Mexico City's Rey Pila have been tapped to open for Interpol on the West Coast leg of their upcoming tour. (Hundred Waters open the NYC shows, tickets for the 11/26 date are still available.) In conjunction, the band have released a new song, "Blast," via Julian Casablancas' Cult Records which you can stream and download below.

Before their run with Interpol, Rey Pila will have an August residency at Pianos in NYC, playing four consecutive Tuesdays (8/5, 8/12, 8/19, 8/26). Here are the lineups:

AUGUST 5 w/ Lovers & Reflections, Dreamers

AUGUST 12 w/ Chloe Sunshine, Wild Ones, Dark Rift, Johnnie Lewis

AUGSUT 19 w/ Modern Rivals, Folding Legs, Matthew Meade, Challenger

AUGUST 26 w/ Boytoy, The Fluids, Shark Week, Wand, Johnny Aries

Tickets for all four residency shows are on sale now.

All Rey Pila tour dates are listed, along with the new track stream, below...

Continue reading "Rey Pila released a new song (stream it), doing NYC residency in August before West Coast dates with Interpol"

Lydia Loveless in Chicago in April (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Swaggering alt-country singer Lydia Loveless just wrapped up an acoustic tour with Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven which hit NYC at BB King's this past weekend (7/18), and she's since scheduled her own headlining tour. The new tour brings her back to NYC for a show on September 27 at The Studio at Webster Hall. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (7/25) at 10 AM.

All dates are listed, with a recent video session she did, below...

Continue reading "Lydia Loveless touring, playing Studio at Webster Hall (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

Joanna Gruesome are presumably working on their second album. While we wait for news on that, the scrappy Welsh popsters will have one side of a split 12" with another UK band, Trust Fund, that will be out September 22 via Happy Happy Birthday to Me. Each band get three songs, and you can stream JG's very catchy "Jerome (Liar)" below. No tracks have been made available from Trust Fund's side, but you can stream the Briston, UK band's 2013 Don't Let Them Begin EP below. Only 500 copies of this are being pressed, order yours.

As you may know, Joanna Gruesome will be touring this summer, playing two NYC shows: August 26 at Shea Stadium with an impressive lineup of Perfect Pussy, Potty Mouth and the Joan of Arc-related The Love of Everything (tickets), and then the free Seaport Music Festival show on August 29 with Big Ups.

All dates are listed, with streams and a flyer for the Shea Stadium show, below...

Continue reading "Joanna Gruesome releasing split 12" with UK band Trust Fund (stream a track)"

by Bill Pearis

Gap Dream -- aka onetime Cleveland resident Gabe Fulvimar who now lives at Burger Records HQ in Fullerton, CA -- began making '60s-ish pop but delved into dancier territory on 2013's underrated Shine Your Light. Gabe gets further into the groove on a new single, "Strong Love," which is one side of a split with Part Time that'll be out soon on Burger. That's the cover art above and we've got the premiere of "Strong Love" in this post.

You can pick up the single at the merch table on Gap Dream and Part Time's late summer tour which hits NYC for two shows: September 4 at Glasslands with Wax Witches, and September 5 at Cake Shop. Advance tickets are available now for the Glasslands show. All dates are listed below.

If you've never seen Gap Dream live, you're missing out. Here's what I wrote about their set at last year's Burger Caravan of Stars:

Normally no live drummer is an immediate strike against the band in my book, but Gabe's onstage charisma won me over almost immediately. Looking like he stepped straight out of WKRP in Cincinatti, Gabe is a confident charmer and the word "superstar" definitely popped into my head watching him work the crowd.

San Francisco's Part Time should make for a good double bill. Last year's PDA was a nice mix of soft rock, indie pop and new wave influences. Their side of the split 7" sounds kinda like... Naked Eyes. By way of Ariel Pink. Not a bad thing at all.

Speaking of Burger Caravan of Stars, this year's lineup (Coathangers, together PANGEA and more) hits NYC in October. All dates of the Gap Dream / Part Time tour are listed, along with the Gap Dream stream, below...

Continue reading "Gap Dream & Part Time releasing split 7" and touring together (dates, stream)"

HTDW at Slipper Room in June (more by Chris La Putt)

How to Dress Well released his excellent third album, "What Is This Heart?" this past June and he's now released a bonus track from it, "Let U Know." According to press release, "[main member Tom] Krell insisted that this song come out before his next single from "WITH?" because, as he put it, "in singing 'Let U Know,' I discovered the title of my album and a lot of its meaning -- I needed this song to be heard by people, even though I couldn't find a place for it on the album proper." Listen below.

His tour hits Irving Plaza in September (tickets).

Updated dates are listed, with the new song stream, below...

Continue reading "How To Dress Well releases bonus track, "Let U Know" (listen)"

Title Fight at Coachella 2014 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Title Fight have launched a new Instagram account where they announced that they've signed to ANTI- and are currently in the studio working on a new album with producer Will Yip (who did their last LP, the new Braid, and a ton of other stuff). This now makes them labelmates with The Antlers, Simian Mobile Disco, and Dr. Dog.

Their upcoming dates include Philly's This Is Hardcore this week (making them the only band on both TIH and Coachella this year) and Riot Fest Chicago and Toronto in September.

This Is Hardcore kicks off today (7/24) and runs through Sunday (7/27). The lineup also includes Converge, Madball, Blacklisted, Bl'ast, CIV, Crowbar, Bold, and many more. Tickets are still available.

Watch the Instagram video announcing TF's signing, below...

Continue reading "Title Fight sign to ANTI-, working on new LP; This Is Hardcore begins today"

Last night's rainy NMH show (photo via @brooklynvegan instagram)

Indie rock legends Neutral Milk Hotel almost didn't complete a 2-night Brooklyn run in a rainy Prospect Park last night (Wednesday, 7/23).

It was the latest chapter in the huge reunion we waited so long for, but are now spoiled by. It doesn't seem like it was three-and-a-half years ago when the elusive Jeff Mangum first surfaced at a private loft show. Since then Jeff has continuously toured and played numerous festival and NYC-area shows, first solo and then with the whole band. Right before these shows was Pitchfork Fest, and they played SIX NYC-area shows earlier this year. Fun Fun Fun Fest and Merge Fest are still on the horizon. If you still haven't seen them (what are you waiting for?!?), there's always Boston Calling and a CT show in September too.

Tuesday night's Celebrate Brooklyn 'benefit' show (7/22) was a straightforward outdoor show on a summer night in Prospect Park. They played 18 songs including a four song encore, though their songs are not very long, so some fans left wondering why the band played for less than 90 minutes and didn't even come close to hitting the park's concert curfew (the show was over at 9:35). Check out the setlist below.

Wednesday night was less smooth. Rain was in the forecast and rain it did, but rain is not enough to stop a show in a NYC park. This storm also included lightning though, and that caused the show to stop 11 songs in. An announcement was made that the show was over. People started pouring out of the venue, but a 2nd announcement was quickly made that the show will restart if the storm passes. By then, many had left, but a majority stayed. Umbrellas were in the air. Announcements continued to be made, urging us to go home for our own safety, or stay in the park at our own risk. Concessions were still open, so you could continue drinking beer, buying merch, and eating ice cream sandwiches from the The Good Batch (who by the way are opening a storefront in Clinton Hill soon).

Then, the majority who risked sudden death by falling trees were rewarded when the band returned to the stage after what ended up being a 20-25 minute intermission. Considering all that had happened and the now-more-spacious grounds, this ending felt even more special as Jeff's voice cut through the warm night, under aeroplanes and over a sea of wet people that knew every word. The show, which ended up being 17 songs, still ended well before curfew (Jeff said goodnight to us at 9:55).

What did you think of the shows? Which night did you go? Did you go both? Check out both NYC setlists below...

Continue reading "Neutral Milk Hotel played two nights in Prospect Park, despite rain delay on Wednesday (setlists)"

by Andrew Sacher

Jessie Ware at Webster Hall in 2013 (more by Robert Altman)

You've already heard "Tough Love" from the new Jessie Ware album of the same name, and she's now released another single from it, "Share It All," which appears on the album's deluxe version. It was co-written by The xx's Romy Madley-Croft (and produced by Jessie's frequent collaborator Julio Bashmore), and you can definitely tell it was written by an xx member. Check it out below.

Jessie also has an upcoming tour which hits NYC on October 28 at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Ticket info for all dates HERE. She will also appear on the new SBTRKT album.

The xx just announced that they're playing the Guggenheim International Gala pre-party.

Song stream below...

Continue reading "Jessie Ware releases "Share It All," co-written by The xx's Romy Madley Croft (listen)"

Dum Dum Girls @ Prospect Park in June (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Dum Dum Girls have been on tour for pretty much all of 2014, and just played Pitchfork in Chicago last weekend. The ladies will be taking deserved break for the rest of the summer -- only playing a few select festival dates -- but will hit the road again this fall surrounding their appearance at Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest. Those dates include a requisite stop in NYC, playing a Devil's Night (or Mischief Night, if you prefer) show at Brooklyn Bowl on October 30. Tickets go on sale Friday (7/25) at 10 AM.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Dum Dum Girls touring this fall, playing Brooklyn Bowl on Devil's Night (dates)"

The xx at Radio City in 2013 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

The last time The xx played NYC was when they played 25 shows for 40 people each at Park Avenue Armory in March (which Geoff Rickly paid $2000 to see), and their next show here will also be an unconventional one. They'll perform at the pre-party for this year's Guggenheim International Gala benefit which happens November 5 from 9 PM to midnight. There's a benefit dinner the following night which honors 2014 Guggenheim exhibition artists Carrie Mae Weems, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene (in memoriam), Günther Uecker, and Wang Jianwei.

Tickets ($200 for Young Collector's Council members, $250 for general admission) are on sale now to members and GA tickets go on sale July 29 at noon. Admission includes the performance, a full open bar, and an opportunity to view a portion of the exhibition ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow: 1950s-60s from 9-10 pm.