just fine when we play him in the store. He's based in Portland. We currently have two of his limited edition releases in stock on CD: Goner and Between Two Skies / Towards the Night. Here's a track from the latter:



Animal Hospital

One-man band Animal Hospital (Kevin Micka)--well, he speaks pretty good for himself:



We have two copies of his out or print Memory.

The Archie Bronson Outfit

The Archie Bronson Outfit have three nice releases. They're from Somerset, England, and no one in the band is named Archie or Bronson.



Blood Brothers

Not for the faint-of-heart, the Blood Brothers were a post-hardcore band out of Seattle. Five albums over ten years. One of the more interesting aspects of the band were duelling vocalists Jordan and Johnny. The vast majority of Vortexans will loathe this band, but the minority of you who are into the band's unique style of assault will love it. Here they are live:



Blood on the Wall

This band has been compared to the Pixies more times than I've had warm meals. They're a trio out of Brooklyn with a few albums on Social Registry. They can be quiet and subdued or loud and abrasive. Here's a couple samples:





Bell Orchestre

One of my favourite Canadian bands, Montreal's Bell Orchestre shares members with the Luyas, Arcade Fire and Snailhouse. I'll take the Orchestre's first over all those bands, though...



Bikeride

I don't know why Bikeride's not super big. They're Morning Macumba is one of the best pop albums of the 00s. They're so not-big, I could only find one of their songs online and it's not on the record we have in stock. Here's Jennifer:



The Blow

The Blow is now defunct but was the moniker of Mikhaela Yvonne Maricich. If electronic pop/dance music is your thing, you might dig her tunes:



Brightblack Morning Light

California's Brightblack Morning Light often gets lumped into the freak folk scene though, personally, I don't see it. It does have hints of traditional folk though I also hear remnants of Mazzy Star... you be the judge. Here's something from their self-titled Matador release:



Bearsuit

Fun, happy, clappy, and FUN! Bearsuit was an art rock band from the UK. Love 'em or hate 'em, they're fun!



Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper have a good following and are still together. They're alt-folk/country from the land of Oregon:



Devendra Banhart

Devendra Banhart was one of the originators of the freak folk scene. I love his first few albums--everything up to Cripple Crow is excellent.



The Brian Jonestown Massacre

The Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe's reputation precedes him (if you don't know him, check out the excellent documentary, Dig!). He's got a fistful or two of releases of which Strung Out in Heaven is probably the 2nd best. We have it in at the moment--here's the lead track:



Okay, that's all my battery has time to highlight from the As and the Bs. There's lots of nice treats in every letter and I'll try and get to C through Z over the coming days and weeks!