DOWNLOAD: Oberhofer - "HEART" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Oberhofer - "Gotta Go" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pond - "Fantastic Explosion of Time" (MP3)

Oberhofer at MHOW in 2011 (more by Bryan Bruchman)

Oberhofer, who signed to Glassnote for his debut LP, has announced that the album will be called Time Capsules II and it will be released on March 27. We've already posted the new wave-y album cut, "Gotta Go," which you can also grab at the top of this post. He just revealed a second track from the album, "HEART," which you can download above and stream below. The album also includes a number of tracks from his o0Oo0Oo EP, including the EP favorite, "Away FRM U." Album art and tracklist, and some video footage from the making of the album are below too.

They'll be touring in support of the album with Pond supporting most dates. That tour hits NYC on March 21 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are on AmEx presale now and go on sale to the general public Friday (1/20) at noon. The tour also includes the sold out Coachellas and a number of other dates. All dates are listed below.

If you're unfamiliar with Pond, they formed a few years ago in Australia and have released three full length albums since 2009. Members Nick Allbrook and Jay Watson have since been playing in another band that you're probably more familiar with; Tame Impala. After Nick and Jay returned home after extensive touring with Tame Impala, they've decided to release another album with Pond, called Beard Wives Denim, and it's coming out on March 6 via Modular, who also put out the Tame Impala album. You can download the single, "Fantastic Explosion of Time," above, and stream it and watch the video for it below.

All dates, videos, streams and more below...

Continue reading "Oberhofer going on tour with Pond (featuring members of Tama Impala) -- dates & MP3s"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Howler - I Told You Once (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fujiya & Miyagi - Ecstatic Dancer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dinowalrus - What Now (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pre War - Out There (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Darling Divine (MP3)

Howler

Welcome to the Stop SOPA edition of TWII. Do you know how hard it would be to do this column without free knowledge via the internet? It would be riddled with factual errors. More so!

Minneapolis underage upstarts Howler are in town playing a whole bunch of shows. The onslaught began last night with an in-store at Other Music (their album came out yesterday), and continues with: an early show tonight (January 18) with Happy People andTiberius,  January 19 at Death By Audio with Grooms andClouder, January 20 at Cameo Gallery with St. Lucia, and January 21 at Pianos with Dear Lions, Cemeteries, and The Everymen.

As mentioned, Howler's debut album came out yesterday and is titled America Give Up which kind of feels like a "just try not to like us" dare. Their sound -- a little Strokes, a little Jesus and Mary Chain, a little West Coast garage -- is indeed easy to like, even if there isn't much "new" about it. But the band have no shortage of hooks and a good dose of hard-to-fake attitude. As previously mentioned, ou can stream the whole thing at NPR.

Most of the hype is coming from the UK press who are still enamored with the Vaccines (with whom Howler's toured). I like Howler better than them and am going to make an effort to catch one of their shows this week. You should too, surely you've got one night free this week?

Fujiya & Miyagi

Also in town this week are Fugiya & Miyagi, playing Glasslands on Thursday (1/19) and Mercury Lounge on Saturday (1/21, sold out). The band have a new single out, "Ecstatic Dancer," that you can download at the top of this post. It's the kind of slinky, glammy stomper you could imagine Goldfrapp doing but with David Best's whispery vocals. No album attached to it as far as I can tell so it seems the single supports the tour, not the other way around as usual.

The band are also on the Power, Corruption & Lies Covered CD that comes with the February issue of MOJO, where the entirety of cover stars New Order's second album is covered by the likes of Destroyer, S.C.U.M. and Errors. Fujiya & Miyagi contribute a fairly wrote version of Side Two opener "Your Silent Face." (Stream it below.) The band are a good time live and are equally adept at both Neu!-style motorik and funky Can rhythms as you may already know. My favorite song is still "Ankle Injuries" but I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

Thursday's Glasslands show is with Zambri, who really impressed me at Glasslands last month, Rarechild and The Golden Filter on DJ duties. For Saturday's show at Merc, openers are Aimes, Jangulaand Dinowalrus.

Dinowalrus

Dinowalrus' second album, Best Behavior, is due out March 6 on Old Flame records. If you haven't seen them in a while, the band dropped the dissonance in favor of a sound under the influenced of late '80s Manchester. While that means some danceable tracks, it also means atmospheric rockers like "What Now" which veers closer to The Chameleons or The Sound. You can download it at the top of this post.

Jonathan Wilson

If you're looking for something a little more mellow, man, perhaps you should check out onetime Eisley bassist Jonathan Wilson who is here for three shows this week. He's at Mercury Lounge tomorrow (1/19) for an early show and again  on Friday (1/20) for a late show with Quilt), and then hits the Rock Shop on Saturday (1/ 21).

Jonathan Wilson's Gentle Spirit made its way onto many Best of 2011 lists, coming in at #4 on MOJO's year end coverage. Pazz n' Jop notsomuch, only three votes, which landed it in a 21-way tie for #372. Mind you, Wilson's music -- which recalls the heyday of early '70s Laurel Canyon -- is prime fodder for a magazine like MOJO that has a Beatle on the cover at least once a year, but Gentle Spirit is a genuinely gorgeous album that exudes a West Coast vibe even in the coldest New York winter. Spotify users can listen to the album here.

This is the only picture on Pre War's Facebook

And finally, for many in New York the phrase "pre war" is code for "not many electric outlets and no sink in the bathroom" but maybe that will change with Pre War the rock band who have dusted themselves off from the recently defunct Conversion Party. Like that band, Pre War traffic in catchy, big-chorused indie rock. Check out "Out There" at the top of this post and you can listen to more at the band's Tumblr.

You can catch Pre War live Thursday (1/19) at Cake Shop where they play with Grand Rapids, Plates of Cake, and Hunny.

That's the big stuff for this week. Day-by-day picks not covered above are below. Fight the power!

--
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18

Sharon Van Etten is at Mercury Lounge which if you don't have tickets, is sold out. She's got lots more shows coming up, though. Her new album, Tramp, is really good.

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Continue reading "Howler, Fujiya & Miyagi, Dinowalrus, Pre War, Jonathan Wilson, Royal Baths & more in This Week in Indie"

photos by Erik Erikson

DOWNLOAD: The Big Pink- Hit The Ground (King Krule Remix) (mp3)

King Krule, in the USA to play four shows including one with his True Panther label-mate Girls tonight (1/14), played a sold out show at Mercury Lounge on Wednesday, and another one at Glasslands in Brooklyn last night, 1/13, with Ex Cops & Abadabad. Here are some pictures from the latter. Read more about the Manhattan show HERE.

King Krule recently released a remix of one of the tracks on the new Big Pink album. You can download that above and stream it below.

More pictures, including one of Krule's setlist, also below...

Continue reading "King Krule played Glasslands w/ Ex Cops & Abadabad (pics), remixed the Big Pink (MP3)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Stepkids - Shadows on Behalf (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Stepkids - Legend in My Own Mind (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cuckoo Chaos - Just Ride It (MP3)

The Stepkids

Is it too late to say Happy New Year to all of you out there? Probably. Okay, nevermind. It is a New Year though, and the rock machine is already in full swing. If you haven't spent all your money on tickets to the chickfactor fest (I can't tell you how psyched I am to see Small Factory) there's some good options.

Top of my list this weekend is the previously mentioned Stepkids show at Knitting Factory on Saturday (1/14). Their self-titled debut made my Favorite Albums of 2011 list (#36) and don't feel it got enough attention. I wrote:

Like The Bees, The Stepkids recreate a specific era of sound -- early '70s psychedelic soul -- with such skill you might think it was some obscure Fifth Dimension album or outtakes from Psychedelic Shack. That it works beyond an exercise is mimicry shows how talented these three are.

And they are crazy talented. All three members write and sing and spent time playing with the likes of Alicia Keys, Lauren Hill and 50 Cent before deciding to take a stranger path in music. I do wish they'd make a 15-piece Stepkids Love Unlimited Orchestra so they could really do the complexities of the album justice in a live setting, but what they accomplish as a trio is still pretty damn impressive. (A killer light show helps in that department.) They were great when they played our day party at Public Assembly during CMJ week during which we taped them doing an acoustic cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" which you can watch at the bottom of this post. Also down there is the Tom Sharpling-directed video for "Legend in My Own Mind" which is pretty funny.

Cuckoo Chaos

Opening for The Stepkids are San Diego band Cuckoo Chaos who also play Friday (1/13) at Mercury Lounge with Country Mice. The band have toured with Anna Calvi and were last in town during CMJ. The band play an appealing take on afrobeat-y indie rock with nice harmonies. I do really like their song "Just Ride It" which is downloadable at the top of this post. If you like that one, check out their album Woman (listen on Spotify, buy at eMusic) and consider going to one of their shows this weekend.

Radical Dads at Brooklyn Night Bazaar, December 2011

A few spots above the Stepkids on my Albums of 2011 list (#29) is Radical Dads' debut, Mega Rama, which is nine tasty chunks of shouty/catchy indie rock wrapped up in one of my favorite sleeves of the year. They're also a total blast live, as evidenced by anyone who showed up early to the BV-presented show at Brooklyn Night Bazaar last month.

You've got your first chance to catch Radical Dads in 2012, as previously mentioned, Friday night (1/13) where they play Cameo Gallery. The whole evening's card is pretty stacked with local talent. Also playing are mellow folk pop band Backwords (stream their new album below), the sloppy pop of Moonmen on the Moon, Man and the electro-tinged stylings of Yanqui.

King Krule, last night at Mercury Lounge

I would mention the King Krule shows happening this weekend but as they're all sold out, you're either going or you're not. I thought he was good when I saw him at Glasslands during CMJ. He looks even younger in person, but that voice seems to be from someone 30 years older. Anyway, a few more weekend picks are below, day-by-day....

--

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

Chain And The Gang, 5 Dollar Priest, Eleanor Friedberger, Nicole Atkins and many more play a Jonathan Toubin benefit at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight.

Next door at Public Assembly, the Juan Maclean and Com Truise are playing a party celebrating new MTV show I Just Want My Pants Back. Tickets were free with RSVP but list is at capacity.

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Continue reading "The Stepkids, Cuckoo Chaos, Radical Dads, Backwords & more in This Week in Indie"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Salva - "Wake Ups" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shigeto - "Huron River Drive" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shigeto - "Lineage" (MP3)

Shlohmo

Friends of Friends labelmates and fellow LA-ians Salva and Shlohmo are teaming up for a European tour this February, but before they head overseas, they'll stop in NYC for a show at Glasslands on January 28 with a DJ set by CREEP, who also DJS Cameo on Friday (1/13) with School of Seven Bells (DJ) and Rewards (DJ). Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now.

Salva released his most recent LP, Complex Housing, last year (buy it at eMusic), packed with bass, up-shifted vocals, and a glitchy LA hip hop feel. Grab the album's single, "Wake Ups," above, and stream it below. He also just made a mix for FADER which you can download HERE.

Shlohmo also released an LP last year titled Bad Vibes, which you can also buy at eMusic, and he's following it with the Vacation EP, due out February 7 via Friends of Friends. Shlohmo opts for a more downtempo feel than Salva, and the lead track off Vacation, "wen uuu," which you can stream below, is an excellent example of that. The track is similar to other recent Burial disciples, with the ambient watery feel of Balam Acab and the rhythmic play of Mount Kimbie. A remix EP will be released on March 1 featuring remixes from Salva, Nicolas Jaar (who plays MHOW in February), and more TBA. Vaction album art below.

Shigeto

Speaking of electronic shows at Glasslands by artists whose names begin with "S" ("sh" even), Shigeto will play the Brooklyn venue on Saturday (1/14) with Krystal Klear and Nooka Jones. Tickets are on sale now. He's also got a new release on the way, titled Lineage, coming out January 31 via Ghostly. He just released a second track from it, "Huron River Drive," a jazzy passage of clap snares and keyboard noodling. Download that and the equally vibe-y title track above, and stream both below. The album art and tracklist are also below.

The Glasslands show is one of few currently scheduled dates for Shigeto, including one at Princeton, NJ's Terrace Club three days later (1/17) with Dabrye and Madlib, who plays MHOW one day later (1/18) with JRocc and Freddie Gibbs.

All dates, streams, and more below...

Continue reading "Salva, Shlohmo & Shigeto ------- (dates, streams, MP3s)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: My Best Fiend - "Higher Palms" (MP3)

My Best Fiend

Brooklyn band My Best Fiend recently signed to Warp Records, who will release their debut LP, In Ghostlike Fading, on February 21 in North America and a day earlier elsewhere. There's a sort of catchy, soaring psych rock to the new single, "Cracking Eggs," which features the guest vocals of Shannon Funchess of Light Asylum, and ends in a shattering refrain. Stream that and the bluesy album opener, "Higher Palms," below, the latter of which you can also grab an MP3 of above. The album's artwork and tracklist is below too. You can pre-order it now at Bleep.

My Best Fiend have two hometown shows coming up this month including one TONIGHT (1/11) with Porcelain Raft at Cameo Gallery (they play "after Porcelain Raft and before Crinkles") and another at Glasslands on January 27 opening for fellow Brooklynites/Warp labelmates The Hundred in the Hands. Bikini is also on the bill and so is a DJ set by Bear in Heaven. Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Speaking of Bear in Heaven, they'll kick off a tour this spring in honor of their upcoming LP, I Love You, It's Cool. That tour includes NYC shows on May 8 at Bowery Ballroom and May 9 at MHOW. Tickets for both shows are still available.

All dates, streams, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "My Best Fiend releasing LP on Warp (MP3), playing w/ Porcelain Raft tonight & w/ Hundred in the Hands later (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Disappears - Replicate (MP3)

Disappears at Cake Shop, July 2011

Chicago's mighty Disappears release their third long-player, Pre Language, on March 1 via the Kranky label. This is the first album made with drummer Steve Shelly (who may have more time on his hands now?) who has been with the band for a year now. The material on Pre Language was road tested extensively before hitting the studio (Sonic Youth's Echo Canyon West in Hoboken) and sounded amazing when Disappears played NYC back in July ("...new material written with Steve Shelley is groovier, a little slower than their pedal-to-the-metal first albums but equally awesome. [More Neu!, less Stooges.]")

That holds true with "Replicate," the first released track from Pre Language which is downloadable at the top of this post. Less awash in reverb and vocals that are borderline intelligible, this is a much bigger Disappears than we've heard before on record. Disappears are going on a short tour prior to the release of Pre Language but, unfortunately, they're heading West not East. Hopefully they'll come our way soon. Tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Tour mates for these West Coast dates are The Fresh & Onlys who were slackers in 2011, only releasing two records -- the "I Would Not Know the Devil" 7" and the terrific Secret Walls EP -- unlike previous years where their output rivaled Bob Pollard's. (OK, so frontman Tim Cohen may have released a couple solo albums as well.) Actually, the F&O's were hard at work on their new album, which is due out on Mexican Summer sometime sooner than later.

Wymond Miles

Soonerer than that is Earth Has Doors, the first solo record by F&O guitarist Wymond Miles which comes out February 2 on Sacred Bones. Wymond's otherworldly, textured parts are one of things that really separate the Fresh & Onlys from the garage rock pack they are unfairly lumped in with. On his own, Miles launches some impressively epic-style spacerock. You can stream lead track "Hidden Things Are Asking You to Find Them" at the bottom of this post.

Also below are those Disappears/Fresh & Onlys tour dates, plus Pre Language artwork and tracklisting.

Continue reading "Disappears releasing 'Pre Language' in March (MP3), touring w/ Fresh & Onlys (whose guitarist is putting out a solo record)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "No Future/No Past" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless" (MP3)

Cloud Nothings at FFF Fest (more by Tim Griffin)

As mentioned, Cloud Nothings are releasing their sophomore album, Attack On Memory, on January 24 via Carpark and playing a NYC show at The Studio at Webster Hall two days later (1/26) before heading out on a full tour in support of the album. Bleeding Rainbow and Jump Into the Gospel open the Studio show and most of the rest of the tour includes dates with A Classic Education and Mr. Dream. Tickets for the Studio at Webster Hall show are still available.

Less than a minute into desolate album opener "No Future/No Past" (download above) it's clear that Cloud Nothings are miles beyond the Wavves-y pop punk of their self titled debut. And while I was not a huge fan of that debut, Attack On Memory is immediately winning me over. There's a real '90s Seattle/Sub Pop vibe with frontman Dylan Baldi embracing the lengthy moans of Sunny Day Real Estate's Jeremy Enigk and the pack-a-day grit of Kurt Cobain on In Utero (which, like this album, had Steve Albini behind the boards). Albini's overexposed production lets you lean in so closely to Dylan's screams that you can feel the pain his throat must have been going through while recording. But while his production is an essential part of this record's sound, Albini doesn't deserve all the credit. Cloud Nothings are truly a different band than they were a year ago. The second track, "Wasted Days," is bridged by a long instrumental passage until Dylan brings in the most blood-spitting screams on the album. The album does still have its poppier moments ("Fall In," "Cut You," "Stay Useless," the latter of which you can download above) but they're delivered with far more confidence and grit than anything the band have put out before. "Separation" is an entirely instrumental track, transitioning ferocious guitar-driven passages in a Sonic Youth type fashion, and even diving into some scrapey SY-type riffs. That track is followed with the album's last moment of pure dirtiness with "No Sentiment," which has enough Dave Grohl-like drum fills to pass as an In Utero b-side.

You can preorder the album from Insound and get a free exclusive poster (pictured below) while supplies last.

"No Future/No Past" and "Stay Useless" can be downloaded above and streamed below, along with all dates and poster...

Continue reading "Cloud Nothings readying 'Attack On Memory' (MP3s, dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Grimes - "Genesis" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grimes - "Oblivion" (MP3)

Grimes at FFF Fest 2011 (more by Tim Griffin

Avant popper Grimes (aka Claire Boucher) has revealed that she's signed to 4AD, who will release her upcoming album, Visions, which was originally set to be released on January 31 via Arbutus. 4AD will release the record on February 21 in North America and March 12 everywhere else. As she points out on twitter, the album will still be released on Arbutus in Canada, "which is a label [her friends and her] run out of Montreal." She also mentioned that she's honoured to work with 4AD, who she said is "a record label I have admired since I was 13 and first heard the cocteau twins and realized girls can make music, and goth is sick."

So far, two tracks have been revealed off of Visions, which is shaping up to be one of the most promising albums of 2012 so far. Those tracks, "Genesis" and "Oblivion" can be downloaded above and streamed below. They both show Claire Boucher refusing to decide between pop radio stardom and weirdo synth labs, and the result is something that's pretty hard to stay away from.

Grimes will be heading out on a tour in the upcoming months, most of which is with fellow pop destroyers Born Gold. That tour brings them to NYC on March 23 at Mercury Lounge and March 24 at Glasslands. Tickets for the Mercury show and the Glasslands show are still available. Updated dates are listed below.

Azealia Banks

Speaking of daring female artists and Beggars Group labels, Azealia Banks, who if you haven't heard yet, placed #3 on BBC's 'Sound of 2012', is NME's coolest person of 2011, is getting tons of love from Pitchfork, and also has two of the most last-minute killer 2011 tracks with "212" and "Liquorice" (in addition to some other solid cuts floating around like 2012's Scissor Sisters collaboration "Shady Love"), spoke to Self-Titled about her feelings on her former label, XL Recordings. The Daily Swarm points us in the direction of the following quote:

"As soon as I started putting out tracks I was getting attention. Diplo kept talking about me, and that's when XL hit me up. They flew me out to London, and the original idea was to have me work with Richard Russell, and I got signed to this development deal. Richard was cool, but as soon as I didn't want to use his beats, it got real sour. He wound up calling me "amateur" and shit, and the XL interns started talking shit about me. It just got real fucking funny. I was like, "I didn't come here for a date. I came here to cut some fucking records." I got turned off on the music industry and disappeared for a bit. I went into a bit of a depression."

Meanwhile, she's currently working on her debut with Paul Epworth, who has also worked with Florence and the Machine and Adele. She also revealed via Twitter that she's the first confirmed artist to play Coachella, which as mentioned is taking place over the course of two weekends this year (Apr. 13-15 and Apr. 20-22). So much for that fake lineup. Check out the video for "212" and the video for "Liquorice" below.

All dates, videos, and streams below...

Continue reading "Grimes happy to be on 4AD (MP3s); Azealia Banks happy to done with XL (videos & streams)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: pacificUV - Ballerina (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: pacificUV - Funny Girl (MP3)

Athens, Georgia psych pop band pacificUV have been around since the late 90s. They released their well-received debut in 2003 and then moved to Portland to make their second LP, Longplay Vol. 2. Having moved back to Athens, the band are set to release their third album, Weekends on January 31. Like their previous records, Weekends mines blissed-out, synth-heavy spacerock not unlike Recurring-era Spacemen 3 and makes for a good soundtrack for staring endlessly at a lavalamp post-3AM.

We're premiering the vocoder-heavy track "Ballerina" in this post. Stream it below or download it above along with "Funny Girl" as well. Weekends -- which features appearances by Of Montreal's B.P. Helium and Olivia Tremor Control's John Fernandez -- is available in some fancy deluxe editions (though not on vinyl from what I can tell).

Click through for a video trailer and cover art for Weekends and a stream of "Ballerina."

Continue reading "pacificUV releasing third album 'Weekends' (track premiere)"