Category Archives: music news

The Langley Sisters Make Sweet Honey

The Langley Sisters are three lovely ladies from London who specialize in Prohibition-era pop.

Gita, Rosie, and Edie — with a little help from Mr. Ed Harcourt — just released Queen Bee, a sweet seven-inch single that features the singing sisters and a variety of instruments, including guitar, cello, violin, and even the mystical banjolele.

They cite the Shangri-Las and Shirelles as influences, and after a listen, it’s easy to see the connection. However, Queen Bee is also a unique work that warrants repeated listens. As the precursor to their first full-length, it’s also a nice taste of what’s to come. Queen Bee is a limited edition white vinyl 7″ (only 400 copies pressed, each record is number stamped). Each one also contains a download code.

You can pick it up over at Velvet Blue Music‘s website or stream it here. Highly recommended.

Exit Stencil Records Announces ‘Free February’ (MP3s)

Exit Stencil Recordings, Owl and Bear’s favorite Cleveland-based indie label, has a special Valentine’s Day gift for you.

No, it’s not chocolate or flowers, or even chocolate flowers. It’s better: the label has made twenty of their past releases available for free download for the entire month of February, and they’re apparently doing it solely out of the kindness of their hearts. They say:

Exit Stencil is happy to announce our Free February month, where nearly our entire catalog will be available for free digital download! This includes almost all full-length, 7″, EP, and split releases, totaling around 20 records! No gimmicks, no asking for donations, no limit to the number of releases available to each person — just a free chance to check out a bunch of bands that we’ve been happy to have had the chance to work with over the past couple of years.

Exit Stencil bands that we’ve liked in the past include Blake Miller (MP3s), The Dreadful Yawns (MP3s), Hot Cha Cha (MP3s), and, well, all the other ones. This is a great chance to check out some new music, so download away!