Free Friday: Hangover, Ohio - "Common Measure"

Hangover, Ohio is a long-distance project by lo-fi popsters Kris N. and Nick Satinover. Nick, who used to record under the moniker Circle Circle Dot Dot in Dayton and collaborated with Kris on his first solo album, was attending art school in Chicago and recorded the music in his basement then sent the tapes to Kris to write and record vocals for the songs. The 11-song collaboration resulted in the album Common Measure and has been released as a free download from Poptek Records.

The album opens with “Committee” featuring swaying melodies and layers of winding guitars along with Kris’ breathy vocals. With fractured guitar lines and a glowing ambience “Thanksgiving” is catchy in a sneaky way. The emotive sliding guitar notes on the jangly “The Heater’s Last Soliloquy” mirror the heartbreak in the lyrics on the standout track. The brooding, bending guitars of “Good Grief” and the rhythm-driven instrumental “Winter Work 3” along with much of the album pays homage to early Modest Mouse. “Sung Fer Guitar” features the cleanest vocal production, providing the catchiest moment on the album. The back porch blues of “Winter Work 2” is rambunctious with more talkative slide guitar. Another standout is the album closer “Wind Blows Cold Over Bottle Warm” with its shifting tempo changes and swirling layers of vocals.

Common Measure shows that Nick’s bending and emotive guitar work pairs well with Kris’ trademark lo-key but catchy lo-fi melodies for a great debut.


Download Common Measure here: http://poptek.com/Hangover,%20Ohio/Common%20Measure.zip

For more info click here: http://www.poptek.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangover-Ohio/110425928979396