Category | The Surprise Box

Surprise Box #138: Hawk Bjorn

Posted on 08 June 2016

Growing up in the plateau-heeled shadows of ABBA in the land of the midnight sun and pickled herring, Hawk was intuitively drawn to harmony laden pop music like 10cc, Queen and ELO. Says Hawk: ‘I always sang along with all the back-up vocals instead of the lead vocal.  Just loved the complexities and the richness […]

Surprise Box #137: The Metal Babies

Posted on 02 December 2015

The Metal Babies are a four-piece power pop band from Sydney, Australia, formed in 2012 from members of Belles Will Ring, The Fabergettes and Atom Bombs. The Metal Babies debut album Ghostly is an exploration of jangly guitar pop and alt-country, with fleeting moments of Replacements-esque punk rock. Drawing influence from pop favorites like Wilco, […]

Surprise Box #136: Monogroove

Posted on 31 May 2015

GREAT STUFF!” – Lee Joseph, Dionysus Records “Monogroove’s vocal arrangements stand out most. The singing on “Wonder Who She Is” even hints at shades of Mamas & The Papas, which was one of California’s best ever vocal groups.” —indie-music.com-Dan MacIntosh Monogroove has been featured on the Local Licks radio program hosted by Terry Gladstone on […]

Swim Atlantic – Surprise Box #135

Posted on 06 April 2015

Swim Atlantic is a Portland, Oregon based quartet that puts the emphasis of their work on two things: 1) Vocal harmonies 2) Hook-heavy pop songs Beyond that, any musical “spice” is fair game. With songs that cull influences from the 1960s through today, the band draws on a variety of influences that include The Beatles, […]

Mothboxer – Surprise Box #134

Posted on 09 June 2014

Mothboxer have been around since 2007 or thereabouts. Starting life as a solo project of guitarist and songwriter, Dave Ody. An album “Geen” was released on LineOut Records and soon a live band was comprised of Dave on vocals, keys and guitar, Phil Davies on drums, Jon Hawes on bass and Robbie Burley on backing […]

Metropolitan Farms – Surprise Box #133

Posted on 23 May 2014

  Metropolitan Farms is an indie rock band from Portland, OR. Formed in 2007 as a side project of Santa Cruz / Portland band Metropolitan, Met Farms blends British Invasion craft and hooks with 80s and 90s college rock inflection to produce a sound that is energetic and catchy, yet still unique and idiosyncratic. The […]

Too Much Saturn – Surprise Box #132

Posted on 19 May 2014

Surprise Box cut from Too Much Saturn (the name is taken from a Francis Dunnery tune about imbalance – “Too much Saturn  – not enough moon”). “Their latest CD release Moving Forward Sideways represents the finest in Midwest Power Pop.  Blending elements of The Gin Blossoms, Cheap Trick and Fountains of Wayne.  Loads of sticky hooks, […]

Vinyl Floor – Surprise Box #131

Posted on 15 May 2014

  Vinyl Floor hails from Copenhagen, Denmark and was formed in 2007. The band has toured Japan, Germany and the UK and will release its third full length album in 2014. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD: Change the Song (On a PC? RIGHT CLICK the link and SAVE – On a MAC? CTRL CLICK the link and SAVE) […]

Warm Morning Brothers – Surprise Box #130

Posted on 13 April 2014

2002, Italy, Piacenza, in the middle of nowhere, on a lazy summer day began a strange adventure called “Warm Morning“. We are two brothers, Simone and Andrea, playing music mainly based on acoustic sounds, inspired by folk and pop music of the sixties. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD: Too Far From The Stars (On a PC? RIGHT […]

BEDFORD DAVIS – Surprise Box #129

Posted on 26 March 2014

  Bedford Davis is the product of two music school dropouts. The project began in 2002 as a duo comprised of Ethan Armstrong (bass and vocals) and Cheryl Lynne (keyboards and vocals). The pair met while attending New England Conservatory in Boston. Given their affinity for quirky, fun music, they had an idea of assembling a band to […]