by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Corporal - Obama (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Corporal - Glory (MP3)

We recently noted that two castmembers of Superbad play in two different bands, that we know of (Mister Heavenly, The Young Rapscallions).

The HBO series Boardwalk Empire has them beat with three castmembers* in bands and of (mostly) notably, in my opinion, higher quality. Michael Pitt fronts Pagoda and Aleksa Palladino (who play's Pitt's wife on the show) is in Exitmusic, who you might have just seen at Brooklyn Bowl during the Northside Festival and who have other shows coming up including one at Mercury Lounge.

The third is Michael Shannon who leads indie rock trio Corporal. The band formed in Louisville, KY in 2002 but now call Brooklyn home and released Glory last year. (Download an MP3 from the album above.) The band just released a new MP3, "Obama," that serves as a band endorsement of our current president's bid for a second term which you can download above. You can go see Corporal next week when the band play a NYC show at Fontana's on June 25 with Less the Band and the Parlour Suite.

UPDATE: So it turns out openers Less the Band contains the non-Shannon 2/3rds of Corporal as well as Paul Sparks who plays the annoying punchable Mickey Doyle on Boardwalk Empire. That makes four! Is that some sort of record? (Thanks commenters, btw).

Shannon, who has a lock on intense, creepy loner dude roles these days, is a funny guy too (he had a memorable cameo during Season 1 of Delocated) and a pretty good songwriter, especially if you dig '90s style indie rock. He recently submitted his iPod to the AV Club's "Random Rules" feature and the interview is chock-a-block with quotes. Here's a few:

Isaac Brock...I hear he's kind of hard to go on tour with. But rock's not for squares, I guess.

-Will Oldham really keeps to himself. He's not a joiner.

-[Mark E. Smith]... talk about a role model. That guy just drinks beer and eats hamburgers and smokes and barely tries. And he still is cooler than pretty much anyone ever. I think he's even cooler than Lou Reed was.

-My girlfriend loves the Mountain Goats. I don't know. I like the guy; it's not like I don't like him. He has a very interesting voice, that's for sure. But I like his lyrics. I don't know if I'd want to go to a Mountain Goats concert, though. I think I would probably drink too much beer and get tired.

-There's a lot of the new bands that I don't really get. I don't know what it is; maybe I'm getting older or something, but there are bands that people are just falling all over themselves about... I don't know. If someone was like, "If you could spend the rest of your life on an island with one band, which band would it be?" For me, it would be Deerhoof.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Mean Jeans - Anybody Out There?(MP3)

One of the most spirited crowds I experienced at this year's SXSW was during Mean Jeans' set at the Dirtnap Records showcase. The room was packed, the pit went half the way back and everyone in it seemed to know the words to every song. It was a super fun show.

The Portland party punks are currently on tour which slams into NYC tonight (6/20) at Cake Shop where they'll play with Liquor Store and Foster Care. If you can't make it tonight they also play June 25 at Knitting Factory with The Copyrights, Dear Landlord, The Nightbirds and Dopamines (tickets). The band are out supporting their new album, Mean Jeans on Mars, which rips through 13 snearing, uber-catchy punk anthems in about half an hour. You can download "Anybody Out There?" at the top of this post and watch the video below, along with a list of all tour dates.

Continue reading "Mean Jeans released 'On Mars,' touring, playing 2 NYC shows"

DOWNLOAD: Purity Ring - "Fineshrine" (MP3)

Dirty Projectors on Fallon

Dirty Projectors played Fallon last night, performing "Gun Has No Trigger" off their upcoming LP, Swing Lo Magellan. They performed their song with their new drummer, Mike Johnson (who has played in Flying and Glass Ghost) and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes instead of Angel who is on hiatus. DP are going on tour with Wye Oak and playing Prospect Park on July 10 with Wye Oak and Purity Ring. We've confirmed that Fallon will not be the last time you see Jenn playing with DP. Check out a video of the Fallon performance below.

As mentioned, the day before the Prospect Park show, Dirty Projectors will play a much smaller show at Music Hall of Williamsburg (7/9). Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon. Did you grab any in the Celebrate Brooklyn presale which started yesterday?

Speaking of Purity Ring, they just dropped another new track off their much-anticipated LP, Shrines (due out 7/24 via 4AD), called "Fineshrine." That makes a total of five album tracks revealed before the album's release and if you've been enjoying the others, you'll dig this one too. Download it above or stream it, along with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Dirty Projectors played Fallon (Jenn from Wye Oak filled in for Angel); Purity Ring release new song (MP3, video & dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Holograms - Chasing My Mind (MP3)

Stockholm, Sweden's Holograms will release their self-titled debut via Captured Tracks on July 10. The band will be in North America in late summer, stopping at Mercury Lounge on September 4 before heading to the Hopscotch Music Festival (Sept 6 - 8) in Raleigh, NC. Tickets for the Mercury Lounge show go on AmEx presale today at noon with general on-sale Thursday (6/21) at noon.

With bleating synths, jagged guitar lines and the occasional skronky sax, Holograms is angry, attitude-heavy post punk that doesn't skimp on the hooks. (Fans of early Bunnymen and Iceage take note.) You can download "Chasing My Mind" at the top of this post and you can watch a couple videos at the bottom of this post.

While a full tour hasn't been announced, Holograms do have a few other North American dates in September scheduled, all of which are listed below.

Continue reading "Holograms releasing debut LP, touring in September (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Terrible Feelings - Another Night (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Terrible Feelings - Intruders (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: White Lung - Glue (MP3)

Terrible Feelings

Just a reminder that Sweden's Terrible Feelings are in town tonight playing Death by Audio with Death First, Plastic Cross and These Days. If you can't make tonight's show, the band will be back on the tail end of their US tour, playing Acheron on June 30. All tour dates are listed below.

Since we last wrote about them, Terrible Feelings released their new album, Shadows. While the songs are hook-laden and very catchy, you can feel the punk DNA in there. The band have made fans of JEFF the Brotherhood and Fucked Up on European tours and I am told they have a killer live show. You can download two tracks off the album and stream the whole record below via a Spotify widget.

Meanwhile, Terrible Feelings' Derranged Records labelmates White Lung are currently wrapping up a short stint out with Ceremony but will be in NYC on June 28 for a show at Tommy's Tavern with Nude Beach, Casanovas in Heat, California X. The Vancouver band make strident pedal-to-the-metal, punk-fueled rock with strong vocals from singer Mish Way. You can stream their album, Sorry, at the bottom of this post. All tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Terrible Feelings on tour, playing DbA tonight; White Lung released LP, touring too"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Lawrence Arabia - Traveling Shoes (MP3)

Lawrence Arabia at CMJ 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

New Zealand's Lawrence Arabia (aka former Brunette and Ruby Sun James Milne) will release his new album, The Sparrow, on July 24. It's the follow-up to 2009's Chant Darling and, like that album, The Sparrow is a string-laden set of charming baroque pop. You can download "Traveling Shoes" at the top of this post and there's live video of him performing the song below.

Lawrence Arabia will play Mercury Lounge on August 14 and tickets are on-sale. No other North American dates have been announced yet but seems like a lot of trouble to fly halfway around the world for just one show. A few Lawrence Arabia videos and The Sparrow's cover art and tracklist are below.

Continue reading "Lawrence Arabia releasing 'The Sparrow' (MP3), playing Mercury Lounge"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Ape School - Marijuana's on the Phone (MP3)

You may remember Ape School, the current musical project from Philadelphia resident Michael Johnson who previously spent time in Holopaw as well as a stint in Lilys. It's been three years since he dropped Ape School's eponymous debut, having spent time with Kurt Vile and The War on Drugs, but is now back with Junior Violence which is out August 7 on Hometapes. With it he's brewed a terrific pot of psychedelic pop tea, brimming with catchy melodies, bright production, and playful (just weird enough) creativity. If you wished there was a middle ground between the two MGMT albums, this might fit that bill.

You can download first single "Marijuana's on the Phone" at the top of this post, and the image above is the sleeve to the 7" (out June 26) which comes in a really cool PVC sleeve with a transparency overlay done by Freegums. Ape School also have a few live dates lined up including one at the Northside Festival, playing Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday (6/16) with Asobi Seksu, EXITMUSIC, and Field Mouse. Tickets to that show are still available, and you can get in with your Northside badge if you have one. They'll also open for Lotus Plaza at Mercury Lounge on July 18 and tickets are still available for that show. They'll also play a Junior Violence release show at Johnny Brenda's in Philly on August 17.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Ape School ready 'Junior Violence' (MP3), playing shows (one w/ Lotus Plaza)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Deer Tracks - W (MP3)

Niki & the Dove aren't the only Swedish duo currently visiting North America. Hailing from Gävle, The Deer Tracks are currently on their first tour of this continent, making two NYC stops: Pianos on June 20 with Nouela, Mon Khmer, and Crux (tickets); and Glasslands on June 21 with Snowmine and Nouela (tickets).

The Deer Tracks have been making danceable dreampop for about four years, with a folky undercurrent that leans more towards The Moonbabies than The Knife if comparisons are staying in the home country. (They're a little M83ish too.) The final volume in their Archer Trilogy set of albums is due out this fall, having released the first two last year via The Control Group. You can download "W" from The Archer Trilogy Pt. 3 at the top of this post and watch a video for "Meant to Be" from Vol. 2 below.

While they're a duo on record, The Deer Tracks are a four-piece band for this tour. They'll be in Toronto over the weekend for NXNE if you're going to be there for that. All listed tour dates and a music video are below.

Continue reading "Swedish duo The Deer Tracks currently on tour (MP3, dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Bailterspace - No Sense (MP3)

'90s era New Zealand indie rockers Bailterspace will release Strobosphere on August 21 via Fire Records, their first new album in 13 years. Led by Alister Parker, the group were an outgrowth of '80s noisemongers The Gordons and made seven albums from 1987 - 1999, many of which were on Matador Records in America. (Flying Nun in NZ of course.) The band, which never really stopped working together, always managed a balance between fury, drone and the beautiful.

Bailterspace lean toward the latter two descriptors on "No Sense," the first released track from Strobosphere which you can download above and stream below. The band toured the U.S. in 2008, so hopefully with a new record we'll get more live shows as well. We shall see.

Continue reading "Bailterspace releasing first new LP in 13 years (MP3)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: A Place to Bury Strangers - You Are the One (MP3)

A Place to Bury Strangers have been on a prolific streak, having released the Onwards to the Wall EP back in February and will have a new album, Worship, out on June 26 via Dead Oceans. You can download the slowly building "You Are the One" at the top of this post and stream the pounding "And I'm Up" below. The whole record is really good; Oliver Ackermann and crew keep finding new ways to manipulate noise within the APTBS wheelhouse that remains exciting. The songs keep getting better too. There are a few different album bundles for fans, including a deluxe package that includes a 7" single, "blue death" vinyl and a chance to win one of Death by Audio's famed "Fuzz War" guitar pedals.

With new album comes a tour and APTBS hit the road yesterday for a run of North American dates. West Coast shows are with This Will Destroy You and Dusted, and Midwest/East Coast dates are with Hunters, including a July 27 show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. No on-sale date for the MHIW date yet.

Speaking of Hunters, you can catch them in NYC even sooner when they play shows later this month with Heavy Cream.

All tour dates and that song stream are below...

Continue reading "A Place to Bury Strangers releasing 'Worship' (MP3, stream); going on tour (dates)"