by BBG

Full of Hell at A389 Anniversary 2012 (more by BBG)

Full of Hell, who are preparing to head down to Austin to play the recently announced BrooklynVegan/Power of The Riff day party, will release a split this April via Topshelf Records with Code Orange Kids (who just signed to Deathwish Inc).

Full of Hell's "Fox Womb", which comes from said split, is the subject of a video produced by Lukas Hodge and filmed in Charlotte and Pisgah, NC. Check out that new video below for the first time.

Also check out a full album stream of Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home (now in its second pressing) as well as video from their entire set at A389 Anniversary below. While you're down there, also make sure and stream the recent Code Orange Kids 7", Cycles. All that and currently known dates (more TBA soon), below...

Continue reading "new Full of Hell video for "Fox Womb" from upcoming split with Code Orange Kids (premiere)"

by BBG

David Hall's twisted, dystopian view is taking on a new media format, VHS tape. The filmmaker, documentarian, and label honcho will release the "Handshake Inc. VHS Series", a set of limited run films, shorts and albums all issued in quantities of three, hand numbered, and "packed in a box of dirt". No shit...

"Anyone who collects vinyl, knows the joy of holding a record in your hands, examining its jacket and artwork, and the pure, materialistic bliss of not just listening to music, but possessing it," said Handshake Inc. founder David Hall from his London, Ontario office. "I hope to create the same sensation with my series of films and albums on VHS - a scenario where one can enjoy the packaging of a film almost as much as the film itself."

"A VHS Album is basically an album output to a VHS tape, with an accompanying video track created specifically for the music. Each VHS release will be extremely limited - and the visuals on each tape will differ slightly, so every VHS album will be one-of-a-kind."

The final installment in the series will be filmed by Handshake Inc at Maryland Deathfest this year. The release date is still TBA.

In unrelated but related news, cassettes are making a comeback too, and there's a documentary in the works to prove it.

Videos below...

Continue reading "David Hall releasing albums on... VHS (check out a rare Today Is The Day clip & others too)"

photos by Bryan Bruchman

Nada Surf @ Bowery Ballroom

As you know, Nada Surf's entire January 24th record-release show at Bowery Ballroom streamed live on YouTube. That stream is now permanently archived on YouTube and you can watch it in full below.

If you missed the show, you have plenty of other chances to see the band in the coming months including one at Webster Hall. Their lastest set of dates is listed below.

Also below: video from their appearance on Fallon last night (including a web exclusive), a video of them being interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, their brand new video for "When I Was Young", and a whole bunch of pictures from the Bowery Ballroom show (along with shots of openers Palomar and the setlist). Check it all out...

Continue reading "watch Nada Surf on Jimmy Fallon, their new video & their entire Bowery Ballroom show (we have pics too)"

Zola Jesus during CMJ (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Sacred Bones Records will take over the Spectacle movie theater in Brooklyn Thursday (1/26) at 8PM, gathering "an unearthed collection of underground weirdness, ...short films, works-in-progress, and a rare screening of the first Sacred Bones film production, Twelve Dark Noons." The evening will conclude with a "secret feature film screening" and music videos from Gary War, Zola Jesus, Amen Dunes, Moon Duo, Blank Dogs, & Pop. 1280 (whose new LP is out NOW). Check out a video trailer for the evening, as well as a trailer for Twelve Dark Noons (which features music from Naked on the Vague) below.

In related news, The Men have released the title track from their new LP Open Your Heart (out 3/6 via Sacred Bones). Stream that below in full alongside all tour dates which include their 3/7 show at 285 Kent.

Sacred Bones will also welcome the new single from Danish punk band War (not to be confused with Gary War) featuring Iceage's Elias Bender Rønnenfelt and Sexdrome's Loke Rahbek. Stream "Brodermordet" at Pitchfork who write:

Recorded to four-track cassette last year, the double A-side 7" single will include "At War for Youth" and "Kains Mærke", backed by the scuzzy, beat-oriented "Brodermordet". The band says the B-side is centered on a Biblical allusion to Cain and Abel's fratricide (the act of killing one's brother).

As previously mentioned, Amen Dunes is heading out on tour with This Will Destroy You who separately play a show in NYC at the Kaufman Center on 2/9 (part of the Ecstatic Music Festival). If you want to catch both bands together in the NYC-area, you're in luck; they've since added a 2/11 tour stop at Babbio Atrium in Hoboken, NJ (on Stevens Institute of Technology campus). Amen Dunes will also play 285 Kent on February 23rd with Run DMT. More details on the 285 Kent appearance are forthcoming and all dates are listed below.

Zola Jesus will also head back our way, hitting Webster Hall on 2/18.

All streams, trailers and dates are below.

Continue reading "The Men & War reveal new tracks; Sacred Bones curates a night at the movies; Amen Dunes expands tour (dates)"

hipster Vanilla Ice fan thinkin about Instagramin it

Video below...

Continue reading "Vanilla Ice gets 'into the indie rock game' (funny video) "

by Bill Pearis

As we hit the heart of winter in New York, the sunny climes of Florida sound pretty good right now. As does some of the music coming out of there, even if on the dark and moody side like West Palm Beach's The Band in Heaven. The group's debut 7" was just released on HoZac: four hits of fuzzy psych rock of varying prescriptions, from the driving lead track "Sleazy Dreams" to the tabla/sitar-fueled "If You Only Knew."

The EP ends with a methadone rework of "Sleazy Dreams" called "Sludgy Dreams" for which the band have just released a trippy music video, animated with cutouts a la Terry Gilliam. We're premiering said video and you can watch it at the bottom of this post, along with a stream of the entire HoZac EP. 2012 should be a busy one for these Floridians, with a second 7" due on Sympathy for the Record Industry later this year.

The Band in Heaven will also be headed to Austin for SXSW, where they'll play showcases/parties for HoZac, Austin Psych Fest, Cherry Sustainable, Get Bent and others. Look for details -- as well as more tour dates -- as March approaches.

In related HoZac news, Radar Eyes' long-gestating debut album is out February 7. Those in Chicago should hit the FREE record release show on February 6.

Check out The Band in Heaven's "Sludgy Dreams" video below, as well as audio streams and cover art to the Hozac 7".

Continue reading "Check out The Band in Heaven (video premiere, EP stream)"

by BBG

Religious To Damn have posted the official video for their previously posted track "Lovely Day". The song was recorded/mixed by Colin Marston with synth production and drum programming from Shawn O'Sullivan (Led Er Est). Check it out below.

The ethereal and enchanting Religious to Damn teamed with dark ambient duo ITHI and Sondra Sun-Odeon to play Saint Vitus on 1/14 as part of a BrooklynVegan/UN:ART:IG production. Video from the Saint Vitus outing, which served as a dual record release show for "Lovely Day" and ITHI's new NoWhere cassette, is below.

Religious to Damn play the Elbo Room in San Francisco TONIGHT (1/18), one of two West Coast dates. All tour dates and videos are below.

Continue reading "Religious to Damn welcome "Lovely Day" video, played Saint Vitus with ITHI & Sondra Sun-Odeon (video)"

Austra at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by Tim Griffin)

Toronto's Austra, whose past videos defintely got people talking in 2011, have released a new one to kick off 2012. The song is "Spellwork" from their BV-favorite LP Feel it Break, and the footage was shot (believe it or not) in NJ. Check that out, along with their older NSFW video for "Beat and the Pulse, and other stuff, below.

Continue reading "new Austra video: 'Spellwork' (shot in Egberts Lake Park, NJ)"

During our CMJ parties this past October, we partnered with Sony Bloggie to film a video series ("Green Room Sessions") of exclusive performances by artists, many of whom also played at our CMJ events. All of the videos were shot on nothing but Bloggies. We've been slowly revealing some of the videos from the series, but the most of them are finally here and can be watched below.

Chelsea Wolfe performed a new/non-album track called "Feral Love," accompanied only by brooding synths and beats from band member Ben Chisholm, making for a more similar performance to Chelsea's "solo" NYC debut than the full band set she delivered at our Friday party (10/21).

Members of Datarock, sitting on a ladder, played an acoustic guitar/saxophone and red-suit-less rendition of their song "True Stories," which they said they have to play when they're in NYC, as it is their tribute to Talking Heads, with every lyric in the song being a Talking Heads song title.

Laura Stevenson and her Don Giovanni labelmates Shellshag both played songs for us. Laura played a solo acoustic version of "Barnacles" from the Laura Stevenson and the Cans' album Sit Resist on the staircase to the green room at Public Assembly, whereas Shellshag took us out to the waterfront for a stripped down performance of "Face to Face."

Ólöf Arnalds played a new song called "Sudden Elevation" and a cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" which is one of the covers on her new mini album.

Peelander-Z took us outside on North 6th Street, shortly after playing our day party in Public Assembly. With no instruments except their voices, they wrote us a theme song.

Similarly to Chelsea Wolfe, Channy Caselle of Polica performed with just a microphone and samples playing through a guitar amp, as opposed to the massive dual drum rumbling set Polica played at our Saturday party (10/22). She performed "Happy Be Fine" off their upcoming debut LP, Give You the Ghost.

New Zealand band Street Chant, who played our Saturday party, played two songs for us after their set, "Stoned Again" and "You Do the Maths." For both songs, frontwoman Emily Littler played guitar and sang as the rest of her band and members of The Suzan provided claps and backup vocals.

Dave Quon of We Barbarians, who were also on the Saturday party, played an acoustic version of "Chambray" off the band's Headspace EP backstage after their set.

We Were Promised Jetbacks, who were announced on our Thursday (10/20) party at the last minute, played as a three piece because one of their members hadn't arrived to NYC yet at that point. Then, to size their lineup down even more, frontman Adam Thompson performed two songs on his own for us with his acoustic guitar (filmed on the same day they headlined Webster Hall).

A few more are coming, but meanwhile watch all of our completed videos below...

Continue reading "WATCH BV 'Green Room Sessions' (shot on a Sony Bloggie)"

By Bill Pearis

UK synthpop trio The Good Natured are heading over to the U.S. next month, playing Mercury Lounge on January 16 and Glasslands on January 17. They'll then head to the West Coast for shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles, including an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. All dates are at the bottom of this post.

The Good Natured released their first EP in 2008 when singer/songwriter Sarah McIntosh was just 17. After a string of singles -- and a couple Kitsune Maison appearances -- the band will release their debut album sometime in the first half of 2012. Though they are often referred to as "dark pop," single like "Skeleton" and "Video Voyeur" aren't that far off from La Roux or Robyn. You can check out some of their singles in video form at the bottom of this post.

This is not The Good Natured's first trip to the States. They played CMJ the last two years and then SXSW this year. Videos and 2012 tour dates are below.

Continue reading "The Good Natured are playing shows in January (dates)"