Brown Recluse

Entries tagged with: Brown Recluse

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DOWNLOAD: Hedgehog - Toy and 61 Festival (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hedgehog - Waiting for the Last Bus (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)

poster

After surviving a couple minor major acts of nature, we deserve a long break. So for your Labor Day weekend... like usual, it's pretty slow, show-wise. But there are some things to do.

We'll start this week with a movie. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is finally getting a U.S. release (it came out in January 2010 in France), albeit a limited one, thanks in part to great reissue label Light in the Attic. The film started it's two-week Film Forum run last night and will be making its way around the country throughout the fall. All play dates are at the bottom of this post.

Heroic maybe, but for sure Serge Gainsbourg led a wild life before succumbing to cancer at age 62 in 1992. You could make a compelling film out of any period of his life, and that the movie tries to cram it all in -- from fleeing Nazi-occupied Paris as a child through his rise to fame, relationships with Bridget Bardot and Jane Birkin to his his '70s dalliance with reggae -- gives too much of your standard Behind the Music story arc.

But it's also untraditional at the same time. Writer-director Joann Sfar is a comic artist (this is his first film) and injects a big element of the absurd courtesy of a puppet-like alter-ego (alter-Id, really) that encourages Gainsbourg to do bad things. Eric Elmosnino, a dead-ringer for Gainsbourg, is terrific, as is the rest of the cast -- including Lucy Gordon as Birkin and Laetitia Casta as Bardot, plus appearances by eccentric singer Philippe Katerine and the late Claude Chabrol. It's got a great sense of style and, of course, the soundtrack is amazing. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life could be better, but it's still worth seeing.

Weekend
Weekend

As for actual shows, San Francisco's vociferous and awesome Weekend will be here on Saturday (9/3) at Glasslands and Sunday (/4) at Mercury Lounge. Both shows are with the similarly cacophonous Talk Normal.

Weekend have a new EP, Red, out September 20th on Slumberland which finds the trio exploring new sonic territory, though not the quiet kind. It's still rather pummeling but Shaun Durkan's vocals, previously hidden behind echo and backwards reverb, are dryer and more up front now. The sound is a little sharper all around, but the driving, melodic basslines and guitar squall remain. You can download Red track "Hazel" via a Soundcloud widget at the bottom of this post.

In addition to Talk Normal, the Glasslands show features their Slumberland labelmates Brown Recluse; the Mercury Lounge show also has Fan-Tan on the bill. All Weekend/Talk Normal tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Royal Baths

San Francisco's Royal Baths bring their heavy psychedelia to Death by Audio on Friday (9/2) with Xray Eyeballs, Hunters and Mountain Cult. I wrote previously: "Royal Baths are kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way." At the top of this post you can download a track off of Royal Baths debut LP from last year. The band have a split double-7" with Ty Segall due out on HoZac any time now. Keep an eye peeled for that.

Hedgehog

Bejiing's Hedgehog are back in America for the first time since CMJ: they play Bruar Falls on Sunday (9/4) and Cake Shop on Monday (9/5). After that they head out on tour with Xiu-Xiu and Kindest Lines, and all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

I caught set at The Woods last year and the venue's atrocious sound didn't deter Hedgehog's tenacity, most ably embodied in Atom, their tiny pistol of a drummer. Looking at them, you might expect pop punk a la Japan's Blue Hearts, but Hedgehog make melodic indie rock. There's a couple tracks to download at the top of this post. They're a blast live, and there aren't a lot of shows Sunday or Monday, so here's a good international option for your concert dollar.

That's it of the "big" stuff in my world. Some more shows -- including a fair amount of free ones -- are listed day-by-day below.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Good show at Shea Stadium tonight. In addition to the recently-profiled Caged Animals, there's also new FatCat singings Forest Fire whose Walkmen-esque album Staring at the X is worth looking out for when it comes out in October on FatCat.

Nerdy rapper and Adult Swim voice talent MC Chris is throwing a record release party at Death by Audio for his new album Race Wars. It's also his birthday. Show is FREE.

continued below...

Continue reading "Serge Gainsbourg, Weekend, Hedgehog, Royal Baths, MC Chris, Hunx, 'English Beat' & more in This Week in Indie"

posted at 11:07 AM on September 1, 2011 in movies | music | tour dates | Comments (14)

by Bill Pearis

PopFest

NYC Popfest 2010 starts on Thursday with four days of cheery tunes and good vibes. And with temperatures that are supposed to climb into the '80s, we may finally answer the question, "When is it too hot to wear a vintage cardigan?" In years past, Popfest has played host to the likes of Pains of Being Pure at Heart ('07 & '08), Cats on Fire ('08 & '09), The Radio Dept ('09), BMX Bandits ('07), The Drums ('09), and lots more.

This year's line-up is pop-solid and we're giving away a Festival Pass that will get one person into all four nights. Just send an email to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with the subject line "POPFEST" and we'll pick a winner at random and notify them Wednesday night (tonight). Please note, some of these Popfest shows are 21+.

Festival passes are otherwise sold out, but there are currently still tickets available for all four shows, though I think you might want to act quick on the Cake Shop (5/20) and Don Hills (5/21) shows as they're at small venues. Here's an overview of what's going on, complete with MP3s for almost every band playing (above).

The Wake

Popfest organizers scored a coup getting Scottish indiepop legends The Wake (not the American goth band of the same name) to play the big Saturday (5/22) show at the Bell House. While they the attention their Factory Records labelmates New Order and Happy Mondays (or even A Certain Ratio) received, their catalog is well-regarded, especially 1985's Here Comes Everybody which is a bona fide indie classic. Check out "O Pamela" at the top of this post. The band's hazy, reverb-laden sound has parallels to current bands like The Radio Dept or Wild Nothing, or any of the chillwave groups out there. The Wake are working on a new album due out this year. This is their only U.S. show. Stick around after The Wake's show for a DJ set from Victoria Bergsman.

Bunnygrunt

Bunnygrunt date back to the early '90s cuddlecore scene (a genre which now sounds like some kind of porn for Furries) and were contemporaries of bands like Tiger Trap and Tullycraft. Reformed since 2004, these Saint Louis indie legends are pretty much patron saints to Popfest bands.

The Embassy

At the all-day Sunday (5/23) show at The Littlefield show features the first and only U.S. performance by enigmatic Swedish duo The Embassy who's music is somewhere between indiepop and Balearic disco. I liked 2005's Tacking which came out on the Service label, home of Jens Lekman, Studio and The Tough Alliance. Check out "It Pays to Belong" at the top of this post. but the band have been rather quiet since. Maybe we'll find out what's going on with them at the show.

Then there's Veronica Falls play the 5/20 show at Cake Shop. Maybe you saw them this past weekend when they played Glasslands on Saturday and Bruar Falls on Sunday. Their Glasslands performance was great, and they were surprisingly rockin', given the gentle nature of some of their recordings. Singer/guitarist James Hoare is a student of the David Gedge school of manic strumming, especially on their "Found Love in a Graveyard" single that becomes almost like an extended VU jam onstage.

Neverever

Singer Roxanne Clifford and drummer Patrick Doyle were both in Glasgow's The Royal We, whose singer Jihae is now in Neverever who will play the Littlefield show on Sunday. The band also features her n0w-husband Wallace Meek who was in fellow Glaswegian band Bricolage but they now call Los Angeles their home. The band's debut, Angelic Swells, is out next week on Slumberland and is fairly indebted to '60s girl groups. Check out "Blue Genes" at the top of this post. I'll admit that part of me hopes we'll get a Veronica Falls/Neverever supergroup to play Royal We's awesome single "All the Rage" (the band never played America) but I'm not holding my breath.

Tender Trap

Tender Trap play the Friday (5/21) show at Don Hill's which is also the bi-weekly Mondo! party. Not to be confused with anthemic Australian band The Temper Trap, The Tender Trap features Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey who were both in iconic indiepop bands Tallulah Gosh, Heavenly and Marine Research. I was a big fan of their last album, 2006's 6 Billion People, Their new album, Dansette Dansette, is out June 22 on Slumberland Records and you can download "Girls with Guns" from it at the top of this post.

Recently added to Tender Trap's lineup is Elizabeth Darling of Allo Darlin who also play the Don Hills/Mondo! show. Their debut album is out June 7 (in the UK at least, not sure if anyone's grabbed it up stateside) and is full of bouncy and charming guitar pop not too far removed from Belle & Sebastian. Their single "The Polaroid Song" is one of my favorite tracks of 2009 and you can watch the Breakfast Club homage video for it at the bottom of this post. And you can download a couple tracks from the album at the top of this post. Allo Darlin are also making the most of their trip, playing a short East Coast tour. Dates are at the bottom of this post.

Moustache of Insanity
Moustache of Insnity

Allo Darlin's Will Harrison also plays in Moustache of Insanity who are playing the free daytime show on Saturday at Spike Hill. Sometimes compared to Moldy Peaches, the band should provide some levity (and cheap keyboards) to the proceedings. Check out "Amazon Wishlist" at the top of this post for an idea of what you're in for, and if you want to hear more, you can download a zip of their new EP here and there are loads of downloads via their website.

Some more UK bands: Horowitz make nerdy, nasally bedroom pop, and hearts!attack are one of the more ramshackle/low-fi groups playing the fest. Good stuff.

Leaving Mornington Crescent
Leaving Morning Crescent

And it wouldn't be a Popfest without some Swedish bands. In addition to The Embassy, there's Leaving Mornington Crescent who play Cake Shop on Thursday, and A Smile and a Whisper at Littlefield on Sunday.

The Don Hill's show on Friday will be the last-ever NYC show for Boston's Pants Yell! who are splitting up after playing a farewell show in their hometown next week.

One of the many highlights of The Bell House show is Seattle's BOAT who will play some non-popfest shows too.

One Happy Island

This will be the second year in a row at Popfest for Chicago's Very Truly Yours, who are playing the e debut LP was just released this spring. You can download at track from it at the top of this post. Recommended if you like winsome, Camera Obscura style. pop. Also back from last year are Vermont's Smittens (5/21 Don Hill's), and it will be the second Popfest for Boston's One Happy Island who last played it in 2008 and play this year at the Saturday afternoon free show at Spike Hill. Check out "Temporary Tattoo" at the top of this post.

There's a few animal bands (in addition to Bunnygrunt): Cleveland, OH's Bears, who play the Bell House show (5/22), are lush and lovely with gorgeous harmonies. Check out "Wait and See" at the top of this post, whereas Gold Bears (Spike Hill, free day show 5/22) from Atlanta, are more in the shambly tradition of The Shop Assistants and Boyracer. Then there's local duo Elephant Parade (Cake Shop on 5/20) who play laptoppy folk, and the Sea Lions (Oxnard, CA playing the Sunday show at Littlefield) evoke comparisons to the Pastels and The Clean.

Sweater Girls
Sweater

More out-of-town American bands: Sweater Girls are from Los Angeles and feature Allan Kingdom of C-86-era UK group The Siddelys; and Santa Monica Swim & Dive Club are actually from Michigan and play super-twee acoustic pop; The Young Friends are from Arizona but sound like Scotland 1980; and Apple Orchard hail from Richmond, California and make dreamy, Field Mice-ish pop (lots of free MP3s on their website).

Florida's For Ex-Lovers Only named themselves after a Black Tamborine song and kind of sound like that too. They play Littlefield on Saturday.

Opening the Don Hills show on Friday are Cotton Candy, which is Mark Robinson's current band that also features his wife. There's more a capella covers of old commercial jingles than you might expect from the former frontman of Unrest (who are reforming briefly).

And of course NYC is well represented. In addition to previously mentioned Elephant Parade, indiepop stalwarts My Teenage Stride, who are the only band to have played all for NYC Popfests, will play the big Bell House show on Saturday, as do World Atlas (NYC's answer to Belle & Sebastian); Dream Diary (NYC's answer to The Pastels/Field Mice) play Cake Shop on Thursday, and the shoegazy Corita play the free Saturday afternoon show at Spike Hill. And The Secret History make their third appearance at the Fest at Littlefield on Sunday.

Ok, I think I got everybody in there. Day-by-day Popfest schedule, plus some other tour dates and videos after the jump.

Continue reading "a massive guide to NYC Popfest 2010, lots of MP3s & a chance to win a festival badge "

posted at 1:43 PM on May 19, 2010 in Contests | MP3 | music | Comments (49)

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Veronica Falls - Found Love in a Graveyard (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: NYC Popfest Mix (ZIP)

Veronica Falls

As mentioned before, UK band Veronica Falls are playing this year's NYC Popfest on Thursday May 20 at Cake Shop. If you can't attend that, the band have booked a few other shows in town: they play Glasslands on May 15 with Crystal Stilts and Bruar Falls on May 16. Veronica Falls are also playing the Elm City Popfest in New Haven, CT on May 14 and Boston on May 17. After Popfest, they'll support Teenage Fanclub on a UK tour.

Based out of London, the band are made up of ex-members of defunct Glasgow bands The Royal We and Sexy Kids, as well as a member poached from Your Twenties. Their debut single "Found Love in a Graveyard" (one of my favorite tracks of 2009) is out now on Captured Tracks, the b-side of which is a really lovely version of Roky Erickson's "Starry Eyes." Download the A-side at the top of this post. The follow-up, "Beach Head," will be out May 18, just in time for Popfest. The Royal We and Sexy Kids never made it to America (worth checking out, though) so do try and catch one of their shows.

Speaking of NYC Popfest, festival passes are sold out but you can still buy individual tickets for all shows. It's a great line-up this year, including Manchester post punk legends The Wake, Seattle's BOAT, one of Pants Yell!'s last-ever shows, Tender Trap (new band from Amelia Fletcher of Talulah Gosh and Heavenly fame) (not to be confused with Temper Trap), Allo Darlin' and loads more. There's lots of information about the bands over at the official NYC Popfest blog. Also, the Popfest organizers have put together a nice mix of 17 of the popfest bands -- the link to the zip file is at the top of this post.

All 2010 Veronica Falls tour dates, videos and the tracklisting of that Popfest mix are all after the jump.

Continue reading "more Veronica Falls tour dates & a free Popfest MP3 mix "

posted at 3:47 PM on April 19, 2010 in MP3 | music | tour dates | Comments (7)

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Summer Cats - Hey You (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Summer Cats - Super (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Summer Cats - Let's Go (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Summer Cats - TV Guide (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Tambourine - For Ex-Lovers Only (MP3)

Summer Cats

As previously reported, Australia is invading America (and NYC) this month -- musically speaking -- and another battalion has been added to their ranks: Melbourne's Summer Cats. The band are making the most of their trip with a quick East Coast / Midwest tour -- including Mondo! at Don Hill's on Friday (3/5) and then Bruar Falls in Brooklyn on Sunday (3/7) -- then down to Austin for SXSW, then to California for the West Coast editions of Slumberland's 20th Anniversary concerts.

Summer Cats are an almost quintessentially Slumberland-sounding band: sunny male/female vocals, jangly guitars that sometimes get very very noisy, and vintage organ. The band kind of is vintage Slumberland too -- singer Scott Stevens spent a good portion of the '90s fronting shoegazers The Earthmen, whose "Cool Chick #59" was one of the label's early singles. After a string of 7"s on labels like Popboomerang and Cloudberry, Summer Cats became labelmates of Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Crystal Stilts and released their debut album, Songs for Tuesdays, last year.

There's a brand new single out from the band, "Your Timetable," that definitely dips into the band's distortion-loving side. You can download it's poppier flipside, "TV Guide," at the top of this post. There are three other Summer Cats tunes to download too, do check them out -- good stuff.

As for the West Coast Slumberland 20 shows are happening March 27 in San Francisco (sold out) at the Rickshaw Stop, and then the next night (3/28) at the Echo in Los Angeles. As much as I enjoyed the SL20 show at Bell House back in November, I'm more than a little jealous of the California line-ups, especially the San Francisco one. Both shows are headlined by UK indiepop stalwarts Boyracer who are currently claiming these will be their last-ever shows, plus Henry's Dress (original lineup!!!), Go Sailor (Rose Melberg of Tiger Trap/Softies and Amy Linton of Henry's Dress/Aisler's Set, their first show in 14 years!), and more recent Slumberland acts Brown Recluse, Devon Williams, Neverever (ex Royal We and Bricolage), and third-ever (and fourth-ever) live performances of Sic Alps side project, The How. The Rickshaw Stop show also has local Slumberland act Brilliant Colors. And Summer Cats, of course. Holy crap!

Summer Cats also play the Cake Shop/Slumberland showcase at SXSW (3/19 at the Mohawk) that also features The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Frankie & the Outs, Grass Widow, Reading Rainbow and Standard Fare (who we just posted about).

Black Tambourine

While on the subject of Slumberland Records, and to make this post as tangential (and Brooklyn Vegan-esque) as possible, as part of the label's 20th anniversary they're putting out a new compilation of one of their earliest bands: the short-lived but highly influential Black Tambourine. The group was made up of Pam Berry (also of Glo-Worm and co-founder of zine chickfactor), Velocity Girl's Archie Moore, Brian Nelson and Mike Schulman who runs Slumberland to this day. This replaces the label's previous Black Tambourine comp, offering up six previously unheard tracks. Two of those tracks are demos and the other four are brand new -- two originals, plus covers of Buddy Holly and Suicide. Out March 30, Black Tambourine will be available on CD and a gatefold double LP. Despite the new recordings, the band aren't getting back together or touring... so don't get too excited (editor's note: though I heard there is a chance of a UK show). There is a new video for their song "For Ex-Lovers Only," which you can watch below (and download an MP3 above).

After the jump there are Summer Cats videos and tour dates, and that Black Tambourine music video, album art and tracklist...

Continue reading "Summer Cats playing NYC, SXSW & LA Slumberland show w/ Henry's Dress & Go Sailor (dates) ++ Black Tambourine comp"

posted at 11:32 AM on March 3, 2010 in music | tour dates | Comments (14)

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Veronica Falls - Found Love in a Graveyard (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Allo Darlin' - My Heart is a Drummer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BOAT - Lately (MP3)

Veronica FAlls

The line-up for the fourth annual NYC Popfest has just been announced, which will happen May 20 - 23 at a variety of venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Thirty-two bands from around the world will be playing, and I think it's a pretty strong bunch of bands. Highlights for me include Veronica Falls (pictured above) which features ex-members of The Royal We and Sexy Kids; newly-reformed Glasgow/Factory Records legends The Wake who'll have a new album out this year; London all-girl trio The Tender Trap (not to be confused with The Temper Trap); winsome Allo Darlin' who are also from London and will be at SXSW this year; L.A.'s Neverever (until recently known as the Champagne Socialists); and Seattle's awesome BOAT.

A few MP3s to whet your Popfest appetite. Ticket info hasn't been announced yet, but you can follow the Popfest blog or Twitter for updates. You can check out the full NYC Popfest line-up after the jump.

Continue reading "NYC Popfest 2010 lineup announced (Veronica Falls, The Wake, The Tender Trap, BOAT & more) "

posted at 4:21 PM on February 24, 2010 in music | tour dates | Comments (10)

photos by Tim Griffin, words by Bill Pearis

Amy Linton
Henry's Dress

Frankie Rose

Influential indie label Slumberland Records turned 20 in 2009 and celebrated this landmark with two big birthday shows -- one in Washington DC (where it got its start) and one in Brooklyn (where much of Slumberland's current roster reside). The Bell House show was a cardigan-clad indie marathon, with a nice mix of Slumberland bands (and fans) old and new. It really did feel like a party. There were favors for the guests (a Slumberland rarities compilation CD) and even a few surprises. Slumberland head honcho Mike Schulman joined Philadelphia's Brown Recluse on stage for some well-played tambourine, and Amy Linton, conspicuously absent from the listed proceedings, turned up for an unannounced, too-brief (and crazy loud) set of Henry's Dress and Aislers Set songs with help from Crystal Stilts. There might've even been a cake. With the label going strong, another 20 years doesn't seem entirely out of the question.

Videos (including the entire Henry's Dress/Aislers Set set), plus pictures of all the bands from the whole long, fun night are after the jump....

Continue reading "pics & video from Slumberland's 20th Anniversary party "

posted at 12:23 PM on November 27, 2009 in music | pictures | Comments (18)

by Bill Pearis

Frankie Rose

Frankie Rose is mainly known as a drummer, having played in Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls, but she's also a songwriter (she wrote VG's "Where Do You Run To?") and will be releasing her debut single, "Thee Only One," on Slumberland Records on October 27. She's also got a new band, Frankie and the Outs, who will make their live debut November 7th at The Woodser which will be the first show in a longtime for that South Williamsburg spot. Grass Widow is also on that bill.

With the new band, Frankie is sadly no longer drumming for Crystal Stilts. The split was amicable, guitarist JB plays guitar on her single. I'm told Crystal Stilts have a new drummer already, and the new Stilts lineup will even share a bill with Frankie and the Outs at two east coast Slumberland 20th Anniversary parties -- November 13th at the Black Cat and November 14 at the Bell House. (More on those further down the post.)

The Outs are a five piece, all girls, with whom Frankie will move from the drum kit to guitar (and vocals). The single's A-side is a two-and-a-half minute wall-of-sound pop that is what you might expect from someone who spent time in Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts. (It could be the sister of CS's "Love is a Wave.") The B-side, "Hollow Life," is more unexpected -- organ-driven, harmony-laden, dreamy and drum-free, owing a lot to Spacemen 3.

Neither the A-side or the B-side of Frankie Rose's single has made it onto her MySpace page, but you can listen to her demo of "Where Do You Run To," a track the Vivian Girls only played once live. However, Frankie says it will be part of the The Outs live repertoire.

Frankie will be behind the drum kit, though, for the Dum Dum Girls upcoming CMJ shows. This will be an all-girl line-up, apparently, unlike DDG's live debut at the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Festival this summer that included Crocodiles' Brandon Welchez on guitar and Captured Tracks major domo Mike Sniper on bass. But that's only for these shows.

As mentioned above, Frankie and the Outs will play the two Slumberland Records 20th Anniversary shows at the Bell House and Black Cat. The full line-up for both shows is : Crystal Stilts, Brown Recluse, Pants Yell!, Frankie and the Outs; plus some reunions of classic Slumberland bands The Ropers, Nord Express, and Lorelei. It will be the first Ropers and Nord Express shows in ten years. Additionally, the Bell House show features a "special guest headliner." And as D.C. was the original home of the label, I wouldn't be surprised if some different special guests played that one too.

I think that is enough for one post. Tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Frankie Rose leaves Crystal Stilts, starts band, playing Slumberland Anniversary parties - full lineups & MUCH MORE "

posted at 12:50 PM on September 30, 2009 in music | tour dates | Comments (54)

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Brown Recluse - Night Train (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brown Recluse - Contour and Context (MP3)

Brown Recluse

Philadelphia septet Brown Recluse play Sunday night (9/27) at Cake Shop, hot on the heels of their new EP The Soft Skin which was just released on Slumberland. It's sunny orch-pop in the same vein as '60s band The Zombies, The Sneetches, and The Ladybug Transistor. Check out the two songs at the top of this post -- good stuff.

The EP was actually recorded two years ago, back when the band were known as Brown Recluse Sings, but is only just now surfacing. If you like it, be sure to also check out their 2006 mini-LP, Black Sunday. A brand-new LP will be out on Slumberland in early 2010. If you can't make the Cake Shop show on Sunday, Brown Recluse will be back in NYC in November. All tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Brown Recluse (on Slumberland) - MP3s & 2009 Tour Dates "

posted at 2:27 PM on September 25, 2009 in MP3 | music | tour dates | Comments (4)