More Decent Nouveau Retro

Via KEXP, I found another nouveau retro band that isn't terrible. In fact, I quite enjoy these guys. Howlin' Rain was founded by Ethan Miller, who also founded Comets on Fire which I briefly lauded previously.

They sound kind of like a cross between krautrock (a la the German band Jeronimo) and Deep Purple. Here's a video of a live performance of the above studio track.

I've listened to both of their albums and recommend them both.

Arcana Obscura Review (3/8/08)

Playlist and Archive for Saturday (3/8/08)

The prodigal son returns! I've been away for a week now. Still here in New York, but I've been horrified by a gnome (or... Duende), dismayed by a death, and confounded in the search for an elusive letter. But I better start reviewin' some shows!

I played "Wicked Annabella" by The Kinks, so here's some kid drumming along to it.

This band needs no introduction. Arthur Lee and his band Love.

Finally, I played "Woman Tamer" by Brooklyn's own Sir Lord Baltimore. Couldn't find that song anywhere, but here's Steve McQueen racing cars set to "Kingdom Come."

I Kissed A Girl

Major news sources reported that 1990s one-hit wonder Jill Sobule is begging for money online. You may remember her hit song "I Kissed A Girl," which caused some scandal when it came out in 1995. I literally cannot conceive that in 1995 this song was considered controversial, but my memory is less than adequate.

What happened to Sobule after her hit? I never really followed the careers of these female singer-songwriters after some kind of mid-90s fever dream dropped them all at our doorsteps, threshholds smeared in goat blood to ward off the coming of nu-metal. According to Wikipedia she went on to record a song about an aging lesbian aviatrix succumbing to Alzheimer's. Huh.

Well now we know. Sans record deal, she's begging for money online to make a new CD. Successfully, I might add. To me this is vaguely reminiscent of when L7 tried to drum up publicity in 2000 by offering up the sexual favors of drummer Dee Plakas to one lucky raffle winner.

Capitol Offense

I might just be really out of it politically, but I had no idea Mike Huckabee played bass in a classic rock cover band. Prepare yourself for the butchering of Steppenwolf:

Thought I'd spare you the Freebird.

The Story of Coven

One of the most played bands on Arcana Obscura would have to be Coven. Helmed by the mysterious blonde siren Jinx Dawson, Coven released their first album in 1969 entitled Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls, which sounded much like one would imagine a satanic version of Jefferson Airplane.
The album contains a full length "satanic mass" and some gems such as "White Witch of Rose Hall" and "Dignitaries of Hell," which accurately details many of the prominent demons of the infernal regions and their respective ranks and habits (as referenced in Colin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal).

Though not incredibly popular, Coven was encircled with controversy. When they performed in their hometown of Chicago, police had a mandate forbidding the band to speak in between songs, for fear that they would invoke their dark master, I suppose. All of this came to a head when the Manson murders cast aspersions onto the occult subculture and Coven was released from their recording contract.

Coven re-emerged in 1972 with a self-titled album consisting of a very different sound. Reflective of the general evolution of rock in the 70s, Coven had moved towards a more emotional, riff-heavy sound akin to a fusion of Carly Simon and Heart. This album had a song entitled "One Tin Soldier" which was their biggest hit. In 1974, Coven reached the pinnacle of their achievements with Blood on the Snow, one of my all-time favorite albums. The best two tracks on the album are "Lady O" and "Blue Blue Ships."

It is important to remember that Coven is almost definitely the first band to throw up the horns onstage, starting in 1969. Though Gene Simmons and Ronnie James Dio both try to stake that claim, the photos do not lie:

And whatever happened to Coven, you ask? Well, Jinx is still around and looking incredibly hot:

What kind of dark deal did she make Lucifuge Rofocale to retain her youth so? We may never know. But you can visit her personal MySpace page as well as the Coven MySpace page. You can also buy Coven albums and merch via their CafePress store.

You can download this MP3 of "Lady O" to see what I'm talking about. If you like it, buy their albums!