NAME: Coconut Records
HOMETOWN: US
WEBSITE: www.youngbabyrecords.com/

HOW I HEARD ABOUT THEM: I was checking out ONTD, and saw a picture post where there were photos of Jason Schwartzman in the “recording studio” with his ex-girlfriend Zooey Deschanel and his super-hot younger brother Robert Carmine (of Rooney fame). There was no information as to where the photos came from, so I instantly flew into a fit of rage, trying to figure out why I hadn’t heard about Jason Schwartzman and/or Rooney recording recently.

I guess I should state that in the early 2000s, I was really into Phantom Planet–not as much as my crazy friend Alyse–but I liked them quite a bit. So I Googled around and finally found a line in Jason’s Wikipedia entry that mentioned that he had recently recorded songs with Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger and the results could be found on the Coconut Records Myspace page.
LATEST RELEASE: TBD, April 2007 on iTunes, in stores Summer 2007
SONG LISTENED TO: “Nighttiming”
WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE: Kinda Ima Robot meets Ben Kweller meets “Nightclubbing” by Iggy Pop. It’s actually really good! Very disco-y in that sort of ironic kinda of way. Groovy beats start the song, but the tune overlays pretty strings and geeky synth sounds to even out the hokey 70s blips. Jason’s vocals sound vulnerable–and at one point his voice breaks a little and it just makes my heart go “awwwww!” But another song, “West Coast”, reveals some Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young influence by featuring simplistic yet melodious harmonies.
1 to 5 RATING: 4. I can’t believe how much I like it.
OTHER BLOGS THAT HAVE TALKED ABOUT THEM: Baby Heisman
LISTEN TO MORE: Catch Zooey Deschanel guesting on the leisurely banjo-based duet “This Old Machine” on the Myspace