by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - Freudian Slips (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - Drastic and Difficult (MP3)

Big Troubles' full-length debut, Worry, came out a couple weeks ago on Olde English Spelling Bee. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post and listen to the whole album via their Bandcamp page.

The band play Thursday (9/23) at Glasslands with Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, Christmas Island, and The Babies (the latter two also just opened for Wavves at MHOW). Big Troubles also have some CMJ dates announced too, including a pretty sweet Saturday, October 23rd all day capeshok/inflated showcase at Bruar Falls with Woven Bones, Eternal Summers, Pregnant, Shrag, Sweet Bulbs, Mathemagic, Dead Gaze, Flight, Oberhofer, Rooftop Vigilantes, and Frankie Rose & the Outs.

For Frankie Rose, that makes at least two shows you can catch her and band at during CMJ, though it's unclear if either show is "official".

Woven Bones also play the Hardly Art show happening at Shea Stadium that week.

As a onetime '90s shoegaze obsessive, Worry really pushes all my buttons. It's got that gauzy mix of effects-laden guitars, distortion and melody down pat. And while I can hear specific touchstones -- The Boo Radleys, Medicine, Drop Nineteens as well as some of the more obvious ones -- the songs definitely stand on their own. You don't need to have remembered Revolver and Moose to appreciate the album --Worry is choc-ful of catchy songs.  And with a live drummer replacing the sequenced beats on the record, they're good live too.

A couple music videos and all upcoming Big Troubles live dates are below.

Continue reading "Big Troubles playing shows, soon & during CMJ (MP3 & dates) "

photos by Chris Gersbeck

"problematic wavves fan named pedro making this interesting." -stadiumsshrines

"Wavves just lost their shit. It was mad awkward." -surefirenelc

Wavves show was awesome. High energy, banging my head, throwing myself into the mosh pit, just what I needed." -draindesert

"Wavves is pretty alright for a band but they have to cool it with their unfunny BANTER. I'm talking to you fat-drummer-man. #playalready" -TheEnthusiast

"I might not be a dude-but I have a total boner for @wavveswavves right now." -haitlincandella

Wavves taking pulls off of a not-cigarette @ MHOW Tuesday night

How many people bought the now infamous Waaves weed grinders at the merch table last night? If you weren't able to roll one up then maybe you caught a contact high as Wavves smoked a fatty on stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (9/21), Wavves' 2nd headlining NYC show in less than two months. The Babies (featuring Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls) and Christmas Island provided support for the green-friendly band who had their fair share of supporters and detractors, on twitter, and at the show where the band was heckled by mystery patron "Pedro" for the duration of their set.

Wavves plays Madison Square Garden with Phoenix and Dirty Projectors in less than a month from now (10/20). Tickets are still available.

Video of Wavves smoking pot at Lollapalooza HERE. More pictures from Music Hall, including one of the setlist (which they didn't actually follow), and a couple of videos from the show (screaming fan included), below...

Continue reading "Pedro heckled Wavves @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (pics)"

photos by Zach Stern

Beach Fossils...

The Beach Fossils/Beets/Christmas Island tour culminates this Saturday (2/20) at Music Hall of Williamsburg, in a show with German Measles and Crystal Stilts. Tickets are still on sale.

It'll be the third NYC gig in less than two weeks for those three bands, who are on a Northeast tour of sorts (most of the shows are more like day trips from New York). They played Cake Shop on February 9th and Death by Audio on February 13th. The latter is where the pictures here were taken. More pictures from the show and some of the setlists are below...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils, The Beets & Christmas Island played Cake Shop & DBA (pics), play MHOW w/ Crystal Stilts Saturday "

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 "

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Erez Avissar

DOWNLOAD: Christmas Island - Bed Island (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Time (MP3)

Beach Fossils @ Shea Stadium

Tickets are still on sale for the Crystal Stilts MHOW show on Saturday, February 20th. Opening up for that show are The Beets, Christmas Island, Beach Fossils and The German Measles (who have a gig with Bishop Allen coming up, more on that soon).

Leading up to that show, Christmas Island (whose debut came out this October on In the Red), The Beets and Beach Fossils are all on tour together this February. The MHOW show is the last of three separate NYC dates for the tour. The other two come February 9th at the Cake Shop and February 13th at Death by Audio.

The Beets have already had a pretty busy December as far as NYC shows go. And the month isn't over for Beach Fossils, who'll ring in the New Year with Frankie and the Outs, Surfer Blood and We Are Country Mice at the Cameo. Beach Fossils (aka Dustin Payseur) has a full-length on the way from Woodsist/Captured Tracks in March, and the song above is from a forthcoming Woodsist 7".

Looking ahead to SXSW, Christmas Island also lists an In the Red showcase at Austin's Beerland on March 19th. The song "Bed Island," a tuneful love song, is above.

All tour dates along with the rest of the pictures from the show at Shea Stadium last Wednesday (12/9), below...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils played Shea Stadium (pics), touring w/ Christmas Island & The Beets (dates) ++ MP3s"