College

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DOWNLOAD: Thomas Function - Belly of the Beast (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thomas Function - Conspiracy (MP3)

Thomas Function

Alabama's Thomas Function are in town this weekend for a trio of shows as part of trawl down the East Coast. Admission: I think I picked up Thomas Function's debut album, Celebration!, about four times last year thinking it was a LCD Soundsystem record -- singer Joshua Macero, whose mug graces the cover, looks a lot like James Murphy, at least when quickly flipping through CDs. After seeing so many times I finally got around to actually listening to it, and while absolutely nothing like the DFA head (not that I expected it to be), these Alabamians raise quite a ruckus with their spirited, organ-driven garage rock.

There's also come country and bluegrass in there too, as you might expect from a band living that far south but, really, Thomas Function grooves to their own beat. The band have also released a slew of 7" singles, most of which are now out of print or at least hard to find. Maybe they'll have some of them to sell at their shows. They play a free show at Other Music tonight (1/23), Cake Shop on Saturday (1/24) and Mercury Lounge on Sunday (1/25). Full tour dates and video at the bottom of this post.

Golden Triangle
DBA

The most interesting show of the weekend for me is Friday (1/23) at Death By Audio. Headlining are locals Golden Triangle, whose debut EP just came out on Kemado's vinyl-only imprint, Mexican Summer. (You can get it digitally from Emusic, though.) Some songs veer towards Vivian Girls/Fuzzbox/Slits territory, other songs remind me a lot of The Fall, and they cover Redd Kross' "Annette's Got the Hits." That's a one-two-three punch for me. (It's also the second band I've written about here to do a Redd Kross cover, the other being Box Elders.) The six-piece are about to head out on tour with King Khan & the Shrines so the rest of the country will get a chance to check them out too.

Also on the bill: Brazilian band Garotas Suecas, who will be compared to Os Mutantes because it's obvious and easy, but these kids are a little more straight up fun garage rock a la Mando Diao or The Fleshtones. I like what I've heard and it's the only NYC performance they have left (they also played Vassar last night). Plus, the lovely, downcast electric folk of NYC's Tall Firs; and hushed trio Metal Mountains that features Helen Rush, Samara Lubelski and Pat Gubler, all of whom spent time in Tower Recordings. So the night starts quiet and gets progressively louder and crazier.

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I'd also like to (also) recommend the Valerie Collective show at Webster Hall tonight (1/23). Collective is a key term here. Many of the groups playing share members and the difference between Anoraak and College (my two favorites of the night), sonically, is minimal (one sings more than the other) but it's such a cool sound. It's big, lush, and retro, unabashedly '80s, and done to perfection. I have no idea if the groups will really translate to the live setting but if you're dancing you probably won't notice if they don't. Steve Moore's Lovelock is also on the bill.

The Week That Was

Lastly, SXSW will be upon us any minute and even if you aren't heading to Austin, New Yorkers are able to experience a little of the excitement as bands from the UK and Europe often make a pitstop here on their way to or from the festival. We already mentioned that Swedish rockers The Soundtrack of Our Lives are playing both Bowery and Music Hall of Williamsburg (tickets are on-sale today, 1/23) which I wholeheartedly recommend you check out, but I'm even more excited to see that The Week That Was are playing Mercury Lounge on March 9.

TWTW are one of the two splinter groups created when Sunderland, UK's Field Music decided to retire that moniker but still basically make music together. David Brewis released a phonetics-obsessed solo project under the name School of Language (which toured here last March). His brother Peter created The Week That Was, a concept album equally obsessed with (lyrically) The Media and (sonically) the Big '80s production style of Kate Bush and Trevor Horn. It's a brilliant album that made my Top Five of 2008. Both David Brewis and Field Music keyboardist Andrew Moore, plus about five others on percussion and strings. I'm not sure how many members strong they'll be at Mercury Lounge, but if they even come close to replicating the album's wall-of-sound, it will be worth attending. Tickets are on-sale today since Noon.

All tour dates, videos and flyers after the jump....

Continue reading "Thomas Function, Golden Triangle, Valerie Collective, The Week That Was & more in This Week in Indie"

posted at 2:08 PM on January 23, 2009 in MP3 | music | To Do | Comments (3)

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Maserati - "Join Us, Mystic Sister / No More Sage" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Zombi - "Spirit Animal" (MP3 Snippet)
DOWNLOAD: Mono - "Ashes In The Snow" (MP3)

Zombi (photo by Shawn Brackbill)
Zombi

Zombi is a space rock duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, consisting of Steve Moore on bass and synthesizers and Anthony Paterra on drums. The group makes use of looping to create multi-layered compositions. They have toured with Don Caballero, Isis, Orthrelm, The Psychic Paramount, Daughters, Red Sparowes, These Arms Are Snakes and Trans Am.

Zombi does not f around. The proggy duo have scheduled THREE releases for the month of February... read 'em and weep Axl Rose.

First up is Spirit Animal, Zombi's poppin' fresh LP due on Feb 3rd via Relapse Records. The band is currently streaming snippets of a pair of tracks at their myspace and made one of those snippets available for download here... check out "Spirit Animal" above.

Zombi's second release is decidedly different... the Sapphire 12" will be released on Throne Of Blood (aka The Rapture's label). Look for that on dancefloors, in February as well.

Finally, Zombi have paired up with Maserati to release a split LP on Temporary Residence Limited, due in, you guessed it, February. The kind folks at TRL have made one of those Maserati tracks (and an intro) available for download. Check out "Join Us, Mystic Sister / No More Sages" above. Maserati will be embarking on a short East Coast tour, hitting Le Poisson Rouge along the way on March 10th. Tickets are on sale.

While we are on the Temporary Residence Limited tip, labelmates MONO have dropped of an MP3 from their upcoming LP Hymn to the Immortal Wind check it out above. Tickets are still available for their 10th anniversary show at The Society For Ethical Culture with a 23-piece orchestra.

And that's not all for Steve Moore... the Zombi multi-instrumentalist wears many faces, a few of which will be showcased in the coming weeks. Look for a solo Steve Moore to hit Connolly's with Future Islands and Anamanaguchi on Jan 16th, and then again at Cake Shop with Jonas Reinhardt and ARP on Jan 30. He's also in Titan (who have no shows scheduled at the moment) and Lovelock who play Jan 23rd with College, Anoraak, and Russ Chimes as part of the Valerie party at Webster Hall.