by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Our Own Dream" (Blackbird Blackbird Remix)
DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Our Own Dream" (MP3)

Keep Shelly in Athens at FFF Fest (more by Tim Griffin)

Greek duo Keep Shelly in Athens made their way over to North America earlier this month for Fun Fun Fun Fest where they played their first-ever US show in the early afternoon at Auditorium Shores. They then played their 2nd US show later that night downtown as part of one of the afterparties.

They've since been on a short tour with Body Language that hits Bowery Ballroom on November 18. Tickets are still on sale and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter to win them are below.

We're also premiering Blackbird Blackbird's remix of KSIA's "Our Own Dream," off the 12" EP of the same name which came out on November 5 via Forest Family. You can download their remix and the original at the top of this post and check out the EP's artwork and tracklist at the bottom. Like most of KSIA's work, "Our Own Dream" is a dreamy piece of downtempo. On their remix, Blackbird Blackbird replace the song's swaying beat with a 4/4 headknocker and fill it out with synths that can't help but remind me of LCD Soundsystem's "Dance Yrself Clean."

Speaking of Body Language, you can catch them again after the Keep Shelly in Athens tour when they open for Matt & Kim and Super Mash Brothers at their New Year's Eve show at Hammerstein Ballroom. Tickets are still on sale.

All dates, artwork and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Keep Shelly in Athens are on tour now (win tix to Bowery!), were remixed by Blackbird Blackbird (MP3 premiere)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Rachel Kowal

Baths @ Knitting Factory

Star Slinger may have bowed out, but Saturday night's alliterative line-up still proved to be a delightful exercise in spacey electro-pop. The show began with Mikey Sanders' project, Blackbird Blackbird. Though he typically performs solo, Sanders had help from his friend Frank. Much like Baths, Blackbird Blackbird is heavily comprised of bass-heavy laptop samples that are skillfully manipulated by a series of knobs and faders and set to nice, clear vocals.

Sanders mentioned multiple times how "fucking stoked" he was to be playing over the course of his 20-minute set, and the audience responded to this enthusiasm by beginning to loosen up. Though the night was still young, it was clear that a dance party was brewing.

But before things got too frenzied, the dancers got a bit of a respite thanks to Braids' pleasantly dreamy set. After a long, meandering instrumental intro as the band and technicians ironed out some last-minute kinks, the lights suddenly changed and Braids exploded into the moody crowd pleaser "Lemonade."

Lead singer and guitarist Raphaelle Standell-Preston had a big smile on her face throughout the evening, despite her apparent illness. (She had thought ahead to bring a a steaming thermos and a Kleenex box on stage with her.) But even more notable than her upbeat disposition was her ability to hit every note - especially the high ones in "Lammicken." (At times, she looked a bit surprised when she nailed them, too.) When she finally confessed that she had "lost" her voice near the end of their set, she could barely talk. Luckily, the final song in the set called for some shrieking and audience participation.

When it was finally time for Baths, both Will Wiesenfeld and the sold-out crowd were ready to dance. "Ok. You guys want to hear music, I assume," Wiesenfeld began. "Let's do it!" As he began to play his first song, he turned to the sound technician a few seconds in. "Everything louder! Louder, louder, louder!"

It's easy to knock laptop musicians, but unlike some performers, Wiesenfeld is anything but dull. With his hands moving rapidly over dials and knobs, Wiesenfeld was a blur. He danced as much as physically possible, sending the key ring at his belt loop jingling wildly, which added yet another layer to the music.

"Oh my God. I love him already!" yelled a girl behind me during the first song. Everyone was gushing and in good spirits - it's hard not to be with lyrics like "It's a breezy, beautiful day." Meanwhile, Wiesenfeld was soaking up the love with a big grin on his face. "We're all friends here. I know all of you," he cried out at one point.

He was moving so much that he somehow managed to dislodge his glasses - twice. "I don't have any rock star things other than my glasses falling off, so that's peak. That's as bad ass as I get," he joked.

Following his action-packed set (which included a number of new songs), Wiesenfeld returned to uproarious applause for a one-song encore before admitting to the crowd and admitting, I don't have any more. I'm going to disappear."

--

The Saturday night show was over before midnight which is when Todd P took over for a late night party feating a set by John Maus.

Braids play again at Glasslands tonight (12/15), and then Baths and Braids continue their tour together at a sold out Mercury Lounge on Wednesday. More pictures from Knitting Factory below...

Continue reading "Baths, Braids & Blackbird Blackbird @ Knitting Factory (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: A Classic Education - I Lost Time (MP3)

Bologna, Italy's A Classic Education will be here for CMJ, playing six shows:

WED Oct 20 7:00P The Delancey (Lefse & I Guess I'm Floating Showcase) NYC
THU Oct 21 8:30P - Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party @ Backstage (formerly The Annex)
THU Oct 21 10:00P Trash Bar, Brooklyn
FRI Oct 22 12:00P Pop Tarts Suck Toasted @ Cake Shop
FRI Oct 22 6:00P Pianos
FRI Oct 22 8:30P The Charleston, Brooklyn

Maybe you caught them last year when they played one of our CMJ day parties? The band's new EP, Hey There Stranger, came out about a month ago on Lefse Records (How to Dress Well, Dominant Legs) and straddles the line between swoony baroque pop and reverby indie, with plenty of "bah bahs" and "oh ohs." You can download "I Lost Time" from it at the top of this post, and watch the found footage video for it below

Note that one of the shows on their list is the Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party. You can RSVP and stream tracks of the artists playing at Hype's site, and check out full lineup and flyer, and more, below...

Continue reading "A Classic Education returning to NYC for CMJ, playing 6 shows including dF & Hype Machine's party (dates & lineup)"