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.

----

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"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Alex Reside

Wavves, Cloud Nothings and Dom all had the honor of ringing in the second annual Northside Festival at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn Thursday night (6/24).

Dom upgraded their band since last I saw them, with psychedelic video projections being mixed live on stage and a new guitarist, though there's still a pre-recorded backing track for some of the songs. One track snuck out of the speakers a song early, giving up a snippet of their ace single "Living in America," which the band jumped on. They stormed through that, then closed with their slightly bent cover of Polaris's "Hey Sandy." Their evolution from smooshed laptop pop to a working live band has pulled some interesting sounds out of the group. New songs (and some of the rearranged old ones) had a Man or Astroman-esque sci-fi surf feel to them, with Dom's trebly, effects-tweaked vocals chiming in.

At Dom's Mercury Lounge show a while back, there were some mildly antagonistic jabs at the crowd. Not so much here though in one inspired moment Dom announced that he would be giving away a copy of their EP, and then sang a full minute or two of a song dangling it in front of the crowd before flinging it over their heads. It was a non-musical diversion sure, but an endearing, slightly goofy touch.

Cloud Nothings surprised me with their smart, briskly-paced pub punk. Not a slow song in their set. The frantic drummer kept them propelled while the rhythm section's other half spurted out consistently witty basslines. Their proficiency wasn't the only selling point though. There were with plenty of hooks and sharply crafted songs plotted through the headnodding speed.

Wavves has always has a sun-baked feel, and new songs like "King of the Beach" embrace that to the max with an even poppier sound. Their drummer talked almost nonstop between songs, with free associating comments that repped Paulie Shore, called out John Norris in the audience (we all see and love you John), and generally made himself sound happy to have an audience. The crowd also had no reservations about taking the spotlight, welcoming themselves to the stage to one-up with dance moved before jumping into the crowd (you can see some of that in action in the video we posted previously from the show). One managed a midsong fist-bump. Nathan also crowd surfed midsolo, and then postencore jumped into drums and drummer. Both lay there a while, maybe hurt, until one fiending shirtless dude crawled up on stage (not for the first time) to dance a bit more and announce that they were in fact alright.

The official opening show's official afterparty didn't fare quite as well, after someone threw a beer bottle off the roof of the venue (Shea Stadium) and through the back window of a police cruiser.

Catch Dom again on Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Catch WAVVES this Sunday in Jersey. Get WAVVES' new album digitally on July 1st...

King of The Beach, originally slated for an Aug. 3 release date, will now be available via iTunes exclusively on July 1, all other digital outlets on July 13 and the physical street date (CD / LP) remains Aug. 3.

Continue reading "WAVVES, Cloud Nothings & Dom @ Knitting Factory (pics) "

"Like last year, everything will be taking place in Williamsburg and Greenpoint because walking long distances is a drag when there are bands to see and beer to drink, we mean seriously. Us here at The L Magazine will be booking a share of shows on our own, but, for a large chunk of the festival, we've once again handed over curatorial control to some of the most tasteful, talented and dedicated folks in New York's independent music scene -- record labels, bloggers, promoters and more -- allowing them to showcase the bands they think you need to hear. The Williamsburg Gallery Association is again on board to highlight special exhibitions and other events at over 25 art galleries in the neighborhood. And to celebrate Northside's second year, we've invited a few of the city's biggest aficionados of independent film to curate four nights of New York-made movies at Brooklyn's new, as-yet-unopened film house-music club-restaurant-bar, indieScreen."

Music, art and movies will be happening at "30+ venues" and "dozens of galleries" over the course of four days in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Like SXSW & CMJ, you can buy tickets to individual events, or you can get a badge which gets you in to everything that isn't already at badge-capacity. $50 badges are now on sale to those 21 and over. If you buy a badge, "Arrive to venues early - badgeholders are admitted on a first-come, first-served, one-out, one-in basis."

If you buy a badge you can take your chances at getting into one of the four Northside shows happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg (BrooklynVegan showcase included), Fiery Furnaces at Brooklyn Bowl, and WAVVES & Cloud Nothings at Knitting Factory. TONS more shows TBA, but the initial list of bands that will be playing has been announced (I'm especially excited to see The Wave Pictures, Fucked Up, Liars, Parenthetical Girls and Les Savy Fav on there in addition to what we've previously talked about) (and yes Titus Andronicus is on there). Check it out below...

Continue reading "2010 Northside Festival - tickets & intial lineup (includes Liars, Fucked Up, Les Savy Fav, Polvo & many more)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Beaters - Fishage (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nodzzz - True to Life (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dom - Jesus (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Golden Girls - Newports (MP3)

The Soft Pack @ Cake shop in Feb (more by Gabi Porter)

The Soft Pack are here again, the first real shows in town they've played since releasing their debut album on Kemado: tonight (3/31) at Maxwell's, tomorrow (4/1) at Mercury Lounge, and Saturday (4/3) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. I've seen these guys a zillion times (and written about them nearly as much) but they remain one of my favorite current live acts. That said, I'm just a tad bit more excited about the bands who they've brought with them on tour: Nodzz, Beaters, and Male Bonding.

Geeky, funny, tuneful Nodzzz were relatively quiet in 2009 -- at least compared to some of their San Franciscan brethren -- touring early in the year and only releasing one single. Mind you, it was an excellent one, "True to Life," which made by Best of the 2009 list. They're bound to have a new record in the works,  so hopefully we'll get a bunch of fresh tunes.

Beaters

Beaters, from The Soft Pack's hometown of San Diego, are signed to Zoo Music, the label run by husband/wife duo Brandon of Crocodiles and head Dum Dum Girl, DeeDee. If you're familiar with their roster at all, you'll have a pretty good idea what to expect: dark, over-caffeinated, paranoid, heavy on the reverb. You can check out their single "Fishage" at the top of this post.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg show adds UK punks (and Sub Pop signees) Male Bonding who also play with The Smith Westerns and So Cow on Sunday (4/4) at Mercury Lounge.

Golden Girls

Two bands from Worcester, Mass are here this weekend -- Dom and Golden Girls. -- who play together tomorrow (4/1) at Pianos and then on Monday (4/5) at Cake Shop.

Of the two, I find Dom a little more interesting. There's some of that fifth-generation cassette tape chillwave sound going on, no doubt (which I'm getting a little waterlogged from frankly).  But they've got some good songs under that hiss (check out "Bochicha" on their MySpace) and appear to play real drums and guitars (as well as crappy old synths) so I have hopes that their live show will prove less gauzy.

Golden Girls are more straight-up indie rock, a duo on recordings but are a four-piece live. Raucous and on the sloppy side,  and with a single about cigarettes, you can draw a line from Golden Girls back to the Replacements pretty easily. They've only got two singles out so far, and I'm definitely curious to hear more.

A few more picks, by night, to take you through the weekend, along with tour dates and videos and stuff, below...

Continue reading "Beaters, Nodzzz, Best Coast, Ash, Abe Vigoda, Dom, Dum Dum Girls, Golden Girls, Soft Pack & more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Titus Andronicus - Four Score And Seven (part one) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Titus Andronicus - Four Score And Seven (part two) (MP3)

by Andrew Frisicano

Titus Andronicus celebrated the release of their new record, The Monitor, with a headlining show at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, March 6th. The album's raucus, conceptual layers peeled back on stage to reveal the taut five-piece underneath. For two members of the band, keyboardist David Robbins and violinist/guitarist Amy Klein, it was only their third show with the group. The warm reception to the new-album tunes - with sing-alongs from the amazing, stand-out album opener (above) to its amazingly-depressing closer - no doubt set the bar high for the band's upcoming slew of album-supporting shows (including BrooklynVegan Emo's day party on Wednesday, March 17th in Austin).

On stage, frontman Patrick Stickles brought along an American Flag, but left out the LP's guests and Lincoln quoting transitions. He did a bit to humanize the record's kitch, sending a song out to his brother in the Navy, who he credited for getting the band on their whole nautical kick (a bit more personal than the Ken Burns doc and other sources often mentioned). He also did his part to play den mother to the young crowd - it was the first time I've ever heard anyone in a band tell an audience, "It's time to start to thinking about winding down."

In a lot of ways the 1.5+ hour show seemed like the opening of a new book for the band. The melding of History and personal history is something that The Monitor does without shame, and with both those arcs closed, the Bowery show felt like a new beginning. As part of the encore, Patrick treated us to a solo cover of the Replacements' "Treatment Bound" (which you can get from NYCTaper).

The openers were all great: Cloud Nothings played rough-around-the-edges power pop; Vivian Girls/Woods side-project The Babies are quickly becoming one of my favorites with popppy mid-set combos like "All Things Come to Pass" and "Meet Me in the City;" and Parts & Labor's effects/synth-laden sound added some eclecticism to the show. Cloud Nothings and Parts & Labor both have shows in NYC and elsewhere coming up, which are laid out below along with more pictures from the show...

Continue reading "Titus Andronicus, Parts & Labor, The Babies & Cloud Nothings played Bowery Ballroom - pics & more dates"

Abe Vigoda @ The Smell in October (more by Rachel Carr)

If you happen to be in L.A. on Saturday, February 7th, "No Cancer: A benefit for our Friend's Mom" will be happening at a "secret" location (e-mail for info, below). Playing sets will be No Age, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Cowabunga Babes, Best Coast, Nodzzz, Darker My Love and others. A flyer and how to get info on the venue are below.

If you're in NYC, Abe Vigoda visit March 31st for a show at Mercury Lounge with Effi Briest and Cloud Nothings (who have plenty of dates coming up, listed below). Tickets are on sale now.

That show is sandwiched between dates Abe Vigoda opens for Vampire Weekend in March and April. Before those, the band plays the West Coast and Texas in early March with Lovvers.

All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Abe Vigoda playing cancer benefit w/ Vivian Girls & No Age in LA, touring w/ Vampire Weekend, playing NYC (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Yummy Fur - Policeman (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - Freudian Slips (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Adam Green - What Makes Him Act So Bad (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Total Slacker - Demos (mediafire zip)

The Yummy Fur

There's a lot of great shows this weekend, but top of the list for me is Scottish cult indie rockers The Yummy Fur who have reformed to play a few shows surrounding a new best-of compilation, titled Piggy Wings, due out sometime soon on What's Your Rupture. They play 171 Lombardy Market Hotel Friday night. More influential than popular, The Yummy Fur started their life making scratchy, scrappy indiepop a la early Fall but got more glammy and synthy as they went on. Frontman John McKeown took the glam part further with his current band, 1990s. And former members Paul Thompson (who'll be part of tomorrow's show) and Alex Kapranos (who probably won't) have done okay for themselves since in Franz Ferdinand.

You can download one of my favorite Yummy Fur songs -- the 1999 single "Police Man" -- at the top of this post. This is the first, and likely last, time they've ever played the States, so miss this gig at your peril. What to expect? McKeown tells the NY Press:

Nothing. I'm never even really sure there will be people there, but I'm happy to play for whoever shows up. It's not like the band is our life anymore, so it doesn't mean anything to us except that we have affection for it. We do take it seriously, we play the gig straight, but we want to have fun. When 1990s plays the States and same with Franz Ferdinand, there are always people who come out and say they loved The Yummy Fur but we never made it over. This is their one chance.

Grant Hart is back in town for two shows -- tonight (1/14) at Cake Shop and Friday at Knitting Factory. For a man whose previous band put out eight albums in six years (two of which were double LPs), Hart has slowed down a lot since -- Hot Wax is Grant's first album in ten years, and only his fourth since Husker Du split. He talked about his current Quality Over Quantity policy with the The AV Club.

AVC: Why the 10-year hiatus between Good News For Modern Man and Hot Wax?

GH: I've delved into a lot of non-musical projects. Learning new things and accomplishing things with my hands that I put aside as an adult to devote all my time to music. As I've gotten older, I've been concentrating on quality and no filler, and spending more time constructing all of the parts of music, rather than going into the studio with one or two parts and then letting the rest work itself out. The first song, "You're The Reflection Of The Moon On The Water," I took a year to come up with what I thought was an appropriate third verse. That's a long time to hold back on a song that you're excited about in order to make it more of a fulfilling experience. Would I have taken that opportunity in 1985? Hell no.

More things to do this weekend:

Zee Avi

Tonight (Thursday, 1/14)

Les Savvy Fav's Tim Harrington hosts a night of comedy and music at The Bell House, featuring charming Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi, and one of my favorite comedians of the moment, Kumail Nanjiani. Plus Stardweller, Rory Scovel, Kevin Barker and screenings of Harrington's Beardo shorts. Plus other shenanigans.

Another chance to see Hot Rats, Danny and Gaz of Supergrass in cover band mode at Bowery Ballroom. Their take on The Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right" is pretty great. I'm told Tuesday's show at MHoW was a blast. The Heavy open (and then play 92YTribeca on Saturday).

At Silent Barn is a night of hazy indiepop, headlined by fine new local band Big Troubles whose debut 7" just came out and is well worth picking up. You can download "Freudian Slips" from it at the top of this post. I doubt they've ever heard '90s shoegazers The Boo Radleys, but "Freudian Slips" bears more than a little resemblance to the Boos' single "Lazy Day," dontcha think? Also playing: next generation twee poppers Dream Diary, the experimental noise of Blissed Out and dreamy New Haven band Procedure Club.

Real Estate @ Brooklyn Bowl - 1/5 (more by Andrew Frisicano)

Friday (1/15)

Not tired from playing every day last week, Real Estate headline a killer Less Artists More Condos show at new venue St James Church. There's open bar from 8 - 9, which is my kind of religion. Real Estate just put out a new EP on Mexican Summer which is, I think, the band's 78th release in just under a year. Also playing are The Tony Castles, The Beets, and two of my favorite new(ish) local bands: Beach Fossils and Total Slacker. You can download Total Slacker's five-song demo (via a Mediafire link) at the top of this post.

The Bell House has a fun show of new sound for now: Brooklyn chamber pop band Miracles of Modern Science (download their EP for free here), the raucous pop of Philadelphia's Drink Up Buttercup, Ravens & Chimes' folk pop and Milagres (maybe you remember them when they were called The Secret Life of Sophia).

Joe Pernice plays a solo show at Mercury Lounge where he'll likely talk as much as he will sing, which is fine -- he's a great banterer. A pretty good writer too, as read in his first novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop which he'll read from I'm told. Joe just finished his next album, which is apparently not a Pernice Brothers or Chappaquiddick Skyline or solo record. I hope he hasn't gone synthpop. Something entirely new for 2010 sounds good.

The Cribs @ Bowery Ballroom in 2008 (more by Vincent Cornelli)

Saturday (1/16)

If you can't make the St. James Church show on Friday, you can catch Beach Fossils again on Saturday night where they're playing a show at Monster Island put on by blog Chocolate Bobka. This looks to be a good show, as it also boasts Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Cleveland's Cloud Nothings and the druggy sounds of New Hope, Pennsylvania's Nude Beach. It's where I'll be Saturday night.

The Cribs (still with Johnny Marr) are at Irving Plaza where they'll play with our (well someone's) generation's Jim Morrison, the always entertaining Adam Green. "What Makes Him Act So Bad," the first MP3 off of Adam's upcoming album, Minor Love (out 2/16 on Fat Possum), is at the top of this post. The Cribs were just great when they played Bowery Ballroom in November.

Videos, flyers and tour dates follow...

Continue reading "Yummy Fur, Cribs, Grant Hart, Adam Green, Zee Avi, Big Troubles, Joe Pernice, Beardo & more in This Week in Indie"

photos by Leia Jospe

DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - Hey Cool Kid (MP3) (via)

Real Estate

"Saturday Night Live" has drawn praise for an episode (hosted by the "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively) that opened with a satire on Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the Virginia couple accused of crashing President Obama's first state dinner. But the show took criticism for a skit that tweaked Tiger Woods and the speculation about marital difficulties between him and his wife, Elin, since his car accident late last month.

In the comedy sketch, Tiger Woods (played by the "S.N.L." performer Kenan Thompson) gives a series of press conferences attempting to apologize for acts of infidelity. In each appearance, the fictional Woods appears with more bruises and injuries, evidently sustained at the hands of Elin (played in the skit by Ms. Lively).
[NY Times]

Continue reading "Woods played w/ Real Estate & Cloud Nothings @ Market Hotel (pics), Tiger Woods was parodied by SNL (video) "

The xx @ Webster Hall during CMJ (more by Vincent Cornelli)

tonight in NYC
* Sharon Jones @ Starland Ballroom
* Darmstadt @ Issue Project Room
* Friendly Fires, The xx @ Webster Hall
* Gnaw, Earthen Grave, Iron Man @ Europa
* Brendan Benson, Cory Chisel @ Maxwell's
* Bowerbirds, Sharon Van Etten @ Union Pool
* Richard Buckner, Milagres @ Mercury Lounge
* Stalkers, The Beets, War Party @ Glasslands
* Golden Error & Red Mass @ Dead Herring
* Espers, Azita, Doug Paisley @ The Bell House
* Hot Tuna, Loudon Wainwright III @ Beacon Theatre
* Alicia Hall Moran, Gordon Voidwell @ The Kitchen
* Ladytron (DJ), Yes Giantess @ Tribeca Grand Hotel
* The Queers, The Leftovers, The Sights @ Maxwell's
* Ghostland Observatory, Slapping Purses @ Terminal 5
* Finding Fiction, Beehive, Picture Picture @ The Cameo
* Sam Champion, Matt Trowbridge, Electric Owls @ Union Hall
* Heloise & The Savoir Faire, Midnight Magic @ Brooklyn Bowl
* El Vez, Los Straightjackets, The Lovely Elvettes @ Bowery Ballroom
* Pants Yell!, The Surprisers, Mike Albo, Fluffy Lumbers @ Bruar Falls
* Air Waves, Talk Normal, US Girls, Total Slacker @ Secret Project Robot
* Black Sheep, Shinobi Ninja, Rad Out Crew, Nacirema @ Santos Party House
* Christina Courtin, Alaska Alaska, Alec Stephen, EJS @ Pete's Candy Store
* Zeke Virant & the Brain Rain Players, Cloud Nothings, Coasting @ Shea Stadium
* Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Himalayas, Max Silvestri @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica w/ DJ Spooky & ICE @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
* Benefit show w/ Tony Conrad & Jutta Koether, Aki Onda, MV Carbon @ ParisLondonWestNile
* Ambergris, Boogie Boarder, Dubknowdub, Graffiti Monsters, Mark Lord, Nick Gazin, Sam Gas Can, Russian Tsarlag @ DBA

Cloud Nothings are in town. They played their first show ever last night at Market Hotel. Their second show is tonight at Shea Stadium.

Red Mass played their first NYC show last night at Live With Animals. I'm told they're the secret guest at Dead Herring tonight. Flyer below..

MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY CRAFT SALE

Where: Starrett-Lehigh Building, 601 W 26th St between Eleventh and Twelfth Aves, ninth floor (marthastewart.com)
When: Saturday, December 5, noon-6pm, free
Why go: It's the domestic diva's first-ever holiday craft sale, which features home accessories, jewelry, ornaments and apparel from employees and friends of Martha Stewart Living Ominmedia, as well as crafters who've appeared on the Martha Stewart Show. In other words: by Stepford types, for Stepford types.
Don't miss: BrooklynVegan's DJ Bill Pearis spinning holiday music and indie rock, and the very Martha-esque gift-wrapping station. - Time Out

Sunday is also the day to see Beatles songs performed on ukuleles.

Sam Champion make a rare appearance at Union Hall tonight. In fact, it might be their last show ever.

Q: Did Sam Champion break up?
A: Kind of, yeah, I think so.

Q: Is Saturday, December 5th at Union Hall your last show?
A: maybe?

Black Sheep play Santos tonight! Video for "Without a Doubt" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"