Who is whisper kid? I looked 'em up and I still don't really know. Their myspace page lists band memb...

Who is whisper kid? I looked 'em up and I still don't really know. Their myspace page lists band members, "Rhea and anyone else who wants to play with her. This has included: Champ, Ryan, Katya, Tracey, Christian..." Rhea-the-ring-leader (whose myspace blog is definitely worth a read) and her sporadic entourage played their first show at the Echo Curio on December 29th and boast an astounding 47 friends on their myspace page, where you can also listen to a ton of crappily (is that a word?) recorded, reverbed-out tracks that resemble the soundtrack to a spaghetti western written by 4th grade-aged Lydia Lunch, PJ Harvey, Kim Deal, and the Manson Family girls, while they're coming down off speed. It's a huge bummer. And I like it.

The Gift Machine is like a K Records super-group. Their myspace page will tell you, as it told me, that the band is the brain child of Dave Matthies and has at one time or another included Karl Blau, Phil Elverum (the Microphones, Mt. Eerie), Nate Ashley, Alex Parrish (Dame Dulce), Lisa Jackson (www.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fthecrabs.html">the Crabs), Steve Moore (Stebmo, Laura Veirs, Mount Analog, etc.), Jeremy Hadley (Velella Velella), and apparently one guy who's in a band with Kyle from Little Wings. For another really bad comparison, based solely on the tracks available via The Gift Machine myspace profile: if Jacob Dylan sang for a band whose major influences were LSD, Yo La Tengo, and Beachwood Sparks, they'd be called The Gift Machine. I don't want to short-change them though, because they're pretty good, and they've got banjos and weird, tinkly, oscillating Silver Apples-esque droning noises. (Side note: the endless references to bands I've never heard of on this page successfully remind me of just how little I really know about music, and how little time there is to absorb it all.)

Fascinoma is the music of road trips and memories. One third of the group known as Fascinoma, Lin (who also goes by an internet alter ego, Mindy Chiu) brings the essence of simplicity to her songs. Mostly composed of guitar, beats and vocals, Lin’s music has a delicate, haunting quality to it; her vocals are sweet, fragile, and timeless. Songs like “Madness Vision” are reminiscent of David Garza’s work on “Kingdom Come and Go”, with their echoing voices and uncomplicated rhythms. Look for Fascinoma's debut full-length in the coming weeks--Music For Heroes, out on Orphan Records. (Fascinoma review by Ana)