Well, this came out a while ago. I had forgotten that I had signed up for the Voxtrot newsletter. Since they weren't relentlessly e'mailing me updates...I was surprised to open up my inbox one day to find one waiting for me. And what did this magical newsletter update have to reveal?

NEW SINGLE! Weeeee!

If you can't tell by that ringing endorsement, Voxtrot is one of those bands that I have come to love unconditionally. You can probably tell by taking a visit to My Last.Fm page and seeing just how high up they are in my top artists chart. (And that's mostly on the EPs alone, because I don't think I've even listened to the album that much, except for...y'know...putting 'Firecracker' on repeat like you do.)

Anyway, at first 'Trepanation Party' here was kind of a head scratcher, and I didn't have a story to go with it or an opinion on it at first, which was why I didn't write about it earlier.

However; as with a lot of Voxtrot tracks, upon forgetting about it for a while...Well, I'm sitting here minding my own business and its catchiness inspires me to hover my mouse over that little I-tunes icon in my Systray to see what it is exactly that I'm listening to.

It's one of those. A grower. I have decided I kind of love it. It was inevitable. Voxtrot is my kryptonite.

Then there is the Answering Machine's "Cliffer". We won't discuss how I thought they were from...West Virgina or Texas or something. How that got into my head, I will never know...maybe it's because their debut single was called 'Oklahoma'...from now on I proclaim that all bands should have Geographically appropriate titles for things. I was very confused as to how they sounded so very English. Turns out there is a reasonable explanation for that...They are from Manchester, in fact, and I am insane....According to my new rule their next release should be called: "We are from Manchester: The one in England, not the one in New Hampshire."

Anyway, I liked 'Lightbulbs' when that single came out...then there was Cliffer, which I am convinced I heard ages and ages ago. It was something I eagerly scribbled down on a post-it note at work while listening to WOXY.com as soon as it crossed my ears. Then I got the posty home and could find neither hide nor hair of this song anywhere. That happened a while ago, and the single just came out this year, which explains why I couldn't find it before. (I also had a similar experience with 'Bathroom Gurgle.' by Late of the Pier)

My insanity isn't the only thing to discuss though. Let's watch the video, shall we?:

A: Dummy #1 is frightening.

B. Is it just me, or does the lead singer look a tiny bit like a young Dave Gahan? It's probably me. We've already established that I am completely bonkers tonight. I thought Wednesday was Tuesday this week.

C: Is Dummy #1's name Cliffer? I don't know, but he's an asshole. I'd 'cliff' him.

D: Aww, the Answering Machine are nice! They gave the ventriloquist dude their prize money so he could get a nice puppet who isn't an asshole.

In any case, I've quite enjoyed what I've heard by these guys, so I'm looking forward to hitting the record store and picking up their debut soon!