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)"

DOWNLOAD: Moon Duo - Mazes (MP3)

"Moon Duo will release a new full-length album Mazes on March 29 via Sacred Bones Records. The vinyl edition of this LP is hand silk-screened and comes with a 22" x 22" reversible poster. For a limited time select retailers will carry a free bonus CD available with purchase featuring six tracks on Mazes remixed by Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3, Purling Hiss, and Psychic Ills amongst others."

Moon Duo (Ripley Johnson of Wooden Shjips and Sanae Yamada) are currently on the road in support of that new LP which you can sample by downloading the title track above (right over the cover art).

Maybe you caught Moon Duo at Cake Shop last night (3/26) with Jacuzzi Boys. Maybe you'll catch them at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn tonight (3/27) as part of a a pretty great bill that also includes Coconuts (who released an LP on No Quarter exactly a year ago) and The Stepkids (who recently signed to Stones Throw).

All tour dates (may with Blank Dogs) and the new album's tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Moon Duo releasing 'Mazes', on tour now (MP3 & dates)"

Ducktails at Glasslands (more by Erez Avissar)

As you may have noticed at the bottom of the recent set of Ducktails tour dates we posted, there was a tour with Woods planned, but no actual dates. That is no longer true. Woods and Ducktails will hit Maine, Vermont, Philly, Baltimore and their hometown of Brooklyn together in February. The NYC show is 2/4 at Monster Island Basement, but you don't need to wait that long to see Ducktails. As previously discussed, they play with Gary War at Union Pool tonight (1/8) and at Glasslands on 1/18 with the Smith Westerns. All dates are below.

In semi-related news, Blank Dogs also have a hometown date at Monster Island Basement one week prior, on 1/28, with their Captured Tracks labelmates from San Francisco, The Soft Moon, who they'll also play Boston and Philly with that same week. All dates are below.

And speaking of Captured Tracks, as previously mentioned, MINKS have a few shows in the near future as well, including supporting Frankie Rose & The Outs at Bowery Ballroom with Dum Dum Girls on March 4th (tickets), and Jan 21st at Glasslands with Big Troubles.

Frankie Rose & The Outs also have another show a lot sooner. It happens on January 20th with King Tuff at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Tickets are on sale.

All tour dates and some videos below.

Continue reading "more Ducktails, Woods, Blank Dogs, The Soft Moon & Frankie Rose & the Outs shows (dates)"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Dead Gaze - This Big World (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Velvet Davenport - Get Out (Feat. Ariel Pink And Gar War) (MP3)

Swimsuit

During CMJ, I caught grimy Mississippi noise-pop band Dead Gaze at a Shea Stadium show set up by the label Group Tightener (who are putting out the band's 10-inch). The group, a trio at the time, headed by frontman R. Cole Furlow's effects-processed vocals, played a set of fuzzed-out pop songs with elements of bluesy rock and grunge.

Their return to NYC, a Friday night set at Glasslands on 11/12 opening at the Blank Dogs' CD release show, was a more tempered version of that performance. They were a quartet now (previouly guitarist Robert Chisolm subbed in quite ably for the band's regular drummer, who couldn't make the CMJ trip), and the music seemed even more focused on Furlow's processed vocals, which shifted subtly but distinctly for each song. On some, his voice was akin to the nasally bark of Nathan Wavves, on others like the tinny impassioned delivery of Daniel Johnston (with breaks into falsetto that hinted at a skilled voice underneath).

Also at that Glasslands show was Swimsuit, a new-ish band from Michigan that features Fred Thomas of City Center/Saturday Looks Good to Me on guitar. Their jangly pop is all about counterposed vocal harmonies, with Fred's emotive voice alongside those of the female bassist and guitarist. All three lead their own tunes, and pitched in on one another's. A delightful exchange of riffs shuffled along their several instrumentals (which were hinted at a while back, when Fred wrote about Swimsuit's sound: "Did you ever watch that show Kids In The Hall? Remember the theme song? All of our songs sound like that.")

Fans of SLGTM's various incarnations will find a lot to like from the group, who plan to record a full-length this winter (their first 7" was for sale at the show). And speaking of Fred's post-SLGTM output, he recently posted a new album-length collaboration with that band's frequent singer Betty Barnes. It's titled Mighty Clouds and is currently streaming.

Adding another genre-shift to the Friday night bill was the delicately layered summer-of-love psychedelia of Velvet Davenport (who have an April 2010 Daytrotter session you can grab in addition to the MP3 above which features both Ariel Pink and Gary War). Blank Dogs' overdriven lo-fi ditties capped the night, but I unfortunately had to skip out before they began.

Videos of all bands at the Glasslands show and more, below...

Continue reading "Dead Gaze, Swimsuit & Velvet Davenport (in review & video) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: 14 Iced Bears - Inside (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: 14 Iced Bears - Like a Dolphin (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: 14 Iced Bears - Hay Fever (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The 1900s - Babies (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tuung - Don't Look Down or Back (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Blank Dogs - Northern Islands (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dead Gaze - This Big World (MP3)

14 Iced Bears

I did a double take when I saw that UK indiepop cult heros 14 Iced Bears were playing The Rock Shop on Thursday (11/11). I didn't even know they had reformed. They're associated with the jangly C86 scene (though not actually on that famed cassette) and released singles on seminal indiepop labels Sarah and Slumberland. You can download three songs at the top of this post, all of which are on the Slumberland-released singles comp In The Beginning. A little more on the band from Slumberland:

Formed in 1985 by Rob Sekula, 14 Iced Bears ably blended shambolic pop with a psychedelic punk edge that set them apart from their C86 contemporaries. Inspired by bands like the Stooges, Velvet Underground, 13th Floor Elevators and Echo & the Bunnymen, Sekula injected the then-nascent indie-pop sound with a twisted dose of noise and experimental menace. While still owing plenty to the Byrds/Ramones influences evident in the output of labels like Creation and Pink, it was this dark 60s flavor that always set the 'Bears apart. [Slumberland]

If you can find 14 Iced Bears 1988 debut album, it's an underheard classic of the era. I also really like their fuzzed-out cover of "Summer Nights" from Grease, which was my introduction to the band. If you like Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Dream Diary and Crystal Stilts, here's some OG indiepoppers making a rare, totally unexpected appearance on American shores. The band broke up in 1992 and these are their first shows since then. Highly Recommended. The band are over, ostensibly, for Popfest New England which happens this weekend, but are making a short Northeast tour out of the visit. All 14 Iced Bears tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

1900s

The other super-exciting this weekend is the return of Chicago's The 1900s who haven't played NYC in almost two years. They play an early show at Mercury Lounge on Thursday (11/11) and then The Rock Shop on Saturday (11/13). Their new album, Return of the Century, is pretty fantastic, somewhere between Velvet Underground and Fleetwood Mac, brimming with perfectly crafted pop. Says Chicagoist:

The 1900s have many musical precursors, but it seems unfair to name check any of them since the group has obviously labored so hard to create something of their own. And in that they've succeeded. Return of the Century is surrounded by a golden warmth, coursing through every harmony and bittersweet guitar chord. The band has mastered the art of creating a genuine atmosphere, as opposed to taking musical shortcuts to convey sentimentality, and it's impossibly not to lay back and luxuriate in the sound washing over you. Previously The 1900s excelled in mirroring sounds from the past, and the sonic dressings haven't changed, but now there's a genuine and unique beating heart giving their tunes life. It's like watching the difference between four-color print and HD TV, only through gauzy pastels.

You can listen for yourself -- the whole of Return of the Century is streaming via a widget at the bottom of this post. And if you haven't already, you can download an MP3 of single "Babies" at the top of this post. And I do urge you to go see them. The 1900s are just as skilled live, and a lot of fun too.

Tunng

If you don't mind paying again 'cause it's a separate show, you can stick around after The 1900s play at Mercury Lounge on Thursday (11/11) and catch folky UK act Tunng. They also play Bruar Falls on Saturday (11/13). The band have gone through some line-up changes since their last album, most notably the departure of singer Sam Genders (he of the Robert Wyatt-esque voice).

Losing their singer/songwriter could prove disastrous (see: The Concretes new LP review in P4K) but Tunng's fourth album, And Then We Saw Land, is pretty good, if a little more straight-up folk pop than their previous albums which mixed acoustics with glitchy electronics. Laptops still make appearances here and there, but the new LP is breezy pastoral stuff. You can download "Don't Look Down or Back" at the top of this post, and watch the video for single "Hustle" at the bottom. The Mercury Lounge show is the first of a short North American tour, and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

Blank Dogs

There's so much good music coming out on Captured Tracks lately much of it in single form. If you haven't heard Craft Spells' "Party Talk" or Soft Moon's "Breath the Fire," you should definitely seek them out. Don't forget about Blank Dogs, the musical alter ego of C/T major domo Mike Sniper. Blank Dogs new album, Land and Fixed, has come a long way from the murky, effects-overload of their early EPs into new sonic clarity. There's still a lot of delay and chorus effects but it no longer sounds like it was recorded in a bog. If you like the weirder side of early Mute Records (Fad Gadget seem a big influence), or the dark pop of Ohio cult legends My Dad is Dead, give BD's new album a listen. It's pretty good.

Really more of a studio thing, the Blank Dogs Live Experience has been a bit more of a mess, but Sniper has formed a new power trio version of the band and given the strength of the last few records it may be time to revisit. They play Friday night at Glasslands as part of a really good bill. Also on the bill: Mississippi's Dead Gaze (super-catchy bedroom recorded pop, check out an MP3 above); Swimsuit (new band from Fred Thomas of City Center/Saturday Looks Good to Me); and the jangly psych-pop of Minneapolis  Velvet Davenport (who also play Shea Stadium on Saturday [11/13]).

That's the main stuff this week. A few more picks, night-by-night, of things not covered above.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10

I'd kind of forgotten about Favourite Sons who haven't released an album since 2006's underrated Down Beside Your Beauty. But after a dormant period they're about to release it's follow-up, The Great Deal of Love, and play Union Pool tonight. (Watch a video of the title track at the bottom of this post.) Singer Ken Griffin, who sounds a little like Ian McCulloch, fronted the excellent but mostly forgotten '90s band Rollerskate Skinny (seek out 1996's Horsedrawn Wishes, it's a lost classic).

Tonight at Bruar Falls is what is likely Pursesnatchers' last show for what will likely be a while, as Doug Marvin and Annie Hart are expecting a bundle of joy any second. They're on at 8PM and it's FREE.

continued below...

Continue reading "14 Iced Bears, 1900s, Tunng, Blank Dogs, Obits, Magic Kids, Popfest New England & more in This Week in Indie "

The Tallest Man on Earth @ Town Hall in 2008 (more by Chris La Putt)

today in NYC
* Whiplash @ UCB
* comedy @ Pianos
* Jim Campilongo @ Living Room
* M.I.A., Rye Rye @ Terminal 5
* Grant Hart, Remma @ Bruar Falls
* Jesse Harris, Spookhuisje @ Zebulon
* Breathe Owl Breathe, The Loom @ The Rock Shop
* Beach Fossils, Grass Widow, Oberhofer, Ovens @ Old Firehouse
* The Tallest Man On Earth, S. Carey @ Webster Hall
* Maximum Balloon (David Sitek DJ set) @ Other Music
* Teenage Fanclub, Radar Brothers @ Bowery Ballroom
* Ghastly City Sleep, Industries of the Blind, The Stationary Set, Heliotropes @ DBA
* Byron Westbrook, Keith Fullerton Whitman @ Issue Project Room
* Bobby Bare Jr., Blue Giant, Sallie Ford & Sound Outside, Thieving Irons @ Mercury Lounge
* Regina Spektor, Carina Round, Cooper, Jenny Owen Youngs, Jupiter One, Only Son, Rachel Platten, The Candles, Tracy Bonham, Wes Hutchinson (Daniel Cho Benefit) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Tonight's Whiplash lineup includes John Oliver (The Daily Show), Josie Long, Myq Kaplan, Sean Patton, Rory Scovel, Nate Bargatze & Jarrod Harris. Last week, right after the Eugene Mirman Comedy Fest ended, Louis CK and Jim Gaffigan performed surprise sets on the bill that included Daniel Kitson and Reggie Watts.

Blank Dogs played Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos on 9/24. An (((unartig))) video from that show below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

Pavement @ Summerstage (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

today in NYC
* Demetri Martin @ Town Hall
* Mark Olson @ Joe's Pub
* Vince Neil @ Irving Plaza
* Jaymay @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Lichens @ Factory Fresh
* Hank Roberts @ The Stone
* Gordon Voidwell @ BAM Cafe
* Abigail Washburn @ Joe's Pub
* Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Mercury Lounge
* Stars, Wild Nothing @ Terminal 5
* The Acorn, Basia Bulat @ Littlefield
* Porcupine Tree @ Radio City Music Hall
* ZO2, Sweet Cyanide @ Gramercy Theatre
* Vitalic, Annie Mac @ Webster Hall
* Electric Six, Fall On Your Sword @ Maxwell's
* David Bazan, The Mynabirds @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Joey Baron, Robyn Schulkowsky @ The Stone
* Mighty Tiny, Thy Burden, Victory Gin @ Zebulon
* Mazing Vids, Soft Metals, Innergaze @ Bruar Falls
* Pavement, The Beets @ Central Park Summerstage
* Sloan Wainwright, Pearl & the Beard @ the Living Room
* Laurie Spiegel, Joseph Kubera @ Issue Project Room
* The National, Owen Pallett @ The Wellmont Theatre
* Ra Ra Riot, Anamanaguchi @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Murder By Death, Ninja Gun, Samantha Crain @ Union Pool
* Garotas Suecas, The Babies, Sundelles, Holger @ Cake Shop
* Workout, Super Mirage, Hey Stranger, Hello Nurse @ Pianos
* Alice in Chains, Deftones, Mastodon @ Madison Square Garden
* Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Carbon Leaf @ Best Buy Theatre
* Laurie Anderson (performing Delusion) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music
* The Hundred in the Hands, Blood Orange, Blondes (DJ set) @ Coco 66
* Le Sphinxx, Psycho Wipeout, Koko Ono (Showpaper Benefit) @ Silent Barn
* Japanther, This Runs On Blood, Math The Band, Mirrors & Wires @ Shea Stadium
* Avey Tare, Crocodiles, Kria Brekkan, Headless Horseman (RSVP here) @ Glasslands
* Blank Dogs, Snakes Say Hisss, I'm Turning Into, Sweet Bulbs @ Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos
* Red Wire Black Wire, Infrastructure, Swoon, Novae, Peculiar Gentlemen @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Escort (live), Mister Saturday Night, Darshan, Midnight Magic, Rub and Tug DJ's @ Highline Ballroom

Blank Dogs are playing a show tonight.

Bettie Serveert and The Art of Shooting @ Maxwell's is rescheduled for Wednesday, November 3rd.

Willifest is happening, and Coney Island has a film festival kicking off today too. So does all of New York.

Read about the Laurie Anderson show going on at BAM.

Tickets went on sale for Crime In Stereo's final Brooklyn show.

Pavement week is coming to an end. The fifth of five NYC shows happens tonight at Summerstage. A couple of videos from Thursday night, and one of the rainy Wednesday show where the crowd is going nuts, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

Negative Approach in Austin 2009 (more)

Bad Brilliance at Santos in 2009 (more by Andrew Frisicano)

today in NYC
* daytime stuff
* Si*Se @ The Bell House
* Matt Welch @ The Stone
* Chi-Chi Glass @ Barbes
* Dub Is A Weapon @ Zebulon
* Cynthia Hopkins @ Barbes
* Rock the Bells @ Governors Island
* Mister Saturday Night w/ Theo Parrish
* Rangda, Major Stars, Meg Baird @ Cake Shop
* Dean Parrish, The Black Hollies @ Southpaw
* Orphan, Eric Copeland, Bad Dream @ Union Pool
* Classixx, Punches, Eli Escobar @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Hahn Rowe, Roger Kleier, Annie Gosfield @ The Stone
* These United States, Roadside Graves @ Mercury Lounge
* Jones Street Station, Last Good Tooth @ Mercury Lounge
* Big Freedia, DJ Rusty Lazer, House of Ladosha @ Coco 66
* Data Dog, Lost Boy?, Food Stamps, Villanelles @ Don Pedro
* Robbers On High Street, Only Son, New Numbers @ The Rock Shop
* Wild Nothing, Blank Dogs, Cosmetics, MINKS @ Bowery Ballroom
* Magic Bullets, Blood Orange, The Cinnamon Band, Beach Combers @ Pianos
* Starkweather, Raw Radar War, The Communion, PanzerBastard @ The Acheron
* The Specific Heats, Knight School, Moonmen On The Moon, Man @ Glasslands
* Raw Radar War, Starkweather, The Communion, Panzerbastard @ The Acheron
* Dinosaur Feathers, Lonnie Walker, The Fatty Acids, Hospitality @ Littlefield
* Exodus, Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail, Bonded By Blood @ Gramercy Theatre
* Autolux, This Will Destroy You, Light Pollution @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* The Jaguar Club, The Cloud Room, The Vita Ruins, Gold Streets @ Union Hall
* Quilt, Sweet Bulbs, Red Romans (of Beach Fossils), Total Slacker @ Silent Barn
* Bare Wires, Unnatural Helpers, Library on Fire, Violent Soho @ Dead Herring (moved from Bruar)
* Hello Nurse, Left Me Bashful, Dead Stars, Morning Fuzz, The Twees @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Birthday Cake, X-Stina Ballerina, GOJOE, Bad Brilliance, The Penniless Loafers @ Santos Party House
* White Out w/ Thurston Moore, Carlos Giffoni and C Spencer Yeh Duo, Fat Worm of Error @ Knitting Factory
* Negative Approach, Tesco Vee, Pissed Jeans, Hellmouth, Mind Eraser, New Lows ('Why be Something You're Not'/Touch And Go Fanzine' Release Party) @ Santos Party House

This is part 2 of What's Going On Saturday, Check out Part One too.

Soul party Dig Deeper hosts Dean Parrish and The Black Hollies at Southpaw tonight. Dig Deeper is also responsible for the upcoming Brooklyn Soul Festival at the Bell House featuring, among others, Eli Paperboy Reed who also plays a free show at the J&R MusicFest today.

When I mentioned Thurston Moore had been added to ATP NY, I forgot to post a reminder that Thurston was also making an appearance at Knitting Factory tonight.

Bad Brilliance will reveal himself. or so he says, tonight at Santos, which is unrelated to the Negative Approach/Tesco Vee show also happening at Santos tonight. A Bad Brilliance video promo for the show (not for children) below...

"Due to issues beyond my control, we had to move the show from Bruar Falls to Dead Herring"

Hello Nurse play The Studio on the same night The Cloud Room play Union Hall. The fact that neither venue existed back then aside, it's a 2006 flashback.

THE FIRST 100 PEOPLE TO THE MERCH BOOTH AT BOWERY TONIGHT:

CT-78: Bowery Ballroom free giveaway.
A tape and CD-R (both with the same tracks on it)
100% exclusive to this release. It will not be available digital.
Only 100 are being made, all numbered.
First 100 people to the merch table get one. Limit one per ticketholder.
1. Wild Nothing "Introduction"
2. Blank Dogs "Floorboards"
3. Zodiacs "Black Dreams"

----

What else?

Continue reading "What's Going on Saturday? (part 2)"

Wild Nothing @ Governors Island Saturday night (more by Andrew St Clair)

Wild Nothing and the Morning Benders shared a bill at Governors Island Saturday night. Both bands, coincidentally, will next be heading to the UK for shows later this month (dates below), and both just added additional NYC shows to their schedules.

Wild Nothing will co-headline a show at Bowery Ballroom with Blank Dogs on August 28th. Both Cosmetics and Minks are also on that bill. $13 tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday at noon. General sale starts Friday at noon.

The Morning Benders, whose next NYC shows are with the Black Keys at Summerstage in July (both sold out), will headline their own show at Webster Hall on November 18th. $18 tickets also go on AmEx presale Wednesday at noon. General sale starts Friday at noon.

All tour dates for both bands, and some videos from recent shows, below...

Continue reading "Wild Nothing, Blank Dogs & the Morning Benders add shows"

by BBG

Blank Dogs at South Street Seaport (more by Chris LaPutt)

Pendu presents: NY EYE & EAR FEST III
...a massive Annual Music and Arts Fete showcasing some of the most exciting bands, artists, and filmmakers currently living and working here in NYC. In addition, NYE&E assembles a Record Fair featuring NYC-based Record Labels and Vendors selling LPs, CDs, 7?'s, cassettes, lathes, comics, zines, stickers, and art prints. NYE&E exists to facilitate the introduction of new artists placing them side-by-side with the more well-known like an eclectic living mixtape of sound and vision. This is a festival for discovery - discover new bands + discover new art + buy new records + meet new people...

The title of the fest is inspired from the 1964 NY Eye & Ear Control soundtrack by Albert Ayler as well as the all-too-familiar signs seen daily in the subway tunnels by riders of the L-train of the infamous NY Eye & Ear Infirmary.

2009's NY Eye & Ear Fest happened in July of last year and featured performances from Magik Markers, Liturgy, Drunkdriver, Child Abuse, and tons of others. This year, the fest will spread over two days (May 22-23) at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and will feature appearances from Blank Dogs (one of two NYC shows in May, the second being May 12th at 131 Chrystie St.), Liturgy, Twin Stumps, Effi Briest, and others on the first day, with Xeno & Oaklander, Figure Study, Naam, Freshkills, Effing, and others rounding out day two. Full lineup by day is below. Get your tickets for day one or day two or both. Stream songs from every band on the bill at the Eye & Ear site.

Show flyer, full lineup and some vids are below.

Continue reading "NY EYE & EAR FEST III is coming to Brooklyn (lineup, tickets)"

words by Bill Pearis, LoD photos by Bryan Bruchman

DOWNLOAD: Wetdog - Lower Leg (MP3)

London trio Wetdog are in town this week, playing Glasslands on Friday (4/2) with Blank Dogs and Wild Nothing, and then Saturday (4/3) at Death by Audio with Australia's Love of Diagrams and Coasting. In the UK the band are on Angular Records -- home of These New Puritans, Klaxons, and the late Long Blondes -- and have just inked with Captured Tracks in the U.S. who've just released the band's debut album, Frauhaus! There's a definite early '80s post punk vibe to these ladies' sound that might have you thinking of early Fall or Liliput/Kleenex or The Slits (with whom they've toured), though they don't really sound like any of them specifically. They're good. Check out their excellent single "Lower Leg" at the top of this post.

The Friday show at Glasslands has three Captured Tracks bands on the bill. Label head honcho Mike Sniper fronts Blank Dogs, who now have a new live lineup that, to quote Sniper in Fact Magazine, is "more wimpy, less rock-sounding."  They've also got a new EP, Phrases, which finds them crawling out of the murky muck of previous releases for what is probably the least affected thing they've ever done. It's still dark and moody, but there's a clarity of sound that we've yet to hear from BDs.

Blank Dogs have have a short East Coast/Midwest tour lined up with Wetdog over the next ten days or so, and will then continue on by themselves to the West Coast which is followed by two more NYC shows in May. All dates are at the bottom of this post.

Then there's Wild Nothing from Virginia who've released two singles on Captured Tracks already, and the label will release the band's debut, Gemini, later this year. The album's pretty great, the kind of dreampop that Sarah Records did so well in the late '80s/early '90s.  A one-man band on the recordings, Wild Nothing haven't quite figured out the live version just yet (a better drummer would help) but they're getting there. And the songs are there, which is a lot more than most bands this young can claim. The Glasslands show looks to be a one-off.

Love of Diagrams were one of many foreign bands that played a bunch of shows at SXSW earlier this month. They'll also play a few while in NYC. In addition to the Death by Audio show with Wetdog, they have gigs scheduled at Santos with Holiday Shores and Cake Shop. All of those dates with a set of pictures of the band in Austin, along with the Blank Dogs/Wetdog dates and a video for Wetdog's "Lower Leg", below...

Continue reading "Wetdog (MP3) touring w/ Blank Dogs (new EP), playing NYC shows including 1 w/ Love of Diagrams (dates & SXSW pics) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Harlem - Friendly Ghost (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Christmas Island - Bed Island (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: North Highlands - Sugar Lips (MP3)

Harlem

It's a good week in New York for lovers of no-muss-no-fuss garage rock -- there's a lot of it in town. Austin trio Harlem are playing a trio of shows, the first of which is tonight (2/10) at Mercury Lounge with Girls at Dawn. They then play Friday (2/12) with Frankie & the Outs and The Siberians at Monster Island, and then hit Union Pool on Saturday (2/13) with Jemina Pearl. The band's second album (and first for Matador), Hippies, is out in April and doesn't stray too far from the greasy lo-fi of their debut, but with a bit more, um, finesse. They haven't polished the furniture, just tidied up a bit and the songs don't substitute reverb and distortion, for songwriting chops and attitude. It's a good record.

I'm going to see them tonight Mercury Lounge, but if I had to recommend one of the three shows, Monster Island on Friday seems like the right place to see them with the best and most economical ($7) of the overall line-ups. The Siberians make the kind of garage you would've heard at Cavestomp ten years ago before the genre became cool again -- more Lyres-style organ, less scuzz. Stupid Party are molasses-thick with extra sludge.

The night starts with Blacksburg, VA's Wild Nothing whose dreamy new single, "Summer Holiday," was just released on Captured Tracks. Think a slightly less wimpy Trembling Blue Stars and you're in the general sonic ballpark. Maybe you've already heardhis cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting" that made its way around the internet last year.  I'm pretty sure on record it's just one guy, so what guise Wild Nothing will take live is anybody's guess. And Frankie & the Outs have really come along as a band over the last five months and are coming into their own -- and apparently they've just wrapped up recording their debut album. Hopefully that will be out sooner than later.

Wild Nothing

Both Wild Nothing and the Outs will play Monster Island again the next night (2/13) for another great show, this time with Blank Dogs (who haven't played in a while), Sisters and Ireland's So Cow. This will be the first NYC appearance from So Cow since his assault on the U.S. last summer where he charmed nearly everyone who went to see him play.  His new album, Meaningless Friendly, is supposedly out this month though there's no mention of it on the Tic Tac Totally website. Ask him what the hell's up with that at the merch table, won't you? If you can't make it Saturday night, So Cow plays again on Sunday (2/14) at Cake Shop with Vivian Girls/Woods side project The Babies, the Nick Cave-y Preacher and the Knife (who are also playing a fashion show on Friday) and retro doowop stylings of White Blue Yellow and Clouds.  So Cow will be in here for nearly six weeks (including SXSW), playing just about everywhere in North America so do go see him if you can.

Christmas Island

Monday night at Cake Shop was the kickoff show for Christmas Island / Beets / Beach Fossils tour which will take them down and up the East Coast over the next ten days. If you missed that show, all three play again on Saturday (2/13) at Death by Audio and then will close the tour on 2/20 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Crystal Stilts and German Measles (tickets are still on sale for the latter). Matt Volz, who does all the The Beets' artwork, designed a great poster for the tour which you can actually buy via Captured Tracks website and at the merch table on this tour (and is given a CT release number a la Factory Records). You can see a big version of it here.

I've written plenty about Beach Fossils and The Beets before and both bands play here often, they live here, so the real draw here is San Diego's Christmas Island. Their album from last year, Blackout Summer, didn't get much attention but is well worth checking out. You can download a track from it at the top of this post. Not unlike fellow Californians Nodzzz, Christmas Island make somewhat surfy, definitely nasally/nerdy indie rock that at times reminds me of the Dead Milkmen (when Joe Jack Talcum sang).  They were good when I saw them at SXSW last year and look forward to seeing them again on Friday. All tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

North Highlands

Tomorrow (2/11) is the  second of Savoir Adore's three Thursdays in February residency at Cake Shop and I've got another pair of tickets to give away. Just email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with "Savoir Adore" in the subject and I'll pick a winner at random. Openers this week are really good. Both CYHSY/Savoir Adore side project Uninhabitable Mansions and We Are Country Mice have been written about by me before, but I'll like to highlight Brooklyn band North Highlands who make rather lovely piano-driven orch pop. Singer Brenda Malvani has one of those airy but strong voices that seems to have dictated the sound of the band, it all just goes down so well together. They're good live too. You can download title track from their Sugar Lips EP at the top of this post. In between bands this week, Pat from Pop Tarts Suck Toasted (a victim of this week's nasty "Music Blogocide 2K10") will spin tunes. Should be a great night.

A couple more. The Obits anniversary shows are at Cake Shop Friday and Saturday night. Sure to be awesome.

And finally don't forget about Diamond Nights and Cheeseburger (with guest vocalists) this Saturday (2/13) at Brooklyn Bowl. If ever there were two bands to see at a bowling alley, it's these two. The Coco66 show Diamond Nights were originally booked to play on Friday isn't happening so this may be your only chance ever to see them rock it again, as the band has been defunct for over two years. They definitely went before their time. Really looking forward to this one.

That's it for this week. Flyers and tour dates below.

Continue reading "Wild Nothing, So Cow, Obits, North Highlands, Christmas Island, Harlem, Diamond Nights & more in This Week in Indie "

David Bazan - live from your computer, tonight at 8pm

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Journey, Heart @ Nassau Coliseum
* Hymns, Jason Sadie @ City Winery
* Les Paul Trio w/ Larry Coryell @ Iridium
* Mother Mother, The Daredevil Christopher Right @ Pianos
* David Bazan @ House Show (streaming here)
* Cecil Taylor (Highline Piano Series) @ Highline Ballroom
* Ches Smith's Congs For Brums, Sonic Suicide Squad, Amolvacy @ Cake Shop
* Sigmund Droid, Bottle Up & Go, Diet Kong @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Stardeath & White Dwarfs, Circle of Buzzards, Naked hearts, Nice Face @ Mercury Lounge
* Small Beast w/ Greta Gertler, Alex & Janal, Kanipchen Fit, Paul Wallfisch @ The Delancy

Dirty Projectors are on Letterman tonight.

David Bazan is playing a sold-out house show tonight in Brooklyn, but don't worry -- the whole thing is streaming live on Brooklyn Vegan. You can even participate in a virtual/unvirtual Q&A. He also plays a full-band show at the Bowery Ballroom on October 18th.

Cecil Taylor closes the Highline Piano Series tonight with two sets at Highline Ballroom. The show was rescheduled from an earlier date.

Canadian indie rock band Mother Mother plays Pianos with The Daredevil Christopher Right.

Drummer Ches Smith, who plays with Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog (including at Hudson Square last week) among others, brings his Congs For Brums act to the Cake Shop for a show with Sonic Suicide Squad and Amolvacy.

The new music video for Blank Dogs' "Tin Birds," directed by Michael Worthy of Oh Wow (who have an upcoming release on Captured Tracks) is posted below.

Kurt Vile & The Violators, who play the Mercury Lougne in October, performed at Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square earlier this August. A clip from that is below.

Hospitality performed at Littlefield last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

line @ Brooklyn Bowl - 6:45pm (p_sean)

Dan Deacon @ Broadway Backyard (more by Tim Griffin)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Louis CK @ Caroline's
* Justin Ripley @ Monkey Town
* CineFest Brasil @ Central Park Summerstage
* Deerhunter, No Age, Dan Deacon @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Merce Cunningham Dance Company @ Rockefeller Park
* Ingrid Laubrock/Tyshawn Sorey/Kris Davis @ The Stone
* The Octopus Project, Exit Clov, Trtl Soup @ Mercury Lounge
* George Chen, Necking, Mi Or & The Pedestals @ Death By Audio
* Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson & Paul Motian @ Village Vanguard
* Catfish Haven, Demander, Loudest Boom Bah Yea @ The Bell House
* Fiasco, Boogie Boarder, Balkans, Carnivores, Darlings @ Littlefield
* Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Stone Cherry @ Jones Beach Amphitheatre
* SNM w/ Keelhaul, Minsk, Unearthly Trance, Defeatist, Stats @ Public Assembly
* APW w/ Coldplay, Echo & the Bunnymen, MGMT, Black Keys @ Liberty State Park

Free music today includes the weekly Williamsburg Waterfront BROOKLYN BOWL Pool Party, with a special "round robin" show from Deerhunter, No Age and Dan Deacon. CineFest Brasil happens at the Central Park Summerstage.

All Points West heads into its third and final day at Liberty State Park. Headliners include Coldplay, Echo & The Bunnymen, MGMT and The Black Keys.

BV's own Black Bubblegum co-presents Show No Mercy with Keelhaul, Minsk, Unearthly Trance, Defeatist and Stats at Public Assembly.

It's your last chance to catch Ethan Iverson and Reid Anderson (2/3rds of the Bad Plus) with legendary jazz drummer Paul Motian -- their weeklong run at Village Vanguard closes tonight.

It's August at The Stone.

A clip from Blank Dogs' July 24th South Street Seaport show, below.

Polvo didn't get to play South Street Seaport. They played Brooklyn Bowl instead on July 31st. Video from that show below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

photos by Chris La Putt

DOWNLOAD: Black Moth Super Rainbow - Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Moth Super Rainbow - Twin of Myself (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Moth Super Rainbow - Twin of Myself (Go! Team remix) (MP3)

"Eating Us is the fourth album by Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow released on May 26, 2009 on the CD format. With a running time of just under 36 minutes, it is the shortest full-length release by the band to date. The album was released in a limited-edition "hairy" version, which includes synthetic hair inside the CD's inner sleeve, and also in a regular "super jewel" casing. The "hairy" version was sold-out before the album was even released due to pre-orders." [Wiki]

Both songs available for download above are from that new album. A triple bill of Black Moth Super Rainbow (here from Pittsburgh), Blank Dogs, and Dan Friel (of Parts and Labor) played the weekly free show at South Street Seaport in Manhattan on Friday night (7/24). More pictures from the show, and more BMSR tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Black Moth Super Rainbow, Blank Dogs & Dan Friel @ South Street Seaport in NYC - pics "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Felt Letters (feat. Ian Svenonius)- Let's All Dream (MP3)

The Journal of Popular Noise is a semi-annual audio magazine inspired by the traditions of pop music, printed periodicals, and the delight of a finely crafted artifact.

Within the package are 3 issues, each in the form of 7" vinyl records. Every issue conforms to the same prescribed editorial structures but is composed by a different artist or group. This set contains issues 13-15 featuring (respectively) Andrew W.K., Ian Svenonius, and Walker & Cantrell. The packaging folds out to a beautiful letter-pressed poster containing information about the Journal, the musicians, and the compositional process.

The Journal's fifth three-7" collection ships out August 1st (there'll also be a zine edition, with additional photos and writing). On Tuesday, July 7th, JPN will have a release party at Santos Party House with contributors Andrew W.K., in his first "spoken word" performance, and comedy duo Walker & Cantrell, as well as TV Baby and Jayson Green. Tickets are on sale.

The one contributor not at the party, Ian Svenonius, is represented above with his song "Let's All Dream." The track finds Svenonius with Felt Letters, a band with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty and Tom Bunnell.

At the core of the Journal are the "prescribed editorial structures" dictated by founder and editor Byron Kalet. The structures in question come as a diagram that maps out different points of repetition, tension and dynamics for the artists. As far as graphic notation goes, the map is fairly tame, and the notes make clear that the artists are free to interpret the instructions as they wish.

As a result, the score, which is included in the packaging, ends up providing an alternate way to interpret the music. The listener tries to trace the songs back to the cryptic picture. It should be said, the records come packaged in one ingeniously folded piece of letter-pressed card stock, which manages to delicately cradle the three discs and allow easy access to the liner notes inside.

The three contributions in these new issues weigh heavily on "spoken word" -- and past releases are a mixed bag of styles. The Spring/Summer '08 edition brought together the moody rock of Past Lives, the found sound of Bora Yoon + Ben Frost, and the catchy J-pop of Na + Junko, all working under the same guidelines.

We asked Byron Kalet to explain the motivation behind the sets and give a bit of background on the magazine...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Byron Kalet of the Journal of Popular Noise (whose new issue party is at Santos on Tuesday)"

photos by Tim Griffin

The Mayfair Set

"Festival is a very misleading term to describe this showcase because this wasn't really a festival. There were a lot of bands playing which is a prerequisite for a festival, but beyond that there wasn't a whole hell of a lot that qualified this as a festival. It was basically just a really kick-ass show that lasted for two days. There was rain on Friday, and the show was moved indoors. I discovered this after circling the block several times. I could hear the music, and I could tell something was definitely going on but for the life of me I could not find the fucking place. Finally, I stopped two people who looked like they would definitely know where the show was and when I asked them "Do you know where the show is?" they responded by saying "Show? What show?" and then I tried again, this time clearing my throat before speaking, "I am looking for the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Fest-i-val. Would you happen to know where it is located?" and then the bro gave me an approving nod and explained to me that the show was going on above a grocery store called Mr. Kiwi's and that the way to get there is to slip through the door on the side. Many thanks to that dude because I found what I was looking for shortly there after." [no gift for the gab]

Considering all the rain we've been having, it's amazing how nice it ended up being over Fourth of July weekend. Saturday's show in Battery Park, as well as the 2nd day of the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Fest at 979 Broadway Backyard had beautiful weather. Friday's show at South Street Seaport was completely dry and breezy as well. Unfortunately though, there was some rain earlier on Friday (6/3), and so the Woodsist Fest organizers were forced to make a decision, and that decision was to move the day's festivities to Market Hotel... the very, very hot Market Hotel.

Bands on the bill for that first day were Blank Dogs, Psychedelic Horseshit, caUSE co-MOTION!, the Mayfair Set, Gary War, Little Girls, Kid Romance, Beachniks, and the Gutsies. What were the highlights?

As Bill pointed out, the Mayfair Set is "a collaboration with Blank Dogs (and Captured Tracks domo) Mike Sniper" and Dee Dee from Dum Dum Girls, who, as I just pointed out, is actually Kristin Gundred from Grand Ole Party. Live it was Kristin, Mike, JB from Crystal Stilts, Jeremy from Woods, and Jarvis Taveniere from Woods, Meneguar & other bands. For Mike and Kristin, it was the first of two bands they debuted at the fest over the weekend. On Saturday it was Dum Dum Girls. Both new bands were filled out by members of other bands (Dum Dum Girls had a Crystal Stilt and a Crocodile).

More pictures from Day One (minus the first three bands), below...

Continue reading "Woodsist/CT Fest Day One in pics (Mayfair Set's debut, Crystal Stilts, Blank Dogs, PH, caUSE co-MOTION! & more)"

Dum Dum Girls @ Woodsist Fest - July 4, 2009 (bajapuntos)

The two-day Woodsist & Captured Tracks Festival happened in Brooklyn on Friday (7/3) and Saturday (7/4). Both days were supposed to take place at 979 Broadway Backyard, but Friday was moved to the very hot Market Hotel due to the threat of rain. Pictures of both days coming soon, but first here is video Bill took on Saturday during the first-ever performance by Dum Dum Girls.

Dum Dum Girls is really just one person - Dee Dee.... aka Kristin Gundred from Grand Ole Party who is married to Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles who she released a duet with (video below) and who was one of the members of the Dum Dum Girls band at Woodsist. The other two members of the band were Mike Sniper of Blank Dogs and Frankie Rose of Crystal Stilts (and a former Vivian Girl)...

Continue reading "Woodsist Fest happened - Dum Dum girls (Grand Ole Party + Crocodiles + Blank Dogs + Frankie Rose) debuted - video "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Fresh & Onlys - Fog Machine (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Fresh & Onlys - Love & Kindness (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ganglians - Hair (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bachelorette - Mindwarp (MP3)

It used to be Independence Day weekend was dead in NYC, the city emptying out, leaving only tourists and those unfortunate enough not to have some sort of beach hookup. There was nothing to do but barbeque with fellow left-behinds and see whatever Will Smith movie had just been released. (Actually, I like it when the city is empty.) And the only show would be whatever was at Battery Park on the 4th. Not this year.

The Woodsist/Captured Tracks Festival is two days of just about every band on the two label's roster and also manages to be one of the best collections of reverb-lovin' lo-fi/pych/garage bands you're likely to see, including many names you may recognize if you read this column on a regular basis. You can buy a two-day pass for $25 or buy individual $15 tickets for Friday or Saturday.

As both Woodsist and Captured Tracks are Brooklyn labels, a lot of the bands are local and chances are if you're into this kind of music at all you've probably managed to already see some of these bands, probably more than once: Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls, Blank Dogs, The Beets, caUSE co-MOTION, Kurt Vile, and Woods.

The Fresh & Onlys @ SXSW 2009

But there's also a bunch of great West Coast bands who have yet to hit NYC, which is what makes it most exciting for me. First and foremost are San Francisco's Fresh & Onlys who I caught at the Todd P/Woodsist party during SxSW and have become one of my favorite new bands. They play the Saturday (7/4) which is definitely the more essential line-up of the two days. The band features members of Skygreen Leopards and Black Fiction, and have also spent time recently backing up Rodriguez and Ty Segall (though not on the East Coast.)

The band's first album of 2009 came out in April on John Dwyer's Castle Face label, with a sound not that far off from what you might expect from cohorts of The Oh Sees (who headline the Saturday show), though The Fresh & Onlys are definitely more pop and less psychedelic freakout. Their second album of 2009, Grey-Eyed Girls, is out in August and they've also got 7"'s out or out soon on Chuffed, Dirty Knobby, Hozac and Captured Tracks. If you like 13th Floor Elevators, The Chocolate Watchband and other Nuggets era bands, I think you're going to dig them. I interviewed bassist Shayde Sartin a couple months ago on my blog if you'd like to know more.

If you can't make the daytime show, The Fresh & Onlys also play a post midnight show that same day at Market Hotel that also features Babies (members of Woods, Vivian Girls and Bossy) (does anyone know which members?) and Pink Reason, and maybe a solo performance from Crystal Stilts drummer Frankie Rose. And The Fresh & Onlys will be here again in October when they'll be on tour with fellow San Franciscans Thee Oh Sees.

Thee Oh Sees are also playing Siren in July, and playing maybe the best of the Woodsist fest's offshoot shows on Thursday night (7/2) at Glasslands. They're headlining the Glasslands show and Saturday night of the fest, and are definitely worth seeing twice, or even thrice. Also playing Glasslands: Golden Triangle who are working on their debut album for Sub Pop offshoot Hardly Art; The Beets who, the last two times I've seen them, have had Crystal Stilts' JB Townsend filling in on drums for an absent Jacob Warstler; and German Measels which features half of caUSE co-MOTION wearing fake moustaches.

Ganglians

A little earlier at Woodsist Fest on Saturday (3:45 if they keep to the posted schedule) are Sacramento's Ganglians, who just released an EP and an album on Woodsist. Not all that far off from The Fresh & Onlys, Ganglians have equal worship for solid songwriting and trippy arrangements/production. I think both records are worth picking up: the self-titled EP shows off more of their rocking side (which they favored when I saw them at SxSW), like the surfy, Kiwi-esque "Hair" of which there's an MP3 at the top of this post. The album, Monster Head Room, is more acoustic and owes a lot to Brian Wilson. If you can't make the July 4th show, they'll be playing the next night (7/5) at Monster Island basement with Psychedelic Horseshit.

In between Ganglians and Fresh & Onlys on Saturday (4:30PM) are San Francisco's Brilliant Colors, an all-girl trio who play short, scratchy pop with a definitely New Zealand vibe. They also play the late show that night at Market Hotel, and will be on WNYU on July 8.

Dum Dum Girls, who play after the Fresh & Onlys at 6PM, are from L.A. and owe much to the C-86 scene that has been an influence on Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Vivian Girls. Actually, Dum Dum Girls is just one girl, Dee Dee, who may or may not have a band with her when she plays. Dee Dee is also in The Mayfair Set, a collaboration with Blank Dogs (and Captured Tracks domo) Mike Sniper, who will make their live debut (I think) Friday (7/3) at 6:30.

I've got MP3s for most every band playing the Fest over at my blog.

Brilliant Colors

A couple non-Woodsist/Captrax Fest recommendation for the Fourth weekend. New Zealand's Bachelorette is back in town, playing the kickoff show of this year's Seaport Music Festival, opening for Here We Go Magic. I saw Bachelorette at Cake Shop a couple weeks back and was so smitten I bought everything at the merch table. There was a fair amount of laptopping going on, but Annabel Alpers' breathy, fragile voice was definitely live and the three-piece oozed unassuming charm. Bachelorette also play the sold-out Rooftop Films Fourth of July party Saturday night which happens on the roof of the Chelsea Art Museum.

And Thursday (7/2) starts The Feelies' three-night run at Maxwell's. Friday's show (7/3) is sold out but you can still get tickets for Thursday and for Saturday (7/4). Bring comfortable shoes -- they're doing two sets each night. The excitement of their reformation may have faded a bit since this time last year, but their great songs -- and still-awesome guitar interplay -- have not.

Full Woodsist/Captured Tracks Festival schedule and other tour dates after the jump...

Continue reading "Ganglians, Fresh & Onlys, Brilliant Colors, Bachelorette, lots of Woodsist bands & more in This Week in Indie "

DOWNLOAD: Woods - To Clean (MP3)

"...it has been damn near impossible to keep up with [Blank Dog] Mike Sniper's Captured Tracks label, who have hit the ground running with eight releases since the start of the year and many more slated for the near future. Captured Tracks is, to put it plainly, an outlet for Mr. Sniper to release records by bands he loves. In his mind it is "not a boutique label, " and by that he means that the releases are not meant to become instant eBay collectables, and will remain in print as long as there are people buying them. Some will have limited edition versions with alternate artwork or bonuses, but even these editions are easily and widely available. Affordable, available and well made, Captured Tracks is the populist record label. " [Agit Reader]

The previously announced Brooklyn Festival got much, much more interesting...

Continue reading "Woodsist/CT Festival - final 2-day lineup, set times, tickets "

Broadway Backyard (more by Tim Griffin)

Woodsist and Captured Tracks have joined forces with Todd P to present a two-day festival of bands at Broadway Backyard in Brooklyn this July 3rd and 4th. More info and full lineup (so far) below....

Continue reading "Woodsist & Captured Tracks throwing a festival in Brooklyn"

photos by Lori Baily, words by Andrew Frisicano

Sonic Youth ended the second night of 2009's No Fun Fest with a seated set of distorted guitar noise and drums. Instead of Lee Ranaldo (who was busy at Cannes?), guitarist Bill Nace performed with the band. (No Mark Ibold either.) The noise shifted from heavy chords, made by drum stick on guitar, to strangely tender sustained feedback and sample-and-hold-esque, skittish riffs. Like a standard SY set, Steve Shelley's tom-heavy drums weighted the action and marked changes in movements. His pummels echoed the intro to "Wipe Out" as the three others on stage took to twisting SY's sonic palette into a No Fun appropriate adventure. After one 20-minute-or-so sustained set, the musicians left the stage. A brief encore continued in the same vein. Kim Gordon intoned into the microphone ("I don't want to leave you behind," I think), causing not a few crowd-members to peak up with hopes of some classic or The Eternal material. No such luck. After four more minutes of music, the band left for good.

Radio23.org, who streamed the SY set and other parts of the fest live, tweeted, "I think we can excuse the Youth as no one else has delved into short-form improv so far... We liked the 3min30sec encore :)" Other bands on the night's bill included Blank Dogs, Mattin, C Spencer Yeh, and Pedestrian Deposit. Hearts Arena wrote...

Pedestrian Deposit: Most thrilling set of the fest so far. Even the dillweeds in the audience were quieted by the end of this. Pedestrian Deposit explores and exploits the frayed edges of sound and texture, wherever they find them on the spectrum. Moving with aplomb from penetrating high ends to heaving silences pulled back from the edge of explosive noise and percussion and then off to the final gorgeous tones of the cello. Soft landing. Everybody in that room knew that something special had just happened. Me, ecstatic.

TripWire said....

Yellow Tears was the unexpected surprise of the night, winning over everyone in the room with their meticulosuly warped sample manipulations and sounds. Out of all the bands, here's one that took the twenty minute time slot and really found inspiration, breaking into sweat and taking off their shirts, and getting genuinely into it. The stage was illuminated by a single bright red light bulb. The best part of the set was the member who kept striking a large scrap of metal and sending it through various effects processors, throwing it onto the ground and making a spectacle yet wrenching some pretty freaking insane and wicked sounds from it. Their energy was welcome and the crowd response was thunderously approving from the sold-out crowd. A dude on the L train was raving about them on the way back, displaying the record he bought of theirs; I have a feeling he's not the only one.

Bardo Pond played a set right before Sonic Youth, and a few others played the second night too. Who was your favorite? Review and pictures from Night One, HERE. More pictures and videos from Night Two, below...

Continue reading "No Fun Fest @ MHOW - night 2 (Sonic Youth) - pics & video"

"It's simple really: Summer. Friday night. New York City. The first port in the new world hosting some of the best new music, as well as those established and influential artists you already know and love. All of this amidst the city's most inspiring views of tall buildings, historic ships and nighttime sky. All for FREE.

Get ready, cause summer is coming and with it another great line up on Pier 17 at the Seaport. Hard to believe we're entering our eighth season of summer shows but 2009 promises to be amongst our best.

Highlights this year include Superchunk, Polvo, Obits, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and well, pretty much every night is a highlight to us.

Our FREE, outdoor series runs every Friday night from July 3 to August 14. The music starts at 6pm with a Guest DJ and bands go on around 7pm. Join us downtown to take in the stunning backdrop and enjoy New York's best open air venue.

Seaport Music is presented by the River to River Festival."

Updated free NYC show lineup below...

Continue reading "updated 2009 South Street Seaport Music lineup (free shows)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Box Elders - Hole in My Head (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jeremy Jay - In This Lonely Town (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Headlights - Cherry Tulips (TJ Lipple Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Headlights - Market Girl (Album Leaf Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Love Language - Lalita (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Julie Doiron - Consolation Prize (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Katie Stelmanis - In My Favour (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Savoir Adore - Transylvanian Candy Patrol (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Darwin Deez - Bad Day (MP3)

The Box Elders are back for the first time since their loin-clothed Market Hotel show back in January, playing Bruar Falls on Friday (4/24) and Cake Shop on Saturday (4/25). For those, like myself, who have played their sole single, "Hole in My Head," to death at this point and are anxiously awaiting new stuff from them... we must continue to wait. Their debut album on Goner, Alice and Friends, won't be out till August 4. Their next release is just a single that's only available via the Hozac Hookup Club which subscriptions sold out quick for. And as mentioned before, Box Elders will have a single out on Jay Reatard's newly-reinvigorated Shattered Records. Maybe the band will have a tour CD-R or something?

Friday should be one of the first real tests of Bruar Falls as far as in-demand shows. The place is teeny-tiny (not that Cake Shop is big). It should be a tight fit. Getting there early would be smart, and luckily the lineup is pretty good, with Bay Area psych folk band Dame Satan; Jackson Heights' The Beets whose debut, Spit in the Face of People Who Don't Want to Be Cool, is out now on Captured Tracks and worth seeking out for those who dig garagey '60s proto-punk; and caUSE co-MOTION offshoot German Measles. The Cake Shop show should be a little more manageable.

Blank Dogs

Whichever night I'm not going to see Box Elders, I'll probably go see Blank Dogs. Originally just the name of Captured Tracks head Mike Sniper's many, many home recordings, Blank Dogs have become a real band over the last year and a good one at that. Sniper has also dropped the anonymity schtick for the most part, actually showing his face in a new press photo, just in time for the new double-LP, Under and Under, which is out in June on In the Red. It's still of the mid-'80s goth sound (I think they sound like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry if you remember them) but more refined and catchier songs. The creepy/funny video to the album's first single, "Setting Fire to Your House," is further down this post.

Blank Dogs play Friday (4/24) at Secret Project Robot in Williamsburg which is the same building at Monster Island, and share the bill with two kindred spirits: the gothy (and a bit silly if you ask me) Cold Cave, and Brooklyn's Mazing Vids who've been around for a while but don't play very often anymore.

Jeremy Jay

Saturday's show at Silent Barn is a bit more varied and probably better for it, with two other bands that would be worth seeing on their own. Jeremy Jay just released his second album on K that swings from Cars-ish new wave, to twangy surf rock. It's a good record, and you can download the single "In This Lonely Town" at the top of this post. Rounding out the solid line-up is Mobile, Alabama's Wizzard Sleeve whose debut is out sometime soon on Hozac. With song titles like "Chrome Intensifier" and "Pterodactly Meltdown" you know your in for a trippy time, but it's not paisley shirt acid rock. Their brand of psych feels very modern, with a big dose of krautrock for good measure. I really feel this show is a hard one to pass up.

Jeremy Jay also plays a show on Friday (4/24) at Union Hall with Illuminations and James William Hindle. Tickets are on sale. All dates below.

Julie Doiron

There are a lot of hard to pass-up shows this weekend. Canadian singer Julie Doiron is in town, playing Cake Shop on Friday (4/24) and Union Hall on Saturday (4/25). Some may know her for her work with Mt. Eerie, and others remember Julie from her days fronting Eric's Trip who released three albums on Sub Pop in the early '90s. She's been prolific ever since Eric's Trip broke up in 1997, releasing a string of quality, if somewhat downcast solo albums. Her latest, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, is ebullient in comparison but no less special. She's got one of those voices, not unlike Chan Marshall or Beth Orton, that can make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention. Check out the album's "Consolation Prize" at the top of this post, and the video for "Heavy Snow" at the bottom.

Katie Stelmanis

The Julie Doiron Cake Shop show is an early one, so you could theoretically hit it before going elsewhere. Plus, speaking of magical, unique voices, fellow Canadian (and Cake Shop fave) Katie Stelmanis is also on the bill. There's an MP3 at the top of the post (and a video below) and here's what Popmatters said earlier this year:

Katie Stelmanis was already starting to pick up steam in 2008. Almost a year since her nearly unnoticed debut album, Join Us dropped on Blocks Recording Club (a record co-op based in Toronto), Stelmanis was featured on Fucked Up's Chemistry of Common Life, and split a Matador released 7" with them in late 2008. In 2009, people are bound to pick up on the ethereal and eerie leanings of this powerful vocalist and songwriter.

If you're a fan of Bat For Lashes (there's a similar Kate Bush thing going on), Katie is well worth checking out. She also plays Death by Audio later that Saturday night, and new Brooklyn venue Sycamore the next day (4/25).

Opening for Julie Doiron at the Union Hall show on Saturday is Purse Snatchers, which is former Dirty on Purpose drummer Doug Marvin's new musical project.

----

A few more recommended shows:

I've plugged local band Savoir Adore before, who in my opinion are one of the best unheralded pop bands in town. They're playing tonight (4/23) at Pianos and you should really go out and see them. There's a newish song to download at the top of this post and is more indicative of what they do live than their concept-EP debut from last year. If you like Stars or The Go-Betweens or any classic pop, I really don't think you'll be disappointed. Also on the bill is Darwin Deez, who make infectious, '80s-tinged dance pop that's kind of hard to dislike. One of their MP3s is above too.

As you may have read on this site, Chicago's Headlights are playing on Friday (4/24) at the Bell House. If you're going to that show (or are looking for something to do and everything else I've written about here doesn't sound interesting to you), I implore you to show up early and check out North Carolina's The Love Language. I really like their self-titled debut that is warm and inviting, lush and low-fi at the same time.

And Sunday night (4/26) at Maxwells is the Fourth Anniversary party for Musicsnobbery.com. Last year, Moby filled in when headliners The Teeth broke up days before his Third Anniversary party. This year there's no such drama, but the line-up is solid: Crystal Stilts, Mahogany (both faves of mine) and Motel Motel. Might I suggest you bring Musicsnobbery blog founder Chris some cookies in appreciation?

Tour dates and videos after the jump...

Continue reading "Jeremy Jay, Julie Doiron, Katie Stelmanis, Blank Dogs, The Beets, Wizzard Sleeve & more in This Week In Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Crystal Stilts - Love is a Wave (MP3)

Crystal Stilts @ Less Artists More Condos (more by Gabi Porter)

NYC's Crystal Stilts have four New York City-area shows on the horizon. The band, fresh off '09 shows in NYC, Europe, and a NYC-to-SXSW tour, will open for Comet Gain at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday, April 12th. (Tickets are still on sale.)

Two weeks later, the band plays Maxwell's in Hoboken on Sunday, April 26th for MusicSnobbery.com's 4th Anniversary Party with Mahogany and Motel Motel. (Tickets are on sale.)

Then, Friday, May 8th, Crystal Stilts play a Deli Magazine/After The Jump show with Blank Dogs, Religious Knives, and Dinowalrus at the Bell House. (Tickets are on sale.)

Finally, after touring Europe at the end of May, Crystal Stilts will play a Cake Shop show with The Pains of Being Pure of Heart on June 18th.

The Crystal Stilts' Bell House show (5/08) is not to be confused with the
Crystal Antlers show happening three days later at the same venue. (Tickets for that show are still on sale.)

In between the two "Crystal" shows, the Gowanus venue will host Horse Feathers with Joe Pug on May 9th (tix) and Chairlift, Takka Takka and The Secret Life of Sofia on May 10th (tix). Chairlift has lots of other 2009 dates, too.

All upcoming Crystal Stilts tour dates and two live videos of the band from 2008 below...

Continue reading "upcoming Crystal Stilts dates & other Bell House shows "