Mr. Dream - Cheap Heat
The Flag - Bad Blood
Mr. Dream are gone, but, hell, what a tidy body of work they left behind. The band released Ultimate in Luxury, the post-break-up LP, this past summer, and songs from the record have been tumbling around my brain since then: the flex zone torque of "Making Muscles," the sleazy lurch of "Loud Tools," and the shiny pulse of "Fringy Slider." This one, though, "Cheap Heat," is my favorite Mr. Dream song. It's so compressed, so fast, and so willful--I love the way Adam Moerder sings the chorus, "Everybody cheap heat," as a powerful exhortation. The label that grew alongside the band, GODMODE, has been releasing some pretty incredible music, and all three Mr. Dream members, Moerder, Nick Sylvester, and Matt Morello are still making music in various ways (Fitness for Moerder, Montreal Sex Machine for Sylvester and Moerder, and Morello plays in almost every band on the label).The Flag is Ted McGrath, former member of These Are Powers (!!), and you can hear his past in "Bad Blood," especially in the percussion, which echoes that early-Liars lineage of his former band. "Bad Blood" is one of several standout tracks on GODMODE's Common Interests Were Not Enough to Keep Us Together compilation, and it aligns pretty sweetly with the label's aesthetic, especially the abrasive/mesmerizing combo heard in, say, Yvette's music. I don't know, "Bad Blood" is pretty fantastic, like a super-catchy pop song clothed in Black Dice sound effects, but better than that description sounds.[BUY Ultimate in Luxury][BUY Common Interests Were Not Enough to Keep Us Together]