stephaniesid: Blurt Best Kept Secret

Latest pick of cool artist in our ongoing collaboration with Sonicbids.

By Fred Mills

The BLURT staff put our heads (and ears) together and we have our January pick for our Blurt/Sonicbids "Best Kept Secret": it's stephaniesid, from Asheville, North Carolina, fresh from headlining their POPAsheville festival and currently prepping their new album for a release this spring. According to the band, they spent "four whole days at Collapseable studio in Asheville and got the whole new album recorded! It's gorgeous, y'all. big, beautiful.... Lane Bryant-style."

Here's what we had to say about the band's previous record, 2007's Grus Americanus:

Asheville-based electro/indie rockers Stephanie's Id are a good indication that the mountains of Western North Carolina aren't just for bluegrass and folk music anymore. On the band's third release, vocalist Stephanie Morgan's fierce, siren-like vocals are set against dramatic, stripped-down piano and a pulsing vibraphone. The result falls somewhere between Aretha Franklin soul and Björk's hypnotic electro-pop, with a distinctively dark, lean edge. Where the band's name is an allusion to the subconscious-the source of instinct and impulses-their music follows suit: Grus is a collection of raw, emotive tracks, ranging in style from sweet soul-jazz to the creepy drone of bands like goth-rockers Garbage. Yet somehow, amid all of the twists and turns, from dark to light, rebellious to sweet, Grus takes all of the distinctive personality swings, and never missteps in identity.

We'll have an interview with bandleader Stephanie Morgan next week where we give you the full lowdown on the group. Also check the BLURT radio soon as we'll have an MP3 by the band cued up and ready to spin. Meanwhile, check out the band's MySpace page: www.myspace.com/stephaniesid. And congratulations to stephaniesid: They're one of the good ‘uns, trust us.

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Bands, go to www.sonicbids.com/blurtonline to submit and have us review your materials for feature consideration.

>Our November Best Kept Secret: The Handcuffs, from Chicago.

>Our December Best Kept Secret: Black Swan Green, from Brooklyn

[Photo Credit: Angelique Tassistro]