New Music: Evening Empire

Evening Empire are a four-piece act from San Francisco that create independent rock. And rock they do. Combining the diversity of Tapes 'n Tapes, the urgency of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and the synthiness of Wolf Parade, Evening Empire have put together a sound that is catchy, rockin' and no doubt kicks ass live.

As of now, Evening Empire have but two dates scheduled in the City by the Bay. (Apparently one of the members has been in Europe). Hopefully they'll soon pick up some speed and perform outside of their hometown. Until then, visit their site to download their new EP Build The Myth Backwards. Highly recommended, infectious stuff.

Thanks to DJ KRC for the tip!

New Music: Nathan McKee - "Cookie Breath"

Not sure how many SSM readers caught the finale for Project Runway Season 5, but if you did, there's a good chance you're wondering about the awesome track that anchored winner Leanne Marshall's final collection runway show. The song is called "Cookie Breath" and it was composed and performed by Nathan McKee, Marshall's boyfriend, who may go by the stage name "William Holley".

Employing "guitars, clarinet, voice and magic", it is a track that beautifully layers organic and looped sound elements, traversing its way through an experimental wonderland. It's unclear what else McKee has in his bag of tricks, but he apparently made a "folk-pop" album last year that will be available online soon, so keep an eye out for that.

Listen to an edit of "Cookie Breath" on McKee's MySpace or do the guy a favor and plunk down $1.20 for the full-length mp3. C'mon, the economy's not that bad!