by Bill Pearis

With that driving, dirty synth bassline and anthemic "I don't care, I love it!" chorus (which is almost a preemptive strike against critics), Swedish duo Icona Pop's "I Love It" is sure to be heard ad naseum in clubs all summer. Is it Best New Music? The hook is kinda undeniable. And as Randy Newman and 10CC have taught us in the past, shouting "I love it!" is a shortcut to hitsville. (Charli XCX wrote this one, believe it or not.) If you haven't heard it yet, the video is below.

One club you'll definitely hear "I Love It" in is Glasslands, when Icona Pop plays live on Friday, June 22. It's a late show -- doors at 11:30PM -- and tickets are on sale. No other American shows at this point, though a Los Angeles show around the same time wouldn't be surprising.

Continue reading "Swedish duo Icona Pop playing Glasslands in June"

photos by Chris La Putt

Django Django @ Santos Party House

Two nights after the BV/Popgun-presented show at Glasslands, Django Django played another BV/Popgun/Neon Gold show at Santos Party House on Monday night (3/12) with Charli XCX and Clock Opera who were at Knitting Factory on Saturday. Here are some pictures from the Santos show.

All three bands are now in Austin for SXSW, and you can catch Django Django at Hotel Vegan on Friday. Meanwhile Hotel Vegan continues (at Hotel Vegas - 1500 E. 6th St in Austin) TODAY (3/15) at noon. Links to all BrooklynVegan events at SXSW at Brooklynvegan.com/SXSW.

More pictures from the NYC show below...

Continue reading "Django Django played Santos Party House w/ Charli XCX & Clock Opera (pics), playing Hotel Vegan @ SXSW"

by Bill Pearis

Django Django at Glassland (photo by @carrasfe)

Full write-up with pictures and video coming tomorrow, but last night Django Django had a packed Glasslands going fairly bannanas for their first-ever American show -- which BrooklynVegan presented. If you weren't able to go (or couldn't get tickets), Django Django play again tomorrow at Santos with Charli XCX and Clock Opera (who played a sold-out show last night too, at Knitting Factory.

We're presenting tomorrow's show too with the good people at Neon Gold and Popgun Booking. Tickets are still available but going fast. If you'd like to go for free, we're giving away three pairs of tickets. Details on how below...

Continue reading "Win tickets to the Django Django/Charli XCX/Clock Opera show Monday at Santos"

photos by Chris La Putt

Charli XCX @ Knitting Factory

Pre-SXSW festivities are underway in NYC and three of the buzziest bands here from Europe shared a bill at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn Saturday night (3/10). Those three bands were the Sub Pop-signed Niki & the Dove (from Stockholm), London's Charli XCX (who plays again at Santos Monday night and at the
Pitchfork showcase at SXSW), and England's Clock Opera (who also plays again at Santos Monday night). NYC's Ghost Beach opened the show, and like the rest, are headed to Texas this week. Here are some pictures from the Brooklyn show. More below...

Continue reading "Niki & the Dove, Charli XCX, Clock Opera & Ghost Beach played Knitting Factory (pics)"

By Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Razika - Eg Vetsje (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Razika - Nytt Pa Nytt (MP3)

Charli XCX

Welcome to Part 2 of this pre-SXSW edition of This Week in Indie (Part 1 HERE), which sees an insane amount of good show options over the next five days, even for New York which is never lacking for music options. Let's jump in, shall we?

Charli XCX and Clock Opera are two hotly-tipped UK acts who play a sold out show together Saturday night (3/10) at Knitting Factory, and a BV-presented (along with Neon Gold and Popgun Booking) show on Monday (3/12) at Santos that also features Django Django who play a sold out BV-Presented show Saturday night at Glasslands.

London's Charli XCX got a lot of attention last year for her singles "Stay Away" and "Nuclear Seasons" both of which mined '80s New Romantic synthpop. (You can watch the videos for both below.) She's currently recording her debut album, working with bigshot producers Patrik Berger (The Good Natured, Robyn) and Ariel Rechtshaid (Glasser, Theopolis London) while still attending London's Slade School of Fine Art (she's only 19). For those who wished Lykke Li's second album had more to dance to, Charli XCX may be your new favorite.

Clock Opera

Clock Opera's debut album, Ways to Forget, is out April 9 on Moshi Moshi. You can watch the video for the new single "Once and Again" at the bottom of this post. There is definitely a little Coldplay in what they do, but Clock Opera also have a wide creative streak as can be heard in their fantastic, radical reworking of Metronomy's "The Bay" which is included on The English Riveria - The Unreleased Remixes.

2:54 at Pianos (more by Erik Erikson)

2:54 are back in town for the first time since November, playing Glasslands on Sunday (3/11) and Mercury Lounge on Monday (3/12). When I saw them at Pianos, they were a little rough around the edges (and suffering from unintended feedback) but you could tell they had a lot of potential. (That potential is already evident on their recordings, all massive-sounding gothy shoegaze. Which is to say a lot like '90s band Curve.) Let's hope they've spent the last four months playing live and returning to mean business.

Check out new single "You're Early" at the bottom of this post. 2:54 also play the official BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase, which happens March 14 at Bar 96, and a bunch of other shows in Austin. Catch 'em if you can.

Big Deal

Both 2:54 shows in NYC are with London duo Big Deal whose debut came out back in January on Mute. Here's what Andrew Sacher had to say at the time:

Big Deal (aka Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe) will release their debut LP, Lights Out, on January 24 via Mute. They don't seem to be using more than an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar and their voices. They've got enough indie rock tendencies that it's bigger sounding than folk, but with the complete absence of drums, it's not nearly as large as their songwriting could lead it to be, and it ends up working to their advantage.

You can stream Lights Out via Spotify and watch one of their videos at the bottom of this post. The Glasslands show Sunday also has ZAZA on the bill, which makes it a very tempting night out indeed. You can also catch Big Deal at 'Hotel Vegan' Wedsnesday in Austin.

Razika

If you're not going to see Django Django, Charli XCX and Clock Opera at Santos, or 2:54 and Big Deal at Mercury Lounge, you might want to spend your Monday evening at Glasslands taking in the charming sounds of Norway's Razika who last played here in October and not enough people saw. (Including me.) I'm still listening to their debut, Program 91, which owes a little to 2-Tone Records and Lilliput/Kleenex, with a smidge of Camper Van Beethoven's balalaika ska in there too. There are a couple MP3s from Program 91 at the top of this post, do check them out, along with the video for "Vondt i hjertet" which Razika filmed here (you may recognize Pete's Candy Store) when they were over last October. Razika also play our Wednedsay day party in Austin.

Also on the bill: Belgium's Balthazar, and Brooklyn's We Can't Enjoy Ourselves and Landlady, plus DJs Tanlines. Razika play a bunch of dates next week in Austin, including one at our Hotel Vegan on Wednesday (3/14).

--

Tuesday (3/13) and Wednesday (3/14) mark the first two American shows from UK trio New Build that features Al Doyle and Felix Martin from Hot Chip. The band released their debut album Yesterday Was Lived and Lost this week on their own Lanark Recordings label. You can stream it at the bottom of this post. There is a strong Roxy Music/Talking Heads vibe going on here which includes Doyle's vocals. It's slinky. It's sexy. And danceable. If you don't listen to closely to the lyrics, you'll probably like it a lot. No surprise: both these shows are sold out. Check out live footage from Glasgow at the bottom of this post, they sound pretty good.

That's the big stuff. A few more show picks, day-by-day, are below for things I haven't already covered in this post.

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METZ at Cake Shop last night (3/8)

FRIDAY, MARCH 9

As mentioned Thursday, Toronto bands METZ and Teenanger are in town and will play Death By Audio tonight with Vaz and Pop. 1280. I caught METZ and Teenanger last night at Cake shop and was duly impressed by both. METZ in particular made some kind of intense awesome racket. They are great this show is highly recommended tonight.

Montreal's Automelodi (aka Xavier Paradis) played their first NYC show in a long time at the Weird party at Home Sweet Home this past Wednesday which I didn't realize was happening until it was over. Luckily, Automelodi play again tonight at Pianos. I was a huge fan of his 2010 album, here's hoping he plays lots of new songs. The Pianos show is with Frenshkills who are celebrating a new album and who also play our Wednesday day party in Ausitn.

continued below...

Continue reading "Charli XCX, Clock Opera, 2:54, Big Deal, Razika, Automelodi, New Build, Elephant Stone, more in This Week in Indie part 2"

by Bill Pearis

Django Django

We've got some more news on the Django Django front. In addition to Kwes dropping off the March 10th Glasslands show, Django Django have added a second NYC show on Monday, March 12 at Santos Party House, that BrooklynVegan is co-presenting with the folks at Neon Gold and Popgun Booking. Also playing will be Clock Opera and Charlie XCX who also share a bill on March 10 at Knitting Factory. Tickets are on sale now for the Santos show.

Clock Opera

Clock Opera's debut album, Ways to Forget, is out April 9 on Moshi Moshi. You can watch the video for the new single "Once and Again" at the bottom of this post. You can also stream their fantastic, radical reworking of Metronomy's "The Bay" which is included on The English Riveria - The Unreleased Remixes.

Charli XCX

London's Charli XCX got a lot of attention last year for her singles "Stay Away" and "Nuclear Seasons" both of which mined '80s New Romantic synthpop. (You can watch the videos for both below.) She's currently recording her debut album, working with bigshot producers Patrik Berger (The Good Natured, Robyn) and Ariel Rechtshaid (Glasser, Theopolis London) while still attending London's Slade School of Fine Art (she's only 19).

As mentoned above, both Clock Opera and Charli XCX are also playing Knitting Factory on Saturday March 10. That show with Sub Pop-signed Nikki & the Dove, and tickets are still on sale. And they're all playing SXSW of course (Charli's official show is the Pitchfork showcase).

Django Django have just released a stream for "Storm" which was actually the band's first single nearly three years ago. You can stream the whole Django Django album at Spotify and buy it digitally wherever high-quality MP3s are sold.

Click through for flyers for both Django Django shows, along with videos and streams mentioned above.

Continue reading "Django Django add NYC show with Clock Opera & Charli XCX (BV Presents)"

by Andrew Sacher

Niki & the Dove

Stockholm's Niki & the Dove (aka Malin Dahlström and Gustaf Karlöf), who released The Drummer EP and "The Fox" single last year and made BBC's 'Sound of 2012' list, recently announced a short US tour which will take place this March and hit NYC on March 10 at Knitting Factory. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

The band just released the video for "The Fox," which you can watch below alongside a widget to download the track. There's definitely some Bjork coming through in Malin's vocals, and she's backed by thick, dancefloor-ready pop with synthetic brass, clap snares, and exploding choruses.

Also on the Knitting Factory bill is Clock Opera, who will release their debut album, Ways to Forget, on April 9 via Moshi Moshi, and quickly rising UK pop singer Charli XCX.

Charli XCX recently played an MTV show in London with The Maccabees, which Lana Del Rey was also scheduled to play, but cancelled like she did with SXSW after her SNL performance and an interview with Vogue where she said she might never record an album again. Like Lana Del Rey, Charli XCX seems groomed for mainstream pop-ularity and was one of the many singers Balam Acab remixed last year. Charli's other dates include a March tour of Europe with Sleigh Bells (who are the musical guest on SNL next weekend).

All Niki & the Dove dates, video and widget below...

Continue reading "Niki & the Dove release new video, announce dates, a Brooklyn show w/ Charli XCX & Clock Opera"

Twin Sister @ MFNW 2011 (more by Autumn Andel)

Twin Sister will release a limited edition 12" remix album of material off of their debut LP In Heaven on January 30. You've already heard Balam Acab's remix of "Kimmi in a Rice Field". It will be backed by a Lindstrom & Prins Thomas remix of "Bad Street," which you can stream below. The 12" is available for pre-order at the Domino webstore.

Twin Sister will have the 12" available on their 2012 tour with Ava Luna, which doesn't come to NYC, but both of those bands play the BV Holiday Party at Bowery Ballroom (12/17) with Widowspeak. Tickets for that show are still on sale and only $8.

Speaking of the 12/17 Bowery show, we're happy to announce some DJ additions to the bill. As soon as doors open and until Ava Luna go on, music will be provided by a mysterious team known as Invisible Glowstix. After that, between bands and until the last person leaves the club, the tunes will be coming courtesy of the slightly more well known Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. who will put down their guitars and mics for the night in favor of laptops and turntables. The Detroit band are also playing (live) shows in Philly and Boston while they're in the area.

Twin Sister recently recorded a live session for The Alternate Side, which aired today (12/9). You can watch the archived session below. They also recently recorded a live in-studio version of "Stop" at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco for Yours Truly. The video of that performance is below too.

Speaking of Balam Acab remixes, he recently remixed Charli XCX's single "Nuclear Seasons," which came out in November. You can stream his remix and watch the video for the original below. The original is available for free download in exchange for your email address at Charli XCX's website and you can download the Balam Acab remix by liking her facebook page.

Video and streams below...

Continue reading "Twin Sister release Lindstrom & Prins Thomas remix (listen); Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr & Invisible Glowstix DJing Bowery show"