Kirin J Callinan at BV-CMJ 2012 (more by Nate "Igor" Smith)

Kirin J Callinan, who played 285 Kent and a private show last week, and who will be back next month while on tour with Ariel Pink, has added a FREE last minute Brooklyn show at Public Assembly tonight (5/20) with Diamond Terrifier, Amen Dunes (who played our show at Knitting Factory last week - photos HERE and HERE), Uumans, and more.

The Public Assembly show may be the first time Callinan and Diamond Terrifier aka Sam Hillmer (aka Zs) will be performing as labelmates. DT recently signed to the label co-run by a member of Grizzly Bear, as we briefly mentioned before. The show is the record release party for DT's The Subtle Body Wears A Shadow, due on May 28. Kirin's debut album Embracism is due out July 2nd via Terrible Records in partnership with XL Recordings.

Videos for Diamond Terrifier's "Triple Gem" (which we premiered) and Kirin J Callnin's NSFW "Embracism," as well as the show flyer are below.

Continue reading "Diamond Terrifier celebrating Terrible Records release w/ labelmate Kirin J Callinan, Amen Dunes & more (free show tonight)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Foxygen @ Knitting Factory 5/13/2013

Foxygen just wrapped up a three-night NYC run, that began with the BrooklynVegan-curated Red Bull Sound Select show at Knitting Factory on Monday (5/13) and a second night there (5/14) and finished last night (5/15) at Mercury Lounge. Anybody hit the second Knit or Mercury Lounge show? Anyone go to all three? We've got a second set of photos from the RBSS show, including ones of openers Amen Dunes, LODRO, and Prince Rupert's Drops, in this post.

Foxygen will spend their summer on the festival circuit, playing Pitchfork, Woodsist and Solid Sound amongst many others. That also includes another stop in NYC at the free River Rocks show on July 25 with Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. All tour dates are listed with more pictures from KF below.

Continue reading "Foxygen played three NYC shows (more pics from our RBSS one with LODRO, Amen Dunes and Prince Rupert's Drops)"

photos by David Andrako; words by Bill Pearis

Foxygen / LODRO @ Knitting Factory 5/13/2013

"I ate a CD once," admitted Foxygen frontman Sam France Monday night onstage to a full room at Knitting Factory. It was one of many probable falsehoods he told the crowd, but sometimes it's funny cause it's untrue. This was the first of three Foxygen shows in NYC this week and a Red Bull Sound Select show that BrooklynVegan curated (that's us). It was also the cheapest at only $3.00 and with four bands, a DJ and a comedian host on the bill.

France is a very charismatic frontman (my friend remarked "he's got a Jarvis Cocker thing going on") and even if you aren't totally in love with their album, with its many nods to late '60s rock, it's hard to deny Foxygen put on a very entertaining show, messing with the Red Bull sign included.

We chose the other three bands on the bill to be in tune with the pysch side of Foxygen's music. Openers Prince Rupert's Drops are in the mushroom tea variety, with harmoniously baroque pop stirred with extended jams. Amen Dunes, who played third, is more spacey, working on pure vibes at times. Songs too, but definitely Damon McMahon's music is more about floating with than active participation.

In between was LODRO and it was my first time seeing them despite their reputation for endless local gigging (like DIIV who they opened for two days earlier). They were definitely my personal favorite of the three, and the trio -- who pronounce their name "low-dro" -- make a strong impression. While best know for her stint in party rockers Friends, Lesley Hann is a commanding presence here, and maybe just a little intimidating. It could just be their intense brand of creepout blues (think Nick Cave, The Cramps' version of "Fever") is dead serious and pretty badass, aided in no small part by drummer Jigmae Baer and guitarist/singer Jeremy Cox. All three are also in Royal Baths though LODRO seems to be the focus now. Deservingly.

Chris Gethard, who days earlier was letting Zach Galifianakis give haircuts to strangers on his show, made for a very funny host, and I had fun DJing in-between sets.

NYC Red Bull Sound Select shows (not to be confused with Red Bull Music Academy shows) -- always only $3 -- happen each month this year and are curated either by BrooklynVegan, East Village Radio, Afropunk or Brooklyn Bodega. The same happens in other cities (for instance Fake Shore Drive just announced their next one in Chicago and Bun B recently headlined one in Austin)

More photos from our show at Knitting Factory are below.

Continue reading "Foxygen, Amen Dunes, LODRO & Prince Rupert's Drops played first BV-curated RBSS show at the Knit (pics)"

photos by PSquared Photography

Boris @ LPR 5/7/2013

Japan's Boris finished out their second of two shows last night at Le Poisson Rouge (5/7) joining Stephen Brodsky (of Cave In) and Amen Dunes for the event. Unlike the nMonday's show (5/6) which was devoted to "classics," last night's performance focused on Flood and some of their more drone-oriented material.

Although Boris have moved on, you've got another upcoming chance to catch Amen Dunes when they play the BrooklynVegan-curated Red Bull Sound Selects show at Knitting Factory on Monday (5/13). Headliner is Foxygen and the show also has sets from LODRO and Prince Rupert's Drops. Tickets are $3 at the door for that one.

More photos from LPR and Boris' remaining "residency tour" schedule are below.

Continue reading "Boris played 'Flood' at Le Poisson Rouge with Stephen Brodsky and Amen Dunes (pics / setlist)"

Foxygen @ Chicago's Lincoln Hall in March (more by James Richards IV)

As mentioned, Foxygen are currently on a short East Coast tour that ends with two sold-out NYC shows next week: Knitting Factory on May 14 and Mercury Lounge on May 15. If you wanted to go to one of those shows but didn't get tickets, we've got good news. We're happy to announce that Foxygen will headline a BrooklynVegan-curated Red Bull Sound Select show on Monday (5/13) at Knitting Factory. As always, the show is $3 at the door. 7pm doors. 8pm show. All ages, no advance tickets.

LODRO

This is the fourth NYC RBSS show -- the previous three were curated by East Village Radio, Afropunk, and Brooklyn Bodega. Like those, in addition to the headliner Monday's show features three local acts.

For our openers, we kept things on the trippy side: Amen Dunes, who open for Boris at LPR tonight (5/7), will play and perhaps give a taste of their forthcoming new album. Also on the bill are LODRO, the Royal Baths side project that has been honing its live show through relentless gigging; and Prince Rupert's Drops whose album Run Slow was one of 2012's overlooked gems. Adding to the fun will be your host, the amazing comedian, storyteller and author Chris Gethard (of the Chris Gethard Show among other things). Hope to see you out on Monday.

UPDATE: our own Bill Pearis will also be DJing starting at 7pm sharp.

If you can't make this show, you can always catch Foxygen in late July at a much bigger venue -- Pier 84 as part of the 7/25 free River Rocks show with Thao & the Get Down Stay Down.

Streams for Foxygen, Amen Dunes, LODRO, and Prince Rupert's Drops, and more tour dates, are below.

Continue reading "Foxygen, Amen Dunes, LODRO and Prince Rupert's Drops playing BrooklynVegan-curated Red Bull Sound Select show"

by Caroline Harrison

Boris @ LPR, 5/6/2013

Japanese trio Boris finished night one of their two night residency at LPR last night (5/6, the night after playing Boston- pictures are HERE). Last night's sold out show, with support from Young Widows and Ornament (a member of Growing), featured "All Time Classics" spanning much of Boris's career. Tonight Boris plays Flood, as well as what they're describing as a drone/experimental set.

Ornament's brief experimental droning gave way to Young Widows' hypnotic compositions. The band grooves harder than most acts out there, layering trance-inducing drum patterns and buzzing walls of noise with irresistibly catchy post-punk.

The "All Time Classics" set was ripping, and smartly avoided most of the band's recent material. Guitarist Wata was as cool and composed as drummer Atsuo was frenzied and dramatic. The sound was loud and furious enough to justify the sale of the Boris branded earplugs available at the merch table. After trotting out crowd favorites like "Pink," "Hama," and "1970," Boris closed out their set with the fittingly titled "Farewell."

You can catch Boris at Le Poisson Rouge tonight, supported by Stephen Brodsky (of Cave In) and Amen Dunes, before the tour moves on to Cleveland and then to another two night residency in Chicago. Tickets for LPR tonight are still available.

Set list from night one and more pictures are below.

Continue reading "Boris played "the classics" at Le Poisson Rouge with Young Widows and Ornament (pics); play 'Flood' tonight"

Meghan Remy is U.S. Girls whose music is odd and dischordant in a David Lynch kind of way, but rooted in '60s girl group sounds. A warped copy of The Ronettes played on a battery operated turntable? Kinda. You can stream U.S. Girls most recent LP, Gem, and watch the NSFW video for album track "Work from Home" below.

Remy is taking U.S. Girls on the road, bringing along collaborator Slim Twig, for a North American tour, including an NYC stop at Death by Audio on February 16 with Amen Dunes playing as well. $7 at the door. All U.S. Girls tour dates are below.

Continue reading "U.S. Girls made an album and NSFW video, going on tour with Slim Twig (dates, stream)"

Pharmakon (photo by Jane Chardiet)

One-woman noise wrecking crew Pharmakon will join a stellar support cast of Pink Reason and Zatsuon as part of the previously discussed Cult of Youth record release party that happens tonight (9/7) at Public Assembly. Tickets are available at the door for or you can try your hand at winning a pair! Details on how to win are below.

If you can't celebrate Cult of Youth's new LP with the band, live vicariously through their recorded material; Love will Prevail is out now via Sacred Bones. Stream a couple of tracks and check out video of Pharmakon's live set below.

Cult of Youth is on tour in Europe in September and will cross paths with labelmates and fellow Brooklynites Amen Dunes. Amen Dunes' US tour leads up to and follows those dates in the EU, includes a stop at Hopscotch this weekend,.

Dates for Amen Dunes and CoY are listed below.

Continue reading "Pharmakon added to Cult of Youth record release party tonight (win tickets)"

Some of you may remember art installation The Maze which took over Death by Audio back in Fall 2009 and at at Chashama's Visual Arts Space in 2009. Well it's back, as the You Are Here Festival has returned for a month-long residency at Secret Project Robot Gallery in Bushwick (389 Melrose St) from July 12 - Aug 4.

Just like in previous years, the festival will include a "gigantic life size maze", and will host a grip of performers on Thursday - Saturday during their stay at the space. Thursday's kickoff event (7/12) features Miho Hatori's New Optimism, ZS, Bachanalia, Ann Liv Young and DJ JG Thirlwell of various Foetus incarnations. Other performers throughout the month include Xeno and Oaklander, Hubble, Mick Barr, Dan Friel, Zs, VAZ, Amen Dunes, Extra Life, Diamond Terrifier and many many more. Full schedule for "You are Here" is below including details on the art exhibitions at the space.

The festival is also readying a limited mixtape, featuring unheard/rare tracks from many of the performers scheduled for the event. Get a copy at the shows and at the You Are Here site, and check out "Hubble Potatoes" by Hubble which appears on said comp below.

In related news, both Diamond Terrifier and Hubble will perform at Zebulon tonight (7/10), joining Excepter and Hagfish & Poet Lounge. The show is part of a month-long residency durated by Diamond Terrifier (Sam Hillmer of Zs) on Tuesdays at the venue. The remainder of shows will feature a Patrick Higgins electro-acoustic set with Sleng Teng, and Tetryl Red on 7/17, ATM, with Psychic Reality, and Chuck Bettis on 7/24, and the final show on 7/31 with Talibam!, Violet Raid, Sun Watchers, and GADDFJXR.

Full details on the fest are below. The group is currently seeking funding for a Berlin edition in September 2012, contribute if you can.

Continue reading "The You Are Here Festival (aka The Maze) is coming to Secret Project Robot"

Merchandise at Musetrap in Chicago (more by Jimmy Forabi)

Tampa's Merchandise released the stellar Children of Desire LP this year and will embark on a US tour this fall, hitting NYC on September 12th at Home Sweet Home (for the WIERD party). Details on the band's US tour are forthcoming.

Vår (mem Iceage) made their US debut last night at WIERD, and the band will play June 17 at Glasslands as part of the Northside Festival with Crystal Stilts, Amen Dunes, Wymond Miles (of Fresh & Onlys), and Warthog. Tickets are still available or you can get in with your Northside badge.

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Wymond Miles - "Pale Moon" (MP3)

this is VÅR...
we mentioned that Crystal Stilts played 285 Kent with Woods over the weekend, it was their only announced non-festival date. I guess technically that's still true, but not really, because they're now set to play the Sacred Bones party at the Northside Festival on Glasslands on June 17. The lineup also includes Amen Dunes, Iceage side-project War who are now called VÅR, Wymond Miles (of Fresh & Onlys), and Warthog. Tickets are on sale now.

It's probably a good idea that War changed their name, and according to the band, VÅR (which translates to "spring") is not just a change in name, but also a change in direction. They've released their first new video as VÅR (pictured above), for the track, "In Your Arms," which you can watch below. Their debut LP is set to come out next year on Sacred Bones. The Northside party will be the US live debut for VÅR.

Amen Dunes in Chicago in February (more by Grant MacAllister)

Speaking of Amen Dunes, he just released the Ethio Covers 7", which consists of three covers of Ethiopian songs. One of those, "Ethio Song," can be streamed below.

For Wymond Miles, the Northside show is part of a June tour he'll be going on, most of which is with labelmates Psychic Ills (who plays Death by Audio on 5/25 with Ex Cops and PC Worship). That tour will be in support of Under the Pale Moon, his debut full length and followup to the Earth Has Doors EP, which came out earlier this year. Under the Pale Moon will be released on June 12 via Sacred Bones. Download the track, "Pale Moon," above or stream it below.

Lastly, Warthog (formerly Chain Wallet) is a new Brooklyn "supergroup" which includes Chris Hansell (who left The Men in 2011 to be replaced by Ben Greenberg aka Hubble) and members of Nomos, Nude Beach, Creem, and Dawn of Humans. They played their first show at 538 Johnson on April 8 with Hoax, Veins, and Raw Nerve. Check out footage of most of that show below.

All dates, videos, and streams below...

Continue reading "War changed name to VÅR, making U.S. debut @ Sacred Bones showcase (w/ Crystal Stilts, Wymond Miles & Amen Dunes)"

Frankie Rose @ Township (more by Sarah Frankie Linder)

In addition to the Jens Lekman/Of Montreal show at Williamsburg Park, the Northside Festival (June 14 - 17) just announced a slew of confirmed artists who'll be playing this year, including Future of the Left, the U.S. debut of Iceage-spinoff Vår (formerly War), Frankie Rose (playing the BrooklynVegan showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg with more TBA), Grass Widow, Cleveland's Gap Dream, Wymond Miles of the Fresh & Onlys,  Chain & the Gang, Kool Keith and more.

Other 2012 Northside Festival artists we've already posted about include Olivia Tremor Control, GZA, Neil Hamburger, Eternal Summers, Ceremony and Screaming Females and Royal Headache. Badges are on sale now and the full list of confirmed 2012 Northside artists is below.

Continue reading "more Northside Festival artists announced (Frankie Rose, Grass Widow, Felice Brothers, Buke & Gass, Vår, Gap Dream & more)"

Built to Spill at BV SXSW 2012 (more by Ryan Barkan)

The Hopscotch festival in Raleigh, North Carolina will celebrate its third year from Sept. 6-8, 2012 in downtown Raleigh, with 175 bands in 15 venues. The initial lineup, released today, runs the gamut from traditional indie favorites to punk to noise music to hip hop to noisy black metal and all stops in between, featuring performances from Built to Spill, sunn 0))), The Roots, The Jesus & Mary Chain (who played SXSW), Liars (who have a show coming up at Webster Hall), Baroness, Deerhoof, Death Grips (who play NYC soon and have new material on the way), Danny Brown (who was at Coachella and plays Prospect Park soon), Pallbearer (who play an exclusive East Coast Show soon), Screaming Females (who recently played NYC and are on tour now), Thee Oh Sees, The Spits (who just played NYC twice), Tenement, The Mountain Goats (two sets, one of which will be an all metal-covers set!) and so many more.

(and now we know the Jesus & Mary Chain are coming back soon)

Tickets are on sale. The full lineup and flyer (update: and a few more announced J&MC dates) are below...

Continue reading "Hopscotch lineup announced; Jesus & Mary Chain will be in NC in September; John Darnielle to do metal covers set "

Liturgy at Webster Hall in February (more by Amanda Hatfield)

If you've noticed a handful of interesting shows at The Stone happening next week, like the acoustic Vaura show (4/20) or the Amen Dunes and Guardian Alien show (4/17), they're part of Chippy Fest, which goes down at John Zorn's non-profit venue from April 17-22, and was curated by John Zorn's exclusive designer Heung-Heung Chin (aka Chippy)

On April 21, the night after Vaura plays, Toby Driver (who is a member of Vaura and also fronts Kayo Dot/maudlin of the Well) will present the world premiere of his new trio, Ichneumonidae, which includes violinist Timba Harris (of Secret Cheifs 3) and Michelle Morinaga. That same night, Toby also plays as a member of Stern with Chuck Stern, Keith Abrams, and Tim Byrnes.

As mentioned, Kayo Dot, Vaura, and Dysrhythmia share a bill at DBA on 4/28.

Other 'Chippy Fest' shows include Mick Barr (of Krallice), Hunter Hunt-Hendrix (of Liturgy), and Nymph on Wednesday (4/18) and Miho Hatori (with Ahmed Gallab of Yeasayer), Timo Ellis, and Unstoppable Death Machines on Thursday (4/19). The Stone's full calendar is here.

Speaking of Mick Barr, his music and William Brittelle's music will be performed by ACME: American Contemporary Music Ensemble on May 11 at 12 at The Kitchen. ACME players for this concert are Caleb Burhans (violin, banjo, and voice), Clarice Jensen (cello), Eric Lamb (flute), Megan Levin (harp), Caroline Shaw (violin), Nadia Sirota (viola) and Chris Thompson (percussion). Tickets are on sale now.

Speaking of Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, he kicks off a residency at Issue Project Room on Saturday (4/14) with Liturgy bandmate Bernhard Gann. The show is free but "sold out". Other dates in the "3-month residency" have not been announced yet but presumably will be soon.

Meanwhile, Hunter's ex-bandmate Greg Fox's Guardian Alien project (who also plays The Stone next week) plays Death by Audio TONIGHT (4/13) with Black Pus (of Lightning Bolt), Mounds, Buck Gooter, and Alien Whale. Guardian Alein will return to DBA on 5/11 with DJ Dog Dick and 2 Ton Bug.

by Andrew Sacher

Mike Wexler

Brooklyn's Mike Wexler released his sophomore LP, Dispossession, earlier this month via Mexican Summer. The album follows his debut LP, Sun Wheel, which arrived five years earlier and in that time he's been honing his brand of psychedelic folk and making it sound even starker than it does on his debut. Dispossession recalls the loner folk of late '60s/early '70s artists like Gary Higgins and Mark Fry, and also the plodding songwriting of more contemporary artists like Will Oldham and Phil Elvrum. Like those artists, Mike Wexler takes his time with every track on the album, more than half of which is made up of 6-9 minute songs. This gives him plenty of space to work in subtle embellishments like backgrounded hand drumming patterns, scattered guitar effects, and airy horn lines. Stream two tracks from the album below or listen to the entire album on Spotify. The artwork and tracklist are also below.

Mike Wexler is playing a record release party for the album TONIGHT (3/30) at Zebulon with Amen Dunes and Hiro Kone. If you miss tonight's show, Mike will play another local show at Glasslands on May 9 with Future Shuttle. Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now.

You can also catch another local Amen Dunes show at The Stone on April 17, the same day that Guardian Alien (Greg Fox) plays.

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

Continue reading "Mike Wexler released 'Dispossession', playing shows (one with Amen Dunes tonight)"

The Fresh & Onlys @ Psych Fest 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

The Reverberation Appreciation Society and The Black Angels have released the initial lineup poster for the 5th annual Austin Psych Fest. This year's fest, running from April 27th - 29th (in Austin), will take place at Austin's two newest big venues, recently opened Emo's East and the soon-to-be open Beauty Ballroom which is next door.

Emo's East is now the only Emo's since their Red River location closed on 12/30, and the Beauty Ballroom is (hopefully) having their rescheduled Grand Opening on January 27th (with Theophilus London and Treasure Fingers) and continuing on January 28th.

APF will feature around 60 bands over the three day, two room event. About 40 are included in the poster below, with another 20 or so to be announced in March. Announced bands include the Black Angels (who played Emo's East on New Year's Eve), the Black Lips, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Dead Meadow, Olivia Tremor Control, Wooden Shijps, and many more. Weekend passes go on sale this Saturday (January 21st) at 12pm CST at austinpsychfest.com.

Check out photos from the 2011 edition of Psych Fest (held at Seaholm Power Plant) HERE.

Chaos in Tejas, a different kind of Austin music fest that happens in June, also announced bands on their lineup today.

SXSW, which is in March, continues to announce bands all the time and recently posted their initial schedule.

Psych Fest 2012 poster, lineup and Bandcamp mixtape, below...

Continue reading "Austin Psych Fest annnounces initial 2012 lineup, new venue; SXSW posted their initial schedule"

This Will Destroy You at Emos last month (more by Tim Griffin)

This Will Destroy You will team with Amen Dunes (who played 285 Kent last night) for a set of dates in late January and into February. The trek, which charts a path most through the Midwest, East Coast, and into the South, will include a stop in NYC at the Kaufman Center at NYU on 2/9 with A Far Cry and Slow Six. The show is part of the previously discussed Ecstatic Music Festival and tickets are still on sale for the invidiual show or the entire festival.

This Will Destroy You recently released the "Black Dunes" single, which features the album track and a remix. Stream that, as well as their recent LP Tunnel Blanket below. The band also recently scored The Deep Field.

All dates below...

Continue reading "This Will Destroy You release single, announce tour (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Amen Dunes - "Bedroom Drum" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pigeons - "Tournoi" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pigeons - "Dead Echo" (MP3)

Amen Dunes

Amen Dunes, the current psych-folk project of Damon McMahon is in the midst of a series of CMJ shows. Today (10/21), he'll play a Chouette/De Stijl/FatCat/Soft Abuse day party with Pigeons, Forest Fire, Jerusalem & the Starbasket and DJ Paul Collins (of Beirut/Soft Landing). Tonight (10/21), he'll play the Sacred Bones showcase at Saint Vitus with Gary War, Psychic Ills, and Led Er Est. Tickets for that showcase are on sale now.

After CMJ, Amen Dunes will play a few shows with Harmonizer, including one at Glasslands on Sunday (10/23). Che Chen & Robbie Lee are also on the bill. Tickets are on sale now.

Amen Dunes and Sacred Bones labelmate Gary War will share another NYC bill together on Halloween (10/31) at 285 Kent with Noveller (who he played with last night at Littlefield) and Prince Rama.

Pigeons

Speaking of Pigeons, who play the Chouette/De Stijl/FatCat/Soft Abuse day party at Bruar Falls, their LP They Sweetheartstammers will be released November 8 via Soft Abuse. The band, like Amen Dunes, is from New York and creates a similar brand of stark psych-folk that should make for great back to back sets. You can grab two tracks off the upcoming album, "Tournoi" and "Dead Echo," above, and check out the artwork and tracklist below, along with the video for "Turnoi". The album is available for preorder at the Soft Abuse webstore. They also recently performed live in-studio versions of three other album tracks and one older song at Black Dirt Studios. You can stream those below.

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

Continue reading "Amen Dunes playing shows, including Sacred Bones showcase tonight, and one w/ Pigeons (dates & MP3s)"

by BBG

Greg Fox behind the kit with White Hills (more by BBG)

As discussed, Greg Fox of Liturgy is GDFX, and as just mentioned, his new LP One Thing is out NOW via Impose on blue vinyl. While the LP is definitely heavy on Fox's weapon of choice (drums) at times, it isn't in many of the ways you would expect. The new LP touches on stuttering samples, glitch, uber compressed snares, 8-bit and even some drone over the course of its 40 minutes, all of which you can exclusively stream below.

If you missed GDFX at Shea Stadium last night (8/25), well, he plays two more shows tonight (8/26). One of them is back at Shea Stadium with Woodsman (their second of two NYC shows this week). The other is with Amen Dunes at Saint Vitus.

If you miss the St Vitus show, Amen Dunes will also play a show at the soon-to-be-closed Live With Animals in Brooklyn on 9/24 with with K-Holes, CAVE, and PC Worship.

Before then PC Worship will do some touring with Greg's band Liturgy in September. That's before Liturgy play a string of dates with Boris that brings Liturgy to Irving Plaza on October 27.

Greg also plays in/as Guardian Alien. A record release show for that project happens at at Shea Stadium on 9/23.

Greg has filled in on drums for White Hills, and that band (sans Greg) will play a free show as part of the Rock Yard series.

Album stream & all tour dates for GDFX, Liturgy and PC Worship are below.

Continue reading "GDFX (aka Greg Fox of Liturgy) -- 'One Thing' full album stream & upcoming dates (TWO shows tonight)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Living in Exile (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Vaporize (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Dance Dance Dance (on the Radio) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Senator (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Tigers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Male Bonding - "Bones" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Male Bonding - Tame the Sun (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights - Diamond Mine (MP3)

I guess we'll start this week with Stephen Malkmus who is doing two in stores on Thursday: Academy Records in Williamsburg at 6pm and then Other Music at 9PM. His new album Mirror Traffic, as you may know, was produced by Beck. I'm not sure what that was supposed to connote (more acoustic guitars? L. Ron Hubbard references?) but it's a pretty typical Malkmus solo album with some tight pop songs ("Tigers," downloadable above, and "Stick Figures in Love") and maybe a little more focused and less jammy than he's been in a while. But not much less jammy.

I'm the guy that thought his first solo album was a step in the right direction and has been somewhat ambivalent by what's followed since. But they're always worth hearing. Malkmus and the now Weiss-less Jicks are on tour next month and all upcoming tour dates are at the bottom of this post, along with the video for "No One Is (As I Are Be)."

Voluminous and enigmatic Minneapolis duo BNLX are visiting this week, playing The Rock Shop tonight (8/24) and Pianos on Thursday (8/25). This is their third trip to NYC, and the first since releasing the 6th release in their quarterly EP series. It's description in typical BNLX corporate-speak:

BNLX commences the next phase in the BNLX First One Year Plan (extension two) with its sixth consecutive quarterly EP release of "music." These compositions combine rhythmically-expressed poetry in popular idiomatic vernacular ("rhymes") with pulsating percussive elements ("beats") and harmonic modulations/variations/transpositions (melody). The resulting unique juxtaposition of auditory and narrative elements can only be described as "music". Thematic topics on this release include IED's, event horizons, beards and banjos, and deposed royalty. "Vaporize" leads off the EP with a high-energy blast of high velocity psychedelic noise pop.

The Rock Shop show is with Delaware's Sky Drops; the Pianos show also has Jeane (who I finally saw last week, liked 'em), Phone Home and Ventilader.

Speaking of regimented release schedules, Violens have been releasing a digital single every month this year, the latest of which, "Through the Window," is my favorite so far. With a skittering drumbeat and delay-drenched arpeggiated guitars, it sounds a little like Kitchens of Distinction (if you remember that early '90s band). Violens will be playing a lot of their new material tonight (8/24) at Glasslands.

The rest of tonight's bill is also worth checking out. Dive is the new band from Zachary Cole Smith who used to play drums (and wear mom jeans) in Beach Fossils. (He's also played in Soft Black and with Darwin Deez.) The one track I've heard is definitely a bit Fossil-ized, but am curious to hear more and see what they're like live. Dive play again on September 1 at Shea Stadium with Caged Animals and Forest Fire.

Opening the Glasslands show is Philadelphia's psych-shoegazers Arc in Round. whose most recent EP is cacauphonous and captivating...and sound like they might be very good live.

---

Personal and the Pizzas are delivering in our area this weekend: Friday (8/26) at Maxwell's and Saturday (8/27) at Death by Audio. If you like good time Ramones style rock n' roll, and pizza (with extra cheese) you're gonna have a good time. I don't know what else to tell ya. There's video at the bottom of this post.

Lastly, we've got Male Bonding rolling into town: Glasslands on Saturday (8/27) and Mercury Lounge on Monday (8/29). The UK band's new album, Endless Now, is out next week and as mentioned before it moves away from the swampy sound of their debut into defiant mid-fi. Any more fidelity with melodic punk like this and you might start getting into Blink-182 territory. This album is as produced as it needs to be and is a pretty fun listen with just enough shoegaze nods to keep old guys like me interested. You can download two songs off it at the top of this post.

The band are on tour with Austin's Love Inks who are 180 degrees from Male Bonding's sound: gentle, minimal, croony. The jury is still out on their live show (my jury at least) but I do really like their album.

That's the main stuff I'm talking about this week. A few more worthy picks -- day by day -- are below.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24

Head to Pianos to catch dark and sexy ZAZA,  who play with Australian group Sherlock's Daughter who are on an extended New York holiday, as well as My Best Fiend, Our Mountain, and Alak.

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Amen Dunes at Glasslands (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

Amen Dunes will rev up the reverb at Saint Vitus on August 26th with Bobb Trimble's Flying Spiders, Zomes, and GDFX as part of their record release celebration for the new and haunting psychedelic garage LP Through Donkey Jaw. Tickets are on sale.

Through Donkey Jaw was released via Sacred Bones last week and features "Christopher" (video below) and "Not A Slave" (stream below).

Bobb Trimble recently welcomed the new LP The Crippled Dog Band via Yoga Records. The release compiles long-lost material from the outsider folk musician's aborted LP...

The year was 1983, and Bobb Trimble had two then-unrecognized masterpieces to his credit and a lot of confusion and indifference from his fellow travelers in the Worcester, MA "Wormtown" scene. Never one to worry much about appearances, Bobb accepted an invitation to join a group of teenage boys who called themselves The Crippled Dog Band ...and led the Band on enthusiastically received gigs throughout the region. Unbeknownst to almost anyone, they completed a raucous album full of addictive hooks, feedback, teen chatter and video game noises. But soon the Band splintered and Bobb decided to forget about the whole thing, disposing of the entire 500-count LP pressing in an .office park dumpster.

Zomes is nom de plume of Asa Osborne (Lungfish), who released Earth Grid via Thrill Jockey in April. Check out "Openings" streaming below.

GDFX is Greg Fox of Liturgy, who recently released a new LP via Impose Records entitled One Thing. You can listen to "Pipedream" below. Liturgy play Irving Plaza with Asobi Seksu and Boris on 10/27 as part of Boris's US tour. Tickets are still available.

All song streams and videos are below.

Continue reading "Amen Dunes released 'Through Donkey Jaw', celebrating @ Saint Vitus w/ Bobb Trimble, Zomes & GDFX"

Panda Bear's new album "Tomboy" will be out on April 12th via Paw Tracks. "This is one week earlier than the originally announced release date - it was moved up so that the record will be available for Record Store Day on April 16." That's the cover art above. The full tracklist is below along with a set of fellow Paw Tracks recording artist Prince Rama tour dates (Glasslands included) (and some Animal Collective dates too)...

Continue reading "new Panda Bear cover art & Prince Rama tour dates"

DOWNLOAD: Prince Rama - "Lightening Fossil" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Light Pollution - "Witchcraft" (MP3)

photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

Deakin @ Glasslands

"Just got back from it. Didn't stick around for the cowboys & indians dance party, though I probably should have. I was faced on mushrooms the whole night and felt like the place was being overrun by 16 year olds. Twice some dumb scantily-clad broads approached me to ask if I'd buy them drinks cos they were only "20". This was very different from the demographic I imagined Prince Rama and Deakin would be playing for.

Really bummed out about the arrest of Michael from Prince Rama, and the subsequent abridged setlist. But still they sounded really amazing, and Deakin's set was very cool. It's a shame most people there didn't seem to give much of a shit about the live music.

Can't believe I didn't stick around longer. What did I miss? But don't tell me a bunch of half naked 18 year old girls with face paint prancing around, beseeching older men to buy them drinks. Because I was there for that.

P.S. I was the awkward weirdo in the blue hoodie.
-dreamlight molecule

The trek continues for Prince Rama/Deakin, who play Montreal tonight and scoot across the west coast until the end of September. After that, Prince Rama will then link up with Light Pollution for another tour that kicks off in Chicago in early October before they both play NYC on 10/21 as part of the Carpark/Paw Tracks CMJ Showcase at Cake Shop. More details on that showcase TBA.

It's unclear why the guy from Prince Rama got arrested, but the above account makes at least three times I heard about it.

Prince Rama's new LP, Shadow Temple, is out now via Paw Tracks, dig on one track from the LP, "Lightening Fossil", downloadable above. Light Pollution's new LP, Apparitions, is out now also, and features "Witchcraft" available for download above.

Full tour dates and tons of pics from Glasslands are below...

Continue reading "Despite an arrest, Prince Rama & Deakin played Glasslands (pics), playing more shows (dates) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Avi Buffalo - What's In It For? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: CFCF - Big Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grass Widow - Shadow (MP3)

This weekend is The Big Takeover's 30th Anniversary celebration: two nights of shows at the Bell House put together by Jack Rabid who has been publishing the 'zine since 1980. Jack's one of the most passionate, informed music fans I've ever met and he's put together a pretty stellar line-up of artists, most of which will be familiar to regular BT readers.

Friday night (7/30) is headlined by San Francisco punk legends The Avengers, and Seattle's Visqueen, and the first performance in 16 years by Flower (Ed and James Balyut's pre-Versus band). Plus the L.A. punks Channel 3, the Libertines U.S. (from Cincinnati) playing their first-ever Big Apple show, and Jack Rabid's band Springhouse.

For Against

Saturday night (7/31) is even more action packed. Former Chameleons frontman Mark Burgess headlines, performing acoustic and with a full band; legendary Lincoln, NE post-punk shoegazers For Against, playing their first East Coast show in 15 years; and Springhouse performs again, this time doing their 1993 album Postcards from the Arctic in full. Also: Former Nerves/Beat singer Paul Collins, a rare U.S. appearance by ex-Mutton Birds frontman Don McGlashan, onetime Newtown Neurotics singer Steve Drewitt (first-ever U.S. show), and the Posies' Jon Auer. Also also: The Sharp Things, The Sleepover Disaster (first-ever East Coast shows) and The Curtain Society.

You can still buy two-day passes for $40 as well. (Individual tickets are $25.) If you've never read The Big Takeover, well you should really recitify that. Each phone book sized issue (twice yearly) is packed with in-depth interviews, reviews and essays, the bulk of which is still written by Jack. The magazine's slogan is "Music with Heart" and he means it, man. The 30th Anniversary issue (#66 if you're keeping track) is just out with Spoon on the cover. Like always, it's a great read.

Avi Buffalo

Avi Buffalo play the Seaport Music Festival on Friday, their only New York appearance this go-around. Their self-titled Sub Pop debut is an impressive collection of shimmery, folky guitar pop that has stayed in constant rotation on my stereo since March. Live, Avi Buffalo put a little more muscle into the tunes. Front man Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg is a Doug Martsch in the making. (You get a sense of it on the LP's seven-minute jam "Remember the Last Time.") Dude uses like 15 pedals and is a pretty serious shredder. I thought they were great at South by Southwest. Yes they are barely old enough to buy cigarettes (not that they should be smoking!) but that just means Avi Buffalo haven't even hit their stride -- which is exciting.

Opening is Canadian multi-hyphenate wunderkind (and Sub Pop labelmate) Chad Van Gaalen who hasn't made a new record of his own in two years but has probably stayed busy being an illustrator, animator, and producer of Women. Unlike last Friday, weather looks to be idyllic Friday (sunny, high of 84) -- should be a lovely early evening on the pier.

CFCF

Despite the preponderance of reverbed garage, twee indiepop and '90s era slackerdom in this column, I do listen to a fair amount of dance music though I'm not really a club-goer. One of my favorite albums of 2009 was Continent, the full-length debut from CFCF, aka Vancouver beat-maker Michael Silver. It's an ambitious disc of instrumental, yet highly melodic dance music without even a trace of chillwave. (Though there's definitely some Balearic in there.) It's ridiculously catchy, and you may find yourself singing overtop tracks, making up your own lyrics (Well I do anyway.) Annie, Roisin, Robyn, etc... may I present your new collaborator?

You can download CFCF's great cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Big Love" at the top of this post -- the only vocal track on Continent. Silver, who is also an in-demand remixer (on the new HEALTH album for instance), is in town this weekend for a bunch of DJ gigs. You can hear him spin Friday night (7/30) at Cameo Gallery with Jacques Renault and Lovefingers, and then the PS1 Warm Up on Saturday (8/31), where Animal Collective also DJ, plus live performances from Prince Rama and Blondes.

Grass Widow

If you're going to Prospect Park for Sonic Youth on Saturday, do get there early and catch Grass Widow as it's their only NYC show for now. The San Francisco trio's new album, Past Time, is out August 24 on Kill Rock Stars. It could use a few more choruses but gets by on the band's very distinctive sound. You can download "Shadows" from the new album at the top of this post and watch its lovely animated video at the bottom of this post. Grass Widow are teriffic live -- it will be interesting to see them on such a big stage. If you can't make it, they'll be back in September for two shows (Sept. 27 -28, venues still TBD). All tour dates at the bottom of this post.

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And some daily picks of things not otherwise covered above:

THURSDAY, JULY 29

The Music Slut has been blogging away for five years and they're celebrating on a boat! Specifically, the Rocks Off Concert Cruise ship and they've put Javelin, Keepaway and I Love Monsters aboard it. Boat leaves at 7pm, don't be late. Happy birthday, guys.

Coco 66 has a night of bliss-out drone, noise, old synthesizers, psychedelic freakouts, and tribal chanting all in celebration of the release of Amen Dunes' new album, Murder Dull Mind, which is out on Sacred Bones. Also playing Gary War, recent Paw Tracks signees Prince Rama (who are at PS 1 Saturday), and Coconuts. Open vodka bar at 9PM till it runs out.

Over at Silent Barn, you can catch locals Sisters whose debut album, Ghost Fits, is out in September on Narnack Records. Also playing: Knight School, Nude Beach, Giant Peach.

Meanwhile at Union Pool, there's CYHSY offshoot Radical Dads, Rope and The New Colossus.

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Continue reading "The Big Takeover, Avi Buffalo, CFCF, Amen Dunes, Grass Widow, Ducktails & more in This Week in Indie "

Tickets are on sale for the show Zola Jesus is playing with Effi Briest, Nice Face, Amen Dunes, and who also has shows coming up at South Street Seaport and Terminal 5 (with Wolf Parade). Check out her brand new video for "Night", off her EP Stridulum, below...

Continue reading "new Zola Jesus video, Glasslands show tickets on sale"