by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Fresh & Onlys - Waterfall (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Erland & the Carnival - Trouble in Mind (Mp3)

The Fresh & Onlys

It's an early installment of TWII this week. Most of the awesome shows (to me) seem to be tonight through Thursday.

First up we've got The Fresh & Onlys who are currently on tour with Clinic. They both play tonight at Bowery Ballroom with Girls at Dawn opening. I like Clinic just fine -- their new album Bubblegum is good -- but we're seeing the Fresh & Onlys still riding a wave of creativity/prolificasy that has been going strong for almost two years. The band's new album, Play it Strange, is maybe their best yet, definitely their most sonically advanced. And live, they always seem to be on. They were great at the Northside Fest back in May. I know I write about them a lot, but they really are tops. Go see them!

There was supposed to be a second Clinic/F&Os show Wednesday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg but that ended up getting canceled, so now The Fresh & Onlys will play Shea Stadium instead (11/3), sharing the bill with fellow San Franciscans The Royal Baths, plus X-Ray Eyeballs and Dutch Treat. The Fresh & Onlys and Royal Baths will also play Vassar on Thursday (11/4).

Royal Baths also play tonight (11/2) at Monster Island Basement with an otherwise all Baltimore bill: Ponytail's Dustin Wong, Holy Ghost Party and Avocado Happy Hour.

The Dears

I will be speeding off to Shea Stadium on Wednesday after seeing The Dears at Knitting Factory, the first their two-night stay previewing their new, yet-to-be-titled album which won't be out till next year. (Tickets are available for Wednesday and Thursday.) As an occasional Dears-obsessive (2004 - 2005 I wouldn't shut up about them) I'm pretty excited about these shows, especially now that guitarist and O-Face master Patrick Krief is back in the band, as well as former members Rob Benvie and Roberto Arquilla. Drummer George Donosso [now in the High Dials] is still missed - we'll see how new member Jeff Luciani does on the kit.

The Dears are masters of epic, anthemic songs and I'm psyched to get to hear a whole new album in this way for the first time. And if this sounds a little daunting, reviews of other shows in Montreal and Toronto where they've been doing the same thing have said they're encoring with a set of favorites. And when the band is on, they can make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention. Here's hoping we get a little of that bristly excitement this time. You can check out live footage of new single "Omega Dog" at the bottom of this post.

The Duke Spirit

Also mid week: Bluesy London rock band The Duke Spirit are here playing a one-off show at the now-reopened Santos Party House on Wednesday (11/03) where five bucks gets you in the door. I was a big fan of The Duke Spirit's 2008 album, Neptune, which matched big pop hooks with the band's already proven muscle. The band have a new EP, Kusama, out in December -- you can download "Everybody's Under Your Spell" from their website if you give them your email address -- and a new album in February 2011.

The Duke Spirit are definitely worth seeing live. All eyes tend to be on powerhouse vocalist Leila Moss, who has an undeniable stage presence and can play mean harmonica too. And for five bucks it's kind of a no-brainer.

Erland and the Carnival

If you wish The Coral were still doing sea shantys, you might want to check out London's Erland and the Carnival who are in town playing two club shows this week with Ireland's Villagers: tonight (11/2) at Knitting Factory and Wednesday at Mercury Lounge. Then they'll play a headlining show on Friday at The Rock Shop and then open for Paul Weller on Saturday (at the Apollo) and Sunday (at the Nokia Theater).

There's a bit of that hurdy-gurdy folky seaside sound to the group -- they're recording their new record on a ship, apparently -- and their debut album is pretty good if you like Pentangle, Delta blues, Love and The Doors all mixed together in a bucket. Erland Cooper is a talented songwriter, and I'm told a captivating live performer, and managed to recruit guitarist Simon Tong (formerly of The Verve, Blur and The Good, The Bad and The Queen) into his band. Will they be the next Mumford and Sons? I think they're a little too odd for that (probably a good thing), and there's no shortage of opportunities to see them. You can download an MP3 at the top of this post and there are a couple videos below.

A few more shows of note, day-by-day, not mentioned above:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 & WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Vocoder-loving Canadians Shout Out Out Out Out bring their many keyboards to Le Poisson Rouge Tuesday and Glasslands Wednesday (moved from Coco 66). Every time I write about this band -- who are pretty fun live -- I have to count the number of "outs" in their name. I can never remember. (Note to self: four "outs".)

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Continue reading "the Fresh & Onlys, Royal Baths, Dears, Duke Spirit, Erland and the Carnival, Dandy Warhols & more in This Week in Indie"

Nic Harcourt's Top Ten Albums of 2008

1. Adele - 19 (XL Recordings/Colombia)
2. Mates Of State - Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk)
3. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (Capitol)
4. Ting Tings - We Started Nothing (Columbia)
5. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely (Warner Bros)
6. The Broken West - Now or Heaven (Merge)
7.Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols (World's Fair)
8. Duffy - Rockferry (Mercury)
9. Tilly and The Wall - o (Team Love Records)
10.Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini (Rough Trade)

Los Angeles, Calif., (December 10, 2008) - LA, Los Angeles Times Magazine today announced the selection of Nic Harcourt as Editor at Large, Music & Culture. Beginning February 8, 2009, in LA's January/February double Oscar issue, Harcourt will contribute a monthly column inspired by his love of music and the culture of Southern California.

Harcourt has been hailed as the most influential DJ in America and ultimate music tastemaker because of his uncanny ability to forecast trends and identify emerging talent. His innovative approach will now provide LA readers with unparalleled insight into the always evolving music and culture hemisphere through his monthly "Listen Up" columns, which will feature a hand-selected playlist, his picks for upcoming local concerts, shows and/or events and Q&As with emerging artists...

Adele was on Jimmy Kimmel (in LA) last night. Video below...

Continue reading "Adele lover Nic Harcourt, leaves KCRW, gets job @ bankrupt Tribune's LA Times ++ Kimmel video"