photos by Amanda Hatfield

In a word, the band sounded "essential" (and like Sunny Day Real Estate), as if [Cloud Nothings] had to prove themselves all over again with every song. They were raw, intense, physical, aggressive, and it showed even in the name of the songs they played in their tight 50-minute set: the already-anthemic "No Future/No Past," skuzzy show opener "Stay Useless," bursting "Cut You," and the Nirvana-like "No Sentiment." When a scratchy-voiced Baldi furiously proclaimed, "No nostalgia, no sentiment/We're over it now and we were over it then," he meant it. [The L]

If you missed them, you'll have TWO chances to catch the band in NYC while they're out with A Classic Education in the coming months; March 27 at Mercury Lounge (tickets on AMEX presale on 2/1, regular on 2/3) and March 28 at Glasslands (tickets on sale).

More pictures from The Studio at Webster Hall (we missed openers Bleeding Rainbow and Jump Into The Gospel) are below....

Continue reading "Cloud Nothings played The Studio at Webster Hall (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: A Classic Education - Forever Boy (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: A Classic Education - Baby It's Fine (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - No Future/No Past (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless (MP3)

A Classic Education

As predicted, following this week's Best New Music review of Attack on Memory, tonight's Cloud Nothings' show at Studio @ Webster Hall with Bleeding Rainbow and Jump Into the Gospel, is now sold out. But the band just announced two NYC-area shows on the other side of SXSW, part of their tour with A Classic Education: March 27 at Mercury Lounge (also with The Denzels and Last Year's Men) (tickets on-sale Friday, 2/3) and March 28 at Glasslands (also with Crinkles) (on sale now). All Cloud Nothings/A Classic Education tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

This will be the first North American tour for A Classic Education since releasing their debut album, Call it Blazing, which was one of my favorites of 2011:

Heart on the sleeve tunes from Canadian Jonathan Clancy who formed this band in his current hometown of Bologna, Italy. Students of indiepop history, ACE take the best bits of the last 30 years and have created a sound all their own. Tuneful, continental and clever, with charm to spare.

Continue reading "Cloud Nothings add two NYC shows in March with A Classic Education (updated dates & MP3s)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "No Future/No Past" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: My Best Fiend - "Higher Palms" (MP3)

Nada Surf

The column comes early as it's a busy week and there are lots of shows to talk about. First up, venerable NYC trio Nada Surf's new album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, is out today and the band play Bowery Ballroom this evening to celebrate. Tonight's show is sold out but Nada Surf will be streaming the show live via their YouTube channel starting at 10PM. The band then head out for a good two months of touring and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

The band's seventh album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, is another fine record in Nada Surf's catalog of positive-vibe guitar pop, bolstered this time out by Doug Gillard who provides a lot of great lead work. This kind of music may not be in fashion right now, but it also never really goes out of style. And they do it really well You can stream or download the ebullient first single "Waiting for Something" at the bottom of this post and Spotify users can listen to the album here.

Cloud Nothings - 'Attack on Memory'

Also out today: Cloud Nothings' Attack on Memory which, as Andrew noted a couple weeks ago, is much more sophisticated and agressive than the tuneful pop-punk the band have released in the past. They're still writing catchy songs -- check out "Stay Useless at the top of this post -- but the shift is fairly radical, so much so that main man Dylan Baldi briefly considered changing the name of the band. (It's not that radical.) It's a very good album, and you can listen to it on Spotify and watch the brand-new video for "No Future/No Past" at the bottom of this post.

The album, you may have seen, got Best New Music on the 'Fork yesterday, and despite this there are still tickets to be had for Cloud Nothings' show this Thursday (1/26) at The Studio @ Webster Hall though I imagine not for long. Knowing how good the band are live (what a drummer!) I'm really anxious to hear these songs live. It's a one-off show, but the band will tour starting mid-February including, need I say it, time in Austin for SXSW. All dates are at the bottom of this post.

The Hundred in the Hands - Bowery Ballroom Feb. 2011 (more)
 

The Hundred in the Hands are playing their first show in a long time this Friday (1/27) at Glasslands, which will give us the first taste of the duo's second album which will be out on Warp at some point this year. While they haven't released any tracks from it yet, they are still updating the THITH Zine, the band's culture zine that most recently interview artist Zander Blom. There's a lot of interesting stuff in the archives that's worth checking out.

My Best Fiend

A lot of people will be at Glasslands on Friday just to check out THITH's Warp labelmates My Best Fiend whose album In Ghostlike Fading is out February 21. My Best Fiend are not your typical Warp act, closer to the space blues of Spiritualized or My Morning Jacket (or Neil Young) than the electronic music that fills most of the label's roster. The band have been plugging away in the Brooklyn scene for upwards of seven years and its good to see it pay off for them. You can download album-opener "Higher Palms" at the top of this post and you can stream "Cracking Eggs" (which features Light Asylum's Shannon Fuchness) further down.

The Glasslands show also features duo Bikini who make unapologetic four-on-the-floor dancefloor fodder, and Bear in Heaven will be DJing between sets, hopefully not playing all the records at 400,000% slower than normal.

Guy Harvey

And finally we have Florida's Guy Harvey, which is a band and not a solo artist and should not to be confused with Elbow frontman Guy Garvey which I did for half a second. The band are on tour with Gainsville residents Averkiou and hit NYC this weekend for two shows: Friday (1/27) at Cake Shop and Saturday (1/28) at Death by Audio. All GH/Averkiou dates are at the bottom of this post.

You may recognize Guy Harvey frontman Adam Perry from his moonlighting gig as an auxiliary member of Surfer Blood. There's not a lot of Guy Harvey music out there to listen to, but both sides of a 2010 7" (streamable below) are ace, with a strong Flying Nun influence. If you liked the Twerps album from last year, give Guy Harvey a listen. Averkiou, meanwhile, make fuzzy, shoegazy pop not too far from early Teenage Fanclub. Check out a few streaming tracks at the bottom of this post.

Friday's Cake Shop show is with Byrdsy locals Slow Country whose new album is a name-your-price download at their Bandcamp and is quite nice. Saturday's show at Death by Audio also has underrated Brooklyn bands I'm Turning Into and Bright Lights. Either show is worth checking out. Or go to both!

That's the main stuff for this week. Below are a few more picks, day-by-day, of shows not covered otherwise.

The Hairs

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24

There's a TWII-approved line-up at East Village mainstay Lit Lounge -- that is now booking bands I've heard of again -- with The Hairs (new single out next month), Pigeons, and Gross Relations.

Friends have shown up on most of the "Bands to Watch in 2012" lists. Go watch them in 2012, tonight, at Cameo as part of a very solid bill with Phonetag and Spanish Prisoners.

continued below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf, Cloud Nothings, Hundred in the Hands, My Best Fiend, Guy Harvey, Averkiou & more in This Week in Indie"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "No Future/No Past" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless" (MP3)

Cloud Nothings at FFF Fest (more by Tim Griffin)

As mentioned, Cloud Nothings are releasing their sophomore album, Attack On Memory, on January 24 via Carpark and playing a NYC show at The Studio at Webster Hall two days later (1/26) before heading out on a full tour in support of the album. Bleeding Rainbow and Jump Into the Gospel open the Studio show and most of the rest of the tour includes dates with A Classic Education and Mr. Dream. Tickets for the Studio at Webster Hall show are still available.

Less than a minute into desolate album opener "No Future/No Past" (download above) it's clear that Cloud Nothings are miles beyond the Wavves-y pop punk of their self titled debut. And while I was not a huge fan of that debut, Attack On Memory is immediately winning me over. There's a real '90s Seattle/Sub Pop vibe with frontman Dylan Baldi embracing the lengthy moans of Sunny Day Real Estate's Jeremy Enigk and the pack-a-day grit of Kurt Cobain on In Utero (which, like this album, had Steve Albini behind the boards). Albini's overexposed production lets you lean in so closely to Dylan's screams that you can feel the pain his throat must have been going through while recording. But while his production is an essential part of this record's sound, Albini doesn't deserve all the credit. Cloud Nothings are truly a different band than they were a year ago. The second track, "Wasted Days," is bridged by a long instrumental passage until Dylan brings in the most blood-spitting screams on the album. The album does still have its poppier moments ("Fall In," "Cut You," "Stay Useless," the latter of which you can download above) but they're delivered with far more confidence and grit than anything the band have put out before. "Separation" is an entirely instrumental track, transitioning ferocious guitar-driven passages in a Sonic Youth type fashion, and even diving into some scrapey SY-type riffs. That track is followed with the album's last moment of pure dirtiness with "No Sentiment," which has enough Dave Grohl-like drum fills to pass as an In Utero b-side.

You can preorder the album from Insound and get a free exclusive poster (pictured below) while supplies last.

"No Future/No Past" and "Stay Useless" can be downloaded above and streamed below, along with all dates and poster...

Continue reading "Cloud Nothings readying 'Attack On Memory' (MP3s, dates)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Cloud Nothings @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

After a stop in Austin for Fun Fun Fun Fest (new pictures in this post), Cloud Nothings toured to Brooklyn to play a show at Glasslands last weekend (11/12). How was that show? If you missed it, the band will be back soon. Catch them on January 26th at The Studio at Webster Hall with Reading Rainbow and more TBA. Tickets go on sale at 10:20AM on 11/19.

That's a one-off show, but the band will head out on a big tour soon too. That tour runs from February through the first week of April and alternates between A Classic Education and Mr. Dream as support. There's no NYC date announced as part of that yet, but we wouldn't be surprised if at least one gets announced shortly after that 1/26 date (one at Mercury Lounge maybe even). All confirmed dates are listed below.

Cloud Nothings recently released a video teaser and a new track from their forthcoming LP Attack On Memory. Check out the slow burner "No Future/No Past" from the Albini-produced effort below, and look for the LP via Car Park on January 24th (two days before the next NYC show). Car Park is also the label that is releasing a free Cloud Nothings Christmas song in December.

The new song, all tour dates, and more Fun Fun Fun Fest pictures are below...

Continue reading "Cloud Nothings announced new album, free Christmas song, more shows (dates & more pics from Fun Fun Fun Fest)"

Dan Deacon & fans @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

Dan Deacon, now signed to Domino (!) for a record due in 2012 (more details TBA), has still got it. Earlier this month, as you can see in the pictures here, I witnessed him play to a giant crowd of rabid fans at Fun Fun Fun Fest. As usual he played from the ground instead of the stage, and luckily with the help of a security guard to shield his equipment from the wild, swaying mass. More pictures are below.

Later that same day, Dan performed again, but on a stage (the Yellow Stage to be exact) as part of the Wham City Comedy Tour that has now arrived in NYC for a show at 285 Kent tonight...

====| FRIDAY 11/18 @ RIC/RAMBO @ 285 KENT AVE |====
|| JM RAMBO presents
|| WHAM CITY COMEDY TOUR
|| Adam Endres
|| A Funny Clown
|| Alan Resnick
|| April Camlin
|| Ben O'Brien
|| Connor Kizer
|| Dan Deacon
|| Ellie Beziat
|| Erin Gleeson
|| Mason Ross
|| Peter O'Connell
|| Robby Rackleff
| RIC/RAMBO @ 285 KENT AVE |
285 Kent Ave @ South 1st | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, G-Metropolitan, JM-Marcy | 8pm | $8 | all ages

Last but not least, Dan is one of a few artists who have contributed tracks to a free holiday album that Carpark is releasing on 12/6. The full tracklist and more details on that are also below...

Continue reading "Dan Deacon on Domino, on a new Christmas album, on tour (dates & more pics from Fun Fun Fun Fest)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Passion Pit

It's now Saturday and Fun Fun Fun Fest's second day is already underway and streaming on Pitchfork.

Yesterday, Friday, while BBG was holding down the black stage (which Danzig eventually played), Tim (who ran into Ryan Gosling more than once), was handling most of the other music the Austin fest had to offer. A quick selection of Tim's pictures from Friday continues below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 -- Day 1 in pics (part 2) -- Passion Pit, Reggie Watts, Omar Souleyman & more)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Still Corners - Into the Trees (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Immaculates - Hey Joe Kelly (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gospel Music - This Town Don't Have Enough Bars for Both of Us (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Radiation City - The Color of Industry (MP3)

Still Corners

I think Wednesday is my favorite day for CMJ day parties. You get a lot of good bands, but it's not insanely packed like the weekend shows. And this year, there are a lot of great Wednesday afternoon options.

Before we get into it, I would like to say that Spotify has been a giant help in checking out music from bands playing and if you have the service, I recommend using it. (If you don't, chances are someone you know has invites to give out.) Much easier than Googling for Bandcamp, Soundcloud or (heaven forbid) Myspace sites. Spotify doesn't have everything, but it has most everything. I've got a CMJ 2011 Playlist that I update when I find something new and interesting which you're welcome to check out.

[editor's note/update/disclaimer: Spotify has partnered with us on all BV CMJ events this year, but Bill did not know that when he wrote that above paragraph, so please no conspiracy theories!]

Anyway, day shows:

PICK OF THE DAY: Under the Radar party at Public Assembly has a line-up that is pretty hard to beat, including one of my favorite bands of late, Still Corners whose chilly, majestic debut, Creatures of an Hour, came out last week on Sub Pop. Check out an MP3 of new single "Into the Trees" at the top of this post and you can stream the whole album at the bottom. Public Assembly is good and dark, ideal for their trippy accompanying lightshow. Still Corners also play Public Assembly Wednesday night which must be nice for them not having to schlep their gear around. They also play tomorrow at our day party at Knitting Factory and then the Sub Pop showcase at Mercury Lounge that night.

Also playing at Public Assembly: Norway's super-fun Casiokids, Fiery Furnaces' Eleanor Friedberger (who maybe you caught last night with Wild Flag at Bowery Ballroom), the retro funk of The Stepkids (who also play our TBA Saturday party at Public Assembly), plus Chad Valley, Porcelain Raft. It's kind of a slam-dunk show.

The Immaculates

THEN AGAIN... the folks at Terrorbird Media have put together a pretty great show at Cake Shop. It kicks off with newish, shit-hot Brooklyn garage-soul band The Immaculates who are worth showing up early for. Check out an MP3 at the top of this post. Then it's Virginia's Eternal Summers who have really come into their own since expanding from a duo to a trio.

Gospel Music

Then it's Gospel Music which is Owen Holmes who used to be in CMJ 2007 buzz band Black Kids but now makes indiepop somewhere between Stephin Merrit and Jonathan Richman (which is a definite sweet spot for me.) Holmes got help from Hefner's Darren Hayman, Camera Obscura's Traceyanne Campbell and others on last year's Duets EP, but for his full-length debut, How to Get to Heaven from Jacksonville, FL,  he shares the mike full-time with fellow Jacksonville resident Madeline Long. Check out an MP3 of first single "This Town Doesn't Have Enough Bars For Both Of Us" and watch the video (which features his old Black Kids pals) at the bottom. Gospel Music's other CMJ dates are down there as well.

The rest of the Terrorbird line-up: Cloud Nothings, Mux Mool, Widowspeak, Teen Daze and Cubik Zirconia. That's a quality free show too folks.

Of course the nice thing about the Lower East Side is that every venue around there has a day show. At Pianos there's the We Listen For You party with Arms, Guards, The Pass, Parlovr, Nerves Jr. and Headless Horseman in the main room; upstairs it's the Big Hassle Media party with Radiation City, Aeroplane Pagaent, Clubfeet, Marques Toliver, J. Viewz, Pyramids and Army Navy.

Radiation City

If you're in the Ludlow area, do try and check out Portland's Radiation City (3PM) who've made one of the year's more charming debuts which drifts between moody, organ-driven numbers and more upbeat pop. Papercuts covering The Free Design? Add in some Mazzy Star smokiness and you're almost there. Check out "The Color of Industry" at the top of this post, and go seem them live at some point this week. Radiation City also play the PASTE party at The Living Room today too (4PM) and have shows this week, and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

That PASTE party, which goes from 4 - 7 PM also features Lord Huron, Santah and The Lonely Forest.

And finally over at Fontanas (which you may remember from BV day parties of old or episodes of Louie) is this year's Pirate! Island party with a pretty good bunch of bands too: Canada's Hollerado, Nick Diamonds, Fairmont, Army Navy, The Great Book of John and The One & Nines. Set times at the bottom of this post.

Click through for flyers (including a couple day shows I didn't mention), streams, videos and set times. I'll have Wednesday nighttime picks a little later.

Continue reading "CMJ 2011 - Bill's Wednesday daytime picks (Still Corners, Gospel Music, The Immaculates, Radiation City & more)"

Archy Marshall, who previously operated under the Zoo Kid moniker, now records as King Krule. He'll release a self titled EP under the name on November 8 via True Panther. That's the album art above. You can check out the EP's last track, "The Noose of Jah City," along with the tracklist below.

King Krule has a few international dates coming up including some CMJ shows, which will also act as his US debut. He's scheduled to play the True Panther showcase at Glasslands on October 19 with Tanlines, Trash Talk, Lemonade, Teengirl Fantasy, and Little Red. He'll also play a Fader Fort CMJ Party on October 21 and a secret True Panther warehouse party on October 22. Stay tuned for more details on those.

Trash Talk also have other CMJ shows including a late one at Cake Shop on Thursday, October 20:

LIFE or DEATH PR CMJ SHOWCASE
THE CAKE SHOP
Doors at 7PM - 4AM., $12.00
FREE BEER FROM LONG TRAIL. DASSS WASSUP
DJ sets from NNA TAPES & Todd Pendu / ElectricLady
8PM Cheeseburger
9PM Chelsea Wolfe
10PM Psychic Ills
11:15PM Chrome Sparks
12AM Wise Blood
1AM Main Attrakionz
2 AM Trash Talk
3 AM SPECIAL GUESTS

Trash Talk have a new video for "Burn Alive" off their upcoming Awake EP, which comes out next week (10/11) via True Panther. Check out that video and one for the EP's title track below.

Australian new wavers Little Red also play the Windish Agency CMJ Showcase at Pianos on October 19 with Exitmusic, Cloud Nothings, Casiokids, Wim, and Bikini. Tickets are on sale now.

All dates, videos, song stream, and other stuff below...

Continue reading "King Krule, Little Red & Trash Talk are True Panther labelmates, playing CMJ shows & stuff (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Anthem Facility - "Left to Defend" (MP3)

Young Magic at Mercury Lounge earlier this month (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Young Magic, who recently opened for Youth Lagoon at Mercury Lounge, will release the "Night in the Ocean" single b/w "Slip Time" on October 11 via Carpark. You can stream "Night in the Ocean" and check out the album artwork for the single below. The 7" vinyl is available for preorder.

Young Magic play Mercury Lounge again on October 5 with Love Connection. Tickets for that show are on sale now. They'll be active during CMJ when they'll play the Carpark/Paw Tracks showcase at Public Assembly on October 18 with Class Actress, Dent May, Cloud Nothings, Adventure, and Jimmy Whispers (of Light Pollution).

Anthem Facility

Melati Malay, who is a member of Young Magic and New Moods, is also the vocalist in Anthem Facility. Anthem Facility just released the Trace EP, which you can stream below and purchase at bandcamp. You can also watch the video for the EP's title track below, and download an MP3 of "Left to Defend" above.

All dates, video and streams below...

Continue reading "Young Magic streaming new 7", playing shows (tour dates & a related Anthem Facility MP3 too)"

CMJ takes over NYC venues from October 18-22, and they just announced another round of bands that are playing. They are:

J Mascis, Shonen Knife, Gang Gang Dance, Boy & Bear, Cloud Nothings, Free Energy, T. Mills, Kendrick Lamar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Casiokids, Oberhofer, Smif-N-Wessun, Pujol, Zomby, Joker, Painted Palms, Flatliners, Robbers on High Street, Bag Raiders, Young Buffalo, Skeletonwitch, Gary Clark, Jr. and 1, 2, 3.

Zomby is also playing Glasslands even sooner.

Slayer at Izod Center (photos by Samantha Marble)

Slayer, Thee Oh Sees, Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy, (Danzig + Doyle von Frankenstein playing Misfits, Samhain & Danzig), Hot Snakes, Diplo, Major Lazer, Henry Rollins, Ted Leo & The Phramacists, Spank Rock, Murder City Devils, Hum, Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Four Tet, Rakim, The Damned, Austra, Purity Ring, and Flynt Flossy are just a few of the acts announced today as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup. Another amazing year! Check out the full lineup below and stay tuned for more announcements coming in August and September.

The new additions to the Austin, Texas festival, which takes place from 11/4 - 11/6, are in addition to the the previous "lineup leaks" that included Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, X (performing "Los Angeles"), Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Kid Dynamite and others

2011 is the festival's sixth year, but first at its new home Auditorium Shores (no more Waterloo Park). Tickets are on sale now.

Slayer also has a NYC performance coming up with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth as part of the "Big Four" show at Yankee Stadium on 9/14. Tickets are still available.

Fun Fun Fun 2011 flyer and almost-full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup (Danzig Legazy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Lykke Li, The Damned, Henry Rollins & much more)"

words & photos by Andrew Frisicano

Wednesday

Twin Shadow @ Fader Fort

A crowded backyard tent filled with cigarette smoke, free open-faced tacos (pork, chicken, brisket or veggie), a man carting a dolly of Lone Star cases through the crowd, and a pair of middle-aged guys picking a fight with each other on a Wednesday afternoon. "Doesn't he know I'm a ticking time bomb?" the offended guy says, a bit like he's not joking. JEFF the Brotherhood is playing too, which is more or less the occasion for all of this, my first show of SXSW 2011. The JEFF brothers aren't really the focus though, since they'll be playing a dozen other times this week, and most of the people are concentrating on the tacos, their conversations or their inability to get away from the door of the totally (did I say?) packed room.

In spite of that, the band is tearing through songs from Heavy Days and their new LP We Are the Champions, and between songs tossing out free vinyl singles into the crowd: "Those are going to slice someone's neck open," says Jake before slinging a few more across the room. They go into "Bummer," a ballady, Dino Jr.-style headbanger, that's one of the standout new tunes.

Trash Talk @ BV/Feed the Beat Day Party (photo by Samantha Marble)

Ty Segall's entertaining and totally worthwhile band is up next, but the BrookylnVegan day show at Emo's is also currently happening, the highlight of which has to be the simulatneous staging of Cali punks Trash Talk (who went on before Kylesa) and Mister Heavenly (who went on before Surfer Blood). Mister Heavenly are a supergroup of-sorts you've heard about. On the inside, Trash Talk frontman Lee Spielman towers over everyone with the body of a scarecrow and a scary-as-hell perma-scowl; he smashes his forehead with the microphone a few times to draw blood. "Stick around for Surfer Blood," he says, before crawling into the crowd and standing on what I can only hope were someone's shoulders. People start edging toward the door. On the outside stage, Mr. Heavenly performs an appropriately lovely set, its two frontmen trading verses in their own styles.

After that, the Fader Fort brought Twin Shadow on stage, the bedroom-pop project of George Lewis Jr. that's become a wildly good live band. For an outdoor venue, the system sounded impressively balanced and clear - which would turn out to be a rarity at the festival. That was 'specially good for Yelawolf, whose songs sounded vital in a way that your iPod just can't do. With no crew to speak of, his solo athletics put in an early bid for best-of.

Yelawolf @ Fader Fort

Later that night at Stubb's, Yuck and James Blake played what would be the first of several for both. Both did well on the big stage, a portent of things to come, vibing out in their respective styles: fuzz rock and chilled-out pop. Check out both of their sets for yourself at NPR- Blake and Yuck.

continued below...

Continue reading "Colin Stetson, Twin Shadow, Odd Future, James Blake, JEFF the Brotherhood, Yelawolf, more (Andrew F's week @ SXSW)"

DOWNLOAD: Craft Spells - You Should Close the Door (MP3)

Beach Fossils at 285 Kent Ave (more by Jessica Amaya)

Beach Fossils have the new What a Pleasure EP due on March 8th via Captured Tracks (out on iTunes now), and the band is heading to SXSW in celebration. Shortly after that, they'll team up with their labelmates Craft Spells for a US tour that will kick off with two NY shows. The first is on April 7th at Stony Brook University. The next is at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 8th. Tickets for the Brooklyn show go on AmEx presale Wednesday at noon (3/2), and regular sale on Friday. All dates are below.

Craft Spells

Seattle's Craft Spells' self-titled LP is due March 29th on Captured Tracks (update: grab an MP3 above), and the band can also be seen supporting Cloud Nothings at Glasslands on April 9th, one day after the Music Hall show (Beach Fossils take that night off). Tickets are on sale.

For Cloud Nothings, that Glasslands show is one date of a month+ tour that also includes SXSW, dates with Toro y Moi and a late show at Mercury Lounge on April 12th. Cloud Nothings' debut self-titled full length is out now on Carpark Records. Check out the video for "Should Have" below.

Speaking of Carpark Records, they recently signed Young Magic who have a 7" on Bandcamp, and who play Glasslands in Brooklyn with Wise Blood TONIGHT (3/1). Look for them at SXSW too.

All tour dates and videos below.

Continue reading "Beach Fossils touring w/ Craft Spells, Cloud Nothings touring too, Young Magic playing Glasslands (tonight) -- 2011 dates"

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

"To try and characterize Toro Y Moi's live set in a few words is a difficult task, to say the least. The band manages to simultaneously embody a number of genres, while at the same time defying all of them. There's an unquestionable poppy melody element, but it's balanced by rock solid dance beets. Then there's the wide swath of atmospheric synth sounds, overlaying instrumental parts that verge on jazz at it's best. A comparison to Stevie Wonder at the height of his powers would be apt, but still not really embody everything that's going on." [Hippes Are Dead]

Cloud Nothings have a new self-titled LP out today (January 25th), and you can stream all of it at Fader.

If you missed Philip Seymour Hoffman, like our photographer did, then maybe you caught them on Saturday (1/22) with Dan Friel at the 42nd Street Showpaper Space with Happy New Year and Attached Hands. If you missed both of them, there's still February 4th with Megafortress, Family Portrait and Headless Horseman at Pianos.

More pictures from Mercury Lounge and tour dates and a video from the show below...

Continue reading "Toro Y Moi, Cloud Nothings & Indian Rebound (and Philip Seymour Hoffman) played Mercury Lounge (pics & video)"

Toro Y Moi at MHOW, supporting Caribou (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

As previously discussed, Toro Y Moi & Cloud Nothings & Indian Rebound (how old are those guys?!?) & Philip Seymour Hoffman are playing Mercury Lounge on 1/19. The show is now sold out, but Toro Y Moi has already plotted his return to NYC as part of a tour with Baltimore's Adventure... and the shows are considerably bigger. They will play April 10th at Music Hall of Williamsburg and April 11th at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for both shows (MHOW on 4/10, Bowery on 4/11) go on AMEX presale on 1/12 at noon and general sale on 1/14 at noon.

In February Toro Y Moi heads to New Zealand and Australia and then in March he'll play more shows with Cloud Nothings before hooking up with Adventure. All tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Toro Y Moi touring w/ Cloud Nothings & Adventure (dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Toro Y Moi - "Still Sound" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - Understand At All (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Oberhofer - "Should Have Taken Acid With You" (MP3, Neon Indian Cover)

Toro Y Moi at MHOW (more by Chris Doss)

Labelmates Cloud Nothings and Toro Y Moi (who just DJ'd MHOW) will team up at Mercury Lounge on 1/19, one date on a week-long tour for the former, but the only upcoming date for the latter. Tickets are on sale. Both are welcoming new releases from Car Park in the new year, with Cloud Nothings's self-titled LP hitting on January 25th and Toro Y Moi's Underneath The Pine impacting on February 22nd. Check out tracks from their respective releases, either streaming below, or in downloadable MP3 form above.

Oberhofer @ Monster Island (more by Erez Avissar)

On the non-NYC dates, Cloud Nothings will be joined by Oberhofer. Though Oberhofer isn't on the Mercury Lounge show, you'll have a few chances to catch them in the area in January: two shows are with The Vaccines (Bowery on 1/20 tickets, Glasslands on 1/22 tickets) and the third date will see Oberhofer will play a Kidrockers event at the Living Room on 1/9 (you can go if you have a kid with you). Brad Oberhofer is also taking part that Rock Lottery at Knitting Factory on 12/18. A week after those Vaccines dates, Oberhofer will hop on tour with Tapes N Tapes, though Oberhofer are currently not scheduled to appear with them at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 2/4. Full Oberhofer schedule is below.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is also scheduled to appear at the Cloud Nothings/Toro Y Moi Mercury Lounge show, though probably not the PSH you are thinking of. The Mercury Lounge show is the LA band's lone East Coast date, but they are scheduled to play a few shows in their hometown including the FMLY Fest on 12/26 & 12/27 with Truman Peyote, Vacation Dad, Nicole Kidman (not that one), Kevin Costner Saves the World, Back to the Future The Ride, Insects vs. Robots, Halloween Swim Team, and many many others. Flyer for FMLY Fest and all PSH dates are below.

All tour dates, as well as the Cloud Nothings & Toro Y Moi tracklistings and song streams are below.

Continue reading "new Toro y Moi & Cloud Nothings MP3s & albums & dates ++ Oberhofer & Philip Seymour Hoffman too"

photos by Chris La Putt

Blood Red Shoes @ MHOW

After Chris left the BV Loft Party all the way back on Friday, October 22nd, he headed over to Music Hall of Williamsburg for the Blue Flowers-presented CMJ showcase for a lineup of mostly UK bands including Chapel Club, Everything Everything, and Blood Red Shoes (who toured North America with Sky Larkin in October). Pictures from that show are in this post.

The occasion (to post these belated pics)? SXSW has already announced an initial lineup of bands playing in Austin from March 16-20, 2011, and Chapel Club is on that list (and I wouldn't be surprised of the other 2 mentioned bands end up coming too). Also on the list: Lia Ices, Braids, Asobi Seksu, Wye Oak, Suuns, Sun Airway, A Place to Bury Strangers and more. Full list under the rest of the MHOW pictures, below...

Continue reading "Chapel Club played CMJ w/ Everything Everything & Blood Red Shoes (pics), playing SXSW 2011 (intial lineup)"

words by Rachel Kowal, photos by Amanda Hatfield

The Drums @ Santos, late Wednesday night (this photo by Nathan Lee Bush)

When I started to scope out the schedule for Wednesday night, I planned on spending the first part of the night running back and forth between Spike Hill and Bruar Falls, but I decided to head over to Rock Shop instead, comforted by the knowledge that most of the bands I wanted to see (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Magic Bullets, etc.) would be playing more sets later in the week anyway.

When I arrived at the Park Slope venue, Tape Deck Mountain was mid-set. At the time, I was fairly satisfied with the few songs I did catch (including a cover of "Mother" by Danzig) (a theme this week?). The band has decent vocals and execution, but when I later reflected on the bands I had seen, I realized that nothing about their set really stuck with me.

Up next was Cloud Nothings. The energy in the room picked up immediately when the Cleveland group began to play (of course it helped that the crowd had begun to fill out at that point). Possibly propelled by nerves or sheer excitement, the youthful band raced through their set as if competing at a track meet, slowing down just long enough for vocalist Dylan Baldi to entertain the audience with his endearing asides. Baldi may not have what you'd generally consider to be a 'good' voice, but he more than makes up for it in his delivery.

Just when I had begun to get a little sick of all-guy groups, the next two acts on the bill each featured a more even distribution of the sexes. Up first - Blair. Right before she and her backing band began their set, there was a bit of an upset when her acoustic guitar came crashing down, but she didn't let the setback dampen the mood. "I just broke a guitar, but it's ok," she said surprisingly nonchalantly. Thanks to their matching tie die shirts (worn by 3 out of 4 people anyway), sunny indie pop melodies, and Blair's unadulterated voice and accompanying song topics (she sings about things like love, candy, and dancing to Whitney Houston), things suddenly took a turn for twee, but I was totally ok with that.

For what it's worth, it was Blair's upbeat diddy "Hello Halo" that I found stuck in my head at the end of the night, and given the position of her set (right in the middle), that's saying something.

The Rock Shop was treating me well, but sadly, my itinerary called for me to return to Manhattan. I did get to stay just long enough to know what I was missing with Braids though. Their set-up may have been nearly identical to that of Blair, but their sound was much more polished thanks to the many overlapping layers of instrumentation and vocals that they carefully crafted on stage. Though I would have gladly stayed longer, I made my way to the train midway through their set.

When I arrived at Santos Party House for the Stereogum/PopGun show, I was a bit dismayed to see the long line extending down the block, but I somehow managed to get into the venue. I made my way to the smaller downstairs room to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Just when I was really starting to get upset about the obnoxiously long wait (I could have seen more of Braids set!), I understood the reason for at last part of the hold-up: the group's two main members (Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott) had run backstage to change into their costumes. Yes, costumes. Head to toe Nascar uniforms to be exact. It's hard to say whether this kind of shtick will hold up in the long run, but it's a pretty good way to stand out on a long list of relatively unknown bands (well that and their ridiculous name).

Whether it's your bag or not, chances are you might end up seeing these guys at some point during the week if you haven't already. They're certainly putting in the time. It was apparently their third show of the day. There wasn't much room for dancing in the packed room, but that didn't stop people from trying, and their light-hearted and energetic set certainly helped propel me through the rest of the night.

To close the evening, I darted upstairs to the main room at Santos to catch (the second half of) Wild Nothing and The Drums. It was kind of a weird succession of moods at that point. After leaving the lively basement room, Wild Nothing seemed even more subdued than I had remembered, but the group (under Jack Tatum's lead) put on a tight set. Considering the next band's laid back, sun-drenched sound, "Summer Holiday" was particularly enjoyable since it was distinctly more upbeat than their other tunes.

Then, finally a bit after 1:00am - The Drums. At this point, I was pretty exhausted, so I was pretty glad when singer Jonathan Pierce announced that they were going to play everything "twice as fast" so we could get home. The Drums seem to have mastered that fine balance of playfulness and artistry. It's hard not to grin at Pierce's over-the-top delivery. With a distinct swagger in his voice and some ridiculously exaggerated dance moves, he's a sight to behold - but so is the rest of the band, swaying in the background. These boys have come a long way since last summer.

I may not have gone to sleep until nearly 4:00am last night, but the constant adrenaline rush from just knowing how many good acts there are tonight should be more than enough to keep me going... that and the knowledge that I'm already planning on taking a personal day tomorrow.

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Also Wednesday: "Viral sensation" Kyle Andrews, Animal Collective friends Prince Rama, and Minneapolis-based "chamber-folk sextet" Dark Dark Dark played the Terrorbird day party at Cake Shop with Kordan, Botany, Revolver, Baths, Marnie Stern, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Pics of the first three adorn this post.

Dark Dark Dark are also on board for Supply & Demand/InDigest CMJ Official Showcase at CoCo 66 on Friday 10/22 with Franz Nicolay, Vandaveer, The Lisps, Milageres, and Spirit of the Red City. The band will also then Fontana's during the day on Saturday 10/23 to team up with Swells, Brian Bonz, Fairmont, New Numbers, and Skyler.

Prince Rama have a few dates this week, as discussed, including the Paw Tracks/ Car Park show at Cake Shop tonight (10/21) with Cloud Nothings, and the WFMU Record Fair on Saturday (10/23) with Ted Leo (who will also play the BV Day Party earlier that day).

Cloud Nothings also have shows coming up at the Fader Fort and Don Pedro's.

More pictures from Cake Shop show, with all Cloud Nothings dates, below...

Continue reading "CMJ Day 2 in review & pics (The Drums, Wild Nothing, Cloud Nothings, Prince Rama, Dale again & more)"

This year's FADER Fort is located at 38 Delancey Street at Forsyth and runs from 2-9PM on Friday and Saturday (10/22-10/23). Full lineups have yet to be announced, but some of the artists playing there are Jamaica, Zowie, Cloud Nothings, Wild Nothing, and The Knux. You can RSVP (though admission is still based on capacity). "CMJ Music Marathon registrants will receive expedited admission into The FADER Fort. Registrants must also RSVP to this invitation and pick up FADER credentials/wristbands for admission."

Pitchfork's events are at Brooklyn Bowl Thursday-Saturday, and those now also include Surfer Blood (one more on their growing list of CMJ shows) on Thursday.

Our BrooklynVegan events are at MHOW Thursday, and Public Assembly Friday & Saturday (and Union Pool Saturday night).

The Apple store doesn't have much going on. The short list of events happening there, and all Glasser dates below...

Continue reading "Glasser dates, Fader Fort, #OFFLINE fest & the Apple Store "

Matthew Dear @ MHOW in 2008 (more by Bao Nguyen)

As mentioned, Pitchfork will be hosting three days of shows at Brooklyn Bowl during, but-it-looks-like/probably completely unaffiliated with, CMJ this year (Thursday/Friday/Saturday CMJ week). "Brooklyn Bowl is located at 61 Wythe Avenue between N. 11th and N. 12th streets. The festival starts at 2 p.m. each day, with doors opening at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10, both in advance and day of the show." They're calling it the #OFFLINE Festival.

Based on the lineups and start time, it looks like each #OFFLINE day will be about a 12 hour show. No set times yet though, but the full lineups and ticket links are below...

Matthew Dear is one of the biggest names on the list (he plays Saturday), and it will be one of three CMJ week shows for Matthew. His first is Friday night at Webster Hall with Jamaica and Dominique Young Unique. His third is later on Saturday at Public Assembly for the FIXED/Making Time Party with Matthew Dear, Crocodiles, Holy Ghost!, Javelin, Gold Panda, Jamaica, and Kisses.

The FIXED/Making Time party starts after the BrooklynVegan party which is also happening at Public Assembly that same day. Just to be clear:

SATURDAY OCTOBER 23RD
* BrooklynVegan @ Public Assembly 12-6pm (free - more details TBA)
* FIXED/Making Time @ Public Assembly 9pm-late (tickets)
* Pitchfork @ Brooklyn Bowl 2pm-late (tickets)
* BrooklynVegan metal @ Union Pool 7pm-late ($5.00 or CMJ badge at the door)

We (BrooklynVegan) will also be at Public Assembly all day on Friday, October 22nd (details TBA), and at Music Hall of Williamsburg on the Thursday night.

All Matthew Dear tour dates (many of which we previously posted including a November show at MHoW), and the Pitchfork #OFFLINE Fest info, below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork announces #OFFLINE not-CMJ parties, Matthew Dear also playing Making Time & Girls & Boys parties (lineups) "

photos by Taylor Keahey

The Gories

"I, for one, enthusiastically accept Scion as my new corporate overlord. If they can bring the Gories, the Oblivians, King Khan and a cast of garage punks from far and wide to town in one day, they can sell me a sewage soda and I'd say thank you.

That's because Scion sponsored Garage Fest, an event that brought almost 30 bands to Lawrence [on 10/2]. From 4 p.m. 'til nearly midnight I had a cornucopia of raw rock to choose from....

...my number one show on the list: Detroit's incendiary trio, the Gories. Mick Collins, who's arguably better known for his garage-meets-soul outfit the Dirtbombs, is somewhat of a musical hero to me, and I wasn't about to miss the reunion of one of his first -- and probably most raw -- bands. They didn't disappoint. A big crowd for the not-so-spacious Jackpot heaved toward the stage, almost in unison...

I made one last trip to the Granada to catch Memphis' the Oblivians anyway. The trio, originally around in the early '90s, was the cherry on top of the day's punk sundae. I decided to go sans ear plugs and just let it rip. Matt and Disco had staked out a spot front and center, but I didn't have the energy to fight my way up there for long. As I hung toward the fringe of the front crowd, I saw one more thing I can now check off my list of rarities: a guy in a wheelchair crowd surfing." -[The Pitch]

A set of pictures from the show, including The Raveonettes, Gories, Oblivians, Times New Viking, Black Lips sideproject The Gaye Blades, Thee Oh Sees and others (though none of King Khan, Best Coast, Tyvek, The Clean, The Greenhornes and some others on the four-venue bill) continue below...

Continue reading "Scion Garage Fest happened (here are some pics) "

Stereogum listed the "40 Best New Bands of 2010". They have a lot more detail, but you can also check out their list, alphabetically, below...

Continue reading "Stereogum lists the "40 Best New Bands of 2010" "

The Greenhornes 2007

After detours in The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather among other projects, The Greenhornes are back at it and will release their first LP of new material in eight years via Jack White's Third Man imprint. The record, entitled Four Stars, will be proceeded by select east coast dates that will include Mercury Lounge on 9/3 (free with RSVP) and Maxwell's on 9/4 with The Black Hollies (tickets) leading up to their appearance at ATP NY on 9/5 ("full" lineup).

A month later (on 10/2), The Greenhornes are confirmed for Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence, Kansas alongside a plethora of killer notables including The Oblivians (who recently played Knit), The Gories (who just played Bowery and toured with Oblivians), The Raveonettes (who are playing Bumbershoot), King Khan & The Shrines (who are playing Santos and Bell House), Best Coast (who just played the Seaport and like weed), Tyvek, Thee Oh Sees, Hunx & His Punx, and a ton of others.

Much like Scion Rock Fest, the show will take place across four venues and is FREE, but RSVP is required. Full lineup is below.

Some videos and the full Scion lineup & flyer is below...

Continue reading "The Greenhornes playing shows - ATP, a free one @ Mercury & Scion Garage Fest (full lineup - Oblivians, Gories, more) "

Fucked Up @ Newtown Barge Park (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Fucked Up, who are putting out their next Chinese Zodiac 12-inch on September 27th, will be playing short US tour following their ATP NY set on September 5th. That includes a Wednesday, September 8th show at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are on sale. The new extended single, "Year of the Ox," features contributions by Nika Roza Danilova of Zola Jesus and string quartet New Strings Old Puppets, and a b-side that is apparently Twilight inspired, "Solomon's Song." "Ox" is streaming at Pitchfork.

Joining Fucked Up on their short September tour (including the Maxwell's show) will be Cleveland's Cloud Nothings.

FU are in Europe this August, and head back in October for tour dates with Against Me!. All dates are below...

Continue reading "more Fucked Up dates including NJ, song w/ Zola Jesus"