Jonquil, Chad Valley, Mathieu Santos [monday Threesome]

Welcome to this week’s edition of ‘Monday Threesome’, a series of posts from The Wild Honey Pie where we post free/cheap music from three bands with similar vibes.  Think of it like a Pandora station made by humans.  If you’re digging on one of these bands, chances are you’ll be all about the others.

Jonquil’s One Hundred Suns was one of my favorite records of last year.  Their jungle rhythm/power indie pop sound is immediately infectious while their instrumental interplay is fun and bouncy.  The sweet vocals and keyboard-in-the-forefront songwriting style give all their songs an accessible quality.  Jonquil’s BandCamp has various older singles and EPs for stream, while the Facebook of their label, Dovecote Records, offers free MP3s from the band including a new single.

Up and Down – Chad Valley

Brainchild of Hugo Manuel, lead singer/keyboard player of Jonquil, this project features a similar poppy sound and jungle rhythm but with a twist. It’s clear that the songs here are influenced by R&B music both vintage and modern. It could fall under the “chillwave” banner that everyone seemed to love so much a couple years back. Heavier on the atmospherics and electronics, Chad Valley still deliver the poppy goods.

Northern Mentality – Mathieu Santos

The solo project from Mathieu Santos of Ra Ra Riot mixes very nicely with the two projects above, fitting in with Chad Valley’s bedroom, synthy, pop sound. Though I may be splitting hairs somewhat, I would say that Santos has a bit more of a lo-fi indie pop sound, as opposed to the somewhat chillier R&B of Chad Valley and the indie pop rock ‘n roll of Jonquil.  Intimate and lovely songwriting definitely puts Santos’ Massachusetts 2010 album on the recommended list.