Hey there, hepcats and kittens! Welcome to yet another heaping dose of musical soul food. Thanks again for all the notes. You guys rock. Now, grab your eating utensils! It's Reverb time!

Reverb:

International

Grab a chair, Postal Service fans. This might be news that you'd want to read while sitting down.

According to vocalist Ben Gibbard, neither rain, sleet nor snow could get him and partner Jimmy Tamborello up for releasing a second Postal Service album. Gibbard, most well-known for being the crooner for Death Cab for Cutie, and Tamborello, otherwise known as IDM/Electronica wizard DnTel, released a well-received collaborative album titled Give Up over four years ago under the moniker Postal Service.

Give Up went on to be an instant classic, and helped to boost the popularity of both Death Cab and DnTel among neophytes. This is what Gibbard had to say in a recent interview with Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily: "The anticipation of the second record has been a far bigger deal for everybody except the two of us. It's the record that never seems to want to come out. It's also just never been a priority .... There never really was a plan to do a second album."

There is an ounce of hope being offered though: "We work from time to time together but we have other things that take up all of our time," said Ben. He must be speaking of the current mainstream success of his and his fellow Cabbies.

Antony and the Johnsons, the darkly beautiful dramatic chamber band created and led by the strange genius of Antony Hegarty, has announced the release of the collective's third album which was inspired by and dedicated to Japanese Butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno. Antony himself states in a press release, "My new album The Crying Light is dedicated to the great dancer Kazuo Ohno. In performance I watched him cast a circle of light upon the stage, and step into that circle, and reveal the dreams and reveries of his heart. He seemed to dance in the eye of something mysterious and creative; with every gesture he embodied the child and the feminine divine. He's kind of like my art parent."

Ohno's image appears on the cover of The Crying Light as well as Antony's Another World EP out earlier this year. The ten-track Light is due out in the States from Secretly Canadian on January 20, in Australia from Spunk Records January 17, the UK and Europe from Rough Trade January 19 and in Japan from P-Vine January 20. This album is sure to be a must have. Antony has never let me down, he's been consistently blowing my mind since his first LP.

National

We're very lucky this month to have an intensely fascinating Singaporean minimalist experimental rock act called Amaran Untuk Mu (A.U.M) tour several cities in Java.

A.U.M's sound is very distinct. They're able to paint beautifully barren musical landscapes with their sounds. This band that consists of Han (guitar), Shahran (bass) and Junaidi (percussion) will be performing in Bandung and Solo on December 21 and 24 respectively. Here are the details

Amaran Untuk Mu live in Bandung

Venue: Auto Caf*, Jalan Cihampelas No. 264-268, Bandung

Date: Sunday, December 21, 2008

Time: 6 p.m.

Also Performing: Behind The Tuxedo, Deadly Eye Candy, Coa, Promise To Death, A.L.I.C.E, Garpitus, Ascamambranevercabisat, Diego, Strikefirst, Burnhate Optinuz and Caravan Of Anaconda.

Amaran Untuk Mu live at Merakit Ulang Sebuah Harapan in Solo

Venue: Radio 89.6 Star FM, Solo

Date: Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Time: 6 p.m.

Also Performing: Carmen of Sample Terror, The Pain Was So Great, Beneath The Burning Skies and The Love Ballads Massacre.

Entry fee: Rp. 5,000

Go to

http://www.myspace.com/amaranuntukmu for more info and to hear some tunes from them.

Underground Hum's Random Weekly Top 5

Christmas is just four days away, so we decided to feature our favorite Christmas tunes. You'll find no Bing Crosby on this list.

Top 5 Recommended Christmas Songs for Those Seeking to Get Away from Mall Music.

1. Tom Waits -- "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis": Tom Waits has always been a great storyteller. This little gem about a prostitute reaching out to an old flame is definitely one of his best, down to the twisty last verse.

2. Death Cab for Cutie -- "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)": A perfectly "awww"-inducing sweet little Christmas song. Ben Gibbard just has the perfect holiday voice.

3. Eels -- "Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas": Screw Jinglebell Rock, man! This has got to be the most rockin Christmas song ever! Perfect for dancing once you've had one too many spiked eggnogs.

4. Okkervil River -- "Listening to Otis Redding During Christmas": For those of you who find Christmas to be incredibly depressing, this be the song for you.

5. Bright Eyes (with Maria Taylor) -- "Little Drummer Boy": my favorite Christmas carol sung by my favorite artist. This rendition adds pathos and solemnity to this gorgeous little tune.

That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!

--Paul F. Agusta

See you next week!

If you have any questions, suggestions, praises, curses or wicked eggnog recipes just send me a note at undergroundhum@yahoo.com or go to my blog at www.undergroundhum.blogspot.com and holler at me there.

For all of you bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in future editions of Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee if any.

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