by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Megaphonic Thrift - Acid Blues (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Good The Bad - 004 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pirate Love - A Kiss Hello (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Choir of Young Believers - Action/Reaction (MP3)

Casiokids

By now you hopefully you know that Norway's awesome Casiokids are playing our Brooklyn Vegan Pre-SXSW party, alongside Let's Wrestle, The Wave Pictures, Banjo or Freakout and WhoMadeWho. There's now also free PBR for an hour or two (exact details on that soon). And I'll be DJing in between sets. It's all very exciting, isn't it? There are still some tickets available -- only $8.

In that previous post about Casiokids, we mentioned a compilation of the band's 2009 singles called Topp stemning på lokal bar that was, as of that writing, only coming out in Norway. The band have since announced that they've signed to Polyvinyl in the U.S. who will release the album, complete with bonus disc of remixes just like in Norway.

The Knitting Factory show is actually one of three that Casiokids will be playing in NYC before they head to Austin for SXSW. They will also play Pianos this Saturday (3/13) along with Banjo or Freakout, Denmark's synth-rock quintet Spleen United and our Italian friends A Classic Education. Casiokids also play Littlefield on Sunday (3/14) afternoon for an all-Scandinavian party that again features Spleen United, plus Denmark's only surf/flamenco band, The Good The Bad, and The Megaphonic Thrift.

The Megaphonic Thrift are made up of members of Casiokids and The Low Frequency in Stereo and are definitely of the '90s indie rock variety (in this case think GBV or Dinosaur Jr.) that seems to be coming back into style lately. You can download their single "Acid Blues" at the top of this post. Their debut, Decay Destroy, just came out in Norway and is available here through your favorite digital store. I haven't seen them play yet, but BV caught them at by:Larm and said they were pretty good. Pictures from their February 18th show at Oslo club Sub Scene are below.

In addition to the Littlefield show, Megaphonic Thrift are playing Sunday night (3/14) at Bowery Electric and then on Monday night at Santos Party House for a Oya Fest / Oh My Rockness party with fellow Norwegians Pirate Love (High energy, Hives-ish garage) and Hanne Hukkelberg (orchestrated pop), plus The Depreciation Guild. Mind you this is the same night as our Knitting Factory show, so Megaphonic Thrift will play Santos then certain members will race across the Williamsburg Bridge to join their Casiokids bandmates in time for that set. It's all going to work out fine.

Pirate Love will be back after SXSW for a couple shows with UK garage act Thee Vicars. Catch them at Cameo Gallery on March 26 and Lit Lounge on March 27.

Spleen United @ CMJ 2009

The aforementioned Spleen United are also playing this Wednesday (3/10) at Union Hall with fellow Danes Choir of Young Believers. I caught Spleen United at CMJ back in October and they reminded me of the kind of band that 20 years ago would've been on Wax! Trax! or Play it Again Sam records -- the poppier side of goth/industrial. They've had #1 albums in Denmark I've since learned. With multiple percussionists, they put on a pretty good live show too.

Choir of Young Believers were also here at CMJ. Their debut, This is for the White in Your Eyes, is elegiac folk that gets the band compared to Fleet Foxes quite a bit but CoYB are a bit more instrumentally varied and grandiose than Robin Pecknold and co.  It really is a lovely record. The Union Hall show also features The Loom (who played that BV loft show during CMJ 2009) and Spain's The Right Ons. Choir of Young Believers also play Pianos on Thursday (3/11) with Brooklyn's ARMS who are worth checking out in their own right.

Choir of Young Believers

That's more than enough for one post. Below are videos, flyers and tour dates for some of the bands mentioned here...

Continue reading "Megaphonic Thrift, Casiokids, Choir of Young Believers & other Scandinavian bands playing SXSW, NYC, other dates"

DOWNLOAD: Whomadewho's 2008-09 New Year's Eve Party Mix (MP3)

WhoMadeWho @ Mercury Lounge (CMJ 2008) (more by Gabi Porter)

[On February 26th, 2010] we had a blast at the Copenhagen Jazzhouse! Jean von Baden invited us to a great setup with live performances by weird drummer/performer Kalles World Tour and the ultra cool Danish band WhoMadeWho.

After the warmup by Kalle and his crazy stage show WhoMadeWho gave a terrific performance playing great tracks and a few covers, Satisfaction by Benny Benassi among others. Their energy was fantastic and the stage performance was great! A big up to Jean von Baden for bringing the trio to Jazzhouse! [Hejven.se]

And in the spirit of SXSW, we've added yet another band to our pre-SXSW NYC show at Knitting Factory on March 15th. And the set times are:

BrooklynVegan presents a pre-SXSW show in NYC
March 15, 2010 @ Knitting Factory in Brooklyn
08:00 Banjo or Freakout (UK)
09:00 The Wave Pictures (UK)
10:00 Let's Wrestle (UK)
11:00 Casiokids (Norway)
12:00 (midnight) WhoMadeWho (Denmark)
+ DJing by Bill Pearis all night long

After NYC WhoMadeWho make their way to Austin to play the Windish showcase Friday night, March 19th, at Emo's, and Do512's "The Big One 2010" party on March 20th. The full lineup for that party, all dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "WhoMadeWho added to our Brooklyn show, playing SXSW"

DOWNLOAD: Oh No Ono - Internet Warrior (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Oh No Ono - Helplessly Young (MP3)

Denmark's Oh No Ono played two nights in NYC earlier this year in January. Of the band's new record, Eggs, Bill previously wrote: "It's psychedelic, baroque, glammy, 70's AM, with some synth pop and the occasional church choir thrown in. And very catchy stuff too." The two tracks above definitely showcase that eclecticism.

Since then I saw them this past Thursday (2/18) at by:Larm in snowy Norway. Three things: they were super tight, they are kind of getting huge over there, and my new name nickname for them is MEWGMT. The show took place at a third floor venue called Samfunnsalen which seemed to double as some type of lodge or government-run room. There were paintings and busts of men who could have been politicians since passed on the walls of the room which included a huge stage and plenty of standing space. Or maybe it was a school. That's what it reminded me of as I went up the three flights of tiled steps which included art sculptures on each floor's landing. Pictures from that show continue below.

The band next comes to the U.S. for SXSW which is followed by another visit to NYC for two more shows. They play Mercury Lounge on Wednesday, March 24th. Tickets are on sale. They'll also be opening for Little Dragon and VV Brown at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Thursday, March 25th. Tickets to that are still on sale.

Live videos from their last NYC stint, more pictures from Norway and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Oh No Ono played by:Larm (pics), playing SXSW, NYC (dates) "

by Bill Pearis

Denmark's Oh No Ono are set to make their NYC debut early in the new year, playing Mercury Lounge on Jan 27 (with Bear in Heaven) and Union Hall on Jan 28 -- the same week as their second album, Eggs, gets its U.S. release via Friendly Fire Recordings. You'd be forgiven for making Mew comparisons, and not just because they're both Danish. They've both got otherworldly vocals and a sound that leans towards the epic side. But where Mew are fully in the rock world, Oh No Ono are harder to categorize. Eggs is all over the place -- you get honey-glazed pop, angular new wave and, on their current single "Swim," hazy grandiose-ness a la Grizzly Bear. Be sure to check the creepy/funny video for "Swim" too, which is below, along with all dates...

Continue reading "Oh No Ono (from Denmark) - US release, video & tour dates "

Mew fans outside Scoot Inn - SXSW 2007 (more)

Trent Reznor has said he is a fan of Danish band Mew, and most recently they've been opening the NIN/Jane's Addiction tour in Europe. They'll play with NIN again this fall on a portion of that band's final shows. That includes the Wednesday, August 26th show at Terminal 5. Tickets go on presale through NIN.com starting July 17th at 5pm.

The T5-Mew show will be NIN's fourth and final NYC show. The other three will be opened by The Horrors.

Luckily, Mew headline their own NYC show two days before, on Monday, August 24th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg! No ticket info for that yet.

Mew's fifth album No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away, No More Stories The world Is Grey I'm Tired Let's Wash Away is due out August 25th on Columbia (one day after the Brooklyn show). An EP with two songs off the record and three b-sides is out now via iTunes. The song "Special" from their last record is featured in a live video which you can watch, along with all tour dates, below....

Continue reading "Mew - new album, Brooklyn show before the NIN tour (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: 18th Dye - Soft the Hard Way (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Powersolo - Pirates of the Oblivion (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band - Ten Cities Beyond (Mp3)

Powersolo

South by Southwest is kind of like other people's dreams. If you're not apart of it, you may not want to hear about it. But at least for those in NYC, we do get some of SXSW's runoff, with many bands from Not America making pit stops here before or after the Austin onslaught. We did a rundown of Australia's offers last week, so in this few-part series I'll highlight some of the more notable bands from the UK and elsewhere in Europe who'll be visiting us over the next three weeks.

We started with Mumford & Sons, Peggy Sue and Jay Jay Pistolet. Let's continue with three bands, who if nothing else, have at least two things in common. They are all signed to Copenhagen indie label Crunchy Frog, and they're all playing that label's showcase at Santos Party House in NYC on March 16th (Jon Spencer is DJing). More info on that show and 18th Dye, Powersolo, and Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band, below...

Continue reading "18th Dye, Powersolo & Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band coming to NYC & SXSW - MP3's, videos, tour dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Slaraffenland - I'm A Machine (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Slaraffenland - Polaroids (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Efterklang - "Mirador" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Efterklang - Mirror Mirror (live) (MP3)

Efterklang @ Knitting Factory in 2008 (more photos by Zach Dilgard)

Danish band Efterklang:

...toured its 2007 album Parades for 14 months, performing 133 shows across the planet. This new North American tour will be the first opportunity to hear some of the band's new material being road-tested before they head back into the studio to record their third album, due for release in 2010.

In 2008, Efterklang joined fellow Danes Slaraffenklang (who will be at SXSW this year too) in touring US and Canada as The Danish Dynamite Tour, which included a NYC gig at Knitting Factory (5/28/08).

On the last show of that tour, the bands joined forces on stage to form "Slaraffenklang", releasing the result as a free four song EP, Danish Dynamite Live at Sono Festival 2008. The story behind the EP is posted below.

Efterklang also is prepping a live CD/DVD, which documents the band's September '08 performance of its Parades album accompanied by the the Danish National Chamber Orchestra.

EP story, some videos, and all of Efterklang's tour dates dates, below...

Continue reading "Efterklang - 2009 Tour Dates, free "Slaraffenklang" EP, MP3's"

photos by Zach Dilgard

Slaraffenland

Efterklang

The Danish bands Efterklang and Slaraffenland passed through NYC to play Knitting Factory on Wednesday night (May 28, 2008).

Slaraffenland played first and was joined on stage by Efterklang's drummer for a few songs (see below for why). Efterklang played last and was joined by all of Slaraffenland during the encore. That put around 13 or 14 people total on stage at the end of the show, including..... Christopher Taylor from Grizzly Bear who got to show off his skills on the tambourine. Casper Clausen of Efterklang said that every time they see Christopher, he gives them some haircuts.

Everyone seemed to be into both bands for the most part, but Bill from Sound Bites definitely preferred Slaraffenland...

Live, Slaraffenland are pretty fascinating to watch, as all the members sing and play at least two instruments... often within the same song. The guitarist played the oboe; the percussionist played a variety of woodwinds; the bassist also played flute; and the keyboardist / sampler was often seen with a trombone. I'm sure the drummer also was a multi-instrumentalist but he was absent at Knitting Factory -- a new father, he had to leave the tour early for daddy duty.

were a little too affected for my tastes, both musically (a lot more precious and grandiose) and visually (they band wore turn-of-the-century garb, including those weird golf/riding pants that are baggy at the thigh and tight through the calf).

Continue reading "Efterklang, Slaraffenland & a member of Grizzly Bear @ Knitting Factory, NYC - pics"

DOWNLOAD: Slaraffenland - I'm a Machine (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Slaraffenland - Polaroids (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Efterklang - Mirror Mirror (live) (MP3)

You might recognize the above picture from our last SXSW-related Danish band feature. They are Slaraffenland and Avi Roig said that "Just saying their name out loud is enough to make me smile." Stereogum said to watch them and Pitchfork called them one of their favorite bands. The first MP3 up there is from their older Sunshine EP. Their new album called Private Cinema came out on Hometapes on May 6th and the 2nd MP3 up there is from that one.

Efterklang are also from Denmark and that's who Slaraffenland are on tour with right now. Read about their 2007 release on the Leaf label at Stylus. Grab their MP3 above too and check out their video for "Caravan" below.

TONIGHT's show at Knitting Factory should be great (May 28, 2008). All tour dates under the video....

Continue reading "Slaraffenland & Efterklang - Danish bands touring, in NYC!"

by Avi Roig

The Fashion

The Fashion (DK)
Rumor has it, this band was formed to make fun of the whole mainstreamo/mallcore thing, but much to their chagrin, then suddenly became immensely popular in that scene. After that, it wasn't long before the major labels came a-knockin' and then they're cashing in! Ca-ching! Seek out some of their old promo photos if you don't believe me - the matching white-belts and kerchiefs has got to be a joke, there's no other way. As for the music, they do a decent job with it, but I'd recommend you check out the drummer's "real" band Lack instead. Their new album "aturate every atom absolutely slays.

The Fashion - 2008 Tour Dates
Mar 14 - SXSW - Maggie Mae´s Rooftop Austin, Texas (US)
Mar 17 - Mercury Lounge (w/ Cut Copy) SOLD OUT!!! New York (US)
Mar 18 - Rehab/Club Midway (FREE SHOW!!!!) New York (US)

Continue reading "a few artists from Denmark playing NYC, LA & SXSW"