Yukon Records is on fire right now. Flashing Red Lights debut album, Bridges, is one of a few Yukon albums we’ll be featuring on HearYa. Flashing Red Lights hail from LA and are led by Mack Slevin, a guitarist from several other LA bands. Good for him (and us) for stepping out and writing his own tunes.

Bridges jumped out at me because of the complex guitar work, but the banjo, lap steel and hand claps don’t hurt either. Flashing Red Lights serve up jangly guitars and a nice batch of indie-pop tunes that are perfect for your upcoming summer days.

MySpace | Yukon Records

Flashing Red Lights - Endless Salt

Flashing Red Lights - Strings and Brass

Remember my drunken rant about The Kennedy award show where Hootie & The Blowfish played in tribute to Brian Wilson? It was submitted for a Pulitzer or a Dundie…I can’t remember. The question was posed to me, who would I rather have up on that stage to replace Hootie. I now have my answer. The Explorers Club.

The six-piece out of Charleston recreate the Beach Boys sound so well it’s almost frightening. Many have tried, some have been successful, but nobody has even come close to hitting it on the head like The Explorers Club. The three piece overlapping harmonies effortlessly wash over you from the onset and hook you immediately.

There was a day recently that was 70 and sunny in Chicago (just one, mind you) and I had the sun-roof open, windows down and Freedom Wind blaring. I was sporting my snappy Von Zipper Aviators and I found a little slice of heaven. The Explorers Club made me forget the shit Chicago winter that I just lived through. It snowed the following day. Bastards!

Freedom Wind will leave you smiling from ear to ear. There are no shortage of gems during the span of 35 minutes. A couple of the standouts include the lead track, “Forever,” “Do You Love Me?” that sounds like it penned by Brian Wilson himself, and “Last Kiss & Forever.”

MySpace | Dead Oceans

The Explorers Club - Do You Love Me?

Not too long ago Drinking Buddy wrote about Pete Molinari, wondering if he was the second coming of Bob Dylan. I appreciated the comparison. It seems that Dylan references abound on this site, recently for bands like Leatherbag and The Felice Brothers, but there will never be another Dylan. I’m just not sure if any musician will ever be that prolific again.

There will never be another Dylan just like there’ll never be another Springsteen, but their influence and spirit will live and breathe in other musician storytellers that can pluck a guitar string, blow into a harmonica, and write songs that have something interesting to say. Which brings me to Joe Pug, straight from the loins of Dylan and The Boss (sorry, I just had a baby so now every artist has to be the child of two other male musicians for some reason).

Joe is a Chicago carpenter and songwriter. He just released an EP called Nation of Heat that had an immediate impact on me. Listening to this album is like waking up on Sunday morning, slipping into a tattered pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. The album is a possession that can become your friend. Kind of like Jack Daniels.

I found it hard to make it past the first track, “Hymn 101,” just because it is so damn good. After taking that song off repeat and listening to the rest of Nation of Heat, I knew I’d be addicted. Here I am, almost a week later, and the album has still not left my player. It will be one of the best EP’s of 2008.

Rocco Labriola, formerly pedal steel/lead guitar in the now defunct Cracklin Moth, is playing with Joe Pug so I’d recommend checking them out around the local Chicago circuit.

MySpace | Website

Joe Pug - Hymn 101

Joe Pug - Call It What You Will

Joe Pug - “Hymn 101″

Joe Pug - “Speak Plainly Diana”

If you’ve read this blog for any length, you can probably guess that there’s not much music in my library labeled under Electronica/Dance. I’m way more comfortable at a dive bar than a club and I’ll take Johnny Cash over house music any day. Somehow, regardless of the genre that includes the word “electronica,” I’m addicted to The Battle Royale.

When I first listened to the album, it felt like I was struck by lightning. The first half is part electronic and part guitar-driven rock and roll, then halfway through, something strange happens. Wake Up Thunderbabe turns into acoustic indie-pop and they pull it off brilliantly.

This is versatility at its finest. Drive into work listening to the first half of the album with your morning cup of joe, then wind down your day with the second half. Listen to all the mp3’s below and you’ll get my drift - Seriously, don’t let “Racecar” turn you off if it’s not your thing. Just move down to “Let’s Leave” and don’t let the Electronica/Dance label fool you. The Battle Royale can’t be limited to any one genre.

MySpace | Afternoon Records

The Battle Royale - Racecar

The Battle Royale - Scream Scream

The Battle Royale - Let’s Leave

When I first heard the name Langhorne Slim, I expected a dirty blues sound. Something about that name made me think of the delta blues and I pictured a skinny, old black dude with a howling voice singing songs about being down on his luck after his old lady left him. Langorne Slim may have fallen on a few hard times, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to his newest release on Kemado Records. His songwriting and music find the beauty of day-to-day life and the album is a joyous celebration of life’s ups and downs.

The album starts with “Spinning Compass,” a song that sets the tone for the entire album. It’s about a relationship ending, not mutually or amicably, yet somehow Langhorne Slim’s lyrics about pain and misery are camouflaged in an upbeat song that you’ll sing along to in the car (but not quite get all the words). “Yeah I’ve been miserable, totally invisible, less than hmm hm hmmm, never given all you’ve got, hmm hm hmmm, loved a little lost alot.”

Then “Rebel Side of Heaven” follows and gives all us sinners hope with the anthem chorus, “Although we’ve sinned all our lives, we’re not going to hell. We’re going to the rebel side of heaven.” From there the album rambles on with more American music on songs like “Restless” and “Sometimes.” Slim puts together a string of songs with a potpourri of sound that would smell great if ears could smell. There’s a smattering of soulful blues and a dash of finger-picked twang. You’ll hear guitars, drums, trumpets, keys, the violin, and I’m pretty sure I heard the xylophone a few times. “Collette” is the most stripped down and personal track on the album and it’s my favorite.

What really draws me to Langhorne Slim is his unbridled passion. He’s an artist that pours himself into his music. I don’t know him personally, but I would imagine that songwriting is a contemplative, healing process for him. Several songs start off with themes of sorrow, but there’s always a “but things will get better” transition to hope and optimism, if not explicitly in verse, then in the melodies and instrumentation.

Langhorne Slim’s music will make you feel better. Like on “Diamonds and Gold” when he offers advice: “Toss your misery out the door/ What are you waitin’ for/ You’ve got to learn to get a little happy along the way/ It’s alright to change your style/ It’s alright to smile/ It’s alright to get a little happy along the way.” Now imagine those inspiring words coming from the love child of Cat Stevens and Josh Ritter.

I’m not sure what the rebel side of heaven looks like, but I hope when I’m bellied up to the bar at The Big Guy in the Sky’s Bar and Lounge, that Langhorne strolls up in his fedora so I can buy him cocktail. I hear ice cubes are made of clouds up there.

MySpace | Kemado Records

Langhorne Slim - Rebel Side of Heaven

Langhorne Slim - “Restless” on Letterman